[WIP/idea sketch] Bee icon making 1 (Patreon)

Previous post : [wip] Bee GIFs and rough idea of icons/theme

Continuing from the previous post~

Last time, I talked about the work concept and my struggle 😮‍💨

In this post, I will show you some of the work sketches and the completed icons.

Related post : [WIP/idea sketch] Crow icon making / [WIP/idea sketch] koi icon making / [WIP/idea sketch] bugs icon making / [wip] Making icons - shark /  [WIP/ idea sketch ] icon making

Oh, right, while I was working on the bee icon, I drew some cookie sea slug! This was actually an impromptu piece that wasn't in my plan 😆

I use slug and snail as my personal icon for my work on my PC, and since it's 2026, I needed a new one. Here is the sketch. Compare the rough draft with the finished version!

I used restrained colors in the cookie sea slug illustrations, but for the icons, harmony with the icons I drew previously was more important.

This is an icon pack I made few years ago.

The main colors were white, yellow, blue, and pink.

So, for the new icons, I used the yellow and blue colors from that pack. This way makes it clearer what the app is.

I have added emotional expressions so that the icon images can also be used as stickers : Mochi marine life

My work folder like this by adding the icons I created recently.

I've been distinguishing my drawings by the year they were created, but starting this year, I plan to switch to a two-year cycle. I'm starting to lose my accurate memory of exactly when I drew which picture. 😂

I can also feel a change in the style of the icons I draw.

So, let's go back to Bee! I'll share the sketches and process I'm working on, some of the completed icons, and the thoughts I had while working!

First of all, I drew 9 bees that will serve as the basis for the icon.

Out of the 100 bees I had drawn previously, I ooked at the colors and just picked the ones I liked. I think I need to add one Leaf Cutter Bee.

Until now, I thought it was best to keep icons as simple as possible because they are small. So, I tried to draw them as uncomplicated as possible.

However, these days, mobile phone screens are getting bigger and bigger, and since we look at them so often... I’ve come to think that even if the icons are small, high quality would bring joy to the user.

Of course, this is just my current thinking, and it might change in the future. For now, it is taking too much time. Even I haven't finished all this icon set, this icon pack is already taking the longest time to work on 😅

For instance, if an artist has 10 hours, they always have to choose whether to draw five pieces that take two hours each, or one piece that takes ten hours. These days, I tend to choose the latter, but balance is always important.... Anyway, I like trying out different things, and I am really enjoying my current work :)

I'm continuing to use the template I used previously when creating the Crow icon because it was useful. Here is the first sketch.

I drew the fashion icon while thinking of Pantaloon bee's cool pants.

I added small flowers as additional decorations to the alphabet icons 🌸

I had to choose between white and yellow. Although the white text is more visible, I find the yellow to be prettier.

I am working on 9 icons simultaneously on a single canvas. I started drawing like this with the crow last time, and I found that it is faster than drawing them one by one.

When I drew bees previously, the poses were somewhat limited. I was able to draw more freely in icon work.

Something like a bee's butt.

Or bee's butts.

Added Leaf Cutter Bee! (Family Megachilidae)

It is flying away carrying banknotes and mail instead of flower petals.

Hmm... Imagine a bee nest filled with banknotes.

Out of the 100 bees, there weren't White-tailed bumblebees, but I drew four of them this time. I had the bumblebee nest in mind for an App icon, but it would also look good for 'Home' icon or 'food-related' icon.

We are probably familiar more with hexagonal honeycomb shapes.

Since the concept for this theme is wild bees, I wanted to draw a slightly different kind of bee nest. Adding small details like this is one of my favorite parts of the process. 🐝

Icons with a bright atmosphere have been completed.

I initially drew 27 of them, and I plan to complete the rest with a similar feel. While maintaining the familiar yellow and brown colors of bees, there are also green and blue wild bees.

It is also essential to test this in dark background. The white of the Mail and Setting icons is too bright in dark mode. It would be better to change them to yellow, the same color as the alphabet.

This is the version edited to yellow. It looks much better after the corrections.

Thank you for reading!