“Welcome to Our Cute”Pages 2-25 Display the “Welcome to our Cute” Set

Pages 26-31 Display the Inspiration for “Welcome to Our Cute”

Pages 32-39 Display Work made in Fall 2012

Pages 40-47 Display Work Previous to 2011

Pages 20-21 Explains Lolita as a Fashion

Page 48 is an advertisement for Dream Princess

Molly Grupka

R ide MeComposition: The mirrored carousel is the main focus of the composition. Using

symmetry and balance I tired to weigh each girl the same so that one wouldn’t over power the piece more than the other. I used the dark brown hair of the girl to the

right to balance the bright blue skirt of the girl to the left. The idea of the matching carousel was to tie the pieces together as one matching diptych.

Craft: This Diptych was pencil on paper and painted in photoshop. The idea of the colors are to compliment each other and to be almost a bright and vibrant contrast. I used the mixing brush

to make the piece look more paint-like. The gold top and bottom of the carousel are beveled and embossed to make it more 3D style.

Concept: The sexualization of cute things is always floating around the Lolita community as a taboo. A lot of wonderful people who take this idea towards the fashion tend to be ridiculed for it. Fashion is art and art should have no limits. Thus, I created this piece to extend the idea that

the fashion as any art and craft should be able to portray anything the artist sees fit.

Ro yalCraft: This piece was sketched with ink pens and blue colored pencils. I

then backed the piece in photoshop and colored the background black and

added the blue and white pearls around the edges.

Concept: The meaning of this piece is royalty and perfection. I used the

symbols of pearls to show regal and power. The girl in the piece is smiling a

small smirk and this is kind of a play on the idea that only wealth can bring

happiness. Which is obviously a falsity. Though most of the times people in

general think that wealth will bring them joy.

Composition: The piece is quite frontal like most of my pieces it is a girl

and humans have very symmetrical features which for me adds a nice bal-

ance to the center of the piece. The focal point is her eyes which are heavily

lined and shaded to make them deep and important.

Pu r eCraft: This was piece made in photoshop with the mixing brush. I love

the way that the mixing brush looks with the

soft and very wet looking lines.

Concept: The idea behind this piece was using a red haired Lolita

with all white accessories to show that a lot of times people tend to

stereotype women who are very sexual looking. The idea that women

with smokey eye makeup and rused lips must be harlots. I placed my

Lolita wearing all white accessories so that they would make her hair

pop and add to the idea of white purity.

Composition: The composition is very frontal and the colors pop. Red is

a hard color to use without overpowering the piece. I used white accents

to accentuate the deep reds. The hair fills the piece so that she wouldn’t

be a floating head in space.

Craft: This piece was made of cloth and scrapbook paper. The line work is made

from watercolor pencils. I arranged the pieces in the frame or in any surface the

piece is laid on.

Concept: The concept of this piece was mystery and the idea of missing that one

piece of the puzzle. The ace of spades is always the best and rarest card in the deck.

To get it in your hand is always a special surprise even if aces weigh the same as the

other cards in the game. The deeper meaning is mystery and not feeling whole as a

person, or not knowing ones self.

Composition: The idea of this piece was to have a very split up composition and the

focus is to be on the empty space in between the

body and head and then have your eye travel from each cut up piece.

Ace Of S p ad e s

Craft: This is a pencil drawing that I inked and left the original pencil work in. I

then backed it in photoshop and changed the color the sketch to a pink and changed

the back ground to a cream color.

Concept: The ides behind lace is that it is always delicate and pure just like those

who wear it. That is of course not always the case. A person may be drenched in

lace and still a vial person. I wanted to use lace and show it becoming the girl as if

she were the lace.

Composition: This piece was inspired by the “Bust of Anne-Marie-Louise Thomas

de Domangeville de Serilly, Comtesse de Pange”,1780 by Jean Antoine Houdon. I

wanted the piece

to be bust like and be centered around the idea of lace. I used a profile because my

very frontal pieces were becoming over done. I think the hair at the bottom ties the

piece together and makes it less of a free floating head. I think the focal point is her

mouth it is open and by far the darkest part of the piece.

Lace Lies

Lace Lies Part Two and Lace Lies Part Three

I wanted this piece to compliment the inspiration piece “Dream Princess” in

a similar and bright Harajuku Anime style. For Concept the idea is to never

forget what its like to be a princess which goes part and parcel with the ideals

of the Lolita fashion. In these piece I have a bright eyed girl hugging her

teddy bear. I feel i need to work on my eyes and lips for they are a bit over

stylized and I want them much more real. The medium is Adobe illustrator

CS6 I also had a rough in pencil which i changed a bit. For composition I

wanted the first thing you see is the bears eyes with the harsh black against the

light pastels. The to follow up to the girls bright and open eyes. I had the bear

mostly as the focal point and the a fun background and cute stars.

Bi g B un n y

Craft: I made this piece in black and white pencil and then inked the piece. This

piece is colored in Photoshop using the multiply blending mode.

Consept: For my friend Alyson who is as cute as a doll. The piece is just for her

as a lolita Doll like is key so the ultamite lolita looks like a little doll.

Composition: Just a fronale pieces a bit of frame in a frame because of the box

makes the piece a bit stronger than my other pieces before this.

Al yson

Craft: This was a piece made with ink and paper than redo in pencil and ink. I then put the piece in photoshop and colored it with the layer mode multiply.Concept: I guess its really about feeling stressed and never having enough time for anything. Not as much to do with the Lolita community, but its more about a personal fight I have with clocks and time.Composition: It is a frame in a frame. I was really trying to break away from floating heads and this piece was something I new I could make with a really solid background. I think the clock needs a bit more attention but for now it will do.

“The Clock struck......”

T he Clo ck Str u ck....Craft: This was a piece made with ink

and paper than redone in pencil and ink. I then put the piece in photoshop and

colored it with the layer mode multiply.

Concept: I guess its really about feeling stressed and never having enough time for

anything. Not as much to do with the Lolita commnity, but its more about a personal

fight I have with clocks and time. In a sense most lolitas are in there 20s-30s, so

there will be a time when the fashion will not be revelent for some. I personally will

wear Lolita till I am as old as dirt.

Composition: It is a frame in a frame. I was really trying to break away from float-

ing heads and this piece was something I knew I could make with a really solid

background. I think the clock needs a bit more attention, but for now it will do.

Lolita is a Japapanese subculture high fashion. Simply put, not many people participate in the fashion and it is quite expensive if you choose to. The styles range from Gothic lolitas which dress

in black and have a very victorian stlye, to over the top sweet lolitas that wear lots of pink and many accessories. The fashion is really about remebering how it was to wish to be a princess and to never

forget that feeling.

Angelic Pretty Tea Party at A-cen 2012 in Rosemont IL

Chicago Gothic and Lolita Community Annual Mega Meet 2012 Chicago IL

Lolita is something that can be an expression of ones inner self, and what girl doesn’t want to be a princess. Throughout my experiences in the community good or bad, I will never forget what the fashion does for me as a person and what the fashion does for my art.

Ugl y DressCraft: This piece is pencil sketch backed in photoshop and colored with layers set to

multiply color option.

Concept: These piece is about the different “Brands” that lolita dresses come in.

Many lolitas buy brand dresses which are about $400 dollars each. Some other

girls choose Off Brand and other things like Replica which is stolen Brand artwork

printed on cheaper fabric. Girls who wear replica are ridiculed for wearing these

dress and it tends to put rifts in communitys. As a average lolita I have replica

dresses and I have made a personaly choice not to wear them any more because it is

wrong to do so. Thoug I would never treat anyone differently if they choose to. As

you can see this piece holds a lot of meaning and it would take a essay to explain

the ideals behind it.

Composition: A very frontal piece with toned down colors to reflect some of the

emotions that follow this piece.

Craft: This piece was originally an inked pencil drawing. Which I have now

scanned into photoshop and colored. Using the color layer options and multiply

layer options, I was able to keep my original line work in tact. Which to me was

very important for the edges of the girls eye and facial features to stay crisp. I

wasn’t as worried about the chocolate melts I thought the fuzziness of the color-

ing adds a bit of whimsy.

Concept: The piece is very simply about how each and everyone of us wears a

mask at sometime in our life. Sometimes all day, sometimes at a certain friends

house. None the less we all have worn them, and the piece symbolizes the

struggle of letting them melt away. It has a more relevant meaning to me being

part of a Lolita community I believe at times we all but masks on and we lose

sight of what is important. Which is the love of a very interesting fashion.

Composition: When the piece was black and white only the cross hatching and

line work made the depth so I went and added some shading where it was nec-

essary. The piece is made to be frontal and draw you right to the unaltered eye.

Its the most detailed part of the piece and the most pivotal to the meaning, so of

course i worked around it being very wide and attention grabbing.

Cho colate Mold s Mel t Away Mask s

Dream Princess is a Lolita shop that was

made with the idea that every Lolita, may they be big or

small, rich or poor, is welcome.

Everyone has a chance to be cute yet elegant. With our dresses and

designs that dream of being a princess and having tea

parties and eating fine cakes can come true.

Visit us and make your dreams come true. www.etsy.com/shop/DreamPrincess

Dream PrincessThis was one of the first pieces I created for my business, Dream Princess a

small jewelry shop on Etsy made for sweet and classic Lolitas. This is a poster made for Dream Princess and the fun and cute colors inspired the previous ten

pieces of, “Welcome to Our Cute.” This piece was made all in illustrator and was finished in summer of 2012. It

was only my second attempt at Illustrator and I love the outcome.

Sweet Dreams AlpacasAnother inspiration piece for, “Welcome to Our Cute.” This is a T-shirt design

I created to sell at our shop. This again is a purely Illustrator design and its cute and fun composition was another big inspiration to my new work. I love cutesy Lolita art and that works very well for my business. I of course love these little

Alpacas , but they serve mostly as art to sell to a specific buyer.

Su gar y Me“Sugary Me” was the cover to my porfollio from my Moraine class, Intro to

Computer arts. The cover of the portfollio served as a separte piece and we were asked to make it reflect the artist. So I used a cutesy stylized Anime girl wear-ing a dress and wig I own. It was a fun cover and very fun to do. Its all done in

Photoshop and was origanlly a pencil sketch. I consider this an inspiration piece to “Welcome to Our Cute.” because it serves a perpose as being me the artist

dressed in Lolita.

Shinya,Bone CallerThis was a piece I made in Fall of 2012 in Digital

Imagery. The piece is done in Corel Painter 12. I wanted to show that I am not all about heart and pink bows. I can so dark and different types of art. I really enjoyed

making this video game character art styled piece and I think it will really stand out in my portfollio.

Mint yThis was a piece made in Fall 2012 in my Digital Imagery class. It was a paint

on photo project and the freedom I had with color was key to making this piece. I wanted short bright hair and a whimpsical background. Using only Photoshop

and the mixing brush I created a very unique minty piece.

Just like the “Minty” piece before this one it two is made with Photoshop and the mixing brush. More crazy colors to make the piece pop. I couldn’t again leave the background blank so I used a swirl brush to make almost a circle which lead me to the name of the piece. I love the full composition and the

placement of my hands it really works well with the idea of the circle and the curved lines all around the piece.

Pur ple Circle

Weeping“Weeping” was made in fall 2012 and is a montage piece. It is made up of many

layer masks and blending modes. The piece is made all in Photoshop and has a symetrical composition and it is also made with a very frontal compostion.

Which emphasizes the Angel over the rest of the negative space.

PseudoMade quite some time ago, during my watercolor phase. It was all pencil and

then lined with ink pen. All the black pen lines in the background are done in a cross hatching method. The black piece in the front is an ink wash. This piece is

to show darkness and a weakness we all share.

DemonThis was a Self Portrait done in the Fall of 2010. The piece had to include some

sort of different element that we couldn’t simply have as humans. So I added demon horns and a burning building in the background. The piece is done in all

pencil and the fire was made with a kneading eraser technique.

Invisible FurThe First Page of a Comic I made in the winter of 2009. The rest of the comic is in the works. This was colored with watercolors and the backed in Photoshop to add the words. One of my first colored comic sences it has a very special place

in my collection. I have switched to all digital coloring. So it is nice to see a difference in this piece.

Dragon LoveAnother Comic done in 2009, it uses

Japanese screen tones to color the first page the rest is ink and pen.

Dragon Love

For me my Lolita Fashion is more than just a life style it also is another means of artistic outlook. I run a small little Etsy Shop which I have referenced a couple times in my work. So I invite everyone who reads this to come check us out and see first hand

the wonderful Lolita designs of Dream Princess.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/DreamPrincess