As I mentioned last time, I was going to step away from coding for a bit and do something more creatively relaxing. I could have worked on the assets for my dress-up game, but that has no deadline. Something else did feel timely though. This month I am saying farewell to someone who has supported me through a really important chapter of my life. I wanted to mark that with something personal — so I set myself the goal of drawing her a special illustration as a thank you gift. 💜
The perk of being the creative friend is that you can make something meaningful without paying a premium for it. 😄
I had already given her a fairy sticker for Christmas, which she really loved. So a special fairy felt like the right fit. Her name is Iris, so I knew I wanted to include those flowers. The first version came out okay — but the irises were just my generic way of drawing flowers. I had not looked up any references, and honestly it did not read as irises to anyone else either. 😅 So I took some time to do proper research, find good references, and rework the background flowers. I think it made a big difference!
You can see the full illustration in the gallery: Walk in the Forest 💜