Nuts and Bolts: Custom Corner: The Ultimate Snowman.
December 28, 2019
Nuts & Bolts – Custom Corner: The Ultimate Snowman
With my 2019 card hot off the press, I’ve finally taken some time to review my family’s 2018 holiday card created by GCU artist Dale Simpson.
Having been mesmerized by the movie The Greatest Showman, I had circus on my mind. Comparing a busy family to a colorful circus is not a huge stretch of the imagination. But to make the circus holiday themed would have been challenging if it weren’t for GCU artist Dale Simposon Design’s adorable juggling snowman. Easy snowman, showman. The world’s greatest snowman was obvious as the ringleader. Then think sideshows, spectators, daring acts, and all the makings of busy family life is right there.
Thankfully, Dale was up to the challenge and as of December 11th quickly began working on the concept leveraging her Master sketching skills.
Circus Design Inspiration:
Cover Image Sketch:
Now for the inside, where it becomes a family act and the cast of characters with photos and costumes as examples for Dale’s amazing sketching of caricatures:
See the finished inside below which is a full bleed 10×7 image that I uploaded to the inside of the card just like any shopper can do with an image/photo. I adore the layout, colors and fun family caricatures. The two important things to mind with the inside image are 1. the fold line so nothing really important is positioned on the crease and 2. the outside margin allowance so nothing along the edges gets trimmed.
A standing ovation to Dale making sure that our show must go on last year and entertaining our friends & family with this action packed design.
Dale shares this about the design process:
I hadn’t had a store on Greeting Card Universe for very long when Mindy contacted me in December to enquire if I could create her family Holiday card. She had seen a Juggling themed Snowman design of mine and wanted a Circus Themed card created. With the time limit it was a little scary but sometimes a deadline is good for us creatives! Although I haven’t seen the movie “The Greatest Showman” (Am I the only one?) the image had that vibe, and with a Circus theme an illustrator can indulge in rich colours which is always fun and very much suited my natural style. The inside of the card proved to be more complex content wise so I opted to illustrate in a more cartoon style with slight caricatures of Mindy and her family again in a circus theme, which I’m sure raised a giggle from them all. I think it all came together nicely in the end and she seemed to be delighted with the design to send to her friends and family.
The difference is made in the details!
Mindy
GCU Community Manager
GCU Community Manager
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Cool card! Well done! 🙂
Thank you! Dale was amazing!