The network for creativity
Join 1.25M professional creatives like you
Connect with clients, get discovered, and run your business 100% commission-free
Creatives on Contra have earned over $150M and we are just getting started
Back to feedPost
Lately, I’ve been spending more time illustrating. Not necessarily with a particular goal in mind, but simply because I enjoy it.
Working as a designer often means adapting to different visual languages. Every project comes with its own identity, references, and expectations. And while I love that part of the process, there’s something refreshing about creating without any of those things in mind.
I’ve started noticing certain patterns in my illustrations. The way I draw faces, exaggerate proportions, or approach particular details. Little decisions that I don’t necessarily think about while making them, but somehow keep appearing.
It’s interesting because I’ve never really sat down and decided what my illustration style should look like. It seems to be something that has developed naturally through repetition, experimentation, and probably a lot of things I’ve been influenced by along the way.
I think we sometimes put too much pressure on ourselves to develop a recognizable style, especially as creatives. But maybe it’s less about trying to create one and more about paying attention to the things we naturally gravitate toward.
There’s something quite satisfying about looking at something you’ve made and seeing a little bit of yourself in it.
The network for creativity
Join 1.25M professional creatives like you
Connect with clients, get discovered, and run your business 100% commission-free
Creatives on Contra have earned over $150M and we are just getting started
Related posts
From AI-generated artwork to a more polished vector illustration.
I tested Ideogram Vector by generating an illustration for a lemon ginger tea packaging.
The raw output was a good starting point, but it still needed some work.
So I converted it into an editable SVG, refined the shapes, rearranged and resized the elements, and added a bit of texture to give the illustration more depth.
Here's a look at the before and after!
What do you think? 🍋
4 voted
9%
41 voted
91%
45 votes
Closed
After is absolutely better it focus on the main image🎉🎉
One Logo a Day | Exploring Geometric Expression
For one month, I challenged myself to design a logo every day. These four favourites share a distinct visual language: bold monochrome shapes, precise geometric construction, and playful use of negative space.
Circles, semicircles, and elongated verticals become the building blocks for expressive symbols. Rounded forms soften the heavy black silhouettes, while repetition creates rhythm and movement. Elsewhere, sharp diagonals and dramatic shifts in thickness introduce a more angular, architectural character.
The series explores the boundary between abstraction and recognition, suggesting familiar objects and gestures through a small number of carefully arranged shapes. Visible construction grids reveal the relationships behind each mark, showing how proportions, alignments, and curves hold the compositions together.
Working entirely in black and white places the focus on form. Each design becomes an exercise in creating personality and visual impact through silhouette, contrast, and space.
The Modern Bestiary — Old monsters, new curses
I found Anton Seder's Das Thier in der decorativen Kunst (Vienna, 1896) on the Internet Archive, in a public-domain scan by the Getty Research Institute: dragons and sea serpents engraved like a naturalist's specimens and framed in gold ornament. I cut five of Seder's dragons into a Recraft V4 Style that draws the creature and the engraving, then built two more Styles from the same archives (Doré's storm hatching, Harry Clarke's white line on black, Seder's own damask and gold) to repaint each plate in two or three inks over black. Chained together, they make The Modern Bestiary: six folklore creatures whose legendary power has become a modern curse.
The basilisk now petrifies you through your phone, the sphinx makes you prove you are human, and Baba Yaga's hut only turns round for the exact password.
Every creature became a full-art trading card. The deck comes with a back, a booster pack, cardboard mockups and a pack-opening film, all made in Recraft Studio; the card frame and text are typeset on top.
🗂 Recraft project: https://www.recraft.ai/project/bbf6a9a5-fbd2-4dd7-a384-1365fe3f0d53
🎨 Styles (anyone with the link can use them):
I · Seder 1896 — https://www.recraft.ai/styles/2ff8402f-d4ad-4fda-a445-12f3f4c6fffa
II · Night inks — https://www.recraft.ai/styles/ed34b145-e226-4098-8b21-1fff449b4b10
III · Lacquer inks — https://www.recraft.ai/styles/e1b93a4a-5277-4d1f-b82b-d19d60bbb8b4
📜 Archive: https://archive.org/details/gri_33125013920190 (full list of 10 references in the first reply)
📣 Social post: https://x.com/builtbykern/status/2116669432323842378
Stunning