Thank You Cards, Spavens, and Salty, Sailor Illustrations

[Front of the Thank You card.]

[Back of Thank You card.]

We're on press week so I haven't been getting much art in recently. Looks like I'll be posting some old work on here at least until this weekend when I can put those creative juices to work again! 

I illustrated/designed this thank you card for use at The OC Gazette earlier this year. I wanted to do something maritime themed, and so I thought this thank you card might be a good time to try. So I looked up a picture of a salty, wrinkly old sea captain, got my pen and paper out, and did a quick silhouette portrait of his profile. I scanned the drawing into Adobe Illustrator and live traced it to clean it up. Then I designed the background with the waves and the ravens/sparrows inspired by a fun fabric I had seen a few days before. I'm really not sure if I drew a raven or a sparrow so let's just do what the tabloids do and call it a spaven. Spavens and all I really liked the end result! The caption on the front says "You Be Yar." [Author's note: Yar is sailor speak for a boat that is fabulous/magnificent/awesome/second-to-none.]

[The Thank You card, with envelopes and special Gazette emblem stickers in silver.]

Now it's back to editorial layout for the magazine. I really love doing editorial layout. I just got my new issue of Esquire (well, Jen's new issue of Esquire, but what's hers is mine) and it is BEAUTIFUL! My head is full of new ideas to reform for my own use. Like Isaac Newton said, "If I have seen further than others, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants." 

- Amy

Listening to: Kings of Leon's "Manhattan"
[I love these Only By The Night home movies they made to promote this album. You can see them all on their youtube station here.]