As the festive season approaches, Caran d’Ache would like to introduce you to the wonderful and colourful world of Julie Adore.
This young French illustrator has a real gift for transforming everyday objects into enchanting works of art. Inspired by nature and the world around her, she injects beautiful colour into her work using colour pencils, both dry and as a watercolour.
Now you too can take inspiration from her vibrant work, as she shows you how to create your very own personalised greetings cards.
In the digital age, it’s important to nurture your creative side. Making your own greetings cards is a way of reconnecting with yourself. It gives me great pleasure to create something unique for someone I love – to take time to think about them as I draw and imagine their reaction when they receive the card.
What do I need to get started?
YOU WILL NEED:
• A practice sheet
• A blank card (you can buy one ready made or make your own with a folded sheet of card)
'To give my card a wintry feel, I've chosen 'cold' blue colours for the foliage, brown (burnt sienna) for the branches, red (scarlet) for the berries and (spruce) green for the smaller leaves.'
Julie Adore
STEP 2: PRACTISE, PRACTISE, PRACTISE
Using your brown pencil and practice sheet, practise drawing some slightly curved lines for the branches; then try some red dots for the berries and blue ovals for the leaves.
Then practise putting them together. Start by drawing some branches, bending to the left and right along an imaginary line. At the tip of each branch, draw an oval leaf in alternating shades of blue.
STEP 3: COMPOSE YOUR FINAL DRAWING
Once you are confident, you can reproduce your design. Use a light coloured pencil (e.g. grey) to draw a circle on your card (using a glass or other round item).
Compose your design along this line exactly as you practised in step 2.
STEP 4: WRITE YOUR GREETING
Write your greeting in the centre of the wreath, either by hand or using stamps if you don’t like your handwriting.
Decorate the inside of the card with another branch in the same design.
Three questions for Julie Adore
Why do you make your own Christmas cards?
In today’s digital age, I think that it's important to send handmade cards because they allow us to express our creativity and reconnect with ourselves. The finished card is unique and is a breath of fresh air after all the emails and texts that we receive every day. The person who receives the card will be really touched that you spent time creating something just for them.
Where do you find your inspiration?
The natural world is a constant source of inspiration for me – the colours, shapes and endless combinations. Whenever I’m out walking, I collect ideas that inspire me to put pencil to paper. It’s important to be curious, keep your eyes open and pay attention to the little details because inspiration is everywhere.
What are your preferred drawing instruments?
I love drawing with Caran d’Ache's SUPRACOLOR® Soft Aquarelle pencils and NEOCOLOR® II water-soluble pastels. I really like the quality and high pigment concentration, as well as the depth and brightness of the colours.
What is your favourite technique?
For my Christmas card, I decided to draw a wreath using the ‘Doodling’ technique – a method of drawing flowers that I explain in depth in my book “Doodling créatif” [Creative doodling]. They are simple, repetitive designs that look great and are easy to reproduce.