Editor’s note: Andrea Ritter is a ninth grader at Norristown Area High School and previously served as a staff reporter on her middle school’s health newspaper, the East Norriton Bulldog Bulletin. She also drew the cover of the Healthy NewsWorks book Leading Healthy Change In Our Communities 2017. Here are her reflections on a recent project she completed for Healthy NewsWorks.
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By Andrea Ritter
September 2017 … I started working on various digital art projects this past summer for Healthy NewsWorks. My projects are being used in the organization’s new Hearty Kids Initiative. I designed classroom logos and handouts for kids in kindergarten through second grade and illustrations for the website and school health newspapers. I’ve enjoyed almost every aspect of creating these.
My process starts with sketching by hand a rough design of the characters or logos. I try to make the style simple, yet fun to look at. After I make sure that necessary details are in place, I move on to the line art. It’s sometimes hard to balance line smoothness and line weight, but I try my best. After that comes color. I like to select a bright, yet not over-saturated palette, and use my computer to fill in the drawing. If I have extra time, I color the line art in order to add another layer of visual interest and smoothness.
Working with Healthy NewsWorks this summer has been a rewarding experience. I’ve gained crucial knowledge on how to handle professional exchanges when it comes to art and gained more background in the creation of logos and other professional icons. I am thankful for every opportunity I’ve received through this program.
The Hearty Kids Initiative is supported in part by a generous grant from The Edna G. Kynett Memorial Foundation.
