Merry Christmas!

My pastor recently asked me to create some art for the service bulletin on Christmas Eve.  He wanted me to base it on the theme of light.

I had much fun playing around with textures in this piece.  I also might use it for my own Christmas card.

New sketchbooks

Today I picked up some new sketchbooks.  Once I have sketched a bit I'll share some of my new work.
Happy Thanksgiving!!

Cookies on Fab!

I just learned that the packaging modifications I made for a cookie company are being sold on Fab!
Check it out: here

New Turtle Painting

I decided to take a break from my jellyfish painting and start a new painting.  I'm continuing with the theme of sea life, but this time I'm starting with an orange underpainting.  Here is my progress so far. I'm going to paint patterns like my jellyfish painting by painting on the top of the basic blocks of color.

Jellyfish Painting : Background Finished

I finished the background on my jellyfish painting.  I'm excited to paint the jellyfish next.

Fun with Fox : Fall Dish Set

Here is my Fun with Fox : Fall Dish set.  It goes with my Fun with Fox : Summer Dish Set.  I had fun creating this especially since it's fall.  I adjusted the colors since I posted the illustration.

New York City Map Illustration and Wall Decal

I visited New York City this summer and loved it!  Recently I was prompted to make an illustration with the theme of 'contemporary cartography'.  I decided to take inspirations from my trip and transform it into a map.  Below is my illustration and a mock up as a wall decal.

Update:  This is now available as a print and wall decal on Society6!

More Progress on my Jellyfish Painting

I'm excited to be done with the background soon.  I really want to paint the jellyfish!

Fun with Fox : Fall Illustration

I finished adjusting the colors on my Fun with Fox : Fall illustration.  I can't wait to mock up this piece on a plate set like my Fun with Fox: Summer Dish Set.

More Progress

Here is more progress on my painting.

New Painting In Progress

Hi everyone!  Sorry for my lack of posts, I was travelling for a few weeks.  I have returned and am excited to get back to work.

I've started work on a painting and can see this piece becoming part of a series.  This piece is really exciting for me because I am starting to incorporate pattern into my illustration work.

Here are photos of my sketch and my current progress.  

I'll keep you updated as I keep working.

Printsource New York

Last week I visited Printsource New York.  It was very similar to the Surtex convention I visited in May, but this show was smaller in scale.  Compared to Surtex I personally felt that people were friendlier and more approachable.  Both conventions are great to visit be cause there is so much inspiring work.  It is also great to see trends in the market, see how designers and studios are marketing themselves, and make connections.  Printsource happens three times a year and it's free to attend (you just need to sign up at least two weeks in advance).  Surtex happens in May and you need credentials to attend as well as pay a fee.  I highly recommend going to either convention if you are interested in surface design.

Summer Sunglasses Beach Towel and Tote

Summer is here and I thought I would celebrate the season by designing a beach towel and tote.  During the summertime you can always find me with a pair of sunglasses, which became my inspiration for this set.

Here is my Summer Sunglasses Beach Towel and Tote.

This design originally began as an acrylic painting I made (below). After creating the painting I took the basic shapes and colors and translated them into digital.

I think I will do more acrylic paintings as sketches because I love to work traditionally as well as digitally. 

"Hello" Stationery

I made this stationery for young women set based on the word "hello".  After I created the pattern on the notebook I created the dot and stripe pattern to complement it.  The set includes sticky notes, a notebook, an envelope, writing paper, and a diary.  To view the picture larger click on it.

Rip van Wafels Packaging Design Modifications

I'm excited to show you something I worked on this past January through early spring.  I modified and designed the packaging of the cookie and the box for Rip van Wafels.  I learned so much about working and collaborating with a client as well as improved my typography and graphic design skills.  I'm really pleased with the design and it's so exciting to see it as an actual physical object being sold!

The cookies are very delicious and if you haven't tried them I highly recommend it!  You can visit the website and order a box here.

Cookie packaging

Box packaging

Front of box

Side of box

Back of box

Top of box

120 Film

One of my favorite creative hobbies I have is taking photos with 120 film.  It is larger than standard 35mm film and it is a square format.  I love the surprises that come with using film, including not knowing how it will look until sometimes many months later when it's finally developed.  The photos I take are usually spontaneous and small snippets of every day life.  My favorite subjects are architecture, animals, and interesting lighting situations.

My two cameras that I use 120 film with are my Lubitel 2 and my Diana F+.

Below are a few photos from my most recent roll of film (it was a bit of an unusual roll of film for me because I was taking some tourist photos of Venice).

Spine and Pelvis Drawing

Today I drew a spine and pelvis while I had some free time.  It's always important to practice anatomy because it can be so challenging.

Twitter, Behance, and RISD Portfolios

Hello!  I wanted to let you know that I have a Twitter and Behance account that I will be updating regularly.  Feel free to connect with me. To follow me, my Twitter is @ClaireLordon and my Behance is here.

Recently my Pomeranian Illustrations were featured on the RISD portfolio site, which is part of Behance.  The featured projects are curated and I feel honored to have been chosen. How exciting!  

If you would like to visit the RISD portfolio site it is http://portfolios.risd.edu/.

Website update

I updated and reorganized my website with some of my latest works.   Check it out here.

RISD Commencement 2012

I graduated on Saturday with a BFA in illustration from RISD. It was a weekend filled with fun celebrations (and rain!).  I'm really going to miss RISD and all the wonderful people.  Watch out world, here I come!

Onstage receiving my diploma

Sea Creatures Stuffed Animals : Updated Fish

I updated the fish in my sea creatures stuffed animals collection.  The button eye wasn't consistent with the crab and octopus, so I changed it.  It is a more cohesive collection now.

Sea Creature Stuffed Animals

My professor in my Putting It All Together class was very impressed and happy with the exhibit panels that I made.  He told me for my final assignment I should have fun and create something for the gift shop.  I decided to make cute stuffed animals based on some of the illustrated characters I drew on the panels.  I thought a crab, an octopus, and a fish would make excellent stuffed animals that children would like, and I had fun designing and making them!

Note: Updated fish here

Here are some few in progress photos making the crab.

I forgot to take progress photos of the fish.  For the octopus I loosely followed this tutorial here.

SURTEX

This past weekend I made it down to New York City to go to the SURETX convention.  The SURTEX convention is the nation's premiere surface design show where artists go to have their work licensed by manufacturers.  I had a great time and enjoyed seeing all the art and design work - it was truly inspiring.  It also was great to talk to people in the industry and get some advice.  The show was also enjoyable because it included admission into the National Stationery Show and the ICFF (International Contemporary Furniture Fair).  I went to the show with my friend Sam Cole and you can see her beautiful work here.


Unfortunately photos were not allowed inside, but here are a few I managed to take.

The Javits Center

SURTEX with it's purple and neon seafoam colors

There were tons of magazines to pick up.  They are excellent reading material, but at the same time they added about 10 to 15 pounds to my bag!

On a side note, I ate at Chevy's and loved their graphic design and illustrations on their menu.  The color is awesome too.

Hello New York City!