Hey, First name / friends!

The #CreateWithCatCoq challenge this month is going to be bigger and better than ever! 

 

 

Each week, you’ll get a drawing prompt plus resources for building a strong collection. This is more than a newsletter this month – it’s a weekly mini-masterclass in collections and art licensing! 

 

There are five Tuesdays in July, so if you follow along each week, you'll wrap up the month with a trend-forward mini-collection that's ready to pitch. 

I’ll be keeping the prompts broad each week, focusing on a general cozy winter theme versus choosing a specific winter holiday. The reason for this is purely strategic. 

 

I want to increase my chances of getting my art licensed and sold, and I imagine that’s your goal too! Oftentimes, licensees have very specific goals for the art they’re looking for. I’ve found that licensees have a strong preference for either holiday-specific art (like Christmas) or generic seasonal art that appeals to a broader audience.

 

I have both types of collections in my holiday portfolio, but I keep these two categories completely separate. There is often overlap in the art, but I don’t want to miss out on the chance of getting my designs licensed if a potential collaborator has very strict specifications about what they want.

My prompts this month will focus on the general cozy vibes of winter, but if you’d prefer to make your collection holiday-specific, feel free! 

 

This is your collection created with your unique artistic voice, so the motifs you choose should feel true to you. 

 

Ok, that’s enough setup, let’s get to the prompt!

This week, we’re starting with the main piece of any collection - the hero illustration! I decided to focus on a cozy theme for this mini collection, so my main hero illustration is these sweaters!

 

Each week I'll be sharing a general prompt (i.e. “Design the Hero Illustration”) along with a specific prompt (i.e. "Holiday Sweaters") and you can choose to follow along in whatever way is most helpful for you. Want to pick a different motif? Go for it! This is your collection! 🤗

A “hero illustration” is the main focal point of your collection. It typically dictates the collection theme, and is the perfect starting point when designing a collection. You can have multiple heroes in a large collection, but with this mini-collection we’re going to start with one. 

 

When you think about designing a collection, it can be helpful to have a product in mind. The holidays are a time when people send cards, gifts, and well-wishes, so products like greeting cards, gift wrap, and gift tags are huge sellers in this season. 

 

I’m going to focus my mini-collection on greeting cards, but you can pick any product that resonates with you. 

It’s the beginning of our mini-collection challenge, so this week I wanted to share a blog post about how to plan a collection. 

 

This will help you understand the different elements of a collection like the hero illustrations, secondary patterns, and simple blender patterns. It also walks you through how to plan your collection based on the product categories you want to target!

And if you haven’t already, check out this blog post that walks through the strategy behind mini-collections. It also includes a free tear sheet template that you can use to display the collection you create this month! 

I’m soooooooooo excited to see what you create this week! Don’t forget to share your hero illustrations on Instagram with the hashtag #CreateWithCatCoq  and tag me @catcoq for a chance to be featured in this newsletter and on my Instagram Stories. 

 

I’ll be featuring submissions each week so you can cheer each other on and connect during this challenge! 

 

I can’t wait to see what you make!

P.S. If you enjoyed this newsletter and want to invite a friend to join you in the holiday challenge this month, share this link with them so they can sign up and get the prompts too!