Stephanie O'Brien's Blog

Symmetrical Pattern: Spaceborne Orchid Snowflake

18/8/2019

I went into this pattern with basically no plan except for "purple snowflake on a red background".

As it turns out, that's garish. Eye-bleedingly garish.

So I replaced the red background with a deep blue, and used the red for something I haven't tried before: a snowflake behind the main snowflake, this time using "normal" mode for the brush instead of my usual "screen".

I wasn't sure I liked the way it looked until I experimented with lightening the sky a bit, and tried adding in the teal. It didn't really work as part of the sky, but I was surprised by how well it fit as part of the snowflake.

I still did end up brightening the sky, but subtly, with a faint dappling of lighter blue.

Here's what the pattern looks like when tiled:

If anything, I think this one actually looks better when tiled.

If you want to learn how to draw symmetrical patterns like this, I've got a handy tutorial for you here.

And if you want to wear this pattern or use it to decorate your home, it's available on coffee mugs, dresses, iPhone cases and more in my Society6 store and my RedBubble store.

Here's what it looks like on some of the available items:

You can see all the RedBubble items with this pattern here.

Society6 doesn't have a "view everything in this pattern" feature that I know of, so here are the links to the items in the picture above:

Tote Bags
Wall Clocks
Throw Pillows
Comforters
Notebooks
Hand & Bath Towels
Dresses
Skirts
Wall Tapestries
Coffee Mugs
Rectangular Pillows
Travel Mugs

Symmetrical Pattern: Onyx Beams of Flowers and Gems

12/8/2019

This was one of those patterns that stayed pretty close to its original concept, except for the part where it strayed at the outset.

I initially pictured a more fluid, chaotic spray of black streams, whose widths varied a bit more, with blue-white flowers in them and a sky-blue background. But I also wanted it to look good when tiled, which required keeping the streams the same width at the edges where they intersected.

The result was a simpler, more orderly pattern than I'd originally planned. The darker blue between the diamond shapes was an afterthought, once I got to the stage where the basics were done and I was tinkering to see what looked good.

Here's what it looks like when tiled:

It was designed primarily for how it would look as a tiled pattern on clothing, but I'm happy with how it looks on a variety of non-tiled items as well.

If you want to learn how to draw symmetrical patterns like this, I've got a handy tutorial for you here.

And if you want to wear this pattern or use it to decorate your home, it's available on coffee mugs, dresses, iPhone cases and more in my Society6 store and my RedBubble store.

Here's what it looks like on some of the available items:

You can see all the RedBubble items with this pattern here.

Society6 doesn't have a "view everything in this pattern" feature that I know of, so here are the links to the items in the picture above:

Tote Bags
Wall Clocks
Throw Pillows
Comforters
Notebooks
Hand & Bath Towels
Dresses
T-shirts
Wall Tapestries
Coffee Mugs
Rectangular Pillows
Skirts

3 Short Poems: "A Brief Life", "Our Hands", and "Betrayal Game"

7/8/2019

I participate in a variety of hashtag games on Twitter, and sometimes the prompts involve poetry or inspire a poem.

Today, I'd like to share three of my mini-poems that I especially like.

A Brief Life

The theme prompt for this one was "fireworks". None of my works in progress mention fireworks, but this poem came to mind, so I shared it. It could work for a firework, or for a life lived like one.

It shoots for the stars
Shining as if it were one of them
A brief life
At its apex, it blossoms
Into beauty, light and flame
Then it vanishes
Leaving only smoke
And fond memories
Of one who burned half as long
But more than twice as bright

Our Hands

This poem was inspired by my Undertale webcomic, Just Cause. The style is a departure from my usual approach; normally I try to avoid repeating words, but this time I decided to take a few repeating words and see how much I could do with them.

Violence of your hands
Forces the clock's hands
To stop and turn back

It's out of my hands
Future is in your hands
I must take it back

Hear the call
Fly the coop
Take the fall
Break the loop

While echoes of your hands
Far gentler than my hands
Lie soft on my back

Betrayal Game

This poem was inspired by my in-progress fanfiction for Don't Starve, called The Puppetmaster and the Shieldmaiden. It's the sequel to Four Times I Begged Them.

A game I can't win
Yet can't bear to lose
Should never have played

Reward for my sin
Rests on what she'll choose
After I betrayed

Trust she blindly gave
Ere I proved to be
Far less than she thought

And now she can save
Me and set me free
Or leave me to rot

Which of these poems is your favorite?
I'd love to hear from you in the comments!

3 New Designs: "Earthen Scales, Golden Streams", "Golden Diamonds, Rainbow Void", and "Rainbow Dapple"

6/8/2019

I went in a different direction with my latest piece of art; instead of a pattern, this one is more of a texture, designed more for the way it will look on items than the way it looks by itself.

It was inspired by the veined coral shell plates in Subnautica. Even though they're not a color scheme I'm normally attracted to, I still think they're gorgeous, and I wanted to see what they look like on physical items in a diamond pattern.

I kept the various elements on different layers, so I could play around with the color scheme. I thought it might look cool with a rainbow background and golden diamonds, so I tried that out and got this:

This is what the rainbow dapple looks like without the diamond pattern:

These patterns are available on coffee mugs, tapestries, pillows and more in my Society6 store and my RedBubble store.

Here's what "Earthen Scales, Golden Streams" looks like on some of the available items:

You can see all the RedBubble items with this pattern here. Since Society6 doesn't have a "view all items in this pattern" feature, here are the links to the items above:

Tote Bags
Wall Clocks
Throw Pillows
Comforters
Notebooks
Hand & Bath Towels
Dresses
iPhone Cases and Covers
Wall Tapestries
Coffee Mugs
Rectangular Pillows
Travel Mugs

And here's what those items look like with "Rainbow Dapple" and "Golden Diamonds, Rainbow Void":

Here are all the RedBubble links for "Golden Diamonds, Rainbow Void" and "Rainbow Dapple".

Here are the links to the items above:

Tote Bags
Wall Clocks
Throw Pillows
Comforters
Notebooks
Hand & Bath Towels
Dresses
iPhone Cases and Covers
Wall Tapestries
Coffee Mugs
Rectangular Pillows
Travel Mugs

Symmetrical Pattern: Frozen Floating Flower

28/7/2019

I wanted to do something simpler for my next pattern, so I went with a flower instead of a snowflake.

I originally planned to make the petals almost solid white, with dark blue markings on them and pointier green leaves behind them. But after a few brush strokes there was more lingering purple than I'd expected, and I liked the effect, so I kept it.

The pointy leaves looked OK, but they felt at odds with the rest of the picture, so I changed them to a more lily pad-like appearance to go with the watery background.

If you want to learn how to draw symmetrical patterns like this, check out my tutorial here. You'd be surprised how easy and relaxing it is!

This pattern is available on coffee mugs, tapestries, pillows and more in my Society6 store and my RedBubble store.

Here's what it looks like on some of the available items:

You can see all the RedBubble items with this pattern here.

Society6 doesn't have a "view everything in this pattern" feature that I know of, so here are the links to the items in the picture above:

Tote Bags
Wall Clocks
Throw Pillows
Comforters
Notebooks
Hand & Bath Towels
Shower Curtains
iPhone Cases
Wall Tapestries
Coffee Mugs
Rectangular Pillows
Travel Mugs

New Ocean Pattern: Symmetrical Sea

19/7/2019

I was recently looking over Mom's shoulder while she relaxed with a symmetrical pattern coloring book, and it inspired me to go in a completely different direction with my latest pattern.

This time, instead of using colors exclusively, I started with lineart:

And instead of making the entire pattern one coherent shape, I built it out of different interlocking shapes, all with an ocean/beach theme.

Then I colored it in, mostly using colors one would normally find on a beach, to make it easier to distinguish which element of the design is which.

I could see myself making a coloring book out of this kind of art, but I'm not going to commit to it at this point, since I've already got a few primary projects I've committed to, and I've learned to be cautious about how many different projects I tell myself/others I'm going to stick with at any given time, haha.

For now, you can download and color in a smaller version of the uncolored image, if that catches your fancy. Just be sure to credit me for the lineart with a link to this post if you publish it online.

Click the link below to download the .png file.

symmetrical_sea_outline_only_preview.png
File Size:	213 kb
File Type:	png

If you want to learn how to draw symmetrical patterns like this, check out my tutorial here.

This pattern is available on coffee mugs, tapestries, pillows and more in my Society6 store and my RedBubble store.

Here's what it looks like on some of the available items:

You can see all the RedBubble items with this pattern here. The lineart-only version is also available here.

Society6 doesn't seem to have a "view everything in this pattern" feature, so here are the links to the items in the picture above:

Tote Bags
Wall Clocks
Throw Pillows
Comforters
Notebooks
Hand & Bath Towels
Shower Curtains
T-shirts
Wall Tapestries
Coffee Mugs
Rectangular Pillows
Travel Mugs

And here are the links to the lineart-only versions of these products:

Tote Bags
Wall Clocks
Throw Pillows
Comforters
Notebooks
Hand & Bath Towels
Shower Curtains
T-shirts
Wall Tapestries
Coffee Mugs
Rectangular Pillows
Travel Mugs

New Symmetrical Pattern: Sea of Shining Seaweed

17/7/2019

I felt like doing another botanical snowflake pattern, this time with more of a marine theme. It ended up not looking much like a snowflake; I wanted it to look good when tiled, so I added a bunch of extra vines and leaves to the outer edges to make it connect nicely to adjacent tiles.

Here's what it looks like when tiled:

The slightly luminous yellow bulbs were inspired by the creepvines in the kelp forests of Subnautica. It also crossed my mind that the color scheme is reminiscent of Loki - probably because I was watching the first Avengers movie while I drew this, haha.

If you want to learn how to quickly and easily draw beautiful symmetrical patterns like this, check out my tutorial here.

This pattern is available on coffee mugs, tapestries, pillows and more in my Society6 store and my RedBubble store.

Here's what it looks like on some of the available items:

You can see all the RedBubble items with this pattern here.

Society6 doesn't have a "view everything in this pattern" feature that I know of, so here are the links to the items in the picture above:

Tote Bags
Wall Clocks
Throw Pillows
Comforters
Notebooks
Hand & Bath Towels
Shower Curtains
iPhone Cases
Wall Tapestries
Coffee Mugs
Rectangular Pillows
Travel Mugs

Two New Print-On-Demand Patterns: "Woven Vines of Silver and Life" and "Fat Women Should Wear..."

13/7/2019

I've been a busy girl this week! I published four subtraction art pieces and a new chapter of Just Cause, and today I just finished not one, but two new print-on-demand patterns.

The first is a bit of a departure from my usual snowflake patterns; my long-time friend and Patreon supporter, Mica, wanted a pattern with a lighter background, and requested a color scheme of white, teal and grey, preferably with a botanical theme.

She asked, I delivered, and here it is:

The concept for the snowflake came easily; I drew a woven snowflake pattern with a simple brush, then added leaves onto it.

The background, on the other hand, fought me every step of the way. I experimented with one thing after another, and they all looked wrong, until I tried this.

This pattern, "Woven Vines of Silver and Life", is available on coffee mugs, tapestries, pillows and more in my Society6 store and my RedBubble store.

Here's what it looks like on some of the available items:

You can see all the RedBubble items with this pattern here.

Society6 doesn't have a "view everything in this pattern" feature that I know of, so here are the links to the items in the picture above:

Tote Bags
Wall Clocks
Throw Pillows
Comforters
Notebooks
Hand & Bath Towels
Shower Curtains
iPhone Cases
Wall Tapestries
Coffee Mugs
Rectangular Pillows
Travel Mugs

The second picture is an even larger departure from my usual artwork.

It was inspired when a big, beautiful lady I follow on Twitter shared some pictures of herself posing in a tight, sexy outfit, stating that she was doing so in defiance of the claim that "fat women shouldn't wear tight, sexy clothing".

She absolutely ROCKED that outfit, and got my creative juices flowing. This was the result:

I was originally going to just cross out the "n't" in "shouldn't", but then I remembered that some BBWs don't want to wear tight clothing, and saying they "should" would just be another way of trying to control what they wear and how they look, so I changed it to "whatever makes them happy".

Also, I love how the red dress turned out, and I think the lady who inspired this picture would look fantastic in it.

If you want this body-positive message on your body or in your home, here are some of your options:

You can find all the RedBubble items with this artwork here.

And here are the Society6 links:

Tote Bags
Wall Clocks
Throw Pillows
Comforters
T-shirts
Hand & Bath Towels
Shower Curtains
iPhone Cases
Wall Tapestries
Coffee Mugs
Rectangular Pillows
Travel Mugs

New Art Series: Subtracting Night from Rainbows

5/7/2019

I recently watched a course on SkillShare called The Art of Subtraction. It teaches people how to draw background patterns and textures for their art, then give shape to their creation by erasing portions of it.

I've already used a similar method for pieces like "Chaotic Hearts", but the class gave me ideas for how to expand on the technique, so I decided to complete the class project - which is, create 3-5 pieces of artwork by subtracting from a drawing.

The result was this 3-part art series, "Subtracting Night from Rainbows".

Maid of Stars and Rainbows

Forest of Weeping Jewels

Butterflies and SnowFlowers

Full Collection + Drawing Process

To create these pictures, I started by making a black layer. Then I added a layer of color on top of it, then another black layer.

After that, I used the eraser to remove parts of the upper black layer, thus revealing the colors beneath in my chosen shapes.

In response to the course's recommendation, I also added layers, colors and shapes on top of the black layer, to add variety and interest. For example, the picture at the top of this post, "Maid of Stars and Rainbows", has stars added on top of her partly-erased black layer.

Because it was a quick experiment for an art class, I didn't draw it at full 8,000 by 8,000 resolution like I usually do for my print-on-demand pieces, so it isn't available on the full range of products, but you can get it on coffee mugs, journals, shower curtains and more in my Society6 and RedBubble stores.

In this case, I'd recommend RedBubble over S6, because it let me tile the image and thus add it to a wider variety of products and make it look better on them.

Here's what some of the available products look like:

For your convenience, here are the links:

Coffee mugs
Travel mugs
Cutting boards
Tote bags
Stationery cards
iPhone cases
iPhone skins
Canvas prints
Mini art prints
Throw pillows
Hardcover journals
Throw blankets
Shower curtains
Drawstring bags
Laptop skins

Touchpad Doodle Dump: Visit to the Grandparents Edition

27/6/2019

While I was visiting my grandparents this week, I showed them some of my symmetrical patterns, and they started making art requests. These are the results, and the stories that go with them:

Grandpa asked me to draw a deer, which I attempted here - the key word being "attempted", given the lack of references in their internet-free house and the fact that I was doodling quickly with a touchpad. The result is anatomically terrible, but still oddly pretty. It's red because that's the color Grandma requested.

This picture started with Grandpa asking what I'd draw if I was making the decal for a vehicle's door, and then it snowballed from there. It began with lightning on a purple gradient, and then my grandparents asked for mountains, clouds, and a cabin with the lights on.

Grandpa also implied, but did not confirm, that he wanted me to strike the cabin with lightning.

The third picture is Grandma's second-ever attempt at digital art. The touchpad gave her some trouble - she's never owned a TV, computer, or smartphone of any kind - but I encouraged her to keep trying and showed her three different ways to make the touchpad draw, then I took a break to go to the washroom.

While I was in there, the world outside the washroom turned into an audio comedy routine of delight, confusion and alarm. "Oh, it's doing it! Eeee! Oh, no, what did it do? Honey, where did it go? What did you do? Do that thing you did again."

By the time I left the bathroom, my grandparents had managed to accidentally zoom in to 9,000% magnification, they'd inadvertently opened a program I didn't even remember having on my computer, and Grandma had signed her name.

I am proud of her for continuing to try after her confusing and discouraging initial attempts to use the touchpad. Next time I visit, I'll try to remember to bring the mouse - maybe that will be easier for her.

Who knows - if I get her into digital art, she and Grandpa might even disprove my theory that they were going to go to their graves without ever owning a screen-bearing machine more complex than a phone with call display. :P It's never too late!