Twelve Wrong Days of Christmas: Four Swimming Frogs

by Tatiana O'Toole

All of these stamps were built using 22.5° angles because I was still in the stage of my illustration journey where I didn't trust myself to do organic linework. From my experience, most designers/illustrators go through this- relying heavily on "golden rectangles" and perfect geometry to get their work just right so other people are somehow hypnotized by the genius of their work. There's rules for sure, but it's more about consistency and constraints and using inconsistency to tell a story. Setting down a believable narrative that the audience can follow and understand and using the abstract to add interest or a dialogue in which people can engage. So I encourage all stuck in that rigid mindset of rules to explore what it means to break established rules, or write your own, and how it helps you grow.