Hey, First name / friends!

We're squarely in the middle of January at this point, but I feel like there is still so much exciting New Year's energy buzzing around! There are so many new faces here on this weekly newsletter, so I wanted to start out by saying a big warm WELCOME! 🤗

 

Every Tuesday you can expect a colorful, lighthearted, and value-packed newsletter straight to your inbox. I love to share freebies, resources, surface design insights each week, but the star of the show is the #CreateWithCatCoq challenge! Each week you'll get a new drawing prompt to help you build your skills and create an on-trend portfolio full of gorgeous illustrations!

 

Here are just a few of the incredible submissions from last week's #CreateWithCatCoq challenge! Click on the photos to check out each artists' Instagram post and show them some love! 

This month, we're focusing on trending motifs for 2024. This week's #CreateWithCatCoq challenge is to create an illustration with a coastal theme. Think, seashells, turtles, coral, and nautical vibes. Seashells, specifically, have been a rising trend for the past year or so, and I expect that they'll be even bigger this year! 

 

Share your coastal illustrations on Instagram with the hashtag #CreateWithCatCoq so I can like, comment, and share your work! Be sure to tag me @catcoq too so I don't miss it. Don't forget, you can submit work to the challenge using whatever medium you prefer. This prompt is here to help you hone your style and grow your portfolio, so make it true to you! 

 

Here are a couple examples of coastal motifs in my portfolio! 👇 (Pssst…this is an excerpt from my free 2024 Trend Report! Read on to download it for free!)

Speaking of 2024 trends, I have an exciting free resource to share with you! I put together a 2024 Trend Report of a few of the motifs that are going to be hot this year including some ideas for how you can incorporate them into your own portfolio.

 

As surface designers, it's important for us to stay on top of trends. When you design with trends in mind, your work has more commercial appeal which means more potential for landing licensing collaborations and ultimately – more sales! 

I'm so excited for you to get your hands on this trend report. Let's ride the wave of energy and momentum that comes with the start of a new year, and make 2024 the year you create a trend-focused portfolio filled with art that will sell well!

I hope you enjoy this trendy freebie, and I can't wait to see what you make for this week's #CreateWithCatCoq challenge! 

 

Have a fabulous week!