SATURDAY SALE EVENT!

 

CLICK HERE TO GO TO SHOP!

https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/ELMerchant

WOWZA! A SATURDAY SALE EVENT! 

Get your hands on some hand made Christmas cards this weekend with 20% off all orders by quoting: "SATURDAYSALE" at the checkout!

Today I've been taking some great new snaps of the newly made cards to update my Etsy shop to show you all the "Merry Christmas" design in detail!

Remember! The whole design has been hand cut out of lino, individually printed and finished with a foiled star on top, making each card completely unique and one-of-a-kind.

Bag yourself a bargain and help make my weekend a little more fantastic 

Big Love x

Welcome Back to Blogging!

Hello! Good day, good evening! It's been a long while since I've been active on this particular blog, but now that I'm beginning to get my head back together after graduating university, getting a job (OMG!) and beginning to prepare the foundations for my own creative business - I think it's about time I get back to what I do best! Talking!

So what's new with me?! Apart from the aforementioned series of events (Yes, I graduated with a first class honours degree in Graphic Design and Illustration and managed to get a job as a Junior Designer) I have been busy with freelance design work, whilst absolutely falling in love with calligraphy!  

As of yet, I haven't had time to invest in any beginner tools yet so instead I've been practicing getting to grips with how you'd hold a pen / brush by strapping two pencils together! 

It's actually really fun and I'm beginning to find my inspiration again after what seems like an age of having no spare time since leaving university. Of course, I can't and won't complain about being busy - I'm very thankful for all the work that has come my way. But sometimes... just sometimes it'd be amazing to just sprawl in bed for the day and do nothing but play xbox....

Logo Design: Airforce Themed

A few months ago, my friend asked me as a quick favour to design him a logo based on the Airforce's current design without it being exactly the same. It was only a for a few t-shirts he was having printed, but it's something that's given me time to de-stress from work about so I gave it a go!

Here's what I came up with!

Muesli out of Museli: Typography project experiment

Apologies for lack of blogging recently, Christmas was crazy busy and I've only just got back into the swing of things with uni work! (Sorta...)

For one of my projects which is typography based I've been trying out some words using the food they're mentioning! Here's my experiments with 'Muesli' made of Muesli! :)

UPDATE: Great Gatsby Inspired Cocktail Menu!

Apologies for lack of updates, these past few weeks have been crazy!

Here's an update on the Great Gatsby style cocktail menu I was designing a few weeks back for my Students Union in Leicester! I'm really happy with how this turned out considering it was a piece that needed to be produced really quickly. As a result of this design I've also been asked to design some wedding invitations in a similar style so a job well done indeed it seems!

More updates to come soon! :)

BRAND NEW Canvas Prints!

Recently I was asked to print some of my work for a few customers, and it's the first time I've ever had work printed onto canvas! (By request). I have to say I really like the overall finish of them, but the pricing has little to be admired.

When I have the time I think I'll have to explore some more printing techniques and learn these things myself to cut down on costs! Fingers crossed the people will like them though! I do! 

Creating A Cocktail Menu! (Gatsby Style)

Recently my boss asked me to create a cocktail menu for our Students Union new cocktail night. I've been given complete creative freedom with this, which is always a little more difficult than working to a brief, but tonight I've really taken off with the design!

I found a menu in a similar style and it made me think of The Great Gatsby and glamour and tried to capture this in the design. It's still unfinished, but tomorrow will be fine tuning everything and then getting it ready for print on Friday!

I was a little apprehensive about doing this but I'd be quite proud to tell people I've created this now after realising what I want to do with it! Keep an eye out for the finished product soon!

Twitter Poster: Another progress preview!

Just another little progress / preview picture of a bird characature of Milton Jones that I'm working on! :) All of the body and face is now done, just the feet to shade before I can begin adding in some simple highlights! 

SNEAK PREVIEW!!! Twitter Poster: Wing Shadow

So today I've been working on a project based around twitter and so in my design there of course is a bird! (Original I know!!!) But I thought I'd post some developments on it as they're happening.

If you've previously seen anything to do with a twitter project on this blog, please disregard it now! Concept has changed entirely as I'm sure you can see from the previous post! 

Below is a little preview of some of the shadowing I've started to add into one of the wings. And man it's taking a long time!!! Stay tuned for more updates!

Image Making Trial: Comedians Into Birds

For one of my projects based on funny tweets I've decided to try to make some famous comedians into the style of the twitter bird. My first attempt is at Roy Chubby Brown and just using simple line work and block colours I've coloured it in fine. All I'm wondering is how long colouring the rest of the birds is going to take... (Probably too long)... with how much time I have left and if it's really going to be worth it.... Hmm...

Another option I could pursue is perhaps just using tones as opposed to block colours. This way, shadow and highlight can be created easily and might look better overall....

I'm not sure... I hate choices. 

Comedy Poster: Turning Famous Comedians Into Birds!

For one of our third year briefs, we have to design a poster for a comedy festival around the theme of twitter so I thought it would be pretty funny to try to turn some famous comedians from over the ages into birds! (Or just dress birds up in their attire)

I've tried to pick comedians with a distinct style so that it's easier to extract enough of their identity onto the blank birds. Below is a preview of some ideas I've come up with today! Bare in mind, these are preliminary sketches so the birds will end up looking much better by the end of the project!

See if you can guess who's who...

'MIRAGE' Textiles Pattern (2 part series) - NOW AVAILABLE!

Woo, I'm excited about this pattern!
Lovely, simple pattern to make and looks great!

I've named the pattern 'Mirage' and it's part of a 2 part series.
The other half, you can find on Society6 also!

To see the rest of the collection of this design, follow this link:
http://society6.com/Elmerchant/MIRAGE-02_Print?show=promoters#user_list

AND THERE'S FREE SHIPPING UNTIL SUNDAY!!!

Promote, and share with all your friends! :) 

New "Rust" Collection on Society6!

I'm really happy that I've recently discovered Society6! It gives me a chance to put my designs onto things I've wanted to for a long time, but have had no way of physically doing it. Although I'd prefer to be making everything myself, for the time being this is the best possible solution I can see! And it does have it's positives with people being able to promote and comment on your designs! 

So without further ado...

Available on all kinds of products! 

You can find the website here: http://society6.com/Elmerchant/Rust-aKd_Print

SOCIETY 6 SIGN UP!

WOOHOO! I'm finally on Society6! 

Check out my designs on some awesome products!

You'll also get free shipping if you decide to buy when you follow the link!

http://society6.com/Elmerchant?promo=01ca38

If you're feeling kind, please share with your friends! <3

FASHION FOR CANCER: Promotional Event Poster

In the past couple of weeks I have been trying to design a poster for a friend, who is putting on a fundraising event for 'Fashion Targets Breast Cancer' - a charity organisation doing some great work at the moment! I thought it'd be a great opportunity to help out in any way I could and was very happy to be asked to create the event poster!

The event will be held in DMU (De Montfort University) Student Union in Leicester on Sunday 3rd November, 2013 from 4pm onwards.  Everyone is welcome and there will be great things happening such as a catwalk showcasing DMU designers as well as outside companies! Plus there's going to be a guest performance from DMU's own cheerleading squad. 

You can find out more about the event and the charity by following the links below the poster! 

Facebook Event:

https://www.facebook.com/events/582038615187958/?ref_dashboard_filter=upcoming

DMU Event Twitter Account:

https://twitter.com/dmuvscancer

Fashion Targets Breast Cancer Twitter Account:

https://twitter.com/FashionTargets

Associated with DMU Square Mile

Effect Test: Watercolour Painting In Illustrator

Continuing with some effects tests in Illustrator I wanted to do another watercolour image.

I used a random face off google for the black features, but then tried adding in tone and depth with different colours and shaped strokes with the built in brush tools.

This was inspired partly by one of my favourite artists, Marion Bolognesi, however I still have a way to go before I reach the standard of art that she produces!

Illustrator Brushes: Making A Watercolour Effect

Inspired by some fashion illustrations I saw,  I decided to try to make some images for a friends poster using the brushes on Adobe Illustrator. I wanted a watercolour effect and tried building up some subtle contour and shading using different brush styles and colours.

The only thing I found, which I didn't like was the fact that the colours weren't that vibrant when you used them with the 'watercolour' effect. Understandably, watercolour isn't meant to be eye-popping anyways but I think it could have enhanced it slightly.

I suppose I could always actually paint an image to get the desired effect, but that's going to be for another time...

Pattern Sneek Peek!

Inspired by some simplistic art work I found online, I've recently been creating a pattern for a competition. I don't want to give too much away as of yet though but here's a little preview of some colour options...

Vector Image Practice

Over the summer, whilst on my internship in a graphic design company it was suggested that I use illustrator as my go-to programme for creating things as everything is then vectorised and easily adjusted / resized etc. When I started, I only ever used illustrator for creating some outlines for sketches that I was planning on taking into photoshop so it was a little daunting for me!

Now, I cant say I've learnt heaps... But I have come to realise how cool illustrator can be and how useful it is! I've always wondered how people create vector images and I guess I'm beginning to finally understand how by exploring the tools the programme provides.

During the internship, all I really managed to create / assist with was some simple logo ideas and putting presentations together for clients. I didnt really get the chance to try making images as such. Since then, I've had a little practice and I decided to try creating a little fox! :)

I originally created him for a design I was working on for a competition but have since decided against using him. Still.. I'm quite happy with how he turned out considering it was my first attempt at vectorising anything properly! 

Onwards and upwards!

Woop! I finally have a logo!

So I was just about to put a small presentation together for a project I've been working on and thought it'd actually be really cool if I could put my own 'stamp' on it sorta speak, so what better way than to make a simple logo for myself. 

I know a few of my friends have already made themselves a little something that they use, I just hadn't got around to making one myself nor have I really needed one in the past. 

Admittedly, the logo itself isn't much at all and it literally took me about 5 minutes to make, but I like it and it will do for now until I can come up with something better (or need something better even!)

The good thing about something this simple too is that you can jazz it up a bit with colour, as and when you need it! Anyways... without further ado... 

Voila!