"Rikkit Tikki - The coolest girl at the Bamboo Coast. She wasn't cool before her one of a kind Adidas pumps got washed up on the beach on day though. Now she struts around in her pumps with everyone being super jealous. After she got her shoes she just wont wear anything else but black and white to match. Strange little thing she is, but she sure has got the coolest pumps on the Island... "
She came out so sweet! I've been working hard over the weekend to finish Rikki Tikki. I've promised a preview of my sale for today and so I just had to finish her. I am happy to say that all is ready to go now! I've been so busy over the past two months trying to get my first sale up. I am very proud of myself to say the least. Two months ago I didn't have any custom toys and now I've finished 10 (!). You will get the preview later today as I am still to price everything.
Rikki Tikki sits on a 5" MadL platform. Sculpted with Super Sculpey, painted with acrylics and finished with a UV resistant matte varnish. The pompoms are needle felted :)
She will be available from the webshop on Friday the 1st of May at £110. More info to come!
Good morning and welcome to my workshop! Yeah I thought I'd give you a tour. It might not be the most interesting blog post for some but I love looking at other peoples work spaces and so I thought I'd show you mine. It will be updated soon as well so I might do a before and after post lol.
This is where I spend most of my time when I'm not busy being a mom, which I am about 90% of the time. But since my other half work from home as well and part time we take it in turns so that we get loads of work time AND baby time which is great!
I have no room left on my shelves for toys so they have started migrating down to my desk which is a bit of a pickle but it shall soon be sorted. I spend allot of time here by my precious computer doing everything and nothing. It used to be a great computer once but is quite dated and sad now that there is no time for games in my life anymore. It used to fly on the back of a dragon through beautiful lands in World of Warcraft, fight the Scurge in Star Craft, grunt like an orc in Warhammer and so on and so forth. But that is a time long gone now. Which is probably for the best as I get allot more done these days. I keep allot of inspiration around me all the time and my drawing pads close if an idea pops up in my head. It is very handy.
As I said, my shelves are FULL! It will hopefully clear up a bit after my sale, but I know I will be quick to fill it up again so something has to be done here. I need more shelves! This is where I keep all toys, finished and unfinished as well as some artwork. The painting hiding in the back is something I started a while ago and never finished. I don't know if I will ever finish it to be honest. Only time will tell. I got a load of paper toys from Dolly Oblong sitting up there and my precious little Bubbles! Dolly Oblong is one of my biggest inspirations and I need her stuff around me! I also LOVE paper toys. I have a whole book full that I haven't made yet as I have nowhere to put them. I will have to get myself a glass cabinet for them as they are pretty hard to keep dust free.
Now if we turn around we come to the not so pretty part. This is Aladdin's Cave, that luckily have doors! This is where I accumulate allot of shite LOL! There is everything from photography props to drawing pads that date back to around 2007. I tend to unwillingly collect art pads. I just can't get rid of them and I guess I shouldn't as they hold allot of history as in me progressing as an artist. I do like to look back in them and laugh about things I used to draw. This cupboard is great as it just holds so much stuff (not that that stopped me from filling it to the brim) and it looks quite neat when it is closed.
To my left sits another cabinet full of stuff! And a box on top, full of stuff too! I have so much stuff it's not even funny. I tend to scout bargain stores for things I "might" need for various reasons and then they just end up in a cabinet somewhere and will never be used. Anyway, this cabinet holds mostly boring things like printing paper, envelopes, flyers and stuff that I need for posting so it is actually full of things I DO need and on top of it sits my beloved airbrush which probably is one of my most cared for possessions. It is soooo clean and tidy as I just treasure it soooo much!
So yeah that is where I work and NO it is not always this tidy. Most of the time it looks like a bomb's gone off in here but I do share my work space with my other half and he tends to get a bit grumpy when it goes to bad, so I do my best to keep on top of things. When I had this room to myself it was a different story though....
"He was once a magnificent beast from the Whispering Woods. He migrated to the Sakura Sanctuary quite some time ago now. He has now reached his final form as a Yūrei and is now ready to leave the island to become part of the spirit realm."
Rooz is now finished and I've almost hit the finish line. One more to go and the sale is only a week and a half away. I am very happy with Rooz and so pleased to have worked on this kidrobot platform. I know he is quite rare, but I don't understand why. It is amazing to work on and has a super cute silhouette.
The are hard to come by but I hope to work on this platform again in the future. I always keep an eye out for good deals and rare platforms so I am sure I will bump in to him again some time.
I used decals for his forehead and his back which worked really well with this job. For tiny detail I find the decals very handy and I love designing them on the computer. It can be a real struggle to work with when it's this small though. But with patience it will come together in the end.
"The Passing to Yūrei" will be part of the sale on May 1st at 12:00pm GMT.
"Well well well if it ain't the Miochos. They're part of the Queens guard but they are pretty lousy at their job. Laughing and joking about absolutely everything. No one knows why she hired them but I guess they do bring her a good laugh. There's not really anything to worry about on Tomodachi Island anyway, so why not laugh instead. "
Oh I am feeling productive this week and I've only got two more toys to finish and one drawing before my big sale on May 1st! I can't wait. Love how these came out and it was nice to work on something different this time. I do love sculpting but I think I will keep painting and using decals as well in the future. Especially on tiny vinyl figures like these 2.5" Dudeboxes.
These will be for sale at £35.00 each on May 1st!
"The Eggloton Triplets are highly addicted to chocolate eggs. That is why they've taken on the shape of an egg themselves. No one knows exactly where on Tomodachi Island they descend from as they never stop roaming the Island in search of more chocolate eggs. One year Tomodachi Island completely ran out of chocolate eggs due to the Triplets and they are only allowed to pick a certain amount now."
Means to an end THEY ARE DONE! Wow I feel like celebrating with champagne! Man am I happy to have finished these dudes! For a while there I nearly gave up as I struggled so much with various elements on these guys. I am happy to say that they came out exactly as I wanted them in the end and that I have learnt a shed load of new things making these. What a journey!
All of them will be up for sale on the 1st of May! So if you're interested they will be selling at £149.00 (shipping not included).
Wow I am so sorry! 11 days and no blog posts. I started last week with getting ill and having loads of orders to do. Not a good combination if you want to get toys and artwork done as well. What normally takes me a day to complete took me three so I have had next to no time to work on my personal projects. I did manage to start my mini dudes however and I thought I'd give a little update on what's actually going on here.
As you know I am working hard to have my first art and toy sale here on the Tomodachi Island website. I am happy to say that I am almost there. I have set a date and the date will be the 1st of May! So do mark this date in your Calendars if you're interested in any of my pieces. I will hold a preview 5 days before the actual sale, with prices and all the items available. I am working on three 2.5" Dudes and this 4" Kidrobot Rooz at the moment.
I also hope to get started on this MADL this week, and that will be it before the big sale.
I also received another 7" Foomi in the post the other day. She's for my next sale that will be on the 1st of June. I hoped to get her done for the first sale but I am realizing that I am running out of time and this one will be quite detailed. Many hours will be put in to this one and I have high expectations of her.
As you know, the big Dudeboxes are finished but I am still waiting for their zipper pulls. They should be with me by next week and I can't wait to show you these guys in all their glory. I am so happy with them even though I nearly gave up half way through. I guess to actually finish them is the reward at the end of a long long struggle. And it does make it all worth while.
This week will be full of WIP pictures and updates to make up for the past week that gave you absolutely nothing. I am looking forward to it and I hope you are too. Yet again sorry for leaving you in the dark last week. I'm back with vigor this week!
Since it is throwback Thursday today I thought I'd take you a few years back in time. When digital painting and sci-fi used to be my biggest passion. Funny how time changes you isn't it?
I went through a stage here where I learnt an awful lot about digital painting and the human form. Sky Doll used to be (and still is I guess) my biggest inspiration.
I also found allot of inspiration in comic books and super heroes in general. My aspirations as a digital painter were massive and I think the degree I was doing at the time really pushed me to discover the human form and anatomy.
This was the time when I started coming up with original characters and explore my mind as not only an artist but also a writer (if you can call it that). I never used to build up stories around my characters, but when we were asked to write a script for a film and read it aloud to the class it opened up a new part of my brain.
I really excelled when me and my other half decided to go to the Brecon Beacons and camp for 8 weeks in total. My other half worked as an extra on "Wrath of the Titans" and I decided to camp for the whole time as well. I do love camping but staying in a tent that long did drive me a bit mad I think. I found myself out in the woods looking for sticks that I could build things out of in the end. I actually built a pretty nice looking shoe rack LOL. Anyway, as you might have guessed, the pen and paper became my best friends and I spent hours upon hours without no distraction, just drawing and drawing. The amount of characters I came out with was just unbelievable. Could probably have written quite a few comic books for them.
This picture got featured as a Daily Deviation on DeviantART and gave me a super boost. I was so proud (and still am) of this piece. It is one out of few that have actually hung on my walls. I only just recently took it down as I felt that I am on a different path as an artist now and ready to explore new grounds. So that is what my art used to be like. Changed a bit huh? What I will always take with me from this time though is the knowledge I gained both in traditional mediums and digital painting. I also learned so much about the human form and really gained a higher level as an artist.
I've finished one of the more elaborate drawings for my up and coming sale. It is part of a series I started long ago called "Earth Mother". I finished the sketches about half a year ago and have been very indecisive with them. I couldn't decide whether to paint them or draw them. I'm not much of a painter though and in the end I decided to go with pencil. I think it was the right decision.
I've always had a fascination for wood in all its forms and I love the power of nature and how she can reclaim more or less anything. I believe, no matter how much the human race will destroy on this planet, mother nature will always win in the end. I don't know how, but in one way or the other she will. It'll probably mean that the human race will be wiped out completely though.
She is the first in a series anyway. A series of female busts that have been reclaimed by nature in various ways. I don't know when I will finish the rest, but they will pop up now and then. I will have a limited amount of prints for sale as well as the original.
This project is definitely one of the longest ever. The finish line just feels further and further away every day. Funny thing with toys is that I always finish them. If this was a painting I would probably never finish it, as I run out of patience when things take to long. It goes to show once again that I am truly in my element now. I think this is the last time I will be working on three toys at the same time however. But they do go in the same series so I guess it had to be done.
The paint job took forever and is only about 50% done. I can't wait to be able to afford some proper air brush paint like the high flow Golden acrylics though. I got black and white the other day and I now know why everyone loves Golden Acrylics so much. They sure as hell are the best acrylics out there for custom toys, and probably for painting as well.
I also managed to break all the zippers whilst painting them. But I think it was for the best or they'd probably broken in transit anyway knowing my luck. But I have a solution to that problem that will look so much cooler. So no biggie really.
Sorry for the lack of updates this week by the way. Been a busy one and yesterday I took my little baby girl to London for the day which was a bit of an adventure. Today I am absolutely knackered though. Looking forward to next week when I plan to get loads done and hopefully finish these little devils.
Sorry for being a bit slow with this. It just hit me that I have a load of new followers that are new to Tomodachi Island. So I thought I'd introduce you to this drifting island that all my creatures originate from.
This Island somehow got stuck on a giant whale's back thousands and thousands of years ago and ever since, it has been drifting around the seas of our planet. And maybe this is why no one have ever seen it before.
There are eight areas that have been explored and another two where no one have set foot yet. Starting from the north is;
The Toketsu Mountain - A cold, frozen and snow covered mountain which holds some enormous, but gentle, beasts. These beasts watch over the rest of Tomdoachi Island. They are the guardians of the Island and everyone who lives there.
Snowball Colony - This area is the home to many shy creatures. They like to hide in their snowball-like caves but can be seen every so often, having massive snowball wars. They may be shy but they sure are a happy bunch.
The Whispering Woods - One of the largest areas of Tomodachi Island with a vast number of species. There are new species found in the Whispering Woods every day. They range from the size of a flea to the size of a blue whale. A place hard to describe that has to be seen to be believed.
Bamboo Coast - Home to some furry fluffy gentle giants. A very slow moving place where hugs and cuddles are priority one. In this place you can find piles of creatures just chilling under the high bamboo. A place where worries have no home.
The Soot Hideaway - This is the home of the darkest creatures of Tomodachi Island. This doesn't make them evil at all, as no evil exists on Tomodachi Island. But they tend to be recluse, like to keep to themselves and they are very sensitive to the light. They do like to venture out at night and this is why they're so rarely seen by others. During the dark nights they venture out to bury surprises and treasures around the Island just to keep the rest of the Island happy.
The Sakura Sanctuary - This is where the old come to live out the last of their days on the Island to then join the spirit world. There is no such thing as death on Tomodachi Island. The creatures who live here quite simply just pass into another realm and a higher being.
Candy Cove - This is where the Queen lives. And it is home to some of the sweetest creatures. Covered in all the sweets you can imagine with candy trees so high they reach above the clouds.
The Owling Caverns - A scary place to those who cannot fly. But if you have wings then this place is one of the most beautiful areas you'll ever see. All the treasures and gems of Tomodachi Island are hidden within the caverns and guarded by the Owlings. The entrance is just above sea level on the steepest cliffs of the Island. Don't even try to get in, as it is impossible! Unless you have wings, but then you have the Owlings to confront instead.
Now you've been introduced to all the areas of Tomodachi Island it will be a bit easier for you to understand and relate to where the creatures I write about come from. You can always refer back to the map if you get confused.
I only just finished my first custom vinyl toy. It is litteraly just over a month since I did Trikky and Brob and just a couple of weeks ago that I finished The Queen of Candy Cove. I could never have imagined being featured by Kidrobot them selves but not only did they feature The Queen of Candy cove on their Instagram but also in their Blog!
I've been such a massive fan of Kidrobot for years and years so to be featured by them is a huge dream come true. Wow! I'm so happy! Thank you guys so much!
As if that wasn't enough, The Toy Chronicle, which is an amazing UK Toy Blog that I have followed for quite some time as well, did a full feature on me.
The feature made me feel special and it's brought out even more inspiration than I thought was possible. The boost from these features is just amazing. I really feel on top of the world and I can't say thank you enough! THAAAAAANNNNKKK YOOOU! <3
CLICK THE PICTURES TO READ THE FULL FEATURES!
I've almost finished all the illustrations for the sale. I have one more to do and then they will be sent off for printing. Now I thought I’d tell you a bit about myself as an artist, what is behind these strange creatures and where they descend from.
I've been down many different paths of art throughout my life to say the least. I've gone from nature and bird paintings to tattoos, from digital painting to traditional illustration. And I will probably head down many more before my life on this earth ends.
Finding myself as an artist has been a roller coaster ride. And even though I take allot of pride in being an artist, I have always found it very hard to be judged by others. Don't get me wrong, I love all the feedback I can get and it makes me grow both as a person and as an artist. But since my art is so dear to me and something I don't necessarily do for profit, but for myself and myself only. It is my therapy and it is hard to have it judged by others because it is my saviour in many ways. In my drawings you can see the essence of me, the essence of Emelie and I guess the somewhat escapist that I am.
It is hard for me to write about my art and it triggers many emotions doing so. But I think it is something I have to share now that I have finally decided to sell my art. To think that any of you out there would like to own a piece of me is hard for me to comprehend. This is why I am sharing my deepest thoughts with you so you know what it is you buy if you decide to become the owner of one of my pieces. And it is important that you know the depth behind these creatures.
Anyway, back to me, being an escapist. I truly am an escapist and I think I always have been. I am scared of many things in this world. Scared of the dark, scared of death, scared of being left alone and so on. Fears that I know I'm not the only one to have, but they effect me every day, in ways that they shouldn't. My way of dealing with these fears is to escape to my own made up world where these things just don't exist.
My fears got worse as I moved to the UK six years ago. Let's just say that Sweden is a pretty safe and quiet place compared to the UK. But I think I needed it. During the first year I spent in UK I barely left the house. I was afraid that someone would just stab me in the street and became extremely paranoid. I had to stop watching the news and reading the news papers as it just ruined me. UK has hardened me in a great way and I am nowhere near as scared as I used to be now. I still struggle going on walks on my own but I think this is down to me being a mother now and me feeling very protective over my baby. I am sure it will go away eventually.
So the drawings you see are part of my inner essence and the creatures in my drawings help me to stay sane. Even though some of them might look quite insane haha. But these creatures help me through life and fantasizing about them is my escape. I need them just as much as they need me and without them I would be lost. I guess you can see them as my therapists.
I have now decided to sell my art for the first time in my life and I am so scared. I am scared that no one will like what I do, I'm scared that no one will feel inspired and most of all that no one will see the beauty that I see in these creatures. I'm scared that no one will understand them. Just as I am scared that no one will understand me, maybe I am scared that they will be left alone as I am scared of being alone. I don't know, but my decision makes me feel strong and proud, and whatever happens, I will remain strong and proud for the fact that I dared. And that is the end of that.
So here's to the future of not being scared. I want to share my inner being with the world and by doing so, grow as a person and an artist. I hope me sharing all this won't put you off my illustrations. I hope it will give them more depth and meaning. And also thank you for reading this far.
"As the sun sets over Tomodachi Island the Snow Colossus whale-like song can be heard from the Toketsu Mountain. His lullaby sends the Yeti Folk into a deep sleep. They know that the Snow Colossus will be watching over them as they dream of new adventures and distant lands."
The Snow Colossus is an old concept of mine. I meant to make a huge plush sculpture out of him a couple of years ago. I gave up on the project though but he has always remained strong in my mind.
As I was doodeling the other day he appeared in my sketchbook once again and I decided to make him in to a proper drawing. He is quite a magnificent beast and I thought he'd deserved it. He is a very calm creature who tends to make me calm to. I can imagine myself sitting in a field below the Toketsu Mountain watching the sun go down as I listen to his song. Wouldn't it be great if these creatures were real? Imagine how much calmer and friendlier the world would be.
The Snow Colossus - Lullaby will be part of my future sale sometime during April. You will be able to pick up prints and the original will be up for grabs as well.
I thought I'd give you a closer introduction to my sketchbook. Funny enough this is the first sketchbook I've ever owned. Sure I have had plenty of art pads, but I don't class them as the same. This book has opened up my creative streak tremendously. I can't say I have a straight answer as to why or how, it just has.
I guess you could say that it is what a notebook would be to a writer. Somewhere that I can just spew out my ideas as soon as they pop in to mind. I don't have to think about composition, I don't have to think about materials or colours. All I have to do is grab a pencil, sit down on the couch whilst watching Farscape or some other cool Sci-Fi series and then just draw.
I think the brown recycled paper helps an awful lot as well. When I sit down with white good quality paper, that's when I mean business, that is where everything has to be perfect. But with this brown paper there are no rules and plenty of room for mistakes.
I can try to explain how important this book is to me but words will never be able to describe how free I feel when drawing in this book. I just love it so much!
So to any of you artists out there that suffer from creative blocks. Go and get yourselves one of these, they don't cost much and I swear that it will make all the difference to your creativity. Let the creativity flow is all I can say! What an amazing little thing this book turned out to be!
I did manage to get some sculpting done over the weekend anyway. So the Dudes now got little horns in various shapes and sizes and the third Dude has got a face as well. I managed to start on the zippers as well which was one hell of a tricky one but came out nice in the end.
Teeny tiny detail.... Even made my hand shake for a second and I can't say that has ever happened before. The detail is great though and I'm very pleased with the end result. Now I got another two to make... pheeeeew!
Maybe maybe maybe I will be able to start a paint job next week. Let's hope ey!
And the third face is in place. Might make some small changes to this one though, it don't feel finished for some reason.
I am actually getting somewhere with these. Mainly because I've chosen to loose sleep rather than loosing time on my toys. So I've been getting up around six every morning to feed my little girl and then she goes back to bed and I go into the workshop. I've also been working later at night when she's asleep. I just can't put my toys down at the moment.
I've managed to finish two faces so far and I think that will be more or less it before the weekend now. The parents in law are coming to visit so I will have no chance to work during the weekend. But I will be back on it first thing Monday!
Here's some WIP pictures anyway. Loving them so far and can't wait to finish them.
My favorite tools that I tend to use more or less all the time :D
So many toys, so little time.... Or something! I do have time but something has come up that is way more important for the future of mine and my little family. So I have to put things on hold for about a week and only work when the little one is asleep lol. Not the end of the world I guess, but I'm so itching to finish of every single DIY platform I've got. But all in good time.
I'm also waiting for the glass eyes to be delivered so that I can start sculpting my Dudeboxes. I hate when things are said to be delivered at a certain date and then you sit there waiting all day and NOTHING! Good god it winds me up. I need to stop being so impatient me thinks.
Anyway, it is TBT and I thought I'd share with you one of my old Timelapses from Vimeo. I used to do these all the time, but since I am more in to traditional art than digital art at the moment I haven't done any in ages. You can check out my Vimeo for more videos and some embarrassing animations from when I did my degree.
I suggest you watch it in HD. Much better that way! :D
Here she is anyway, I drew her on my way to London for whatever reason I can't remember, but that is why she is called The Bus Girl anyway. Hope you like!
As I always have to have a gazillion projects going on at the same time I just thought I'd pull out my acrylics two nights ago and start painting. Funny enough I actually finished it. Which is rare these days.
I rarely paint, and to be honest this is the first acrylic painting I've finished since I was in school about 15 years ago.
To celebrate this accomplishment I thought I'd have this painting printed up and do a limited edition run of 50 pieces. They will be part of this sale I've got planned but haven't got a date for and the original will be up for grabs too. You can keep an eye on the Blog, FB or IG for info on this upcoming sale as I am yet to decide a date. It will be sometime during April anyway, but that is all I can say for now.
All hail the Queen of Candy Cove! She has finally made he first appearance after her mother sadly passed away. It is time for her to take over the reign of Candy Cove and her nerves are more on the outside than the inside. She's not much of a people person and hates center of attention (sucks being a Queen then I guess?!). This is something that she'll have to deal with however and she needs to take control over the terrible sugar lows she tends to get after eating to many Love Hearts!
The Queen of Candy Cove is modeled on an 7" Kidrobot Foomi DIY Platform by Emelie Jensen for Tomodachi Island.
In her left hand she carries a golden lollipop with pink rhinestones. Completely hand sculpted.
The Queen of Candy Cove will be part of Tomodachi Island's first Sale which date is still to be announced. Stay Tuned for more info!
I finally got hold of some Dudeboxes. I've wanted to work on them ever since I laid eyes on them years ago. Unfortunately Dudbox has gotten in to some sort of problem and they no longer produce vinyl toys. So I was very sad now that I finally started customizing toys to find that they are hard to get hold of. But I found some in the end and I bought more or less half the stock (I will buy more when I can afford it).
They are such great DIY platforms as they leave so much to you imagination. It took me more or less all weekend to prepare them for sculpting as I needed to fill them up and make them sturdy enough inside to carry the faces. But now they're rock solid and ready to go. Eyes should go in the post today and be with me tomorrow. I seriously can't wait to finish these I just know they'll look awesome when they're done.
Once I've got enough toys ready they will be up for sale. I will let you know when the sale will start. What I can say already is that there will be loads of original goodies and one of a kind items. Super excited about it!
Here's the general layout and the faces that will go inside.
