I took George Bokhua's Skillshare class, Logo Design Fundamentals: Simple and Solid Brand Marks. It was about finding the minimal essense of an animal figure. For my project, I chose an ostrich. An uncool bird I want to challenge myself to feel differently about.
( Check out the full story on Skillshare here: http://skl.sh/WGWUU5 )
Getting aquainted
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/b5e95afdca7c8c2a950f1b83a07c3861/2a588705d398c017b51600b8_rw_1200.jpg?h=786173b2c11442a1265de124d5301edc)
I started out with a sort of acquaint board—something that helped me get familiar with this animal I hardly knew. Understand where joints where and such. Spot their universally distinguishing features—you know, what about them makes you and I see an ostrich and not mistake it for a turkey or flamingo.
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/b5e95afdca7c8c2a950f1b83a07c3861/47514b95a0f14ad8778ea76c_rw_1200.jpg?h=99e24468fe9ab34e051ccd27f14862cd)
And of those pics, here's the one I thought would be the makings of a winning silhouette for my lanky bird.
Tracing and sketching and tracing
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/b5e95afdca7c8c2a950f1b83a07c3861/2131c3a24c9c29e8742d1a12_rw_1920.jpg?h=71bf8e8e40b288d7201bef4832de63b3)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/b5e95afdca7c8c2a950f1b83a07c3861/201f146a14e848a8a042311b_rw_1920.jpg?h=0819ee943a65e35b781f61d0a7409be8)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/b5e95afdca7c8c2a950f1b83a07c3861/92c5af8fffef6f2240129884_rw_1920.jpg?h=a71688949bf1d047fed2dc490414a140)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/b5e95afdca7c8c2a950f1b83a07c3861/42fb6c48a13bc80ea783f0c2_rw_1920.jpg?h=88152d7c5c39d6d9e2cab5ed93250ab6)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/b5e95afdca7c8c2a950f1b83a07c3861/f0fe92d8b7e39c25cc49a00b_rw_1920.jpg?h=2dba5bcc482d59850ac7468cf9b4e5fe)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/b5e95afdca7c8c2a950f1b83a07c3861/0cdbaa22c2bf4d0c5751d4ee_rw_1920.jpg?h=4914267e79cfe18b6d5686558d48cd18)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/b5e95afdca7c8c2a950f1b83a07c3861/3fb6740a005e35b89b185e32_rw_1920.jpg?h=f45634e1052489768ae983d510ef5422)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/b5e95afdca7c8c2a950f1b83a07c3861/d5e3506f390425098451dadc_rw_1920.jpg?h=3aea22a366c7a87c8f2fa84676d0aaa8)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/b5e95afdca7c8c2a950f1b83a07c3861/6663815ca9001e84a45f0fa0_rw_1920.jpg?h=9914bd719faea96a784709313d8af35a)
Tracing and sketching as much as I did was a great experience. I got really intimate with my bird, its curves, joints, posture. Every trace brought me closer to understanding the figure's essence allowing me to shed more and more details.
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/b5e95afdca7c8c2a950f1b83a07c3861/25a48ce6d997aecc68a7c5c5_rw_1200.jpg?h=2f7164f5ada59bb4176455733d3c09a4)
Here's how my chosen sketch went from paper trace to Illustrator trace (thanks in LARGE part to my 11-year-old daughter and illustrator-in-training, Cady!).
Finishing up
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/b5e95afdca7c8c2a950f1b83a07c3861/d773f06033cd802cf6d62435_rw_1200.jpg?h=d220f72bb4d1e3fa1fd45af52153baeb)
Being quite satisfied with the shape and flow that was established in the hand sketch/trace phase, I only needed to finish up with several pushes and pulls to get the lines and shapes to my liking. Here's what Ola (yes, she needed a name) looked like in the end.