JM Tolman
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jmtolman.bsky.social
JM Tolman
@jmtolman.bsky.social
18 followers 26 following 49 posts
Illustrator, graphic designer, and pattern artist from Los Angeles.
Linktree: https://linktr.ee/jmtolman
No AI used for any of my works!
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jmtolman.bsky.social
Last couple piece from my Monster Girl Sweet Shops series: Love Runs the All-Nite Cafe! I use these two a LOT in my branding- I just love how they turned out!

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#art #illustration #valentines #monsters #pophorror #monstergirls #horror #sweets #cafe
A diner scene from behind the counter. The owners are embracing, while one of the customers laughs. The other customer, a kid, is busy starting at the giant cake in the display case. A close-up of the kid and the cake. A close-up of some of the other desserts in the case.
February 15, 2026 at 2:03 AM
jmtolman.bsky.social
Another couple from my Monster Girl Sweet Shops series! This is the piece "Mint to Be Ice Cream", and man, I still love it.

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#art #illustration #valentines #monsters #pophorror #monstergirls #horror #sweets #icecream
The piece shows the exterior of an ice cream shop. Through the giant window, we can see two teen girls- one Black Lagoon-like monster and one vampire- on a date and sharing an ice cream float. Behind them, we can see the counter & menu, with a tentacled monster making a GIANT ice cream cone stack for a little flying vampire boy. Another customer watches the scene with delight. A close-up of the tentacle monster and little vampire boy.
February 13, 2026 at 2:13 AM
jmtolman.bsky.social
More monster couples 💕 This is the piece "Moonlight & Blood Bakery" from my Monster Girl Sweet Shop series, featuring Edith & Bella!

#art #illustration #valentines #monsters #pophorror #monstergirls #horror #sweets
Two monster girls, one vampire and one werewolf, behind the counter at their monster-themed bakery, surrounded by all the baked goods they made. A close-up of Edith (vampire, left) and Bella (werewolf, right).
February 11, 2026 at 5:52 AM
jmtolman.bsky.social
Here's Monster Boys in Love, the companion series to Monster Girl in Love! I painted it a year later after a customer asked if I could add some queer monster art with men- a fantastic idea, so I did it! The water monsters one is my FAVORITE

#art #illustration #valentines #monsters #pophorror
Two water monsters with a giant heart in the background. The man on the left is caressing the man on the right with one of his tentacles. The man on the right is based on deep sea fish and the end of his glowing angler is shaped like a heart. A man covered in eyes and Frankenstein's monster are about to rub their noses together, with a giant heart in the background. The eyes of the first man have heart-shaped pupils. A tiefling and a zombie look at each other with adoration, with a giant heart in the background. A werewolf and a vampire grin at each other, with a giant heart in the background.
February 5, 2026 at 11:58 PM
jmtolman.bsky.social
Oh hey, it's February, which means I can post my super cutesy monster pieces! The first is my Monster Girls in Love series, made waaaay back in 2021 and originally meant to be a pattern. Didn't work as a pattern, but the drawings worked as prints!

#art #illustration #valentines #monsters #pophorror
A zombie girl and a Bride Of Frankenstein style monster about to kiss with a giant heart in the background. Two tentacle-haired monster girls holding tentacles and blushing with a giant heart in the background. A tiefling and a Creature of the Black Lagoon style monster about to rub their noses together with a giant heart in the background. A werewolf and a vampire about to rub their noses together with a giant heart in the background.
February 4, 2026 at 2:48 AM
jmtolman.bsky.social
Giving myself a mental break to post one of my most popular prints: The Jellybean Cats! Started as a drawing exercise, ended up as a print & a pattern. Still one of my top sellers five years later!

#art #illustration #pattern #patterndesign #surfacedesign #cats #cartoon #cute
A print of cartoony cats, drawn with solid shapes of color and minimal linework. The colors are pastel green, true green, teal, and lavender. The same cats as the first image, but now in a continuous pattern.
February 1, 2026 at 2:29 AM
Reposted by JM Tolman
charlenedraws.bsky.social
Wow! Thank you to everyone who participated in the Publishing for Minnesota auction!

#kidlit #publishing
Graphic for Publishing for Minnesota. The final auction amount is $216,298. Graphic is screencapped from the auction account of same name on Instagram.
January 31, 2026 at 7:36 PM
Reposted by JM Tolman
brianlarossa.com
Hey #Kidlit, I donated a one hour portfolio/dummy critique to raise money for Minnesota. The auction will run from Thursday at 12AM untill Friday at 11:45PM.

💙❤️

www.32auctions.com/organization...
Publishing for Minnesota Logo
January 27, 2026 at 9:48 PM
jmtolman.bsky.social
And to my fellow Angelenos: I strongly encourage you to follow @lataco.bsky.social, who have been posting daily ICE Tracker updates & video memos about ICE's actions in SoCal since early 2025. They are an invaluable resource and I cannot recommend them enough!
January 25, 2026 at 2:22 AM
jmtolman.bsky.social
Hey, so, while I'm not going to post extensively about current events on this account, as I do want to keep it focused on art, I want to boost www.standwithminnesota.com. There is an extensive list of funds you can donate to (or link to, if money is tight but you want to spread the word).
Stand With Minnesota Donation Directory
Stand With Minnesota is a hub for supporting, learning, and taking action to support Minnesotans impacted by ICE and federal enforcement.
www.standwithminnesota.com
January 25, 2026 at 2:14 AM
jmtolman.bsky.social
Final bit of Autumn People vis dev for now: furniture! I originally wanted to do Gilded Age inspired pieces, but ended up drawing more inspiration from DIY fairy house furniture. You can still see some Gilded Age in the silhouettes, though!

#art #sketch #visualdevelopment #visdev #illustration
Rough sketches of Gilded Age & plant-inspired furniture, including mushroom lamps and a very, very rough layout of a possible interior of a tree stump house. A set of more refined sketches depicting furniture & lamps made from organic material such as twigs, strips of bark, leaves, mushrooms, and hollow acorns.
January 16, 2026 at 11:13 PM
jmtolman.bsky.social
More Autumn People vis dev! I took a LOT of inspiration from fairy houses made out of tree stumps. I strongly recommend you check out R/FairyGardens and R/Gardening for fairy house inspo!

#art #sketch #visualdevelopment #visdev #illustration #plants #trees
Four whimsical tree stump houses, each more ramshackle than the last. A tree stump with two diverging trunks makes for two rustic houses. The trunk on the left is tall enough for a two-story home, while the one on the right is a one-story, one-room cabin. A pumpkin person waves from the second-story window of the house on the left. Moss grows on both houses, and there is a ladder connecting their roofs. Very, very rough sketches of more tree trunk homes. More rough sketches.
January 15, 2026 at 5:42 AM
jmtolman.bsky.social
This week, I thought I would share some of the vis dev pieces I've done for the the Autumn people and their world! Today I want to share some of the style explorations I did for trees and different bushes.

#art #sketch #visualdevelopment #visdev #illustration #plants #trees
A style sheet of cartoony, flat-style trees and bushes. They are reminiscent of background paintings from 50s and 60s Warner Bros' cartoons.
January 13, 2026 at 12:14 AM
jmtolman.bsky.social
Season's Greetings from The Autumn People! 🎃✨

I've been developing the Autumn People into a bigger project on Twitch for the past few months! Expected to see more of these little guys over the next year or so.

Happy Holidays, everyone!

#art #illustration #happyholidays #jackolantern #winter
Two pumpkin-headed people in a snowy forest with a mostly-finished snowman. The one on the right has taken off his head and is holding it over the unfinished snowman with a goofy expression. The one on the left is in the middle of adding snow to their snowman, looking at the other one's head with surprise.
December 25, 2025 at 12:51 AM
jmtolman.bsky.social
The design on the left is one of the first patterns I ever made, & the one on the right is a re-imagining I did five years later! I think I did a pretty good job of keeping the vibe while improving the overall look.

#art #illustration #christmas #winter #patterns #patterndesign #fabric
A pattern of blue & purple frosted Christmas ornaments with glittery designs painted on the them in white. The design is done against a dark blue background, and there are large empty spaces between the ornaments. A pattern of blue, pink, and purple frosted Christmas ornaments, rendered in a similar style to the first image. The ornaments are more densely packed in, with better spacing.
December 9, 2025 at 1:26 AM
jmtolman.bsky.social
A very simple fall pattern I made last year for fun! And of course, I had to make a jack-o-lantern version.

#art #illustration #halloween #patterns #patterndesign #fabricdesign #fabric #spoonflower #autumn #fall #pumpkins #jackolanterns
A simple pattern in a diamond configuration of leaves and pumpkins. The colors are cream, light beige, orange, and brown against a very light cream. Same as the first image, but the pumpkins have jack-o-lantern faces. The jack-o-lantern version in colors of light pink, light brown, orange, and burnt orange against a berry red.
November 27, 2025 at 2:17 AM
jmtolman.bsky.social
Brain tired, have some cute pink owls in teacups

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#art #illustration #cute #owls #tea
Two pink owls hiding in two teal and gold teacups; the one on the left has the phases of the moon, and the one on the right has stars and a crescent moon. There is a window with open curtains in the background.
November 25, 2025 at 1:33 AM
jmtolman.bsky.social
One of my favorite patterns!✨ It's loosely based on nightshade flowers, and I believe I did submit it to a Spoonflower contest- but make no mistake, I made it 100% for myself lol.

#art #illustration #patterndesign #fabricdesign #fabric #spoonflower #floral #pastelgoth
A pattern of alternating rows of cartoony nightshade flowers, stars, and crescent moons. The colors are light yellow, lavender, and light teal against a purple background.
November 21, 2025 at 10:30 PM
jmtolman.bsky.social
These are SO old that I forgot they existed! Waaay back in 2020, I was DEEP into New Horizons and wanted to get back into shape-based styles after years of linear based ones, so I made these basic phone wallpapers! Feel free to use 'em (1/3)

#art #illustration #animalcrossing #fanart #nintendo
A phone wallpaper of twelve squirrel characters from Animal Crossing: New Horizons in a polka dot pattern. A phone wallpaper of twelve bunny characters from Animal Crossing: New Horizons in a polka dot pattern. A phone wallpaper of twelve cat characters from Animal Crossing: New Horizons in a polka dot pattern. A phone wallpaper of twelve cub characters from Animal Crossing: New Horizons in a polka dot pattern.
November 19, 2025 at 8:54 PM
jmtolman.bsky.social
This is a fun one lol. So, Spectral Sweethearts started as a fabric design for Spoonflower, but I thought it was SO cute that I turned one of the couples into a pin, ha!

#art #illustration #patterndesign #fabricdesign #fabric #spoonflower #ghosts #horror #pophorror #enamelpin #pin
A pattern of ghost couples in various romantic poses. The colors are dusty pastel pink, dusty lavender, and steel blue against a gray background. A photo of a pin of two ghosts hugging with a heart filled with stars behind them. The metal is gold, filled with white enamel for the ghosts and black for the heart. There is a second copy of the pin in the background of the photo.
November 17, 2025 at 10:03 PM
jmtolman.bsky.social
A lil post-stream sketch I did last summer, when the heat was not letting up. I like the dismal-yet-dreamy vibe of this piece, very fitting for that point in time.

#art #illustration #sketch #portrait #summer
A portrait of a woman, eyes sleepy and expression vacant, with the hot sun behind her. Her bobbed hair flutters in the warm breeze; the whole piece is done in dark cream, yellow, orange, and red-orange.
November 14, 2025 at 9:53 PM
jmtolman.bsky.social
I was going through my files, and found this older contest design! It's called Lil’ Witch’s First Coven, and it was my first attempt at an 'endless landscape' piece. I think it holds up!

#art #illustration #patterndesign #fabricdesign #fabric #spoonflower #witch #pastel #magic #fantasy #forest
One half of the pattern, depicting a springtime forest with two witches looking over a cauldron, two deer, and a couple of faeries. The colors are salmon pink, pale green, and lavender against white. One half of the pattern, depicting a springtime forest with a young witch walking down a path, a fox, a mushroom faerie ring, faeries, and a deer hiding behind a tree. The colors are salmon pink, pale green, and lavender against white.
November 13, 2025 at 2:25 AM
jmtolman.bsky.social
This is Fantastical Florals, and it's the pattern I use for my header image! I made it for a Spoonflower Pantone challenge a couple of years ago, but between you and me I like the autumnal colorway more 😉

#art #illustration #patterndesign #fabricdesign #fabric #spoonflower #floral #folkart #pantone
A pattern of flowers & greenery drawn in a folk art style inspired by Scandinavian florals. The colors are pink, wine red, coral, white, and black against a cream background. Same pattern as before, but the colors are mint green, light purple, cornflower blue, white, and black against a lime green background.
November 10, 2025 at 10:23 PM
jmtolman.bsky.social
Tunes for Freaknik Ghouls🎶

Another series that started as a fabric design, and later got remixed as a print series. The whole thing was inspired by album covers from the 40s, 50s, and 60s. And, of course, monsters!

#art #illustration #monsters #horror #retro #pophorror
A faux album cover for To All The Ghouls by Gary Ghast. It features a ghost, Gary, singing into an old-style microphone with the caption "Songs for the Spirit". A faux album cover for Two Times the Love by Fred n 'Fred. It features two disembodied heads singing into an old-style microphone. The album is labeled as a Heprat Records release, under their Teen Hits imprint, and is advertised to be in high fidelity stereo sound. A faux album cover for Out There! by El Dric. El Dric is a three-eyed monster in a snazzy lapel jacket, turtleneck, and boat hat. The album is advertised to have hi-fi sound. A faux album cover for You Caught My Eye, Babe by CeCe. CeCe has a giant eyeball for a head, and somehow has enough hair for a giant 60s flip. Her fashion is 100% mod girl.
November 8, 2025 at 3:53 AM
jmtolman.bsky.social
Literary Kitties! 📚🐈✨

Two of my most successful prints EVER. Shout out to my stream chat for helping me brainstorm cat puns for the book titles, that was so much fun!

#art #illustration #cats #reading #books #cute #puns
A tuxedo cat looks over its should as it sits on a stack of books in front of a window. To the left, text reads "Why Read When Can Pets?". The book titles are all cat puns ("The Great Catsby", "The Complete Hercule Purrrot", etc.) A black cat mischievously climbs on a row of books next to a potted plant and in front of a window. The book titles are all cat puns ("I, Clawdius", "Cat 22", etc.)
November 6, 2025 at 3:36 AM