In this assignment, I am introducing myself to my tutor by sending a ‘greeting card’, telling my tutor about myself, my interests and inspirations, the material I feel happy to work with and maybe what I would like to get from the course.

Where to start?

In my sketchbook, I have jotted down anything that comes to mind on how I would describe myself.  I wanted to find the keyword of the fundamental mood or personality I wish to convey to my tutor.  After jotting down eight A5 pages, I have come to realise that a greeting card is usually 5 x 7 inches and has very little writing space.

The next step

With limited space to write everything I wanted to say, I am rather going to express it through illustration in the artwork of the greeting card.  The brainstorming has resulted in the following key points:

• I can consolidate the mood and personality in this greeting card into three words.  Friendly, Personal and Thankful.
• It is going to be a 5 x 7 inches card.
• I will illustrate who I am and the material I feel happy to work with through the artwork and then write a short message to introduce myself. 
• It will be a handwritten card to keep to the ‘personal and friendly’ feel, and the colours will be bright and fresh. 
• Strelitzia is the national flower of South Africa, so that will be included in the illustration as well.  I am from South Africa.

The illustration and my workflow

The illustration will be hand-made paper cuts that I am going to photograph and scan into Photoshop.  In Photoshop, I will select and mask each piece, transfer it to Adobe Illustrator and convert the parts to vector.  I am building (not drawing) the illustration in Adobe Illustrator. The finished work will be in vector, easy to resize and use for different applications.  Leena Kisonen’s work inspired the illustration idea. 

The Message:

“Dear Mrs ……………….

My name is Wyna Erasmus, and I am new at OCA studying BA(Hons) Communications.  Illustration 1 is my first unit of this degree pathway.

I have enjoyed doing art in my free time and have done a Graphic Design, Photoshop and UI & UX Design course this year.  Now that my children are older, I would like to do what I am passionate about and obtain my degree.

I am looking forward to your guidance in my design journey.

Kind regards,

Wyna Erasmus.”

Overall, I have enjoyed this assignment, but I will consider a simpler design for the front of the card next time.  I had to change the colour scheme halfway through the design because it looked like a Christmas card with so many bright colours. I am happy with the outcome and is looking forward to the next project.