Michelle Jackson

Think I’m still waiting on a few more doodles to come in, but wanted to share what I’ve received so far!   I love doing swaps!  I get to flex my creative muscles and wait anxiously at the mailbox for little packages of doodliciousness!

If you want to participate, head on over to http://doodleswap.blogspot.com!

There’s also a doodle flickr group  called ‘The Doodle Swap Project’ if you wanted to check out all the fun stuff everyone’s done!

Cheers,

Michelle!

I signed up for the Doodle Swap #4 in the fall, and met the deadline today to send them all out! Kinda like how these turned. Hope everyone that gets them enjoys them too!

Just a quick freehand ink doodle for this weeks IF theme: Contained.  Before I dozed off I had to get one more drawing in and without forcing myself to think I came up with this doodle using a prisma pen, and nothing else.  I cleaned it up the edges, and added a tiny splash of color in PS.  To balance the odd shape, I duplicated the image a few times and placed them around the original, using the white space as a border.  

My three submissions for the ACEO trio cat trade. They’re Kokeshi Kitties!

New ACEO up on Monday Art Day! Check the site out, and start creating your own ACEO’s to trade with other artists! doooo eeet..

To bring in the new year, here’s an illustration.
May much happiness, health, and prosperity come your way this year!

I’m sorry I haven’t been keeping up with my blog for sometime. My husband and I have been transitioning back into the DC/NOVA metro area since early December from our unfortunate relocation to NC. Lucky for us, it’s been pretty smooth. After we came back to VA, everyone we passed on the street said that “NC is for the retired.” Now they tell us! We definitely appreciate the things we took for granted before we left, so in saying that, I’m glad that we took the chances that we did when we decided to move.

So now instead of sitting on my bum all day looking for a job in NC, I’m doing it in VA, with much better results! I honestly can’t wait to start working again.. this whole temporary retirement thing has had me bummed out and stagnant… Posting something up on the blog has brightened my day though, so maybe I’ll continue to do a little more of that! The sketch above is a snippit from my M2 spread 40 on my sketchdump blog. Cheers!!!

Wishing everyone a wonderful happy holiday season, and best wishes to the New Year! Hope Santa brings you what you wished for this year!
CHEERS!!!

Just got my CS3 Design Premium, and am sooo loving it… and it’s soooo fast on my new super fast computer (compared to my old frankenstein), that I actually had the motivation to create some concepts for a new ID!!! Here’s what I came up with first…

this didn’t quite work out the way I had anticipated, but it helped get the juices flowing…

Here’s concept numbah two that I took a bit further. This, I felt, had a simple, sophisticated, yet dark, and playful feel to it that I thought represented me a little more than the all out bubbliness of the first concept. I’m also liking the Raspberry and dark gray combo.

ID Concept with black background behind lettering:

ID Concept with 90%Gray background behind lettering: (can you soooo see these as little MOO Stickers!!!)

Business Card Concept:

Would lerve some feedback from you!

felt the urge to paint, and a sketch of owl eyes had been haunting me for some time. I really like how it turned out. I made it such a process, which is something I don’t normally do, since I like to get things done in one sitting, but it felt good to see what came of my patience!

He’s a cutie, and makes me smile when I see him starin back at me.. although it can be a little creepie at times to know you’re being watched, no less, by detached owl eyes.. yoiks.. He’s been begging me to make some prints of him, and maybe put him on some stationary. What do you think? Should I listen to him?!!! You’ll have to suggest some name’s for “him” since he doesn’t have one yet.

Hoot Hoot Hooray..

ok.. I’m the biggest kidult EVER.. my friend sent me this link today, and I just about booked a flight to Japan, just so I could use this phone… The phone has been Hello Kittied out.. inside, outside, even sideways, and the graphics are neato.
Check it…

gimme.gimme.gimme….

I made it this week, Hoooray! I’m really happy that I could make some time this week to participate in IF. It’s been a little hard lately, I know I keep saying that. This was designed to be the front of a card. It was sketched out on textured lined cream cardstock, outlined in pen, and colored in with watercolor colored pencils. There’s some tweakage to be done, but I love how the banner at the top turned out, overall, and being spot-on with the hand-lettering. (I never can get that right.)

Here’s another little sketch of something goofy I like to do when eating oranges.

Watercolor (in progress) done from a doodle. The idea was to show a geisha losing her virginity for the first time, by showing flowers flowing from under her dress in the wind. When I had finished up with the sketch, it looked like maybe she had let one go and was bashfully saying ‘oops, I tooted’

Even though that’s what it looks like.. I really like how the flowers and lines flowed from the dress. I may just carry this over to the watercolor anyway!

arrr.. matey..

Still trying my hand at digital painting. I finally was able to devote some time to it! yay!
The sketch was scanned in this evening, and digitally painted in Photoshop. The middle piece is a chip from Vegas. A friend had gone recently, and brought me back this token chip.. and who better to guard the chip then a swash-buckling peg-handed pirate.

Hope ye like me bootie.. aarrr..

This is the original sketch I wanted to use for this week’s IF theme, Communication. The sketch just kind of ’screamed’ out!

This is my first real attempt at digital painting. The tablet makes it so much easier to do this. I first established where my lighting was going to be coming from and drew an arrow to remind me. I also started roughing in tonal values of her face. This is my first time doing a step-by-step, and it’s kinda of a sad one.. I’m a little further in the detailing in this example btw.
I placed a colored background in the back to help me see the outline of her face, mouth and teeth. I worked on her facial structure and attempted to highlight and shadow. It’s pretty sad, I know. I also added her hair, but didn’t focus on the details, since I’m beginning, I figured her face would be a good start.
I kind of cheated with adding color. I painted a flat brown tone over the entire facial area, and under the layer blend mode options, I chose ‘color’ which gave me the depth and color I was looking for. I took the eraser and cleaned up my edges some. Using a darker and lighter tone of brown, I shaded and highlighted some of the areas.

I have a ways to go, but had a lot of fun doing this! Must.. do.. mooore…
oy… why does she have an adams apple.. blargh..

Wow… I’m 30… I don’t feel… 30… I hope I don’t think I have to feel 30 from this point on.. although I have been noticing a few extra wrinkles around my face I could do without.. hhhmm..
I guess since I’m 30 know I can pass on some wise old wisdom to them yung’uns out there.. Age is just a number. Mind the simple pleasures. Life is about living out your passions.

As my wise aunt says.. “Live Passionately.”

Happy Valentine’s Day too! ♥

A second rendition has been done, per the critique of Bearuh on the ThreeThumbsUpGallery Blog. “Thats really great! I like tablet Pcs too! I recommend using your space more.. And maybe have the faces bigger for more of a focus point. AWESOME!”
Thanks Bearuh!
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Their feelings for each other sprouted out and was placed not only into each others hearts, but into everything they’ve ever loved in life.

*playin around with the new tablet.. i luuuuuv eeet! It really makes things so much easier for me, and can’t see how I went so looong without having one.. well.. this size!

Here’s the original sketch!

My parents came by today, bearing gifts ‘0′ plenty! They gave J.D. his belated birthday gift, a beautiful pool cue rack and cocktail stirrers, and for me, something I’ve been hopping from foot to foot for since christmas (since they had to send in what they originally got for an exchange.) *eeeeee* I’m soooo excited!!! I finally have, and hooked up already, the WACOM 6×8 Intuos3 Pen Tablet… *sigh! I am in love with this thing! (I’m such a nerd!!!)
So as promised, I sent my parents the first thing I made with it!

Thanks Mom and Dad!!!

Had this little guy prepped on canvas for awhile, so while my husband hogged my computer to do taxes, I thought I’d finish him up.
He originated from an attempted sketch of a skull. I have this habit of putting random jibberish next the sketches that happen to be there when I think of the non-word.

So here’s Hoo–Hoo. He likes the water, especially when bubbles float past him. His favorite food is fried calamari, and of course, loves long walks on the beach. He loves to talk about his adventures, so hope you’re a good listener!

As she laid in the field of paper poppies, her worries and cares drifted away with the clouds that passed her by.