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.
“Reach for the Stars” by Rowan Lewgalon
This evocative and spellbinding illustration by Rowan Lewgalon is called “Reach for the Stars,” matching the Maigan Lynn prompt that inspired the piece.
“Fortune Teller” by Tricia Danby
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).”
“Jellyfishes” by Afke van Herpt
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
“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.
“Lotus Reverie” by Maria J. William
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.
“What’s in the Box” by Melinda Baker
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.
What an AMAZING Sketch Fest! There was so much energy and enthusiasm, and it means a lot to me that you guys had fun and got involved. #EMGSketchFest is one of my favorite projects, and it would be really boring (and pretty pointless) if it was just me. 🙂
Fifty artists participated, making more than 325 sketches, and there were so many lovely comments and wonderful prompts to work from. Thank you for helping us make this one of the biggest and most beautiful events we’ve had in a while!
Thank you so much to everyone who came out and played this weekend at Sketch Fest #100!
Be well,
Ellen
It’s true, everyone! When all was said and done, Sketch Fest #100 featured 50 participating artists and 382 total uploaded creations to the gallery. Wow! You absolutely owe it to yourself to wander through all of the artwork and maybe buy a sketch or original – there are some really amazing pieces in there just waiting to hang on your wall.
Now, let’s announce all of our prize winners:
Comments Keep Us Going – Our 5 random winners are: Julie Cooper, who wins a 6×8 print with matching magnet by Maria William; Katerina Koukiotis, who wins a collection of 3 5×7 prints by Sarah Alden; ElmaBree, who wins a postcard of “Sea of Stars” and stickers by Nathalie Edelhirsch; Rosie Wells, who wins an original ACEO of your choice by Jenny Heidewald; and Mayumi Ogihara, who wins a coloring book of her choice by Selina Fenech.
Most Popular Prompt – This one was a tie between Nicole Madden and Rosie Wells! They will each receive a mystery bag (3 ACEO prints each) by Mayumi Ogihara.
Super Supporter of Sketch Fest #100– The person who purchased the highest value of art this Sketch Fest was Julie Cooper, with Ed Cammarato as our runner-up! Julie and Ed will both receive a selection of ACEO prints by Katerina Koukiotis (one of each she does this Sketch Fest).
Most Creative Use of Prompt– We had a really tough time choosing the winner of this category – so we’re awarding two Honorable Mentions as well! The artist with the most creative use of a prompt this Sketch Fest was Rosie Wells for “Operation: Fluffy Cuddles,” and she will receive an 11×17 print, an 8.5 x 11 print, and her choice of coloring sheet or bookmark by Sheryl Abid. Our two Honorable Mentions are Amy Sue Stirland for “Glittering Eye Blank Book” and Deirdre M. Murphy with “Warning, DM Whimsical When Bored” – they will each receive one print from Cindy Hill!
Sketch-crazy! – Jenny Heidewald submitted THIRTY-ONE sketches during the official #EMGSketchFest 100 hours! She wins a copy of From The Deep coloring book by Ellen Million.
Opening Bell Artist – The first artist to submit a sketch was Milkycat with “Storm of Petals,” and she wins a print from Cindy Hill!
First Hurdle Artist – Tara N Colna was the first artist to submit five sketches this Sketch Fest, and she’ll receive a customized original 4″ x 6″ character portrait from Julie Rabischung!
First 3D Artist – Afke van Herpt was the first artist to submit a 3-dimensional sketch or other work, such as sculpture, jewelry, crocheted piece, etc. and has won a wee dragon charm by Whimsical Dreams Art!
Collaboration – The best collaborative work, here defined as the best collaboration between prompt and art, was selected by our guest judges Afke and Ronja! Katerina Romanova wins this prize for “Shy,” and will receive an ACEO by Afke van Herpt and her niece Ronja!
Submission by Someone 12 or Under – Shell’s 7-year-old daughter Willow took this prize for “Am I A Rainbow?“! Our guest judges Afke and Ronja made the selection, and Willow wins an ACEO from them.
Sketch Fest Newbies – We had four new participants in our 100th Sketch Fest: Ellen Moore, Ellen Wilberg, J. Ryan Decker, and Regina Mailloux. Each of our newbies will receive an ACEO print and postcard.
And here’s our last series of featured illustrations – we hope you enjoy this final taste of Sketch Fest #100!
“Happy 100!” by Francis Bax
First up is this gorgeous example of handlettering in watercolour brushpen and tangles in black fineliners in honor of our 100th Sketch Fest. Thanks for this, Francis Bax!
“Mr. Meowington” by Maria J. William
We can’t get over how adorable Maria J. William’s “Mr. Meowington” is! This colored pencil, white charcoal, and white acrylic illustration is on toned paper and measures approximately 6×8. You can pick up prints of this fine feline for only $7-$10!
“Glittering Eye Blank Book” by Amy Sue Stirland
“Glittering Eye Blank Book” by Amy Sue Stirland is an upcycled plain spiral bound blank book with Velcro closure and won one of our Honorable Mentions for Most Creative Use of a Prompt. Amy said, “This was a book that was given out by a major company as a promotional item. I have reworked the cover for the prompt.. only one eye, and the scales are raised and nicely shimmery.” It measures 5.5 ” x 4 ” and contains 20lb weight white pages numbering 80.
“Heart of Peacocks” by Julie Cooper
Of her “Heart of Peacocks,” Julie Cooper says, “This is the first decent peacock I have managed to do. I might colour but not too sure.” We love this bird and hope you do!
“Oni Fox” by Erika Harm
We’re thrilled with this strikingly colorful ACEO from Erika Harm! Here’s what she says about “Oni Fox“: “I wanted to blend the idea of an oni and a kitsune into one mask. Ink!” You can pick up the original artwork for just $15!
“Alarune” by Ellen Million
Ellen Million, the founder of our Sketch Fest feast, created several fantastic art cards this Sketch Fest! Here’s her interpretation of an alarune. You can pick up the original ACEO drawing for only $8!
“Waiting for Autumn to Come” by Janna Prosvirina
Our last featured piece is this lovely illustration by Janna Prosvirina. “Waiting for Autumn to Come” is ink pen on Bristol measuring 4″ x 6″. You can grab the original ink sketch for $12, and you can get a download to print out as a coloring page for only $3.
That’s it for #EMGSketchFest 100, a truly remarkable milestone. We can’t wait to see you at Sketch Fest #101, which will be August 24-26, so mark your calendars!
We’re nearing 150 pieces posted in the #EMGSketchFest 100 gallery, which is stuffed full of amazement and enchantment – where else can you see fine examples of acrylic pouring mingling with bubbles and mermaids or green man sculpture hanging out with pencil sketches of pegasi and horned women? We’ve got it all!
Including some winners of our 100th Celebration prizes! Read on for their names and a sneak peek of great art you’ll encounter in the gallery.
“Fox Flower” by Jenny Heidewald
Smile at Jenny Heidewald’s “Fox Flower,” an enchanting piece that suggests a tale of whimsy and joy. Jenny is also the winner of our First Hurdle Artist prize for being the first participant to upload 5 pieces to the gallery!
“Shadows and Lace” by Katerina Koukiotis
“Shadows and Lace” by Katerina Koukiotis is an alluring portrait inspired by Jenny Heidewald’s prompt. Katerina had vintage and steampunk notions tumbling through her head when she read Jenny’s prompt! The original 5×7 graphite and charcoal powder sketch can be yours for only $25! You can also get an ACEO LE print for $6.
“Flowers in Her Hair” by Nathalie Reinholz
Inspired by Laura Macy’s “Putting Flowers in My Hair” prompt, Nathalie Reinholz painted this vibrant girl crowned with radiant flowers. Here’s what Natta said about her piece: “My version of ever after painting course. A bumble bee landed on the flowers while painting. I can be satisfied then!” Yes!
“Dashing Rake Sketch” by Kathryn Whiteford
Kathryn Whiteford knows how to draw a man too devilishly handsome for his own good! This rake also lived up to his reputation, even on paper, from what Kathryn had to say: “Augh, men! This guy was such a pain to draw and this is the second attempt of the sketch. Took the whole hour to get him to this point since I started and scrapped my first idea, then started again and finished here. As stubborn as he was, I do like how he ended up.” We do, too!
“Narwhal” by Afke van Herpt
Afke van Herpt sculpted this adorable narwhal from glittery polymer clay, inspired by Sarah Alden’s prompt. Afke explained, “The horn I made a couple of months ago (for a little unicorn workshop I gave). It will get a knitted body.” This narwhal was the first example of three-dimensional art uploaded to the gallery – so Ake wins our First 3D Artist prize!
Did you enjoy these featured pieces? There’s even more to admire in the complete #EMGSketchFest 100 gallery. Hop on over there and share your favorites on social media with our official hashtag.
#EMGSketchFest 99 may be over, but that’s no reason to stop the party! If you wander over to the gallery, you may still find new art – and you’ll definitely find something fantastic! You may even find a piece of art to buy, and you should absolutely leave some comments for our participants!
Let’s do some featured illustrations:
“Dragon and Sleeping Fairy” by Afke van Herpt’s Cousin Susan
“Unicorn of the Sea” by Afke van Herpt and her Niece Ronja
First up, we have these great illustrations done by Afke van Herpt’s cousin and niece. “Dragon and Sleeping Fairy” by Afke’s cousin Susan is blamed on Ronja! For “Unicorn of the Sea,” Afke wrote: “My niece Ronja did another collaboration with me! I sketched the horse part, and she did all the rest.”
“Blue and Orange Stockings and the Green Dress” by Heather Kilgore
Heather Kilgore created this dancing beauty, the evocation of a summer breeze in her green dress with sand-and-sea stockings below!
“Nurse!!” by Monika Holloway
Monika Holloway is putting us all in a vaudevillian frame of mind today with her fancy-free depiction of a nurse.
“#Junicorn 16” by Ellen Million
Founder of our Sketch Fest feast, Ellen Million took Mayumi Ogihara’s prompt “Unicorn of Shadows” and ran with it to create #Junicorn 16: “I loooooved this prompt. See more details about my #junicorn project here!”
“Earthdragon” by Katta
Katta went three dimensional and sculpted this adorable earth dragon, resplendent in green and showing their belly and holding on to a brown stone.
“Stardust” by Mayumi Ogihara
The glory of the night sky emerges in “Stardust” by Mayumi Ogihara. This illustration is mixed media on 7×5 toned paper, and you can even purchase the original! Just $27!
“Trinkets and Tentacles” by Natacha Chohra
Inspired by Selina Fenech’s great prompt, Natacha Chohra created this provocative and playful drawing: “Trinkets and Tentacles” is a 5×7 graphite sketch and you can purchase the original for only $40!
Untitled by Kir Talmage
Our last featured illustration for today is an untitled piece by Kir Talmage. Inspired by Edward Cammarota’s prompt, “Blue warrior women,” Kir commented that she’s “just drafting some idea” in this pencil and colored pencils sketch.
That’s it for a super-sized Sunday Sketch Fest featured set! Don’t forget to check out the full gallery, and come back here tomorrow for our After Action Report – completed with more features and our announcement for #EMGSketchFest 100!
Are you staying up sketching on this June Friday night? We are! You can join us over at #EMGSketchFest 99, happening right now. Come to play, come to inspire, come to admire – all are welcome. Just click this way.
“DEJ3” by Afke van Herpt
The first sketch added to #EMGSketchFest 99 was this movement study by Afke van Herpt! Here’s what Afke has to say about it: “I am participating in #DrawEverythingJune 3 on deviantart, and I’m behind, so this is the perfect prompt to spends some time on one of the poses. 😉 Drawn with Free ink roller.”
That’s your sneak peek for tonight, but be sure to hop over to the gallery and browse the works already there. And come back to the blog tomorrow for more featured illustrations!
Have a great night, and don’t forget to use our official hashtag – #EMGSketchFest – when talking about Sketch Fest on your social media of choice.
#EMGSketchFest 98 will soon come to an end, but that’s no reason to cut short your creative jam! Come on by, claim a prompt, and upload your creation once an hour’s up. It’s perfectly allowed.
Let’s do a few featured illustrations to inspire you!
Oceanid by Mayumi Ogihara
Mayumi Ogihara drew this “Oceanid” with her pensive eyes and expression nearly yearning. Col-Erase brown, white charcoal, and acrylic on 5″ x 7″ toned paper. You can purchase the original sketch for $27.
Vampire Doll by Amy Sue Stirland
Sketch Fest is for all types of creations – artwork, jewelry, sculpture, and even dolls! Amy Sue Stirland started work on this charmingly excited vampire doll: “18” bendable muslin doll. I didn’t get as far as I wanted to in the hour and I might have gone over. Those darn ears. Still to come. Dapper outfit and a flow-y cape.”
Angler Fish Mermaid by Kathy Nutt
We love this weird, disturbing “Angler Fish Mermaid“! Inspired by PeggyB, Kathy Nutt drew this in Micron pen.
Snoozing Cheetah by Afke van Herpt
This happily “Snoozing Cheetah” was drawn by Afke van Herpt in white and black ink on 2.5″ x 3.5″ colored card. You can pick up the original for $17!
Before Monsoon by Maria J. William
Inspired by Mayumi Ogihara’s “Mermaid wearing historical Asian jewelry” prompt, Maria J. William drew “Before Monsoon” in colored pencil, white charcoal, and white acrylic on 6″ x 8″ toned paper. You can purchase prints or even the original – starting at $7 and going up to $40 for the colored pencil drawing.
Are you inspired? Click over to the gallery to discover more, and contribute something yourself! If you don’t feel like creating, leave comments to cheer on our participants.
Don’t forget to check back on our blog tomorrow – we’ll have one last #EMGSketchFest 98 post and announce next month’s Sketch Fest dates!
#EMGSketchFest was incredible fun, with 16 participating artists and 68 sketches uploaded – so far! We honestly had more than 16 artists join in this weekend, with several family members of our artists joining in: daughter, husband, niece! You should check out the full gallery, after enjoying our featured illustrations below.
Butterfly Words by Amanda Baker
Amanda Baker took Afke’s prompt “words like butterflies” and created this fluttering and delicate beauty – “Butterfly Words.” And this was Amanda’s first Sketch Fest! (Welcome, Amanda!) Pen and pencil sketch on archival paper.
Polar Bear and the Fairy by Sarah Alden
Then we have Sarah Alden’s “Polar Bear and the Fairy,” an utterly adorable confection of roly-poly polar bear cub and sweet fairy in the snow. She’s eager to draw more polar bears now!
My Pet Dragon by Julie Rabischung
Inspired by Cindy Hill’s prompt, “my pet dragon,” Julie Rabischung created this precious pair – though the dragon is less than pleased! Here’s what Julie said: “Little girl has a new pet and it’s a dragon!!! But the little dragon is not happy at all to be wearing a bow and to be called ‘Squee’…” Graphite and markers on 4×6 Bristol.
Forest by Jenny Heidewald
Jenny Heidewald jumped in with several illustrations, including this lovely portrait: “Forest.” Jenny commented, “I really like how this one turned out in pencil, the soft effect works well.” They did! You can have this sketch for $8 (specially marked down from $10 in celebration of the New Year). Pencil on 2.5″x3.5″ Bristol.
The Witch and Her Cat by Afke van Herpt
We saved another one of our favorites for last! This is a collaboration between Afke van Herpt and her niece Ronja! Ronja drew the witch’s sweet kitty and then Afke added the troll witch herself.
That’s it for #EMGSketchFest 95, but don’t forget to click through to the full gallery!
Sketch Fest will return in March. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter to be the first to hear about #EMGSketchFest 96!
I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but Ellen Million Graphics promotes creativity in quite the festive fashion! We maintain a coloring group on Facebook, where members receive free coloring pages to color and show off to friends and family. We maintain Portrait Adoption, a gallery where players of RPGs (or even Game Masters or simply writers) can find their characters. And we host monthly Sketch Fests where any artist can participate in a 48-hour period where they have permission to sketch freely, to experiment boldly, and not focus on perfection.
In Sketch Fest, you get one hour to work on a particular illustration – or knitting project or piece of jewelry or whatever your particular creative form may be. After an hour, you put it down. (You can work on it in subsequent hours if you don’t yet wish to move on to the next thing.) There are prompts contributed to each Sketch Fest by participants and watchers, so inspiration is provided if you don’t bring your own. Each artist shares their pieces in the Sketch Fest gallery, where participants and watchers can comment. And artists can even sell their creations – either the original or prints, right through the gallery!
EMG’s Sketch Fest has been going for 7 years and we’ll celebrate our 100th Sketch Fest in June. That’s dozens upon dozens of participating artists contributing over 18,000 sketches (or other created items)!
It’s amazing.
It’s inspiring.
It’s exciting! So we’re honoring some of those artists today, showing off the pieces they started during a Sketch Fest and finished later, finalizing their sketches into breathtaking works of art.
We begin with “Wisdom,” a serene and striking scene sketched by Inge Geertsma during Sketch Fest #81, inspired by Tara N. Colna’s prompt of “The Snowy Owl.” Working within the Skech Fest hour, Inge detailed the main figure – a winged woman – and more loosely sketched out a tree and its branches, rife with edged ovals that would later become owls. “Owls are so nice to draw,” Inge said. She completed the painting two months later in January of 2017 – with details so lovely you can feel the cold, see the wind ruffling the snowy owls’ feathers, and admire the dreamcatcher clasped in her lady’s hands.
During October 2013’s Sketch Fest #43, Afke van Herpt answered Miss Ava’s “use as many colours as you can” prompt with characteristic verve. In “As Many Colors,” a woman with multicolored hair took shape under her hands, rainbow electric. Afke said, “I’ve decided to use all the Copic colors I have in one picture. I ran out of time, used 79 out of my 99 so far (skin hues and grays still remaining).” Afke firmed up the woman’s form, lightened her shoulder, and threw that fabulous hair into even greater relief a couple of years later.
We close with “Generating Light,” a sketch by Mary Rose Magpily she created a couple of months ago during Sketch Fest #91. Her soft sketch of a vague female forming hovering in a light bulb held aloft before a larger person’s face afterward became a full-color illustration reminiscent of an illustrated novel – luminescent and bright, with that ineffable comic quality.
Thank you to all the artists who participate each month in Sketch Fest – we enjoy the privilege of watching you work! And for everyone who’d like to play next Sketch Fest – it’s December 9th through 11th. (Here’s the Facebook event, if you please.) We look forward to seeing you there!
Don’t forget to use our official hashtag on social media: #EMGSketchFest.
That’s a wrap, folks! We’re putting #EMGSketchFest 93 to bed, though you may see some additional illustrations added to the gallery – don’t forget to visit and explore. You also might find some new art to decorate your walls or gift to friends and family for the winter holidays.
How about a last few featured illustrations? Sounds great to me!
“Ice Dragon” by Cindy Hill
Cindy Hill did two sketches this Sketch Fest and one of them is this great “Ice Dragon” with finely segmented scales. This is a work-in-progress and it’s pretty cool.
“Word Salade” by Francis Bax
This clever combination of decorative fonts is the work of Francis Bax – she plans to finish this “Word Salade” up later!
“Healing Heart” by Afke van Herpt
Inspired by Becca “Boo” Moore’s prompt of “Frozen Heart,” Afke van Herpt’s mind conjured up this image – and she created it as a stamp! It’s a bit off-prompt, but still fabulous.
“Majestic Deer” by Amy Sue Stirland
Amy Sue Stirland sketched this “Majestic Deer,” and expects it’ll make a fine watercolor. We’ll have to keep an eye out for what she does this with this one!
“Let It Rain” by Maria J. William
We close with Maria J. William’s “Let It Rain,” a gorgeous illustration of fairy beauty and abandon as this tiny creature with butterfly wings dances in the rain beneath a leafy umbrella. You can get the original sketch, 6″ x 8″ colored pencil and white charcoal on toned paper. Prints available for $5 – $10.
We hope you enjoyed this #EMGSketchFest weekend! If you’re new, we do these every month and everyone’s invited – just register at the site. You can submit prompts or even participate with creations of every stripe – from jewelry and crochet to illustrations and stamps.
#EMGSketchFest 94 is December 8 – 10: we hope to see you there!
Ah, #EMGSketchFest 92, we hardly knew ye… but we had a heck of a time! We’re over the moon (literally, in some cases??) about the breadth of creativity in the gallery, and we can’t wait to see what our participating artists upload in the hours and days to come. (Did you know? Artists can upload finished versions of their works-in-progress!)
It’s time for our last sneak peek, this one celebrating Sketch Fest Sunday and autumn and Halloween.
“Krampus Santa” by Teri Sherman
Okay, okay, calm down. I know we’re all “You shall not pass!” at Christmas from our autumnal October shores, but Teri Sherman’s fantastically creepy illustration is totally Halloween-adjacent. Look at that Krampus!
“Selene” by Rowan Lewgalon
Deirde M. Murphy gave us the wonderful prompt “The Moon, wearing beautiful veils” and Rowan Lewgalon took it and ran with it beautifully. Her silvery-haired “Selene” can rule our glittering nights – and you can purchase a print for $15!
“Autumn Leaf Pixie” by Nathalie Reinholz
The joy of this little “Autumn Leaf Pixie” is contagious – fabulous work by artist Nathalie Reinholz! You can pick up this one-of-a-kind watercolor painting with colored pencils for only $20.
“Sugar Skull Stamp” by Afke van Herpt
Afke van Herpt decided to try something different this Sketch Fest, and made lovely and spooky little stamp! The stamp is inspired by a sugar skull, commonly associated with Dia de lost Muertos (which takes place at the end of October through the first couple days of November). You can pick up this 1.5″ stamp for $16.
“Autumn Tears” by Eimiel
Don’t cry, dryad! #EMGSketchFest 92 may be over, but there’s still tons of great art out there. Oh, wait, Eimiel’s dryad is crying “Autumn Tears” over the loss of her foliage in a lovely watercolor painting. No worries – they’ll be renewed!
We hope you enjoyed these sneak peeks during #EMGSketchFest weekend – now click over to the full gallery for more (a pouncing fox, a watchful King of the Forest, a spooky kitty)! And don’t forget to use our official hashtag of #EMGSketchFest when sharing on social media. See you next Sketch Fest!
(To be the first to hear about next Sketch Fest’s dates, follow us on Facebook.)
