Deborah Brannon – Ellen Million Graphics Blog

Summer Night Sketch Fest

It’s a late summer night, and we’ve been Sketch Festin’ all day! Let’s take a look at some of the creativity that’s come out to play, then make sure you click over to the full gallery and explore some more.

Jenna Wing-hu did this quick digital sketch inspired by Becca Moore’s prompt. This delicate and whimsical Beach Witch sports appropriate coverage in her wide-brimmed hat.

This playful and dancing fire fairy was sketched by Becca “Boo” Moore – and you can pick up the original pencil drawing on copy paper for only $15.

Ellen drew two of her favorite characters from the novel Tropical Christmas Stag: Gizelle and Conall! She said, “I couldn’t resist the excuse to sketch these two. It’s been WAY too long since I just sat down and sketched!”

This sultry and intense fellow drawn by Mayumi Ogihara was inspired by William “Kenku” Swiftfoot’s prompt, “Grey Fox.” Commenting on her digital sketch, she shared, “He might be featured in a fantasy male portrait colouring book I’m thinking of creating in the future.” We hope she does!

Shelley M. Walker drew this vital and wild beach witch taking part in an “Ocean Communion.” Her piece is colored pencil on paper.

What was your favorite piece? Don’t forget to check out the rest of the #EMGSketchFest 122 gallery – and leave some comments for our awesome participants!

Last Sketch Fest of the Decade

Welcome to our last featured creations post of the decade, celebrating our last #EMGSketchFest of same; read on to admire some of the wonderful examples of creativity uploaded to the Sketch Fest #116 gallery.

Vultures tend to be a massively misunderstood avian, so we’re delighted to see Kathy Nutt giving us such a regal “Egyptian Vulture” sketch this month. This 4.5″ x 6″ Micron pen drawing on watercolor paper is available for $30.

This vital and mysterious sketch comes from Katerina Romanova, who writes, “I loved this prompt! Also, I’ve fallen back into my unicorn phase and can’t get back up.” Inspired by Skarbog’s prompt of “the wild unicorn,” “Wild” is a speedpaint done in 50 minutes using the Mixer Brush tool. You can pick up prints in a couple of sizes for for $14 or $18.

We love the mischief captured in Nathalie Edelhirsch’s “Froggy Lady.” She said, “There probably is some magic in this” and we can’t disagree! You can take home the original mixed media painting on watercolor paper for $20.

Winter may be cold, but you’ll feel warm and fuzzy after admiring this mermaid snuggling with a puffin. Tallulah Cunningham drew “Fishy Cuddles” upon the inspiration of Sarah Alden’s “Puffin Mermaid” prompt.

“Fairy Midwinter Night Star Gazing” by Linnea Holmström Ljung

Our last featured illustration of the decade is Linnea Holmström Ljung’s “Fairy Midwinter Night Star Gazing.” This fanciful and wonderful sketch is pencil on A6 paper, completed in forty minutes.

Now that you’ve seen these pretties, click over to the gallery and admire all the rest! Don’t forget to do a little shopping and commenting while you’re there.

We hope you’ll join us for the first #EMGSketchFest of 2020 – it’ll take place on the weekend of January 17-19. Tell your friends, and we’ll see you there!

Celebrating EMG Sketch Fest 116

We celebrated the last EMG Sketch Fest of the year this past weekend, with plenty of lovely holiday-inspired illustrations – along with some fiber and light art! Check out these featured illustrations, then take a turn through the full gallery.

The first illustration submitted to our 116th Sketch Fest is from Ellen Million, founder of our feast: a “Christmas Unicorn” in colored pencils on colored paper. ACEO.

We have another seasonally-appropriate creature with Julie Rabischung’s “Yule Wolf,” drawn in colored pencils and white gouache on toned 5″ x 7″ paper. You can snag the original for only $18!

Rosie Wells’ “Wee Man” was quite popular! This sketch of a tomte with a “Happy New Year” sign drew quite a few admiring glances.

We have another gorgeous unicorn by Linda Sayegh – her “Christmas Unicorn” is all decked out for Christmas and drawn in colored pencils, Sharpie paint pens, and panpastels on Toned Canson Mi-Tientes 6″ x 8″ paper. The original illustration can be purchased for $50.

Becca Moore gave us “The Cartographer,” writing “She may map the destination, but in her heart, it’s the journey that keeps her going.” The original drawing in ink and marker on 8.5″ x 11″ cardstock can be picked up for just $35.

That’s it for tonight – head on over to the #EMGSketchFest gallery to leave some comments for our artists and do some shopping. Then come back to the blog tomorrow for additional highlights!

Turn back your clocks and enjoy more Sketch Fest!

It’s Sketch Fest Saturday night – and also time to turn your clocks back if you live in the US! Enjoy an extra hour of creativity this weekend, make some art, and share some comments with all our Sketch Fest participants.

Let’s take a look at some featured illustrations:

“The Little Mouse and Her Toadstool House” by Julie Rabischung

Julie Rabischung submitted the first piece of art this weekend! Her charming illustration of “the little mouse and her toadstool house” was created with colored pencils and ink on 4″x6″ toned paper.

Tam is getting into the winter holiday spirit early with this “Christmas Stag Bust,” described as “With candle like horns and a wreath of holly the stag uses the North Star to guide its way.”

You can just feel the autumn wind this “Leaf Fox” is cavorting in! This illustration by Kathy Nutt is “metallic ink wash over coloured pencil and micron pen.” The colors also match her “Fallen Colours” piece, so those two pieces are now a set.

Julie Cooper sketched in the beginning of this matched and curious pair – check back for more work on it tomorrow!

“Crown of Moon and Stars” by Jenna Wing-hu is a “quick sketch on gessoed hardboard with graphite and white colored pencil.” Mysterious and radiant!

Have you enjoyed this preview? Don’t forget to click through to the full Sketch Fest gallery! Enjoy the art, and come back soon.

Autumn thrives at EMG Sketch Fest 114!

This autumn day brought a breath of fresh air and fallen leaves, foxy tea and decorated pumpkins to EMG Sketch Fest #114. I hope you’ve joined us and have been leaving prompts and comments for the artists – if not, there’s still time! Sketch Fest runs through 12 PM AKT tomorrow and it’s free to register on the site.

In the meantime, enjoy these featured illustrations:

“There’s Magic in Her Eyes” by Miss FionaB

Miss FionaB took pride of place with the first illustration in our gallery! This is her second submitted piece – the sketch “There’s Magic in Her Eyes” was inspired by Julie Rabischung’s prompt.

Remember that breath of fresh air I mentioned? You can feel it emanating from Jill Britt’s sketch of these playful foxes, full of movement and enjoyment of the autumnal weather.

This proud and pensive noblewoman is in her element – “Noble Curcubits” by Tallulah Cunningham was inspired by Deborah J. Brannon’s prompt of “The Pumpkin Duchess.” Tallulah wrote, “I do like me some pumpkin based costumery.” As do we! (For those wondering about the title, cucurbits is a name for the gourd family of plants which includes the pumpkin.

Sheryl Abid sketched this gorgeous and intricate stack of tea cups with autumnal motifs against a backdrop of pumpkins and fallen leaves. Who’s ready for an autumn tea party?

“Sabrina’s First Spell” by Katerina Koukiotis

Our last featured illustration comes to us from Katerina Koukiotis and is full of palpable disappointment – inspired by the prompt, “Sabrina’s First Spell,” Katerina wrote, “This is something I’m working on and it fit this prompt very much, when spells don’t always work .”

Those are our featured illustrations for now – head over to the full gallery to explore more and leave our artists some much-deserved comments! Come back to the blog on Monday for more featured illustrations and the announcement of November’s Sketch Fest dates.

Remember, if you share sketches from Sketch Fest on social media, use our official hashtag: #EMGSketchFest.

September Sketch Fest Sunday

Happy Sketch Fest Sunday! We’re welcoming in autumn the best way we know how, by spending a day celebrating with creativity in one-hour sprints.

#EMGSketchFest 113 has ended, but there’s still much to do – enjoy the art, leave comments for the artists, and maybe pick up a print or an original of your favorite pieces.

Let’s do some featured illustrations:

“Season of the Witch” by Linzi Fay is her “first witch of the season yay!” You can snag this magical sketch for only $20.

This vibrant piece by Maria J. William was inspired by Mayumi Ogihara’s prompt of “Azure Blue and Pumpkin Orange.” You can pick up the original colored pencil sketch of “Luminous” on toned paper for $40.

This contemplative witch is judging you! “The Witch and the Owl” by Jenna Wing-hu is on 5″ x 7″ MDF board.

“Hygge in a fairy home” by Katinka Sárvári

You can feel the comfort in Katinka Sárvári’s “Hygge in a fairy home,” which she describes as “Firay mums happiness with their little babies in their lilly of the valley home.” This is Katinka’s first Sketch Fest!

“Starry, starry night” by Rowan Lewgalon

This soft, sweet fox sleeps amidst lovely greenery in Rowan Lewgalon’s “Starry, starry night.” She admits she loved working on this one!

This curious “Acorn Princess” looks ready for autumn to unfold. You can snag the original 5″ x 7″ illustration by Milkycat for $10.

Feel the fear of this “Dangerous Beauty” coming for you! This rough pencil sketch by Kathy Nutt was inspired by Mayumi Ogihara’s prompt of “Dangerous and beautiful mermaid witch.”

We hope you enjoyed our featured illustrations – explore the full gallery, and keep checking back as artists may still add sketches that were in progress when #EMGSketchFest ended.

Come back tomorrow to discover October’s Sketch Fest dates!

September Sketch Fest Saturday

Welcome to this September’s Sketch Fest Saturday! It’s been a leisurely day full of creativity, evoking the autumnal spirit with hedgehogs and fairies and witches and more. We hope you’ve joined us in either leaving prompts or creating art – or both!

If not, you should definitely check out the #EMGSketchFest gallery – but admire these featured illustrations first.

Ellen uploaded the first sketch to our gallery this month! She drew “Black Cat” as a bookplate sketch for the Zoe Chant Shifting Sands Resort series of books. You can purchase this sketch on the sticker paper bookplate for $10.

“A Prickly Fall Flower” by Hannah Stayton

This is Hannah Stayton’s first Sketch Fest, and she created this completely adorable autumnal hedgehog illustration in “A Prickly Fall Flower.” She describes them as a “Cute little garden buddy to help you clean up the flower beds.”

Jill Britt sketched this provocative and eldritch witch and her tree in “A Witch’s Best Friend.”

Tricia Danby created magic in her painting of “Moon Witch,” reveling in the moon’s phases.

Let’s end with another beautiful black cat: as Madison says of her illustration “Moonlight,” it shows “A black cat crowded on to a shelf between some potion bottles and some toadstools, looking out the window at a full moon.” She did this in 22 minutes.

Now, head on over to the gallery and leave some comments for our artists! It’s not too late to sign up and participate on Sunday, either.

Don’t forget to use our official hashtag, #EMGSketchFest, when sharing your thoughts on social media.

Seven for Sketch Fest Sunday

Our August Sketch Fest has ended, but that doesn’t mean the gallery’s complete! Participants may still upload works to prompts they claimed, so be sure to take some time exploring the full gallery.

To rev up your interest, enjoy these featured illustrations before you head over there.

Rosie Wells created “Mask,” a digital sketch worthy of the “Summer Masquerade” of Mayumi Ogihara’s prompt.

“Summer Meets Autumn” is Rowan Lewgalon’s finished sketch of an earlier artwork she uploaded, depicting the summer boughs tangling with autumn foliage in a glowing and sun-pierced forest.

Using Scratch Magic note paper, Afke van Herpt drew the elegant curiosity of a maned wolf in colorful strokes.

This pencil and watercolor sketch by Kir Talmage is untitled, giving us the mysterious profile of a “wolf princess” (as divined from Julie Rabischung’s prompt). Kir says, “I need to do more warm-up pieces like this. Get past the easy ideas and practice practice practice.”

Drawing on the prompt of the same name left by Rosie Wells, Tricia sketched out and began filling in this “Autumn Druid” beneath a blue sky and standing stones.

Milkycat sketched and inked this summery and mischievous “Dark Fae” (inspired by Julie Cooper’s “Dark Fairy” prompt), and you can snag the original for only $10!

Inspired by Tricia Danby’s prompt, Linzi Fay drew this serene and enchanting “Gossamer Beauty.” She’s offering the original graphite, white charcoal, and white paint sketch on tan toned paper for only $18.

That’s it for this evening’s featured illustrations! Click through to the main gallery to do some shopping and leave some comments for our artists. Be sure to come back to the blog tomorrow and discover when September’s Sketch Fest will be held!

Welcome to EMG Sketch Fest #112!

It’s Sketch Fest Saturday, and we hope you’re enjoying a creative weekend! 20 creators have joined us so far, spending one hour on various artistic pursuits then sharing what they’ve made in our gallery.

Time for us to feature a few of these artworks – before you jump over to the full gallery and explore for yourselves.

Ellen Million, the founder of Sketch Fest, had the first upload this month! In this sketch, she’s roughing in the illustration for a bookplate design for the Protection Inc. book series.

When Julie Rabischung saw Natta’s prompt of “Enchanted roses,” she said, “I couldn’t resist this prompt!! Roses are my favorite flowers.” Using watercolors, colored pencils, and white gouache, she created this trio of blooming roses amidst sparkles of magic. You can purchase the original 4″ x 6″ sketch for $18, or snag a print for $7.

“Autumn Colored Mermaid” by Jenny Heidewald

Inspired by Mayumi Ogihara’s prompt of “Autumn Coloured Mermaid,” Jenny Heidewald sketched this mermaid with a starfish in her flowing tresses.

This pretty prancing pegasus is being sketched by Jill Britt, inspired by Linda Sayegh’s “Pegasus flight” prompt.

Letesha Gaither took Afke van Herpt’s prompt of “Eyes telling a story” and drew this evocative eye telling “Aged Stories.”

Amy Sue Stirland used her time to create these three lovely pumpkin softies! Inspired by Heather Kilgore’s “Where are my pumpkins?” prompt, Amy said, “I needed new softies in my blue and grey autumn tones. What a great prompt!!”

That’s it on our featured illustrations tonight! Hop on over to Sketch Fest #112 to see more and shop the gallery. And don’t forget to drop by the blog tomorrow for more.

Thanks for a great Sketch Fest #111!

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.

This evocative and spellbinding illustration by Rowan Lewgalon is called “Reach for the Stars,” matching the Maigan Lynn prompt that inspired the piece.

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).”

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 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.

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.

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.