I did my first birthday chalkboard! I really, really wanted to do one of these, they are so adorable every time I see one. This job was referred to me because the calligrapher that was slated to do it wasn’t into illustration. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do so I started looking up fox photos and came up with some “lockup” logo options that I would use as a focal point for the board.
The client wanted a “Foxy One” theme…
After the client selected the lockup she liked, I got all of Gabriel’s information… All his “firsts”. I’ve seen boards PACKED with this info but you have to be careful that each block of type/info is neat and legible or it can quickly turn into a mess!
I do it with powder chalk and there is a LOT of erasing involved!
After this I ink the board with Posca chalk markers. There are a ton out there and I can say I like Bistro brand as well but Posca’s are absolutely perfect for chalkboard surfaces. I’ve yet to try some of the newer brands but I would say that I’ve tried Versa Chalk and Chalk Ink brands and they dry out much too quickly. If there is a remedy to this, I’d love to know, let me know in the comments!
The thing with Posca brand markers is that they dry quickly so you need water and a small roundhand brush if you’d like to blend the inks like I did with the leaves. You can really get some nice effects with this method.
…And this is the final. I was pretty proud of this one since it was my first of this kind! Hope to do more of these!