Illustration of bunny staring at stars on a mountain

Lucky Little Darlings

About

In the summer of 2023, I was illustrating some characters for fun, and it re-ignited my love for drawing, which I had set aside while I was a student. The Lucky Little Darlings are a set of characters that I love creating media of, including physical and digital goods.

illustration of all the darlings with text: appreciate the little things

Project Management

LLD is a two-person collaboration, with myself as a lead, and my friend as an additional artist/creator. This page will focus on my individual responsibilities, like:

phone mockup of LLD tumblr page

Social Media

  • LLD is active on Tumblr, and Instagram(more recently).
  • Posts are daily on Tumblr, with occasional breaks when the team is too busy.
  • I manage the accounts and publish most of the posts.

mockup of tablet with video game screenshot

Game Dev

  • We made a short game, featuring the darlings.
  • I took a lead on the art, development, and project as a whole.
  • More info is available on my video games page.

mockup of LLD shop storefront

Commerce

  • When I was a student at UCF, I got the opportunity to sell my art at events, and I operate an online shop.
  • I create all the listings, and I manage the product imagery, descriptions, and backend details of the shop.

My Lucky Little Darlings Artwork

Digital Illustrations

My focus has been making digital art on Procreate, Illustrator, and Canva

illustration of all the darlings with fruit hats
illustration of panda taking photos of posing lion
illustration of locket with a darling in each side of the picture pocket
illustration of all the darlings doing olympic sports
illustration of pink dog - amora
illustration of purple panda- juniper
illustration of all the darlings holding a unique set of flowers
illustration of racoon and dog dancing with the text - dance dance
illustration of 2 cats admiring each other - they are bros
illustration of lion drawing a face tattoo with marker
illustration of blue cat- zip
illustration of cyan raccoon - celestine
illustration of 4 darlings walking with the text - going places
illustration of 6 darlings wearing silly sunglasses
illustration of panda with star eyes admiring red cat with star eyes
assortment of stickers illustrated by Emilia
illustration of green rat- rata
illlustration of orange bunny-dandy
illustration of all the darlings laying in a circle in grass with the text - love is all around
 illustration of the red cat-gizmo handing you tulips
illustration of darlings swimming in ocean, a giant sun has leonessa's face
illustration of orange bunny-dandy
illustration of lion-lionessa
illustration of red cat-gizmo, he has big star eyes

3D Art

I use Womp3D to make 3D models/renders

3d model of 4 darlings sitting in yellow background by Emilia
3d model of backpack with a giant rat plushy and colorful pins of the darlings
3d model of panda with large glass of orange juice by Emilia
3d model of cat on skateboard by Emilia

Mixed Media

I photograph creations and make digital edits, as either posters or comics

magazine-style poster of rat with goods from shop by Emilia
comic part 1 silly cat wears flower headband, bunny is confused by Emilia
magazine-style poster of cat with goods from shop by Emilia
part 2 of comic, cat stands on bunny's head to be tall by Emilia
magazine-style poster of bunny with goods from shop by Emilia
magazine-style poster of panda with goods from shop by Emilia

Paper-cut Art

I cut paper, layer, and glue them based off the vectors I design

assortment of wall decord of cut portraits of the darlings by Emilia
cut out doll of panda among plants by Emilia
2 close-ups of wall decor of cut portraits of the darlings by Emilia
3 paper dolls of the darlings on matching-colored beanbags by Emilia
cut out paper doll of gizmo at an airport by Emilia
cut out paper doll of lion at san diego zoo by Emilia
cut out paper dolls of zip and gizmo at foosball table by Emilia
Cut out paper dolls of the darlings by Emilia

Clay Figurines

I sculpt, paint, and cut felt to accessorize the figurines

Dog figurine with pink felt poncho by Emilia
Raccoon figurine with felt blue poncho by Emilia
Lion figurine with felt red poncho by Emilia

Punch-Needle

I use a punch-needle tool to make fuzzy pins, coasters, and bag accessories

3 fuzzy pins by Emilia
Fuzzy bag accessories shaped like the darlings by Emilia
3 fuzzy coasters by Emilia

Events/Evolution of the Project

Emilia standing at a table with her artwork

Chroma Culture

I was accepted to be an artist at the Chrome Culture showcase and this was my first time displaying anything LLD-related to the public. At this point, I had made some paper-cut wall decor, punch-needle coasters, and just one digital design - with some unrelated art pictured as well.

Emilia at a vendor table with her artwork

Women's Business Showcase

Team LLD was accepted to be part of this tabling event with the University of Central Florida, and we had spent long nights making all sorts of goods to have at the table to sell. Some new items included: Art prints, clay figurines, pins - designed by myself, and crochet plushies. We had a nice turnout, and this further motivated us to keep making art of the characters.

Emilia in front of screen displaying art

Live Más Showcase

In 2018, I won a live más scholarship from Taco Bell, and in 2024, they gave me the opportunity to have my art in their Summer of Connection Digital gallery. My entire portfolio was LLD artwork, and 20 images were featured. Here I am with an embroidered skirt I made the night before, when I got the idea.