(Update…. I won! YAY!)

Ella, ella, eh, eh, eh… OKOK.

For the pre-graduation thingy in Forsyth, soon-to-be grads were invited to decorate these paper umbrellas for a contest. The umbrellas were all varnished and glued and such, so watercoloring them was totally out of the question. I decided to give acrylic painting a shot, without high hopes because I am a dismal acrylic painter. I almost gave up in the middle cause it looked so bad, but once I finished it with black outlines I fell in love. She’s an adorable little trash mermaid!

I used acrylic airbrush paints rather than normal acrylics, and I think it helps a lot to make brushstrokes disappear.  They are very thin and smooth. I highly recommend that stuff!

The winner gets $500, so wish me luck! ( Unless you did one too )

I have no idea what to do with a big ol’ umbrella I can’t fold up after the competition, though… I was thinking of hacking off the handle and hanging it up.

My entry for the Children’s Book Festival’s Poster Design contest. I know I am drawing a lot on the theme of “stuff in hair,” but after doing my postcard and finding out about this contest I thought it would be perfect as the poster design. Perhaps now my hair obsession will be satisfied and I can move onto a new fetish (Tawny Frogmouths perhaps? LOOK THEM UP.)

Watercolor and digital. I used a lot more digital in this piece than usual, to try to solve some of the problems I have in my work. Coloring the really small details in photoshop rather than trying to put them in with a brush keeps the lines crisp and the details clear. I like! And I am learning that digital backgrounds with texture look a lot nicer/packs more punch than trying to put on an even watercolor wash. Unfortunately this means my recent pieces look half finished in person… but I plan on finishing them sometime in watercolor just for personal satisfaction/to sell.

Our entries are not supposed to have text, but I added text to mine just to include more “design” in my portfolio.

And without text, which is how we are supposed to submit it… (Worried it looks too empty this way!)

I’ve got another design up– please vote and comment! I reallllly want to have a shirt made, even if it is only one color. (Also there’s a more naughty design there you can vote for by viewing my other submissions at the site) Click the pic to go see:

I’ve been working on characters for Piedmont Healthcare’s Compliance program… I love designing characters so this has been a perfect way to get some experience in the area! I tried to make them pretty corny in a fun way.

Hey guys– two of my t-shirt designs are now up on Threadless.com for voting. People are seeming to really like it so I’m trying to get all the help I can! I would pee myself in joy if you guys could vote for it. It involves this:

1) Go to my two designs, shown below
2) Check the box “I’d buy it” near the voting numbers (You have no obligation to buy– it just lets them know of interest)
3) Give it a 5 (Of course you can give it whatever you want, but a 5 is super special.)
4) Sign up (It does not take long at all)

If that sounds complicated, it’s definitely not I promise… so please, vote below! And pass on the word! Thanks!!!

I entered the Teatrio children’s book competition this year, where you create six panels based around a yearly theme. This year’s theme was “Ghosts and Get-Aways,” so my 6 panels told the story of two flies who fell in love, died, and came back together as ghosts. (Yes, I know, disgusting) Unfortunately my pieces didn’t make it into the book. However, I am a practical, lazy young lass, so I decided to regurgitate some of the panels for use in my other goal: creating a children’s book.
After spending a few days staring at my blank computer screen, I decided to go with a story about a sad, ugly maggot:

Basically, the maggot lives in
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