I was talking to a friend online a while ago, trying to help him brainstorm gifts for his wife on their one-year anniversary. They were in that typical position where they wanted to do something special without cluttering the house, and neither one of them had any particular wishlist items or desires.  Then, before I really thought about it – and only being 50% serious, I asked,

“How about I draw you guys a picture?”

A long time ago I had drawn a picture for him and his friends, depicting their World of Warcraft arena team.  That was a casual gift, however, and I was well-versed in doodling a lot of game fan artwork. This however, would be a GIFT for his WIFE…quite a bit of additional pressure. Especially when he said, “Hey, YEAH!!! How much?”

But with a minimal amount of back and forth, we were able to come up with the concept and the final piece. Two fun facts: (1) hey are quite savvy West Coast Swing dancers…I can visually attest to this. (2) This is also their finishing flourish pose of their first dance at their wedding:

I may stick my nose in the air and thow my weight/opinions around as a visual designer at work, but I still am not quite over the “squee!” feeling when someone tells me they like my illustration. :) It’s now up on the wall, as I understand it, and both husband and wife are happy…CUE BIG SIGH OF RELIEF!

The journey’s not quite over yet – I’m now drawing up an illustration for a friend’s upcoming wedding >_<. I’m excited, but I’m so nervous that my hand shakes when I’m drawing. At least Copic markers are forgiving…ish.

I’m excited to post that in June after the wedding takes place!