I am SO in love with illustrations. You know what I’m talking about – those drawn depictions of business owners, families, or homes that have so much personal meaning to them and everyone looks so cute drawn out into cartoon(ish) form.
My friend Kori draws just such illustrations. Her business is Motley Illustrates and man, is she talented! I first met Kori when she was a wedding photographer and she hired me to work for her. She’s always had such an incredible eye for detail and *tad* bit of perfectionism and I SO admire that about her. Recently, she was able to draw an illustration of my family and I thought it might be helpful to see the process from start to finish in case you’d like to order one as well. Here’s how we began:
Who’s Included, What Do They Look Like, and What Are Their Interests?
To start off with, Kori wanted to know how many people would be in it. Included in it would be my husband, myself, our son, and daughter. I talked about how my husband likes super heroes and working out, she knows I’m all about the food and travel, our son is baseball all day every day, and our daughter is sweet, silly, and sassy. I also sent her this photo so she could see our proportions. The cool thing about her work is that she can position the illustrations in any angle or pose, she just needs the photo in order to get the sizing of everyone together correct.
…and so the drawing began. The entire process was done through text message and she would ask me questions during her office hours and I would think about my preferences and reply when I could. Then, when she was back in the office, she would respond again. It worked out really well to be able to respond on my own time and not feel pressured to give her answers right away.
Discussing Every Detail
During this texting back and forth, we discussed movement and body positions and backgrounds. She asked about whether or not I wanted a house or some kind of something behind us and I jokingly said Cinderella’s Castle (we’re big Disney fans around here). Well, that ignited something in both of us and this thing took on a Disney life of it’s own.
Also, she would send me updates of what the drawings looked like so I can gauge whether or not what I had pictured in my head was what was actually ending up on the paper. Speaking of paper, it’s not really on paper. Everything is actually done digitally, so it’s so much easier (and faster) to make edits and revisions. She used to draw and color everything by hand on paper and I can’t even imagine how long that took her to do!
So, this is the first drawing she sent me.
Yes, it’s a very rough outline, but I could already feel the excitement building. Because Kori is so creative, she was able to take my crazy ideas (like little girls with fairy dust and little boys riding magic carpets) and make them a reality!
Updates Throughout the Whole Process
Next up, time to add in some more details – you know, like actual arms and legs and stuff. She also added in our dogs at this point (because why not?).
At this point, we talked about whether body proportions looked right, what should be on our shirts, and other fun little details.
Getting All of Those Details Together
Everything was really starting to come together now. All of those fun little details I had in my head were actually there right in front of my face and it was coming together even better than I ever could have dreamed. Now was time to get the details all confirmed. The type of Tinkerbell dress my daughter would wear, how on Earth we could get my son’s love of baseball and Hei Hei (from Moana) together in a cohesive way and how to make sure my husband’s arm looked playful and not like I was in a headlock. Lol.
After some revisions, here’s what we came up with.
Let’s Color This Thing!
Y’all, at this point, I’m head over heels in love with this drawing already. It shows everyone’s personalities and character and its not even colored yet. Speaking of colors, she sent me to her Pinterest Board for color palettes to choose from. For me, this was actually the easiest step of the whole process. I’m always drawn to these same certain colors, so I chose this one.
Bringing it All Together
Now that the colors have been chosen, she then got to work making everything look cohesive and have the same colors as the characters we were depicting (the rug, the dogs, Hei Hei, etc). She also adds shading at this point so it looks more lifelike and more three dimensional. After she had that stage done, she sent me this.
I’m so happy wish this, I *might* have squealed in delight when I opened my phone and saw it. It is such a great depiction of everyone involved and let me tell you, it was the easiest family portrait we ever took! Ha!
All That Magic Needs A Castle
Now it was time to add that magical castle to that started it all. She sent me these two options below and I opted for the more detailed one (but both are equally amazing).
After a few more little touches, the moment you’ve all been waiting for…the finished product!
Our Family “Portrait”
And that’s it! It was a couple weeks of just making decisions, going back and forth about my preferences a bit, and lots of creativity and skill on her part.
Why You Need One
- In traditional family photos, getting everyone looking cute, happy to be there, and smiling is not always going to happen.
- Traditional family photos take time that we sometimes just don’t have.
- Illustrations allow for our imperfections or things we just flat out don’t like about ourselves to be simply “erased”. So if you’ve put on extra pounds or you don’t like your wardrobe, this is the way to go because every outfit looks great on every illustrated person!
- It’s more passive than traditional family photos. Yes, it involves answering some questions, but it’s nothing compared to finding coordinating outfits for everyone in your family, doing your hair and makeup, trying to keep the kids clean in the car ride on the way there (how do they always get dirty?), and your husband will be happy he doesn’t have to go anywhere or dress up!
- Zero stress!
- She can draw these from anywhere. Location is not an issue. She will not need to meet you in person.
How To Order
Motley Illustrates already has a waiting list. So if you’re looking to purchase an illustration of your family for Christmas, Mother’s Day or another holiday that is months away, NOW is the time to order it. You won’t pay until she actively starts working on your piece.
All communication is done through Instagram. So if you’d like to get started, are interested in pricing, etc. Go here to her Instagram Page.
Bonus for those who have already ordered: She also will be selling add on holiday packages for those of you who have already gotten an illustration done. So Christmas decor, lights, etc. can be added to your piece she’s already drawn for a fee and you can more easily use it for your Christmas cards this year or gifts. Here’s a look at some Christmas ideas she can do for yours:
If you’d like to see more gifting ideas like this, follow me on Pinterest!
