Progress Report: Skillshare Illustration Class

You might remember the post that I wrote over a week ago about the Skillshare class that I had just signed up for. The two-week long session (now almost over) titled Digital Illustration: Communicate with Color, Pattern, and Texture, has been lead by the talented designer / illustrator Brad Woodard. I went into the class with no abilities in the Adobe Illustrator program whatsoever. I've quite literally opened my ancient version of the program about three times in the past five years...attempted to draw something as basic as a straight line, only to be immediately baffled and scared away by how nonsensical it appeared to be.

But since Illustrator is something that I've always wanted to learn, I decided that this class could finally be the perfect opportunity to dig in and see how far I could get (even though I've been secretly terrified of making a fool out of myself). I do have to add, that my self-taught (sufficient at best) knowledge of Photoshop has most definitely been a huge asset to me over the past week of class, since a lot of that program's functionality behaves similarly to that of Illustrator. Even still, it's been a huge challenge...and I've loved it!

Click image for a larger view

The class assignment was to draw our own personal interpretation of either the word "loud" or "quiet." Can you guess which one I picked? I've followed all of Brad's lessons (taught by video) and explored all the resource links he has shared, and have gotten as far the illustration at the top of the page (a fully colored piece with no texture). There has been a lot of floundering for me along the way, but my fellow Skillshare students (who come from an awesome array of backgrounds and experience levels) have been more than willing to share helpful tips and tricks to keep me going. That paired with some serious gems of wisdom tucked inside of Brad's videos have left me with an overwhelmingly positive takeaway from the class.

Unfortunately it seems that my lack of Adobe Illustrator skills may have finally posed a roadblock too large for me to overcome. After spending hours trying to get my decrepit Illustrator program to mirror the steps that Brad demonstrated for the creation of custom textures and patterns, I've realized that it is probably not going to happen. I'm truthfully really sad to get this far and then not be able to complete the rest of the assignment. Applying texture/patterns to my illustration was the part I have most been looking forward to. Obviously my piece would have also been improved upon through this final missing step...so that's a bummer. In any event, I will keep trying (maybe I'll get lucky)...but even without the icing to my virtual cake, I still cannot more highly recommend Brad's Skillshare class. It was incredibly wonderful, inspiring, and more than worth the measly $15 I paid for such a massive amount of learning! If you missed taking the class this time around and were interested, be sure to head over and sign up for his next session. You won't regret it! xo Ez

P.S. You can see illustrations from students who took this session, right here. There is some really wonderful work to be seen.

California...Here We Come!

Happy Monday friends! Did you read the title above?! Well today I am delighted to share some big news with you that I've been trying to keep under wraps for a while now....My daughter and I are moving back to California!!! We are triple cartwheel, quadruple back-handspring, caffeine-fueled jazz hands excited!

Until recently, it was only in our wildest dreams that we imagined ourselves back in the place we feel most at home. But now in just a few short weeks we will be stuffing all our worldly possessions into our car and a moving truck, and making our way to the West Coast! We can't wait to get settled back into life on the Central Coast. It's going to be wonderful!

As you can imagine, our house is currently in a state of craziness that is only made livable because of the excitement that motivates us to ignore the boxes closing in around us. I will be doing my best to continue to post here daily, but I hope you'll forgive me if I miss a day (or a few) in there. I promise I'll make your patience worth it! If you're missing a daily update, or are curious what a person looks like wading through a sea of half-packed boxes, please come on over and say "hi" via my Instagram. I tend to keep up with it pretty regularly. Oh...and I'm going to need all the helpful packing, cleaning (I need to get this place spotless), and sanity-saving tips you are able to share! We'll get through this together! xox Ez

Violet Tulips

I fell in love with the color of these gorgeous violet-hued tulips last week, and couldn't stop photographing them. Don't you just love the way the light glows right through the velvety petals! Let's get even closer, shall we?!

If you're interested, you can find a print of this photo up in my shop along with a newly-listed capture of some pretty peonies that look just like pink petticoats. Have a beautiful Monday friends! xo Ez

7 Random Objects, One Nikon Lens

As a hobby, I love photography. But I often feel shy (and actually kind of afraid) to talk about about it because I just don't have the technical know-how to call myself a "true photographer." It's not from lack of trying either...my Nikon D300 for Dummies book has seen more action than my stack of "vintage" Domino Magazines (and we know that is saying a lot).

Even with technicalities slipping through my mind like a sieve, I still I find so much simple joy in snapping photos, that for today I'm going to brave the critical voice in my head telling me that you all will laugh me out of blogland (please don't), and just show you some of the photos that I took with a new lens that I got the other day.

photo taken with my phone

The lens is an AF-S DX Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G (I had to look up what that means exactly, too). Isn't she a beauty? Even though I take photos all the time, before buying it (my first lens purchase other than the one I bought with my camera body 5 years ago) I still spent hours googling photography terms to make sure that I was getting the right thing. I really wanted something that worked well in low-light situations and would also allow me to get beautiful close-up shots with a milky soft and shallow depth of field. Oh...and I needed to be able to pay for it using the gift cards I received for Christmas (thank you family)...so it had to be somewhat affordable.

Even after all my googling, when my package arrived I was afraid to open the box for fear that my lack of knowledge would land me with something only vaguely lens-related (like maybe a $200 lens cap or a cleaning pad). Luckily (what a relief) I managed to purchase the perfect lens, and got to snapping photos of random things immediately.

I'm obsessed with it! But since I can't really tell you all the technical how's and whys of the lens, I'll let the photos speak for themselves (if you would like more technical details you can read about it here). The only editing done to these photos was a few slight tweaks in the Levels setting in Photoshop.

I have so much to discover about my new lens' capabilities (I can't wait for a good low light scenario...and to snap photos at my sister's wedding later this year), but I can tell that it's going to be a lot of fun to figure out. xo Ez

New Prints and Cushions in the Shop

Hi lovelies! I've been wanting to add a few new pieces to my shop for a while now, and finally managed to finish creating a sweet new set last night. Meet Danika and her Circus Friends! They are available as standard prints, framed prints, stretched canvases, and cushions!

Also, until Dec. 9th you will receive free shipping on standard prints and cushion cover (without the insert) orders from my shop, when shopping with this link.

I am also considering creating a second version of these two prints using a different color palette, and would love to hear what specific colors you'd most like to see! 

You can find my art prints here, and my cushions here. Thank you to everyone who's purchased work from me so far. I feel truly honored that you've chosen my art for yourself (or to give as gifts).

Psst...I have two new DIY posts and a sweet printable freebie coming up next week. See you then! xo Ez