Illustration Friday: Tina Belcher Meets the "Sea"

Hey everyone!! Just popping with a doodle for this week's "Illustration Friday," theme.  This week's theme was "Sea" which was too fun to pass up. I've been dying to create my own undersea illustration ever since my Mermaid "Inspiration Post." Disney's "Little Mermaid," is great but I found inspiration from another lady heroine:

Little Mer-Tina Belcher!! Bob's Burgers is on of my favorite shows. And although Lynda, Bob's wife, is my TRUE favorite character, Tina comes in a close second. A girl so chock full of imagination she writes her own "friend-fiction," I can only guess that imagination has taken her under the "sea." She probably met a cute mer-dude but I added a sea-horse to the silly doodle to keep her company. She loves land-horses so why not! Hope you enjoyed the doodle and have a super creative week!!

Inspiration Post: EYE Spy!

Hey everyone!! October is the perfect time to think kooky and spooky projects so in the spirit of Halloween, I figured it was a good time to crank out a creatively creepy “Inspiration Post." The "Inspiration Post," is a monthly themed collection of pieces I dig up for you from around to web to inspire your creativity!! I started this blog segment back in August of 2012 making it officially 2 years old!! My first chosen theme was simply "Cats." This month's theme is "EYE Spy!"

How thankful I am for my set of eyes! They let me see so many different things each and everyday. Whether it be a beautiful rainbow stretching across the sky or a stinky, overflowing garbage can sitting on someone's curb. Not only that, but they turn everyday objects into an instant pal. Boring still life? Add some eyes and they'll take that bowl of fruit from average to the friendliest bowl of produce you'll ever encounter! So scroll down to see what EYE Spy as inspiration!

Cat Got Your Eyeballs T-shirt - DarkMattersClothing Etsy Shop

First up we have just a couple of cute kittens playing with some . . . uh are those real eyeballs? This disturbing hand-painted t-shirt design features two curious kittens batting around a bunch of blue eyes freshly harvested from their sockets. Painted on a sparkling pink background this is one eye-catching piece of apparel. The contrast between cute and creepy is what makes me appreciate this fun concept! It’s amazing how switching out even ONE element to something MORE out of the ordinary can bring a piece to an entirely new level of creativity.

Raquel Reed Photoshoot - MISKA NYC 

If my numerous Marie Antoinette related post haven't quite tipped you off, I'm always inspired by an over-the-top hairdos. And this towering trio of eyeballs is no exception!! Raquel Reed is styled up to her eyes in well. . .eyes in this photoshoot for  “МИШКА,” a NYC clothing company. Their mission statement is to “destroy everything boring and the mundane!” The use of contrasting colors and consistency in graphic eyeball imagery is anything but boring! The creeping red tendrils securing the eyes into the wig is super spooky. Mission accomplished! 

Alice in Wonderland Eyeball Necklace - Rui Nishioka tumblr

This necklace was the original inspiration for my "Eye Spy,” October theme. It reminded me a lot of myself if I were a giant floating eyeball!! With a little research, I found out it’s a piece in a collection of “Alice in Wonderland,” inspired jewelry created by Rui Nishioka. This artist uniquely utilizes insects and artificial eyes to create one striking line of jewelry. This particular necklace is obviously Alice, with her signature black ribbon and blond hair. Being that she’s only an eyeball I imagine she’s ever alert for all the dangers Wonderland throws her way!

Kreepsville 666 Eyeball Handbag - Dolls Kill Boutique

So we have a necklace, a shirt, why not grab an eye-mazing bag to go with? There are plenty of round purses and bags in the world but this one is a literal eyeful! Not overly complicated and relying on the iconic eyeball to do all the talking, I had to add the Kreepsville 666 Eyeball Handbag to this post!! The bright colors of the design (both the red and the green versions) really pop against the clear material! Vector illustrations always remind me of plastic so I can see the clear PVC being the best material to create this real eye-opening accessory!!

Look Before You Speak Poster - Sab Sesay

Last is a poster print of a logo design by "Sab Sesay" or Sab Rena. This artist has more than a few more eerie eye pieces in her portfolio I found inspiring! It was almost hard to narrow it down to just one. I like the muddy, saturated colors for this straight forward design. The logo featured is composed of really simple shapes; a burst, hearts, circles, etc. while still making a statement! And the repeating color-changing eyeball and lips icon is quite Warhol-esque. On a sidenote, one of her early inspirations to create art was the “Sailor Moon,” series which I also adore!!

(image via SAB Sesay Behance)

Care to spy some more inspiration?? Check out my Pinterest board titled "Inspiration" for all the pieces that didn't quite make the post and any extra things I store away for future inspiration. Follow http://www.pinterest.com/nerdycupcakes/inspirations/ to digest a healthy dose of creative inspiration.  Have a super week and a safe Halloween!!

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 - Crazy "Lush" VMA Incident

Good afternoon everyone!! I felt like creating another "Illustration Friday," post. This week's word was "lush" and I immediately thought of one individual who created an incident that caught the media's eye for the week. So I created this cartoon portrait:

The infamous VMA Miley Cyrus as a cartoon. I used to love Hannah Montana!! I don't completely agree with what Miley is doing with her career at this very moment but at the same time I don't condemn her. The artistic direction of her last video was pretty fun with the bears, twerk soup and McDonalds french fries skull. I say, let her do what she wants to. Hope everyone had a great weekend!!

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!!

Happy Kool-Aid Days!!

Hey everyone!! This weekend is time for celebration!! Yesterday, today AND tomorrow (Aug 9th - 11th) is "Kool-Aid Days!" If you're unfamilliar with "Kool-Aid," it's a powdered drink mix that comes in all sorts of crazy flavors and colors. It even has it's own mascot appropriately named, the Kool-Aid man. I decided to create an illustration dedicated to that crazy pitcher of sugar himself:

I grew up on Kool-Aid. My parents would make me some as a kid and boy was it a treat! To this day, I will admit though, I don't know how to make my own Kool-Aid. The first time I ever made it I forgot to add the sugar, d'oh!! I also loved the Kool-Aid adverts. Check out this one from the 90s posted on Youtube:

 

RADICAL! Hope everyone has a great weekend and a fun time celebrating!!

Illustration Friday: "Worn" Trunk Murderess

Hey everyone!! Just wanted to post my illustration for this week's "Illustration Friday," post. The chosen theme was "Worn." I took to google and got the definition of "damaged and shabby or very tired." I decided to create a piece depicting, "Winnie Ruth Judd," aka the "Trunk Mudderess":

Ruth Judd was convicted of murdering her two best friends back in the 1930s and placing them in a trunk that she attempted to transport at a train-station to Los Angeles. The entire case as well as what Ruth Judd was put through left her an extremely "worn" woman. Way more macabre than anything I usually create I decided to place newspaper clippings I found online around the illustration as a background.

Inspiration Post - Retro Space Astronauts

Hey everyone!! Every month I collect and showcase pieces I find online that I hope will inspire you to CREATE something great for what I like to call the "Inspiration Post." As busy as this month was, I ALWAYS find time to stay inspired. For May, I found myself constantly being pulled to all things space. This month's post is dedicated to "Retro Space Astronauts!!"

3-2-1 blast off (to the past that is)!! Space travel, anti-gravity, pets suited up in astronaut apparel, space camp?! When it came to the future, with a little imagination the possibilities always seemed endless. These aren't boring schematics from rocket ships, or museum quality photographs of the planets. These are imaginative and fun retro space travelers with unstoppable imaginations. Journey with these brave soldiers by scrolling down!!

Puffin Biscuits ad posted on Dying For Chocolate Blog

Is it weird that I have been a fan of this ad for many many years?! In fact it was one of my first desktop wallpapers on the PC I am currently writing this post from. "Puffin Biscuits," presents us with an atmosphere of flying buttermilk biscuits. The little boy in the ad dons an astronaut's helmet while the little girl looks on with wonder. Is he really an astronaut? Probably not but the imagination that went into this ad is admirable and the artwork is excellent. Those Puffin biscuits look good enough to eat!!

Explore the Universe poster by Moustafa Khamis on Behance

I originally came across this piece on Pinterest and it took me a bit to track down the original artist. Created by Moustafa Khamis, a designer and artist from Abu Dhabi on Behance, this poster is included in a set called, "Posters of a New Century." Although designed more recently, this as well as the other posters in the series have a very retro feel. With a simple color palette, distressed textured paper and clean layout this poster's friendly illustrated astronaut welcomes you to join NASA and see the universe!! I'm in!

Space Cat by Ruthven Todd - Image on The Toasted Scimitar blog

Not ashamed to say that I own this book. Yes, I am, in fact, ancient. I think it was something my library gave away when I was in elementary school. An original inspiration I absorbed into my brain as a young lady, it fondly continues to spark my imagination to this day! The first book in a series of feline space journeys, the book tells the story of Flyball, a cat who is rocketed into an outer-space adventure. Why can't they make more kids book like this anymore?!

1985 Astronaut Barbie - "Barbie Works" VOGUE UK Blogpost

I love Barbie. If you think she isn't a proper role-model for young girls, I think you are wrong. The woman was in space (and still looked stylish doing it). This photograph of the 1985 astronaut Barbie was grabbed off of VOGUE UK's blogpost titled "Barbie Works," by Lauren Milligan. In a hot-pink space suit complete with fish-bowl helmet and futuristic poofy-sleeves, Barbie looks perfectly content and ready to claim that planet in the name of Mattel! This girly and sleek re-imagined space suit is something I would definitely don myself!!

Collier's Magazine April 18, 1953 issue - image via PaulMalon on Flickr

And last but not least, an authentic piece of nostalgic space history, the April 18, 1953 issue of "Collier's" magazine. This was the piece that was the main influence behind this post and one of the first pieces I came across this month that really inspired me."Collier's Weekly," was an American magazine that roughly ran from 1888 to 1957. If you search for "Collier's Magazine Cover" you will be bombarded with brilliantly illustrated works of art similar to our space cadet above. This cover has it all!! A top-of-the-line ray gun, a crazy "space helmet," and a brave space traveler in awe at an alien species.  

That's it for this month's "Inspiration Post!!" If you're looking for MORE creative retro space travelers be sure to check out the Pinterest board I have dedicated to "Inspiration." The inspiration board always has extra pieces for each month's theme. What are you waiting for?! Rocket over to http://pinterest.com/nerdycupcakes/inspirations/ to check it out!! Have a great week everyone!!

Laura Crafts: DIY MSI Tiara

Hey everyone!! Yesterday I posted about a concert I went to in April and I wanted to make a follow up DIY post spotlighting the tiara I was wearing to the concert. The headlining act was MSI short for "Mindless Self Indulgence," one of my favorite bands. They encourage fans to dress up as crazy as they please so I made a custom tiara for the affair:

I posted it on my Facebook page and got a lot of compliments so I figured I would make a how-to for anyone curious about making their own version of the tiara. This project came together with things around the house and started with a tiara from the dollar store. I drew the letters M-S-I out on leftover foamboard and cut them out with an exacto blade.

From there it was time for paint. Go bold, or go home when it comes to shows!! I had leftover "Scribbles" 3D Fabric Paint in "Flourescent Neon Pink," color from another project. With random brushes I applied coat after coat of the paint until it was blindly pink. I painted them on top of an old magazine and once done laid them out in front of the tiara before attaching them.

 

At first I was going to hot glue the letters to the tiara. But when I found some leftover pink ribbon in a drawer, I decided to tie the letters on instead. I laid the letters one at a time against tiara and weaved ribbon around the letters and between the openings in the tiara. Once the letter felt secure I knotted the ribbon in the back and moved onto the next letter.

After weaving, tying and knotting all the letters through the tiara for extra EXTRA reinforment and I went back and put hotglue over all the knots. And voila! There you have it! A custom tiara. It held up the entire day AND night at the show.

 

Try spelling out the name of your favorite band at your next concert. Or maybe your friend's name for their birthday. A lot of the stuff I already had around the house but I'm sure you could make it for around 5 dollars at the most. The possibilities are endless for this extremely cheap and fun project!!

Illustration Friday - S.T.A.R.W.O.O.D. band from the "Future"

Hey everyone!! Just wanted to update the blog with my "Illustration Friday" entry. This week's theme was the word, "future." It took me no time to come up with an illustration, I decided to create a cartoon of an awesome band I saw live back in April, called "S.T.A.R.W.O.O.D."

"S.T.A.R.W.O.O.D." stands for "Sociopathic Time Altering Robot Warrior Of Organic Design," and is actually a band made up of Vitruvian Androids from the futuristic year 2276 AD. They were sent back into time, our time, present time, just before their own planet was destroyed (by us, the human race). Their mission?? Alter the timeline and control the human race saving their planet from it's imminent destruction.

My illustration is of lead singer, G7ANGEL591S (aka Gabriel Starwood) standing over planet earth. If you haven't heard them before, their entire album is up online for FREE to download right now at http://starwood.bandcamp.com/ Also be sure to check out their Facebook http://www.facebook.com/StarwoodBand and Twitter http://twitter.com/S_T_A_R_W_O_O_D. Hope everyone has a great week!!

Mika Doodle Contest 2013 - Part II

Hello everybody! Just wanted to update the blog with the continuation of my "Mika Doodle Contest" entry from earlier this year. If you missed my previous post about the competition, let me catch you up. The contest was open to all illustrators, artists and anyone else who wanted to doodle select tracks off the album, "The Origin of Love," that were posted on the MIKA Facebook fan page every week. I made it my mission to submit an entry for EVERY one of the songs posted. This post contains the other half of my entries below!!

Song 6: Popular

This track was based off the original tune "Popular," from the musical Wicked. I love the production Wicked and this song sang by Galinda to Elphaba. MIKA's version has a similar melody but the message was less about BECOMING popular and more a stab at the "popular" kids that put down the other kids at school. I resisted the urge to create something girly and cute and based my drawing on the the line that said, "Dunk me in the toilets now it's you that cleans them." Your typical queen bee trades in her tiara for a little janitor's bucket printed with the song title and filled with cleaning solution, a sponge and a toilet brush. 

Song 7: Love You When I'm Drunk

Next was a song called, "Love You When I'm Drunk." My doodle depicts the chorus, which is exactly the same as the title of the track. I drew a bottle of whiskey with the lyrics written on the label and a half empty shot glass with heart-shaped ice cubes beside it. The entire drawing is surrounded by little broken hearts because as happy as the melody sounds the theme is pretty depressing. The text was based off of 3 different fonts from my computer. 

Song 8: Stardust

Next up was a track called, "Stardust." My original concept was going to be a silhouette of the singer made of little tiny stars taken as a Polaroid picture. After a few sketches, I was convinced it looked much better as another cartoon Mika instead. As for the colors, I was going for galaxy; purple, dark blues and dark pinks. Once I was done, I realized it looked A LOT like Coraline and her star-covered pajamas. Oops!! I still think it came out pretty good though.

Song 9: Emily

I loved the style of the video which starred "Fanny Ardent," dressed in red playing the part of "Emily," that went along with this song. The video's artistic interpretation of the song was spot on but didn't want to translate that too literally into my piece. "Emily" seemed to me from the song, to be a woman under an identity crisis. I wanted to play with the idea of changing identity by illustrating a mannequin head complete with wig and hat labeled "Emily." The curly short haircut and bright red color of the hat tie in with the look of the music video. Elegant yet still fun this is a stand alone piece and an illustration I'm really proud of!

Song 10: Make You Happy

When I heard this song for the competition I immediately thought . . . robot! And that's not just because I love robots and think about them 56% of the time I had a valid reason. The line, "all I want to do is make you happy," is constantly repeated throughout the song in mechanical sounding-auto tuned voice. Much like a robot. But this isn't just any robot, this is a MIKABOT. He comes equipped with a bolted-on suspenders, a fancy top hat and a mop of curly locks underneath it. Beep boop beep!

Song 11: Underwater

The competition wrapped up with a song called, "Underwater." I thought about what could be underwater and came up with an oyster. The oyster is open to reveal a precious pearl, shaped like a heart to symbolize love. I hand-lettered the lyrics, "put your lips on me and I can live underwater," above the piece and added some bubbles to surround the piece.

I love challenging myself artistically by entering contests and competitions. And it was fun to see everyone's different interpretations of the songs off the album. Not only that I made some new artist friends along the way!! Hope everyone has a good week!! 

Happy National Plumber's Day!!

Time to celebrate another obscure holiday you probably weren't aware of, "National Plumber's Day!!" Got a leaky faucet? Maybe a busted toilet? Today would be the day to get that repaired!! I created this fun square graphic to remind everyone to celebrate spotlighting MY favorite plumber: 

 

That's right, Mario from Super Mario Brothers! Keeping it within my artistic style I sketched everything out including text layout on paper first, then scanned it in and rendered it in illustrator. I was originally going to hand-letter the text but I played with some fonts instead and I think it turned out super! How will you celebrate today?

Mika Doodle Contest 2013 - Part I

Hey everyone! Just wanted to update the blog with a contest I participated in during the beginning of the year. If you caught my previous post about musical artist "MIKA" you remember me mentioning how fun it is to illustrate to his tunes. So boy was I psyched when I stumbled across a "Doodle Competition" posted on his official Facebook fan page.

The tournament worked like this: nearly every week from January through mid-February a song title off the album "The Origin of Love," was announced giving fans the chance to submit artistic interpretations of the featured song and its lyrics. A doodle could be any sort illustration of the song's message whether it be digital, painted or just scribbled. I made it my mission to submit an entry for EVERY one of the songs posted. Scroll down to check out a set of the entries I submitted!

Song 1: The Origin of Love

This was the title track off of the album and the first revealed in the competition. I wanted to render all my doodles by hand while keeping consistent with my normal artistic style. I chose crayons and marker as my medium to create fun pieces reminiscent of coloring book pages. After listening to the song I created this sugary candy and pill coated heart encompassing some of the most vivid lyrics such as "some love is a candy cane it tastes so sweet but leaves you feeling sick with pain."

Song 2: Lola

This is one of my favorite doodles I created for the competition. I went for simplicity and tried not to get too literal. The particular lyrics I based it on were, "when you find your love's for real you'll beg and borrow, cheat or steal, trying to get the money just to call her." The red phone's cord twists and knots to form a little hidden heart at the end. The word's "Lola" coming out of the phone were also something I hand-lettered which I've been challenging myself with more often instead of relying on fonts to keep my work unique.

Song 3: Three Steps

"3 Steps," was appropriately chosen as song #3 (COINCIDENCE?!). This track was extremely light and airy similar to a day-dream. My main focus was the line, "this love's delicious like home-cooked dishes." I included the text in my doodle since I'm not one to turn down a warm home-made meal and it was SUCH a super simile. I drew a little cartoon MIKA up in the clouds surrounded by hearts and comfort food swirling around along with the "3 Steps."

Song 4: Heroes

"Hereos" was a bit tougher to translate into a crayon doodle since it was more serious and I like to focus on fun and happy things. The song addresses war and inner conflict among other hard topics. Since it was so sad and meant to honor our heroes what personally came to mind for me was a cracking war medal. On the inscription are the cold lyrics, "you don't have to die in your glory to never grow old." I'm pretty proud of how this turned out.

 Song 5: Celebrate

The next song revealed was an almost an exact opposite of the previous track. It's extremely upbeat and cheery titled, "Celebrate." So whee, fun! Celebrate! Balloons! Party! I hand lettered another set of lyrics on this doodle, "I want the whole world to celebrate." Little cartoon MIKA floats off into the sky to spread joy to the whole planet.

I decided to split this post up and save the other half of my entries for another date. If you are ever game for spontaneous contests that flex your creative muscle I suggest "like"ing the MIKA fanpage at http://www.facebook.com/mikasounds. Hope everyone is having a super week and keep your eyes for Part II coming soon!!

Tracy DiMarco Teasing Kit Artwork!!

Hey everyone!! Just wanted to update the blog with an exciting surprise I had over the weekend. If you do not know I am a huge fan of Jerseylicious. I'm not sorry for loving animal print, teasing my hair and pursuing giant rings and hair accessories. My favorite character on the show is Tracy DiMarco because of her big hair, attitude and she is an entrepreneur.

Tracy has always been a big supporter of my art and around Winter time a piece I created was requested to be used on the show. I had no idea when the episode would air so you can imagine my surprise when last night I spotted my cute little cartoon Tracy on the StyleNetwork!!

The episode is was Season 5 Episode 9. Without giving too much away in the episode Tracy creates and sells her own hair teasing kits for all of Jersey since she knows the perfect tease!! My art was part of the packaging on the prototype. I was so psyched to see it on National TV and am so blessed to have great people like Tracy who support my art!!

Image via the StyleNetwork

The kit included a comb, instructions, mini hairspray and everything else you would need to create the perfect Tease!! Tracy already has her own lipstick out as well as her own clothing collection out RIGHT NOW so I am sure a REAL teasing kit is on it's way. If you missed the exact episode it was Season 5 episode 9 titled "What a Tease." Keep track of all the new episodes of Jerseylicious Sunday nights on the StyleNetwork!! Hope everyone has a great day!

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!!

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!!