about
sketches+studies
unfinished doodles
heads+humans
drawings from life
pixels+paint
'finished' pieces
points+paths
vector illustrations
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everything else
Story Sketches
crowdfunded illustration
Sketchfest
a monthly sketch jam
Picture Books
storytime!
commission me
get a story sketch
buy a print
Welcome to the online home of story artist Marika Purisima — better known as Meeks.
I hope that you'll enjoy your stay. :) Follow the links on the right to browse examples of my art, learn a little about me and my work, and find out how you can get involved in my ongoing projects!
Lorelei has a Dream. Help us share it with you!
latest art posts:
status: failing to stay on-task
First, here's the Portrait Adoption piece I mentioned last night:
It's not visible to the public yet, but those of you with PA accounts should be able to see it if you login. I've got another portrait half done, and a third one planned by the end of the month.
My task for today was supposed to be finishing up this picture of Jiro, Hippo-Birdy, and Lorelei to send out with the kickstarter update I'm planning to e-mail tomorrow. I haven't done that (yet! I will get to it!) Instead, I got started on it, and then thought to myself "It would be really useful to have a 3D model of that dragon mask to use as reference..."
Whups.
Out came the fimo...and away went my work day, so instead of a finished illustration, I now have this (apologies for the grainy phone pic):
And I wonder why my to-do list never shrinks. :P comments
Update: Lorelei has a Dream
The Kickstarter project for Lorelei has a Dream has now raised $2931, from 62 backers. Sincere thanks to everyone who has pledged so far, and to everyone who has helped spread the word! We still have $6069 to go, and 19 days to do it in so please keep sharing the link!
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Status and sketchfest
This may sound a bit silly coming out of a SketchFest weekend, but I feel like I haven't been very productive lately. It might just be because so much of my time has been filled with things that aren't art, or maybe it's just that many of the projects I have planned right now are self-directed rather than collaborative. Actually, that's probably what it is...the need to communicate when other people are involved in a project gives it a sense of urgency and makes it feel more like 'work', no matter how much I enjoy it. Oh Brain...*sigh*
I managed to do eight pieces for SketchFest 23 (without losing any sleep this time!) That brings my total for the month up to 20, so it's not like I haven't accomplished anything. :P 
prompt: Flying cat, with halo
prompt: turtle vs hare
prompt: keeping warm
prompt: Grumbly Bear
prompt: Bark
prompt: "no, really!! I'm a dragon!!"
prompt: zebra in a herd of cows
prompt: Combine "monster" and "house slippers" comments
status, with art!
I really love that SketchFest has been extended to 48 hours. It keeps me from panicking if I can't get started on it right away. ^.^ I'm getting a late start this time because I wanted to get this done from the last session before starting a new batch:
I'm back home now, with no plans to leave again until April, so it's back to regularly scheduled posting for the next couple of months! I've got plenty of stuff to catch up on, but if you have any new prompts you've been holding on to, feel free to post them!
Project update:
The kickstarter campaign for Lorelei has a Dream is at nearly a third of it's $9000 goal, after one week. Many thanks to everyone who has backed the project so far! Reminder: I am offering bonus Lorelei sketches to readers of my blog who pledge $35 or more. Just PM or e-mail to let me know who you are. We still have a long way to go, so please keep boosting the signal! comments
Lorelei has a Dream. Help me share it with you! :)
Regular visitors to mikaspace may recognize Lorelei the bespectacled bibliophile hedgehog. The first story book featuring the prickly little heroine has been available as a pdf ebook for awhile, but after several months of planning, ![[livejournal.com profile]](http://s.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif){kind=small}
ego_sideways and I have begun a kickstarter campaign in the hope of funding a print edition.
We're happy to offer rewards to all our backers, including e-books (which will soon be available in iBooks and Kindle Fire compatible versions), signed first editions, Lorelei puppets, custom artwork, and author readings! Readers of my blog who pledge $35 or more can get a bonus Lorelei doodle if you PM or e-mail to let me know who you are!
Dreamwidth won't let me embed a video without a paid account, so please click on the cover image for more info:
For those of you who prefer to try before you buy, you can also read the complete story online at http://www.edstbooks.com !
Feedback and signal boosting are greatly appreciated, so please check it out, even if you can't afford to donate! comments
status and sketchfest
I will be boarding a plane later tonight to go visit my family, and will be returning on Jan 18. As usual, I will be bringing my laptop, but I may be a bit slower to respond to messages due to the presence of live people.
The 48-hour SketchFest was quite a success! I did 12 paintings for it — enough to make up for missing last month. Coat of Arms has already sold, so I'll be cleaning it up to print, and copies of all the others are available through the SketchFest site.
prompt: Coat of Arms
prompt: Tomboy turned princess
prompt: hot babe in fancy ball dress
prompt: umbrella spirit (karakasa)
prompt: Sometimes you have to kiss more than one frog, to find your prince. =D
prompt: At odds: Flapper in a Corset 
prompt: Shopping Centaur
prompt: A Caterpillar, scared of heights...
prompt: The giant's sneaky dragon trap
prompt: Flower Eaters
prompt: The Furry Thief
prompt: Two centaurs pulling a wagon
In case you missed it, I did a guest post at ![[community profile]](http://s.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
poetree On Illustrating Poetry on Friday last week, with some commentary on each of the poem-based Story Sketches I've done so far. Comments on this post will be counted toward this week's icon draw! (Which I'm postponing for a couple of days since I didn't give you any art to comment on until now. :P)
Signal boost!
Thecrowdfunding community is seeking nominations in six categories for this year's Rose & Bay awards. If you know of any great crowdfunding projects, feel free to suggest them! Personally, I'd love to see more people and projects from outside lj/dreamwidth get involved in this!Speaking of crowdfunding,
![[personal profile]](http://s.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
aldersprig has a new idea for a project involving mini-stories on postcards!ariestess 's monthly one-card-draw is open for a couple more hours (until 8PM PST). She's got a few decks to choose from, and donors are entered into a draw for a more in-depth reading.Updates from my own projects:
My Inkling fundraiser is now at 40%! Thanks to all who have contributed so far! :)
Story Sketches tips: $10
lorelei hedgehog wishes you a
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Signal boost! Hallelujah Dreaming: Improvised Singing by J.J Hunter
jjhunter has released an album of recordings from her Hallelujah Dreaming: Improvised Singing project as a holiday gift! She has a lovely voice, so do check it out. :)
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story sketch: aurora's world
Aurora leads her best friend, Crown Prince Harrison, out of the forest to a scenic, secluded area near the border, where they can safely discuss magic — an ability they both had the misfortune to inherit, in a country where such powers are illegal, and punishable by exile. This particular scene is from the first part of Trust, which I had the privilege of reading when I adopted Aurora as part of kajones_writing's audience driven writing project.
This picture is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License, and may be freely used under the terms of that license with a link back to mikaspace.net Please see terms of use for details.
Feedback and contributions of any amount are greatly appreciated :)
Pre-order an ink sketch, and help me buy an Inkling!
Wacom (the company that made the graphics tablet I use for all the art you see here) is releasing an exciting new product called the Inkling. It's a ballpoint pen with a sensor that captures a digital likeness of sketches made on paper.
I know that several of you have asked about buying original sketches from me, but I've been unable to offer them because...well, because they don't exist. Drawing with an Inkling would change that! I'd be able to start on paper without losing all the advantages of working digitally.
Like any tool, the Inkling costs money, so I am taking pre-orders for sketches to pay for it!
Here's what I'm offering:
| $5 - | ACEO-sized or 3 x 3 inch ink sketch + digital likeness |
| $10 - | 5 x 7 inch ink sketch + digital likeness |
| $20 - | A4 or letter-sized ink sketch + digital likeness |
The Inkling itself costs $200(US), and (assuming it's available by then) I'll order one and start sketching once this amount is reached. There are sure to be other fees involved, though, (shipping, paypal, etc) so I'll leave this open, and if I manage to collect $250 before I fill the first batch of sketch requests, I'll also do 72dpi coloured versions of everyone's pictures!
N.B. Wacom is just starting to fill US pre-orders for the Inkling on Amazon, and I'm not sure when it will be available in Canada. This means that you may have to wait awhile before I am able to fill any sketch requests. On the plus side, if you want a sketch, but you just can't afford it right now, there is time!
Click to get an
story sketch: igor's creature
This sketch is based on a poem by ysabetwordsmith that retells the story of Frankenstein's monster from the point of view of the doctor's long-suffering assistant, Igor.
This picture is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License, and may be freely used under the terms of that license with a link back to mikaspace.net Please see terms of use for details.
Click to sponsor this sketch and support the artist!
Feedback and contributions of any amount are greatly appreciated :)
All artwork on this site is the property of Marika "Meeks" Purisima and may be freely shared under the terms of a creative commons attribution-noncommercial-noderivs 3.0 unported license unless otherwise specified.
