Category Archives: ATCs and ACEOs

Steampunk Maiden and Christmas Cat

Georgie Gears ATC
2.5″ x 3.5″ Copics, fine liners, white gel pen

Despite being raised with six brothers, Georgie was always the one their father came to for help with the family tractor. No one was surprised when she went on to found her own airship engineering company. Reference photo.

Made for a steampunk swap at illustratedatcs.com. I am very pleased with the style of this one. On the one hand it’s a rather typical “pretty girl” image. But I think she has some charm and personality. And I’m sure my 100 Maidens Project made a difference. I recommend these projects – repeated practice with a particular subject.

Nikolas the Christmas Cat
2.5″ x 3.5″ Copics, fine liners, white gel pen

Nikolas wasn’t always a Christmas cat. At ten months old he ate some tinsel and that soured him on the whole subject for several years. But then he found his person – a woman named Lizzie living firmly in the spirit of Christmas six months of the year – so Nikolas gave it another shot. It was much better the second time. Made for a trade at illustratedatcs.com.

It’s very odd the number of cats and sheep I have been doing! I am a dog person. But I’ve gotten the most trade requests for cats and sheep, so I’ve gotten a bit quicker at them. But it’s still several hours each. Or more.

I’m going to try my hand at glass tile pendants with prints of my images, and these two are on the list. We’ll see how it goes! Thanks for dropping in!

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Woodland Creatures ATCs, in Copics

Basilisk Lizard, A Master of Zen
2.5″ x 3.5″ Copic markers, fine liners, white gel pen

I have to admit I am very fond of George. He was going to get a tree or a fern leaf, but I decided not to risk mucking up his Zen space. He does meditation most evenings. I almost abandoned this card (like many other half-sketched images recently!) but I told myself it would work out. And it did! Possibly my best one yet. I would keep it, except I’ve been keeping too many lately and besides, I have to mail it off tomorrow!

A few weeks ago I made the fox (a different style than my other foxes, though I’m not sure my rudimentary hatching went as well as I’d like), and also the elephant shrew. Photo references are usually linked at the bottom of my posts. I use photos as guidelines and try to make the drawing very different.

Alastaire Fox ATC
2.5″ x 3.5″ Copics, fine liners, white gel pen

Alastaire is a forest elder and renowned peacemaker. Feuding foxes accept his judgement on a variety of matters from kit-rearing to boundary agreements.

Giant Elephant Shrew ATC
2.5″ x 3.5″ Copics, fine liners, white gel pen

Unlike her hyper brother Alec, Francesca is shy around strangers. All bets are off once you get to know her, however, because then she’ll chatter at you for hours. Mostly about shrews or bugs. But once in a while, if she’s in a strange mood, about the circle of life.

All three Artist Trading Cards (ATCs) were made for the Woodland Creatures swap at illustratedatcs.com. Thank you for visiting!

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Basilisk lizard photo reference, fox photo reference, giant elephant shrew photo reference.

Steampunk and Fantasy ATCs, Tales Included

Geoffrey Teeth and Lilah Steampunk, Artist Trading Cards
Each 2.5″ x 3.5″, Copics, fine liners and white gel pen on smooth bristol board.

Because of a cleverly designed spring mechanism in his lower jaw, Geoffrey’s mouth can open and close in speech every once in a while. Because the motor takes so long to re-charge, he makes sure to save it for something important. The last time, several days earlier, produced the cryptic phrase, “Toads cannot move roads.” Made for Robots, Rocketry and Rayguns swap at atcsforall.com but I had to keep him.

Lilah is an adventure girl. She was raised among wild animals by a rural physician and his military-trained wife. As a result, she can fly most small planes and stalk unseen through dense undergrowth. She can also set a broken leg and makes very neat stitches. If needed. Made for a Steampunk swap at illustratedatcs.com.

Roland One Eye, 2.5″ x 3.5″ ATC
Copics, fine liners, white gel pen

A veteran engineer of the Mechanical Horse Wars, Roland disappeared from city life for many years. But when a second generation of the Merrano Gang started causing trouble in New Chicago, Roland was reluctantly pulled from a quiet retirement.

Floria the Fey Queen and The Dogfaerie Queen
Each 2.5″ x 3.5″ Copics, fine liners, white gel pen

Floria the Fey Queen was the result of a forbidden union between a Valkyrie and a rare tree spirit. Hers is the final word on all matters of justice and death in the Wonder Woods.

The DogFaerie Queen was the first of her kind, created by a mad wizard’s experiment. He made four more before his death, and from these five all the others came. Nobody remembers her name. Only that she outlived the rest of the original pack by three generations. Both made for Winged Queens swap at illustratedatcs.com.

Lots of stuff outside my comfort zone but surprisingly pleased with the outcomes. Which is nice. Because that is hardly always the case! Thank you very much for stopping by! I am still looking into issues with my email subscriptions. Arrrgh.

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Maidens in Profile and Retro Sci-Fi ATCs

Lena the Seer, 2.5″ x 3.5″ Copics, fine liners and white gel pen.

Lena the Seer acts as both Counselor and Matchmaker to all the races of people in the Wonder Woods. She is well-respected by all but a few stubborn goblins who rarely heed her advice. Inevitably to their detriment.

Peculiar Maiden, Mystic Princess and Retro Redhead
Each 2.5″ x 3.5″, Copics, pen and ink. Two on bristol, one on mustard card stock.

Despite an existing list of trades and swaps I need to do (plus the great topic “Book” for Illustration Friday this week!), sometimes I’ll take a detour and do something else. In this case, the “Pleasantly Pretty and Particularly Peculiar People Profile Swap” at atcsforall.com. As a bonus, this swap inspired five more maidens for my 100 Maidens Project, which is now up to 32 maidens. (I must admit I was too fond of Lena the Seer {above} and decided to keep her rather than send her in for the swap!)

The Fontaine X97 and Retro Rocket
Each 2.5″ x 3.5″ Copics, fine liners, white gel pen. Bristol, and mustard card stock.

The Fontaine X97 is considered a multi-class weapon. It is equipped with both long range and narrow beam lasers and a variety of explosive and cloaking attachments (available separately). It is rated M-14 and requires a Second Master’s Class license.

The Fontaine X97 is analogous to ancient earth’s BMW 300 series. This series was affordable to a wider audience than its top models, while still retaining the highest in early 21st century innovation and engineering.

For “Robots, Rocketry and Rayguns Swap” at atcsforall.com. If I haven’t mentioned it sixty-seven times already, I highly recommend atcsforall.com for anyone looking for a little inspiration, practice, feedback or ideas. It is open to everyone and features a huge range of art styles and levels.

At the risk of making this post way too long I just wanted to say one more thing. I sometimes get comments asking how I have time to do so much art! Well, I do have a regular job as an office manager, but because business is slower this year I am working about 32 hours. But the main reasons I think are, 1. I have no kids, and 2. I don’t go out much. Also, my current Artist Trading Card phase means tiny art that just doesn’t take as long as larger pieces. Thanks so much to everyone for stopping by! Progress pics below.

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A Boot, a Cat, a Maiden, and Three Cool Dogs.

Whimsical Boot, Cat with Fairie, and Winged Moon Maiden
3.25″ x 2.25″ Copics, fine liners, white gel pen on bristol board.

The boot is a recent favorite. Your heel has its own tiny chair – it’s the height of comfort! (Did you groan? So did I.) These three are from an address tag swap at illustratedatcs.com, and are meant to be hole-punched at the top and put on a ring. My address will appear on the back of each, and I will in turn get an address tag (with themes chosen from my preference list) from each of the same people. Yay! (The Winged Moon Maiden is Maiden Number 26.)

Have I convinced you that Artist Trading Card trading is super fun yet? How about some whimsical dogs? Made for a swap at atcsforall.com, the sister site of illustratedatcs.com.

Three ATCs for Whimsical Dogs Swap
Each 2.5″ x 3.5″ Copics, fine liners, white gel pen on bristol board.

1. Brutus with Pipe. Brutus considers himself a terribly refined dog, and likes to smoke his pipe in the evenings. Sometimes after licking his butt.

2. Unrequited. The French Bulldog is Jackson. He is in love with a cat. The cat does not return his affections. In fact, the harried feline almost took out his eye in response to his recent advances. If she imagined this event would put an end to the whole business she was sadly mistaken, as Jackson had her portrait stitched into his eye patch.

3. Daisy with Kittens. Despite the apparent moment of calm captured above, Daisy’s patience was being tried, quite severely, by Inky the black kitten, aptly nicknamed The Terror of the East by the rest of the neighborhood. Why couldn’t she be more like her sister Luna, who could fall asleep in a snowstorm?

For more of my swap sets, I’ve posted about the Celestial Maidens, the Elemental Maidens, and Whimsical Robots. Hooray! Thanks so much for stopping in!

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ATC Cats in Copics and Blog Award

Witch Cat, 2.5″ x 3.5″ Copic markers.

Selena is a water witch. She can cleanse a dirty well, draw the poison from a wound, and detect any trace of groundwater in a ten mile radius. She is rumored to have other, less savory skills, but only in the whispers of a jilted Tom.

I also thought it would be cool to see a row of ATC cats, due in part to the wild popularity (mild exaggeration) of my row of ATC sheep in this post. I seem to have a particular fondness for huge-eared Peterbald and Oriental Shorthair type cats (I always think that should say “Asian Shorthair”. Hmm.).

Five Cat ATCs, Copic markers. Left to Right: Peach Purple Peterbald Cat, Liam the Tree Tender,
Cat and Faerie (address tag card), Selena Witch Cat, Spook the Cat

And Another Thing

A big thanks to Linda Hensley for so kindly including me in her One Lovely Blog Award list. I couldn’t possibly pick seven favorite blogs to pass this along to, but I thought I could pick seven art blogs that are 1. lesser known, 2. posting consistently 3. not already in my sidebar. (Also that haven’t won this award recently, as far as I know.)

By the way, you should totally visit all those awesome blogs in my sidebar! But also these, on which I humbly bestow that small graphic called “One Lovely Blog Award”. And they will, if they choose, pass it along to seven blogs of their choice, too.

Sharon at del.art.ful. Go see “A bird a day” and other strange and beautiful things.
Claire Wildish. Hilarious and goofy characters, sometimes with photo backgrounds.
Ana Menéndez Fuentes. Darkly stylish pop culture digital illustration.
Alicia Gorecki. Colored pencils on toned paper, so cool!
Roland Prinsler. Pen and Ink in a tornado.
Linda at dots ‘n’ doodles.  Wonderfully cheerful illustrations.
Leigh at Colorfulleigh. A new blog from a new friend at illustratedatcs.com

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Leah the Mystic for Illustration Friday

Leah the Mystic, 2.5″ x 3.5″ Copic ATC multiplied and adjusted in paint.NET

Leah the Mystic is another denizen of the Many Wonders Woods. Nobody is quite sure where she lives or what she knows, but if you happen to see her wandering the shadowed pathways, follow along for a little while. She might tell you a secret. She is also Maiden Number 20.

For “Identical” at Illustration Friday. The original is the image in the top left, and the rest were created in paint.NET using the hue and saturation sliders. I used a lot of different colors which make the changes more distinct.

I know opinions may be mixed but it does feel like cheating, and perhaps for IF it is a bit! Completely changing the colors with the touch of a button. And it turns out, despite my love of bright colors, it is the lower saturation settings (the bottom right) that I like a bit more than the original. So, I need to figure out how to achieve those subtler colors, which remind me of an Art Nouveau palette.

Blue Horses, 2.5″ x 3.5″ Copic Markers, fine liners, white gel pen.

Leah is also a friend to the Blue Horses. Born lavender, the Blue Horses turn blue by the time they are two. The lavender helps them blend with the purple undergrowth in the Wonder Woods, and the blue helps camouflage the adults among the Blue Willows.

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Whimsical Robot Swap and More Maiden ATCs

 

For the Whimsical Robots Swap at illustratedatcs.com, each 2.5″ x 3.5″.
Copic markers, fine liners and white gel pen on smooth Bristol Board.

Hermes, the dog, is a very agreeable robot and will also serve as a beer opener. He makes a great companion for amiable-type hermits. Chelsea, the cat, is much more ornery, and suits the sarcastic hermit personality somewhat better. Of course the manufacturer insists that for optimum mental health, everyone should have one of each.

The pony is Gladys. Not recommended for hermits, because she is really too sweet-natured and were a hermit to go into a diabetic coma – nobody around to call 911! She makes a most excellent companion for small children, especially loners. (A blue version with a ball cap called Carlos is available for those opposed to purple.)

Roland the highland cow robot is a deluxe model companion. He performs admirably on guard duty, can detect gas leaks, put out small fires, and will alert you if you’ve left the stove or faucet on. Can also perform minor plumbing and electrical repairs. On pet mode he has a charming and goofy demeanor.

Modern Shaman Maiden (Bree), Green Gele (Nadi), The Nose Knows (Autumn)
Maidens 17, 18 and 16. Each 2.5″ x 3.5″ Copic markers and white gel pen.

These are maidens 17, 18 and 16 for my 100 Maidens project. Is this too many images and stories for one blog post? Feel free to let me know!

#17:  Bree’s mother was a missionary in Africa who went native and moved in with a tribal shaman. Bree was born less than a year later and grew up learning the shamanic arts. She spent many summers in Sheffield, England with her aunt’s family, but always preferred the tribe she grew up in. Reference photo.

#18:  In Nigeria, a tall elaborate head tie is called a Gele. On her visit there, Nadi got to try on several in a strange little shop lit by lanterns made of green glass.

#16:  Autumn was born to wildly hippie parents in the early 70’s. She is a caffeine addict who does tedious technical writing by day, and titillating Star Trek fan fiction by night! Reference photo.

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Thank you for stopping by!

Professor Tortoise and Druid Cat, Illustration Friday

Professor Tortoise, 2.5″ x 3.5″ Copics, white gel pen

Professor Tortoise is a meditation instructor. Now, maybe you think that’s just a dodgy way to slip in under the Illustration Friday topic, “Teacher”. And maybe you’re right! But I did have two days of horrible unable-to-draw-anything funk, and the Professor – Henry to his friends – taught me that if I kept at it, I would eventually draw another thing I liked. (There were many wretched and frustrated hours spent thinking otherwise. It is a poor strategy for art or anything else.)

A few days earlier I finished a certain druidic cat:

Druidic Cat, 3.5″ x 2.5″ Copics

Liam is a Tree Tending Instructor in the Many Wonders Woods. That’s right, another teacher! He teaches tree healing to young cat druids as well as forest sprites. Liam and Professor Tortoise were traded at illustratedatcs.com.

Thank you for stopping in! And here’s a progress slideshow!

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Romani Maiden and Spook the Cat, ATCs

Romani Maiden, 2.5″ x 3.5″ Copics, fine liners, gel pen

Her family discovered Nadya had the gift of fortune-telling at age nine when she convinced them not to take a ship that was lost in a violent storm two weeks after leaving port. But she always preferred horses to people, and by sixteen she discovered a gift for training horses.  Nadya is number 14 in the 100 Maidens Project and was made for a trade at illustratedatcs.com

The topic I chose from the ATC preference list for this trade was “gypsy or bohemian woman”, and in reading about “gypsies” I was reminded that some Roma consider this an insult. My imperfect understanding suggests “Romani” is the feminine adjective, and I hope anyone reading this post who knows otherwise will correct me.

Spook, 2.5″ x 3.5″ Copics and fine liners

Spook’s mother was the goddess Bastet and his sire a powerful Sphynx cat, companion to a ruling pharoah. Every October, this ancient and magical creature rises from a deep slumber and begins his search for thirteen worthy black kittens on which to bestow the magic of All Hallow’s Eve. Made for a Halloween swap at illustratedatcs.com.

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Reference photo.  Cat reference photo.

Hooray, you visited again! Or potentially for the first time! Thank you. ;)