Hey, First name / friends!

The majority of my art portfolio is inspired by my surroundings. And since I spend most of my time living in tropical locations around the world, a lot of my artwork features tropical or jungle motifs. But when I’m working on a new illustration I don’t just look to my environment for inspiration. I also try to marry that inspiration with motifs that are current hot trends or evergreen trends. Simply put, I want to make sure the art I’m creating for my portfolio has as much purchasing potential as possible.

 

This was exactly what happened when I painted this jungle cat. 👇

I had visited an animal sanctuary with jaguars and other big cats, so I thought it would be fun to paint one. But then I wanted to check and see if that was motif was a strategic one from an art licensing perspective. So I checked my two favorite sites for trend forecasting - Anthropologie and ModCloth - to see if they had any jungle cat products on their sites. Their audiences align really well with mine, so I know that if they’re selling a certain motif, it will be a good fit for me too. Lo and behold, I saw jungle cats all over their websites!

 

This jaguar has become a top seller for me and it continues to get picked up for licensing collaborations even though I painted it years ago!

 

Your challenge this week is to illustrate a jungle cat of your own! These big cats have been trending for a few years now, so it’s a great motif to add to your portfolio. Share your illustrations on Instagram with the hashtag #CreateWithCatCoq so I can like, comment, and share your work!

Want to learn how to draw a leopard in Procreate? Check out my class, Draw Animals in Procreate! This class is a two-for-one…

 

You’ll learn how to draw an animal from a reference photo in Procreate, but you’ll ALSO learn my top tips for art licensing success. I give a full walkthrough of my process for choosing trending motifs, so you can learn how to create artwork that’s not only beautiful but will sell well.

 

Check out the class and get ready to take your Procreate surface design skills to the next level!

 

Here are just some of the illustrations from last week's #CreateWithCatcoq metallic challenge! It was so fun to see how everyone used the metallic textures differently. 

 

I can’t wait to see all your leopards, jaguars, tigers, and jungle cats on Instagram this week! Don’t forget to share your work with the hashtag #CreateWithCatCoq! 

Have a fabulous week!