ellenmillion

Collectible mini-prints! These 2.5 x 3.5 inch prints are archival quality on heavy, acid-free paper, and this is the only time some of these will be available...

Support your favorite artists and Sketch Fest!

I'm back! Guppy and husband and I went to Hawaii for a few weeks, meeting my Mom and friend M for the first week, and on our own the second. It was warm and relaxing and I am much rejuvenated. (Though, the less said about the EIGHT HOURS we spent at the Fairbanks airport trying to get out of town, the better.)

I'm behind, but trying hard to catch up. I have an insane deadline to meet by the end of the month. (InSANE.) But I'm going to do it, and it will be amazing, and I should be able to share it with you next month.

(Unless you're a supporter at Patreon, they get to see them first! Patreon patrons also got to see photos and sketches during my recent travels, for as little as $1/month.)

Otherwise, I'm going to be more quiet than usual for February. We're getting back into the regular patterns of life, and there are Guppy things and house things and tax things and EMG things to get done... on top of the most wonderful deadline ever. Oh, and I'm releasing a book next week! Yay!

Sketch Fest is next week! https://ellenmilliongraphics.com/sketchfest

I'm very sorry for delays in communication this week. My Monday ick turned out not to just be woodsmoke, and blossomed into a miserable cold on Tuesday. I felt considerably better on Wednesday, though I sounded quite rough. When I got up this morning, I had pain in my ears, so I took a sudafed that knocked me for a serious loop - I keep taking my temperature because I've had hot and cold sweats, dizziness, and brutal exhaustion that I didn't have before taking the sudafed. On the plus side, my sinuses are dry and my ears stopped hurting. I'm not entirely sure it was worth it. I've been just crawling through my morning chores, not helped by the fact that poor Guppy has caught it, too.

At any rate, I'm feeling behind on things and I'm quite dismayed that we're 9 days off from Christmas. What?!

If you, like me, are scrambling for last minute gifts, I've got a way to give a whole lot of people a great thing in one fell swoop: a Gift Certificate to EMG. You'll make my day, you'll support an independent artist (or several!), and you'll make the recipient's day, by giving an art gift without having to wonder if they have wall space for that print, or if they have that coloring book, or if they need a character portrait for their RPG campaign. It's even a great gift for an artist, as it also includes the EMG-Zine anthologies, stuffed full of business and technical advice for artists and writers.



/holiday shill

Now I'm going to go feed us some lunch and wash some dishes.

I survived another parent aide day. Barely.

For the project today, the kids drew themselves as grown ups, picking a profession and dressing drawings of themselves up and having one of the aides write a bit about them. One boy was a policeman and caught a bad guy. Another was a parent, with one kid. A little girl was a teacher, another was a dermatologist who lived on a farm. My daughter? My daughter wanted to grow up to be Astrid and fight dragons.

(Honestly, I think that's pretty awesome.)

Today's artwork is:


I did this nearly two years ago (guh!), but just posted it at Torn World!

The Scavenger Hunt is live! It is amazing fun - people who have taken it have enjoyed it a ton, and no one has issued any arrest warrants for the awful poetry. The prize is also awesome, and includes a coupon from me that you could apply to a skeleton army of your very own.

The Scavenger Hunt is here: http://www.ellenmilliongraphics.com/scavengerhunt.php

If you need hints, email or PM me!

I am officially throwing my hat in for #junicorn - a month long challenge that is June + unicorns. I'm aiming for 30 in 30 days, not necessarily one per day, because my life doesn't work that way...

#1 was a pencil sketch in my sketchbook, but #2-7 have been colored pencil on ACEO cards. I want it to be a bit of a stretch, and color is always hard for me. Not to mention horses. (I originally thought this would be a good way to get some new work at Torn World, but only one of these is even remotely Torn Worldish.) So! Watch me doing hard things!



And in hard things I'm not doing much - social media. This is largely because I have amazing help with much of the EMG stuff right now - if you are subscribed to my email list, this won't be a surprise, but I was lucky enough to get Deborah Brannon of GeekDame on staff.* She's been running weekly featured artists and spotlights on the archives that have been just wild fun. It's been eye-opening how MUCH there is to enjoy at EMG. Years of archives and stories and artwork! I lose sight of that, when I'm nose-to-the-grindstone, and it's enabled me to get a lot more done and keep me on track having her keep the energy up and help me keep a regular appearance at tubmlr and twitter and Facebook. I am SO, SO grateful for her help and organization. Thank you, talkstowolves! <3 <3




*Where staff means underpaid and highly appreciated!

Have you missed some of my creative updates over the last month? I'm doing monthly roundups to try to keep some sense in the chaos!

Artwork:

2 pieces sketched for Sketch Fest, both of them later finished for Sketch Fest. (But one of them is still in NDA!!)



Also finished this piece for Finish Fest:


Available: http://www.ellenmilliongraphics.com/sketchfest/sketchfestart.php?id=17940

I worked feverishly on pieces that I won't be able to share until next month...


Writing:

Another 5kish on DB, but nothing new shared.


Off the Press:

Two new coloring books: Garden Sprites and The Collected Faeries of Victoria Griffin! http://ellenmilliongraphics.com/coloringbooks.php


Also:

First Friday at Alaskana Raven. (Very slow, few sales, but worth it for the few enthusiastic fans I met.)

New phone. Oops.

Favorite Guppy photo: http://hotlink.ellenmilliongraphics.com/ellen/baby/IMG_0113-puddles.JPG

September Patreon perk: the Torn World short story, Never Traveling Alone.

Here's the final version of the postcard I was working on, I think:
( 800 pixels wide )

Guppy and I went for a walk this morning - the snow is getting soft and will turn into slush not long from now. Mornings will be easier walking for a little while, while things are still frozen from the night. I dread the days we can't go out at all.

Groceries and post office after that, and Guppy was not exactly cooperative at the grocery store. She turned to make sure I was watching her run away from me AS I was telling her not to run away from me, and then couldn't understand why I put her in the cart. (Other shoppers got a kick out of me running after her, though...) Loud wails of 'I wanna listen to you!' as she kicked me did not thaw my icy heart. Her nap was short, and she was up early, but I still managed to get my NEW new phone set up. Mostly. I'll probably remember other apps to reinstall as I go to use them and don't have them.

Here's a photo of artist-Guppy:


And one from yesterday (or Wednesday?), sleeping on a Squid...

Ice day! It started raining on Saturday night. Norway, bless his fuzzy little pinhead, freaked out over the snow sliding off the roof, and crept up the stairs, whining and bumping himself into the bedroom doors at 3 in the morning. I had to throw all one hundred terrified pounds of him back down the stairs, and he begged me to let him outside to the safety of his doghouse. (Not literally throw, of course, but it did involve grabbing him by the scruff of the neck and the butt and heaving him down the first step... all while trying not to wake the child.)

Yesterday, it started to get cold again, and the roads are sheets of ice. The husband is still getting over an illness, so we called an ice day and slept in. It was lovely!

I have newly colored art up at Portrait Adoption! I'm pretty tickled by this one, and the original is available:


Adopt it here: http://portraitadoption.com/portrait.php?id=950

I finished another colorization of an older PA piece, and did seven inked animal pieces for Torn World this weekend, because we're basically out of things to post. On Friday, after my whiny post about too much to do, I finished the big deadline project, scanned and delivered it. (No changes requested, whew!) I also edited the overdue gift story and sent it out for first level approval. I'm packing up some coloring book orders while I scan the weekend's efforts, and there will be some playing with the energetic child.

Aaaand, that will be right now, because she just found me in the basement and is dismantling my piles and trying to play with the tape...

In Guppy News

I am astonished how fast she's growing. It's easier to see when I spent a good chunk of two weeks away from her than it was when I was constantly with her.

Her speech is getting clearer - milk is no longer gum, blankets are no longer boppies. (Each blanket, in fact, has a name, and must be put on her in order: Pink Blanket, Guppy Blanket, Rose Blanket, Kitty Blanket. And heaven help you if one of the blankets is missing!) She says 'please' if barely prompted, 'thank you' nearly always, and 'you're WELcome' all the times in between. 'Do it myself!' is one of her favorite things, and she drew an 'H' and identified it correctly this weekend. Her counting is still hit and miss. ('One, three, one, two...') 'Build a tower!' is still a favorite. Reading never goes out of style. A few weeks ago, she made a drastic change and began personifying her things. Suddenly Kiko, her rag-doll, has to be fed and have her diaper changed and take naps, where before I think Kiko's little blanket meant more to her than Kiko. Even her 'Little Green Person' (a Duplo figure) is addressed as a character now. She cannot seem to sit still through storytime - today she bolted across the library (just to be chased, as far as I can tell) five times before I finally just pulled her out and went to play with Duplos with her.


Growing up is hard work!

In pet news

I need to take Norway for more walks! But as he's gotten older, he seems more content with hanging out at his house and doesn't bolt around quite like he used to. Long walks sometimes wind him now. His weight is down at a healthier place for him, and he seems in good health.

Velcro, on the other hand, had started grooming bald patches down her sides, so I took her in for shot updates (just rabies - she's not at risk for anything else, being an indoor only cat) and to get an opinion on that. $300 of bloodwork later (and two draws, because they LOST the first one...), it turns out she is hyperthyroid, poor kitty. We're trying prescription food for a month or so, before resorting to medicine. No improvement yet, but it's only been a little over a week. She's definitely showing her age these days, but remains tolerant to toddlers who cover her with towels and try to stack books on her and convince her to eat duplos.

In house news

We got the lights up in the garage, and they are fabulous! The fan is also purchased, but not yet installed.

In weather news

More %^*##@ rain. I don't want to talk about it.

In project news

Sketch Fest was a little bit slow this month, and the Torn World Muse Fusion (which runs the entire month) is shaping up to be a bit of a flop. I suspect that my being offline and largely out of touch plays a role.

I am all kinds of inspired over Shifting. I have, in fact, reserved a domain for it, because I have no sense at all. It is now required to make me $15/year. Sketch Tarot is still moving forward - Empress is inked!

Going to draw now, and then make banana bread. Inbox: 117 (urgh!) and I've got Sketch Fest payments to get out.