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The Happy Cactus Blog

The Creative Process

July 02, 2012

I thought I'd pull back the curtain a bit and give you a peek inside my creative process. Each of the cards you see in the shop is originally drawn by hand - by me! So just how does a design go from an idea in my mind to a sketch to a finished card? Here's a glance at the different steps in my creative process. 


Doodling

I find myself doodling a lot. My sketchbooks are filled with random drawings and words. Some go nowhere, some turn into the cards you see for sale on this site, and some I revisit months later with renewed interest. Here's some recent sketches I've done.


Pen to Paper

Usually I'll take a preliminary sketch I've drawn and create something in ink. Sometimes I sketch out the design first in pencil; sometimes I just go for it with ink and hope I don't make a big mistake. Armed with some very fine black ink pens, I'll spend time drawing the motifs or patterns on drawing paper.  I'm lucky to have a very steady hand. 


Here's the original ink drawings for Thanks Vines, Busy Flowers, and Zinnias. With both of the designs for Busy Flowers and Zinnias, I didn't have a set design in my mind - each piece just grew as I went along.




Clean Up and Color

I scan my artwork and use software on my trusty computer to smooth lines, clean up mistakes, and color the artwork. I love playing around with different color combinations and seeing the different possibilities. 

The End Result

The final products printed, scored, and ready to be sold! 





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