Behind the Magic

Hello, and welcome to Mad Magical Paintbrush! My name is Makenna, and I am the creator of all the art you see on this website. I do digital art, including patterns, prints, graphic design, character design, and animation. I also do physical art, including sketches, paintings, miniatures, clothing DIYs, and crochet!

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Including Character Design, Graphic Design Work, Costume Design, and Animation

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Character Designs

  • Lucy Catrien

    The female protagonist in a book series I am developing, currently referred to as “The Auravelle Project”.

  • Nick Barden

    The male protagonist in the same series, “The Auravelle Project”.

  • Harper Glenmoore

    The main deuteragonist in the same series, “The Auravelle Project”.

  • Lucy & Nick

    An image of the two protagonists of “The Auravelle Project”, seated together.

  • Nick & Lucy

    Same two characters from "The Auravelle Project", three years later.

  • Girl with Glasses

    This was a fun sketch that I made up and I quite enjoy how it turned out.

  • Girl in Overalls

    This was another sketch that I did for fun and I enjoy the emotion in this one.

  • Mei

    I based this design off of my dog, as it was a reimagination of what she would look like as a cartoon :)

Graphic Design Work

  • Karaoke Night Flyer

    This flyer was posted on the social media of my old theatre troupe to inform the group of a karaoke party.

  • The Play That Goes Wrong Poster

    This was blown up into a giant poster for my high school theatre troupe’s production of The Play That Goes Wrong.

  • Footloose Audition Flyer

    This flyer was posted all across my high school to inform students of the upcoming auditions for Footloose the Musical.

  • Footloose Information

    This graphic was made to post on my former theatre troupe’s social media to advertise the show and link people to purchase tickets.

  • Footloose Poster

    This poster was blown up and used to advertise my high school’s production of Footloose the Musical.

  • Teacher Gift

    I designed this poster on my tablet and printed it out into a giant poster as an end-of-the-year gift for my super-hero-loving teacher.

  • Are You Robin Enough?

    This flyer was made to post around my high school and advertise the show choir concert inspired by Batman and Robin.

  • Logo Designs

    I designed this logo for a self-help business called “Radiant Souls”.

Animation

We’re All Mad Here

This was one of my first animations I ever made. It was a Typography assignment in my first semester of college, and I chose to animate the phrase “We’re All Mad Here” from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. I absolutely adore the story; specifically, the character Cheshire Cat, which was a huge inspiration behind both the animation and my brand.

Motion Poster and Collage

Spider-Man Fan Art

This animation is inspired by the Spider-Man swing in the final scene of the Spider-Man (2002) movie. It was animated by hand on Procreate, and was my first attempt at incorporating smear frames.

Fan Art

  • Gilly Cobbler (Fairy Tale Reform School)

    Gilly Cobbler is the protagonist in my all-time favorite book series Fairy Tale Reform School by Jen Calonita. This series is one of my biggest inspirations.

  • Star Boy (Disney's Wish)

    I drew this image based off of the deleted character from the Disney movie Wish. The character “Star Boy” was replaced with the character we know as “Star”, and I used original concept designs of the character to base this drawing off of.

  • Anxiety (Inside Out 2)

    This image is inspired by Inside Out 2 when Riley has a panic attack. That moment resonated deep with me and I immediately knew I had to create an art piece representing what that moment meant to me.

  • Lydia The Bard as Belle

    Lydia The Bard is one of my favorite singers, and I am especially fond of her seires of turning Disney Princesses into villains by rewriting their songs. This drawing was inspired by her villain version of “Beauty and the Beast”, titled “Tale As Old As Time”.

  • Lydia The Bard as Meg

    In the same series of turning Disney Princesses into villains by rewriting their songs, Lydia The Bard made one for Meg from Hercules where she spun “I Won’t Say I’m In Love” into a villain song.

  • Lydia The Bard as Snow White

    In Lydia The Bard’s series, she created an all new song for Snow White titled “I Won’t Back Down”, which serves as a duet between Snow White and the Magic Mirror.

  • Powerline Backstage Pass

    I made this artwork for personal use as a fun immersive piece to a party I threw for the 30th anniversary of A Goofy Movie. This image shows the front and back of a lanyard card design, which we wore around our necks while celebrating the movie.

  • Chip & Dale in the Snow

    I painted this as a gift to my grandmother. It is inspired by a sculpture produced by Disney of Chip and Dale building a Snow Mickey.

Mouse Ears

  • Sally

    These ears were inspired by Sally from “The Nightmare Before Christmas”, complete with high quality fabric, and hand-stitched elements.

  • Figment

    These ears were inspired by Disney World’s Figment from the attraction “Journey Into Imagination”. The base of them were crocheted, and the wing details were made with felt. I pushed standard boundaries with these ears, as they are a representation of imagination.

  • Cheshire Cat

    These ears were inspired by the Cheshire Cat from “Alice in Wonderland”. The Cheshire Cat is one of my favorite characters.

  • Mickey Pumpkin

    These ears were inspired by the famous Mickey Pumpkin that sits on Main Street, USA every Halloween season. The leaves were made with felt, and the pumpkins are complete with hand-stitched details.

  • Lilo & Stitch

    These ears were inspired by the movie “Lilo and Stitch”, and are complete with hand-cut felt flower details.

Props

  • Rapunzel's Crown

    This crown was made as a wall decoration for a competiton between the clubs at my old high school.

  • Cinderella's Carriage

    My old high school theatre troupe put on a production of “Cinderella”, and I was responsible for making the carriage.

  • Film Camera

    This is an image of a film camera for “Bye Bye Birdie” before the paint job was complete.

  • Jet Pack

    My first prop-making project was this jet pack for my old high school’s production of “The Addams Family”. It was made with old bottles, tubes, and LED lights.

  • Fruit Cake

    This fruit cake was made out of XPS foam and clay for my old high school’s production of “Peter and the Starcatcher".

Costume Designs

  • Alice Spencer (Alice By Heart)

    All of my costumes designed for Alice By Heart won a Superior award at my regional thespian competition.

    Alice’s costume is relatively simple, reflecting the iconic “Alice” look from Alice in Wonderland while giving it a grounded real-world sense. The musical takes place during WW2, which is reflected in the waist and lining of the dress.

  • Alfred (Alice By Heart)

    Alfred mimics the famous “White Rabbit”. Alfred is represented as a poor young boy with his dirty shirt and pants, and can easily transform into the white rabbit with a simple white vest. The red coat nods toward the White Rabbit, and is intended to be worn during hopeful moments of the musical.

  • Tabatha (Alice By Heart)

    Tabatha represents the Cheshire Cat. Her real-world character is very grounded and wise, so her white and black color pallet seperates her from the rest of the cast. The colorful sweater gives her a magical pop when in Wonderland, and can be used to represent the fur and coziness of the Cheshire Cat. (Side note: the braid in her hair is a representation of the cat’s tail)

  • Dr Butridge/Jabberwocky (Alice By Heart)

    The Doctor in the play assumes the role of the Jabberwock. He wears typical time period clothing for an elder man, with a coat in the real-world setting. However, when becoming the Jabberwock, he would put on a “Jabberwock skin coat”, similar to how actors would wear wolf skin or bear skin to represent those animals.

  • Red Cross Nurse/Queen (Alice By Heart)

    The Red Cross Nurse becomes the Queen of Hearts when in Wonderland. Her top remains relatively the same, though with an added heart to the top of her apron. The skirt coould quickly be attatched and detatched, with vivid detail of playing cards as the pattern.

  • Alice (Alice in Wonderland)

    I designed these next three for a version of the show “Alice in Wonderland”, interpreted through a darker lens.

    I wanted this costume to appear more complex than the traditional cartoon dress with poofy sleeves. I believe that embroidered details of flowers would add that depth, and communicate Alice’s relationship to nature rather than other people.

  • Female Cheshire Cat (Alice in Wonderland)

    There are three Cheshire Cat narrators in “Alice in Wonderland” that could be any gender, and I designed this for the females in that casting. It communicates the strange qualities of the Cheshire Cat while adding an edgy twist, which suits the character very well.

  • Male Cheshire Cat (Alice in Wonderland)

    This design pairs well with the female version of the costume, and would suit the charming-yet-chaotic nature of the Cheshire Cat for the male form.

Crochet

  • Peasant Bunny

  • Snoopy & Woodstock (The Peanuts)

  • Purple Raccoon

  • Mr. & Mrs. Koala

  • Scruff (Lilo & Stitch)

  • Dragon