Carolyn Paplham
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cpaplham.bsky.social
Carolyn Paplham
@cpaplham.bsky.social
110 followers 190 following 210 posts
Graphic designer & illustrator, probably in need of a nap.
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cpaplham.bsky.social
Probably my favorite photo I took at the zoo. Black-footed ferret napping under a heat lamp! (I might also be a bit jealous... a cozy nap sounds great right about now.)
A photo of a black-footed ferret napping, sprawled out under a heat lamp. Only the lower half of the ferret can be seen, as the rest of its body is in a tunnel.
November 7, 2025 at 2:25 AM
cpaplham.bsky.social
I went to the zoo today! Last time I was there was in 2009 when @geoholms.bsky.social was visiting, so it's been quite awhile. It was thankfully not too cold to do some life drawing, which was a lot of fun—definitely want to do more when time and weather permit.
Rough, gestural life drawings of various animals, sketched in back and white on a gray background. Clockwise from the upper left corner: a couple of red faced macaques, a couple of kookaburras, a couple of bald eagles, and a variety of ducks. Rough, gestural life drawings of various animals, sketched in back and white on a gray background. Clockwise from upper left corner: three opossums, a snowy owl from the back, a lioness, and a couple more snowy owls.
November 7, 2025 at 2:18 AM
cpaplham.bsky.social
Freshly picked up from my local comic book shop— @matthewdowsmith.bsky.social’s new book! Can’t wait to curl up with it on a gloomy autumn afternoon 😄
A photograph of the newly released graphic novel The October Girl, by Matthew Dow Smith. The cover is primarily a golden yellow, with an illustration of a young woman walking in the autumn wind.
November 5, 2025 at 8:33 PM
cpaplham.bsky.social
Surprising absolutely no one: seal witch! Happy Halloween, folks 🎃

#stickerdesign #characterdesign #halloween #seal #witch
A drawing of a happy harbor seal dressed as a witch and casting a magic spell. The seal is wearing a pointy witch’s hat while waving a glowing, star-tipped magic wand. Magic sparkles are emitting from the wand and drifting around the seal.
October 30, 2025 at 12:47 AM
cpaplham.bsky.social
The stickerrrrr, by way of @stickerninja.bsky.social!
This image shows the wizard dragon from the previous post as a black-and-white sticker. This image shows that same sticker glowing in the dark.
October 29, 2025 at 2:17 AM
cpaplham.bsky.social
Had an unused sketch of a little dragon wizard hanging around on my iPad for a while and decided it was high time to turn it into a print and a (glow-in-the-dark!) sticker. ’Tis the season for magic, after all!

#dragon #creaturedesign #characterdesign #wizard #magic
A drawing of a small dragon wearing a wizard hat and a scarf, with magic sparkles coming from its tiny claws. The dragon is inked in black and white with some black screen tone and solid purple accents. The background is a bright aqua green.
October 29, 2025 at 2:17 AM
cpaplham.bsky.social
New sticker design! Unfortunately I didn’t finish this little guy in time to have them produced for this spooky season, but I will have prints with me at the Appleton Halloween Eclectic Market this Saturday!

#characterdesign #mouse #pirate #halloween #trickortreat
A cheerful mouse dressed as a pirate for halloween. It is wearing an eyepatch, earrings on both ears, a vest, tail jewelry, foot coverings, wrist bandages, an anchor shoulder tattoo, and a bright red bandana. The mouse is munching on a single piece of candy corn, and a trick-or-treat bag with a mouse-skull jolly roger on it sits to the right and has more single pieces of candy (eg. m&ms, mike & ike’s) in it. The background is a very dark grayish-blue and has vague shapes resembling a ship’s deck and rigging.
October 24, 2025 at 1:00 AM
cpaplham.bsky.social
Heading to MDEV 2025 in a couple weeks? Or can’t make it but still want some cool merch to show your support for the midwest’s largest games industry-focused event? You’re in luck: yours truly designed this year’s t-shirt, and it’s available for purchase RIGHT NOW!
A four-color t-shirt design for the upcoming MDEV conference in Madison, Wisconsin. The design features various historic and contemporary video game paraphernalia, such as controllers, buttons, game cartridges, cables, and the like. A segment of the Madison skyline can be seen towards the bottom, located over the event logo and date and location info. The colors used are bright aqua, orange, and purple, with white in the event logo. Screentones are used to give the design a textured effect.
October 22, 2025 at 8:54 PM
cpaplham.bsky.social
Heya, #PortfolioDay! I’m Carolyn, an illustrator and designer with a penchant for drawing fantastical folks & critters. I was laid off earlier this year, and am very open for full-time/part-time/freelance work!

🦭 carolynpaplham.com
🦭 cpaplhamdraws@gmail.com
🦭 www.instagram.com/cpaplhamdraws/
A digital-watercolor style illustration of an anthropomorphic red fox on the bow of a tugboat. The fox is wearing a scarf, oversized sweater, skinny pants and rubber rain boots. Fish are peeking out of the water and the Leo Frigo Bridge can be seen in the background. The location is the Fox River in downtown Green Bay. An illustration of a woman joyfully running. The piece is in a bright, bold, cartoony style that combines sharp angles with organic curves. A highly-stylized sun and its rays make up the background. A simple illustration of a baby harbor seal chewing on its flipper (much like a human baby would suck its thumb). A yellow heart floats above its head. The image is punctuated by a bright red background. A sticker design featuring a fluffy white baby seal with a stern expression on its face. The text reads "seal of disapproval."
October 14, 2025 at 7:46 PM
cpaplham.bsky.social
Happy Spooky Season! Which, in my humble opinion, is the *actual* most wonderful time of the year 🍁 🎃

#illustration #halloween #october #spookyseason #cat #bat #pumpkins
An illustration of a lanky black cat and a small, purple bat running and flying through a pumpkin patch. It is dusk on an overcast October day, and a couple of the pumpkins are carved and lit as jack o’ lanterns. There are dried cornstalks standing and warm yellow lights strung up in the background. Despite being a digital illustration, the piece has the appearance of being colored with markers.
October 14, 2025 at 12:58 AM
cpaplham.bsky.social
Water zones in Sonic games stress me the heck out. Teach your hedgehog how to swim, SEGA!!

#illustration #sonicthehedgehog #sonic #swimming #videogames
A drawing of Sonic the Hedgehog, wearing pool floaties on his arms and an inner tube around his waist, with flippers that share a color scheme with his normal shoes. He has a worried expression on his face—what has he gotten himself into now?
October 7, 2025 at 12:51 AM
cpaplham.bsky.social
(This is the print of this seal that I will *hopefully* have with me on Saturday—this time I need the printer gods to smile upon me. So, uh, I’m not sure what my chances are, but we’ll see!)
The same seal from the event promo illustration, but without the event info. The seal is smaller and centered on the canvas.
October 3, 2025 at 12:58 AM
cpaplham.bsky.social
I will once again be tabling in the artist alley at the Brown County Library Pop Con—my favorite event of the year! It’s always such a good time, with so much to see and do. Locals, hope to see you there!

#characterdesign #seal #popcon #librarypopcon #indieartist
A simple illustration of a baby harbor seal chewing on its flipper (much like a human baby would suck its thumb). A yellow heart flats above its head. The illustration also includes information on the Brown County Library Pop Con, stating that the event is October 4th from 10am to 4pm, and that the illustrator will be in the artist alley and the seal on the illustration loves supporting artists. The promo image is punctuated by a bright red background.
October 3, 2025 at 12:58 AM
cpaplham.bsky.social
We all have our comfort foods, our comfort shows, and maybe even our comfort games (Breath of the Wild, anyone?)… and some of us have our comfort doodle subjects. One of mine just happens to be seals. I have drawn quite a few this year.
A highly stylized drawing of a delightfully fat ringed seal. The seal is grayish-brown in color and has a spots-and-rings pattern on its back. It sits against a bright blue background. The seal has a heart over his head because he loves you.
September 3, 2025 at 12:10 AM
cpaplham.bsky.social
Wild Soundscape II, acrylic spray paint and markers on a vinyl record.

#art #fox #music #soundscape #vinylrecord #poscas
An acrylic marker drawing of a green fox wearing headphones, suspended in a sky full of stars and hovering over a green crescent moon. Jagged lines ripple outward at the bottom, reminiscent of jagged sound waves. The drawing was done on a vinyl record.
August 30, 2025 at 2:23 AM
cpaplham.bsky.social
Wild Soundscape I—acrylic spray paint and markers on a vinyl record.

#art #seal #music #soundscape #seascape #poscas
An acrylic marker drawing of a purple seal wearing headphones and leaping over a stylized sun and ocean. There are fish in the ocean with sound wave patterns instead of scales. The drawing was done on a vinyl record.
August 23, 2025 at 3:36 AM
cpaplham.bsky.social
Decided to give @hankgreen.bsky.social’s Focus Friend app a try. I really like it so far, but perhaps went down a bit too obvious route with my bean’s name (it makes me smile, though).
A screen cap from the app Focus Friend. It shows a little bean person, aptly named “Mr Bean,” standing in a barren room with a teal rug on the floor.
August 20, 2025 at 5:12 PM
cpaplham.bsky.social
A recent private commission—just a couple of pals, enjoying a snack around a toxic dumpster fire. Making the best of a hazardous situation feels like all most of us can do these days! This was a ridiculously fun piece to draw, not to mention a bit cathartic.

#illustration #opossum #raccoon
A cartoony illustration featuring an opossum and a raccoon, hanging out at a toxic dumpster fire. The opossum is clinging to the side of the bin, holding aloft a set of metal sticks for roasting marshmallows. The raccoon is sitting on top of the half of the dumpster that is closed, triumphantly waving a whole bag of marshmallows, ready for roasting over the flames. The dumpster is covered in graffiti, stickers, and rust, with cans of spray paint tucked to the side on the ground.
July 23, 2025 at 12:45 AM
cpaplham.bsky.social
🧐
July 10, 2025 at 12:11 AM
cpaplham.bsky.social
Been itching to draw some Phineas & Ferb fanart but haven't had time yet, so in the meantime here's an Agent P from 2015.

#phineasandferb #perrytheplatypus #agentp
A drawing of Perry the Platypus, or "Agent P," from the show Phineas and Ferb. The teal-colored, fedora-wearing platypus is posed ready for hand-to-hand combat, standing in a spotlight against a brick wall.
June 28, 2025 at 5:06 PM
cpaplham.bsky.social
Little experiment I noodled at on and off in cafes and waiting rooms—basically testing out a bunch of brushes I don’t normally use (with a few I do) looking for new painting ones that are fun to work with. Sometimes a person just wants to get a little messy, even when working with pixels.
A small digital painting of a fluffy white baby seal, lying on a snowscape with the northern lights in the sky. The brush strokes are very rough and loose, and incorporate various textures and hues into the seal and background.
June 27, 2025 at 12:43 AM
cpaplham.bsky.social
I have more unfinished pieces sitting on my iPad than I care to count, so I’m making an effort to wrap at least some of them up in between working on bigger projects. Here’s double trouble in the form of a couple of sneasels! I love these little guys with their tiny teeth and giant claws 😁
A colorful illustration of two sneasels, pokémon that look like a slightly anthropomorphized cross between a weasel and a cat. The dark blue one is a standard sneasel, while the light-colored one is a Hisuian sneasel.
May 6, 2025 at 12:41 AM
cpaplham.bsky.social
One more piece for the draft! Unfortunately I didn’t finish it in time to order stickers (there will be stickers eventually, though!), but prints will be available at all the spots where I sell my art goods :)

#characterdesign #greenbaypackers #nfldraft #otter #football
An illustration of a joyous, anthropomorphic otter. He is wearing a Donald Driver #80 Packers jersey and punting a football while green, gold, and silver confetti floats around him.
April 22, 2025 at 1:10 AM
cpaplham.bsky.social
Been working on more sticker and print designs to debut during the Draft next week—including retro portraits of a couple football greats! You can’t get much more iconic than Vince Lombardi or Bart Starr.

#illustration #characterdesign #greenbaypackers #lombardi #bartstarr
Two cartoony portraits, done in a vaguely retro style. The one on the left is of Vince Lombardi, sporting his classic trench coat and fedora while holding the Super Bowl Trophy that was later named after him. The one on the right is of Bart Starr, tossing a football and wearing his Packers uniform.
April 17, 2025 at 12:13 AM
cpaplham.bsky.social
Heya, #PortfolioDay! I’m Carolyn, an illustrator and designer with a penchant for drawing fantastical folks & critters. I'm recently unemployed and very open for freelance with an interest in projects in publishing, games, and animation.

🦭 carolynpaplham.com
🦭 www.instagram.com/cpaplhamdraws/
A digital-watercolor style illustration of an anthropomorphic red fox on the bow of a tugboat. The fox is wearing a scarf, oversized sweater, skinny pants and rubber rain boots. Fish are peeking out of the water and the Leo Frigo Bridge can be seen in the background. The location is the Fox River in downtown Green Bay. A brightly colored fantasy illustration of a wolf. The background is a series of patterned rays in pinks, purples and blues—they are arranged like the rays of the sun but in an abstracted manner. A blue and purple wolf is running into the foreground, and has a subtle abstract pattern in its fur. It also has small detached wings by its forpaws, and tiny stars, moons, and planets trailing from its paws like cosmic dust. An illustration of a woman joyfully running. The piece is in a bright, bold, cartoony style that combines sharp angles with organic curves. A highly-stylized sun and its rays make up the background. An illustration of a long and slender fox-like dragon with antlers and feather-like fins. It is twisting its bright blue form in an elegant knot around an iridescent and numberless D20 die.
April 8, 2025 at 9:50 PM