Hello readers, happy December! ❊
I first met Jason of Jason’s Marvelous Popcorn while tabling at an art market in 2021. I remember this so fondly because it’s the first time I tried Jason’s popcorn and quickly became an enthusiast for his delicious and creative flavors. Jason is an earnestly friendly person who has a knack for combining flavors (my current favorite is Raspberry Rose) - so when Jason asked if I’d like to illustrate a label for his holiday Peppermint Mocha flavor I was honored!
I had worked with Jason in the past when I illustrated a portrait of him for his website.
The brief for this project was simple: illustrate a label that highlighted his delightful popcorn, fit the holiday theme, and redesign his logo in my style. Like most of my work, this label began in my sketchbook.
I listened to holiday music and started with a list of words that fit the vibe I was aiming for such as candy cane, cozy, snowy, pine and nostalgic.
After a few sketches I landed my final design concept: cute and curious mice enjoying popcorn, peppermints and hot cocoa! This allowed me to incorporate the items on my list and shape the cozy-nostalgic-Christmas inspired popcorn label of my dreams. For the back of the label I planned the same scene after the mice had moved on leaving behind popcorn nibbles and tiny footprints. To refine the sketch I moved to Procreate on my iPad. My go to brush for sketching is the default Dry Brush with a lowered opacity.
With the approval of the final sketch, it was time to color! I tried two different concepts - one was brighter and airier (the blue background) and with the other I leaned more into the rich, cozy feeling of mocha (the brown background.)
I decided to use a mixture of the two color tests, using the bright blue background from concept one with the red base from concept two. I love the fuzzy warm feel in the brown concept but knew the final popcorn would include chocolate and didn’t want the label to blend in too much with the product.
For the final artwork, I used Procreate and my tried and true favorite brushes by Schrill Art.
I’m so pleased with the final labels! I’m happy the character, composition and color choices help build the nostalgic, cozy and Christmassy feel I had in mind. I really enjoyed redesigning Jason’s logo for this flavor too:
And I love how the label looks on the final popcorn package as well:
If you’re in the Youngstown, OH area - I promise Jason’s Marvelous Popcorn won’t disappoint! To find the Peppermint Mocha flavor I recommend following Jason on Instagram or Facebook for market and sale updates. Additional info about in-store and online sales can be found on his website. If Peppermint Mocha isn’t your jam, he has a collection of other delicious flavors you can try.
Thank you so much for reading! This label was the perfect project to get me in the spirit of the season and I absolutely loved creating artwork for Jason and his truly marvelous popcorn. Happy holidays and I’ll see you in the new year! ♥
Laura