More Goofy Art Card Dogs in Copics

Clockwise from top left: Beatnik Bruce, Flower the Environmentalist, Eddison, Professor Gabriel Each 2.5" x 3.5" art cards. Copic markers on smooth Bristol.

Clockwise from top left:
Beatnik Bruce, Flower the Environmentalist, Eddison, Professor Gabriel
Each 2.5″ x 3.5″ art cards. Copic markers on smooth Bristol.

Bruce started off as a hipster (in the sketch) but his Beat credentials have won out. He’s published three chapbooks of poetry and is a canine lit professor at a tiny liberal bark school.

Flower is an older student working towards a Masters in Environmental Law, and Gabriel was her Sociology 1200 professor. After completing the class, they began meeting socially for coffee.  I understand they are quite smitten with each other at this point.

Eddison is a bit of a mystery because he doesn’t say much. He keeps a beautiful garden however, and is rumored to have a slight crush on the local librarian.

Four new pups for my 30 Art Card dogs project. I am slowly replacing some of the older dogs with newer dogs that better reflect my current ability (and include more detail/accessories). Many of the pups are available in my shop, or possibly visiting for a while in my personal stash before they make it to the shop. ;)

Speaking of current ability, I thought I’d post some dogs from the very first art cards I did about two years ago, having just gotten back into drawing after many years away. Apparently I was quite fond of green backgrounds then!

Three Early Dog ATCs
Each 2.5″ x 3.5″, markers, pen and ink.

I’d say it’s quite a striking difference! Practicing does pay off people, so don’t give up! Lots of progress pics below. Thanks so much for stopping by.

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Spirit of the Forest for Illustration Friday

Spirit of the Forest, Autumn
8 x 10 Copic Markers

For the topic “Wings” at Illustration Friday. The Autumn Spirit has one brother – the Spring Spirit, and they have two sisters, Summer and Winter.

I was afraid to color this because I really liked the sketch. This is a problem digital artists do not face! Also, the solid green in the background was not the best move. Arrgh.

Thanks for visiting!

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Fox reference photo.

Art Card Dogs in Many Colors

Astro Dog and Pierce with Pipe
Each 2.5″ x 3.5″ art cards. Copics, pens, gel pen.

Astro was teased for a few years at school until it became clear the girls thought his flowered ears were adorable. He had a lot of attractive lady friends! Finally he settled down with a pink dog called Sophie who shared his love of classical music and mud baths (not necessarily together – but sometimes).

Pierce is a (little bit of a) snob. He wouldn’t even give me two minutes to answer a few questions for this bio! Handsome devil, though. It’s probably what led to his bad attitude. Or perhaps he’s painfully shy. In which case it wasn’t nice of me to call him a snob. Not nice at all.

Rollo the Skeptic and Walter the Scrivener
Each 2.5″ x 3.5″ art cards. Copics, pen, gel pen.

Rollo is not a professional skeptic, but he has always been suspicious of food and his food bowl. Have you ever known one of those dogs who won’t eat anything until he’s sniffed at it for a minute? Rollo’s like that, except he will sniff it for much longer. And if it’s big enough, he will carry it around for a while too. Drool is usually involved.

Walter has taken the name “Walter the Scrivener”. He hasn’t actually read “Bartelby the Scrivener”, but he likes the idea of a quiet individual working at a serious, if repetitive, job. It’s a bit of a secret identity, really. Everyone should have a secret identity.

I’ve been trading away SO many cards that I decided recently to put more in my shop, which is where all these went! I’ve been experimenting with the eyes for dramatic effect, with some success, but still working on it.  Thanks for visiting!

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The Other Minotaur, for Illustration Friday

Mino-Taura, 6″ x 9″ Copic Markers

For the topic “Myth” at Illustration Friday.

Historians call her Mino-Taura, though her real name is not known. It is believed she was the twin of Asterion, the Minotaur famously slain by Theseus. Zeus spied her upon her birth, stole her, and took her to a secret island where he would visit her with gifts of servants and exotic fruit. Unlike her twin, Mino-Taura had no taste for meat. Despite these gifts she was a lonely soul and died young, having never met another of her kind. Her death went unnoticed, the same as her life.

So this was another case of trusting to the end product, because as you’ll see from the scans below, she was an ugly thing for a while there! But I have learned to push through to the end, and I’m usually glad I did. I even stopped sooner than usual, instead of filling in more of the solid spaces. (Though that could still change.)

Artist retains rights to text and image. Thank you! Thanks for visiting!

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The Elusive Painted Bulbfish for Illustration Friday

NOTE: I am trying a new email subscription service because the last one stopped working. Please accept my apologies if you get more than one email for this post, though I hope to avoid that. If you are signed up, you should still be signed up, but let me know if you don’t get an email for this post. And if you want to sign up, you can do so on the right side of this page. Thank you!

Painted Bulbfish, 9″ x 6″
Copics and Microns. Digital background.

For “Ocean” at Illustration Friday, I offer to you a glimpse of the elusive Painted Bulbfish, a member of the order of Anglerfish. As far as scientists have been able to tell, the bulb-like lure which hangs from the forehead is not for catching prey, but for illuminating rocky growths on which the moss it eats lives. The distinctive pattern on this individual is due to artistic license, as no live specimen has ever been witnessed.

More items recently completed: two sunflower princesses.

Leona of the Sun and a Sunflower Princess
Each 2.5″ x 3.5″ art cards, Copics, Microns and gel pens.

The image of Leona is carved into the largest and most ancient tree stump in The Wonder Woods. She was a princess who captured the light of the sun on her skin and left a trail of glittering motes wherever she went, especially in the summer months. This artist has taken taken some liberties, as the image on the tree has not the slightest hint of its original color. To her right is an artist’s rendering of her daughter, the Sunflower Princess.

Lots of progress pics below. Thank you so much for stopping by!

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Guardian Clan Cat ATC for Illustration Friday

Son-Ji the Guardian
2.5″ x 3.5″ Copics, fine liners, white gel pen

Son-Ji is a ranking member of the guardian clan who watch over the Bridge at the Edge of the World. Both her brothers chose to leave the territory and seek their fortune on the other side of The Wonder Woods. Only Son-Ji inherited the Guardian’s Gift.

Submitted for the topic “Edge” at Illustration Friday. I intend to actually draw the bridge, but it won’t be in time for this topic! (Perhaps if there’s a “bridge” topic. I should submit that. Hmm…)

Here’s one more art card I did recently, for the “Kings and Queens” swap at illustratedatcs.com. I really like the color and style of this one, though the crown is not sitting quite properly in her hair/on her head. Queen Hana is Maiden Number 55 (and I am up to 60)!

Queen Hana
2.5″ x 3.5″, Copics, fine liners, white gel pen

Thank you so much for stopping by! I hope we all have a wonderful year with Illustration Friday and whatever other projects we’ve got hidden up our magic little sleeves. :)

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Happy New Year to all my visitors and art blog pals!

As I suspect may be the case with many of you, I have been trying to climb out of the holiday doldrums. Happened last year at this time, too. And it’s not like I have nothing to post. I did all of those secret santa things that I couldn’t post because they were secret. So I am posting my favorites!

Jillian Calavera2.5" x 3.5" ATC, Copic markers.

Jillian Calavera
2.5″ x 3.5″ ATC, Copic markers.

This is my favorite of all the Calavera/Day of the Dead girls I’ve done (which granted is only about a dozen, and all Art Card size.) I wanted to post it as soon as it was done, but it was a secret!

10 Brown Lemur 5x7

Brown Lemur & Friend
5″ x 7″ Copics on mustard-tone card stock.

This is my favorite of the (slightly) larger art I did for secret santa. It was tricky picking the colors because the mustard tone of the paper changed everything. In the end I think the detail on the chameleon’s face might overpower the lemur a bit, but I was very satisfied with the finished composition and color scheme.

And finally, three more ATCs I thought were pretty neat:

Three secret santa ATCs

Maria Calavera, Young Dreaming Tree, Alien Ambassador
Each 2.5″ x 3.5″ ATCs, Copics on smooth Bristol board.

Progress pics for some of these below.  Thanks so much for visiting my first post of 2013! I hope we all have a very peaceful and art-filled new year!

 

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Monsters and Mermaids for Illustration Friday

Jeremiah and Devon ACEOs
Each 2.5″ x 3.5″ Copics, fine liners, white gel pen

On the easternmost edge of The Wonder Woods is a glowing marsh with a peculiar variety of phosphorescent lichen called Witchlight, which many creatures find quite delicious! Those that help themselves to a bellyful of the stuff emit a yellowish glow, particularly in the cheeks, though only for a couple hours.

For the topic “Glow” at Illustration Friday. (Both original monster ACEOs are available in my Etsy shop – link at upper right! They were inspired by a “Little Monsters” ATC swap at illustratedatcs.com.)

Nari and Ivy ATCs
Each 2.5″ x 3.5″ Copics, fine liners, white gel pen

Another enormous colony of Witchlight lichen is said to be located in the dark depths of the Story Sea, or so it’s told. Only mermaids and other deep sea creatures have ever seen it, and as you know, it’s hard to get a straight answer from a mermaid (particularly a cultish Goth one, like Nari or Ivy, above).

Nari and Ivy were made for a “Goth Mermaids” ATC swap at illustratedatcs.com.

Thanks for stopping in! I hope your holidays have been, and continue to be, super great!

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Four More of the 100 Maidens

Cerys, the Hope Queen and Goth Girl Tess ATCsEach 2.5" x 3.5" Copics, fine liners, white gel pen

Cerys, the Hope Queen and Goth Girl Tess ATCs
Each 2.5″ x 3.5″ Copics, fine liners, white gel pen

Holy cow, will the ATC madness ever end? (I hope not.) If you’ve been here before you may know I started a project called 100 Maidens on Flickr to catalog my adventures in illustrating maidens (mostly maiden faces, truth be told, but I had been avoiding doing people for years). These are four of those maidens, who now number 49!

Cerys never wanted the crown but when all the other options were exhausted, she wore it justly and little complained. And so she kept Hope alive for another generation.  Made for a “Kings and Queens” swap at illustratedatcs.com.

This is Tess. A few years older, she is a bit like a den mother to the local Goth scene. She is a bartender at the The Shady Maiden and occasionally sells mysterious potions out of a very small room in the back. None of the thieves who occasionally break in hunting for her stash can ever find the entry to the room. Made for a trade at atcsforall.com.

Natasha's New Hat and The Wizard's Daughter ATCsEach 2.5" x 3.5" Copics, fine liners, white gel pen

Natasha’s New Hat and The Wizard’s Daughter ATCs
Each 2.5″ x 3.5″ Copics, fine liners, white gel pen

Natasha has always been drawn to strange hats and in her new apartment she has created The Misfit Hat Room. People who visit the room often describe a strange craving for pastries after spending time there. Made for a swap at atcsforall.com

Dahlia has picked up quite a few tricks from assisting her wizard father for so many years. She does not fear walking in the woods alone, and has twice foreseen events that allowed her family and their animals to avoid danger. Made for a trade.

You guys! While I was making this post I was looking through my site stats and saw that several people had come from a particular page, so of course I went to see. And here’s what I found. A big thank you to Dogster!

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Elaine and the Bachelors, for Illustration Friday

Three Bachelor Snowmen

Three Bachelor Snowmen and the Fair Elaine
Each 2.5″ x 3.5″ Copics, fine liners, white gel pen

For “Snow” at Illustration Friday.

This is the story of three dapper bachelor snowmen, all vying for the fair Elaine. Join us in Episode One as Alfred (with the extremely fine top hat), hatches a plan to heat the apartments of his two rivals, Leo (in the blue) and Grumby.

I took no process scans of these creatures! However, here are two more ATCs I did recently that I really dig (and for which I have some progress scans – apologies for the hair on scan 12)!

Noise Monster and Ursula the Priestess ATCs
Each 2.5″ x 3.5″, Copics, fine liners, white gel pen

Jangle is a particularly irritating little noise monster. He rustles papers and makes other small noises whose source you can never find! Fortunately he only stays in the same house for one day.

Descended from a long line of priestess healers born with elaborate facial tattoos, Ursula left the cloister and founded a small alpaca farm. She sometimes fosters girls who help with the flock while she prepares tinctures and various healing balms for the local community. Ursula is Maiden Number 45. Holy cow, 45!

AND ONE MORE THING!  A lovely person called Bettina has interviewed me for her site! If you have a moment, take a look! I don’t sound too dorky (I don’t think).

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