Recently, I decided to create a can label for fun as a way to get back into product design while incorporating digital illustrations.
My partner and I have been trying to expand our beer palates by checking out local breweries and trying buying interesting looking beer flavors whenever we get the chance. So far, we haven’t had much luck finding a flavor or variety that we like – with the exception of blackberry cider.
I decided that it’d be fun to create my own version of our new favorite drink. I wanted to stick with a monochromatic color scheme here and utilize royal purple as the focal point. As I was brainstorming on ways to illustrate the more tangy, fruity notes that blackberry cider tends to have, my partner told me a story about how he used to accidentally prick himself on blackberry bushes when he was a child. I thought it would be interesting to find a way to blend that in with the design and ended up settling on a slightly medieval/fantasy approach.
The sword and wolf illustration were both hand drawn before being refined and finalized in Illustrator:
