Inspiration
Succulicons was created for a college project. I love plants! I have owned a few of the represented plants, and at least seen all the others in my life. Succulents and cacti are special to me, as I developed a love of taking care of these tiny, needy living things.
Icons
Top row (left to right): Saguaro Cactus, Juniper Bonsai Tree, Barrel Cactus, Bear's Paw, String of Pearls, Crested Euphorbia.
Bottom row (left to right): Mother-in-law's Tongue, Houseleek, Ponytail Palm Bonsai Tree, Moonstone, Prickly Pear Cactus, Aloe Vera.
Sketches
As apparent, some of the planned icons I sketched did not translate very well to the digital sketchpad. I am more pleased with the changes I made and the icons pictured at the beginning of this post.
When I started sketching, I began delegating rows to categorized sketches (e.g. Cactus, Flowers, Spines, Detailed). This process helped me figure out what plants I wanted to include to incorporate variety. When comparing the sketches to the finished set, you see that the Easter Cactus, Rat Tail Cactus, and the unnamed sketch next to the Mother-in-law's Tongue did not make it to the en of the creative process.
Drafting in Adobe Illustrator
I tried to include the Rat Tail (top center) and Easter Cacti (top right), but their required details were too noisy. This led to their substitution out for bringing in the bonsai trees, the Juniper and Ponytail Palm.
The Saguaro (top left) and Barrel Cacti (bottom right) had spines that were better left off, but I did feel the barrel needed different spines. I substituted them for a border-style array of spines seen in the final product.
The Houseleek (bottom center) was too noisy as well, with its maroon stroke around each petal.
The Mother-in-law's Tongue (bottom left) was drawn poorly and involved too much noise due to too many leaves and small, sporadic details.
I was blessed to have a wonderful teacher and peers helping through the drafting process who provided the critiques inspiring these changes. Critiques also included points about emphasizing contrast, avoiding trapped space, and maintaining consistency.
PICTURE 1 ABOVE, PICTURE 2 BELOW
Nearing the End
As shown above, these icons may look finished. It is the contrary, and can be seen in the minor details when comparing Pictures 1 & 2. I exercised my artistic control and added circle backgrounds to each icon, changed the look of the MIL's Tongue (bottom left) to be more realistic, changed the spines around the Barrel Cactus (top left center), changed the vase for the Aloe Vera (bottom right), and removed the 'x' spines from the Saguaro Cactus (top left). Additional changes were also made because of insightful critique from peers. Changes include the dulling of the harsh lime color and darkening the green of the Houseleek (bottom 2nd from left) to better contrast the circle background. Picture 2 is the finished product (repeated image from featured photo).
Meeting the Mark
The finished icons represent basic, yet key design principles. Consistency is found in the designated color scheme, design of the vases, and the circle backgrounds. Repetition is seen in the details of the two bonsai trees, as well as in the vase colors across the entire icon set. The icons are all in mostly equal proximity when we look at the circle backgrounds, as some plants protrude their backgrounds more than others. The paths or lines in each of the vases are in a contrasting color to the vase bodies. Lastly, the key points I met were that I designed 12 icons representing things I love in Adobe Illustrator to demonstrate my understanding of the program, vector graphics, and basic design principles. I am pleased with and proud of the finished set.
