EMG Sketch Fest – Page 7 – Ellen Million Graphics Blog

October Night Sketch Festin’!

Pssst! You still awake? We are! It’s Sketch Fest weekend and everyone’s invited to leave prompts, get inspired, and create some art – so tell your friends and join us for the next 36 hours of creative jamming!

Time for a peek behind the curtain:

Tialilsa got us started with a couple of sketches today, including this alluring mermaid with her wild hair and tail of ocean colors.

See what else Sketch Fest #92 has in store – click on over to the full gallery. And don’t forget to use our official hashtag, #EMGSketchFest, on social media!

Sunday Sketches

EMG Sketch Fest 91 is drawing to a close, and it’s been a great one! There are dozens of ink and pencil sketches, paintings, handcrafts, and so much more over at the full gallery – which is full of autumnal delight, witches and fairies, magpies and crows and cats.

We’ve selected a few illustrations to feature that’ll intrigue you and have you clicking through to the full gallery in no time.

A fluffy white cat sits with tail curled around its paws, looking at out the viewer from the mid-right; a pair of round glasses lay to the left on top of an open book with the suggestion of lines of text; another open book lays partially atop it and behind the cat, and another open book lay further in the background. Stacks of books occupy the right edge (one in front of another) and the left edge of the illustration. Brown pencil and white charcoal on toned paper. — “Ex Libris” by Maria J. William

This beautiful cat from Maria J. William is just waiting for you to start reading before she happily and pointedly walks across your book and sits on it, purring all the while. You can purchase a glossy print of this 6″ x 8″ brown pencil and white charcoal drawing on toned paper for only $10.

Rough sketch. A kid-sized dragon faces away from the viewer, standing on two legs and wearing a backpack patterned with circular squiggles. There's the suggestion of flowers around its feet, and a bus stop sign in front of it. — “Waiting for the Bus” by Kir Talmage

This young fellow is ready to get back to school in Kir Talmage‘s adorable depiction of this kid dragon at a bus stop. Look at his little backpack! We can’t wait to watch this pencil sketch develop further.

A wizard faces the viewer on the right side of the drawing, his cheeks and chin and visible neck covered in stubble. He seems to have mid-length hair or long sideburns. His face is lined, and he has a gruff expression on his face. His brown eyes almost glare at the viewer. He's wearing a purple knit hat with golden arrows pointing down detailed along the edge; it's pulled down over a wrinkled forehead. He may be wearing a blue plaid scarf, along with a purple jacket or robe - you only see it from the shoulders. A wand is held aloft, sloping in from the left side of the page - held aloft by the wizard, no doubt. The wand is brown, and there's a poof of golden magic floating above its tip. — “Gruff Old Wizard” by Charlie Galvin

Charlie Galvin‘s “Gruff Old Wizard” isn’t taking any guff, and isn’t above a little magical assist to get those darned kids off his lawn. So, y’know, stay off his lawn.

A blue detailed sketch depicts a field of mushrooms of varying height, shape, and sizes. The mushrooms seem the size of large hedges compared to the little witch depicted among the mushrooms. Her body faces the viewer but she's looking and pointing to the viewer's left. She points with her right arm and holds a broom with her left. A waist-high fox stands next to her and looks in the direction of her pointing. The witch is wearing shapeless robes, belted with a small sack at her belt. She also has the requisite witch's hat on, which is a bit lumpy. — “Through the Mushroom Forest” by Mary Rose “Marose” Magpily

Marose has got us longing for a story! This witchy cutie and her sharp-nosed fox pal are definitely headed for adventure, and it looks like it’ll be a fun one.

A fat tome of a book sits on a vague background in this ink sketch on white paper. The book is padlocked; a crow sits on top of the book, back to the viewer and its head looking to the viewer's left. The crows holds a key in its beak. A mouse standing upright on its hind legs and wearing a hooted cloak and some type of baldric presses its back to the book (which is taller than it is), looking apprehensively up toward the crow above. — “The Quest” by Katerina Romanova

Speaking of stories, we’re also eager to know more about this cloaked rodent rogue and the key-grasping crow. What’s in the book? Who’s the rat’s tailor? Will we ever know?! Only Katerina Romanova can tell.

That’s it from #EMGSketchFest 91! (Have you been remembering to use our official hashtag?) More illustrations may be added over the next several hours, but our event officially ends at 12 PM AKST. We hope you all had fun – check our social media feeds next week for the announcement of October’s Sketch Fest dates!

Night Owls, Let Me Sing You A Song

Good evening, all you night owls! Late, late evening, I know. It’s been a productive and creative day in the EMG Sketch Fest 91 gallery!

Let’s get right to the featured illustrations:

A rocking horse (Appaloosa) facing toward the viewer's left, with a teddy bear in a cowboy hat and neckerchief sitting astride it and holding the reins. Pencil sketch. — “In the Saddle” by Sally Gilroy

Sally Gilroy took Ellen Million’s “back in the saddle” prompt and turned it into this perfect children’s book-esque illustration. Now it just needs the storybook that frames this Cowboy Teddy’s moonlight ride on his trusty Appaloosa Rocking Horse!

A pencil sketch of a jack o'lantern. The pumpkin faces the viewer, though its eyes appear to look to the viewer's left. The jack o'lantern is wearing a witch's hat with the pointed tip curling to the viewer's right. The pumpkin also features a leafy vine curling to the viewer's left. — “Whimsical Jack o Lantern” by Cindy Hill

Another entry on the autumnal theme! Cindy Hill has sketched an adorably be-hatted jack o’lantern with just a hint of the zany.

A Photoshopped collage - a brunette with free flowing hair is walking through a forest clearing toward the viewer, with one foot forward. She looks to the viewer's left, and her left hand reaches out to almost cup the chin of a unicorn trailing behind her. The woman is wearing a flowing and silken purple garment. The forest floor is verdant; light slopes through the thin trees in the background. — “Maiden with the Flowing Hair” by Llynara

Welcome to Llynara! This is her first Sketch Fest, and she’s shared a stunning and enchanting scene that she developed in DAZ 3D and refined in Photoshop.

A slender fairy woman poofs her tangled and leaf-strewn hair with one hand while her other hand curls back to touch her bare shoulder. Her fitted gown is made of autumnal leaves and accented with berries. The fairy has moth-like wings, four lobes relaxed in partial extension around her. Mushrooms litter the suggestion of ground about her gown-hidden feet. Ink sketch in progress. — “Lady of the Autumn Forest” by Mitzi Sato-Wiuff

Mitzi Sato-Wiuff has delivered autumnal royalty with her “Lady of the Autumn Forest” work-in-progress! If you’re interested in purchasing the original, contact her! She may or may not be adding color.

A set of branches curves in an backwards E shape, supporting a magpie on the lowest branch. The magpie's back is to the viewer, and it looks over its shoulder to the viewer's left. The magpie holds a small key in its beak. 11 keys of various ornateness and sizes dangle from ribbon and chains and rings from various branches. Ink drawing. — “Collector of Keys” of Kathy Nutt

This magpie just really gets what Sketch Fest is all about – a collection of shinies in all different shapes and sizes! Thanks for summing up this festival of creativity so eloquently, Kathy Nutt!

We’re off to bed, perchance to dream – of more art tomorrow!

Welcome to EMG Sketch Fest #91!

It’s September’s Sketch Fest weekend, and we’re delighted to be here with you all – we’re creating, inspiring, and generally enjoying a whole diverse gallery of art over at the Sketch Fest site.

We’ve even got handicrafts in this one, folks! Don’t miss out.

Oh, but you’re ready for the selection of teaser images? Of course! It wouldn’t be Sketch Fest if we didn’t tease you to hop over to the full gallery.

A black blob with white eyes and two lighter grey appendages as legs stares curiously down at a hedgehog next to the suggestion of a railing before some type of waterway, with a city skyline in the background. All in watery black almost sumi-e type painting. — “berlinstory #15” by blopdotink

Blopdotink had the distinction of getting us started with this lovely and intriguing sequential art illustration! Here’s what they said about a blop discovering a hedgehog: “Again, I am using Sketch Fest to compile a story made up solely of prompts and it’s gonna be a love story again. But not between blops or other creatures, it’s about the love for the greatest city in the world, my humble home town BERLIN.”

A raggedy black cat stares out at the viewer next to a grinning, bucktoothed jack o'lantern. The illustration is a black ink sketch on white paper. — “the black cat and the pumpkin” by Julie Rabishung

Julie Rabischung has started autumn off properly, reminding us that October is Halloween and all of September merely Halloween Eve! The original 4×6 ink sketch of this concerned black cat and their adorable jack o’ lantern is available for $12!

A well-worn stuffed bunny plush wears a tutu made of glimmering, iridescent tulle in bronze and green, decorated by silk leaves in red, gold, and green-tinged gold. (This is a handicraft and not an illustration.) — “Fall Leaves Tutu” by Amy Sue Stirland

Autumn is an inspired time to make handicrafts, and Amy Sue Stirland has started us off admirably here! Riffing off Mayumi Ogihara’s prompt, “a dress made of autumn leaves,” Amy used fall-toned iridescent tulle and colorful silk leaves to create a whimsical tutu for a well-loved plush.

A woman tilts her head to the viewer's right, staring boldly out of the illustration. She wears an elaborate layered bow of light-flecked ribbon, crowned with a spider web and a large black spider crouching over it. The woman also wears a short necklace composed of two strands of black bears with a large skull bead centered. Her hair falls in waves about her shoulder and the hint of a black garment at the bottom of the illustration where her chest begins. Graphite, white charcoal, and white acrylic paint on tan paper. — “Trick or Treat” by Mayumi Ogihara

Speaking of Mayumi Ogihara, she’s gotten into the autumnal spirit as well! She created this creepy cutie, with her eek-inducing hair accessory and tastefully macabre jewelry. If you’d like the original ACEO in graphite, white charcoal, and white acrylic paint on tan paper, it’s a steal at $22. You can also score an ACEO print for only $6.

A woman is depicted from the breast up, and both turns to and gazes to the viewer's right. She smiles slightly and her eyes are thickly lined with kohl. She has a beauty mark on her right cheek. She's holding a goblet up and almost out to someone, held aloft a little below her chin. The small goblet has a white steam rising from it that gives off sparkles. She has dark, unbound hair and a loose hood draped over her head, pushed slightly back. ACEO size, pencils and charcoal. — “The Sorcerer’s Magic” by Katerina Koukiotis

Katerina Koukiotis drew on the mysterious Red Priestess Melisandre (from Game of Thrones) and her admiration for her friend Janna to draw “The Sorcerer’s Magic.” And you can bring home this magical and engaging art card – the $12 original is currently on hold for a prospective purchaser, but you can get a limited edition print for $6!

That’s it for our early afternoon teaser post. Click on through to admire the rest of the gallery. And remember: when you share your Sketch Fest artwork or your favorite Sketch Fest creations on social media, use our official hashtag – #EMGSketchFest!

Goodbye, EMG Sketch Fest #90!

Our 90th Sketch Fest has come to an end! Don’t be sad, though – #91 is coming next month, and artists can still add the sketches they’re working on to the current gallery. Which means there’s still fun, amazing, beautiful, and whimsical art to explore!

An eclipse pictured on a black field; the sun's corona peeks around the moon's edges in smoldering orange. — “Total Eclipse” by Heather Kilgore

You know we couldn’t skip featuring an eclipse illustration this Sketch Fest! (Has everyone in North America got their eclipse glasses ready for tomorrow?) Heather Kilgore did this eclipse ACEO card with colored pencils and Polychromos. You can snag the original for $20!

An acrylic painting of pink, blue, and white-trending butterflies on a field of thick whorled paint in blues and pinks and whites. — “Butterfly Whimsy” by Deirdre M. Murphy

Deirdre M. Murphy created this dreamscape of butterflies frolicking amid whorls of pink and blue. She’s offering the original for sale – acrylics on a 9″ x 12″ canvas for $30.

A brown-feathered owl with a face done up in white and pink like a Mexican sugar skull; the owl is pictured from mid-body up, peering to the viewer's right. A full moon occupies much of the background, with the rest of the canvas painted a nightsky green. — “Sugar Skull Owl” by Afke van Herpt

This owl is ready for this year’s Dia de los Muertos! Afke van Herpt drew “Sugar Skull Owl” with copic markers and white pencil on 2.5″ x 3.5″ recycled paper. If you fancy the original, it’s only $15!

A bee has been tooled on a piece of undyed leather; the bee is depicted against six hexagons in a honeycomb pattern. Another piece of leather lays across this piece, with For the Love of Bees #Sketchfest 90 scratched into it. — “Leather Love for the Bees” by Charlie Galvin

EMG Sketch Fests aren’t just about paintings and sketches and art cards – it’s also about jewelry-making, crocheting, and leather tooling! Charlie Galvin tooled this brilliant bee design onto a piece of undyed leather. We can’t wait to see the finished piece!

A black and white sketch of a woman facing the viewer, depicted from waist up. Her waves of long hair obscure her torso, and she holds her hands in front of her, resting her face on her right hand. Her head is tilted to the viewer's left, her eyes are closed, and she is crowned with perhaps a dozen butterflies. — “Butterfly Crown” by Sarah Alden

Our final featured piece is “Butterfly Crown” by Sarah Alden. “I’m so happy with this one! Just the right amount of butterflies!” Sarah says. “Now if only I could get one for myself…” We agree!

That’s it for #EMGSketchFest 90. Follow us on Facebook to be the first to know about September’s Sketch Fest dates. We’ll see you there!

Mermaids and fairies frolic with EMG Sketch Fest #90!

Time for the Evening Edition of #EMGSketchFest Saturday! We’re up to a few dozen works of art in our gallery so far, with more creativity on the way. The eclipse has been a popular theme as well, for obvious reasons!

Let’s take a peek.

A bust of a blue-eyed woman with pale skin, looking left over her shoulder with her eyes cut right. Her hair is in a large updo, with two dragonflies perched on the vaguest sketch of a crown or tiara. Another dragonfly alights on her shoulder, and she has the faint suggestion of dragonfly wings sprouting from her back. — “Dragonfly Fairy” by Carol Moore

Carol Moore drew this Dragonfly Fairy with an intense blue gaze using colored pencils on blue cardstock. The faint hint of a crown-to-be and dragonfly wings on the fairy are fantastic!

A mermaid stares straight ahead at the viewer, her dark tresses touched with white floating above her head. Faint scales shimmer on her chest and shoulders, while her breasts are covered with clinging kelp-like material. She appears to have fins on the backs of her upper arms. Figure is shown from the torso up with arms mostly off page. Drawn with graphite and white charcoal on greyish beige toned paper. — “From the Depth of the Sea” by Mayumi Ogihara

Speaking of intense gazes, Mayumi Ogihara outdid herself with “From the Depth of the Sea“! The eyes are piercing, the scales captivating, and those fins on her upper arms! This illustration is graphite and white charcoal on toned paper. ACEO prints and 5″ x 7” prints are available for $6 and $10 respectively.

A red-haired mermaid turns to her left to look at the viewer with her over-sized blue eyes, lined and with thick lashes. She has a button nose and freckles dusted across her nose and cheeks. Blush colors her pale skin as well. Only her neck and face are visible, surrounded by her red hair. Empty space to the left is filled with a pale green-blue suggestive of the sea. — “Red Hair Mermaid” by Katerina Koukiotis

Katerina Koukiotis fills out our complement of mermaids with her red-haired beauty inspired by Ariel, sporting bright eyes and lips. She’s offering limited edition ACEO prints for $6.50.

Small figures composed of a round head with two empty white eyes and having two black leg-like protrusions each build a vaguely blob-like unicorn out of black fronds. — “whatfluffdoes!” by blopdotink

blopdotink has joined us for another Sketch Fest to tell her curious and delightful tales through a series of blop illustrations. Here’s what blopdotink has to say about “whatfluffdoes!“:

Who doesn’t want to have a fluffy unicorn? Is what humans would probably think… But blops are different… having something doesn’t do it for them… they explore, they study they experiment und they copy… Especially, if they are as impressed with something as much as they are with all the fluff on one hoof here. I had to do this one, even though I don’t know whether or not it will make it in this weekend’s series and my storyline, because… … Again, I am using Sketch Fest to compile a story made up solely of prompts and it’s gonna be a love story again. But not between blops or other creatures, it’s about the love for the greatest city in the world, my humble home town BERLIN.

A simple birdhouse composed of a square with a triangle roof hangs suspended from one branch with two other branches bearing leaves visible in the background. A fairy rests her elbows on the doorway, staring out at the viewer while a bird likewise peers out from behind her. — “House Guest” by Sally Gilroy

We end tonight’s highlights with a lovely pair of creatures in Sally Gilroy‘s “House Guest.” She wants to paint this one, so keep your eye out for a finished version!

Right. That’s EMG signing off for the night. Keep creating and keep admiring in the meantime. We’ll be back with more features tomorrow!

Fairies, beasts, and witches, oh my!

It’s the August Sketch Fest Saturday, and we’re here to share some of the marvelous art that’s been posted to the #EMGSketchFest gallery since it began yesterday. Have you been visiting, prompting, admiring, creating? If the answer is no, let me tempt you!

A colorful illustration of a diminutive, skinny humanoid being with a mushroom cap for a hat and a bindle over their shoulder, walking to the left through sparse grass. — “The Lonely Mr. Shroom” by Julie Rabischung

Julie Rabischung drew the charming Mr. Shroom, about which she says: “Meet the grumpy and lonely Mr Shroom! I had so much fun drawing him!! He definitely needs more work but I might draw him again and invent him some adventures… ” The original drawing is colored pencils and ink on a 4″ x 6″ piece of Bristol, and is available for $12.

A barrel-chested antelope walks to the right. Its mane and tail are flowering branches, and the sun burns in the distance beyond the antelope's head making a sort of halo. Decorative lines and whorls adorn the antelope's back. — “Beautiful Beast” by Kathy Nutt

Kathy Nutt sketched this fantastic fellow – or, as she put it, a “[m]agical antelope of the forest.” He’s a handsome beast indeed, and the mane and tail of flowering branches is inspired.

A miniature humanoid creature resembling a plump child sits facing the viewer among white flowers, his eyes closed. He's wearing a mushroom cap for a hat, and magical lights dance around him. Drawn on brown paper with limited colors. — “Don’t Forget” by Joanna Bromley

Using the prompt “lonely mushroom,” Joanna Bromley sketched this mushroom-hatted fairy creature. The original sketch is an ink illustration on 3.5″ x 5″ Kraft paper. You can purchase it for $32!

An elongated and stylized human figure with a simplistic face of eyes and mouth only faces the viewer in a long black dress with an Empire waist and a striped skirt. The skirt is gathered at the figure's shin with a black band adorned with black roses. A pointed hat sits on her head, adorned with black roses and trailing black ribbons. Black roses float in the background. — “Black Rose” by ElmaBree

ElmaBree added this little witch, telling us: “The Little Black Rose Witch [is] drawn with chameleon color tone pencils on mixed media paper.” You can pick up a 5″ x 7″ print of this tiny witch for $10.

A bust of a woman on brown-toned paper, she faces the viewer with hair unbound - bangs fall over her right eye; she has tilted eyes and a small mouth and her head is surrounded by vague flowers filling the upper background of the paper. — “Soul of the Forest” by Maria J. William

Maria J. William sketched this fresh-eyed woman of the forest in graphite, white charcoal, and white ink on 6″ x 8″ toned paper. She’s offering the original drawing for $40 and glossy prints for $10.

We’ve also debuted a robust new search feature at the Sketch Fest site – you can search by subject, media, style, and more.

Enjoy the weekend, and don’t forget – use our hashtag #EMGSketchFest on your social media!

EMG Sketch Fest #90 is live!

Hello, all you night owls! Are you feeling creative, or just looking for some great art? You’re in luck! Our ninetieth – yes, ninetieth – Sketch Fest kicked off this afternoon at 12 PM Alaska-time. Join in the fun, or wander by and admire the art!

We’ve already got 10 illustrations uploaded to the gallery, and most of them are available for purchase, some as originals and some as prints.

A black and white illustration: a mermaid faces the viewer, head turned to the left and her shoulder in view; long tresses are held back from her face with a headdress of pearl and shell and fin. — “Mermaid Headdress” by Milkycat

Milkycat had the honor of first upload with this charming bust of a mermaid showing off her new headpiece. This is one of our available originals – Milkycat’s offering the original for $5, and you can add another $5 to have it colored.

That’s it from us tonight – we’ll highlight more tomorrow, and can’t wait to see what creativity Saturday brings. For now, explore the gallery on your own!

And remember – if you share Sketch Fest on social media, make sure to use our official hashtag: #EMGSketchFest.