Tag: cats

dogs, horses, cats, fantasy illustration, Illustrations, kids, simple photoshop, step by step, how to, thoughts behind the work

My Orchid Kitty

Michele B. Naquaiya

cat-orchid-web

This kitty is covered in orchids.  I had orchids sitting in front of me from my patio garden  and I drew the simple outline of kitty, added wings, a little bird and some fun and not so ordinary color palette.  Then I drew abstract fragments of the flowers on his body.  The little bird ended up having one of his wings looking like another bird facing in the opposite direction. a perk from heaven.

The font is Gigi.  I got the color just by going down a few shades darker than the orchid flower on the color wheel.  The whole drawing was done in photoshop with a few simple brushes.  lots of layers: orig. scanned art, outline, coloring, text, and a white layer in there to be able to see what it finally                                                                                            would look like.

I love getting comments.  Let me know what you think: either about this revision series or any comments on the art are appreciated.

cat-orchid-web

 

animals, dogs, horses, cats, fantasy illustration, Illustrations, simple photoshop, thoughts behind the work

Dude…2 cats in a love conversation

Michele B. Naquaiya

Dude-web

A Big cat and little cat are having a love conversation. The big cat has camouflage artwork on his body and the little cat is making big body language. Who is talking to who? Who loves who?   It could go either way, so have fun with this.
Since I seem to be in my retro mood for the past few weeks, this was a small sketch in one of my many sketchbooks.  I always refer to my sketchbooks, whether the sketches are good or not.  The important thing is that you get the information down. Usually, the first sketch is the best one because that carries the message across in the strongest and most immediate way.  You can always tweet the drawing a little bit and get it to fit into what you want now.  This drawing was a little different because I kept it very raw and did not polish it up at all.

I scanned it and made sure I put it on a large white background leaving a lot of space to make room for a big text area.  I just made a mask and gave it a transparent background and then painted the cats some and with the direct selection tool, filled areas with different shades of black, greys and whites. I know there are artifacts all over the place but I am moving ahead and will repair the image later.  I hope this does not bother people too much.

this is how it looks on products: Dude-web

animals, fantasy illustration, Illustrations, Odd Little Stories, thoughts behind the work

Cat clouds good night

Michele B. Naquaiya

cat-clouds-heart-th

Have you ever lost something and found it a long time later? Well, here’s one cat I remember drawing way back in 2004.  I found this little guy in a zip file that somehow got saved from disaster.  So I know he’s not very well drawn but this art came at a time in my life when I almost died.  I was recovering from major surgery and was trying to remember who I was as I had lost a lot of my memory.

I remember sitting in a little travel trailer and painting these little cats by the hundreds. I painted some on wood and some on paper. Most were just simple watercolors no bigger than 6 square inches.  I did some on scratchboard too.   Some survived.  They helped me clear my head, get my bearings and be optimistic for the future.  I love cats and this therapy did work.

Eventually a lot of my memory came back but I still don’t know what day or month it is most of the time.  My friends are very patient with me.

Here is the little guy on some products.

animals, dogs, horses, cats, Illustrations, Pen and Ink Drawing

My Itsy-Bitsy Spider, version 2

Michele B. Naquaiya

spider0color-cat-th.

I am having so much fun with this itsy-bitsy spider, I designed a 2nd version.  This one has the equally funky cat with some odd colors and another point of view.  I am partial to the way he appears on devices and kids’ t-shirts.

Take a look here to see him on a product and with a dark background.

once again, here’s the nursery rhyme:

The itsy-bitsy spider
Went up the water spout.
Down came the rain
And washed the spider out.
Out came the sun
And dried out all the rain.
And the itsy-bitsy spider
Went up the spout again.

 

animals, dogs, horses, cats, fantasy illustration, Illustrations, Pen and Ink Drawing, thoughts behind the work

Itsy Bitsy Spider and Cat

Michele B. Naquaiya

itsybitsyspider-th

Babies and kids fall for it when you make a crawling motion with your fingers over their sweet little bodies.  They laugh and anywhere from 4 to 6 months will make you a hit.

The itsy-bitsy spider
Climbed up the water spout
Down came the rain
And washed the spider out
Out came the sun
And dried up all the rain
And the itsy-bitsy spider
Climbed up the spout again

Then there is the never-to-grow up child like myself who still likes to play.  I am playing here with fonts and how they relate to the subject matter. This sweet font is Segoe Print.

Click the link to purchase on various products