LETTERING + GRAPHIC
DESIGN LEARNING
Happy almost-end-of-the-week! This week’s freebie is a set of 3 vector hipster badges all as ai, eps and psd files. All free fonts were used in the badges, so just be sure to open the .rtf file included in the download first. Download and install those fonts, then open any of the badge files and they’ll show up the same way as in the previews. Easy peasy. Download link/inspiration ideas for how to use your spankin’ new hipster badges below!
As the summer begins to wind down, things are already feeling busier! I’m finding myself constantly searching for a sheet of paper to scribble notes on, to-do reminders, or phone numbers to call. If this is you too, you might want a prettier sheet of paper to make your list a bit more achievable..I know I do! For that reason, this week’s freebie is a set of 3 watercolor notecard printables – print two notecards per any 8.5″x11″ or A4 cardstock or regular paper. The final printed size for each notecard is 5.5″x8.5″, full preview + download link below!
Have you ever run into a situation where you know adding a little – just a little bit – of subtle texture could take something you’ve done to the next level? This happens to me allll the time, which is why this week I want to give away a couple of vector mini grit textures. Each texture’s grittiness is on the smaller/finer side to work perfectly with more detailed artwork. And because they’re vector, no matter what you use em on, they’ll never lose resolution and can infinitely scale for any size you need them. Check out a few ways you can use them below!
I was going to say a few months ago, but I just checked, and last year (holy moly), I shared some geometric photoshop patterns. They’ve been downloaded almost 20,000(!!!) times, so I thought it might be time for some Illustrator ones! This week’s freebie is a set of 4 geometric Illustrator pattern swatches to use on whatever you please 🙂 I’m also sharing some quick tips + tricks on using them you may not have heard before – read on to see!
In celebration of my brand new Watercolor Texture Kit Vol. 2, this week I’m giving away 3 watercolor greeting cards! Fill them in and use them for whatever you’d like – they’re any occasion and can be printed using any home printer along with 8.5″x11″ or A4 paper or cardstock. The final cut + printed size is 6″x4″ which fits perfectly into any A4 sized invitation envelope. Trim + score marks are included, so cutting and folding are a cinch 🙂
I have been working well into the wee morning hours this past week preparing for my new Skillshare class coming early next week. I don’t want to give it entirely away, but there are some pretty vector elements + watercolor textures involved! I’m sooo excited about the class I wanted to give a tiny sneak peek of what I’ve been spending all that time on! Since vector elements play a big role in the class, I created a monster set of over 100 hand drawn vector leaves and flourishes. This set was created for people who may not want to spend as many hours as I did making them 🙂 Today I want to give away 5 of them for free!
It’s time for another Text Drive post! To be honest, there’s nothing I love typing with more than a beautiful script. There’s something about the way all the letters connect so seamlessly, so beautifully, all at the same time. While brush scripts are definitely in the spotlight these days, there’s something to be said for more subtle, personality driven, simple scripts… Scripts that have *just* enough decoration where you scale them up or zoom out a bit and take them in. Bonus points when you’ve got a great quote to typeset 🙂 As with all text drive posts, here are two similar fonts, one for free (Daydreamer) and one for a fee (Mulberry Script) as well as a little summary of what I love about each and what fonts I’d pair them with!
We may not be fashion designers, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a place for graphic designers with apparel design. At some point in time, the majority of graphic designers have to mock up some kind of apparel to get quoted and executed by a manufacturer. It’s no surprise why – as branding experts, we need to be able to carry a brand through a variety of applications, and especially at events, apparel is key.
I’m currently working on some clothing designs for a company that will be at the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics. They’re in the process of finding a manufacturer for their clothing and had asked for mockups to present to potential manufacturers to get accurate quotes. They sent a few pictures of styles of clothing they were interested in, all at different sizes and resolutions. To keep the focus on the design of the clothing and keep everything similar, I redrew the clothing in Illustrator, then implemented the vector graphics on top. Having redrawn it in illustrator, all the clothing was kept consistent look-wise and the manufacturers were quickly able to see which panels would be printed with design or kept the base color. In this week’s tutorial, I’ll share my exact process for executing a vector t-shirt mockup and also give away 2 free vector t-shirt mockup files!
Happy June! Here in Atlanta, it definitely feels like summer has arrived, and by summer, I mean ridiculous amounts of sticky humidity. Outside of popsicles, which we’ve already created, I was brainstorming another symbol of summer that represents refreshment (instead of stickiness), and for whatever reason (I’m landlocked by a minimum of 4 hours and I’ve never surfed before), a surfboard came to mind. Not only do surfboards represent warmth, summer and refreshment, but they’re also a designer’s dream to work on (fun culture aspect + big canvas). So this week, we’re going to create some super easy, vector paint streaked surfboards in Illustrator using my newest design assets: paint streak textures, 2 of which I’m giving away for free!
You know how you see Christmas decorations when it’s only Halloween? I feel kind of like that with sharing a free printable Father’s Day card today. Well, we are less than a month out, so it’s not as crazy as the Christmas in October shenanigans, so I think we’re cool. I gave away the free Mother’s day card two weeks before the holiday and it had such a great response, I felt bad I hadn’t shared it sooner. So! To make sure the option for a free semi-diy Father’s Day card is on the table earlier on, here it is, along with your 3 week notification the holiday is coming 🙂
If you’re throwing a BBQ or are in need of some summer get-together themed vector elements, this week’s freebie is a set of hand drawn BBQ vectors! Slap them on your homemade sauce and marinades, create some party coasters, rubber stamp them on napkins, or stick them in your facebook BBQ party invite. Whatever you use them for, you’ll be able to ring in summer better than all of your friends. 🙂 Read on for the free download link!
Can you believe Mother’s Day is next Sunday! NEXT Sunday! Mother’s Day never gets forgotten in my family – My mom was born on Mother’s Day (the year she was born, her birthday – May 13th – was Mother’s Day) and then my youngest sister was also born on May 13th, so she was born on my mom’s birthday AND it was Mother’s Day that year! It was so coincidental the local newspaper wrote an article about us, so we still have the clipping of me at 4 years old sitting on the hospital bed with my brother, my 2 sisters, my dad and mom. My Dad’s dad was born on New Year’s Day and my Mom’s dad was born on Christmas – so it actually gets even crazier, but we’ll save that for another time 😉
Anyway! In celebration of moms, this week’s freebie is a printable hand lettered Mother’s Day card. It’s sized 6″x4″ folded, so it’ll fit in any A4 envelope. Send it out early and get extra points! 🙂
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