Artist Trading Cards: Fairy Tale Series

Posted on May 17, 2013 by stephanie

Earlier this spring, I participated in the Doodle Swap Project again. As usual, it was great fun: a quick, sketchy project and on one of my favorite themes: Fairy Tales. The challenge was to keep the concept simple enough to fit on the tiny sketchcards, since the original art could only be 2.5 x 3.5 inches! Once again I broke out my Copic markers; one of these days I’ll have to use them for something larger than this, they’re lots of fun.

I also received some wonderful artwork in exchange, big thank you to all the artists in Doodle Swap who participated! Take a look at all the great work from this and other swaps.

More DoodleCards – Fantasy People continued

Posted on August 17, 2012 by stephanie

Here are a few more of the “doodles” from my “Fantasy People” set of trading cards. These were all just quick little drawings — warm-up exercises, really — rather than finished artwork to share with some of my artist friends. Maybe I’ll turn them into something more, or maybe they were just a fun practice project. In either case, I hope you enjoy them too!

More Trading Cards

Posted on August 13, 2012 by stephanie

I finally have some new art to share, once again thanks to the DoodleSwap!

This time around I had a new toy to play with: Copic Markers. These are refillable alcohol-based art markers which are a dream to color with. I only used a handful of colors to make these cards, but you can bet that I’ll be adding more to my set before long.

I’ll post the rest soon!

Doodles!

Posted on June 11, 2012 by stephanie

I’ve finally gotten around to posting the Artist Trading Cards I drew for the last Doodle Swap I participated in. For those who don’t know, Artist Trading Cards are 3.5 x 2.5 inch mini artworks. The Doodle Swap Project lets creative-type folks sign up, draw a batch of cards however they like, send them out, and get some back in return.

This time around I kept it simple: dragons. Well, little bitty dragons at least. They’re sketchier than usual since I had to rush through them to get them in the mail in time. And after all, they’re just “doodles,” right?

I don’t know why I’ve been drawing little bitty mythical creatures lately. I guess it’s a palate-cleanser from the more formal client work I’ve been doing. Or I’m just doing warm ups for some more big dragon art that’s waiting in the wings. Either way, these guys just make me happy, I hope they do the same for the people who found them in their mailboxes.

The last of the little flock

Posted on November 22, 2011 by stephanie

Tiny Gryphons #5 Goldfinch by Stephanie Smith

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?

Tiny Gryphons #1 Cardinal by Stephanie Smith

Tiny Grypons #2 Blue Jay by Stephanie Smith

More Tiny Gryphons

Posted on November 19, 2011 by stephanie

Tiny Gryphons ATC #4 Sparrow

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.

Tiny Gryphons ATC #3 Dove

There’s just one more set left to go…

Artist Trading Cards: Tiny Gryphons

Posted on November 16, 2011 by stephanie

Tiny Griffons ATC #8 Chickadee

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? 🙂

Tiny Griffons ATC #7 Crow

Tiny Griffons ATC #6 Robin

Something’s Fishy…

Posted on May 1, 2011 by stephanie

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!