EMG Sketch Fest – Ellen Million Graphics Blog

Summer Night Sketch Fest

It’s a late summer night, and we’ve been Sketch Festin’ all day! Let’s take a look at some of the creativity that’s come out to play, then make sure you click over to the full gallery and explore some more.

Jenna Wing-hu did this quick digital sketch inspired by Becca Moore’s prompt. This delicate and whimsical Beach Witch sports appropriate coverage in her wide-brimmed hat.

This playful and dancing fire fairy was sketched by Becca “Boo” Moore – and you can pick up the original pencil drawing on copy paper for only $15.

Ellen drew two of her favorite characters from the novel Tropical Christmas Stag: Gizelle and Conall! She said, “I couldn’t resist the excuse to sketch these two. It’s been WAY too long since I just sat down and sketched!”

This sultry and intense fellow drawn by Mayumi Ogihara was inspired by William “Kenku” Swiftfoot’s prompt, “Grey Fox.” Commenting on her digital sketch, she shared, “He might be featured in a fantasy male portrait colouring book I’m thinking of creating in the future.” We hope she does!

Shelley M. Walker drew this vital and wild beach witch taking part in an “Ocean Communion.” Her piece is colored pencil on paper.

What was your favorite piece? Don’t forget to check out the rest of the #EMGSketchFest 122 gallery – and leave some comments for our awesome participants!

Last Sketch Fest of the Decade

Welcome to our last featured creations post of the decade, celebrating our last #EMGSketchFest of same; read on to admire some of the wonderful examples of creativity uploaded to the Sketch Fest #116 gallery.

Vultures tend to be a massively misunderstood avian, so we’re delighted to see Kathy Nutt giving us such a regal “Egyptian Vulture” sketch this month. This 4.5″ x 6″ Micron pen drawing on watercolor paper is available for $30.

This vital and mysterious sketch comes from Katerina Romanova, who writes, “I loved this prompt! Also, I’ve fallen back into my unicorn phase and can’t get back up.” Inspired by Skarbog’s prompt of “the wild unicorn,” “Wild” is a speedpaint done in 50 minutes using the Mixer Brush tool. You can pick up prints in a couple of sizes for for $14 or $18.

We love the mischief captured in Nathalie Edelhirsch’s “Froggy Lady.” She said, “There probably is some magic in this” and we can’t disagree! You can take home the original mixed media painting on watercolor paper for $20.

Winter may be cold, but you’ll feel warm and fuzzy after admiring this mermaid snuggling with a puffin. Tallulah Cunningham drew “Fishy Cuddles” upon the inspiration of Sarah Alden’s “Puffin Mermaid” prompt.

“Fairy Midwinter Night Star Gazing” by Linnea Holmström Ljung

Our last featured illustration of the decade is Linnea Holmström Ljung’s “Fairy Midwinter Night Star Gazing.” This fanciful and wonderful sketch is pencil on A6 paper, completed in forty minutes.

Now that you’ve seen these pretties, click over to the gallery and admire all the rest! Don’t forget to do a little shopping and commenting while you’re there.

We hope you’ll join us for the first #EMGSketchFest of 2020 – it’ll take place on the weekend of January 17-19. Tell your friends, and we’ll see you there!

Thanks for a great Sketch Fest #111!

Thank you to every artist, prompter, and commenter who joined us for July’s Sketch Fest event! We had almost 100 illustrations uploaded to the gallery in the 48 hours of the event, with over two dozen pieces available for purchase.

Before you explore our gallery full of witches and unicorns (and other kinds of -corns), fairies and foxes and bunnies with balloons, check out our last set of featured illustrations.

This evocative and spellbinding illustration by Rowan Lewgalon is called “Reach for the Stars,” matching the Maigan Lynn prompt that inspired the piece.

Tricia Danby’s “Fortune Teller” may be incomplete, but the intensity of focused attention comes through, inspired by Harkalya Reveur’s prompt of “Fortune teller (Enchanted Visions).”

These enchanting rainbow “Jellyfishes” were sketched by Afke van Herpt on Scratch Magic note paper and inspired by Maigan Lynn’s prompt, “Jellyfish parade.”

“Foxy Blue” by Harkalya Reveur is a whimsical, foxy delight! As the artist describes it, admire “[a] cute blue kitsune girl fancy dressed for a tea party!” Purchase the original mixed media ACEO painting on Opalina 200 gr/m paper for $25.

Inspired by Julie Rabischung’s “lotus flower mermaid” prompt, Maria J. William created this beautiful and captivating mermaid in her piece “Lotus Reverie.” You can purchase the original colored pencil, white charcoal, and white acrylic sketch on 6″x8″ toned paper for $40. Prints can be had for $7 and $10.

Our last featured creation for this Sketch Fest is from Melinda Baker, whose creativity took LEGO® pieces and crafted them into this intriguing scene.

That’s it for our eleventy-first Sketch Fest! Head over to the full gallery now to explore more, leave some comments for the artists, and perhaps buy yourself something awesome.

Join us in August for EMG Sketch Fest #112 on the weekend of August 23-25. Sign up for free! And you can find the Facebook Event here.

Tempestuousness and Whimsy

Our eleventy-first Sketch Fest has come to an end! But that doesn’t mean the gallery’s locked – some additional illustrations may be added as our artists finish uploading the creations inspired by their claimed prompts.

You should definitely swing by the full gallery – in a bit. Let us whet your appetite with some featured illustrations first.

Inspired by Julie Rabischung’s prompt of “lotus flower mermaid,” Maigan Lynn drew this pale and long-lashed fish-tailed beauty. “Lily” is drawn with colored pencils on 5.5″ x 8.5″ on toned paper. Pick up the original for $35.

“The Blue Fox Carried by a Balloon” by Erich Heidewald

Erich Heidewald drew this delightful blue fox who’s “[f]loating, floating away!” with a whimsical grin on their muzzle. This illustration is colored pencils on 3.5″ x 5.25″ on 60 lb sketch paper.

There’s a sublime watchfulness in Kathy Nutt’s line drawing of a “Little Red Hen.” We can just see this chicken giving a mischievously loud bacaw before shimmying her feathers and looking for feed.

Mayumi Ogihara sketched this “Queen of Shadows” with her vulnerable yet piercing gaze and perhaps a hint of a raven-feather collar and a truly impressive crown. This is an unfinished digital sketch inspired by Maigan Lynn’s “the darkest dark” prompt, and Mayumi may finish it after some more brainstorming time.

“Storm Fairy” by Katherine Rose Barber is a breathtaking sketch of tempestuous beauty. She also did a speed-sketch of this, which will be up on her YouTube later – be sure to check it out.

“Just Wondering” by Peter C.M. van Herpt

This majestic gorilla by Peter C. M. van Herpt was created in pencil and pastel pencil and inspired by Nathalie Edelhirsch’s prompt of “just wondering.”

That’s it for tonight – click over to the full gallery for more, and join us here tomorrow when we announce the dates of the next Sketch Fest!

Goblin Kings and Moon Foxes!

Have a good Saturday? We sure did! And while it may be drawing to a close, there’s still a lovely Sketch Fest Sunday to go.

Let’s dive into a few featured illustrations here on the blog! Then visit the full gallery.

In the dog days of summer, it’s lovely to sit and fish by a cooling waterfall – particularly if you’re a fairy lad. Amy Sue Stirland painted this lovely scene in watercolors on 3″ x 5″ Bristol. Purchase the original painting for $15!

This gorgeous “Vintage Fairy” by Linzi Fay is sketched on 5.5″ x 8.5″ toned tan paper. Linzi said, “I used an old vintage photograph to draw this fairy” for that extra touch of authenticity. You can hang the original on your wall for $28.

Elma Bree created this rose-and-thorn-draped “Gothic Elf,” inspired by Mayumi Ogihara’s prompt.

This graphite sketch of the “Goblin King” by Sally Gilroy has captured the mischief and amusement that Jareth radiates on the regular.

This whimsical and lovely “Moon Fox” was created by Julie Rabischung with ink, white gouache, and watercolors on toned Canson paper. You can buy the original 4″ x 6″ watercolor for $20 or pick up a print for $7.

We’re to bed, the sooner to embrace a creative morrow. Say you’ll join us! There’s still time to sign up – it’s free! – and contribute a prompt. Make sure you leave comments for the artists, too, they’re a hungry lot.

EMG Sketch Fest #111

Welcome to July’s Sketch Fest Saturday! This is our eleventy-first Sketch Fest, but don’t worry – we won’t make a puzzling speech like “I don’t know half of you half as well as I should like, and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve.” before disappearing with a magic ring.

Promise.

Let’s dive into some featured illustrations before you tumble down into the full gallery.

The founder of our Sketch Fest feast, Ellen Million, had the first piece of art uploaded to our gallery this weekend! This art card is an overdue Junicorn sketch; “Falling Star Filly” is colored pencils on colored paper measuring 2.5″ x 3.5″ and can be purchased for $15.

“Centaur of Attention” by Becca “Boo” Moore

We love a fun pun, and Becca “Boo” Moore has tickled our funny bones with “Centaur of Attention.” Becca said, “I think she turned out really pretty and fun” and we agree! The original ink and marker sketch on 8.5″ x 11″ cardstock can be purchased for $35.

This handsome fellow is “Moon Fox” and, in artist Linda Sayegh’s own words, a “cute little fox sitting out in the moonlight.” This illustration is in colored pencils and Sharpie paint pen on Strathmore toned tan paper measuring 5″ x 7″. Snag the original drawing for $45!

This is Holly Broxson’s first Sketch Fest as an artist, and she’s drawn this fantastic fungus witch in ink in her sketchbook. This is one look we’d love to see cosplayed!

Tesha Gaither drew this charming “baticorn” with a fruitbat face in a lovely shade of purple.

Those are all our features for now – head over to the EMG Sketch Fest #111 gallery to discover more art (and some for sale!). Then sign up for free so you can leave prompts, comment on the art, and create some of our own.

Welcome to Sketch Fest #108!

It’s been a creative Sketch Fest Friday! We kicked off this month’s #EMGSketchFest this afternoon, and our participants started creating
an inspiring selection of prompts for everyone right away.

There are already two dozen illustrations posted to the gallery, ranging from Space Age Milkshakes to Medusa to a Caticorn and a chubby little groundhog.

The first sketch uploaded to our gallery goes to Julie Rabischung for her completely adorable “Octopi Tea Party.” The original illustration measures 5×7 and is ink and colored pencils on toned paper. You can pick up the original drawing for just $18!

Join us here tomorrow for more featured illustrations from #EMGSketchFest – if you can’t wait, head on over to the full gallery now.

Sketch Fest 107 Sunday

We’ve been sketch festin’ all weekend, and have nearly 100 sketches in the gallery to show for it! You should definitely pop over and explore – there’s even art for sale, so you might find something wonderful for your walls.

Let’s check out some featured pieces to whet your appetite:

This piece of a “lovely lady with blue eyes and a diadem in her hair” kicked off Sketch Fest #107. As the first sketch, it’s appropriately named “First Glance” by artist Tammi Sponseller.

“Mermaid’s Narwhal Friend” by Julie Rabischung

Julie Rabischung was inspired by Sarah Alden to create this playful piece: “A little mermaid swimming with her narwhal friend. Thank you Sarah for the lovely prompt!” This 4×6 illustration was drawn with ink, colored pencils, and markers on toned paper. You can grab the original sketch for just $15!

Narwhals were a popular subject this Sketch Fest, as you can see in this adorable narwhal watercolor from first time Sketch Fester Juliana Velasco.

This was Corgi’s first Sketch Fest, and she slayed it! This cute and striking illustration of a “Harajuku Girl,” those iconic Tokyo fashionistas, is a fine example.

“Art Nouveau Mermaid” by Amy Sue Stirland

Inspired by Mayumi Ogihara’s prompt and an Alphonse Mucha piece that she really likes, Amy Sue Stirland drew an “Art Nouveau Mermaid.” This sketch measures 5.5×8.5 and is ink and colerase on mixed media paper. She’s planning to add watercolors. Check back later to see if the original’s available!

Jill Britt, inspired by a prompt from Afke van Herpt, drew this wonderful slice-of-life illustration of a mermaid and otter friend titled “Otters and Orange.”

Our last featured illustration for today is this colorful piece from Kelly Johnston – she created a “plum fairy hummingbird pattern sketch” in the one-hour limit.

Now that you’ve enjoyed these highlights, go and explore the full gallery! Meet us back here tomorrow for one more featured post – and be sure to join us for next Sketch Fest, which will take place April 5-7.

Saturday? More like SketcherDay!

We’re over 24 hours in to #EMGSketchFest 106! Have you been by the gallery yet? We’ve got 18 participants so far who’ve contributed over 40 creations to the gallery – including unicorns and mermaids and baby dragons. There’s even sculpture!

Check out our five featured creations below, then hop on over there – and, if you’re not registered, sign up! It’s free, and you can leave prompts for the participants and comment to encourage them. You can even get in on sketching or knitting or crafting or writing yourself.

First up, we have a sketch from the founder of our Sketch Fest feast, Ellen Million! Drawing on Nicole Madden’s wintry prompt of “Unicorn in a snowy scenery,” Ellen Million said about her ACEO pencil sketch: “Well, I didn’t get the snowy scenery in, but maybe it’s snowing really hard…” You can snap up the original drawing for only $5!

This sweet little bat was sketched by Jill Britt, inspired by Rosie Wells!

Linda Sayegh drew this gorgeous fox – or “Kitsune” – with colored pencils and sharpie paint pen on toned Canson Mi-Tientes acid-free paper. 5×7 inches.

Sarah Alden left the prompt “Little Hearts” and Maria Gonzalez spun that seed into this lovely and fanciful 4×6 inches sketch. Titled “Two of Hearts,” this drawing was done in colored pencils on toned paper and the original is available for $18!

Lorna Cowie, inspired by Sarah Alden’s prompt “Violet Flowers,” drew these violet flowers and amethyst crystals in the style of her coloring pages.

Loving these illustrations? Head over to the full gallery and enjoy some more! When you share on social media, make sure to use our official hashtag: #EMGSketchFest.

Stay Up Late & Get Creative!

It’s a Sketch Fest Saturday night, and you know what that means – we’re staying up late and getting creative! We’re over here gossiping away over a bevy of choice prompts – and by gossiping, I mean mulling them over and making art. You’re missing out if you don’t join in. If you don’t feel like creating something yourself, our participants would love comments cheering them on.

Pride of first sketch in #EMGSketchFest 106 goes to Julie Rabischung!

Julie gave us this adorable and whimsical pair of dragonlings, one embodying the new life and blooming moments of Spring while the other captures the whimsical and cozy essence of Winter. If this one makes you “aww…!”, don’t sleep on it – the original painting is available for purchase and it’s only $15. 5×7 original ink pen sketch on Bristol.

Check out the rest of the gallery, where you’ll find another two dozen pieces waiting to be discovered. Share your favorites on social media, and be sure to use our hashtag #EMGSketchFest when you do.