Dose Pictures is an award-winning, full-service creative studio located in Chicago. This year, they wanted to warm up their drawing hands for the holidays. The Holiday Dreams Project was created in collaboration with Green Star Movement, a nonprofit that inspires students and community through the creation of public art. Their work has provided more than 7,000 students with mural arts programs, and brightened over 70 public space across Chicago—giving residents a renewed sense of pride in their neighborhood.
Dose provided fun narratives to GSM artists like, "If you could build any kind of gingerbread house, what would it look like?" or "Design your most epic snow fort!" Inspired by their creations, Dose artists then reimagined their holiday-themed art to create a set of 5 unique holiday greeting cards—each using a different style and production technique. The goal was to capture the imagination of the children’s art, get creative, and give back to the community.
Holiday Dreams followed the global drawing challenge Inktober. Each day in October, artists in Dose created a new drawing. These works are then sold and the proceeds are donated to Chicagoland families and charity organizations.
Below are the original student images alongside the professional renderings. Each artist wanted to share their thoughts on the inspiration on creating the artwork. Please enjoy!
The cards will be available for purchase at The Bridgeport Art Center Holiday Night Market.
“In the drawing that Jocelyn created, it was pretty clear that she loves her m&m's and lolli-pop's! I interpreted the house as a giant cookie-ball-like structure with lots of candy in the walls creating a sugary delight. I also wanted to add a "home for the holiday's" story to the image, so I painted in a gingerbread man running home to see his family. This piece was great to work on, I loved all the potential for color and a snowy landscape.”
“For this card, I wanted to try something completely different in approach. I loved the idea of the fort with a door, and this little blue toy-like creature. I did a couple thumbnails, and ended up choosing one with a giant snowman fort. A huge snowman is just cool, and having an igloo nestled in a forest just added to the idea.
The little blue creature with a tall top-hat and mustache made me think he was special in some way. Maybe he was hiding out? Nevertheless, he wanted to take a stroll on this fine day—only to cross paths with a curious polar bear.”
“Henry has quite the sense of humor which is evident in his art. I thought it was very imaginative of him to give his character long green hair with horns and then casually place a Santa hat on it. I enjoyed giving my interpretation of this character, it was a fun project to do.”
“I liked Alanis's idea of a big fluffy monster filling in for Santa delivering presents. I made a warm and inviting scene to reflect the warm personality of the monster she created (a monster that delivers presents has got be nice, right?). It was fun to go back and think like a kid while working on this.”
“Jacklin's Epic Gingerbread House made me smile big time as soon as I saw it. The whimsical swirls, giant candy, and the wonderful little house on top of the house made me think of an animated children's show. So I decided to make the scene look like a set from a stop-motion holiday TV special. Jacklin's imagination made this a fun and unique image - perfect for a Christmas card.”