Fantapsychological

Divergent

2011-09-19T11:27:00.000-04:00

Thanks to recommendations from my patrons and coworkers, I've been plowing through various Young Adult book series. After enjoying The Hunger Games I was told about Divergent and ended up finishing it in one night. I enjoyed it a lot and did some drawings afterwards.

Tris and (a drunk, not blushing) Four.

Tris, Al, Christina, and Will.

And finally Four, Tris, and Eric.

Please feel free to send me a message if you've read any other great YA series that you think I might enjoy. :)

SRC Cityscape

2011-08-12T13:34:00.000-04:00

After the character illustrations I drew, Northern Tier Regional Library asked me if I would be willing to do one additional project. At the end of the seven week "One World, Many Stories" program the children's librarian would be showing The Red Balloon.

She asked if I could sketch a quick "iconic" cityscape of the seven countries studied. The children would then dip their thumbs in red ink and dot their thumbprint balloons across the sky to symbolize their travels through summer reading. She gave me a few examples of what landscapes she specifically had in mind, handed me a massive roll of paper, and told me to go to town.

There weren't many supplies available so I borrowed two sharpies and free hand sketched the mural onto a 3 foot by 10.5 foot piece of roll-paper.

Also! I apologize for the horrible photo quality. I hadn't thought to bring my camera so I snapped these photos with my ancient (and obviously dated haha) cell phone. Hopefully the images are still readable, though. :)

Pris

2011-07-03T23:56:00.002-04:00

A coworker commissioned me for a fun painting of their sassy, big ol’ brown tabby girl named Pris. And since I’m ~~not so~~ secretly a crazy old cat lady, I blurted “YES” before she could finish her request. I just can’t help myself.

Wedding Invitations

2011-06-29T02:54:00.001-04:00

Wedding invitations: done!

Wedding Sketch

2011-06-24T20:50:00.001-04:00

(engagement photo credit to thegoodness.com)

I was recently asked to draw a fun wedding invitation for a friend. They’re both active swing dancers, so I wanted to incorporate that in.

I sent the bride my color sketches last night and while both her and I enjoyed this particular one, her fiance really liked another. Tia’s an awesome girl and since she chose to commission me for the invitations, she’s letting him pick the design I’ll take to final. So since this drawing was cut I thought I’d post it here because it’s still a fun doodle of them. ♥

SRC Products

2011-06-11T10:40:00.026-04:00

I wanted to post a final update regarding my last Summer Reading Club commission. The finished products have started going up and it's so exciting! I wanted to share with everyone since my portion is done and the library was kind enough to let me take a few photos.

When everything was said and done I ended up illustrating the characters for each week (including various versions; some with textures, some with flags behind them), hand written text, vectored images for the plastic bags, and drew/designed the folder itself.

Northern Tier Regional Library used the illustrations for their newsletter, pamphlets, book-recording folders, plastic bags, t-shirts, stickers, 2 by 3 foot promotional signs for around the township, and a massive 3 by 8 foot banner for across the entrance to the children's department.

(I should note I was not responsible for any of the design layouts other than the folder. I provided the illustrations and hand-written text, and they had someone else take care of all the various placements for each product.)

Anyway, onto the photos!

Stickers! (My favorite, but only because I've been a sticker collector since I was a kid haha.)

The t-shirt(s).

The 3 by 8 foot banner across the department.

An example of the signs that have been put around the area! (Cars driving by probably thought I was crazy for crouching in the grass taking photos haha.)

And finally, the folders! I designed them so the text appears sideways, but when opened up and displayed vertically it can be a poster. I was told a lot of the kids liked to keep theirs from previous years, so I thought it would be a neat idea to compliment that.

Everything turned out great and I was so happy to see the final prints. In a way, it's wild being able to watch a project from start to finish.

Charlie

2011-06-09T13:36:00.003-04:00

A family friend’s Golden was recently diagnosed with cancer, which saddened us all. I was commissioned to paint a quick portrait of Charlie so it can be given as a gift sometime soon.

Summer Time

2011-05-30T18:34:00.003-04:00

Summer! (and a new drawing~) I haven’t been to the beach since I was nine but I’ll be going in a few weeks so I’m super excited!

Summer Reading Club 2011

2011-05-20T18:02:00.022-04:00

Once a year the libraries of Allegheny County (Pennsylvania) have a Summer Reading Club program to promote reading and education to kids. There's a new theme every year, but this summer's is "One World, Many Stories” where a different country will be focused on each week.

Traditionally Allegheny county hires a graphic designer or illustrator to do the promotional artwork, then allows the individual libraries to buy various products of their choice from them. But Northern Tier Regional, my local library, contacted me to see if I'd be interested in designing new illustrations specifically for them and this year's theme. They thought it would be more unique, fun, and a chance to promote a local illustrator. I was excited!

Since every week focuses on a different country, Northern Tier's children’s librarian wrote a one sentence scenario for each and I worked my illustrations around them using the country’s national animal as the main character. The sentences given to me were:

"If you go to India, DO NOT get eaten by a tiger but DO ride an elephant." (national animal: Bengal Tiger)

"If you go to Australia, DO NOT get in a boxing match with a kangaroo but DO keep walking even if a crocodile smiles at you." (national animal: Kangaroo)

"If you go to Japan, DO NOT challenge a ninja but DO stop to see the cherry blossoms." (national animal: Tanuki)

"If you go to Brazil, DO NOT pick up a poison dart frog but DO check out the rain forests." (national animal: Jaguar)

"If you go to Ireland, DO NOT steal a leprechaun's gold but DO visit the Giant's Causeway." (national animal: Red Deer)

"If you go to France, DO NOT get lost in the underground catacombs but DO take a walk through Monet's garden." (national animal: Gallic Rooster)

"If you go to Russia, DO NOT go en pointe without lots of practice but DO see a show at the Bolshoi Theatre." (national animal: Russian Brown Bear)

I also illustrated, designed, and did the text for the folder that is given to each participating child to record their book titles into. I'm already so excited and can't wait to see everything printed! I'll be sure to share a few photos when the products begin to arrive.

Summer Reading Club sketch

2011-05-12T14:59:00.000-04:00

All I have left for my current commission is to layout the folder and hand write the text, so here are some of the final color ~~scribbles~~ sketches I turned in before starting the finals.

Animals, countries and libraries ~ oh my!

Ovechkin

2011-04-30T22:53:00.005-04:00

A commission for my awesome hockey-loving pal, Yen_san. ♥

Papercut Magazine Design

2011-04-24T13:50:00.002-04:00

A few sketches and a quick color study for a collaboration project Nicole, Meg, Erica, and I are working on.

Erica, Meg and I created designs based on a mood board Nicole sent each of us, then Meg lovingly sewed (from scratch!) all three of the outfits that each of us designed. Afterwards Nicole picked models and scouted a location to photograph everything in. The final product will be featured in Papercut Magazine sometime soon; I can't wait to see the results!

Ice Skating

2011-03-02T14:49:00.003-05:00

I found myself pretty sick with a mega sinus infection last weekend. My Gram thoughtfully mailed me a get well card but made sure I took note of the sticker she included. It was of these two girls ice skating, and for some reason I felt compelled to doodle them.

Whisper

2011-02-22T13:12:00.000-05:00

A little thank you for Whisper's Mom.

Traveling

2011-01-22T17:45:00.005-05:00

A doodle for a meme that’s been going around. ”Find the meaning of your character’s name, go here, type that meaning in, then draw it.” Vee apparently means “traveling” and the first outfit to come up was oddly fitting.

Christmas Neck Warmer

2010-12-28T15:41:00.003-05:00

I knit headbands that double as neck warmers for my best friends this past Christmas. Afterwards I found wooden buttons, sanded them down and painted each of their cats (or in Meg’s case, an owl) on them.

The pattern is available here for free if anyone’s interested. :)

Choose A Cat, Draw A Girl

2010-12-15T15:43:00.003-05:00

Drawn for the “Choose A Cat, Draw A Girl” challenge by James Harvey. Despite being over a month late for the actual submission, I thought the idea was too fun to pass up.

Swing Dancing

2010-12-10T22:36:00.000-05:00

A birthday drawing for my good friend Tia!

Fashion

2010-11-23T21:33:00.004-05:00

I seem to have an addiction to buying cute imported planners (as well as accessories for them like pens, stickers and stamps). There’s something about neatly ~~and adorably!~~ writing my thoughts down that feels so good.

That being said, I ran across a really neat Korean online store the other day that is full of fun photos for their merchandise. It made me want to doodle a bunch of girls in quirky clothing (as if that’s any different from what I normally enjoy drawing).

Staal and Malkin

2010-10-03T19:31:00.000-04:00

I miss Staal. :( After being out while recovering from a foot injury, he finally returns to practice and fractured his hand. Poor Jordan… what rotten luck. I hope he knows how much us P-burgh fans are missing him.

Day 13

2010-09-04T17:28:00.005-04:00

Part of a "30 Day Drawing Challenge".

The prompt for Day 13: A group picture. (shelf reference from gettyimages)

Day 10

2010-09-01T20:27:00.000-04:00

Part of a "30 Day Drawing Challenge".

The prompt for Day 10: Something you couldn't live without.

Mosaic Character Tiles

2010-08-30T16:33:00.002-04:00

I took a Mosaic and Tilemaking class over the summer and it was a ton of fun. I ended up making three 3” by 3” tiles featuring little characters, as well as a Mixed Cats one I did on the first day while getting the feel of the process (and seeing if I could actually mosaic tiles that small!).

From the top left, clockwise: a grey kitty stretching like my Rylee, Mr. Butters (by boyfriend's cat), the Mixed Cats one I did on the first day, and a bunny with a balloon. I was so nervous I wouldn’t be able to grout them correctly because of how small they are, but I think it worked out well.

Day 08

2010-08-30T13:25:00.005-04:00

Part of a "30 Day Drawing Challenge".

The prompt for Day 08: Something with your favorite color.

Day 06

2010-08-28T17:21:00.007-04:00

Part of a "30 Day Drawing Challenge".

The prompt for Day 06: Something you've never drawn before.

Day 04

2010-08-26T14:31:00.000-04:00

Part of a "30 Day Drawing Challenge".

The prompt for Day 04: An animal you think is really cute.

Thumbnails

2010-03-19T16:49:00.004-04:00

Another thumbnail page, this time for my series of cat calendar paintings.

Snow White and Rose Red

2010-01-14T13:47:00.007-05:00

Just a thumbnail color study page from my sketchbook (because they crack me up for some reason.)

The Knightmare

2009-12-03T09:35:00.000-05:00

The second page of a mini comic I painted about a “nightmare as a child”. I remember one winter when I heard loud clanking, and for some reason assumed it was the footsteps of a huge knight in armor coming down the hallway for me.

Painted in gouache on dark navy card stock, it was a fun and different way to work.

Vee and Sith

2009-11-17T16:39:00.000-05:00

A quick doodle of two characters from an original comic I worked on during high school.

Percy Jackson

2009-11-12T15:26:00.000-05:00

It's probably obvious by now that I'm a huge YA fiction junkie. After enjoying the Maximum Ride series I was recommended to try Percy Jackson and definitely loved all five books.

So if you're a Harry Potter fan and haven't tried the Percy Jackson series yet I highly suggest you do so. :)

Fruits n' Veggies

2009-10-11T16:16:00.000-04:00

Just a few fruits, veggies, and sweets I drew to make into buttons that are available for sale along with my plush dolls. :)

Poor Miller's Boy

2009-10-01T14:21:00.000-04:00

I love reading Grimm's fairy tales and find them inspirational when I'm not sure what to draw. So here's a page I doodled on after reading The Poor Miller's Boy and the Cat.

Maximum Ride

2009-09-14T04:09:00.000-04:00

I've recently found myself into a new Young Adult book series. A patron at my work recommended this series to me, and since I've never read any of James Patterson's work I figured I'd give it a shot ...and now I'm totally hooked.

If you've read the books then you can probably figure out who everyone is. I have to admit I'm quite fond of "I've got a Gameboy!!" Ari haha.

Hopskip and Complacent St.

2009-08-29T23:43:00.002-04:00

Sort-of finished colors for Hopskip and Jump.

... and some character doodles from my children's graphic novel I've been thumbnailing recently. :)

The Mysterious Benedict Society

2009-08-18T12:57:00.003-04:00

Just a quick drawing of Reynie, Sticky, Kate and Constance from The Mysterious Benedict Society. (Talk about an awesome book! ♥)

Hop-skip

2009-04-14T12:30:00.002-04:00

Small update! Here are a few finalized character sketches for the children's book project I've been working on. I might try to scan my page layouts and more character drawings later. Until then, enjoy little basketball loving Hop-skip.

Promotional Cards!

2009-03-29T18:18:00.003-04:00

My new postcards came! The reprint of my 'June' painting is to send to children's book houses; the Sherlock Holmes 'Look' drawing is for juvenile and young adult fiction publishers.

Super Cat and Tshirt Design

2009-03-28T13:47:00.000-04:00

Hello! Here are a few commissions I kept forgetting to update.

The first is a set of drawings I was commissioned for by a cycling team who wanted "an extremely cute bull and ewe copulating in different positions" for their team jersey this year. The second is a character commission featuring the always entertaining "super kitty" technique. Enjoy!

Puppies and Librarians

2008-10-02T00:33:00.006-04:00

Just a small update with a few of the recent things I've been working on. =)

First is a painting for/of a coworker and her adorable friend Scout.

Second is the front image portion of a post card styled wedding invitation. The bride (being a librarian) and the groom (being a life guard) wanted a 'fun, colorful, drawing with the played-up stereotypes of a lifeguard scooping up a librarian' (with the included text "They're taking the dive!" which gave me extra giggles). ♥

Senior Show

2008-06-18T17:50:00.005-04:00

Guess who graduated? =) I just wanted to post a photo or two of my senior show display. I was allowed to paint goofy things on the wall, and hung my "Kitties Everywhere (and they say 'hello')" series.

There on the shelf is the finished "Sherlock Holmes and The Adventure of the Speckled Band" children's book I constructed, as well as the compilation of my seven deadly sins mini comic series titled "Seven". I made both from scratch thanks to the wonderful book binding skills my high school 3D art teacher taught me. ♥

Sherlock Holmes Final

2008-05-12T16:46:00.007-04:00

Here's some of the final, finished artwork from my Sherlock Holmes book project.

First is the dust jacket, next the title page and then a few samples of the interior artwork (both spots and full pages) and how they're placed.

This project was unbelievably fun (although that could have something to do with my overwhelming love for Sherlock). I printed everything out and actually bound all of the work into a functional, real book. I'll try to post some photos as soon as I get a chance. Enjoy!

Business and Promotional Cards

2008-05-10T12:33:00.005-04:00

Images for the front of my business card and promotional leave behind. Nothing like some cat ice cream. =)

Sherlock Character Art

2008-05-05T17:41:00.008-04:00

Here are some sketches and final character designs for my Sherlock Holmes book project. I chose the Speckled Band story, so there are some designs for Miss Helen Stoner as well.

The page of boxes are different composition ideas for the full page illustrations that will be within the book. Every time I draw Miss Stoner it makes me jealous though; I only wish I was cool enough to wear those gorgeous Victorian styled dresses.

Kitties and Monsters

2008-04-29T12:25:00.000-04:00

Just another sketchbook prompt, this time for the word 'creepy'.

Mamegoma Cakes

2008-04-13T18:03:00.004-04:00

I made some Mamegoma cakes for a friends birthday. ♥ I thought I'd share.

(And they were quite delicious, in case you were wondering). =)

Just Mountain

2008-04-03T16:36:00.005-04:00

My design and final product for a digital illustration class project. We had to create our own energy drink- so here is 'Just Mountain' (ridiculously named thanks to an ongoing inside joke between my friends and I).

Blast and Agony

2008-03-07T18:58:00.004-05:00

More sketchbookyness! This time with 60% more comet-riding cat cowboys.

Mevilled Eggs

2008-03-06T18:12:00.003-05:00

Meg is quite a fan of the cartoon Chowder. And one day the urge possessed her to have us actually attempt to make Mevilled Eggs; a treat that is featured on the show. So we did!

It was awesome.

Sherlock and Apples

2008-03-04T18:47:00.000-05:00

Here's the test colors and inks for a Sherlock Holmes project I'm working on. By the end I should have a dust jacket, title page spot and five interior illustrations for The Adventure of the Speckled Band. I'm pretty pumped because I'm quite the Holmes fan. Oh, and below is one of my black and white pages for a comic in Sequential class.

Senior Sketchbooks

2008-03-03T19:28:00.002-05:00

Here are a few gouache sketchbook pieces. We're doing a 'trade' in senior thesis where we're each given a small sketchbook and choose a word for the theme. Each week we switch with someone and by the end should get our original sketchbooks back with 15+ drawings.

The first and third are my image and cover for my own book, 'deleterious'. The middle was for a delightful book themed 'moustache'. Enjoy!

Fantapsychological

2008-03-03T14:10:00.000-05:00

Lets get things started, shall we?