Santa Turtle Hard Enamel Pin Kickstarter

We're raising funds to produce limited edition hard enamel pins with an original illustrated Santa Turtle character design. The pins will be produced at 1.5" wide with a real jingle bell attachment. Other features include gold plating and backstamp. Each pin will be fixed with a green rubber clutch and come with a backing card on soft touch paper to evoke the warm and fuzzy mood of the season.

The campaign will end on November 4, 2021 so I can have time to produce, package, and ship out the pins in a timely manner for the holiday season. Santa Turtle is a jolly turtle who lives in the North Pole with Santa Claus providing encouragement to the working elves by ringing a bell to cheer the Christmas crew. The character first appeared in my comic strip, Curls.

I'm happy to pull out all the bells (and whistles?) with design features that challenge what a pin can be as wearable art or fashion accessory. The Santa Turtle pin makes a great gift for any fan of the holiday season -- it is a conversation starter and will also resonate with anyone who enjoys turtles, storytelling, fantasy, music, or nature.

Please consider a pledge to this Kickstarter and pass the limited edition opportunity on to your friends to spread the holiday jingle jangle! Thank you.

Pledge today: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/carolynbelefski/santa-turtle-enamel-pin

Cicada Hard Enamel Pin Kickstarter

We're raising funds to produce limited edition hard enamel pins with a modern original illustrated Periodical Cicada design. The pins will be produced at 1.5" tall with two red rhinestones to represent the cicada eyes. Other features include matte gold plating and translucent enamel for the wings. Each pin will be fixed with a brown rubber clutch and come with a backing card. The design portrays an hourglass shape of the body made with the overlapping wings that evokes time passage.  

The campaign launched last Wednesday and will go thru the month of June. I've been fascinated by cicadas ever since I was young and remember collecting their exoskeletons in a square plastic strawberry container at my grandparent's house. I also am fond of wearing them on my shirt as a cicada brooch -- and that is what inspired this creative project.

If you feel the need to wear a cicada all the time, then please pledge to the Kickstarter. We'd enjoy your support and fondness for this exciting insect. Please pass this limited edition opportunity on to your friends as well! Thank you.

Pledge today: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/carolynbelefski/cicada-enamel-pin

Brand Identity for Stable Hands

Before the year ends, I wanted to display a project I completed earlier this year – identity design for Stable Hands Pet Care and Services. This project included designing and arranging printing for business cards and letterhead, as well as their services chart.

Stable Hands provides mid-day dog walks, pet sitting, and overnight stay services. Lara is an expert on the farm and specializes in horses and horse show grooming (she even has a Bachelors of Animal Science to prove it).

The logo design incorporates hands in an uplift horseshoe for luck and protection with the profiles of a cat and dog inside. The colors are friendly, approachable, and professional.

Thank you Lara and David for the opportunity to work with you to create your brand and congratulations on becoming a new independent business. If you are looking for pet care in the Virginia Beach area, please consider http://www.stablehandspcs.com.

Available for Freelance Work
If you are interested in my illustration and/or design skills, please email Carolyn Belefski at info@curls-studio.com. View my portfolio: http://www.CarolynBelefski.com.

Recap: Comics Making Studio at Artisphere

On the evening of Thursday, September 12, 2013 Joe Carabeo and Carolyn Belefski collaborated on the chalkboard wall in the Works in Progress Gallery for their artist residency at "Comics Making Studio" exhibit at Artisphere in Arlington, Virginia.

For their experiment called "Animal Chronicles" Joe came up with an animal and an object, then Carolyn drew each combination on the wall - for example, Fox/Harmonica or Cat/Lawnmower. In about three hours, twenty combinations and sketches were created. Each drawing was only up for a brief time period, then erased over and a new sketch appeared in the same place on the chalk wall. Click on the photograph above to see an animated GIF of all the sketches and progress.

The exhibit space also featured original art for Magic Bullet, Washington, DC's comics newspaper. Attendees were also encouraged to create their own comic and had access to take the past two issues of Magic Bullet home with them.

Thanks to Matt Dembicki and Evan Keeling for organizing the show and thanks to Joe Carabeo for photographing the art.

For more photos, check out: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152090580037381.1073741841.50763422380&type=3

Commissioned Illustration for Child's Playroom

I was asked by a family to illustrate a young girl named Sophia playing with her dog, Bully, for a wall graphic in Sophia's playroom.

Here is a process sketch. I was able to work from photos of the girl and the dog.

And here is the final 46" x 72" graphic. Currently, the walls of the playroom are lime green.

I really like the illustration with a sky blue background and provided the client with that option as well. I told her we could also use the image for birthday parties or greeting cards.

Here is the illustration the client cut and designed to fit a goodie bag for Sophia's birthday party. I would love to design more custom wall graphics or party items!

Client Feedback
I loooooove it! It's great!!!

Available for Freelance Work
If you are interested in my illustration and/or design skills, please email Carolyn Belefski at info@curls-studio.com.

Guests on MOKA Podcast #29

Troy-Jeffrey Allen, Gene Green, and That Urban Punk invited Joe Carabeo and I to be guests on their podcast, The Menagerie of Kick-Assery.


For their 29th episode the theme was Hater's Ball and we each discussed four things we dislike. Take a listen at http://wearemoka.blogspot.com/2011/08/mokasst-029.html.

Fun times! Bonus points for learning what a Jiggaboo is.

And if you enjoyed this podcast, please check out Joe and I's podcast, The Carolyn & Joe Show.

CerebusTV and CBLDF eBay Auctions

CerebusTV asked me to do some art featuring Cerebus, an independent comic book, created by Dave Sim. The two pieces I created, which are up for auction now (ending 8PM EST on August 29, 2011), showcase Cerebus along with my own independent creations Curls and The Legettes. Curls is my comic strip which can be found online at http://www.curls-studio.com/curls about a gal named Curls who goes about her daily life getting into adventurous situations with her animal friends and a large slice of Toast. The Legettes is a comic book I co-created with writer Joe Carabeo about a group of burlesque dancers chosen to save the universe - think Cabaret meets Blade Runner.

The proceeds go to Cerebus TV and Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, which exists to fight censorship and defend the first amendment rights of comic book professionals throughout the United States.


One of the sketches is The Legettes with Cerebus - BID HERE: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Carolyn-Belefski-Curls-Dave-Sim-Cerebus-Original-Art-/270805025718?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f0d3cc3b6#ht_500wt_1246


The other is Curls with Cerebus - BID HERE: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Carolyn-Belefski-Curls-Dave-Sim-Cerebus-Original-Art-/220839143765?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item336b09e955#ht_500wt_1246

For more info on The Legettes: http://www.etsy.com/shop/cartooncarolyn?section_id=5946863

For more info on Curls: http://www.curls-studio.com/curls

Here is a video of all the other original art pieces included in this auction:


In addition, Joe and I were interviewed by CerebusTV at Baltimore Comic-Con, so stay 'tooned for that. Now is your chance to own some original art by me. Happy bidding!

Art for Aardvark Art Bazaar

I recently teamed up with Anthony Dihle from Fire Studio to produce screenprinted posters for The Harbor School's Aardvark Art Bazaar event. (You might remember my recent blog about a visit to Anthony's studio at Pleasant Plains Workshop.)


The client originally wanted an aardvark wearing leg warmers with a letter "A" similar to an alphabet card. So I drew that in my sketch concepts above. I also came up with another idea to have the aardvark surfing on a artist palette, so I decided to present that was well... and I'm happy to say they went with that for the final. I love concepting! I hope seeing the above sketch will give you a glimpse of my first steps when I design or illustrate a project.







I did the illustration and Anthony did the design. Last weekend Anthony printed all the posters at his studio. I hope you enjoy the process photos he took. It's really a treat. He did an amazing job!

Anthony says: It's a "seven" color screenprint in three layers. The second layer is a split fountain (color fade) of five different inks. A plop of each color is dropped on the screen and mixed progressively with each squeegee pass. The challenge wasn't so much mixing the five colors on the screen, but mixing each color so that it would have a similar amount of transparency over the dark background color, so that no color band stands out as too bold. It's 13"x21", printed on 80 lb. Cougar Opaque white.

Friday, March 11 is the 1st annual Aardvark Art Bazaar from 11AM to 4PM at The Harbor School. A fun and funky art bazaar featuring local artisans, live music and a craft/activity corner for kids!

Available for Freelance Work
If you are are creative director, art director or designer interested in my illustration and/or design skills, please email me at info@curls-studio.com.

Holiday Greeting Card Illustration

A former co-worker of mine commissioned me to illustrate her family's 2010 Holiday Greeting Card. She provided me with photos of her two cats and one dog to work from.

Here is the process from original small sketch layout and more detailed sketch to inks to colors:




The client and her husband are really excited about the illustration and how their girls were portrayed, which makes me happy because I gave each animal a character and attitude as they have fun together sledding in the snow.

Available for Freelance Work
If you are a creative director, art director or designer interested in my illustration and/or design skills, please email me at info@curls-studio.com.

National Geographic: Great Migrations Illustrations

Recently I did freelance illustration and concept art for National Geographic and produced illustrations for their major television event Great Migrations and the show's CafePress merchandise store.



The two concepts they selected for final production are "Animal Prints" and "Turtle" and they are now available for purchase as Shirts, Ceramic Travel Mugs, Sigg Water Bottles, Messenger Bags, Mousepads, Gaiam Yoga Mats and more!


Above are some of the concept sketches I did that never made it to final, but I'm sharing with you because I'd like to invite you in on my process. I merged them all on a one-sheet for web viewing.

This project was very fun and freeing and I hope to do more work like this. Plus it feels good to know I did original illustrations for National Geographic.

Available for Freelance Work
If you are are creative director, art director or designer interested in my illustration and/or design skills, please email me at info@curls-studio.com.