Greeting Card Design: Illustrate and Sell Your Collection
A course by Lauren RadleyIllustrator and Designer
A course by Lauren Radley, Illustrator and Designer
Discover the process of creating a series of colorful greeting cards and learn how to sell them online
Lauren Radley believes that the beauty of working as an illustrator is that you can illustrate whatever inspires you and reach your goals if you persevere. It is that same belief that has encouraged her through her journey to becoming a renowned illustrator and designer. Her focus lies in illustrating for clients like BBC Good Food, Waitrose, and Royal Mail, along with working on new products for her greeting cards business.
In this course, Lauren shows you how to plan and design your own greeting cards collection, as well as how to print and market them, before launching your own small greeting cards business. Explore each step of the design process, learning both analogue and digital techniques along the way. Ready to delight the world with your original greeting cards?
What will you learn in this online course?
16 lessons & 30 downloads
Materials and Software
3 minutes, 35 seconds
Your Creative Style
20 minutes, 33 seconds
Cards and Content
9 minutes, 59 seconds
Hand Drawn Typography
16 minutes, 0 seconds
Ideas, Thumbnails and Composition
19 minutes, 44 seconds
Digitally Importing and Refining Your Sketch 1
9 minutes, 38 seconds
What's included in this course?
Meet Lauren Radley and learn about her journey towards becoming a renowned illustrator. Explore the artists that inspire her and see the books from her childhood that still influence her today.
Get familiar with the materials you need to create your greeting cards. Look at different trends, learn about the greeting cards market, and create a mood board for your collection. Lauren then shares some advice and practical exercises to help you gain confidence in your illustration style. Begin planning your collection, and think of playful phrases you’d like to include, before seeing how to recreate them with hand-drawn typography.
Get all your ideas down on paper by sketching thumbnails to develop your designs. See how to digitize your drawings and refine your sketches on Procreate with Lauren’s guidance. Add colors, textures and details to your illustration, and discover some tips on color combinations and other details to make your greeting cards pop.
Learn how to format your card designs with Photoshop or whichever image-editing software you prefer. Explore the printing process and learn about paper stocks, quantities, and ecological principles to take into account. Discover the basics of how to start a greeting cards business, seeing how to market and sell them on an online store. Finish the course with Lauren’s final words of advice on launching your greeting cards business.
Recommended software & tools for this course
What is this course's project?
Create a greeting cards collection and learn how to sell it online.
Projects by course students
Who is this online course for?
For anyone with an interest in illustration and design, who would like to make their own greeting cards and learn how to set up a small greeting cards business.
Requirements and materials
Basic drawing and illustration skills are a plus but not essential to taking this course.
As for materials, you need a sketchbook, a pencil, and whatever you prefer to use. Lauren uses an iPad Pro and Procreate, and Photoshop to format her final designs.
Reviews
- 2 months ago
Me ha encantado el curso, totalmente recomendable, muy completo y bien explicado.
- 3 months ago
bueno!
- 3 months ago
Perfect!
- maryeft5460PLUS3 months ago
Gracias por compartir tus conocimientos paso a paso de manera facil y practica. Me encanto el curso!
- parrishinkPLUS6 months ago
Terrific course, loads of great examples and resources. Would definitely recommend and take another course with this instructor.
Since her first major commissioned artwork–creating a mural for Coffee Republic–and her impactful work for the ad campaign for Cancer Rearch, Lauren hasn’t looked back. She has worked with clients including The National Trust, Waitrose, and The Telegraph. She has illustrated for many magazines and publications including BBC Good Food, The Evening Standard, and Psycologies magazine. Today, her time is split between client work and working on new products for her online business. In one of her latest projects, Lauren designed a book of stamps for the Royal Mail, which will be in circulation for a minimum of five years.
Content
- U1
Introduction
- About Me
- Influences
- U2
Getting Started
- Materials and Software
- Trends, Inspirations and Mood Boards
- Your Creative Style
- Cards and Content
- Hand Drawn Typography
- U3
Creating Your Final Artwork
- Ideas, Thumbnails and Composition
- Digitally Importing and Refining Your Sketch 1
- Digitally Importing and Refining Your Sketch 2
- Adding Colours, Textures and Details 1
- Adding Colours, Textures and Details 2
- Adding Colours, Textures and Details 3
- U4
Printing and Marketing
- Formatting Your Cards
- Printing Your Cards
- How to Sell Your Cards and Market Yourself
- FP
Final project
- X Illustration for greeting cards
What to expect from a Domestika course
Learn at your own pace
Enjoy learning from home without a set schedule and with an easy-to-follow method. You set your own pace.
Learn from the best professionals
Learn valuable methods and techniques explained by top experts in the creative sector.
Meet expert teachers
Each expert teaches what they do best, with clear guidelines, true passion, and professional insight in every lesson.
Certificates
PLUSIf you're a Plus member, get a custom certificate signed by your teacher for every course. Share it on your portfolio, social media, or wherever you like.
Get front-row seats
Videos of the highest quality, so you don't miss a single detail. With unlimited access, you can watch them as many times as you need to perfect your technique.
Share knowledge and ideas
Ask questions, request feedback, or offer solutions. Share your learning experience with other students in the community who are as passionate about creativity as you are.
Connect with a global creative community
The community is home to millions of people from around the world who are curious and passionate about exploring and expressing their creativity.
Watch professionally produced courses
Domestika curates its teacher roster and produces every course in-house to ensure a high-quality online learning experience.
FAQs
Yes, this course is designed for beginners and requires no prior experience. You'll learn foundational illustration and design skills step by step.
You'll need a sketchbook, basic drawing tools, and access to digital illustration software like Procreate or Photoshop. A smartphone for reference photos and Pinterest for collecting inspiration are also recommended.
You'll learn how to create playful illustrations, design greeting card collections, apply hand lettering, develop unique styles, and prepare your artwork for print and online sale.
You’ll create a cohesive set of greeting cards and editorial illustrations suitable for portfolio presentation, helping you showcase your skills to clients or employers.
No prior experience with Procreate or Photoshop is required. The course includes beginner-friendly lessons on importing sketches, digital painting, and formatting artwork for print.
Yes, the course covers strategies for selling your cards on online platforms, including shop setup, product photography, and marketing tips.
You'll learn hand-drawing, digital illustration, applying texture, flat color, drawing playful characters, and working with retro palettes, plus techniques for typography and composition.