![[Handmade] Recommended for Year of the Rabbit New Year's cards! A roundup of reference works and ideas such as rabbit illustrations](https://i.ytimg.com/vi_webp/x29GEwNgol4/maxresdefault.webp)
[Handmade] Recommended for Year of the Rabbit New Year's cards! A roundup of reference works and ideas such as rabbit illustrations
We’ll introduce handmade creations and ideas that are useful and inspiring for Rabbit Year New Year’s cards!
When you make New Year’s cards by hand, it’s easy to wonder where to start.
So instead of thinking everything up from scratch, I’ve put together ideas you can adapt by using works uploaded to video sites as references.
From standalone elements like brush-lettering art and stamps to mix-and-match illustration styles, we’ve got you covered.
Skimming through the article might spark some inspiration!
I also selected options with ease and speed in mind, so feel free to try anything that makes you think, “I can do this!”
[Handmade] Recommended for Year of the Rabbit New Year’s cards! A roundup of reference works and ideas like rabbit illustrations (1–10)
Write it in 3 minutes! Ultra-simple New Year’s card with a brush pen
For those who find using a traditional brush for New Year’s cards a bit intimidating, we recommend a brush pen! While a brush pen may not quite match a brush dipped in ink, it saves you the trouble of preparation and is less likely to stain clothes or desks, making it a great tool for beginners.
Another advantage is that brush pens come in a wide range of colors, not just black! Even simple lines can be expressive just by varying their thickness.
Rabbits have distinctive features like ears, tails, and whiskers, so they should be relatively easy to draw.
Add festive accent colors like red or gold, and you’ll have a simple yet stylish New Year’s card.
Watercolor painting of a rabbit
Watercolor paintings are characterized by their distinctive bleeding effects, making them perfect for natural, sketch-like, soft and airy designs.
You can sketch a rabbit at a place like a zoo, or of course an imaginary rabbit is fine too! Start with a light pencil sketch before you begin painting.
The trick with watercolor is to apply colors from the lightest to the darkest.
By adding the next color before the first one dries, you can enjoy unpredictable blends and blooms! To preserve the charm of watercolor, avoid laying the paint on too thickly.
Adding moderate shading will give your piece a sense of depth and three-dimensionality.
A colored pencil drawing of a rabbit
Colored pencils are easy to use among art supplies and are user-friendly.
They can create a wide range of expressions, from realistic art to illustrations! If you’re struggling with a New Year’s card design, I highly recommend trying colored pencils.
When drawing next year’s zodiac animal, the rabbit, you’ll probably use pink.
Because colored pencils change expression depending on pressure and how you layer or shade, you can draw a very cute rabbit using just a single pink color.
You can also add depth with a darker pink to create shadows.
For a professional touch, use white Posca at the end to add highlights.
Muted colors, too, make for a sophisticated, ink-wash-style art with soft tones.
Have you heard of Emozutan, which has been attracting attention in recent years? Emozutan is an art medium released in 2020, known for producing tasteful hues just by grinding it and loading it onto a brush.
Using Emozutan, you can easily create art with a mature atmosphere.
By the way, while Emozutan specializes in soft, pale tones, there’s also Emozumi-Akari, which focuses on bright colors, as well as Emozumi, which sits in between.
You can likely combine multiple inks to create illustrations, too.
If you’re interested, start by looking up how to use Emozumi-Akari.
Extraordinarily cute brush-lettering art
Brush-lettering art can be combined with any design.
Brush-lettering art refers to artwork created by drawing characters with a brush pen.
Of course, it’s not just about writing them as-is—you can add flair by deforming the shapes or giving them a calligraphy style.
For example, you might draw the kanji for “rabbit” in a way that resembles a rabbit character.
Another approach is to render a New Year’s greeting in brush-lettering art instead of using an illustration.
Try coming up with a design that incorporates your own unique brush-lettering art.
Versatile and easy to use! Simple, cute New Year mini illustrations
If you’re unsure about your New Year’s card design, combining rabbit motifs with traditional New Year’s items is a great idea.
For example, pairing it with kagami mochi will create a soft, gentle feel.
Drawing it together with a kadomatsu gives a more festive, glamorous vibe.
It’s also fun to include toys children love, like battledores (hagoita) or kendama.
These classic items can be adapted every year, so it’s useful to learn how to draw them.
As an extra touch, you could even draw a rabbit playing battledore.
Fluffy rabbit made with stamps
If you’ve bought a stamp for New Year’s cards but are worried about stamping it neatly, this is a must-see! Anyone can easily make lovely rabbit-themed New Year’s cards.
A single rabbit stamp can make the layout look a bit plain, so try stamping it multiple times from different angles to add more rabbits and make the design feel fuller.
Using text or background design stamps will enhance the festive look! You don’t need to use a lot of stamps—just prepare a few you like and you’re all set.
Metallic stamps will make your New Year’s cards look even more celebratory.
Give it a try!
A New Year’s card with cute parts shaped like rabbits made from chiyogami (decorative Japanese paper)
This is a stylish New Year’s card design that uses chiyogami paper to form a rabbit’s distinctive silhouette.
Using just one rabbit template is perfectly fine, but having a few different ones can broaden your expression and make it more interesting.
Try making the templates from cardboard.
Trace the template onto your favorite chiyogami, cut along the lines with scissors, and create the parts.
Even with the same patterned chiyogami, the pattern will vary depending on where you cut, so the fact that no two pieces turn out exactly the same is part of the charm!
Ink wash painting of a rabbit
Sumi-e, with its beautiful ink bleeding, is one of Japan’s traditional painting styles, isn’t it? For those who want to try turning sumi-e into a New Year’s card design, here’s a recommended subject: a sumi-e rabbit.
While it can be challenging to express depth using the varying densities of ink on the brush, the important thing is to start and give it a try.
With repeated practice, you’ll definitely get better.
I’ve heard that making the rabbit’s face wider horizontally and its ears longer makes it look cuter! Because rabbits feature lots of curves, they pair perfectly with sumi-e, so do give it a shot.
Eraser-stamp rabbit
Because eraser stamps are easy to make, some of you might be thinking you’d like to try it at least once! All you need is an eraser and a craft knife to give it a simple try, so consider this for next year’s New Year’s cards.
First, sketch your design on the eraser with a marker or other thick line.
Start by cutting along the outside of your sketch, and carve while rotating the eraser—this is the key technique.
Also, try to carve slightly outside the lines so the stamp ends up a bit larger than your sketch.
Intricate designs can be difficult for beginners, so we recommend keeping the design as simple as possible.