Thank you for Sketch Fest 100!

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 11Ă—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.

IN ORDER TO CLAIM YOUR PRIZE, PLEASE MESSAGE ELLEN MILLION GRAPHICS ON FACEBOOK. 

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!

Evening, Night Owls! A Peek at Sketch Fest 95

We’ve had a great Saturday with #EMGSketchFest 95, chatting a bit on the Facebook event page, leaving prompts (“porg” was requested!), and sharing art in the gallery. Let’s take a peek!

Little Feeder by Cindy Hill

Everyone’s been having so much fun with Cindy’s prompt “bird dragon,” including Cindy herself! She drew this colorful cardinal dragon with its striking coloration.

Dancing On Air by Caitlin Woods

Caitlin Woods drew this dynamic illustration of a lithe figure fan-dancing among clouds. She used a SensiStock photo for reference.

Stone Sour by Tallulah Cunningham

Stone Sour is one evocative illustration! As artist Tallulah Cunningham put it, “I don’t know if it is cold or if it has a headache but this critter is not in the sunniest of moods. It’s just how it wanted to be drawn… Edited to include blackberry canes.” This is one we’d be both thrilled and terrified to meet!

The Little Polar Bear by Peter van Herpt

Who can resist adorable baby bears? Not us! Peter van Herpt has given us one adorable, cuddly cub with “The Little Polar Bear.” Drawn in pen and ink and Derwent Coloursoft.

Don’t Eat the Porg by Anya Chui

One of our absolute favorite illustrations today is by newcomer Anya Chui – she drew this completely cute porg with its liquid eyes imploring us to “just say no… to eating porg.” Like Chewbacca, we’ve been convinced! Porg is off the menu! Thank you, Anya. Now can we cuddle one?

That’s it for today! And remember – use our official hashtag on social media: #EMGSketchFest.

That’s a Wrap on EMG Sketch Fest 93!

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! 

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!