Month: February 2023

Industrious Illustrating #29 – Early Drafts

Robin Leave a comment

Welcome back to another week of Industrious Illustrating! First off, I’m happy to share that my drawing of Tappan Hall on the upper right of this picture was on display at the art-themed UMix last friday in the Michigan Union. I’m planning on making more illustrations of UMich campus locales in the future in the same style!

Additionally, I’ve been making sketches and drafts for some new sprites that’ll be used in “Flamechaser” when the prologue and additional scenes are added into the game. I also sketched out a new UI design idea (larger sprites) for the game, which will be implemented in the upcoming 0.6 build of the game. Quick concept ideation like this is helpful for getting feedback from other people on the project and figuring out what I want to do with the final drawing before I commit too hard to developing the concept further.

Let me know in the comments if there’s any topics you want me to discuss or expand upon for future Industrious Illustrating posts!

Letters by Lydia: Valentine’s Day <3

lydnas Leave a comment

Hey y’all! Since Valentine’s Day is coming up, I thought it’d be fun to give some ideas for anyone looking to make valentines for their loved ones.  I know a lot of people don’t like Valentine’s day because it can be really tough when you’re single, but I’ve always loved it because I have so much fun making cute little valentine’s for all my friends!  It’s like a crafter’s dream holiday, getting to sit down with washi tape, fun paper, stickers, pens, and make cards for the people you love.

Anyway, here are some different styles for lettering I thought fit the Valentine’s aesthetic:

A fun ribbon font always looks good, and you can’t go wrong with doing conversation hearts! For the last one, I just thought it’d be cute to do something a little more structured but still fun and with lots of red and pink.  I’m always happy to do tutorials on different types of lettering like this too, if anyone is ever interested 🙂

As for general guidelines for making Valentine’s cards, I honestly feel like you can never overdo it.  I love to go all out with glitter, lace, bright colors, stickers, etc.  Even if you don’t want to go that route, basics like pastels, hearts, red and pink, and all that cute stuff never fails.  I also love doing puns (Love you a waffle lot, olive you, etc etc), cute little drawings, and inside jokes because that makes the cards more personal and heartfelt.  As for little drawings and extra things to add, you can always do candy, hearts, bows, flowers, roses, and literally anything you think the recipient would like 🙂 Here’s a few little doodles I came up with:

I hope this made you excited to make some cards for your loved ones if you’re so inclined! Either way, have a great week and enjoy your Valentine’s Day next week! <3

TOLAROIDS: Starry Night

akilian Leave a comment

We were in Peru in the mountains in a small city called Urubamba when the power went out revealing the most stars I’ve ever seen.

Bonus two photos: the comet NEOWISE that passed Earth in 2020 and that I managed to capture.

 

 

OTM #25: Windy

katelynski Leave a comment

I’ve had mixed feelings about the weather lately. It looks so sunny and beautiful from the comfort of my apartment, but the moment I round the corner of my building, I’m bombarded with high winds. I walk forward with cartoonish resistance, hoping I’m not going to fly backwards and break every bone in my body. It’s the type of wind that’s so cold, so strong it makes me sweat. It’s so lovably Michigan. I feel like my hair will look like Doc Brown or Albert Einstein when I get to class (of course, it never does). 

I really love how walkable Ann Arbor is, though. Nothing gets me to pay attention to the weather and nature around me like this city, having to prepare for each day out. I take a lot of walks even in this temperature just because it gets me in tune with myself, with the world. There’s nothing as grounding as taking a walk, even if the wind is relentless and the air makes your nose run. Maybe a nice nap under blankets would be nice, too. Enjoy the week and thanks for reading!