etegami gifts

If you're looking for unique holiday gifts for the important people in your life, don't forget to take a peek at the collection of etegami housewares in my Zazzle shop. I remove items and add new items regularly, so if you don't find what you have in mind, ask me to make a new listing for you. Zazzle regularly offers limited-time discount codes on various groups of products, so keep an eagle eye on their site to catch yourself a good deal.

research for the year of the sheep

preparing for the year of the sheep

The November issue of Gekkan Etegami (etegami magazine; published by the Japan Etegami Society) is arguably the best issue of the year. It has thirty to forty pages more than the ordinary issues, and it is always features the Oriental zodiac animal of the coming new year. This month, they have some 50 (50!!) pages like this one, jam-packed with etegami that readers have created to celebrate New Year 2015, the Year of the Sheep/Goat.

This year I will be using the sheep motif for both my 2014 Christmas cards and my 2015 New Year cards. I'm so excited I'm like a small child that can't stop wiggling in his seat during church or at a concert. One reason I'm excited is that the year of the sheep is MY year. I was born in the year of the sheep xx years ago, and that is one of the many reasons why I'm rather fond of the animals. Plus, sheep are a lot easier to draw than horses or dragons, don't you think?

digital downloads

I've decided to add high-resolution digital downloads to my Etsy shop. This means customers can download selected etegami directly from my shop and print the image on their own printers multiple times for a variety of artsy-craftsy uses that do NOT include resale. Shown here is the first image I've listed for digital downloading. I will be adding more images soon. They are available at a nearly-give-away price (and, of course, no shipping charges or waiting!) to the first five customers, on condition that those customers send me feedback on the experience to help me improve the product and service.

illustration friday (trouble)

illustration friday (octopus)