Newest Work

Fun with Copics

copic-cat A grey cat for a grey day (at least where I live.) Lately I’ve been trying to get better at working with Copics, so here’s a post in which I geek out about markers.

I received an important tip, courtesy of a local artist, that solved an issue that had been bugging me for some time. I bought some markers that I thought functioned the same as Copics — Faber-Castell artist pens. I kept trying to get a blending effect as seen above, but instead kept getting this:

sit

The lines wouldn’t blend, but would create transparent but visible layers. Turns out not all artist markers are the same! Faber-Castell pens are made with India ink; lovely to draw with, but they do not blend. You need alcohol-based markers (which Copics are) in order to get the colours to blend. Copics kind of behave like watercolours and it takes a lot of practice to manipulate them well.

A small revelation, but you have no idea how exciting it was to finally discover the right tool for the job. And if drawing really fluffy cats isn’t the best way to practice with Copics, I don’t know what is.

Summer Solstice Postcard Design

solstice-2015 Summer’s just around the corner, guys! At least, it feels that way to me, as I’ve been absolutely barreling through these last few months.

Here’s a postcard I made for Sugar Swing’s upcoming Summer Solstice Swing Dance Festival. Solstice is a party weekend in Edmonton where the dancing goes until sunrise both nights. It’s insane. Here’s a quick video (scroll down) if you want to see what that’s about!

As for the postcard, the colours and imagery are meant to remind you of long summer nights, spent staying up late and goofing around. Dance photos were snapped by local swing dancers Krystal Moss and Chris Kuchmak.

You Might Like: Paris DJs

parisdjs1 Happy Easter, everybody! Things have been busy with the aforementioned church-to-ballroom conversion, so I’m trying to catch up on my blogging.

I’m deviating a bit from Edmonton-local stuff and introducing you to an online wonderland of music: Paris DJs. I discovered it while hanging out in an Edmonton cafe, so it kind of applies. This site is the place to explore if you’re looking for tunes from easygoing genres like reggae, funk, and soul to play at the office or whenever you’re working.

Paris DJs describes themselves as an International Music Bureau; they’re Paris-based music producers who specialize in reggae/dub, afrobeat, soul, hip hop, and all kinds of jazz and funk. Their well-crafted compilations are posted online for your streaming pleasure, along with artist info and links to buy the music you’re hearing.

There’s at least one place in Edmonton that benefits from Paris DJs: my favourite cafe hangout, Cha Island. They get my vote for best atmosphere, so one day I finally had to ask the staff where they found their music.

Here’s a playlist I recommend to get you started, perfect for your reggae and dub needs. Scroll to the bottom of the page to find the media player. Take a moment to admire the album artwork too, because this record label does that really well!

This Disco Used to Be a Cute Cathedral

reno1

I’m taking a moment to brag about an incredible project I was a part of for the last few weeks. In addition to freelance graphic design, I help run my husband’s company, Sugar Swing Dance Club. Sugar Swing recently leased a former church building just off Whyte Ave. (in Edmonton, Alberta). It’s an aging, cathedral-like space that needed a lot of love before people would want to dance in it. At 8000 sq. ft. with crazy vaulted ceilings, the building posed a hefty challenge! Over March I joined with a team of absolutely amazing volunteers to transform a crumbling but stately old church into a gorgeous dance hall called the Sugar Foot Ballroom.

reno2

From the design end of things, I was particularly happy for the help of Maggie Sisson (she’s the lady in the white shirt). Maggie is a talented dancer and interior designer who donated her time to advise on how to use our space to best effect. This included thoughts on paint colours, lighting, and layout, among other things. They’re not as visible in the photograph, but those chandeliers were sourced by Maggie and are one of my favourite details! I’ll try to get some photos up at a later date of some cool bits and design choices for the space.

Panoramic shots courtesy of Matty Lovegrove, and overhead shot by Michael Thome.

My go-to stock photo sites, if I have to, I guess

stock-image
They’re not my favourite resources to work with, but sometimes stock photos are your best shot for a professional-looking design. Photography lined up specifically for a project, while an absolute treat to work with, can come at a hefty cost. Professional photography is a powerful investment in your business, so go this route if you possibly can! But if you’re really strapped, stock photos can come to the rescue. When my clients ask where to get stock photos, there are a few sites I recommend the most.

These sites are my go-to’s because they offer the most value for money. They by no means offer the best, most artistic photos; rather, their pictures are usually just fine for the job at hand. Need a beautiful street scene, or a family photo that doesn’t look like it’s from a Sears catalog? Head over to Veer or Getty Images, and pay the big bucks. Need a picture of a snowblower for a brochure about community bylaws? These more affordable sites of have got you covered! Ranked from least recommended to most:

Dreamstime: I noticed this site pop up when iStockPhotos started raising its prices. Decent selection, okay prices. But Dreamstime has a very clunky site that makes searching for the perfect photo tedious.

Shutterstock: Higher prices, but better quality images and best selection for what you’re paying.

123RF: This lesser-known site is the cheapest stock image provider I’m aware of. It’s perfect for when all you need are simple photos (landscapes and such). In fact, if you persevere in your searching, you’ll find some people photos that aren’t half bad either.

When to use stock photos
In my experience, stock photos work best when they’re of landscapes, objects, backgrounds, and action shots. They’re trickier when you need close-up shots of people — the pictures available often look unnatural, to the point where they have inspired many hilarious Tumblrs, listicles and this genius Unfinished Business stunt. When you do need stock photos of people, take your time searching and choose carefully.

To help you on your way, here’s a handy table that lists the pros and cons of 10 different stock photo sites. It might be a bit out of date, but gives a good impression of what each provider’s strengths are.

Celebration Sketch

10Years-sketch

This is a sketch I made to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Edmonton’s Sugar Swing Dance Club. It features all of the dance paraphernalia a person would typically see at a Sugar Swing event — dance shoes, water bottles, hats, etc. As I mentioned before, I like drawing letters and gave it another shot here. This was made with ink pens ranging from 0.3 width to 0.05. Sans the text and zero gravity, this is pretty much what Sugar Swing’s lost and found looks like!

You Might Like: Scotch Tasting at Happy Harbor Comics

scotch-tasting I’m excited to announce that the 2015 scotch tasting season has begun at Happy Harbor Comics! March 28 brings what will probably my favourite tasting yet: the heroic edition. Tasters must try to guess which famous comic heroes and villains would prefer which scotch, and of course sample it for themselves. Each pairing comes with a collectible card made by one of two Edmonton artists, featuring artwork of the character enjoying his or her drink of choice.

Edmonton’s friendliest comic book store hosts these tasting events a few times a year. Each one features a silent auction to raise money for charity; the event in March will support Team in Training marathoners for cancer research. For a good cause you can treat yourself to some geek-friendly artwork by local artists along with other auction goodies.

There are limited spots, so get your tickets quick! If you can’t make it in March, there are two more events on June 20 and November 7. More details about the event are on Happy Harbor’s website and on the Facebook event page, and you can contact the store to reserve your spot.

Hand Lettering Project

typographic-sketch This is a recent typographic piece I made for a friend, and it features hand-drawn letters. I’m trying to get better at drawing letters in different typefaces. This one was made with one gold pen and ink pens of varying widths, with the smallest being 0.1.

You Might Like: LADY GEEKS UNITE

Continuing my plan to expose you to Edmonton’s weird and wonderful subcultures, today I’ll tell you about the meetup group LADY GEEKs uNITE (LGN).

LGN provides a safe, welcoming space where ladies can geek out about comics, games, movies, and other pop culture of a geeky nature. The monthly meetups are usually hosted at Happy Harbour Comics. Men are very welcome to attend as the guest of a lady.

Past events have included board game nights and a screening of the documentary She Makes Comics. I once attended a silent auction for charity, which featured some gorgeous art prints that were snagged and brought home from various comic cons and expos.

Even if you can’t make it to all the events, the Facebook group is really fun to be a part of. The admins post fascinating articles about female artists making a name for themselves in geek-type industries (comics, superhero movies, etc.); I’d recommend joining the Facebook group just to liven up your feed with lady-centric success stories.

Some fun events coming down the pipe for LGN: Just around the corner on March 5 is Drink n’ Draw, a casual night to sit around with fellow artists and draw/write/create while you enjoy a beverage. Next is the She Hulk book club — if you’ve wanted to get into comics, or back into comics, this a great place to start! Read She Hulk Vol. 1 Law and Disorder, then meet with the geeks to chat about it on April 2.

Head over here to join LGN’s Facebook group, or here to check out their blog.

Friendly Reports for the Town of Devon

devon-report

It’s been a busy time for the Town of Devon, so I have another project to show you. The Town has been developing its parks, culture and recreation master plan, which requires a lot of community engagement. I had the opportunity to design an overall look for the plan that gets applied to all reports and communication pieces; the most recent piece was their interim report. Over the last few months, the Town surveyed residents about Devon’s rec facilities and programming. This report presents the results and was circulated in the local newspaper as well as posted on the Town’s website.

Devon wanted their master plan “brand” to have a down-to-earth, home-grown feel that welcomed residents to participate in plan development. I used the old-fashioned football “game plan” markup to further the idea of a strategy that connects the folks of Devon to arts, culture, and recreation.

Designing the report involved styling various graphs and charts to match the master plan brand, and generally making the content as friendly and graphical as possible. Fun fact: adults in Devon average more than three times the minimum amount of sports and rec activity recommended by the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology.

If you’d like a closer look at the report, you can see it on the Town of Devon’s website here.