Design Style and the Inspirational Cath Kidston Prints...

 I realised before crit that my design style may come into question because it is not  in Kidstons traditional style but it is based of Kidstons lesser known prints. The washed/watercolour background and shading is something that I have taken from the postcard and stamp prints below. The postcard print in particular is where I draw a lot of my visual style from, water coloured/translucent shades combined with a more detailed and intricate black outline atop that helps to define the shapes.

 I really liked Kidston's stamp pattern- again there is an intricacy to the mini designs and a water-coloured faded background colour which are all elements that I have tried to produce within my own design.

 The shading itself within the Kidston Postcard print has gaps of white which I've also tried to mimic within my own design to give it a more fluid feel. The tones sometimes pass over the outline which is evident within the flowers and another aspect I have also tried to include.  

In my initial research I stated that I was going to avoid the Guards design style but I have quickly discovered that I have indeed manipulated a similar black outline that this print uses- although I think its the only design element I have taken from the print.

Drawing the Chandelier...

I didn't originally plan to include the chandelier but I realised that I had six completed elements and that if I wanted to create a more random pattern that I would need an extra element to generate an imbalance. 

 I actually started by shading, using rounded brushes at different opacities to create a swirly chandelier shape (I had already used a swirly form within the tea party table, and the house, so I wasn't worried about using another curved shape).

 I added in the candles which I felt really helped to contextualise the shape. I based the chandelier off of an 1800 chandelier image found on google, but I knew that in order for it to work within my design that I was going to have to add some bright colour. I contemplated making the candles glow brightly like they were actually alight but I wasn't sure how big this element would actually be within my design so I opted not to.

 Since I used blue in the swan pieces, I opted to use the pink in this one- only small hints of it but enough to make it a little bit brighter.

Overall really happy with the chandelier although I do think that its only going to be a small element within the entire pattern.

Drawing the Swans...

I wasn't sure if I was going to include the swans because I already have the peacock element but after some brief experimentation I felt that smaller birds could work especially if I posed them as if they were in motion.  I opted to design 3 (as a general rule I find that odd numbers work better design wise). I made sure that one of them had a curved neck so it had the recognisable swan shape to it.

I started with the outline and integrated a soft darker tone to some of the feathers (I wanted to put the tone in before the white so it was easier to figure out the darker tone). I used a thin pencil brush for the black outline, and a rounded brush at 50% opacity to integrate the tones of colour which kept the colour pretty fluid and blended.

I gave the swans a pale blue tone to introduce an additional warming shade that also helped to make the swans match in colour with the rest of my design, since blue and pink are recurring shades.

Im really happy with my swans, I think that they will add a sense of directionality and I'd like to ideally use them as a framing element within the whole thing. Overall they have a very vintage look to them which is good because Kidston's work is very much based on vintage prints from the 40's and 50's.

Put Together ... so far...

I still need to introduce another mini element to the overall design but so far this is the layout that I have. I plan on adding a slightly darker stroke on the house and possibly a lighter one on the peacock. I am also tempted to introduce a few more letters and I think that the wax seal could benefit from something extra. Despite this really happy with how its turning out, actually very proud. Ideally my colour scheme would stay the same for each element so I'd only have to change the background colour for the required additional colour schemes.

The Wax Seal...

I was very excited about designing the wax seal, I predominately used brushes and simple outlines like most of my elements but it worked particularly well in portraying the indent on the seal. 

I opted to make the piano in a lighter colour in order to generate sense of indent, placing darker lines as the outline helped to further the levels and visual 3Dimensionality of the design.

I have added pink roses on the piano because it looked a little bland without it and I felt that it would benefit from the additional hints of colour.
I love the wax seal its my favourite element although I'm not sure if it needs any additional elements, I plan on adding extras after I've put each design together.

The Peacock...

The peacock was the most concerning element of my whole design and even now Im not fully convinced. I used different opacity brushes to create the overall  soft base tone.

I added texture to the peacock which helped to give it more of a sense of shape. Leaving circular indents for the peacocks feather design.

Adding an overall outline helped to make my peacock stand out against the background and ensure continuity with the rest of my design.

Adding in pink circles completed the peacocks pattern and integrated a key colour. Overall happy but not convinced, I'll use it but I cant help but feel its missing something.

Making the Mr Darcy Miss Bennet Stamp...

The next part of the design that I wanted to create were the Miss Bennet/Mr Darcy stamps. The stamps were actually inspired by the Victorian silhouette photographs but I wanted to give them a Kidston flair. 

I began by drawing out the basic him and her outlines, the sideburns were crucial to Mr Darcy's character, as was the empire line Miss Bennet dress. I briefly considered drawing a bonnet on Miss Bennet to really drive in the 1800 theme but reconsidered because I didn't think the shape was feminine enough and I thought that since Mr Darcy has a top hat it would contrast better.

Tried to keep the shading basic, altering the opacity to generate a soft movement of tone without adding another colour to my 12 shade limit. Included a hint of pink on the cravat, need to introduce a point of colour on the Elizabeth stamp.

I felt like my design looked a little too bland with just the stamps so I opted to include some background letters that framed the stamps, I gave them a wishy washy shade to ensure overall continuity again introducing points of colour to match that on the stamps.

This is my finished stamp design, I opted to add extra lines of colour to finish of the stamps- like thiose that I've seen on stamps that I have researched from the period. Also added little elements of writing onto the letters- Cath Kidston's name, Mr Darcy and Lizzie! I know it wont be seen but I thought it was a more personalised touch. Really really happy with it so far, enjoyed making the stamps more than my previous elements.