Contest Entry: Owl and Fragmented Starburst



Large Scale Fragmentation | Results Announced November 16

This week’s challenge will have you thinking larger than life! In celebration of Roostery’s bedding launch, we’re challenging you to create a large scale fragmentation design that would be the perfect addition to your bedroom decor. From deconstructed pops of color to fragments of dispersed light, bring your artwork to life but remember to think big! Entries will be previewed at the yard size: 42″ x 36”. Submissions close November 7  at 3 p.m. Eastern Time. Voting begins November 9. See official rules.

Owl and Fragmented Starburst


This is my entry for this week. The design basically covers a yard of fabric and the neat fragmented starburst goes almost to the edge of the design.  I decided to use a barred owl as my centerpiece, and the patterning is a bit simplified but mostly accurate. The eyes should be completely black in this type of owl, but I think it looks a little less scary with the big yellow irises.

Making this design took a few more steps than normal. I did the background drawing in pencil and went over it in pen before scanning it in.


Then I did my owl sketch, and grabbed a very dark 6B pencil without thinking that it wouldn't erase without smudging and leaving a big mess. 


So I tried to just scan in the pencil drawing, and work from that, but it really wasn't giving me a good quality image in the end. So I ended up printing it out and tracing over the copy with a marker and some tracing paper. The marker sometimes seeps through the thin paper and leaves marks so I used the copy to save the original from damage.


At this point I decided to just make the wings symmetrical on the computer so I only drew one wing. The rest of the work was done on the computer. The starburst took only minor tweaking, and still has the hand drawn lines. The owl needed a new wing and the feathers got doubled, flipped, and scattered around the owl. 



Then I added a background and another layer with my linen texture. It was originally going to be red, but the red and gold with the owl looked a little too much like it was trying to be a knock off of Harry Potter! So I changed it to teal before finally settling on purple. Here's the accidental Gryffindor version:


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Contest Entry: Chocolate Gravy & Biscuits Tea Towel

Image
Chocolate Gravy & Biscuits Tea Towel Family Recipes | Results Announced October 12 Family traditions are especially present during the holidays as everyone gathers in merriment and celebration around the dinner table. For this week’s challenge, share a family recipe that is a yearly staple. Whether it’s Grandma’s famous casserole or the wiggly fruit jelly salad that mysteriously makes an appearance, we want to see what recipe completes your holiday traditions! Entries will be submitted at the Linen Cotton Canvas fat quarter size (27″ x 18”) but previewed during voting as a Spoonflower Special Edition Tea Towel (16″ x 24″). Submissions close October 3, 2017 at 3 p.m. eastern daylight time. Voting begins October 5, 2017. The first thing that came to mind when I heard this week's theme was my family's chocolate gravy and biscuits. We don't actually have the recipe written down anywhere, so I had to ask my mom to write it down for me! We usually just use t
Read more

Contest Entry: Otter Lace

Image
Significant Otters Design Challenge If you’ve ever watched two otters holding hands (oh yes, it exists!) it’s safe to say this mammal has won the hearts of viewers with their otterly adorable appearance. This week we challenge you to win the hearts of the community with an otter-inspired design. There wasn't much direction on this contest. So I went in my own direction and finally ended up with Otter Lace .  The lace was a fairly simple thing to create. The design is mirrored, which means I only had to draw the one half before the computer did the other side. The plan for the scalloped edge was to have it much wider in the middle section, but I decided the single flower between the otter couples looked better in the main motif. The fancy edge was digitally trimmed to match, and the rest of the computer work was spent on the colors. I also played around with a soft teal color with warm gray for a second version of the lace.  
Read more

Blog #12: Rice Sock Tutorial

Image
Rice socks are probably the best things ever for me because of my migraines. Just pop it in the microwave for a minute or so. Put it on your hurt, and presto you have wonderful soothing warmth right where you need it. So with the ever present question of what to make with all my Spoonflower swatches, this was the first thing I thought of. Top view A quick and simple swatch project: rice sock! 1. Measure swatch into thirds. Be sure and only measure the patterned portion. 2. Fold one end to the middle along measured line.( The doubled portion of the swatch will be on the outside at the end, and the bit hanging off the top will not be visible.) Sew along the line that you have measured above, or if you can see through the fabric just sew along the end of the design. 3. Fold the small white portion down and iron. Then flip it over and fold the large portion down an iron the same way. 4. Cut off any of the large portion that hangs over the edge. 5. Fold in raw edges along
Read more