Keely Mikkelsen

HAPPY HALLOWEEEEEEENN!!!!!
My piece for @chosennamepress.bsky.social's fall issue (which rules btw)
#hellaween

I’ve been freelancing for a year on Treasure Party, I’ve been loving my time teaching digital painting to Idyllwild Arts kiddos. And I love my Marketing coworkers at IA, our team has a great energy that makes me excited to go to work. Things are alright so I’m taking much-needed rest from the hustle

Lightbox feels like a must-do just because it’s such wonderful energy and it’s great to be reminded just how many people are there, CREATING. Everyone there dedicates time to their craft. It’s nice to be reminded that we’re allowed to treat art with importance.

Cartoony self-portrait, with a lightbox logo in the upper left. I’m wearing a graphic tea of Will Wood’s song “Vampire Reference in a Minor Key” - a vampire sits and says “if anybody needs me I’ll be in my coffin.” I’m wearing a black and white squiggle abstract floral unbuttoned collared shirt over it. I have some pink round hippie glasses, a pink mini sketchbook, a pen in my hand, and pencils in my shirt pocket.

See you at Lightbox! I’ll be there Saturday. Honestly I’m feeling very employed (and tired, on account of being employed) so I’m mostly going to see friends and enjoy art this year.

#lightbox #lightboxexpo

Ideal day ✨

If you see this, post a redhead

FINALLY!! Dante’s time to shine ✨

#art #vampire #comics

Digital painting - closeup shot of a vampire looking off to the side, with a small genuine smile. His face is mostly in a cool blue shadow, but the back of his neck is lit from the warmth of the lanterns at an outdoor festival.

Breaking news: Dante experiences a moment of happiness

Color comp for an upcoming moment in my script 💛 Sometimes I need to jot down sketches like this as memos alongside my script so I don’t forget the tone & motifs I wanna use in the visuals of a scene. #webcomic #vampire #thecostoflivingcomic

Digital drawing of a Dante (left), a tall vampire man with long ginger hair, slouching, hands in pockets and Simon (right), a shorter, stouter man with salt and pepper hair and a curled mustache. Dante wears black drawstring shorts, black socks, black earphones around his neck, a black T-Shirt with a drawing of a vampire saying the Will Wood lyric “if anybody needs me I’ll be in my coffin.” Simon wears a green shirt with a Legend of Zelda symbol on it, khaki cargo shorts, brown Birkenstocks, an eyebrow piercing, and small hoop earring.

Friend of mine requested the boys in modern casual clothes so of course I needed to oblige ⚰️⚔️🩸 #vampire #zeldashirt #originalcharacter #webcomics #art #thecostoflivingcomic

Digital drawing of a Dante (left), a tall vampire man with long ginger hair, slouching, hands in pockets and Simon (right), a shorter, stouter man with salt and pepper hair and a curled mustache. Dante wears black drawstring shorts, black socks, black earphones around his neck, a black T-Shirt with a drawing of a vampire saying the Will Wood lyric “if anybody needs me I’ll be in my coffin.” Simon wears a green shirt with a Legend of Zelda symbol on it, khaki cargo shorts, brown Birkenstocks, an eyebrow piercing, and small hoop earring.

Friend of mine requested the boys in modern casual clothes so of course I needed to oblige ⚰️⚔️🩸 #vampire #zeldashirt #originalcharacter #webcomics #art #thecostoflivingcomic

A young vampire man with large bat wings on his back, long ginger hair, a red cape, and a shiny gold chestplate flies through the air of a burning old European city. He looks determined, eyeing something offscreen.

Comic practice & hypotheticals :) I love giving Dante big ol’ bat wings, but I still have to see how it would come up in the canon. #vampire #webcomic #originalcharacter

WAITTT this sounds so much nicer than trying to keep all those aspects in my head at once, I’m gonna have to try this 👀 I do practice dialogue like this but it never occurred to me to just straight up use this for my first draft

Cartoon of me laying in the BJJ mat saying “Why is this the hardest thing I’ve ever done???” while my coach stands over me and says “Because you keep telling yourself it’s scary!”

Words of wisdom from my BJJ coach that I will now be applying to all aspects of my life 🥋 #brazilianjiujitsu #jiujitsu #autobiocomic #art #doodle #sketch

Also this is great logline practice tbh. A great way to get some clarity on what your story is really about.

As someone who works in marketing, I still wonder how to do it for my own art sometimes, but this thread broke it down in a really simple & effective way 👀 you HAVE a cool thing, you just have to let people know why it’s cool!!

Dante is a bounty-hunting vampire trying to afford rent, doing all he can to run away from his old life.

But between a budding friendship with a goody-two-shoes knight, the rising threat of monster hunters, and the incessant whispers of Dante’s Sire in his ear, it’s getting harder to stay hidden.

Digital painterly style depicting a vampire looking back over his shoulder, baring his teeth. His eyes reflect like a cat, and long orange hair hangs messy over his face. He has two small scars on the side of his hand.

Digital painterly style with sketchy white outlines and sketchy red depictions of blood. A vampire looking back over his shoulder, baring his teeth. His eyes reflect like a cat, and long orange hair hangs messy over his face. He has two small scars on the side of his hand.

Black canvas, only using scratchy white outlines and sketchy red depictions of blood. A vampire looking back over his shoulder, baring his teeth. Long hair hangs messy over his face. He has two small scars on the side of his hand.

(CW:🩸) Dante Style Experiments! I like using a lot of styles, so I’m seeing how I might be able to combine different things I like into one style. I’m excited to see how it affects the final look of the comic 👀
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#thecostoflivingcomic #digitalpainting #illustration #vampire #originalcharacter

Silly doodle of a blue belt in my BJJ class obliterating me with a double-leg takedown as a catch air in my last pain-free moments before slamming the ground.

Learning combat for my comic is, uh… going well

(Jk I actually love BJJ most days, and I’ve improved a lot since I started 6 months ago! But takedown day leaves me so sore 😩)

Self portrait digital sketch. Wearing a business casual gray blazer and pants, holding a laptop under one arm and coffee mug in the other. Wearing shiny silver oxfords, and rainbow lights shine on a blank wall behind me.

Another work #ootd for a warmup! Got to revisit my old Gallery Assistant days to help sell at our shows this summer. Excited to get back to comic writing now though :)
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There’s suncatchers so we have nice office rainbows in the afternoon. 🌈
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#selfportrait #doodle #autobio

Thank you!!

Sketchy, colorful digital self portrait. I sit at my desk looking out the window to a Stellar’s Jay perched on a red Adirondack chair.

Little self-portrait at my office :) I’ve been working part-time in marketing at an art school for about a year and a half and I really enjoy it. It’s been very chill, and I feel lucky to have this + freelance as the animation industry sorts itself out.
#selfportrait #ootd #autobio #doodle #sketch

Sketch of two friends hitching a ride on the back of a fast-moving hay cart. The stout knight on the left holds on for dear life, and the tall vampire on the right smiles and enjoys the thrill.

Something tells me this might not be their hay cart…

#thecostoflivingcomic #originalcharacter #myoc #ocart #sketch

Sketch of two friends hitching a ride on the back of a fast-moving hay cart. The stout knight on the left holds on for dear life, and the tall vampire on the right smiles and enjoys the thrill.

Something tells me this might not be their hay cart…

#thecostoflivingcomic #originalcharacter #myoc #ocart #sketch

Colored digital sketch of vampire man with tattered black and red bat wings, long ginger hair, a gold armor chest plate, and all-black outfit strikes a defensive pose, looking up to some off-screen threat above him.

What if Dante eventually wears his gloves less and his sunglasses less and keeps his hair down more to show he’s becoming more open and doesn’t care what others think of him… hmmmmm…. #ocart #myoc #fantasy #webcomic #vampire #thecostoflivingcomic #art

Drawing of a slender gas mask creature in an all-black military-style uniform, cape blowing in the wind - he holds a cutlass in front of himself defensively. Background is hazy clouds of orange and yellow.

I don’t draw Branch too often since I’m working more on The Cost of Living these days but I still like the world building around this dude and wanna expand on his story someday #originalcharacter #ocart #myoc #art

This has been one of my favorite things to grace my eyes and I always make anyone I know who has seen either of these shows read this too

Pen sketch of a gazebo in a lush backyard. The gazebo is reflected in wavy lines on the surface of a pool.

Pen sketch of an elegant light on a chain, hanging in front of a wall of jasmine.

Had a nice sendoff dinner in my grandparents’ backyard before the new buyer moves in. Spent nearly everyday after school here as a kid ❤️ (this basic uniball pen is so buttery to draw with actually) #pleinair #inksketch #sketchbook

Painterly digital art of a vampire character on an orange background, using only midtone to light values, holding a hand against a wall, streaking some blood behind him. He wears round sunglasses, a red cape, and fancy black and white clothes.

Single-layer cooldown painting to help me practice, since I’ve been getting more into traditional acrylics lately.

Feat. Dante because he consumes my brain.
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#thecostoflivingcomic #vampire #digitalpainting #ocart #procreate

Digital sketch page of a young, serious-looking monster hunter woman. She wears an all-black, clean, uniform-style coat and a wide-brimmed hat. She carries 2 silver daggers across her back, 1 wooden stake tied to her belt, and wears a cross necklace. There are 4 grayscale busts with serious expressions, 1 color bust with a snarky grin, and 1 grayscale full body sketch in the center of the page.

I forgot I did these Quincy sketches! Her design/vibe still feels like it’s missing some last puzzle piece but it’s getting there. #thecostoflivingcomic #monsterhunter #vampirehunter #myoc #art #webcomic #graphicnovel

industry standard method of making comics

Digital art of a human fantasy cleric. He wears silver plate armor and a purple cape. He has messy shoulder-length black hair and a scowl on his face. He holds spiked shield in his left hand, and a glowing staff over his right shoulder, with lightning crackling off of it. The background is a simple purple backdrop with a ground plane, and the cleric’s cast shadow.

Been playing Virgil as my Baldur’s Gate 3 Tav on a multiplayer file with friends! He’s a Level 5 Tempest Cleric, and he may have to LOOK human but he’s still a warforged in my heart ⚡️
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#baldursgate3 #baldursgate3fanart #dungeonsanddragons