[Art] Startail - The Frog that Makes Stars When it Rains / Kiteheart.

[moonvoice]

This is part two of two commissions,
flying to the USA tomorrow morning.
I think I need to make more reasons to travel into the Startail 'verse,
aside from the fact that it is always appealing to take a break from totem work and cartoon, it's also soothing to spend time in the cloudverse, coming up with fable/archetypal stories of magical frogs, cats, giraffes and snails. :)


The Frog that Makes Stars When it Rains
illustration board / ink / watercolour pencil
prints available here














And that reminds me. Recently I decided to illustrate a gift for a long-time friend who has been going through some difficulties on and off this year. She has always been a supporter of Startail, and it made me want to create a kitty in the startail verse for her alone.

Meet Kiteheart. :)


Kiteheart

Comments

[sarcasticsra]

These are great.

[moonvoice]

Cheers! :D

[calissa]

So gorgeously cheerful!

If you don't mind me asking, what is Startail?

[moonvoice]

Startail is the general name for a cartoon universe I created around a character named Startail. The original story goes that when Startail was born, his parents had to leave him, and in order to make up for that, they left a brilliant yellow star tied to his tail. As he grew up, he was constantly bathed in the light of the star, and it made him feel warm and safe and happy, and he grew up into a good-natured, innocent kitty.

One night there was a terrible storm, and the string attaching Startail's star was severed and the star drifted away. Bereft, and experiencing grief and abandonment for the first time, he cried. But magic was with him, and his tears turned into butterflies. He watched them with a sense of wonder, and decided to set out in the cloud-verse, to look for his star. Instead, he ends up making a lot of friends, from Geisha Kitty to Tigerbee. There are a lot of fable / individuation style stories within the 'verse.

I actually usually retreat to the cartoon format when I want to soothe myself, or when the PTSD is particularly bad. Because I'm most well-known for totem illustrations, Startail doesn't actually sell as often, but most of the Startail illustrations have found loving homes, which is awesome. :)

[calissa]

How lovely! Your totem work is so spiritful, but I can see how Startail is also necessary. The pictures are so full of innocence, kindness and whimsy; surely the world could use more of these qualities. It's wonderful to hear that the drawings have found good homes.

[white_rabbit]

Bweee, I love Startail. :D They just induce such happy feelings.

Kiteheart is *wonderful*.

[moonvoice]

Yeah, Startail is ridiculously twee. It is happy-making for me, and it's just fun to work in the world again. :D

[valkyriur]

Of course, I love the frog! ;)

Kitetail is super cute! It's great to see illustrations of this sort. They are so different from a lot of the other work you do.

[moonvoice]

You know, if I *ever* had the time, I'd love to illustrate Startail as a book, or even better, a webcomic series that was both suitable for children and adults, and dealt with all kinds of themes.

[brushwolf]

This stuff is so awesome! At first glance it's so much more light-hearted and child-oriented than your usual style but when I look closer it's obvious to me that it's still your artwork.

[moonvoice]

Very much more child-oriented. I've always liked the power of really simple children's stories and illustrations to convey something very meaningful.