Challenge 144: 10 Years, Looking Forward: Coffee Breaks
I wanted to depict a calm moment, where we’re both happy, healthy, safe, and just better versions of our current selves. I’d like to think I’ll get better at giving myself time off and not feeling guilty for it. That we won’t have to schedule time to hang out because I’ve convinced myself I need to work every moment of every day. Here’s to hoping in 10 years, I’ll have perfected my work/ life balance.
In general, I’m pretty sure my partner Greg (They/Them) will have better hair and make-up skills then I ever will!
Speaking of hair, at the rate I’m greying, there’s no way I won’t be a silver fox by then (Finally achieving my hair goals without the assistance of bleach) ;D
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♡ Graduated from SCAD in 2011.
♡ I’m currently freelance: Mainly working on private commissions, followed by comic covers, and comic pin-ups.
♡ I’m hopeful that in ten years time that my current situation will flip. That the majority of my freelance work will be covers/ pin-ups, with just a few private pieces here and there. OH, and that I’ll have about 20 cats XD
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It’s not lost on me how incredibly lucky I am to have had Square Carousel in my life these past 10 years. It’s allowed me to grow as a person and as an artist. Pushing me to illustrate things that weren’t necessarily in my wheel house and broadening my visual language. I had to take a few work related breaks through out the years, but I always looked forward to the day I got to jump back in and get to work with my fellow members/friends.
As silly as it sounds I don’t really think I can properly articulate how much love and admiration I have for my fellow members (especially the admins/ ESPECIALLY Caitlin). They’ve been a rock in my life when I needed it the most (whether they know it or not). ♡
Lastly, a big thank you to all the people who supported S.C. through out the past 10 years! Whether you’re a former member, an amazing guest artist who contributed, or just someone who’s liked our work, it has meant the world to us!
Here we are at the end, our final interview! Fittingly, we’re capping it off with Elizabeth Beals, the other long standing member who has stuck around since Square Carousel’s very beginning. While Elizabeth’s signature style has remained instantly recognizable from Challenge 1 through Challenge 143 and counting, her skills have undoubtedly blossomed over the past decade. Today, we’re catching up with our resident long haul Square Carousel member, admin, and comics professional, Elizabeth Beals!
Emma Frost
Q: Even though your art style is beautifully consistent, your work still stays fresh with each new challenge. What are the biggest aesthetic changes you notice in your work when you compare your most recent pieces to your graduation portfolio?
A: I haven’t looked at my graduation portfolio in a hot minute, it’s pretty wild seeing how far I have come. I’ve gotten better at compositions/ I’ve leaned into cooler, more saturated palettes/ have a better use of textures/ and I also don’t force myself to create a full bleed illustration if it’s not completely necessary to get the story across.
Elizabeth’s workspace
Q: Has your art making process changed at all during your post college years?
A: Oh yeah, definitely!
In college I would thumbnail/ flesh out the comp at scale with normal mechanical pencil/ ink with a 005 micron/ erase the under drawing/ scan in the piece/ clean up in Photoshop/ then color until completion.
Whereas I now thumbnail/ scan in the one I like/ format and print it out at a larger scale (in light blue)/ go back over the print with a blue pencil to refine details/ ‘ink’ it with a extra fine mechanical pencil/ scan it back in/ clean up in photoshop/ and then color until completion.
And if we want to do an even deeper dive we can look at the ‘Color until Completion’ portion.
In college I would create a top layer, which was always the scan/line art set to multiply, and then I would place the coloring layers beneath it. I was just getting into textures and color holds so they were pretty crude but it was nice that I was still fussing with them.
I currently use the same process as a base but I’ve also started painting on top of the line art (like, A LOT), using overlays, adjustments, effects, and more.
Glitter Hearts
Q: What’s been your favorite professional project to work on?
A: Mmmmm, I think this one’s a tie for me, the first one would be my cover run on Star Trek: TNG - Terra Incognita. It was my first cover run and the writers/ editors I got to work with were a complete and total dream. They whipped up some pretty fun concepts and I really got to stretch my art muscles for it. Plus the Ice cream I designed for issue one got worked into the story, so having a cannon ice cream design is pretty dang neat.
The second would be my first OGN, Virtually Yours, with writer Jeremy Holt! It’s been a project that we’ve had waiting in the wings since 2015 and got to revamp for ComiXology Originals in 2020. It was the largest project I’ve ever worked on and it was such a tough/ joyous/ and complete learning experience for me. I was glad to have an amazing team of people to work with and you should deff check it out if you haven’t already ;D [Link to Virtually Yours on Comixology]
Virtually Yours cover
Q: Any non-art hobbies?
A: Baking / Cooking/ Trying out new recipes! *Chef’s Kiss* Just chilling outside in general/ soaking up some sun ( as a former So. Cal girl I miss the high/ dry heat.) Binge watching trash T.V.
Q: Tea, coffee, or hot chocolate?
A: I love all three dearly but coffee wins, hands down.
Q: What’s a career goal you have for the next decade?
A: Pretty broad but I would love to get to a place where I become less dependent on private/ personal commissions and focus more on Comic Covers and Pin-up work.
She Hulk
Q: Do you have a favorite superhero?
A: Short answer, no. However, I can provide a short list of some of my faves: Jubilee, Storm, Rogue, Spider-Man, Anya Corazon (Spider-Girl), Spider-Gwen, Mystique, and I’m gunna end it there before I just keep rambling.
Q: What’s one thing you wish more people knew about you or your work?
A: One fun thing about me/ my work is that my love of drawing hair came from wanting to create Cammy White (Street Fighter) fan art. With braids as long as her’s you gotta take your time and learn to draw them right! XD
Q: While working, do you prefer to watch tv, movies, listen to music, or sit in silence? Any recommendations for background media?
A: Definitely a TV series or movie, preferably something I’ve already seen (less potential to distract me). I always end up falling back on older shows like Murder She Wrote or Midsomer Murders, basically anything with a long syndication. When I was working on Virtually Yours though I would have HBO’s Gentleman Jack on. It’s a newer series with only one season but it served as a good timer/ work schedule for me.
Star Trek TNG: Terra Incognita (issue 6)
Q: If you could choose one character from the Star Trek universe to befriend, who would it be and why?
A: To avoid getting too crazy, I think I’m gunna limit myself to TNG (plus I have the most knowledge of that series) and go with Guinan. She’s wise beyond her years (if you could believe that), funny, empathetic, resourceful, and makes a mean drink! And not to break the 4th wall or anything, but it’s freakin’ Whoopi Goldberg!!! ;D
Elizabeth herself
Q: Excellent choice! Anything else you would like the readers to know?
A: Just that y’all are fantastic and we appreciate all the love and support you’ve shown us over that last 10 years! Thanks for letting us go out on a high note!
P.S. Stay safe. Stay healthy. And get vaccinated <3
You heard her folks! Thanks so much to Elizabeth for sharing her answers, and to you, dear readers, for getting to know us all at the Square Carousel Collective these past years. Check out Elizabeth’s website, and follow her on Tumblr, Twitter and Instagram for fresh art as soon as it drops!
Thinking about crisp nights where I’d bundle up, lay in a truck bed, and just stare up at the sky. If I didn’t blink I may spot a star or two shooting across the midnight abyss, and make a wish 🌟
Challenge 139: Illustrated Info: What Makes a Magical Girl (Sakura Kinomoto)
When I initially landed on this concept I wasn’t sure if I wanted to make it a super generic magical girl guide or get specific with it. As time went on though I totally gave in and went with my absolute favorite, Sakura Kinomoto. 🌸
Once that was decided the only difficult part was choosing which costume/ outfit I’d use XP
First of all, mad props to Sayada! This was such a fun, well thought out game/concept that I truly enjoyed working on.
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Being me, I jumped at the opportunity to create some character cards: the Critic (Mandy) and Chef (Lyn). In addition to creating these portraits I loved getting to come up with the little side stories and stats for each, it really nailed down the designs for me.
P.S. Game devs, get at Sayada! We need to make this concept a reality! ;D
Challenge 136: Fairy Tale Swap: The Enchanted Maiden
So excited that I got to collab with Caitlin on this challenge, her sketch was a dream to work from ( she knows I’m a sucker for portraits ;D ). The story she chose for me was a Portuguese fairy tale called “The Enchanted Maiden”. It’s a story of three sisters, marriage, shallowness, childbirth, magical blessings, and a young woman getting her eyes poked out along the way. Want to know how it ends? Check it out here!
Along with the story/ sketch, Caitlin also mentioned that she was going for a Florence Mary Anderson vibe (which I happily leaned into as much as possible). Here’s to hoping I did the story ( and Cailtin’s sketch) justice ✨
Growing up I always thought I was the year of the Dragon in the Chinese Zodiac (1988). In high school I decided to do a project on it, low and behold the year of the Dragon doesn’t actually start until February 17th in 1988, and I was born on the 16th, so your girl is actually a Rabbit (Fire Rabbit to be exact). 🔥🐰🔥
Had a little fun and did a modern/ Hanfu X Forever21 styling. Could use a little more detailing but I’m pretty happy with how it turned out.
I was over the moon when Marc told us he had chosen the #drawthisinyourstyle challenge! I’ve been following it for a while now, wanting to participate, but never really finding the time to actually create a piece. After rummaging through my extensive list of artists/ illustrations I finally landed on @anna-cattish‘s NANA! Such a fun and vibrant design, hoping I did her justice!!! 💕🐛💕
As someone who’s donated their hair several times, I can honestly say there’s nothing better! With a simple snip the weight you’ve been carrying for years is gone and you have the perfect opportunity to reinvent/ reevaluate yourself.
This was such a fun one for me! I wanted to try and convey that giddy, relieved, slap happy kinda feeling I tend o get from time to time. I originally had a much warmer, much pinker palette, but realized it was getting dangerously close to another piece of mine. That’s when I decided to cool it off / zoom in/ and focus on the expression/ feeling as much as possible!
With a theme like Uniform it was the perfect opportunity to draw one of my fav new characters, Stella Maris, from ‘The New World’. Showing her off in Guardian attire, I went with a bold red bg to pull from Tom Muller’s killer graphics/ dress for the comic covers themselves. I also tried to keep the coloring style as close to Heather’s as possible but I seriously couldn’t do it justice and ended up defaulting back to my safe place of over rendering XP
But seriously, this comic has such an amazing creative team it’s beyond ridiculous! Would definitely recommend picking up this series ✨🙌✨
