Baby You Were Born This Way!

Face it.  Some folks weren't walking around like ordinary citizens and then suddenly became divas.  Well . . . not most folks.

Typically, the title is earned through blood, sweat, and tears.  Or . . . it's genetic.  You're born with the title by default by diva royalty.

Although even that's not always a given.

Madonna's daughter Lourdes = Diva.  Cher's daughter Chastity now Chaz Bono = not so much.

You know who I'm talking about.  They're not quite the little girls in those pageants you see wearing makeup heavier than tiaras.

They're more like the girls that run around in tutus with magic wands and tiaras when it's not Halloween.

They brush their hair back alot like a shampoo commercial.

They're fussy about their clothes matching.  They have enough baby dolls and Barbies to have stock in Mattel.

And despite all this, they can beat up boys if provoked.

Yes.  THOSE little girls.

They're genetic predisposition is "diva."  They're wired that way from embryos.  But "diva" is such an adult label.  And we all want these precious little darlings to stay little and adorable as long as possible.

So to that end, we bestow upon them another title until they've graduated to "Diva".  It's age appropriate.  Yet it gets the same message across.

It's 'Princess' - the perfect title before graduating to diva royalty.

Doodle Divas Logo Zebra Stripes 1

Apparently, zebra stripes are all the rage. That little piece of info gave me an idea. And that little idea gave me a print.

Don't worry! No animals were harmed in the making of this print! ;-)

Thank You Mr. Disney!

I'm a big classic Disney animation fan. A lot of my inspiration is derived from the whimsical designs found in Disney cartoons like 'Cinderella' and 'Sleeping Beauty.'

This is based on an idea that randomly popped in my head several weeks ago. I wanted to incorporate some 'magic' and really capture the spirit of whimsy, fairy tales and stardust. 

I wanted it to capture the spirit of my 'Ball Gown' illustration but kick it up a notch. Here's the result:

'Magic Ball Gown' was an uber hit! I live for creations like her. The feeling of joy and inspiration she gives me when I look at her is why I draw.

Mission accomplished! :-)

My Logos Have Logos

So I actually have several logos.  The initial one was too fussy and difficult to repeat.  The next one was too vanilla.  The next one was too much.


Don't get me wrong.  Logos can be quite fun. I learned quickly that less is more with logos. 


l went through a few ideas before I settled on this one. Everyone else agrees. 

It's the angle. It adds interest.  Angles, curves and askew perspectives are much more compelling. 


Simplicity, minimalism, and starkness are more memorable than fussy images with too much going on.


It's like the classic 'little black dress'.  To be so little it certainly says so darn much!  ;-) 

No Princess

Doodle Divas are ironic creatures as well. Sure their gorgeous and powerful. But what fun would it be if they took themselves so seriously, they were caught off guard with reality?

Take this poor girl. All her life, her Mom and Dad have referred to her as 'Princess.' A lot of little girls get the same pet name.

This little girl was shocked to find out it was just an endearing term. She isn't REALLY a princess!??

I'm guessing she was on the verge of graduating high school and assumed a huge dowry or something. Imagine THAT dinner conversation!

Awkward.

Red or Red?

This whole Doodle Divas thing is a series of lessons, mistakes, interruptions, and surprises, (good, bad, ugly and indifferent).


Something as simple as a single spot of color can turn things topsy turvy.  In this case, the color red.  


Holy red lipstick Batman!


Ideally I just wanted the Doodle Divas to have a spot of red - their lips.  Then punctuation really seemed to help things pop as well.  I went to get my first print.


Loved it.


Between that printing and the next, I had changed drawing applications.  I go to get my next prints.


Hated it.


Not the printer's fault.  


Here's why:

Notice how the shades of red are completely different?  

I call the red on the left, Dried Blood Red.   The red on the right is, Bright Cherry Red.  The new app I chose used the cherry red.  

I love the Bright Cherry Red.  So I changed shades.  Don't worry if you have the Dried Blood Red before I switched shades.

It'll be worth more than the current shade since it'll be way rare to find an original with that shade.

Anyhoo . . . lesson learned.  

One lesson down. 

MANY, Many, many more lessons to go I'm sure.

And that's OK.  :-)

Doodle Diva Ball Gown

I had an idea germinating of gorgeous ladies illustrated in black and white except for their red lips. I was also inspired to try something with different pen widths. 

This is the result. And now, of all the Doodle Diva incarnations I've done thus far, it's this lone lady dancing in a ball gown that continues to steal the show and sell the most. 

She was also my very first "Doodle Divas" sale. I think she represents what Doodle Divas are all about - fun, graceful, elegant, classy . . . Princess.

The varied pen widths and opacity give the illusion of movement - perfect for the look of dancing. And the look of fullness, depth and texture - perfect for giving her ball gown a full, pouffy, fun and romantic look.