I hate to be first but I am really happy with this one. I start my classes next week so I made the time this week to finish. Enjoy!

Here you go. This was a labor of love. Hope you enjoy it.

Once again I am first. I wanted to combine my inking practice for Inktober with the September prompt. This was a trial run for how I plan on creating art for Inktober: a combination of ink (brush pen and micron) with grey alcohol markers and white gel pens. I know everyone else is going over the top with great ideas but it would still be a shock if you accidentally brought mice for lunch!

The photo is abysmal but I don't have time or the inclination to clean it up in PS. Enjoy!

Sometimes we get in our own little worlds and are so focused on our own work that we don’t really take the time to help others. But I want to publicly praise a few peeps who consistently give very good advice and are always helping others.

@NessIllustration you are so helpful, especially at giving professional advice. You are so generous with your help despite your thriving business. I love how you give back. Thank you!

@TessaW you always give the most thoughtful and insightful advice and critiques. You have a great eye and I am so appreciative when I get a critique from you. I have seen you be such a help to others when they are stuck. Thank you!

@Nyrryl-Cadiz You are such an encourager to others. You are always commenting on others’ work, giving bits of praise. I feel like you are our resident cheerleader. Thank you!

@burvantill and @Coreyartus I can always count on a like from you, no matter how bad my artwork is. That shows me that you take the time to look at everyone’s pics and give them a little encouragement. Also, Lisa puts out the sos monthly studio and that’s a great positive vibe. Corey gives such thoughtful responses that he should consider being an art professor if he isn’t one already.

I know there are others and I could go on and on, but I just wanted to take the time to give a shout out where one is due. I hope you keep it up! You are what make me keep coming back to the forums.

If you have words of praise for others feel free to post them here. Also, if you haven’t taken the time to give back, please consider their example and give back to others. Don’t just be a silent stalker! be a loud encourager!

I had this idea of a smiling alligator, because personally I was rooting for him.

I just thought I would share. I had left a comment on a big name artist's IG. They saw my comment and checked out my page. They liked my recent stuff and asked for a small commission. This would be the first complete stranger requested commission I have ever gotten from social media.. I know to most of you that is small potatoes but I am thrilled. You may let the small scale rejoicing commence.

Not first but one of the first.
Ellie was hoping for a good shot but the ink fairy got one instead. Hehehe.

I know this is supposed to last all month long but due to family and school constraints, I am having to go ahead and submit. I did spend time researching the elements and working through thumbnails and getting a little critique help from the forums. To be fair I did quite a bit of character development for these characters that I have dubbed the Ink Mice during Inktober. I also did quite a bit of inking and coloring practice to develop this particular style. So without further ado here is a Christmas card cover: The Three Wise Mice!

I deleted my first one and am entering this one. Special thanks to @Aleksey for the inspiration and the fun. I hope you enjoy this one.

Where do Merpeople go when they retire? Why Sunny Florida of course!

I am not inking so much but still following the prompts.

Here is the angle Gabriel appearing to Mary announcing her being chosen by God to be the mother of Christ.

@Coley Hi, I have a question. Are you looking to do a cardboard cutout effect? The shadows look like the background is a flat surface and the carriage is floating right above it. If so no worries, if not I would lose the shadows on the background and just put them on the carriage itself.

I love your idea. I look forward to seeing the final! Happy painting!

I did the Angel of the Lord appearing to the shepherds

So, my son-in-law is a business person and is super interested in helping me self-publish some of my ideas since I am interested in being both author and illustrator. My son-in-law has a lot of business connections (he owns a resort with a book store, for example) and can get my book published for relatively cheap through his company connections.
I was originally going to do a kickstarter but he thinks I can be more successful doing it myself.

• list item What is an optimistic yet semi-realistic number of books to publish if I sell them myself? ( I am pretty well connected with the potential local market.)

• list item Are any of you self-published? How was your experience?

@kimmypie Thanks!

Advent do over numbers 1 and 2. I am creating an Advent book for my family (and anyone else who wants one!) I am calling it the Gospel Advent Book. It is going to tell about the birth and life of Christ from a a gospel primer perspective, starting with the fall of man and going through the resurrection. I am also writing poems for each day. I will be posting the artwork here as a form of accountability.

The fall of Man

Christ the Light of the world

I am re doing some advent pieces, because I want to eventually create an advent book. The first is the traditionally done one and the second is the digital do over. What do ya think?
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Decided that since I finished a major paper for one of my classes, I would reward myself by participating in folktale week. I did the prompt for birth. It is a folktale that the ox and donkey were at Christ’s birth. It is based on an allusion in Isaiah 1:3

More kiddos. I’m really bad at this. I need a lotta practice. Some of them look not so bad, I suppose.
My faves are the grinning redhead, the blushing boy, and the surprised girl. What are yours?

@Miranda-Branley I love where you are going with this. The only thing that bothers me is the proportion of the head. I get that you want an exaggerated look but I think it might be too small. Maybe it's the neck. A guy that big would have a neck to match his arms and shoulders. If you look at Pacha, he has no neck. I don't know what the solution is. I love the sentiment though. As a dad, there was nothing better than having my babies sleep on my chest and holding their little tiny hands. That's my favorite part of your drawing. You captured it so well.!

I did a quick draw over to show what I mean:
All I did was enlarge his head and hid his neck. What do ya think?