Projects of Happiness

I find that partaking in many of the arts helps my mind slow down and relax.

One of the activities I have been doing is creating designs for print-on-demand sites such as Society 6 and Redbubble. These sites make objects such as beach towels, water bottles, and rugs out of artist's designs.

All you need is a computer, photoshop, a camera, or phone, colored pencils or markers. I have also used some of my acrylic paintings. Some people use watercolor paintings. If you are not a perfect artist a pair of scissors is also useful. A light lead pencil and eraser are also helpful.

I will explain how I do my designs. I am just learning so it is still a lot of trial and error.

Step one- I look for current trends. I look at my favorite shops' retail catalogs. Of course, everyone's sense of style is different. Two images I just finished are a flamingo and a peach.

Step two- Look for reference photos of what you want to draw. I sometimes mix different aspects from two or more photos. To draw the peach I just used a peach I had in my kitchen. The flamingo I looked up photos.

Step three- I drew the object. I used a pencil and eraser.

Step four- Decide if you want to color the background.

a) If you don't draw the background it is easier on photoshop to alter the background color. This allows you to make different color versions of your design. You make the background transparent.

b) I usually draw and color the background. If you make a bathing towel or wall mural it looks like a complete picture.

Step 5- Trace your drawing.

Step 6- Select your possible color palettes or select colors on your own. To research possible color palettes you can go to sites such as https://coolor/col

Or you can just pick the colors on your own. Most artists have a good artist's eye

Step 7- On the tracing paper color in your color selections. You can make several color drafts. Have your friends tell you which version they like best.

Step 8 - Once you have selected your colors. It is time to color your drawing.

Step 9- Time to test your picture.

a) Take a photograph of your completed drawing and upload it to photoshop.

b) Once the image is uploaded to photoshop change the image size to 10,000 pixels.

c) Review your project - On one of my pictures of a peach I put a light pink next to a light orange. It looked great on my drawing but on the computer, the two colors blended together. This had to be changed.

Optional Step 10- Fix the picture. In the picture of the peach, I darkened some of the light areas. Since I had used magic markers it was possible to redo it on the original instead of redoing the whole project.

Another way to fix the picture is with scissors. On one drawing the lines on both sides of the circle were not spaced evenly. It was easy just to use a pair of scissors and cut that section out of my drawing. On photoshop you can enter each object into the drawing individually. Each object is on a different layer.

Step 11- I took a photo of my corrected drawing and changed the pixels to 10,000.

Step-12- Download your image onto the print-on-demand site.

Step 13- Select which products you want to sell. Each company has its own selection of products.

Step 14- Before you sell your first product, you need to order one piece from each company. If you don't like it don't sell it. So far I have had good luck.

Step 15- Use your products to redecorate your house and reorganize your closet. I bought a Vida scarf, which I had designed. Time to get rid of other scarfs, I had not designed. I also bought from Vida a bag with a pattern I had designed. To Goodwill - my old grocery bags. Hopefully, other products will work out as well.

Once you receive your finished products, you will have at least two other fun projects worth pursuing at a later date.