A to Z!
We asked our community to illustrate their alphabet and celebrate their love of letters!
This illustration party was full of terrific text and clever characters! Check out the 100+ illustrations that were submitted to this PLAY ALONG illustration party. What a display of talent—from illustrated alphabets to abecedariums to fun fonts and lots of brilliantly themed illustrations for "The ABCs of _____."
It's never easy to pick "favorites," especially when the overall level of quality, brilliance, and talent is so high. The 24 illustrations featured below are just a sample of those that caught our eye for various reasons.
We thank all the members of this community for playing along!
12 Food-focused Faves
➜ Click on each image to see a larger version and leave a comment for its creator.
by Jeannie Cameron
“We really love this one. Double yum! The best part is the hot pink background that really showcases the desserts. It's so nicely done! Great lettering too. We'll snack our way from A to Z...then take a nap...then go on a a diet!”
by Olga Akbarova
“What a fabulous theme!! Olga tied this delicious alphabet together so nicely with her gorgeous color palette. This really is an excellent California food assortment—sourdough and cioppino! Yum.”
by Lavihimanshu
“This is such a delicious feast. Who doesn't love Indian cuisine?! This is making us hungry! Several of our favorite dishes are represented in this jumble of greatness. There is a lot of love and tradition and history right here.”
by Mellifera Paper
“These are the cutest characters ever! Sometimes, all ya gotta do is add a smiley face, right?! That Fried Chicken and the Donut are cracking us up! Great map idea. America doesn't have the best reputation for healthy food, but it sure all looks pretty tempting here! Deep dish pizza...mmmmmmm!”
by Melissa Fife
“The Q is actually quivering! Ha!! This is scary great. That skeleton is making us laugh. We love the "O" and that cute bat. Well done! So fun and creative.”
by Stephanie Peterson Jones
“When Salli first saw this she had to get out of her chair and do a little skip around her studio! This is so cheerful and delicious and delightful. It all works together so nicely!! We really love the plaid background. Such a well-stocked pantry too.”
by Honey Gherkin
“This is truly incredible. Honey has created a separate illustration like this for nearly every letter in the alphabet! Each one features a different fruit or vegetable. We loudly applaud Honey's awesome efforts. Go see her full collection here.”
by Yeti
“We are cheering! We love Yeti's colorful A to Z of Mexican veggies. It pops right off our screen. The frijoles are the best. So is that sweet little bowl of guac. What a dynamic color palette, right?”
by Chamisa at Zirkus Design
“This is an amazing and super unique A to Z theme! We love how the lettering sits on the shelf along with all of these delicious midnight munchies. Such a great color palette too. Pass the X-mas cookies please. And, someone better eat that ice cream before it all melts!”
by Ameena Fareeda
“We love Ameena's graphic styling and her tear drop shapes. The vanilla is so great! Ooh, and the tamarind. Each one is spectacular—we think this needs to be available as part of an icon library!”
by Firuze Bakir
“This is so deliciously colorful and fun! Thanks for sharing your Turkish culture with us Firuze. Lots of yumminess here.”
by Cynthia Maniglia
“Salli has a sweet tooth so this is definitely her kind of alphabet! We both admit that so many of these candies remind us of our Grandma because she always had a fully stocked candy dish. We really appreciate every single bit of research and drawing that went into creating this.”
12 Site-specific Faves
➜ Click on each image to see a larger versionand leave a comment for its creator.
by Alex Savakis
“Alex is a lettering artist. He tells us that whenever he sees an old sign he snaps a picture of it because it could disappear overnight. He loves how these vintage signs tell a story about the business, building, and neighborhood. We love his illustrated tribute. The Circus Liquor clown?!!!”
by Cloudy King
“We love how Cloudy King placed these gorgeous creatures on top of a world map. That pufferfish is awesome. So are the whales. They are all awesome. And, they all look really happy...maybe it's the playful movements she built into each illustration. Fantastic!”
by Chamisa at Zirkus Design
“Alpha Mark Alpha Zulu India November Golf!”
by Sophie Kittredge
“This is truly brilliant. The subtle shape of each icon that matches the letter juuusssst enough is a great touch. Plus, triple bonus points because Sophie used her own hand-made font for the lettering! I would never guess that it's a font...it has a fantastic bounce. Our favorite letters here....S, G, and V (of course!)”
by Laura Levie
“The future was so ... futuristic ... in the 60s, right? The egg chair next to the deviled egg is a brilliant touch! That robot. Nate think he actually once owned a Z chair! And, yes...the ashtrays...so many good ashtrays. We think this is an zmazing idea and it's so well-executed.”
by Chamisa at Zirkus Design
“This illustration is Bravo Romeo India Lima Lima India Alpha November Tango!”
by Petra Villani
“This is such a smart illustration. We wish we thought of it. What a great editorial illustration and a fun take on the A to Z theme. Nate actually owns (and wears daily) that red fanny pack! And the TP...yes! Haha!”
by Jane Sanders
“Jane really captured each mood so well with just a few perfectly placed marks. Quirky!! Guilty is hilarious! We love that they are not all only happy moods—they run the gamut from Angry to Zestful. We think these need to be in a book or something even bigger!”
by Mimi Yang
“These little puppies are THE best! It looks like Mimi had a ton of fun drawing each and every one of them. E is so cute. We love A also. K cracks us up! Salli is waiting for the cat version!”
by Salli S. Swindell
“As a rule, we don't include our own illustrations in these list of favorites, but Nate absolutely insisted on picking this cosmic creation by Salli!”
by Amita
“This illustration is super happy and hopeful and welcoming and inclusive and friendly! We love that the character has a backpack and is wearing an Earth shirt. And, each word balloon includes the home country flag...nice touch!”
by Nataliaoro
“Hahahaha! There are some amazing poses in here! Q is Nate's favorite. Salli wishes she could do the T pose! We both recognize the H from our own yoga classes!! This is pure brilliance.”
