Hello everyone!
I hope you are all doing well and enjoying some rays of sunshine!
One of my goals this year is to be writing more blog posts (I've only written one article, back in 2020...). I would like to have a nice little place that feels like home, away from Instagram, where every post is so quickly forgotten. Since the platform has officially announced that videos would get the most exposure, it feels more and more difficult to connect with people and keep a good level of engagement. Instagram has changed, that's fine. I see it as a gentle reminder of how important it is to have a website/blog to be able to interact with people who support and appreciate my art!
So here I am, in this article I would like to show you more about the process behind my Spring collection (that will be launched on the 8th of April). It's really the first time I offer such a wide range of products at this time of the year, I usually focus more on Christmas. This year I felt like designing a proper Spring/Summer inspired collection. Drawing so many colourful flowers in the middle of gloomy January and February months felt so nice!
Lots of Spring flowers in my sketchbook
Sketching ideas.
I like the research phase when I draw loosely in my sketchbook. I don't know yet where I'm going, I'm just drawing little animals that inspire me in the moment. I knew I wanted to paint something with rain (I live in Scotland and love rainy days!). A piglet in a raincoat seemed appropriate :)
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Spring is also the season where I go for cycles again. This feeling of freedom, riding the country side roads with fresh wind on my face, after a long winter, is always wonderful! Unfortunately, as a french person living in the UK, I have to say I miss baguettes very much. If you can't eat it, draw it!
Opening the box that contains new greeting cards is always such a joy! Lots of packing work ahead :)
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My most ambitious painting, the garden scene! It had been on my mind for so long, I really took the time to research the composition, colours, characters etc.
If you would like to learn more about the process and see the painting come to life, you can check out my last YouTube
video
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Now, let me tell you a bit more about the products I'm the happiest about, the notepads! I really wanted to design something that could be used either for notes, to do lists or as a writing paper! I'm so glad I finally took the time to design them. And the new exciting thing (for me) is that they've entirely been drawn with Procreate!
At the beginning of this year I finally jumped and bought an iPad! And I haven't regretted it, it is such a wonderful tool! I didn't plan on making full digital illustrations (I love traditional art too much) but I thought it could be handy to sketch, and design some simple things!
I'm loving it, it's been particularly nice while I was working on this Spring collection. I was painting a lot and really saw the time experimenting with Procreate as a refreshing break! It's really useful when it comes to sketching and redrawing, but also the feeling of colouring is very pleasant!
I really love that I was able to draw something a bit more "graphic" than my usual work.
Below you can see the first rough ideas, where it all started!
The other great thing about the iPad is being able to work basically everywhere! I love my little studio very much but I spend a lot of time there and it's really refreshing at times to get away from my desk. I love to be able to work at a cafe for example
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So happy with how they turned out!
I wanted the notepads to be as eco friendly as possible so they're printed on recycled paper, which gives such a nice textured look to it!
It's always a bit scary to release a new product as I never know how popular it will be. I'm hoping these will be successful enough, I would love to design one or two others (I had one in mind with happy insects).
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I wanted to make more stickers too, these aren't particularly Spring inspired but I've been drawing so many flowers lately, it's nice to come back to the basics!
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That's it for today, I hope you liked seeing the process behind the new collection!
Do you like reading blog posts? Or do you prefer going on Instagram to connect with the artists you like? It just feels more homey and personal here, let me know what you think!
Thank you for reading this article! I wish you all a wonderful Spring.
See you soon,
Cécile
Coucou Cécile !
C’est tellement chouette de lire tout le processus et les recherches derrière ta (superbe) nouvelle collection. Je suis amoureuse de la scène de jardin et du bloc-note ! Je n’arrive pas à croire qu’il soit entièrement fait à l’iPad, tu as vraiment réussi à lui donner de la texture et il ressemble à tes illustrations à la peinture. C’est tellement joli. Et puis tu as raison, le papier recyclé a l’air de lui donner un aspect si joli et vintage 😍
Bon courage pour le lancement de ta collection, je suis sûre que tout le monde va beaucoup aimer !
Et puis c’est un plaisir de te lire plus longuement par ici que sur Instagram ! Tu me donnes envie de reprendre mon blog aussi – mais c’est tellement dur de garder le rythme je trouve haha.
Profite bien du printemps, je t’embrasse 🥰
Cécile (coucou_illustration)
I love this little blog, it’s so nice to see all of your sketching ideas! I can’t wait to obtain a little notepad 😊
A lovely blog post! I can understand the freedom having an iPad would give you to be able to create anywhere. Very interesting to see the process! Thank you for taking the time to share.
Happy sunny Saturday Cécile🌻 What a joy seeing the behind the scenes of your wonderful new collection! It’s made this sunny day even sunnier. I think it’s a great idea having your own little corner away from Instagram. Looking forward to reading many more of your blog posts
x A