Hey, First name / friends!

I’ve been working hard behind the scenes on updating my portfolio with new product collections over the past few months. There are a lot of art licensing trade shows at the beginning of the year, and my agents asked me to whip up some new collections for them to pitch. 

When you’re pitching your work for specific industries, it’s helpful to present a product collection rather than just a portfolio of work. Showing your art on products helps art directors envision how it might work for their brand. 

 

I love curating my existing artwork into cohesive product collections and choosing fun mockups that showcase my art in the best light possible.

 

But I also know that this can be a struggle for some people! So I want to share one of the product collections I’ve been working on for the past few weeks to give you some guidance and inspiration. 

 

 

Here’s the exact Product Collections Deck I created based on their feedback for what art directors want to see.

This particular product collection focuses on kitchen and tabletop items. This was a product category that I was lacking in my portfolio, so my agents suggested I fill the gap! 

 

Think about where there might be a gap in your own portfolio when deciding what product collections to put together. The kitchen and tabletop product category was outside of my comfort zone, but I had SO much fun putting this collection together. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that some cool collaborations come out of this!

Since we’re talking about collections, I wanted to focus this week’s challenge on a collection theme that will never go out of style - florals! 

 

Florals are an evergreen trend, meaning that there is always demand for floral art. A floral trend that’s growing in popularity these days is wild, abundant florals in a chinoiserie or chintz style. Feel free to use this specific prompt or let your floral imagination run wild!

 

I created these floral patterns using references from porcelain pots and china. Now they're featured heavily in one of the collections in my Product Collections Deck! (with a different color palette, of course, because it's all about keeping things cohesive!)

Whatever floral design you choose, it never hurts to add more floral patterns to your portfolio. Share your work on Instagram with the hashtag #CreateWithCatCoq so I can like, comment, and share your work! 

 

I’m excited to see what you create!

 

P.S. If you’re new to seamless patterns, I have a few tutorials to help. 👇

 

 

Blog Tutorial: Make a Floral Pattern in Photoshop with Pattern Preview
 

Don’t forget to share your work with the hashtag #CreateWithCatCoq for a chance to be featured on my Instagram stories and in this newsletter!

 

Speaking of features, here's a look at some of the incredible submissions for our recent Dragon-themed #CreateWithCatCoq challenge. 

I love to participate in these weekly challenges myself, so I whipped up a dragon illustration a few weeks ago alongside all of you! Now, that illustration is featured in my new product collections deck! Did you spot it earlier in the Chinoiserie Menagerie collection? ☝️

 

Just goes to show that these prompts can help you create portfolio-worthy pieces! 

 

We have had more submissions than ever for the #CreateWithCatCoq challenge over the past few weeks. It is so inspiring to see what you all are creating!

 

I encourage you to keep up the momentum and use this as a tool to build a strong portfolio of work.

 

Have a fabulous week!