Further Dog Adventures, ACEO Style

ACEO Dog Emma, Copics

I was going to do something much more twirl-related for this week’s Illustration Friday, since that is the topic. But I am currently in the midst of rather severe ACEO dog fever and I didn’t want to stall the momentum. It all started two posts back because I decided, after several days without much inspiration, to draw a sad ACEO dog. One dog led to a four-pack of hound dogs which then led us here. (The current pack has standing ears. They may be hounds but more likely awesome mixed-breed rescue types with mysterious ancestry.)

In any case, I have completed Emma (above) in my recently typical fashion, with lots of swirls. Though this is not technically the same thing as “twirls”, I hope I won’t be judged too harshly for stretching the topic somewhat, from twirl to swirl.

Emma in progress:

ACEO Dog Emma: Sketch, Ink, Copic Pen/Marker

The other members of the new pack, as yet inked only:

ACEO Dog Rufus, In Progress

ACEO Dog Bear, In Progress

ACEO Dog Ernie, In Progress

ACEO Dog Annabelle, In Progress

ACEO Dog Millie, in Progress

All six goofy and and generally charming ACEO dogs drawn by hand in pencil. Then, Copic multiliners, mainly size 0.1 and 0.3, though Emma got filled out with a 0.8 and that was probably a tad too wide for 2.5″ x 3.5″. I’ve been using pre-cut, ACEO-sized smooth illustration board, which comes in handy 5-packs by Strathmore (about $2/pack at Dick Blick’s). I hope to post the colored-up versions soon.  Thanks for visiting! Dogs rule!

16 thoughts on “Further Dog Adventures, ACEO Style”

  7. shirley

    Wow, these are super!! Such detail and I like the twirl (swirl)s! Your series looks fabulous so far…keep up the wonderful work! Many thanks for your visit and one of the kindest comments I’ve ever read. : )

  9. Sue

    Lovely, the way you’ve combined the different patterns & brilliant colors. I really like the pen & ink stage, too!

  11. Gay McKinnon

    Nice one, Cindy E. D.! I particularly like the blue eyes, and the criss crossy texture on the nose. I don’t think I’ll judge you too harshly re the ‘theme’ – sometimes Illo Friday doesn’t totally mesh with your current inspiration and I’ve noticed a great many artists, er, stretching the theme somewhat (not that I would ever do this, of course). What is ACEO? Are the dogs actually American CEOs? We have a spy organisation called ASIO… well, I’d better read your entire blog and see if I can figure it out. Cheers!

    1. The Beast Tender Post author

      Why thank you kindly! I wondered if I should explain that ACEO thing. It stands for “Art Cards, Editions and Originals” and was started by a painter a few years back in order to trade small works of arts with her artist friends. The official size is 2.5 inches by 3.5 inches. So, rather tiny! Some folks make reproductions of their art in this size to sell or trade (it’s big on Etsy, for instance), though I prefer to do teeny originals only.

      I do like the CEO explanation, frankly. For one thing, I’m fairly certain Emma would run many of our large companies, if not more profitably, certainly more kindly and fairly. Alas!

      p.s. Come back soon! This evening I shall post at least three of the others in their stunning orange-magenta-pink loveliness (completed last evening, but too tired to post).

  13. Jen

    A twirl is practically a swirl anyway! I love the mix of bright colour and pattern; these would be such pretty prints to keep.

  14. Julia Dean

    Hi Cindy,
    Thanks for visiting my blog, I love your work too!
    It’s great to see such edgy and funny art, love the colours and detail…wow!..I couldn’t draw a dog to save my life..your shapes are gorgeous..
    Regarding your Q Re: I use a white sharpie fine poster paint pen to do the white detail you saw on my backgrounds..

    xx

    julia

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