Labelis Totallis - graphic design for a complete newbie

April 8, 2014 8:17 PM

I would like to make some candles, lip balms, soaps etc with wizard themed labels for an upcoming Harry Potter themed party. Then, if it works out ok, I was hoping to expand and maybe start a small etsy shop. But I don't know where to start with the labels.

I'd love to be able to design and print them myself as I imagine they could be personalised and each one would only need a small quantity.

I'm interested in doing some kind of course, and/or buying software but I just don't know where to begin.

I wouldn't say I'm overly creative but once I get started hopefully I'll be able to make something that I'm happy with.

Can I please have some suggestions about where to start? Software programs, ideas for short courses, books...

Thank you!

posted by Youremyworld to Media & Arts (3 answers total)

Inkscape is a free illustration software project that has a nice official tutorial (from the "Help" menu) walking you through some of the basic tools. I'm sure that professional graphic design software and courses are much more sophisticated and are what you'd want to move on to, but it's something you can download and play around with right away.
posted by XMLicious at 8:31 PM on April 8, 2014

Consider starting with some tracing paper, and a handful of pens and pencils?
posted by sebastienbailard at 8:51 PM on April 8, 2014

I highly endorse the Inkscape suggestion, and will add OpenClipart. They have free .svg files, which are editable in Inkscape. They're all free, so you can find pieces that'll work nicely together and then edit/modify as needed.
posted by HermitDog at 10:20 PM on April 8, 2014 [1 favorite]