My Process

I’ve always preferred executing my ideas digitally. Physical mediums have never really been my strong suit, and I appreciate the versatility that digital programs provide, which is why I drew out my drafts on my iPad with Procreate. I researched pudding and Jello online to get a better idea of flavors and colors. When at school, I used the Wacom tablet to start the project in Illustrator, but when at home, I just used my computer and trackpad. I do have a small Wacom tablet at home, but because of how small it is, it can be somewhat tedious to use. I used the curvature pen for most, if not all, of the drawing, including the letters, details, and highlights. To create the drop shadow effect, I duplicated the letter layers, made them entirely black, applied a gaussian blur to the layer, and adjusted the opacity. For the shine effect, I did something slightly different to each piece to emulate the different consistencies. For pudding, I drew an apostrophe shape in the top left-hand corner of each letter in the color of the letter, adjusted them to lighter tints, applied a slight gaussian blur to each of them, and lowered the opacity. For Jello, I used the pen tool and the circle tool to create a lowercase I shape, copied them to the primary light spots on each letter, applied a slight gaussian blur, and adjusted the opacity. I wanted to play into a more cartoon-like feel while also staying rooted in somewhat-realistic textures.

What I Learned

When we were initially told about this project, I had one idea come to mind that I was 95% sure I was going to go with that wasn’t Pudding/Jello. I had other ideas, but it was the first draft I drew and the idea I initially felt the strongest pull towards. I still came up with other ideas and drew loose sketches of how I imagined them, but I didn’t think much of it, and that included a somewhat throw away idea of “Pudding” and “Jello”. I thought it would be fun, but I most likely wouldn’t execute it – until I presented my drafts to my class. I got a somewhat positive response when I presented Pudding and Jello, both from the class and my professor, which gave me the inclination that it could be a creative idea so long as I committed and executed it to the absolute best of my abilities (thus far). Additionally, this class and the projects along with it are about expanding my creativity and broadening my skill sets, so I thought it wouldn’t hurt to try something more fun. I still decided to make working sketches for both and see what idea I was more excited for, and after I fleshed out my ideas more on “paper”, I realized that I was more excited to make the Pudding/Jello concept. I liked my working sketches, but I decided to try and push myself more when creating the project itself by leaning more into the textures and different colors. Looking at my final draft, I’m rather proud of how it turned out. It is by no means groundbreaking, but I started off this project expecting it to be one thing and creating something completely different. I also feel as though I represented their traits well and encompassed the dichotomy of them while also seeming coordinated. This just goes to show to never doubt that 5%, and good ideas might not be the ones you think of immediately.