An investigation of French vignettes takes me on a journey to design a collection of wrapping paper, around the theme of All Hallow's Eve. The creative brief was pretty straight forward and the result was several little scenes, knitted into one main design with two additional colorways.
One thing I didn't expect: the sheer amount of fun I had playing wih digital design tools to enhance the pattern. Once the detailed pencil sketches were done by hand, it was open season with layer of digital textures, color and details.
As far as the concept goes, I wanted to explore beyond the usual batch of Halloween monsters such as your typical Frankensteins, ghosts, zombies, vampires, werewolves and the likes.
"Unusual Monsters" Collection- The First Design
The "Unusual Monsters" concept came to me after researching several myths about mermaids, Harpies, and krakens. I remember thinking that it would be interesting to see what kind of interactions different creatures might have in a somewhat refined, french-inspired vignette environment. I thought it could be hilarious on the one hand.
On the other hand, I also could see this seasonal wrapping paper collection being used to wrap gifts or being sold as single sheets at paper stores. One of my mentors even mentioned that this primary design could be a good fit for higher end home decor shops such as Restoration Hardware, West Elm or Cost Plus World Market.
I enjoy both actual shopping and window shopping at these stores when my budget allows it so that gave me a lot of food for thought.
First Design in the "Unusual Monsters" Collection. Printed on Japanese Rice Paper
Boy was I surprised when the strongest visual concepts also turned out to not only whimsical but pretty funny- at least to me! I ended up absolutely loving the final artwork for this gift wrap.
"Unusual Monsters" Collection - Second Design - Pumpkin Backdrop
For the second colorway rendition, I tested a traditional pumpkin background color. It just so happens that it's one of the two accent colors in the original version. In reality, I wanted to see for myself how the design would turn out with a historical colorway. For sentimental reasons, the first version remains my favorite design.
On the other hand, the second layer is pretty clean. Folks who like their gift-wrap paper somewhat spare and more conservative will love this one. It's just not as detailed and layered as the first design. It does feature the majority of the same vignettes.
Second colorway in the "Unusual Monsters" collection- Printed on Japanese Rice Paper
"Unusual Monsters" Collection - Third Design - Tasteful Dark Mode
This last version highlights the final color story of the entire collection. I chose to pull out the blue-gray accent from the "windows" of the central vignette in the original design and make it the main background color.
This time I wanted to convey a small sense of the darker notes of the imaginary narrative and touched upon the more gothic aspects of my interpretation of Halloween while still remaining lighthearted and sophisticated.
Third and final colorway in the "Unusual Monsters" collection- Printed on Japanese Rice Paper
To inquire about art prints in the art shop, discuss licensing this particular pattern or commission new artwork, you can reach out to me here.
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Public Announcement: This blog post is part of a collection of 354+ posts from my original Wordpress blog "Dreaming Into Being" library. I've now retired and migrated it to “Wander & Paint,” my new blog posts at the United Wanderlust art shop. As time allows, I will be reviewing, editing, condensing, updating and releasing a number of these blog posts but not all of them.
Some posts require more precision surgery than others. I'll also probably be publishing new posts as the muse wills it and father time allows. This whole process may take a while but I think these blog post serve as great documentation of my process and reminds me of certain milestones. So, most of them will be made available again- at some point.
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