Stephanie O'Brien's Blog

Speedpaint: Designing Kivara the Charishi Kitten (Narrated)

12/6/2022

In this speedpaint, I'm designing Kivara the Charishi kitten, a chaotic little member of a feline species in my fantasy short story and upcoming novel, Upholding the Covenant.

While I design her, I'll be sharing cute and funny Kivara moments, new facts about Charishi culture and biology, and insights into how the jock baby's friendship with nerd ambassador Orennian developed.

You can read Kivara and Orennian’s short story for free here.

To get this artwork on physical items, visit my stores at RedBubble and Society6.

Speedpaint: Designing Kivara the Charishi Kitten

9/4/2022

Remember that concept art for Kivara I recently shared? If you want to see what my drawing process looks like in fast forward, while listening to music that's far prettier than the early stages of the drawing were, here's the speedpaint!

If you haven't read Kivara's story yet, you can read Upholding the Covenant here.

If you want to support the development of a novel starring Kivara, and to get early access to completed stories, art and videos, please consider joining my inner circle on Patreon.

And if you just want to thank me for my work, you can leave a one-time tip on Ko-fi.

Sea of Violet Snowflakes Speedpaint

9/5/2021

I decided to do something a bit different with this one; while my previous videos were pretty much all done in real time, the snowflake-drawing part of this video is double speed, and the background-drawing part is even faster.

Otherwise it would've been over 20 minutes long; I lost track of time while drawing snowflakes, haha.

I'd love to get some feedback: do you like it when the video is sped up like this, or would you prefer that I go back to the original speed? You can send the feedback via my contact page, or as a comment on this blog post.

After the video was made, I decided to make the background a bit darker, so the snowflakes would stand out more. So if the finished product looks different from the one in the video, that's why.

To get early access to future videos, join my inner circle on Patreon.

To learn how to draw symmetrical artwork like this, watch my art tutorial on SkillShare.

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

To see the products with this pattern on Society6, check out this art print, then scroll down to where it says "More featuring this artwork".

Music credits:

Flickering
By VYEN (YouTube Audio Library)

Pixelated Autumn Leaves
By Jeremy Blake (YouTube Audio Library)

Indigo
By Eveningland (YouTube Audio Library)

Dreaming in 432Hz
By Unicorn Heads (YouTube Audio Library)

You can see all the individual snowflakes with the darkened, wavy background by clicking "read more".

Burst of Burgundy Blossoms: 10 Minutes of Drawing Symmetrical Art While Dramatic and Peaceful Music Plays

23/4/2021

It’s about time I made another symmetrical pattern-drawing video. This time I wanted to try a more floral twist on my usual snowflake patterns.

If you want to see how Burst of Burgundy Blossoms was drawn, or if you just want to watch something pretty and relax, then sit back and enjoy 11 minutes of soothing symmetrical artwork set to slow, dramatic music.

To get early access to future videos, join my inner circle on Patreon.

To learn how to draw symmetrical artwork like this, watch my art tutorial on SkillShare.

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

To see the products with this pattern on Society6, check out this art print, then scroll down to where it says "More featuring this artwork".

Music credits:

It Happens
By Doug Maxwell/Media Right Productions (YouTube Audio Library)

Turning Slowly
By Ugonna Onyekwe (YouTube Audio Library)

Lonely Troutman II
By William Rosati (YouTube Audio Library)

True Art Real Affection
By Noir Et Blanc Vie (YouTube Audio Library)

Flickering
By VYEN (YouTube Audio Library)

How to Draw Semi-Realistic Fire

24/10/2020

I was recently asked how I draw the semi-realistic fire in my webcomic, so I made a quick tutorial.

Snowflake-Drawing Montage: Silver Forest Flakes

15/5/2020

I thought silver snowflakes on a dark green background would look elegant, so I decided to try it.

You can see the drawing process in this video, set to peaceful music:

MUSIC CREDITS:

Final Reckoning
By Asher Fulero (YouTube Audio Library)

Meadow
By Density & Time (YouTube Audio Library)

Gently, Onwards
By ELPHNT (YouTube Audio Library)

Escape
By Eveningland (YouTube Audio Library)

Tiny Spaceship
By Mike Relm (YouTube Audio Library)

You can see the individual snowflakes, and get the links to my art tutorial and physical products, by clicking "Read More".

Snowflake-Drawing Montage: "Gilded Space Snowflake"

21/4/2020

I wanted to do a space-themed snowflake-drawing montage, and I ended up basing the color scheme on the Undertale AU "Outertale".

Due to having two colors on each snowflake, this ended up being the longest montage I've ever done.

Music credits:

Intro:

Etherial Choir Ascends
By Doug Maxwell/Media Right Productions (YouTube Audio Library)

The rest of the video:

Psychic Need
By Chasms (YouTube Audio Library)

Aurora Currents
By Asher Fulero (YouTube Audio Library)

Sunstroke
By Geographer (YouTube Audio Library)

Stranger Danger
By Francis Preve (YouTube Audio Library)

The Long Voyage To Outer Space
By Sir Cubworth (YouTube Audio Library)

Fall Colors
By ann annie (YouTube Audio Library)

Metamorphosis
By Quincas Moreira (YouTube Audio Library)

A Stranger Thing
By Bruno E. (YouTube Audio Library)

I'm torn between the gilded and ungilded versions of the snowflakes - I like them both - so I decided to share all of them.

You can see the individual snowflakes, and get the links to my art tutorial and physical products, below the cut.

Snowflake-Drawing Montage: "Drifting Snowflake, Gentle Rain"

7/4/2020

I found some soft, sad, beautiful songs, and I wanted to make a snowflake-drawing montage that would fit with them. So I created a rainy, misty background, and used vivid but gentle shades of blue for this snowflake series.

I also added rain and thunder sounds to the video, to help complete the mood.

Music credits:

Intro:

Etherial Choir Ascends
By Doug Maxwell/Media Right Productions (YouTube Audio Library)

The rest of the video:

A Quiet Thought
By Wayne Jones (YouTube Audio Library)

We'll Meet Again
By Jeremy Blake (YouTube Audio Library)

Renunciation
By Asher Fulero (YouTube Audio Library)

Aletheia (Unforgetting)
By Devon Church (YouTube Audio Library)

Sicilian Breeze
By Topher Mohr and Alex Elena (YouTube Audio Library)

Below the cut, you can see the snowflakes I drew in the montage.

Frosted Sky: 12 Minutes of Drawing Snowflakes While Peaceful Music Plays

4/4/2020

My last snowflake-drawing video got such a positive reception on YouTube that I was motivated to make another. :) This time I made the background slightly more intricate, and included the process of drawing the gold decorations in the video.

Music credits:

Intro:

Etherial Choir Ascends
By Doug Maxwell/Media Right Productions (YouTube Audio Library)

The rest of the video:

Djinn
By Francis Preve (YouTube Audio Library)

Synth Wind
By Geographer (YouTube Audio Library)

Into the Sky
By Jeremy Blake (YouTube Audio Library)

Reconciliation
By Asher Fulero (YouTube Audio Library)

Below the cut, you can see the snowflakes I drew in the montage.

Frozen Zephyr: 10 Minutes of Drawing Snowflakes While Peaceful, Dramatic Space Music Plays

28/3/2020

It's been some time since I did a snowflake-drawing montage, and I was getting the urge to do it again.

With COVID-19 forcing so many people into quarantine, I also felt a pull as an artist to offer those who are trapped in their homes a bit of escape and entertainment.

So if you want a relaxing way to pass the time, click the video player below to watch beautiful snowflakes taking shape while peaceful, dramatic space music plays.

Music credits:

Etherial Choir Ascends
By Doug Maxwell/Media Right Productions (YouTube Audio Library)

Ladybug
By Jeremy Blake (YouTube Audio Library)

Space Trooper
By DivKid (YouTube Audio Library)

TENFOLD
By Density & Time (YouTube Audio Library)

Below the cut, you can see the snowflakes I drew in the montage.