Katalyst Design Emporium

This week, I spent a lot of time working with the gradient mesh tool, which is something I still find very intimidating. I wouldn’t say I’m confident with it yet, but I’m starting to understand how it actually works. The more I use it, the less scary it feels, even if it still fights me most of the time. Every time I think I'm getting the hang of it, it reminds me that I still have a lot to learn. The hardest part was using gradient mesh to make an illustrated self-portrait. I was getting VERY comfortable using the tool on banners to show movement, but faces are brutal. Every tiny color shift or misplaced point showed immediately. There were a lot of moments where it felt wrong, and I wasn’t sure how to fix it, but slowing down helped. I had to pay more attention to light, shadow, and subtle color changes. I’m still not fully comfortable with gradient mesh, but this week made it feel a little less daunting. We've learned so much over this month, and I'm really looking forwa...

The “Title First” Exercise Time: 3 minutes Materials: Paper or notes app (optional) Steps: Write down 5–10 imaginary titles. They can sound like books, artworks, songs, posters, or exhibitions.  Don’t explain them yet. Just titles. Pick one title that feels intriguing. Give it meaning.  In 2–3 sentences, describe what this thing actually is (a story, product, artwork, concept, etc.). My sentences: “How to Miss a Train on Purpose” “A Manual for Almost Decisions” “Things I Learned From Standing Still” "The Shape of Waiting" "Notes I Never Sent" My example: Title: “A Manual for Almost Decisions” Meaning:   An illustrated book that documents moments where you almost did something (almost quit, almost spoke up, almost left), and what those moments reveal about hesitation and choice. What I learned:   Starting with a title instead of an idea flipped my normal creative process. Instead of searching for the body concept first, the title's language itself became the spar...

This week really pushed me to slow down and actually learn Illustrator instead of just messing around and hoping for the best. The gradient mesh tool has been the biggest eye-opener. At first, it felt intimidating, but once it clicked, it totally changed how I think about shading and depth. I started seeing how my flat shapes could feel more dimensional and intentional. The pen tool also became less of an enemy and more of a precision tool. I’m still not perfect with it, but I’m way more confident placing anchor points on purpose instead of guessing and hoping for the best. I learned how to use the pen tool to make smoke, which I am SO excited about. Somehow, smoke becomes a theme in a lot of my work, so this will be very useful knowledge to have moving forward. The Seven Deadly Sins project really tied everything together. Not being able to use text forced me to think outside the box and rely on visual storytelling, which was honestly a lot of fun (and frustrating...in a good way) . I...

I chose to do Project 6 in the textbook, which was to create a candy box design. I had a few ideas, but overall decided to keep it simple. I took inspiration from the candy store in Harry Potter, Honeydukes. I wanted to convey a cute, whimsical packaging that was easy to read and wasn't too crowded with a background design. I wasn't sure how closely we were supposed to follow the book's assignment and how far we should stray, so I did a little bit of both.  I based my candy idea on Butterbeer served at Universal Studios, a vanilla butterscotch beverage topped with a marshmallow-flavored foam. I used the rectangle tool to create the stripes and added a transparent square to make the text more visible. I used a custom font for the candy company name/logo and the "butterbeer truffles" banner. I really experimented with the gradient mesh tool for this assignment! This was my first attempt at a double banner, so I knew I had to get the shadows placed correctly, or it w...

This week, we were asked to find a unique way to represent 1 of the 7 Deadly Sins. I chose to represent Wrath, which  is characterized as " uncontrolled, excessive, and vengeful anger, distinct from righteous anger, that seeks harm, leading to violence, hatred, and destructive acts like murder or feuds, rather than justice. It's characterized by rage, a desire for vengeance, and a loss of reason, transforming normal anger into a deadly sin that poisons the soul and clouds judgment" (Google AI Overview) . I chose to depict a porcelain mask, void of emotion, to represent the societal mask and the initial control over a person's anger before it transforms into wrath. The concept is that behind the mask, the rage/anger turns to wrath and breaks through, destroying the mask. I thought of the phrase "rage boiling over" while I was creating this, which gave me the idea to learn how to create smoke that morphs to represent demon/devil horns (representing the point o...

This week, I revisited the 30 Circles Challenge to see if I had improved since my last attempt. Doing the 30 Circles exercise more than once showed me that creativity gets faster with practice. The first time I tried it, I hesitated, overthought, and worried about coming up with “good” ideas. But each time after that, the ideas came quicker, and I stopped getting stuck on perfection.  What surprised me most was that I wasn’t just repeating the same concepts; I was coming up with new ones. The exercise didn’t make me more repetitive, but instead, it made me more flexible. I learned that creativity isn’t about originality in one big moment; it’s about building speed, confidence, and range over time. The more I've practiced, the more natural it feels to generate ideas. Get your free blank version here to try it yourself:  30 Circles Worksheet (FREE)