Christmas Pic

Merry Christmas everyone! Here is a follow up on a pencil sketch that I posted several months ago. It's a piece commissioned by Devlin for Beth. The image has been sent to the printer and I plan to ship it asap; in the meantime I hope Beth and everyone else will enjoy seeing it here. In addition, we still plan to use it as a DS card and we will be reviewing the ideas generously posted by readers of this blog when the pencil sketch for this piece first appeared. Keep an eye on this blog for updates about it.

Thursday Picture post part 2

It's Thursday! A week after the pencil sketch of this piece appeared here, I have finished art to show off. This one was very interesting to do. I had fun coming up will all the different binding designs on the books. I find I'm envious of a character I've drawn; I would like to have a library like his! Thank you CS, who commissioned this image.

Thursday picture post

As promised, here's a post with an image. This is a work in progress for Magentawolf. It's the basis for a digitally colored piece that I hope to finish soon. I am attracted by the notion of a character reading in his library. I've spent many happy hours in reading in libraries myself.

Monday Morning Musings

Hi people. I've got a lot to do this week and I want to get started, so this morning's post with be words only. I'll add an image based post later this week when I have a little more time. The Flint Holiday Craft fair was quite nice. A good number of folks showed up, braving a steady snow fall to do so. I made sales, traded tips and made friends. Thanks to everyone who helped me have a successful show, especially my neighbor Kat and my new friend Ari. I am considering reserving a table for the Spring Etsy show in Flint; keep an eye on this space for updates.

Comic Mod

Hi! Here's a WIP from this week. Earlier this year I posted a pencils from a project commissioned by DS, who has been having artists do modified versions of panels from a vintage comic. It was interesting then and it is interesting now; here's part of a pencil sketch from my latest piece for him. I've done this panel before but this time I've done them full body and different species.

Flint Holiday Craft Show

Good Morning. I've just confirmed my table for the Flint Holiday Craft show, which takes place on Saturday of next week. The flyers I've posted below give details and directions. If you're in the Flint area next Saturday, come by and have a look.

Iphone Practice Pieces

Happy Thanksgiving! Not a lot of time for chat this morning: I'll be leaving soon to visit two family Thanksgiving gatherings. I wanted to post a couple of practice pieces I did on my iphone in preparation for offering commissions. Enjoy!

My first Iphone Commission

Anyone who has seen me in the last few months may have noticed me fiddling with my new iphone. I bought it for business purposes and it has handled those tasks quite nicely. In the last month I've learned how to draw on my phone, using a painting app and a Pogo stylus. With practice, I became confident enough to take on an iphone color commission. Here it is. Many thanks to Bitwulf, who commissioned this at Midwest Furfest; he and his friends also offered technical advice on transferring the completed image between devices. For now, I send commissions like this one as email attachments. Eventually, I hope to send them directly from my phone to the patron's phone.

Midwest Fur Fest

Hey folks. I'm resting up from Midwest Furfest and I wanted to give you a report. A had a terrific show and a lot of fun. I want to thank everyone who helped to make this happen, including special thanks for Tonya, Alkali and Steele. I had a terrific commission weekend: Here's an example of one of the pieces I finished. it was commissioned by Vesh as an anniversary gift for himself and his wife. Keep an eye on this spot to see the color version which I plan to finish early next year.

Card Art Project

I"ve been selling proofs with original art on them for some time. Usually I do one image on a proof at a time. In this case, following the lead of artists like Ed Beard--who does wonderful, detailed sketches on the backs of multiple cards--I have tried my hand at a card art painting. The painting below was done in acrylic inks on the back of seven Magic card proofs. I was pleased with the level of detail I achieved, especially given that I was painting on thin card stock. Thanks to MW, who commissioned this piece.

Howl of Rage Final

Hello people. Here's another piece finished; A few posts ago I featured the digital color sketch of this image. I thought that I would show everyone how it turned out. If you want a closer look come see me at Midwest Fur Fest next weekend; I will have the original painting there and I will be selling prints of it.

Custom Card Art Part Two

Good Morning! I'm a little late posting this but here is the promised color version of AT's custom card commission. This piece came out well and there's a lot I like about it--pose, color, setting, characters. I especially enjoyed coming up with this tigrean's expression; thanks to AT's feedback, I think her personality really shows through.

Preview of Custom Card Art

Good morning people. Here is a quick look at a piece I am working on for AT. It is going to be used on a customized character card. A full color version of the completed piece will appear here this week, so stay tuned.

Travels of Kit

Good morning folks. Have a look a a pic from a project I've been planning for a couple of years. Travels of Kit is an illustrated story sponsored by Jim Hardesty. The first four images are up now and more will be appearing soon. To have a look, click here. Enjoy!

2009 Cat Calendar

Hi folks! Sorry for the long time between posts. I travelled north last week to visit my sister. It was a lovely trip and I enjoyed seeing her and my nephews. However, I didn't blog while I was up there and that interrupted the good blogging habits I had been practicing before I left. In any case, I'm back and should be posting regularly--at least until the next time I take a vacation.

My news today is that I've got a new cat calendar for sale on LuLu. Those of you who follow my cat art will like it. The images include some of my best selling pictures. Click here if you'd like to have a look.

I love my Wacom Tablet

Morning all. I'm posting a piece this morning to demonstrate a technique that I've been trying to master for some time. I've created a piece entirely with digital media. I've been able to do this for some times, but the results looked either crude or artificial. What I've been after is balance: A blending of what my hand and brain do naturally with the right hardware and software. I didn't know precisely what I was after; however, I figured that I would know it when I saw it since this is the way that I recognize most of my new techniques.

The piece below was drawn on my Intuos3 Graphic tablet, using Painter. I usually pencil a piece on paper then scan it when I do a digital painting. This time the sketch was done on my computer. As much as I like it, I consider this just an early sign of what I'm going to be able to do using this technique. Keep watching my blog for more pieces of this kind.

WIP New Howling Rage Art Part 2

As promised, here is my second post showing progress on my commission for Dave H. In step two I scan then digitally color my pencil sketch. For this piece I also refined the sketch quite a bit, adding detail and cleaning up lines. As striking as the pencils are, adding color--especially those flames--make quite a difference.

Stage three is an acrylic painting which is currently sitting on my easel. If you want to see it in person, come to Pentacon in Fort Wayne which will take place November 7th to 9th, where I'll be delivering the painting to Dave. For those of you who can't make it to Pentacon, I'll post a scan of the painting here after the show.

Etsy @ the Market

Good Morning! I want to let everyone know about a new show I will be attending in Ann Arbor Michigan on Sunday October 5th. It's called Etsy@the Market; it will be an out door show at the Kerrytown Farmer's market. For a map of the place, please click on the link below. If you are in the area, come check it out!


View Larger Map

WIP New Howling Rage Art

Here's a piece I'm working on for Dave H. It's a commission of his character in an 'excitable' mood. When it's done, Dave will get the original painting and I will use the image to replace the art for Howl of Rage--which, though serviceable, is an early example of my digitally painted work. The final for this piece will provide a much more exciting image. To see just how exciting, check back next week!

Web Comic

Some of my first published art appeared in a comic--a series called Tales From the Anniverse for those who are interested in a blast from the past. I learned my craft drawing comic pages. I have not done much in the way of graphic storytelling for quite a while, despite the fact that this is one of my favorite mediums. This is about to change. Click Here to go to Accommodations, a web comic based on the Dragon Storm universe. Although I have published this story before on the DS site, the current posting is a sign of things to come. I want add regular web comics to my site offerings and I have used this story as a test. Please have a look and let me know what you think. Your comments will have a large influence on what I do with comics in the future.

New and Improved Web Page

Mark has just finished updating my web page and it looks great. Click on the link above to check it out. If there's something more you'd like to see on my page, please let me know. I am planning lots of new material in the future, so keep checking back for updates.

What DS Card is This?

Here's a piece I need help with, if DS players can lend a hand. This is a sketch for Devin and Beth, who commissioned it as a digital color piece. All of the fantasy creatures they wanted in this piece are Dragon Storm races, so, of course, I would like to use it as card art. Here's the question: What card should it be? I am very happy with this piece and I would like to use it on a cool card. The piece is not due to be colored for a couple of months so there is plenty of time to make suggestions. Let me know what you think.

Tree Rose Kittens

I finished this new whimsical kitten piece over the summer and I wanted to post it here for you folks who may not have to seen it yet. I think the design of this one is especially nice and the colors are pleasing.

Flint Farmer's Market

This weekend through the end of September I will have an outdoor table at the Flint Farmer's Market. If you live near Flint, or if you are going to be near town during a Sunday in September, drop in and see me. For a map, click on the link below.

Flint Farmer's Market

Magic Lesson Sketch

Here's step two in my painting process: The first complete sketch. I'm concentrating on shape and design here. Color, shading and background won't concern me much until later stages. In fact, I haven't yet decided if I am going to add much of a background.

If you enjoy Magic Lesson and are interested in purchasing a print of the final piece, drop me an email at svancamp@mac.com.

Magic Lesson Rough

If you have wondered what one of my paintings looks like before it becomes a painting, you're in luck. I'm going to display the first and second drafts of my new whimsical cat and dragon painting, Magic Lesson. I'm planning this as an acrylic painting, probably fairly small; I haven't decided on its final dimensions. At this point I only need to know that it's going to be sized to work as a 5"x7" and 8"x10" print and that it's going to be landscape style (longer than it is tall). With this in mind, I created this rough.
Note: I won't be including my the artist's thumb or the scrawled mutterings as part of the final work.

Cat Nap

Among the black and white commissions I did this year was this piece for Shannon Conway. Its a portrait of two of her cats, based on a photo she provided for reference. I haven't met these two, but I suspect they are a couple of mellow kitties....

Take That Warp Chicken!

Hi folks! We are back from Gencon and we have rested up. While filing images from my phone camera I came across this pic. It shows Mark subduing a warp chicken with blighted bulk somewhere in Indiana. What was going on at Gencon that warp chickens were showing up this far north of Indianapolis...

Gencon Art Show Location

Hey folks! I am here in Indy on Wednesday night and I have an update. The art show has a new location and a new layout and, incidentally, a different location for my booth. I have posted maps below to help you find my new place. I am not sure of the number--it was blurry on the page--but I think the pics give a good idea of where to find me.

Male Phoenix Character

Here's a gent I illustrated for the upcoming Dragon Storm phoenix character release. He provides a good example of my evolving digital art style. This piece has fine color, composition and a cute guy; it's got everything I like. I find this style less painterly and more anime, which is just the opposite of the direction that I'm going on my whimsical cat pieces. If it seems a little strange that I am headed for a more realistic look for my cute kittens and a more anime look for my fantasy elves, let me explain that I love experimenting with styles. I also enjoy feedback from you folks on what you think of the results. If you have a style preference I'd love to hear it.

Dress up Two

Last year I did a piece called Dress Up, showing a kitten being adorned by fairies who made up in enthusiasm what they lacked in fashion sense. This year I've followed up on that theme with Dress Up 2. This time the 'dresser' is a young dragon. I played with new digital painting techniques to come up with this one and I like the results. As usual, it's character interaction that makes whimiscal images like this one work. Kitty is a bit uncertain about her new look, while her young draconic friend thinks these decorations make her look maaavalhas!

I introduced Dress Up Two at San Diego Comic con, where it did very well. I will have it at both Storm Con and Gencon. In late August I plan to add this image to my Etsy and Ebay stores.

San Diego Photos

Hi folks. I'm home from San Diego comic con which was a terrific show, both for business and pleasure. I shared a booth with my friends Diana Stein and April Lee who were great company. Thank you to all the returning customers and new buyers who helped make the show a success for me. I got in a little bit of tourist time in San Diego this year and my new phone camera allowed me to document both my trolley tour and my show time really nicely. Here are some Flckr photos I took this year.

San Deigo Location Map

Morning all. Next weekend I will be attending San Diego Comic Con, sharing a table with Diana Stein and April Lee. Anyone who has attended SDCC knows how this huge dealer's room is amazing and a bit overwhelming; it can be hard to find your way around amid crowds and impressive displays. In addition, we have moved location from where we were last year. With this in mind I am posting three maps of the dealer's room with zoom in views at each stage. Our booth number, as posted on the site, is 4821. If there are any changes to this location I will have Mark post a correction on Wednesday.

Jake's Painting

But wait, there's more! Here is a jpeg image of Jake's actual painting. This shows three of his characters at a picnic. It's ninety degrees where I am today and I think I'm envious of the wolfie who's getting splashed......

Jake takes a break

And now for something completely different.....Jake W commissioned a lovely painting and picked it up at Anthrocon. He took it home, had it famed, and then sent me this great pic a happy patron enjoying his art. Thanks Jake! Also, Jake has sent me some amazing wolf photos he took to use as reference for artwork. If you like the way I render wolf fur in upcoming paintings, you may have Jake to thank!

Seth's Comic Con Commission

This is another piece that I completed for Novi Comicon. Thanks Seth! I displayed it behind my table and I received many compliments on it. I'm especially happy with the number of characters that are in here--and the fact that all of them can be seen at a glance (not always easy to to on illustration with a lot of characters).

Art from A Chance Meeting

Good Morning! Nice to blog to you, nice to be here, Wonderful to drink my morning coffee. The weather in my neck of the woods has been gorgeous for the last few days. The new blogging software Mark found has proven extremely useful. It appears that I'm going to be doing a lot more blogging. If I can keep up this piece I may even add another blog. ^^

Ah, my head is in the clouds again. Time to come back to earth and finish this blog listing.

Here's a piece of art that I did for the episode of Mark's Mysteries called 'A Chance Meeting.' The subject matter is unusual for me and that's what made it fun. I may look for more excuses to draw people with wrinkles, simply because they are so interesting to do.

Origins and Anthrocon Scheudle

Hi people. I wanted remind all that I will be at Origins this year but I will only be there on Thursday. If you're interested in chatting or having a DS or Magic card signed--or, for that matter, purchasing a print and having it signed--please come see me on the first day of the show. I can accept commissions on Thursday but I won't be able to finish anything at the show; if you want a commission come see me and we can make arrangements for for me to ship it to you after the show.

After Thursday I will be at Anthrocon. Mark will be driving me to Pittsburg, then coming back; Columbus and Pittsburgh are relatively close to each other so he won't be gone long.

More Art

To reward folks for their patience I've decided to post extra art in the next week. Here's the next in this series. Doug Hildebrandt commissioned a picture of his new clan dragon character. I love the detail in this piece; Patterns on clothing is one of my favorite subjects.

Etsy Issues

Etsy is having some problems. It appears that these are minor problems that have to do with counters (the numbers that track how many hits a particular image receives). Counters are resetting at random so images may show numbers that do not reflect how popular they are; other than that, the site seems to be working correctly. If anyone has other issues with Etsy please let me know. The company says they are trying to correct this and will have it fixed as soon as they can. I have seen sites have difficulties like this before and they generally come out just fine. It's likely caused by a small bug hidden deep in an obscure line of code.

Speaking of online selling, I plan to add more sell sites this fall. Right now I am selling on Etsy and Ebay, both good sites. I want to sell through more sites to gain a wider audience. Adding a site involves a fair amount of effort; we need to study a site, learn its system, post our images, write descriptions, ect, ect, ect. Did I say we? I should say he; Mark does the lion's share of all this work and does it well.

With this in mind, I'd like to ask a favor; if anyone knows of good sell sites, please let me know. I am aware of Craigs List, Yessy and Piccasso Net, but I know there are a lot more out there. I'm particularly interested in sites that are easy to use, artist friendly and with good reputations. I'd welcome any recommendations.

She's Back.....

I checked the date of my last post and all I can say is oh my! It has been way too long since I've put something up here. Sorry about that folks. I've been busy with shows but I am always busy with something so that won't serve as an excuse. Mark has introduced me to a new software program that I hope will help me improve my posting frequency. Stay tuned to this channel to see if it works....

This post my image is a commission from Doug Hildebrant of his character Terri and his friend's character K. They are calming down after a battle---Terri is a werewolf who takes some soothing to settle down after a fight. I like the mood of this piece. It's one of a series that Doug and his friends commissioned around the time of Novi Comic Con. Watch this space to see more of these pieces--hopefully soon!

Greater Eastern Dragon

Hi folks. There were a lot of digital art commissions on my schedule this week and I just finished a batch of them yesterday. Here's one from this group--a greater eastern dragon done for Boojum. If you remember from my blog posts a few months ago, I did an eastern dragon for Boojum earlier. He commissioned me to do this follow up piece, which I like quite a bit. The two together look very cool--you can see the progression. For those of you who are DS players, this form and the male Penglai character should be available on the DS web page in the next week or so.

Web Site News

Hi folks. I've got two pieces of good news about my web site. First, Mark has completely rebuilt it and it looks great. Check it out by clicking on the link below.


Art by Susan Van Camp


Next, I've switched to Etsy as my method of online shopping. If you're not familiar with Etsy, it's a terrific new site that includes all sorts of wonderful art. You can get to my etsy site by clicking on my link below.

Sue's Etsy Link

Project for David

Hi people. This week I've got a pencil sketch I'm working on for David S., showing piece based on a 1960's era comic. David has commissioned me to do a number of pieces like this and they are a great deal of fun. In the past, he has had me do whole pages, replacing human figures with furries. This time he has had me take some panels that showed only the faces and upper bodies of figures and create completed, full figure images. It's a very cool challenge and I've enjoyed doing this one quite a bit. Thanks David!

Mysterious Minion Take Two

As much as I enjoyed creating the original Mysterious Minion design, I decided I could do better. Have a look at a truly shady character. This revision was originally intended to take a three color piece of art and turn it into a two color piece, which is more suitable for a simple t-shirt design. Once I started, I found more to like about this revision than it's simpler color scheme. Dropping grays and depending on blacks to carry the mood produced a sharper, more menacing image. Or, in less artsy jargon, he looks cooler in this version.

First of Spring Part Two

Here's something completely different--a design I created for a Mark's Mysteries t-shirt. If you are not listening to the Mark Mysteries podcast, go directly to the Dragonstorm.com website, follow the links to Mark's Mysteries and give it a listen. Mark of Mark's Mysteries is my husband, Mark Ellis Harmon, and his stories reflect his personality: Weird, Wonderful and not to be missed.

First of Spring

Spring has sprung, the fever has broken and life is fine. I have a number of pieces I've been working on this week. I'll put up two of them now and the rest next week; I am going to take a week off, so if I am slow on email you know why. I've already got my eyes on some bushes near the porch. They need a crewcut in the worst way....

The first piece here is a piece I did for a friend, Gary Bishop, who has recently moved out west and was looking for an inspirational piece as he coped with changes in his life. He plans to have it used as a reference for a tattoo. Though it's simple, I thought it a strong piece, especially color wise.

March Madness--Jason it's for You!

And finally, I'm concluding this week's March Madness with a scan of Jason's 12" x 16" pencil sketch of Kor's Wedding. The detail on this one was amazing. I'm posting this one fairly large so that it's possible to see everything that is going on. Check out the candle holder on the alter. That is a carving of Kor in gargoyle form! Thanks again for this commission Jason. I will be shipping it to you soon.

More March Madness

As promised, here's another dose of March Madness. Have a look of Amandin, a second in the series of Character Sketches done for Michael Schneider. I love Amandin's attitude; her confidence is infectious! The costume was fun to design too; one of my favorite parts of creating a character portrait is coming up with the clothing. In this case, Michael gave me excellent notes to work from.

March Madness Part Three: But Wait there's more!

I had to add this sketch of a theif that was part of a project commissioned by Michael Schneider. It included many different characters and personalities; there were so many that it was had to pick a favorite but this guy is definitely a top contender for me. With looks like this, he's likely to be stealing lots of hearts.

March Madness will continue later this week with more finished commissions making an appearance. That means your piece, Jason!

March Madness Part Two--A March Hare!

What's March Madness without a March Hare? This bunny comes courtesy of Boojum. Thanks again! This rabbit is a new character who was started at FC 2008. He is roughly based on a costume that Boojum wore at the show, which included a beautiful robe and a rabbit morph mask which is one of the finest I've ever seen. The bunny head mon was my own idea.