Lion Licking Lollipop - An Experiment in Handmade Messiness

For a long time, I wanted to find a way to combine handmade marks and textures with digital painting.

I kept watching tutorials and illustrator process videos and collecting vintage illustration references on Pinterest. I love the spontaneity of old illustrations, especially their imperfect textures, uneven marks, and physical quality.

I wanted to bring some of that warmth into my own children's illustrations.

Finally, I decided to experiment

While working on my self-initiated A–Z puzzle project, I decided to stop overthinking and actually try it.

"Lion Licking Lollipop" became my first experiment.

I sketched the character and created the initial color blocking digitally. Once I had the different layers figured out, I created textures separately using crayons, brush pens, colored pencils, and other inexpensive art materials.

From paper to digital

I scanned the textures at 600 DPI, cleaned them up in Affinity, and removed their backgrounds. I then brought them into Procreate, separated them into layers, and added them to the main artwork.

This gave me room to experiment with colors, blending modes, and placement without having to redo the original textures.

Finding the balance

The handmade textures brought the warmth and unpredictability I had been looking for, while the digital layers gave me the flexibility to edit, recolor, and refine the artwork.

That combination finally gave me a process that feels like the best of both worlds.

What's next

I am happy with how this first experiment turned out and plan to continue the same approach with the remaining seven characters.

Once the artworks are complete, I also want to print them and see how these textures translate onto paper.

Maybe I should have experimented sooner, but I am glad I finally did.