I got inspired by the abundance of swirls while looking at some beautiful hand engravings recently. Learning metal engraving is something I hope to pursue soon. Lots of swirls, scrolls, and floral ornaments are likely about to sprout around me soon. Before that, however, I wanted to do something for the holidays. Something simple and cheerful to celebrate the end of the dreadful year 2020. And voila, this holiday lettering with swirly details was born.
Some backstage details. The initial sketch and inking were done in Autocad SketchBook. A pretty awesome free drawing app. I love sketching on an iPad as I can do it in a completely dark room if needed. And needed it is indeed, as drawing usually happens in the wee hours of the night. I then drew it all in vectors in Affinity Designer and refined the details. I got so frustrated with the Affinity Designer iPad app UI for controlling line thickness, I had to switch to desktop to finish the work. After adding a red background and a jingle bell for a more cheerful mood, I also used a free phone app called SNOW to add some sparkle.
Wishing everyone jolly and sparkling holidays!
