One of my favorite ways to celebrate the changing year is by starting a fresh calendar. I like to switch it up each time. For 2017, I had a New England Fall Foliage Photography calendar hanging. It was beautiful but this year I was looking to take another direction. I want 2018 to be different.
My cover girl is armed with coffee and ready to take on the new year!
Some time last winter I began tossing around the idea of creating a Fashion Illustrated calendar. I enjoy sketching mini collections and series and although art is fun to hang alone, I'm all about functionality. Putting together the pieces in a monthly calendar gives them purpose.
May is on her way to a music festival.
As this year went on I continued to sketch pieces for the calendar here and there, and in between other projects. Some of pages were designed specifically with a month or a season in mind. Others fell into place by coincidence afterwards. I actually had a few different options I was playing with for July but in the end, I chose the piece that fit in best with the style of the other months.
July's channeling beach vibes in a flowy summer dress.
My favorite sketch in this calendar is probably October's. I'm partial to the colorful leaves and the layering. This one started as a pencil sketch. I scanned it and digitally went over with my bamboo tablet in Photoshop. October's sketch actually wasn't made with the calendar in mind but it fit right in.
Pumpkin spice latte in hand!
There are a few different drawing methods sprinkled through out the months. January, July, April, September and November were digital drawings done completely on a tablet using the Autodesk Sketchbook program. This is a new style of sketch I just started experimenting with this year. It's a bit quicker and cleaner than the traditional way. I intend to explore it more in 2018.
The September group is ready for Fashion week
Through the entire process I was constantly showing the calendar to friends and getting feedback. I came to the conclusion that not everyone hangs a wall calendar. Some people stick to an office desk calendar. Others keep a planner instead. I wanted to make my calendar relevant for those friends as well so I reworked it into a few additional formats.
The stand alone Easel Calendar features each month on an individual card. The cards sit together in a wooden base.
I also added a printable planner download and formatted it to fit most standard planners. There's a download for 8 x 10 printing too for those who aren't planner savvy.
All of the formats are available in my Etsy 's calendars tab
I want to know what your 2018 calendar looks like? Share in the comments below!