My new name cards and the MerryDay stationery design

I have been thinking a lot about the word 'stationery design' lately.  In the past, if someone asked me what I was doing, I would say 'graphic design and illustration' in general.  After years of working in design field, I have found that I could do better work on book design than on brochure or ads and more comfortable with illustration than logo design.  The phrase 'graphic design and illustration' becomes too broad and too general for me and I learn to refuse projects I know I'm not good at.  Things are gradually changing and it just come to me when I have to reprint my name cards that I want to put the word 'stationery design' instead of 'graphic design'.

Yes! I want to be more specific. I have been working on stationery paper goods only for my shop. Not very well at first but I think I have developed something in this specific field. I love doing illustration and then thinking up lovely wordings to go with the art.  Some of my customers who bought my cards and notebooks (I'm selling my works through facebook page only for Thai customers for now) told me that they liked wordings I put along with the illustration. I realized that perhaps this would be my new direction I would enjoy doing.

There will be a long way to go but I'm feeling so inspired and having fun thinking more ideas for my shop which is almost done for the reopening.  I'm planning to make it within this week.

Cheer for me please!

Fear revisited and my etsy about page

After a lot of thinking, fussing, preparing and thinking again (too much), I finally went back to my etsy shop which had been put on hold for about six months. I walked (virtually) around my shop thinking which part I would adjust, which items I would maintain. I had already did an adjustment on shop banner (the girl with the balloons really enchanted me). Changed my profile and added the shop about page. I made sure that all the billing and credit card details were in check and then suddenly I was afraid.

It's just like that. Fears can come to you at any time. I was fearful what if something wrong with my account, there might be some bugs on my Paypal, my items photos might not be good enough. Maybe I cannot interact with my future customers properly, what about shipping problems and so on.

Sometimes I really hate my imagination...

But I know in my heart that I need to do this. I MUST make it happen! Then I thought of a very good quote I got from Creative Courage e-class. It says :

Sit down and take action. The only way you can overcome fears is through action.

So, I did. I sat down and began drafting my items' descriptions.

The shop is not open yet but if you are interested you can view my about page here >> http://www.etsy.com/shop/MerryDay/about/

I really like the photo slides section. Etsy has just added this feature to their system. I think it's really a great way to tell the story of shop owner. I hope you like it too and I would be very grateful if you could give feedback about this page.

Thank you for coming. Have a merry day!

Pavinee

Behind the Lines and Colors : how my little girl and Mr. Bunny came into a greeting card

One of my Love is... card design collection, Merry Girl and Mr. Bunny are preparing paper hearts to spread the love from the sky :)

My very first idea was that I wanted to draw a big bunny playing something with my Merry girl. Then I thought of this sketch below which I drew during work ( I have an album called Playtime dedicated to a few minute doodles during work. it's almost like my sanctuary. If you are on facebook, you can look at my drawings here.)

When in need of drawing but have no idea what to draw yet, I usually warm up with my merry girl's smiley face. Next, I would think of an activity for her to do, reading, running or eating? And should she have some friends with her? etc. I try to train myself to make a story during drawing and it's really fun when some lovely ideas come up along the way.

For this drawing, I combined Mr. Bunny with the above doodle. The paper shapes she cut were changed to paper hearts so that it looks like she and Mr. Bunny are spreading love. And when you want to spread love as much as possible, the best location should be up on the sky. So, I put them on the lovely, fluffy light blue cloud :)



The final part was thinking up a nice caption to go with the drawing. I simply use 'spread the love' and I truly believe that when you spread your love, 'you'll get it back' :)

This card will be for sale on my etsy shop, which I'm sorry to say that I'm still in the process of redesigning the whole thing. I know I keep repeating this for some time already. A bit guilty for my slowness. Right now, I am in the process of reshooting every shop items. Taking photos is the most difficult and crucial  part in having an online shop. I'm not a good photographer but I'm doing my very best.

ps. Maureen from Daydream Living asked me in the previous post if my character has a name. I think it's really good idea to name my girl. So far I call my character my Merry girl and people who are following me on facebook page seem to remember me by that calling. I wonder if I should stick with Merry Girl or should I find other lovely name? What do you think? :)

My messy workspace and my passion

While I was typing this post, it suddenly occurred to me that a photo of super messy workspace might not be a good idea. It's the truth anyway. I love looking at other artists' workspaces. It's strange that the messier a workspace is, the more in awe I will be. It tells you everything, focus, hard work, creativity and passion.

A few days ago I read a lovely post about passion written by Elizabeth from Lizzysapronstrings. In the post, she asked 'what is your passion?' The question made me think. I have always known that I love drawing, I love reading. They are two things that I cannot live without. But did I love them enough to make it the main part of my life?, I didn't. I found that in the past, I didn't have enough passion to make my art. There was always procrastination, I'm-too-busy, I'm-not-ready sort of things all the time. I was not busy, I was just not passionate enough to make it happen.

Two weeks ago I was offered a chance to do a small art project. It's not a paid project but I had a sense that it would bring me something. And it did. A lot of ideas came to me while I was doing the work. All of them could be applied in making new items for my shop. I realized that everything I do now I always relate to my MerryDay, instinctively.

I also notice that lately I put less things off when it comes to my art. Being exhausted is not my excuse anymore. I stay up late and wake up early with less drowsiness during the day. More focus, more concentration. I feel good. Can I say I have found my passion?

I think I do. The next question is : does passion have an expiry date?

We'll see :)

Behind the lines and colors : She lost her heart in the sea of love

I think I already talked about the origin of my 365 days I draw project but since this project seems to have a great influence on my current illustration style, it would not hurt to talk about it again.

I started 365 days I draw project in December 2011 right after I sent out my Sketchbook Project 2011 to Brooklyn Library (if you have not known about this sketchbook project, you might want to click here). The idea of waking up every morning thinking about what I would draw and then do it is really addictive. I like the feeling of fulfillment with a drawing done at the end of the day. So, I began to search for another challenge to keep me in such creative track.

Stephanie is one of the artists I admire. She was doing her own challenge of drawing everyday at the time and was kind enough to let me join in. The idea of the challenge was to draw a picture from one word. It was very hard at first but when you draw everyday, you get the hang of it and ideas come more easily. So it began my 365 days I draw.

Why is it so important that I keep referring to this project? Because before this project I drew differently. I drew directly on computer using mouse and then pen mouse. The results were crisp and clean and beautiful but it lacked ideas or stories to pull viewers in. This reminded me of all the design teachers who always say that your own hand draw best. It opens your brain, challenges your imagination and there is no technical tool limitation.

So, I stayed away from the computer and drew everything by hand. The fact that I didn't need to rely on computer  or technical stuff and I could just take a pen and a sketchbook with me and drew whenever and wherever I wanted to brought me more ideas and stories.

Then after some 100 drawings and everyday doodles on my facebook page, I found that I really enjoyed drawing. My lines changed, my use of colors looked different and seemed to be better than my previous works. It suddenly came to me that I finally established my new drawing style. :D

That kind of realization brought me confidence. I can see how my drawing can be developed into something more wonderful in the future but that will need time and hard work and I'm working on it right now.

Not sure if anyone feels like I do, that when you have finally set your goal, you have some kind of liberation too. I mean when you determine to do something,  you have more focus and less confused. Your life comes in order. Problems that come in your way will be fixed as soon as possible because you don't want to stay with them too long. You have your goal to meet!

I love the kind of idea, to have a goal. It makes my life busy, sometimes energetic, sometimes exhausted but with peaceful mind all the time :)

..................

The illustration above is developed from one of the 365 days I draw project drawings. The keyword is 'sea'. I'm not sure how the caption 'I lost her heart in the sea of love' came to me but I really liked the sentence and the idea of combining lettering and picture then happened.



The original drawing is done in black and red. When I put it in my stationery design, card and notebook, I made it look softer with orange and pale purple. I like both color versions. They both give the feeling of fun and whimsical, I think :)



How about you? Which one you like better, please tell me :)

Behind the lines and colors : my dolphin and MerryDay preparation

Drawing animals is one of challenging drawing topics to me. I remember drawing an elephant on school wall in an art class when I was in high school. It was in such a wrong proportion that everyone laughed at. It was so humiliating at the time but I know now that there's nothing to be ashamed of.  Art can be unrealistic, distorted or completely different. There is no right or wrong, only opinions...

When I started my 365 days I draw,  I intended to draw animals as much as I could. Animals, backgrounds,  stories were what I thought I lacked in my drawings.  I used to draw single thing and stop. My friends told me that it looked cute but not interesting enough. I needed to give my drawings unique characters, give them actions, give them stories. It was very difficult at first but with  365 days I draw project, I gradually built up my own catalogue of animals and stories.

I 'm not satisfied with my drawing of cats or tigers yet but it's not so scary or difficult anymore. You just have to keep on drawing until you get them right.

Above is one of my Love is... drawing collection. I finished this collection just before Valentine's Day. There are 11 designs altogether, some of them are developed from my 365 days' sketches, some from my everyday doodles. Drawing animals is hard, drawing cute animals is even harder. Dolphins are always considered cute. They have such friendly faces and look smiley all the time. I tried drawing them several times and ended up using the cheating way by finding a reference photo then traced the outline :P



My dolphin looked in need of a companion so I added a little mermaid and I think they enjoy dancing together :) I usually work from a very rough idea and continue adding elements in the process. The caption "If you dance, I'll dance with you" just came up when I almost finished the details.

This illustration is designed for a greeting card but it suits well on a notebook cover (and other stationery items) too. And here my dolphin notebook with front and back view!



Please note that although this drawing collection is already posted in my facebook page, it is not for sale on my etsy shop yet. I'm in the process of revamping my shop and plan to reopen it very very soon. Just want to share my working process here so you know what I'm working on. I think, in a way, sharing this publicly prevents me from slacking off too! :D

With the Line of Fear in between...

I woke up this morning thinking about my creative life.

Some days ago someone on my facebook feed said hello to her first day of creative life. She had been working in illustration field for some time already but I guess not in a way she wanted it to be. I think I understand what she felt when she wrote the status. I think about myself and realize I am still standing in between two worlds.

Last year I made a decision to put all my focus to my MerryDay brand. It's really in an initial step but I feel the need to make it official at least to me. I changed my career status on my facebook profile from 'freelance graphic designer and illustrator' to 'creator of MerryDay'. Such a silly and unnecessary small step but it has a huge effect on me. I reduce my freelance job and concentrate more on my drawings for my MerryDay.

I thought I was not afraid but maybe I still am. It's funny. Freelance job is not a stable job but the fact that I know for sure how much I would earn when I have a project seems more comfortable than making art which you love but not sure if it's going to sell. Like I said above, I am still standing one leg in my somewhat secure world, the other in my love-but-yet-unknown future with the line of fear in between.

Will I pull my other leg back? You know for sure I won't and I guess that's a good news. What I need to do now is to find strength to cross the line and stand strong in my challenging world.

I know there are so many of you out there who are afraid of something but still want to take a risk anyway. It would be wonderful if you leave a comment of your experience here :)

I have already written a draft about what I'm working on and will post it here very soon.  If you want to know how my creative journey goes, you can follow me through my MerryDay fan page. That's where I am most of the time.

Thank you for dropping by.  I hope you have a merry day :D

80% art, 20% business / learn to stop, learn to start

My two online classes have finally ended and I still keep thinking about them.

I took some other online classes before. They were good classes to some level but as I didn't manage my time for the classes well enough, I didn't benefit from them as I should have. But for these 2 courses, Creative Courage and Blogging Your Way, I devoted my time to really read, collect materials and participate as much as possible. I think I gain a lot from these classes, both in knowledge and spiritual support :)

Now I am kind of addicted to starting each day reading the classes' posts. Stephanie, from Creative Courage, incorporated artist's interviews into her class so well. Each one was very informative and inspiring and I felt like I needed more. I searched and read. But suddenly, it struck me that I was beginning to get lost again, in the sea of information.  I still need more info in marketing and Etsy tips. But that information will be only information if I don't create my art enough.

Lisa Sonora Beam from Creative Entrepreneur, one of the artists in the class interviews, says that if you want to be in creative career, you have to do your best in handling two jobs at the same time. One is to create, the other is to sell. The best blend should be 80% art and 20% business.

I think I'm doing on the art part only 10% right now. It's time to switch my focus...

Just like doing digital illustration, with easy clicks, we tend to keep on changing colors, adjusting things with no end. I guess learning to stop and learning to start are very important in designing (and also in life).

Let's see what I will show you next post :)

****
I forgot that I'm supposed to have one idea each day for the PiBoIdMo. So, here we go :

day 5 : A village where each villager has flower or plant on his or her head.

day 6 :  Little Leaf (from day 3 post) makes friend with other kinds of leaf in the woods.

day 7 : Something about cloud?

day 8 : A girl who is never sad.

day 9 : A pessimistic girl vs. an optimistic boy

Revamping MerryDay : work in progress

I think I need to share more of my work progress for my shop now. I thought I would keep everything to myself until I could have something complete to show in public. But on second thought, posting something unfinished might be a good way to push myself to work harder. :)

Here is a flower design I'm working on. I generally sketch ideas with ink or pencil on paper first. Then scan in and trace in Illustrator program. This one is a bit different though. I drew right onto the program based on initial pencil sketches in my book. The idea is to have something sweet, swirly and fresh. The challenging part is color selection. I always struggle when it comes to coloring part. I prefer using 2-3 colors in my work if I could. Too many different colors confuse me and it would take me a long time to finish it.

I'm pleased with this drawing's color scheme so far but can't help wondering how I could make it more unique. I just have to keep trying and learning. :)

Talk about color learning. I have found some blogs that could be helpful in term of color study.

Orange you lucky is my most favorite illustration and pattern blog. The artist, Helen Dardik, is a genius in choosing colors. You have to look at her gorgeous pattern designs. They are all amazing :D

Emma Lamb's blog is also one of my favorites. She has a good sense in color coordination and I really love her crochet handmade.

I found a creative mint through Blogging Your Way e-course. This blog is very beautiful and you can read posts by color. Interesting.

That's it for today. We will see what I come up with tomorrow :)

Now for the PiBoIdMo day 2 : The Demon Grim captures Rainbow princess and put her in a high tower, how can Brave Prince rescue her?

Every little thing could make big difference in life.

Every little thing could make big difference in life.

This little paper bag contained my latest shopping items from a zakka shop near my place. Simple sentence, but it has stuck on my mind for days. I have always been a person who believe that whatever things we do now will have a role in our future one way or another. No matter how trivial those things are. Just wondering how my little things I do now (such as writing this post?) may affect my future.

The future of unknown, it's a bit exciting, isn't it?

....

About my project of redesigning my shop. I'm still in the stage of researching, taking notes. The good news is I'm beginning to sketch down new ideas and do some digital drawings. 

Everything is in slow pace now but I can't wait to see the final solution already !

Here a sneak peek of what I'm working on :)