Christmas Stamp Illustrations by Larissa

The holiday season is around the corner. I enjoy this period very much because it invites me to look back on the whole year while looking forward to the new year. Plus, it’s always fun to draw lots of Christmas elements.

This time, I have created a set of four Christmas stamps, which are made in the same style (color shapes and line details). I like creating illustrations in series because it’s a good way to practice a certain illustration style. It helps bring the entire series together cohesively.

Christmas Stamp Illustrations | About the Series

Ideation

I planned the series in color sketches. At first, I planned to draw just one object in each stamp. I kind of stuck to this plan in the end but also made a couple of changes: I drew the second stamp as three Christmas baubles instead of one, and I drew a Christmas wreath instead of a Christmas bell in the last stamp. In fact, I also tried drawing a gingerbread house before I settled on the idea of a Christmas wreath. But in the end, I believe the following subject matter in each stamp would better suit my illustration style for this series, which is to use color shapes to construct the subject matter, and then draw line details on top: a Christmas tree, three Christmas baubles, a snowman, and a Christmas wreath.

Christmas Stamp Illustrations | Sketches

Creating the Christmas Tree Stamp Illustration

I started the series by drawing a Christmas tree. I always enjoy drawing Christmas trees because they are one of the easiest Christmas subjects to get into. I see it as a way to loosen up my mind and get my hand moving.

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Step 1: Set up the stamp frame, background color, & background details.

Step 2: Draw the tree shape in 4 layers.

Step 3: Draw line details on the tree.

Step 4: Draw Christmas lights on the tree.

Step 5: Draw the value symbol on the top right/left corner.

Step 6: Make a copy of the whole design, shrink it, and then apply postmarks across the edges of the stamp.

Creating the Christmas Baubles Stamp Illustration

It was fun exploring different shapes of Christmas baubles in this illustration. You may want to draw more baubles in your work if you want. But keep in mind that we are designing postal stamps here. They are small in actual size. Keeping everything simple might be our priority when creating these stamps.

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Step 1: Set up the stamp frame, background color, & background details.

Step 2: Draw the 3 Christmas baubles.

Step 3: Draw line details on the baubles.

Step 4: Draw highlights on the baubles.

Step 5: Draw the value symbol on the top right/left corner.

Step 6: Make a copy of the whole design, shrink it, and then apply postmarks across the edges of the stamp.

Creating the Snowman Stamp Illustration

Snowmen is another favorite Christmas subject of mine. What I love about drawing snowmen is that I get to design costumes for them. How I would dress them in my work really pushes my creativity boundaries.

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Step 1: Set up the stamp frame, background color, & background details.

Step 2: Draw the snowman.

Step 3: Draw a beanie and a scarf on the snowman.

Step 4: Draw line details on the beanie and the scarf.

Step 5: Draw the value symbol on the top right/left corner.

Step 6: Make a copy of the whole design, shrink it, and then apply postmarks across the edges of the stamp.

Creating the Christmas Wreath Stamp Illustration

This illustration is the most complex in this series. It took me much longer to complete than the other three. I spent most of the time constructing the leaves and flowers on the wreath. You will see my entire process for this part in the above video. The challenge for me is to show the complexity of the wreath while keeping everything simple as a whole. I decided to draw a ribbon at the last minute to better suit the portrait composition, since it looked a bit empty with just a perfect circle of flowers and leaves in the middle. Also, the saturated magenta on the ribbon helps light up the whole illustration.