I've started a new style of design because Pastor Jason, the lead pastor at my church, had idea to have the church's core values communicated in a creative way.

Was I interested? What did I think? 

Jason showed me an idea he had that he had photocopied from the web. 
Subway art...I'd love to give that a try. Type design...my favorite!


So I jumped on the computer immediately and scrawled through dafont and began downloading fonts. Sort of putting the cart before the horse, really. 
It can be done, but it usually takes more time to construct a design plan without going to the sketchpad first. Paper and pen that is.
Just a side note: after working on Illustrator or Photoshop I find it interesting/amusing when after being accustomed to the luxury of just quickly deleting an error...I forget for a millisecond that I have to physically use an eraser to take care of my errors. I know, weird...but some people can relate out there.

I've gotten into a bad habit of jumping into a project without sketching it out first on paper. It's important to take time to sketch out ideas before opening up design programs.
Even though for me the finish project doesn't always look much like the sketch; it opens me up to a different thinking process. I tend get into a 'hurry up' mode when I first receive an assignment; self-inflicted by letting that little internal voice of doubt we artists tend to let overshadow us. Getting all inwardly (sometimes outwardly) in a state of feeling rushed and creatively crippled is my signal I need to back off and shift gears down.  Sketching slows me down and helps me regain the more reassuring, encouraging inner voice that helps me enjoy the work. 

Besides being able to work with my favorite subject-Type! and my favorite software-Illustrator! I liked the challenging of Pastor Jason trusting me to gather the words I felt defined the main core value statements.

The artwork was printed on 26x21 inch wrapped canvas. I would post the finished work but I wasn't able to capture a very good photo of them on the wall in our church office lobby.

I have three more to create and hopefully they will be finished by end of August.

Be on the Lookout...Work in Progress

First, the sketch. It takes time to have a good feel for placement as well getting spacing and balance right.
At first I tried to get every part of every character to match up. Such as, every e looking exactly the same.
I decided my graphic design  exactness was getting in the way of the more whimsical feel I was trying to create. So I relaxed more and it and was a lot easier...and more enjoyable.

It's was the first time I replaced my thin sharpie with a Micron pen. I'm not that happy with the .01 as it bent not too long after using it. After using a sharpie with other projects, I wasn't used to needing a lighter hand. 

I'm using colored pencil but
also thinking about coloring this
Photoshop for different look.

I penciled in the doodles first, then inked them in. I started with just a little bit of design, inked them in and then built on that. I like to watch the design grow by adding on in steps.