Psychedelic Cat Design

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Here is the process behind a portfolio piece I have been wanting to make for a while. Looking at my portfolio, I thought that I needed a solid piece that displays my talents. While studying, I tend to sketch out little drawings from time to time. After going through my notebook, I found this character I drew in late 2016. I decided to take these doodles and turn it into a fun looking mascot character; with a mandala for the background.

Print Design

I began by updating a rough sketch I found in my school notebook.

Next, I took the sketch into Adobe Illustrator to create my vector shapes. I started with the cat centerpiece, then worked on the triangular centerpiece.

Once the full outlines were created, I began to work on a rough palette. After completing the full design, I returned to my centerpieces to make the colors exact.

The hardest part of the whole project was setting up the mandala. I knew I wanted to incorporate both cat and psychedelic objects; thus came the slow process of combining together both themes into one cohesive piece.

The next part was quite simple, all I had to do was add the centerpieces to the mandala.

Before completing the design, I felt it was necessary to frame it. To make the corner pieces, I took objects from my mandala and fitted them to a straight edge.

Close-Ups

Final Designs

I originally planned for the background to be tie-dye though, I felt that it would become too convoluted. So, I switched it out for a complementary color scheme. The background is also a lava lamp.