Truly Outrageous ♥

hey dolls! I'm back AGAIN! what's going on?! two blog posts in one week!!! EXCITING!

anyway I have some new stuff to share with you all. I've been working on commissions and other projects recently so it has been a while since I drew a new member of the Candy Doll Club. But I got a day off last week so I started doodling and the next thing I knew it was 2am and I'd finally cleaned up the linework enough to start adding colour.

 this was the result...

now if you grew up in the eighties or early nineties you might remember the animated show Jem and the Holograms. Personally I LOVED it! Mainly because of the wacky outfits and candy coloured hairstyles, but also the cheesy songs and general air of Girl Power that the show was all about.



well a few months ago someone left a comment on my Instagram asking if i'd ever do a Jem fanart. My first thought was ABSOLUTELY YES, but then I sort of forgot about it and drew other stuff instead. So this week I started drawing a girl in denim shorts and a leather jacket, gave her some retro styled hair and it wasn't until I began adding colour that she magically transformed into Jem aka Jerrica Benton before my eyes!

So as you can probably tell, my take on Jem is a little different to the original cartoon. For a start mine's a bit curvier and gone is the 80's hair, with some retro candy pink curls and a ribbon bow instead. The make-up is pretty much the same + she's still wearing her hologram projector earrings.

This doll doesn't have any visible tattoos, mainly because her arms are covered. Oh and if you're wondering what's going on with her super bright outfit,  the wacky pastel leather jacket is actually based on a real one that I always see online and secretly LOVE! I'd never be able to wear it myself but I like the sweet sugary colours so it definitely inspired this Candy Doll's retro style!

the original jacket via DOLLS KILL

my version of the jacket

 Naturally she's showing off her band with a 'Jem' crop top! I like to draw women of all shapes and sizes but I do sometimes come under flack online from people accusing me of only drawing 'skinny girls'. First of all, I draw skinny girls AND curvy girls, I don't always have a specific plan in mind when I sit down to draw so sometimes they might turn out skinny sometimes not, it all depends on how the image develops in my mind. When I drew the lineart for this I didn't know it was going to end up a Jem fanart piece. It was fun to draw a girl with more curves but it wasn't until I added colour that I realised it reminded me so much of 'Jem and the Holograms' that it couldn't be anyone else!

now 'my' Jem is inspired by the cartoon I watched as a child, but if you're a fan of it as well then you'll probably know that there's also a Live Action 'Jem and the Holograms' movie coming out later this month. Now I haven't seen it yet, obviously, but I didn't really want to base my drawing off the trailers for it...

so instead it's a sort of mix of the original cartoon AND the amazing comic series brought out earlier this year! The artwork is BRILLIANT and so are the stories, it's a new take on the classic series but also a whole new take on the characters. Definitely worth a read if you're into comics, especially ones about kick-ass female characters. Read more about the comics HERE.

so yeah, there you have it. Another new Candy Doll and fanart piece. I'm not sure what i'll draw next, I kind of want to try a few more fanarts based on some of my fave female characters so we'll see!

and on that note i'll sign off. I just got home from another lovely Christening (the cake was AMAZING) but I didn't eat much (other than cake) and i'm pecking so i'm going to rustle up some dinner.

until next time, thanks for reading, come and visit again soon!

Creative Café #21 ★

so today i thought it was time for another groovy Creative Café post, so... you know what to do!

get some tea/coffee/cocoa, and some cake/biscuits/sweets, get comfy and prepare to see some very lovely artwork!

i'm kind of excited about this post because it features one of my favourite digital illustrators and artists, so without any further ado, let's get on with it because today it's all about the very awesome and truly fabulous Kei Phillips aka Kinkei

Kei is a British 2D/digital Illustrator, animator and character designer. i first discovered her work about 4 years ago, during my first year at College. my graphics tutor told me to research some digital illustrators and i found her work on deviantART, i've adored it ever since and have to admit that i've gotten a lot of inspiration from her work over the years.

she creates the most gorgeous characters, they're often very girly and cute with brilliant expressions and little details. Her pinups are particularly wonderful, each one has it's own personality and individual look. she also draws her girls in all shapes and sizes which makes them especially fabulous! but regardless of their theme they always look amazing. 

i've always been a fan of characters like Betty Boop and Jessica Rabbit but i think it was Kei's gorgeous pinup girls that first inspired me to have a go at drawing some pinups of my own. i just love the way she captures their characteristics, with a saucy wink or sultry pout, her style of drawing and colouring is just so brilliant.

as if she wasn't amazing enough already, Kei is also a really talented animator. check out one of her showreels here... 

pretty super duper right! of course it is! anyway, now it's time for you the have a nice scroll through some of Kei's stuff, take your time and enjoy... because trust me, you will LOVE her stuff!

utterly fabulous! ok it's links time now...

to see even more of Kei's wonderful artwork, be sure to visit her deviantART page here - Kinkei

she also has a blog chock full of lovely sketches and digital pieces - Keiframes

+ to see more of her animation work, visit her youtube stream - Kinkei Animation

you can 'Like' her artwork on Facebook - Kei Phillips

and 'follow' her on Twitter - @kinkei

all that's left for me to do now is to say a mahoooosive THANK YOU to Kei for saying yes about the feature and for being such a fabby-dabby artist in the first place! thanks :)

All images featured in this post belong to Kei Phillips © do not claim, use, distribute, reproduce or trace ANY of her work without her express written consent. All Rights Reserved.

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so another week has started, and we're another week closer to Xmas 2011 (yay!) i've STILL not started my xmas gift shopping since i've been so busy with commissions and college stuff! 

speaking of stuff like that, i've got a few pieces of artwork in a groovy group exhibition at a local gallery over Xmas.  some framed digital prints + some painted canvases.

so if any of you local Manxies fancy seeing artwork from some of the islands best artists (i do NOT mean me... i mean the professional artists!)  then get yourselves to Tynwald Mills and go visit the old courtyard gallery. 

the preview night is tomorrow from 6pm and i think it opens to the public properly on Thursday, but if you can't make it tomorrow, don't worry because it'll be running right through December!

and on that note, i shall dash off and make some tea

so until next time, that's all folks... ◕‿◕ ★ xX

Creative Café #14 ★

it's been a while since i last posted a feature so today i thought... what the hell! let's have a Creative Café post!!!

ok readers you know the drill, take a moment to dash off and grab a nice cup of tea/cofee/juice, grab a biscuit or if you're feeling particularly sinful get a slice of cake or some chocolate!!!

settle down and prepare to be dazzled by a mass of colourful loveliness!

settled? comfy? got your tea?

smashing, let's get on with it then...

today's feature focuses on the work of an artist, illustrator and designer that i've been a fan of for almost four years.

prepare yourself because i think this is the most colourful and picture laden Creative Café feature i've attempted so far, your Sunday is about to go multicoloured!!!

because today it's all about the wonderful, the incredibly talented, the supremely awesome... Mary Winkler aka Acrylicana

Mary is an American illustrator and designer, her work is a whimsical mix of childlike themes and colourful kawaii pop art style characters and designs. she creates her work using both digital and traditional methods and materials.

 i first discovered Mary's work during my first year at college, back when i coloured everything with felt tip pens and thought that photoshop was just for photographers... 

i remember looking through her deviantART page at all the amazing designs and asking my graphics teacher Rob how Mary had achieved such flawless shapes and lines. he explained vectors to me and told me about the magical software known as 'illustrator'. i was fascinated from the off and so he also offered to teach me the basics for using the software...

almost four years later i work on almost everything do using Illustrator and Photoshop and although i'm still not overly skilled in either i like to think that it's thanks to Mary's work that i ever became interested in digital illustration in the first place!

her work is a tour de force, each piece bursting with a cacophony of colour and vibrancy that you don't always see in contemporary graphics, it's this mix of colour and wonderfully drawn characters that first appealed to me and it's what makes me still love following her current work since she always creates the most fantastical scenes and characters

Mary is extremely multi talented in the sense that not only does she produce incredible digital pieces, she also paints gorgeous canvases, she designs t-shirts, clothing, accessories and shoes, she creates amazing acrylic jewellery pieces and charms, hand paints tiny necklace charms, hand paints shoes turning them into works of art for your feet AND she runs her own business empire stocking all manner of amazing 'Acrylicana' items!!!

i really don't know how she does it but she is a creative force to be reckoned with and a very inspiring lady!!! 

i just love everything she does! her designs are so pretty and i'm so in awe of the wonderful brand she's built up for her work, she's definitely one of my design idols! probably because her work inspired me to ever attempt any digital illustration of my own in the first place!

ok i'm going to let you look through some of her work by yourselves now but i have to warn you... there are a LOT of pictures here, it was an almost impossible task to pick out my favourites so lets just say i couldn't really cut the content of this post down too much... 

seriously there are a LOT of images so you might want to get another cup of tea or something!

but i know you'll enjoy it and at the end of the day that's really all that matters...

i believe the word you're looking for is 'WOW' :)

but like i said, it's not all about prints, paintings and stickers, she also created awesome merchandise featuring her super designs. i actually own a little 'Acrylicana' acrylic necklace that i like to wear on days when i'm feeling a bit down since the bright colours in it ALWAYS cheer me up! here's my 'OoOoOoh Girl' necklace that i got in Summer 2010

here's some of the gorrrgous items she sells via her etsy and Apparel Dynasty© shops online (i'm a particular fan of the platform high heels... so pretty!)

PHEW so much gorgeous in one place, i can hardly take it!!!

i told you it would be colourful though!

this may sound daft to some, but i'm pretty sure that Mary's work has inspired me more over the past few years than any other contemporary illustrators or designers! yes... really! i only hope that one day i can be as successful as her albeit maybe not nearly as talented or skilled :)

ok it's links time now...

for more multicoloured kawaii gorgeousness, head on over to the official website here - Acrylicana

to treat yourself to a pretty pair of shoes, a bag or maybe even some scented shoe laces, be sure to visit the official online store here - Apparel Dynasty

or if you fancy a nice little print or a cute acrylic necklace/bracelet/ring, check out her etsy shop + there's currently a very special '50% off' offer running in the shop! (just use coupon code HALFOFF for 50% off your order!) - etsy

and you can also 'Like' Mary's work via the facebook fan page - Acrylicana

or follow her on twitter for updates about her projects and new shop items - @acrylicana

and if you're on tumblr you can also follow her there - Acrylicana

if you're curious about her work process you can also watch amazing videos of her painting and designing here - livestream

all that's left for me to do now is say a massive MASSIVE thanks to the very VERY lovely Mary for saying yes and letting me run this little feature, i am such a HUGE fan of her work i knew it was only a matter of time until i just HAD to do a post about it here!

thanks Mary :) x

All images featured in this post belong to Mary Winkler © do not claim, use, distribute, reproduce or trace ANY of her work without her express written consent. All Rights Reserved.

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wow what a post! and so much fun to do!

ok i'm heading off for the night now, off to college again tomorrow + keep an eye out for a blog post tomorrow evening since i'll be posting a few new candy characters i've been working on lately

so until then, that's all folks... ◕‿◕ ★ xX