Our Family's Annual Christmas Card!

One of my favorite things about Christmas is designing our family's Christmas card. Here's the second annual version! Last year's card can be seen here.



The cards arrived today and I am very happy with them because it's exciting to send out a card that is truly personal and unique to us.

Below are some of the design stages for this artwork. It started off with a pencil drawing which I traced with a prismacolor pen. Then it was off to the scanner to get it into the computer for the last step, which was coloring it in Photoshop.

"Line art"

Lately I've been making a point to add shadows at this stage. Shadows help distinguish where things set in space. Also, if placed in the right spots, shadows can help create some visual balance of white and black.

"Color Washes"
These are the basic colors used before I add shading. These colors need to be the closest color that best represents the subject.

"Shading"

This is where things can quickly come to life. Shading helps make the drawing more believable.

Notice that I gave my wife, Bryce, more hair. Sometimes you don't see a mistake until half way into it. A bit of color can fix it right up! (No more hunch-back, Misses!)

"Highlights"

One of the last details to add are highlights. These can be on the lips, the nose, the forehead, and anywhere a natural light might reflect. At this point, I decided to add a glow to the tree to help separate us from the background.

"Final Details"

I hope this has got you thinking ahead for yourself and all of next year's occasions! Custom cards for you and yours! Stay tuned throughout the year some exciting products available at SaveTheDoodle.com!