The greeting card industry is a $7 billion industry, with about $1.6 billion coming from the holiday market. Many people now are celebrating secular holidays or do not observe Christmas within a religious context. I decided to illustrate the traditional carol 'The 12 Days of Christmas' in a series of Christmas cards. This solves the problem of wanting to send a greeting card to someone who possibly doesn't observe Christmas religiously or is tired of the traditional cute imagery often associated with Christmas.
![A Partridge in a Pear Tree](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/272d465a-bc62-422a-98b7-734e558a056c/13b45dd1-b60d-47bb-9f2e-30545f13d5e9_rw_600.png?h=265c1cf7e14614c9f2a8189fa5f612fe)
A Partridge in a Pear Tree
![Two Turtle Doves](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/272d465a-bc62-422a-98b7-734e558a056c/13d211be-b960-48a4-a6c3-7e94b4f39ea6_rw_600.png?h=408ffd197a5d0fff61a792580b042334)
Two Turtle Doves
![Three French Hens](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/272d465a-bc62-422a-98b7-734e558a056c/71847714-b049-4808-ba4e-2b0c444fa3a2_rw_600.png?h=50b8dc01e1aa2b16cd1372fde1ad0145)
Three French Hens
![Four Calling Birds](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/272d465a-bc62-422a-98b7-734e558a056c/986f46fe-99cd-403c-8b65-7e1d430315ea_rw_600.png?h=4a10bc64226453b1ad20ed9cdc1c37bd)
Four Calling Birds
![Five Golden Rings](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/272d465a-bc62-422a-98b7-734e558a056c/03651100-d8c2-4dba-b5d3-7a90efb8df45_rw_600.png?h=6171e2998ae34ab2156a9db837fe2c3e)
Five Golden Rings
![Six Geese A-Laying](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/272d465a-bc62-422a-98b7-734e558a056c/4da2c15b-ff86-4363-a802-24e2fd855e03_rw_600.png?h=4c1013d8a6adddae698c8f34c0202514)
Six Geese A-Laying
![Seven Swans A-Swimming](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/272d465a-bc62-422a-98b7-734e558a056c/85a5aeb7-62d2-40f9-bd2c-28728458e680_rw_600.png?h=b5abe74b961295c6aa60ac744474cf4e)
Seven Swans A-Swimming
![Eight Maids A-Milking](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/272d465a-bc62-422a-98b7-734e558a056c/d4ff8309-27f7-416d-9153-b766c254b7d1_rw_600.png?h=a5926ab2419b4a8185f13ce3eb7fdb79)
Eight Maids A-Milking
![Nine Ladies Dancing](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/272d465a-bc62-422a-98b7-734e558a056c/74223b78-5d26-4ef0-a29c-79975a9c6e06_rw_600.png?h=9babd93c263f919ed85658f83cf3a61f)
Nine Ladies Dancing
![Ten Lords A-Leaping](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/272d465a-bc62-422a-98b7-734e558a056c/2a7f8ea7-423f-436f-867f-8d2705668e3b_rw_600.png?h=0cc29545b4f20820ee4b1b8aea05dc06)
Ten Lords A-Leaping
![Eleven Pipers Piping](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/272d465a-bc62-422a-98b7-734e558a056c/9e922b2f-3f41-4106-a530-94b844841855_rw_600.png?h=c810f1b52b582a708f87a7592eb95c1f)
Eleven Pipers Piping
![Twelve Drummers Drumming](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/272d465a-bc62-422a-98b7-734e558a056c/a2336e77-471d-4003-9ac5-f722e182e1a6_rw_600.png?h=e61aaa06d7fe8e308aefac2593900db8)
Twelve Drummers Drumming
Women traditionally are the largest share of shoppers in that market with millennial-aged women recently making up a large, and growing, portion. They are favoring a more expensive, personalized, and handmade product. The make and design of these cards were chosen to appeal to the expressed desires of that demographic.
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/272d465a-bc62-422a-98b7-734e558a056c/0274d60f-9951-4560-9c3b-4534fbc32e9c_rw_3840.jpg?h=0ae4c931c4ea2d1aaa87b5fb3423e336)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/272d465a-bc62-422a-98b7-734e558a056c/4ca23ab3-d8ff-49bc-978d-87d014cf058d_rw_3840.jpg?h=6c6e05de187f607223f1b33ba34f43c6)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/272d465a-bc62-422a-98b7-734e558a056c/39c29933-4069-4e48-aec0-dc6d45055609_rw_3840.jpg?h=f53850045599c47ae578890e8cb0cdd3)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/272d465a-bc62-422a-98b7-734e558a056c/e31d75b9-aeda-4d40-be42-19669489a467_rw_3840.jpg?h=e200c7fb69299aeae28db55af7ca2bce)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/272d465a-bc62-422a-98b7-734e558a056c/fdb591d1-383d-4509-9c15-075f3c3e3498_rw_3840.jpg?h=fc6491e0dc2de16d51f99d3c5318ecd0)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/272d465a-bc62-422a-98b7-734e558a056c/31071c08-2a24-4046-b1e3-f0a14f423e05_rw_3840.jpg?h=5e99fb139854764a937ae75aecb9ebf8)
The design of these greeting cards was meant to look as if they were hand-printed aquatints. To do this, I first brainstormed compositions for each image while being aware of the fact that they had to appear consistent in illustration style and color. I then created a palette using neutral colors reflective of the season, with a few accents of bright yellow and red. In addition to this, I also created several custom brushes to mimic hand-drawn lines and I also created a group of texture overlays to recreate the irregularity that can be found on aquatints.
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/272d465a-bc62-422a-98b7-734e558a056c/397f39a2-9461-445a-8474-35c94784ca52_rw_1200.png?h=d705f4a19e29f07b9656108239c30280)
![A person holding a greeting card with the illustration of a dove carrying an olive branch.](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/272d465a-bc62-422a-98b7-734e558a056c/e74fa403-8757-443d-baaa-cfc51b4ee1f6_rw_1200.png?h=cb23feeff0d20084fe31a9bd936c7a85)
![The front and interior of a greeting card. The illustration on the front is of a person in a suit playing bagpipes.](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/272d465a-bc62-422a-98b7-734e558a056c/410c933d-730c-4153-88bc-413d2995ad23_rw_1920.png?h=18762cea7f0fd2d0853bdbc6b88b5db9)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/272d465a-bc62-422a-98b7-734e558a056c/fa41889f-d266-4713-9d9c-6eb5341ee374_rw_1200.png?h=9b55d5b4dc2bac2fffd671fc45a065b6)
![Framed illustration of a partridge in a pear tree surrounded by holiday decorations.](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/272d465a-bc62-422a-98b7-734e558a056c/4a7388a3-6f01-40a6-8a5e-f2bb45c9a006_rw_1920.png?h=3e6eda867dc1c4fe0d710eb5b898ee6e)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/272d465a-bc62-422a-98b7-734e558a056c/92efeb9d-35cd-4275-a996-3642b6b5edaf_rw_1920.png?h=f217446026c2ed3481f8ff2b1f684395)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/272d465a-bc62-422a-98b7-734e558a056c/62176056-3377-4ca3-badd-2f80c367cc83_rw_1920.png?h=47f9ac37725ac004112787f453cd35b3)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/272d465a-bc62-422a-98b7-734e558a056c/a2282747-e3f8-42ea-ba45-c9ef41ca4f14_rw_1200.png?h=538048400f2b7bfe8e992e1ee63b6562)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/272d465a-bc62-422a-98b7-734e558a056c/8b01450b-4aba-4be1-8323-906e2c3d8491_rw_1200.png?h=706fb50aa59484ae3b9586999043594a)