2017 Christmas Presents - Daddy Cat

Ink, marker, and colored pencil on smooth Bristol, 2.5x3.5", Completed December 2017

The second Christmas present I completed last month was for my dad. He's always grumpy about something or other so I found a cat that looked the same XD I chose a cat with folded ears to represent my dad's bald head and the fur color is a reflection of his hair color, as well. I can't remember for sure, but I may have exaggerated the grump in the cat's face, lol. My dad took the perfect photo of him holding his ACEO in front of his face while pulling the biggest frown and it made my drawing look just like him!

This piece is available for purchase on cool merchandise here!
 

I'm really satisfied with this particular drawing, it's one of the best of the lot I think. The colors I used look great together, unified, and the anatomy turned out near perfect.  This drawing made me realize I didn't need to use such a wide variety of colors for the background, instead I started choosing from the colors that I had already used for the cat.

2017 Christmas Presents - Mama Cat

Ink, marker, and colored pencil on smooth Bristol, 2.5x3.5", Completed December 2017

This was another year wherein I decided to create art as gifts for Christmas. As with some previous years, I chose an overarching theme that every present would share: for 2017 it was "You as a Cat!" I had a relatively large gift list so I also went with little ACEOs for the format to ensure I could actually get everything done on time (^^; I'm proud to say I did! The first present I made was for my husband's mom, whom I dubbed "Mama-chan" long before Sean and I were married. I actually used a photo I took at Thanksgiving just weeks earlier for the human reference image. I chose a cat reference photo that seemed to have the same sort of expression. I made it a light-colored red cat to imitate Mama-chan's hair color. The idea with all of these cats was to make a more realistic cat version of each person, rather than a cartoony image where the cat has a human haircut and wears glasses and such. So, while this cat has a tabby pattern, hopefully it's obvious that Mama-chan does not XD

Available for purchase on cool stuff like mousepads and coasters!

Since I was in a rush to complete my full list of ACEO gifts, I didn't take any progress photos, but I did take one photo after each piece was finished which shows the art along with every marker and colored pencil that went into its creation :3 Shows really well how much detail and effort goes into even a tiny trading card-sized artwork at Studio Mikarts!

Birthdays December 2017 - Have a Shark

Ink and marker on smooth Bristol, 2.5x3.5", Completed December 2017

For birthdays in December last year, I decided to draw ACEOs featuring the giftees' favorite (or what I thought to be their favorite) animals. The first was for my good friend Sarah and, obviously, I drew a shark! I don't know if she has a specific favorite species, so I just searched the web for shark reference images and finally found one that adorably looked like it was smiling X3

Available to purchase on cool stuff like mousepads and mugs!

I didn't think to take any progress photos because I was in a rush to get this done, d'oh...

Tomodachi Fest Commission - Chibi Gryphon

Ink and marker on index paper, 4x6", Completed December 2017

This piece was an original character commissioned by a client during Tomodachi Fest 2017 (the convention's last year and ironically my most successful artist alley there). I was asked to choose the two animals to make up the gryphon so I chose a harpy eagle and a black jaguar. The dark plumage and fur matched the gruesome appearance of the character (being blood soaked was a requirement) so that's why I chose those animals. I also designed the dress and am really pleased with the result! Note the repetitions of four throughout the character design--that was my addition, an homage to the Japanese superstition around the number four, because it is pronounced the same as "death".

Available for purchase in my deviantART Shop.

Here are my progress photos!

Basic inking complete.

Kiki loves to get all up in my work XD

Detailed inking complete.

Coloring complete.

Final details complete.