I saved the most colorful of my little house-gryphons for last. I think these are my favorites from the set. If you missed the previous installments, they’re here and here. I hope to make some little notecards with these after the holiday, but I’m not sure whether to leave them with the watercolor pencils or recolor digitally… I have the scans of the uncolored ink drawings just waiting on my computer. What do you think?
Here are a couple more of my little sketch critters, dubbed “house gryphons” by a friend. These were so much fun to make! Check out the first batch if you haven’t already. I’ve also been getting some great sketches from the other artists in the trade.
There’s just one more set left to go…
Zazzle has been steadily adding new products to their lineup, and I’ve finally gotten a chance to add some of them to the Critterwings store. It’s hard to find the info about them on their website, so I ordered a few to see for myself and I wanted to share the pictures with you. Because all of the cases look amazing! I only ordered iPhone 4 cases, because that’s the phone I own, but they are also offering iPhone 3/3G, Blackberry Curve and Bold, and Samsung Galaxy cases in the Case-Mate style.
Hopefully I can get this posted in time for folks to take advantage of the amazing coupon sale at Zazzle: 50% off of shirts, cards, calendars, necklaces, ornaments, phone cases, and more, through 4pm PST on Friday, November 18 with coupon code FFHSHUGEDEAL If you miss out, the coupon is still good for 20% off for the rest of the weekend. And remember, everything at Zazzle can be customized, or you can make your own from scratch, and still get the same discount.
Originally, Zazzle only offered the Speck Fitted fabric-backed case, seen here.
“Dragon of Autumn” on the Speck Fitted case
This is a hard-bodied clamshell case with rubberized edges and a fabric cover on the back, which is printed. It’s a very solid case, with good access to the buttons and feels like it can take a blow. There’s also a nice bezel around the screen to protect it from damage. The rubber edges make it the most comfortable style to hold, and it snaps very tightly together. I had to search YouTube to figure out how to open the Speck case back up again to change it. The buttons are easy to get to, and I was even able to use it with my docking stations without removing the case — without the docking adaptors in place, anyway. The colors printed nice and bright on the fabric, although not as brightly as the other cases, but because of the grain of the material my ink drawings lose a lot of sharpness and detail. I’m a little concerned about keeping the fabric clean, but so far the trimmed edges seem nicely sealed down and unlikely to fray any time soon. I bought this a little while ago, and at the time it shipped by itself in a small zipper bag with no other packaging, which might be a concern if you’re getting it as a gift for someone else.
Speck Pros:
Speck Cons:
“Dragon of Winter” on the Case-Mate Tough case
Recently, Zazzle started also offering Case-Mate brand phone cases, for many different kinds of phones. There are a few different styles available for iPhones: “Tough” and “Barely There” Both have a lightweight plastic body with a glossy finish that reproduces the colors gorgeously. The printing is crisp and bright and wraps around the sides. They ship in a display box with a screen-protector kit. Although in my case the boxes were not factory-sealed and had gotten a bit squashed in shipping, they are still nice if you’re buying them as a gift.
Above is “Dragon of Winter” on the Case-Mate Tough case. This case includes a soft rubbery liner that protects most of the buttons and also provides a bezel to protect the screen. It seems very solid once it’s in place, and has a pretty good feel in the hand, but I find the plastic surface harder to hold on to. (Personally, I find the iPhone 4 by itself hard to hold onto, and I’ve been relying on my cases to keep it from leaping out of grasp like a live fish…) The buttons were easy to use through the rubber coating. I just got these cases in yesterday so I have yet to see how they hold up to scratches and scuffs.
Case-Mate Tough Pros:
Case-Mate Tough Cons:
“S is for Sunflower” on the Case-Mate ID case
The last case I have to share today is the Case-Mate Barely There ID case. This clever case includes a slot that can store 2 credit/ID cards, but is otherwise identical to the other Barely There case Zazzle sells. These cases have the same printing as the Tough case above, but are much more form-fitting to the phone so they’re very compact and take up hardly any extra bulk.
As you can see, the plastic is very thin, and does not include a bezel around the screen. All the ports are very open and while the bump of the card slot may cause some docking issues, I can’t imagine any docking station having a problem with the non-ID version of this case. If like me you have trouble holding onto your iPhone 4 this case won’t help you at all and it doesn’t seem to provide as much impact protection as the other models. However, despite appearances the case snaps on very tightly (I haven’t figured out the knack for removing it yet) and it ships with a screen-protector kit. If you’re just looking for something decorative it’s a nice economical option for a custom-printed case.
Case-Mate Barely There Pros:
Case-Mate Barely There Cons:
I hope this is helpful. I have most of my designs on most of the models of cases Zazzle offers — iPhone, iPod Touch, Samsung, and Blackberry — but I’m still working through the backlog. Let me know if there’s something missing that you want!
Where did the summer go? Oh, that’s right… between client work, an illustration-heavy project at my day job, and general craziness all the way around, I’ve had very little time for “just for fun” drawing. That’s one of the reasons I like the Doodle Swap Project, a little club of artists and designers who all make tiny trading-card-sized artworks for each other. It gives me an excuse to do some quick, small, simple drawings that I don’t have any time to overthink because they have to get out the door fast.
This time around the theme was “hybrid animals” chimera, creatures made up of two or more different unrelated animals. Perfect timing for me, since:
a) the idea for little gryphons that are a cross between songbirds and housecats (instead of the more traditional eagles and lions) has been kicking around in my head for a while, and
b) “Backyard” and household fantasy creatures are the theme of my Sketchbook project book. More about that one later…
So, this was a little bit of two birds with one stone. Or something like that. Here are the first few of the cards, I’ll be posting the rest soon. They’re all 2.5 x 3.5 inches, drawn with ink and watercolor pencils on bristol paper.
Anyone else think that these will make nice little notecards? 🙂
But before that, just a reminder that this weekend I’m participating in the MS Society’s Chesapeake Challenge walk, so it’s your last chance to make a donation for a free pet portrait. It’s looking like it will be a bit of a scorcher out there too… Get all the details here, and do it today!
I’m going to make a confession here: I love school. I’ve always loved school. I like taking classes, I like learning new things, I’d probably be in school forever if I could. One of the things I like about taking classes is that it’s quiet time to sit back and passively take new ideas in, giving the parts of my brain that are always solving problems a little break.
If it’s a lot of factual information, I’m actually not all that passive about it. (I am one of nature’s obsessive note-takers. And not the interesting, oh-so-pretty artistic kind of notes. I filled an entire steno pad with my cramped chicken-scratch at the last training conference I attended.)
But if it’s more abstract, theoretical, or subjective information, I don’t write a lot of notes down. That’s when my pen does other things.
Sketches like these actually help me focus and process what’s being said when either a) it’s not something that I need to capture exact phrases for or b) I’m starting to zone out and would otherwise be falling asleep. I’ll typically keep a separate page or as in this case a separate notepad handy to separate these meanderings, a habit I picked up in high school when a rather nasty math teacher kept yelling at me about doodling in my notebook. (I got straight A’s in that class, you bitter old hag!)
This time around it wasn’t Shakespeare or philosophy or even math, but a training seminar at my office. It was a good seminar, but loooong 4-hour sessions meant I needed to stay focused. So, time to sketch! Fortunately I have plenty of little sketchpads in my office, gleaned from years of attending design conferences. 🙂
Unfortunately, I didn’t have my Sketchbook Project book with me, because I really liked how some of these came out. It was a 4-day class, so there are more sketches to come!
In case you didn’t know, yesterday was Drawing Day! Actually it’s the whole weekend, which is good for me. Yesterday had the most perfect, beautiful weather and I just couldn’t stay inside drawing… or even hunched over a sketchpad outside. By the end of the day, I was as exhausted as my cat, who for a change sat still long enough for an extended portrait.
She’ll be showing up at my RedBubble site shortly (and yes, that’s not all just “fluff,” the little tubbo…) I did a few scribbles in my sketchbook too, trying to decide on what sort of things to put in my Sketchbook Project book. I fear the challenge there will be picking subjects that I can draw in such a relatively small space… good practice for the pet portraits I’m doing for my MS fundraiser (this is the last week to participate, now with lower donations for art!)
Today is “exercise and more gardening day,” weather permitting. But there will be some more drawings tonight… especially if it really does rain today, which looks like pretty good odds at the moment.
This year I was paying attention in time to play along with everyone else and signed up to participate The Sketchbook Project’s 2012 tour. My sketchbook arrived this week and it’s just waiting to be scribbled in.
What’s this all about? It’s an endeavor by the Art House Co-op to collect sketchbooks filled by anyone who wants to participate and take them on a touring show before adding them to the permanent collection of their gallery, the Brooklyn Art Library. Head over to the Sketchbook Project website for more info, and to sign up for a sketchbook for yourself if you’re so inclined.
So now my job is to fill this little book up by the end of the year and send it in. I signed up for the theme “Encyclopedia of” which seemed like a good fit for me. 🙂
What will go in it? Maybe some brainstorming for my garden. Maybe some warmup sketches for my fundraising pet portrait cards. Most likely there will be a page or two filled in next weekend for Drawing Day (more on that later…)
Do you have your sketchbook yet?
Why is my cat giving me such a look? Probably because I’m not paying enough attention to her. And what could me more important than pampering the cat?
This year, I promised myself I was going to do something for myself and for others: I’m going to participate in the Walk MS Chesapeake Challenge. This event is 2-day, 30-mile walk that supports the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Money raised goes to support research, advocacy, and services for those affected by MS. I have a page set up there for donation sponsorships, and I’m hoping a few of you will help out.
Why am I doing it? Aside from a need to get off my rear and and get some good exercise for a change, it’s to support a good cause. Our lives have been touched by MS. My husband’s mother suffered from very severe MS symptoms and was housebound for years. By the time I met her she was about to get out and about (with assistance) thanks to new breakthroughs in treatment made possible by ongoing research efforts like those at the MS Society. Sadly, she passed away before she ever became my mother-in-law; I have a friend today who benefits from even newer treatments who will hopefully never go through what she did.
Because this is such a large event, I need to do fundraising on a scale I haven’t tried before. For that I’ll need your support. And just in case the warm glow of making a tax-exempt donation to a very worthy cause isn’t enough, I’m sweetening the pot a bit.
How can you take advantage of this amazing offer? Just go over to my donation page at the MS Society website and make a donation in the appropriate amount. Be sure to include your name on the donor list so I can confirm your donation and put e-mail address in the “Personal Note” section — I need it to send you information on how to get your drawings!
FAQs
Why only pets?
What if I have more than one pet/there’s more than one pet in the photo?
What kind of sketches are we talking about here?
How do I get my sketch?
When will I get my sketch?
What kind of photo should I send?
Can I use my drawing on my website/as my logo/in a book?
Is the MS Society site safe to use?
Where are those sample drawings you mentioned?
Any other questions? Drop me a line at contact@stephaniesmith.com… and thanks in advance for your support!
So, it was inevitable, after going through the entire alphabet in flowers, that they’d all be reunited when all was said and done. I’m now offering “The Floral Alphabet” as a poster and/or art print in both of my shops: at RedBubble and at Zazzle.
What’s the difference between the two sites? Basically, it depends on what kind of options you want, and if you were planning on buying anything else from either site. RedBubble’s printing is very high quality, but Zazzle has many more options to pick from. And both companies are very good about exchanges and returns if you are at all unhappy with the quality of what you receive.
I should be adding more gifts and housewares using the Floral Alphabet art to my Zazzle store in the weeks to come, with and without the monograms. If you have any particular requests, please let me know!
Just when you thought I’d given up on drawing anything but flowers, it’s time for something a little different.
I’ve had the fun of participating a few times in the Doodle Swap Project, a group of artists and designers and other creative folks who create tiny works of art and send them to each other. The “Doodles” are in the form of Artist Trading Cards, where the only limitation is that the finished size is relatively flat and 3.5 x 2.5 inches. The theme for this round was “Under the Sea” and I’ve been getting some lovely interpretations in my mail the last week or so from the other artists involved.
Mine are all ink sketches made with Micron pens on bristol paper, based on photographs I’ve taken over the years… most at aquariums, but a few are from a trip to the Caribbean we took a few years ago. Fish are so alien compared to the animals we see all the time, so many interesting shapes, colors, and patterns. I don’t even have some of the more exotic varieties in my collection here.
Quick little projects like this are a refreshing break from larger, lengthier projects. Plus, they’re a source of ideas for other things. I may do something more with these scans before I put them aside completely. In the meantime, enjoy the whole set!
