My Process:

I’ve always been an admirer of florists. I think florals are beautiful, and the ability to to arrange them even more beautifully is such an interesting kind of art. I decided to illustrate a photo taken by a local florist I follow on Instagram, @floralsbykris. I decided to post it on my art page, and not only had she liked it, but she also shared it on her story! My page was still pretty new and that was the first time that had happened to me, so that kindness was brand new to me and very exciting.

Kris was kind enough to reach to me personally as well and asking if I would be interested in doing a commission for her to be a part of her logo. This was a first formal commission, and I was over the moon. I’m such an admirer of Kris’ work, so her wanting to work with me was an honor. She sent me a few different pictures as options, and we ultimately decided on an autumnal bouquet. It has some good depth of tones while also having a very cohesive color pallet.

Because I was only working with an iPad at the time, I hand traced and colored the image. I initially traced it with a pencil tool and then added a layer under it to then color with a solid pen. Because it was a pixel drawing and I knew it was going to be used for a logo, I was sure to use a larger image so it could be scaled more.

What I Learned: 

While I know I would do a lot differently nowadays, I’m still proud of how this came out. Kris loved it, and it was absolutely the most detailed graphic I had made at the time. It being my first commission AND a complicated image AND it being for someone I admire was all a bit nerve racking, but it ended in a result that I continue to use in my portfolio to this day. This also showed me that attention to detail is worthwhile.