Illustration Friday - Suzy and Sam's "Beginning"

Good morning everyone!! As promised to you and myself, I am attempting to keep up with "Illustration Friday," before the deadline sneaks up on me!! This week's topic was, "Beginning." I've been really dying to create a "Moonrise Kingdom," themed piece so I created this illustration:

"Moonrise Kingdom," was such an enjoyable movie. Keeping with the theme of "beginning," I decided to create a pop-art type piece that represented the two main characters, Suzy and Sam's, first encounter. After sneaking into the girl's makeshift dressing room during a play Sam points to Suzy and asks, "What kind of bird are you?" In her elegant black costume, wide eyed, she replies with, "I'm a Raven."

I hope everyone is having a good week so far and I hope you enjoyed my Illustration. Oh, and go see that movie if you haven't!! 

Illustration Friday - Pink "Power" Ranger Kimberly!!

Hey everyone!! The week has just started but I couldn't resist working on another piece for "Illustration Friday," when I found out the theme was "Power." The first thing that comes to my head when I think power?? Power Rangers of course so I decided to create this little cartoon:

That's right the Pink Ranger, Kimberly!! As girly as I am, believe it or not she wasn't my favorite but my second favorite. In my mind, the Yellow Ranger came in first!! I liked her weapon and dinosaur far more than Kimberly's. But I'm sure I would have given my right arm to be EITHER of them!! Hope everyone is having a great week so far!!

Lora Warnick "Dream Team" Illustrated Portrait!!

Good morning everyone and happy Monday!! It's been MONTHS since I featured an illustrated portrait I created on the blog so why not post about one today?? Fairly recently I was contacted by a previous client and one of my favorite photographers, Lora Warnick, to create an illustration of her team as a surprise gift!

Photo via Facebook Page

She imagined a landscape type-portrait featuring each individual member of her photography team that illustrated what their main job was when it came to photo-shoots. Her team consists of herself, the photographer, Sarah the Creative Director, Dawn her stylist, Harry the video guy, and Anthony a make-up and hairstylist! She gathered up some photos and I sketched her out a layout then immediately got to work to create her image:

The portrait came out really great! I loved it, Lora loved it and most important her TEAM loved it!! I even got some special thanks from individual team members. This was the first time that I even had drawn that many people in one portrait before. It was challenging and fun to cram everyone in there while still making their unique super powers shine. Here are some close detailed close ups of the portrait:

Each team member received an 8x10 printed copy for themselves and she even posted the digital copy it on her Facebook page. If you haven't checked out Lora's Photography yet she has a website at http://www.lorawarnick.com and a Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lora-Warnick-Photography/114375205268276. She is such a wonderful person and I was honored to bring her idea to life. contact her on both pages. Hope everyone has a great day!!

Inspiration Post: Delectable Donuts!!

Hey everyone!! April is winding down to an end and it was one crazy month!! I'll admit, I really slacked on posting but I couldn't forget the monthly "Inspiration Post!" Once a month I post a set of 5 visuals that inspire me in hopes to inspire you!! Even if you aren't the next Picasso I hope this set makes your Spring day a little bit sweeter! This month's theme is everyone's favorite office food, "Delectable Donuts!"

If you haven't gathered this yet, I freaking love food. Especially sugar. So I love donuts. I've featured them in my artwork before on Thank You cards, celebrated National Donut Day last year and on a set of Valentine's cards I created. Frosted, covered with sprinkles, filled with frosting or glazed they're the sweetest way to start your day! Grab a cup of coffee, kick back and scroll through our post!!

Alternative Portfolio - Jerry Bennett Photography

This photograph filed under "Alternative" by Jerry Bennett, is of a pink-haired Miss with six donuts balancing top of her head dated 2007. Her hair is crazy, her jewelry is giant and the pink and purple hues are subtle and harmonious. Not many people can pull off model + donuts + alternative style but this shot proves the craziest ideas can turn out the most eye-catching portraits.

Donutella and her Friends - TokiDoki by Simone Legno

Meet "Donutella" and her group of equally sweet friends! Drawn with thick dark outlines, vibrant colors and in a clean vector-art style Simon Legno's "TokiDoki" line is something I always indulge in! More than just an icon in the the delectable world of Donuts, Donutella includes her own backstory of traveling the milky way and stumbling upon a plantery home for herself and species. I couldn't resist including her in my post!! Simone's work can be found on all sorts of merchandise in the form of bags, stationary, plushes and heaps more available at a variety of stores!

"Pandora's Box?" - Eric Joyner

I love this piece. In fact, I love all of Eric Joyner's Robot & Donuts pieces. The robots open "Pandora's Box" releasing the unstoppable evil of sprinkle-covered frosted DONUTS upon their universe. Joyner draws inspiration for his art from his passion for old tin toys, specifically robots exported from Japan, and our universal love of donuts. I really respect someone who has a seemingly strange vision and follows through with it successfully. Marvel at his entire gallery at http://ericjoyner.com/.

Donut Monster Sneakers - BobsMade

Next is a custom pair of kick's covered in donuts and monsters!! BobsMade which was founded in 2007 by an art student who dropped out of school to do things her own way, specializes in custom pieces from sneakers, to heels, to phone cases, nearly ANYTHING with a decent amount of surface area! Vibrant color, thick outlines and doodle-like qualities make the BobsMade brand a style I dig. The cartoony donuts are really fun and the monsters all look friendly and silly.

 

Smoke Rings illustration by Mark Ward

And last but not least, the catalyst of it all, this graphic illustration inspired me to think about those "Delectable Donuts" differently. I originally saw this on Pinterest with no information on it's creator. But with a little investigative work I found out it was created by Mark Ward, a Graphic Artist & Art Director creating distinct works of art in London, England. The concept is extremely clever, slightly grimy and intensely magnetizing. Bravo Mr. Ward!

 Image via donut-porn.tumblr.com/

That's it for this week I hope this "Inspiration Post" got you inspired (or at the very least super hungry). If your still hungry for more delectable donuts be sure to check out the Pinterest board I have dedicated to "Inspiration" sprinkled with extras that didn't make this month's cut! Head over to http://pinterest.com/nerdycupcakes/inspirations/ to check it out!! Have a great week everyone!!

Illustration Friday - "Urban" Heiress

Hey everyone!! Today I am excited to announce I decided to participate in the website "Illustration Friday." I heard of it in a book that I read recently called, "Breaking into Freelance Illustration" by illustrator Holly DeWolf. If you are unfamiliar with the concept it is a site where creatives can submit a piece based on an ever-changing weekly theme that changes, you guessed it, every Friday!

 logo via "Illustrator's Lounge"

This week's theme was "Urban," and my contribution is this illustration: 

A super tan blonde Urban heiress with the big city reflecting in her designer sunglasses. A big city means BIG possibilities, even if it is just shopping ten thousand different shoe stores! Cannot wait to see what next week's theme is!! Hope everyone has a great day today!

Kreayshawn "Group Hug Tour" Illustration

Hey everyone!! Hope everyone had a fun and safe St. Patty's Day!! Just wanted to update the blog with an illustration I wanted to do for awhileeee. For my birthday last year my brother got me a ticket to see the artist "Kreayshawn" on the Group Hug Tour up in Philadelphia!!

It was such an amazing show. Everyone was great and I had such a blast! We even waited around after teh show I got the opportunity to MEET Kreayshawn, EEP! She signed my brother's arm and he took my photo with her:

Everyone during the show was pretty chill. I made some new friends and could take lots of photos without getting bumped around too much. With all the photos I had I REALLY wanted to commemorate the event with an illustration. I picked out one of the photos of Kreayshawn I took, resketched it and then digitally rendered it on Illustrator and Photoshop. This is the photo that I chose:

Kreayshawn was decked out a short camo top with her hair in pigtails pulled back with two sparkly plastic beads. I love her style and was super excited to get started on making the illustration! When I started sketching back in November I ended up scrapping the project. I just wasn't happy with how it was turning out!! This month I picked it back up again since my "Artistic Fitness" entry was a female portrait and I was determined to finish it. And HERE is how it turned out:

 

What a cute little Kreayshawn cartoon!! I wanted the background to reflect the hazy purple and pink lighting of the venue. The most difficult part was probably getting all the tattoos on her arm. I added her name along the side for anyone who wasn't familiar with who she is. It's now one of my new favorite illustrations and I'm really glad I decided to finish it. Hope everyone has a great week and an awesome day!!

Snazzy Face Painting Las Vegas - Banner Sighting!

Hey everyone!! Since I posted about the new grand opening and cartoon brand identity created by yours truly for the awesome bakery, Cakalicious I thought I would post another one of my client's successful signs!!

Nearly a year ago Alyssa, owner of Snazzy Face Painting Las Vegas has an idea for a logo that stood for her as an artist but also the love she has for the city she calls home. We worked one-on-one together to create a cute and completely personalized work of art she could use for her business. I was happy to find out at one of her most recent events she brought along this banner:

The banner was used at a recent event she worked in February at the Sketchers Outlet for their 2nd year anniversary! Snazzy Face Painting is fun for almost any occasion whether it's indoors or out!! Visit their official Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/SnazzyLV) to check out photos of some of Alyssa's happy and snazzy looking customers! 

Be sure to "like" them to keep up to date with all their events and help spread the word about a great new business!! If you have a logo of your own that's been swirling around your mind or sketched out on a napkin be sure to contact me at violet-ink.com/contact to make your big idea a reality!

Jerseylicious Season 5 - TracyDiCartoon

Hey everyone!! For those of you who follow the StyleNetwork's show Jerseylicious I hope you will be watching the premier of Season #5 this Monday, January 28th!! I cannot believe it has already been 5 seasons!! I watch it because I love hair styling and the unique cast makes it a real trip!!

Image via RealityAired

Tracy DiMarco a big supporter of my art has a lot of products in the works. Extensions, eyelashes, lipsticks and much more!! Not only that but she has a wedding to plan!! She is such an entrepreneur and big inspiration to me!! So I decided to create a little Tracy doodle to go with this entry!!

I really enjoyed trying a new technique with the hair in Illustrator. And remember catch Jerseylicious this MONDAY on the StyleNetwork!!

"Let Them All Eat Pizza" Illustration

Hey everyone!! Still playing catch up at this point throwing some rare doodles from 2012 on the blog. This piece demonstrates why searching for inspiration is important to me. Every month, I do "Inspiration" posts on the blog starting last year. Among the ones I wrote there was "Sugar Sweet Wigs" featuring delicious looking and creative wigs and another called  "PIZZA PIZZA"  on well. . . pizza. Both posts inspired me to create this illustration:

The actual origins of this illustration come from a conversation I had with one of my friends. We both love Marie Antoinette and her stylish wig. We were discussing the famous quote, "Let Them All Eat Cake," and somehow turned it into, "Let Them All Eat Pizza!" I just couldn't resist creating this!

She's decked out in pizza and toppings ready to chomp down on a slice!! I added a royal purple background and a golden frame to give it the look of a painted portrait. See what happens when you seek inspiration?? Your imagination runs wild!! Hope everyone has a great week!!

Honeygirl's World: Illustrated Portrait

Hey everyone!! Just wanted to update the blog with an illustrated portrait; something I haven't posted about in awhile!! This portrait was created for a glamorous vlogger / blogger all the way from Hawaii named Honey! She is the creator and owner of "HoneyGirl's World," her website where she blogs about beauty, food, her beautiful family and much more!

Honey also runs a boutique website with handcrafted beauty products and accessories. She created her famous "Woven Earrings," that have been worn by Tracy DiMarco, one of my good friends and star of the StyleNetwork's Reality Show, "JERSEYLICIOUS!"

I had to pick a purple pair to feature on my blog, they are so pretty!! Too bad I don't wear earrings. So we know what she looks like and we know what she does how did the portrait come out?? Let's take a look:

She loved it and I think it turned out really beautiful!! She uses it on her website as a button you can link to her site from your blog on your sidebar!! I am really proud of this piece and it will definitely be going in my online portfolio. I made sure to capture a lot of the details including her trademark, hand made woven earrings mentioned above.

Honey is all over the web!! If you are interested in checking out her website the address is or check her out on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/Honeygirlsworld. If you are looking to purchase from her boutique the web address is http://www.honeyxo.com. She also has a YouTube channel up at http://www.youtube.com/destne146. Be sure to check her out!! And I hope everyone has a safe and happy weekend!!

"Thor Walrus" Acrylic Painting

Hey everyone! Time to play catch up and post some of the projects I worked on in 2012 that were made especially for the Holidays! A great perk of being artistically talented is that you can give gifts that you can BE SURE no one else got, because you made them yourself!!

One of my friends, if I haven't mentioned before, is a big fan of both the aquatic animal the "Walrus" and of the Marvel hero "Thor." In my head the only option for a gift was creating a Thor-Walrus. I found some source images of Walruses on the computer as well as of Thor's helmet used in the Avenger's film and combined them for something truly unique!

I created the painting with just white, black, brown and red acrylic paints. The paints weren't any special brand, just the craft paint you can pick up at Michael's Arts and Crafts. She really loved it!! Hope everyone has a wonderful and safe weekend!!

Cassandra and Tracy DiMarco Cartoon Portrait!!

Hey everyone just wanted to update the blog with a digital portrait I did. This was for a special little lady named Cassandra!! Her mother, Jennifer, got in contact with me after an event we met all, (the Women Supporting Women event I posted about) to create a portrait for her daughter for a surprise birthday present!!

Cassandra is a huge Jerseylicious fan just like I am!! So why not commemorate her and her idol, Tracy DiMarco?? Regardless of what you might see on television Tracy is truly a doll!! She always makes times for her fans, Cassandra being one of her biggest!! Here is what I came up with for the portrait:

I think it came out so cute!! Cassandra was so polite and chatty at the event!! She is such an awesome little girl and Theresea is truly blessed to have her for a daughter :)

I am sure her new cartoon brought her a lot of joy!! I have a few more portraits to post this year!! And stay tuned for lots of Holiday posts as well. Hope everyone has a great week!

Another Happy Couple! Annette's Illustrated Portrait!

Hey everyone just wanted to update teh blog with another illustrated portrait I created for another happy couple this year. This one was for a girl named Annette who contacted me after seeing some of my work and sent me a lovely photo to work from. I think it is so cute that they are both wearing green!

And here is what I came up with:

Another masterpiece!! I made sure to capture subtle details like her makeup and patterned shirt. What a cute couple!! I had a copy printed and sent to her and she assured me it is hanging up and efinitly gets a lot of compliments!!

I hope everyone is having a great week! Everyone keeps talking snow around where I live. We shall see!! And remember if you would like an illustrated portrait of your own be sure to check out the contact section of my website, Violet-Ink.com!!

Anne & Steve - Illustrated Portrait

Hey everyone just wanted to update the blog over the weekend with another illustrated portrait I created for a happy couple. A woman by the name of Anne had contacted me when seeing one of my portraits looking for something to commemorate her engagement. She sent me a lot of great photos including some really detailed shots of her engagement ring. My favorite photo of the couple was this one:

And this is the artwork I created for her:

 It really came out great. I got a lot of the details like her ring. They definitly look like one happy couple!! She was super happy with it and I was excited to hear she also will be using them in her "Thank You" cards for her wedding.

I love creating special artwork for couples if you are interested in a portrait of your own, be sure to check out the contact page on my website: http://www.violet-ink.com/ And hope everyone has a great weekend!

Lora Warnick's Illustrated Portrait!!

Hey everyone!! Today is a dark, dreary and rainy day, the perfect time to stay inside and update my blog!! Just wanted to feature a portrait I created for an awesome photographer named Lauren Warnick!!!

Photo via Facebook Page

We crossed paths on Facebook where she contacted me about my famous illustrated portraits. Her idea was to feature both her and her boyfriend, Michal, with their favorite things in the portrait. Hers obviously being photography and his being golf. Here is a collage she created with both the photo and my portrait:

It came out super cute!! It was a fun concept and I appreciated getting creative!! It was definitely something different.

As a photographer, Lauren has worked with many different celebrities as well as clients I have worked with too like Jackie, Tracy and Brittany from Jerseylicious!! We crossed paths on Facebook and she was interested in having her own special portrait made of her and her boyfriend, Michael!

Jackie from Jerseylicious via Lora Warnick's Portfolio

If you want to check out more of Lauren's Photography visit her website at http://www.lorawarnick.com or "like" her Facebook page www.facebook.com/pages/Lora-Warnick-Photography/114375205268276!! Both are full with tons of high quality, professional pieces photographed by her. There's also information to contact her on both pages. Hope everyone has a great day!!

Rachel's Illustrated Business Card!

Hey everyone!! Since I recently posted Aisha's illustrated business card, I realized I must have forgot to post my FIRST illustrated business card and that was for a professional figure skating instructor!!

Rachel got in contact me and sent me a few photos. She really liked her photo of herself skating in a blue dress but wanted a pink sparkly dress instead. Here is what I came up with:

Step two was building the perfect layout to compliment the adorable cartoon in a sparkly pink dress! The front of the card featured my illustration in a vertical format with a flourishy hot pink background.

The back of the card changes things up a bit with a horizontal format to feature all her important contact information. The background was repeated tying the back to the front. The entire card is eye catching and expresses both elegance and fun!!

Once again, if you are interested in your own business card design be sure to fill out a contact form on my website, http://www.violet-ink.com ! Have a super day everyone!!