Tag Archives: aceo

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.

Castle in the Mirror for Illustration Friday

Castle in the Mirror, 6″ x 8″
Copics, fine liners, white gel pen, white prismacolor pencil on toned cardstock.

For the topic “Mirror” at Illustration Friday. I’ve been seeing all kinds of IF entries on brown paper and I finally got a large sheet of mustard, and another of dark brown. The mustard is a card stock, so very absorbent and very thick, (though maybe not acid-free or ideal for one reason or another).

I can only manage to get greens or brown and oranges out of all my colors, which is a good start. But I may have to try blue paper too.

Princess Moira, 2.5″ x 3.5″
Copics, fine liners, white pen & pencil on white Bristol board.

Moira is not queen yet, but is next in line for the royal sanctuary. Her mother will probably give up the Queen’s crown by the end of the year, and Moira is content to wait. As princess she’s seen a bit of the workings of sheep bureaucracy, and she does not willingly, or hurriedly, seek more. (Which is not to say the perks aren’t excellent, too.)  Final card for Winged Queens swap at illustratedatcs.com. (You can see the first two, Floria the Fey Queen and The DogFaerie Queen, in my last post.)

Thanks as always for stopping by! Please double check your Illustration Friday link, if you’ve entered.

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(I was using artist’s tape around the edges because I planned to do a background, but then I didn’t!)

Sheep reference photo.

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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The Bee Maiden and her Bursting Bonnet

Bee Maiden ATC and Bee Girl envelope art.
Copics, fine liners, white gel pen. Illustration board and envelope.

Nyuki* is a bee maiden. She travels with the hive she bonded with as a child, and can sing the name of every bee. The hive’s honey is a magical balm and can heal even the most grievous of wounds. Beside her is the Bee Girl. She is a friend to all the hives.

For the topic “Burst” at Illustration Friday. Made for a trade at illustratedatcs.com. Tons of progress pics below! I struggled mightily with the eyes, as you will see.

And since I’ve started doing more elaborate envelope art, I am including a few of my favorite envelope images:

Images from three envelopes. Copics, Sharpie & Staedtler markers and pens.

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Thanks for visiting! Don’t forget to visit other Illustration Friday artists (and the wonderful art blogs in my sidebar). If you want. ;D

*Nyuki means “bee” in Swahili

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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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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Adventures in Color, More Copic ATCs

Orange Tapestry Sheep, 2.5″ x 3.5″
They call her Deeba because her wool is magically silky. She was born to normal Chokla sheep parents two days after a mysterious shaman passed through the village.

Earth Elemental Maiden, 2.5″ x 3.5″
This daughter of Gaia has a magical chameleon familiar who delivers messages and sometimes heals small animals.

Strange Chameleon Five, 2.5″ x 3.5″ Copics
Ari is a Wish Lizard. If you catch him (nicely), and know to feed him figs and dandelion, he will grant you a wish.

Strange Chameleon Four, 2.5″ x 3.5″ Copic
Her name is Julie Goolie and she is an insect archeology hobbyist.

More Artist Trading cards for various trades at illustratedatcs.com (where my handle is CindyD). These are some of my favorites, though I do think I am still overworking them somewhat. I may need to do another pair of complementary chameleons so I can make a print with all four. But I’ve also got to finish more sheep and foxes and maidens. Oh my. Oh! And I’m up to ten on the 100 Maidens project.

I’ve included some progression pics below (though I’m not doing a whole set for each and every card). And now I must get to work on my “Bounce” entry, for Illustration Friday. Thanks so much for stopping in for a visit! I think I have a pretty good rate of visiting back – but I can only do that if you leave your address.

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100 Maidens Project and Illustration Friday

Celestial Maiden Fara, 2.5″ x 3.5″ Copics

Celestial Maiden Deia, 2.5″ x 3.5″ Copics

 

The topic this week at Illustration Friday is “Lonely” and there are few lonelier than the Celestial Maidens. Whether walking the stars or talking to planets, they walk the heavens and rarely meet. These are the final two in a group of four created for a swap at illustratedatcs.com. The first two can be found in my last post.

I joined that swap as a challenge because I so rarely do people of any kind. But I had so much fun I decided to embark on a new project called 100 Maidens. I figure after 100 I will be much better at drawing women, at any rate! It’s not 100 in 100 days or any madness like that. Just 100 in the next year or so, hopefully a really nice variety (and not 100 young, beautiful blondes, for instance). I’ve got a Flickr set created to collect them.

The one below was created for a trade by someone who liked the second maiden and wanted a version with warm colors. Thanks for visiting!

Maiden Number 5, Pharandra, 2.5″ x 3.5″ Copics

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