This was such a fun project, especially going into the Halloween season! I enjoyed it because I could focus on a couple specific tools in Illustrator. The challenge was using my original sketches as the foundation for my design and illustrating digitally instead of just tightening everything up by hand and using the Image Trace Tool. Which can be tempting.

A Notion for Potions - image 1 - student project
A Notion for Potions - image 2 - student project
Before sketching things out, I went online and tried to get some ideas. It was fun researching all the different styles of bottles and labels. Finding inspiration can be intimidating, but I'm glad I took the time. It made things go more smoothly.

Once the sketches were finalized, I scanned them in and got to work. The Pencil Tool allowed me to keep that same hand drawn quality for those areas I wanted keep a bit looser and the Pen Tool helped me tighten up others. Sometimes it took alternating between one and the other.

A Notion for Potions - image 3 - student project

A Notion for Potions - image 4 - student project
A Notion for Potions - image 5 - student project
A Notion for Potions - image 6 - student project

I thought of giving the bottles a similar overall aesthetic and limiting color palette, but their personalities sort of emerged on their own. They're very different from each other. If I did present all 4 in a single layout, I may go back and modify the colors so they're more cohesive. We'll see...

This was such a fun project and it helped me refine my own technique using the basics. (That Pen Tool can be a real monster sometimes.) There's always more to learn and I'd much rather learn doing something fun like this. :) Thank you.

Lauren Donna Waters

I just wanna do it all.

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