About Me

Self Introduction

Audio subtitle: Hi! My name is Elizabeth McKinney, but you can call me Liz. I’m a Graphic Design Major in my junior year at the University of Memphis. I’m a Scorpio who loves coffee, Halloween, and snuggling under fuzzy blankets with my dog Gabby. I love playing Dungeons and Dragons and I’m always up to play a couple rounds of black ops zombies. My favorite art style is realism or semirealism and I use this to create my own character designs and when receiving commissions mainly for Dungeons and Dragons. Thanks for listening!

Favorite Quote from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, 1797.

There is a stubbornness about me that never can bear to be frightened at the will of others. My courage always rises at every attempt to intimidate me.

More Quotes:

"It's not the having, it's the getting." -Elizabeth Taylor
"The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing." -Walt Disney
"When you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hang on." -Franklin D. Roosevelt
"Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up." -Thomas A. Edison
"I find that the harder I work, the more luck I seem to have." -Thomas Jefferson
"Believe you can and you're halfway there." -Theodore Roosevelt
"I’m a survivor – a living example of what people can go through and survive." -Elizabeth Taylor

This is Gabby, a 12.5 pound 11-year-old ShiChi ( Shih Tzu Chihuahua mix ). She loves cuddling and treats. She is my best pal and loves to argue with the neighbor's large dog that's blocked by a fence.

Gabby loves napping by my work-at-home station as I create detailed artworks on my Wacom Cintiq Pro 16 drawing tablet and through AdobePhotoshop. There are a numerous of times I will swivel around and take out my phone, snapping millions of pictures of her just doing anything because she's so darn adorable. During dark times where I feel like I can't do anything, she's there to cheer me up and brightens every day and any day.

So... Let's get to the deep stuff. I'm a miracle child that was born a month premature and without a thyroid gland, which was a rare occurance recorded back in 1999. This happens a lot more common now for unknown reasons for a baby to have hypothyroidism, underactive or absent thyroid. Now, I know that most people do not know what a thyroid gland's function does, so, let me save you the time where you do not need to look it up: The Thyroid Gland The thyroid gland is a vital hormone gland: It plays a major role in the metabolism, growth and development of the human body. It helps to regulate many body functions by constantly releasing a steady amount of thyroid hormones into the bloodstream.

Throughout my childhood, it was hard doing things on my own since I had and still have trouble with remembering and processing things and my medication would give me constant anxiety and hormones would fluctuate, gaining weight in the face, making me moody and not be able or want to do anything. I felt drained and not the happy child I wanted to be. I was scared all of the time and kept quiet, thinking that would keep me safe and avoiding social life. I felt different when being around other children but when reaching 1st grade of elementary school, I managed to help my classmates that needed more help than I did because... That's what Barbie and all of the Disney princesses taught me how to be kind and brave when joining the outside world, even when being out of my comfort zone. With my loving family constantly helping me out and guiding my way I managed to find my passion in life, which was art. During my later academic years in middleschool or junior high, I attended private art lessons with a kind professional instructor of the arts named Kathy Booker Wise. She taught me how to make still-life art with guache/watercolor and acrylic painting, even sculpting for almost 3 years! Soon after, I was having trouble keeping up with schooling and I had to quit or take a long break. Unfortunately, Ms Kathy Booker Wise taught me more in the ways of art than all of my art teachers ever have or ever will.

In highschool, I found my calling to Graphic Design by a friend, known as Hunter Smith, suggesting that I should change my focus from Fine Arts to Graphic Arts by taking a Graphic Studio class in my junior and senior year. I had never been more blessed to find that I had grown to love and learn AdobePhotoshop in that class my classmates would call "boring and confusing as hell." Before and after entering into the start of college, I was able to teach myself digital character designs from suggestions of my Dungeons and Dragons group. It opened new doors for me!

All in all, I'm a hard working, aspiring digital artist and love all things dark and sinister. My art styles tend to give out a sense of sharpness and story-like feel. In my designs, I try to make my artworks as realistic as possible even if it may cost me sleep deprivation. I learn animation and realism design by myself and try to practice everyday. I hope in the near future that I will become a professional character concept artist and animator for a manga and anime company, like Funimation or maybe even a video game developer family like Treyarch. If you want to check out my digital art designs, you can go to my Facebook and Instagram.

Thank you for getting to know me! Check out more what I love by viewing Groovy Melodies (Music), Timeless Novels (Books), and Beach Travels (Travel). Have a beautiful day or night!