December 20, 2025 : Tis’ the Season – For Another Holiday Card
Another year, another Holiday card (9 years strong, baby). Much like previous iterations, there was a time crunch. As such, I wasn’t overly ambitious with things.
The one hurdle I had this year was placing the photos how I wanted within the house silhouette mattes. Having the subjects properly centered often resulted in the photos not covering the full matte, which then resulted in the house shape not getting filled. To address this, I used Photoshop’s Generative Fill to extend the photos so the houses could maintain their shape. A much easier task these days with AI.
posted by Pi Visuals at 12:50 am
Tags: Holidays , Illustrator , PhotoshopComment
December 25, 2024 : Tis’ the Season – For A Gingerbread House Design
This year’s Holiday card was a bit of a rush job – due in part to the lateness of Thanksgiving but mostly because of a personal obligation. Specifically, the construction of a new house that is wrapping up. I leaned into said obligation as inspiration for the card and created a gingerbread rendition of the blueprint (the bottom is cropped out to remove our address).
The process was very straightforward. After looking around online for some inspiration/references, I jumped into Illustrator and designed everything in there. I wanted the simple illustration look so there was no need to go into anything else (such as After Effects of Photoshop). Overall, I like how it turned out. Particularly given the concept and my availability. Happy Holiday, all!
posted by Pi Visuals at 12:52 am
Tags: Holidays , IllustratorComment
December 23, 2023 : Digital Candy Cane Breakdown
I really liked how the candy canes turned out in this year’s Holiday card. It took a few steps to get to the end result so I figured I’d share the progression:
I ended up using After Effects – technically, the base shapes were done in Illustrator when I was creating the card’s general layout, but this could have easily been done in AE as well. I’m sure Photoshop would have been just as capable, but I used a fair amount of mattes, masks, and blending modes; and I am more comfortable doing that in AE.
Originally, I was planning on going with a more illustrative look so I could have easily stopped at #3 or #4; but as I kept working through things, I liked the realistic look more and more. The shadows/highlights really helped achieve the look I wanted, but I think the unsung hero that really sold it was the noise layer.
posted by Pi Visuals at 12:34 am
Tags: After Effects , Candy Cane , HolidaysComment
December 15, 2023 : Tis’ the Season – For Digital Candy Canes
Another year, another Holiday Card. For those keeping track, this is the seventh year I made one with/for the family. Here’s number 7:
Every time it seems like a rush job; but by keeping things simple, I feel it was pretty manageable this year. As always, there are a few things I would have liked to tweak a little more, but overall I’m pleased with the end result.
I’m a big fan of the candy canes, which were created in After Effects. In fact, the whole card was done in AE (with a splash of Illustrator) versus using Photoshop. This was mostly due to my comfort level with the software, as I’m sure it could have been done easily in PS. I plan on writing up a quick post describing the steps. It wasn’t too complicated but there were a series of layered effects, which gave a solid look.
posted by Pi Visuals at 12:04 am
Tags: After Effects , Candy Cane , HolidaysComment
January 21, 2023 : Tis’ the Season – For An Overdue Post About A Holiday Card
I meant to crank out a quick post last month highlighting the most recent Holiday card, but I guess I never got around to it – which is weird since this Holiday season wasn’t particularly busy. Well, better late than never:
The theme for this last year’s card (number 6, by the way) was locked in pretty early. The same goes for the layout and photos. However, there was a lot of back and forth with the coloring and smaller design details. I’m used to tweaking things to death, but this one seemed more than usual. Either way, I was happy with the final product – and a few ideas were even brainstormed (and documented) for next year.
posted by Pi Visuals at 12:08 am
Tags: HolidaysComment
December 10, 2021 : Tis’ the Season – For A Simple, Yet Quaint Holiday Card
In addition to the normal Holiday hubbub, I also took on a side project. Even with things being so hectic, I still made time to create this year’s Holiday card:
This marks the fifth straight year of making the card, which I’m proud of. Although, I must say this year was light on design. In fact, I had a more detailed background in earlier versions but pulled it back to the more simplified one seen above.
That said, I still like the overall aesthetic and its message. I suppose the people in the photos aren’t bad either.
posted by Pi Visuals at 11:54 pm
Tags: HolidaysComment
December 11, 2020 : Tis’ the Season – For This Year’s Holiday Card
During the Me and Me wrap up, some time was allocated to this year’s Holiday card:
The lift was minimal, compared to previous years; but it was nice to hop into Photoshop… it’s been too long. Small projects like these serve as a good break.
posted by Pi Visuals at 11:42 am
Tags: HolidaysComment
December 24, 2017 : Holiday Card – Scrapped Versions
For the first time ever, I made a Holiday Card this year. Below is the final product:
Overall, I like how it came out. Much like what was discussed in my previous post, there were several major versions required to get to the above – even though this was a personal project. One of the earlier iterations had a Snowman. It was very simple, but I liked it’s feel and was disappointed with not being able to use it.
The ornament overlay works better with the mosaic look of the other photos, but I enjoy the cartoon look of the Snowman. It was made in Illustrator, and I intentionally excluded edges. I didn’t think they would mesh well over the photos. Ultimately, it was the right call to not have the Snowman, but perhaps I’ll think of a use for him in the future.
posted by Pi Visuals at 12:14 am
Tags: Holidays , IllustratorComment