Line Art on the Internet

Color Your Own.com was the result. I began with an idea and a few line arts I had already on the computer. I wasn't sure, at the time, if anyone would be interested in them at all.

So I was already mulling the idea in my head when I joined a new sim game online - Virtual Horse Ranch. I was pleased to discover that artists were encouraged to use their own art for images of their sim horses, and there is a lively little play money industry creating art for other players. I began doing line drawings of horses, adding them to Color Your Own and making them freely available to other players. And, of course, taking requests. (I later joined Virtual Pups and Sandbox Farms and create art for those players as well.)

There are a few other small websites with free line art set up for those players as well. Sadly, most of them come and go or don't offer a large selection of drawings. Many of the artists are young adults who love the work, but also have other commitments such as school, sports, and so on that limit the effort they can put into the site. Often they are on free hosting, which can be a problem, too.

Not long after I joined VirtualHorseRanch and sharing my horse line art, I became involved in a discussion on Gather.com with other adults who enjoy sitting down on a lazy day with a big box of crayons and coloring books. (Yes, I do) One of the major complaints was the lack of coloring books that offered subject matter and artwork that would challenge and please adults. I began adding more drawings to Color Your Own in response to their requests.

Since I started Color Your Own, I've gotten requests to use the art for more things than I could have imagined. They have been used in a college project on visual recognition, a greyhound rescue group prints out the greyhound pages and hands them out to children at their meet and greets, and most of all, other people have used them and enjoyed them - as well as children whose parents have written me and thanked me for the pages!

One project that especially touched my heart came from a wheelchair bound woman who wanted a a rottweiler head study line art she could use to make a needlework pattern to honor her assistance dog who had recently passed on. Another favorite request was from a woman whose mother was in a nursing home who wanted to color a pair of stone lions to hang on either side of her door - just as two stone lions had decorated the walk to her home for many years. Recently someone wrote to tell me how much her disabled husband enjoyed the coloring pages, and to make some specific requests for him.

I am a big fan of tattoos, and yes, I have two - one of which I designed. My husband also has a tattoo I designed just for him. As an artist, I have from time to time been asked by a friend to design a personal tattoo just for them. This is always such an honor. Someone wants to wear a piece of my art on their body for the rest of their lives!

So it should have come as no surprise when the first request arrived in my email from someone who wanted permission to use a line art from Color-Your-Own as a tattoo design. My answer, of course, was a resounding YES!

Not long after that came a request from someone for a particular drawing to use for a tattoo - a request I gladly created. Although I made the design to their specifications, they encouraged me to add it to the Color-Your-Own site to share with others.

I can't possibly express to you what an honor it is to me that someone would want to use the line art from Color-Your-Own as a tattoo design - or would request a design from me for their tattoo. Trust me, if you want something in particular designed, please do feel free to make a request or let me know if you use a line art that is already up at Color-Your-Own. You will totally make my day!