Monster Monday- February 9, 2015

The Minotaurs of Orbis live in the grass lands spending most of their time slowly traveling across the plains during the day and resting in a group at night.Their groups can be huge, causing stampedes destroy the land and anyone that stands in their way. They track deer herds to feed the group and will steal cows from near by farms. With a burst of speed, they attack their prey dragging it back to the group for meals. When desperate for food they have been known to kill with in the group for food, but that hasn't been recorded since the First Age when a drought dried up the wet lands and farmers to lose their crops.  When faced against a minotaur, it's often recommended to not engage in battle, other minotaurs will be nearby unseen resting in the grass and will kill a deemed threat.

Art Challenge Part 2

Here are the illustrations I shared the last two days of the 5 Day Art Challenge

GOBLINS

My favorite Monsters (in color)

Goblin Week 2015

All of the drawings for this year Goblin Week

Goblin Week 2015-Day 7

Last day of Goblin Week and I'm happy with the results of the drawings that will be added to Goblin Guild. Today's goblin is apart of the bombers. These goblins have to be brave since they are a walking explosive. They carry huge barrels full of gun powder to place near walls or buildings to collapse the structures. They also have an array of small bombs to lob into battalions or through windows. Bombers are targets of the battle fields for their enemies hoping to cause chaos on the goblins side instead of there own. Many have exploded from flaming arrows piercing the barrel leaving the goblins in a bad place.

Goblin Week 2015- Day 6

Todays goblin is an alchemist. The alchemists work in labs creating new explosives. They contain the explosive potions in glass bottles that will shatter when hitting a target. Some of the potions are acidic to cause damage to people while others are meant to light buildings on fire. The alchemists fill barrels with gun powder and roll them towards enemy lines and blow them up. Most cases it back fires on their own ranks, but the alchemists are determined to make it work.

Goblin Week 2015- Day 4

Today's goblin is a hobgoblin archer. One of the main cities goblin cities, Gnashgor, is located in a cavern under a mountain in the Dragon Spine Range. Since the location is rocky and their is an easily seen mouth to the cave system, the guild sets up archers to protect intruders from entering. These goblins are specially trained in archery, having a good aim is not a common skill for goblins. With there elite training, they scout the areas to warn of oncoming intruders who pose a threat to the city but most of the time they sit in the ridges and eat.

Monster Monday- January 26, 2015

Second day of Goblin Week. Goblins aren’t known for their education, but there are members of the guild who work as scholars in different areas such as war tactics, engineering, and literature. The scholars are also in charge of the library holding all the guilds documents and were the guild scribes work.

Goblin Week 2015

Its that time of the year again, were lots of people all over the internet contribute to Goblin Week created by Evan Dahm. This year I will be creating more goblins for the Goblin Guild that will be added to the project I am working on that will include a brief history of the guild, the classes of members, and 2 short stories. So for the first day of goblin week I give you a line up of the goblin races.

Monster Monday-January 19, 2015

A Crystal Rock Elemental for my Mobile Gaming Concept Art Portfolio. Recently I was talking to the One Fantastic Week illustrator community and gave me great advice to promote my illustrations to gaming studios. I live close enough to New York City to commute by train. Over the next few weeks I'm going to be formatting a new portfolio with some of my existing work and creating new work to show my process and thinking when it comes to character design.

The Night Maggot

Over at the Art Order, they were holding a challenge to create an illustration, concept, etc. based on 4 cards randomly assigned. I got chain mail, crossbow, tattoos, and half mask. I sketched out a bunch of ideas and decided to create a halfling spy crawling up a building. Then figured I could create an illustration for Oribs.

The assassin guild The Night Maggots, is a very secretive organization living in the darkest corners and deep in the sewers of Muruspatria (capital city of Orbis). Getting in contact with the Maggots is a difficult task, when some one wants a contract done, they either have to find a Maggot in the sewer or go through a chain of people to get to the group. It costs a large amount of gold to have an expert assassin kill a target since they won't stop till the target is down. Joining the guild is even more difficult then finding them. They secretly hide among the crowds watching the best thieves, magic users, and fighters to recruit, even the process to join is top secret and is unknown to people outside the Maggots. But it is easy to know when a Maggot has  killed, one bolt to the chest.

Troll Witch in Red

Troll Witch has been a character I've drawn on and off for a while. She started as a piece for my portfolio and slowly started to develop into a character in a story I'm working on.

Troll Witch is a master of herbal arts and a friend of many. She lives in a house made of trees and river stones. Most of the season she wanders the woods collecting plants and herbs for her potions. Meeting lots of creatures along the way and helping out when she can. During the colder months, she stays at her home taking in visitors out of the freezing cold. She once had a whole party of gnomes, three dwarves, and a minotaur in her house at once, feeling more like a tavern then anything else. But once the snow melts, she leaves again to replenish her supply.

Gnome Inventor

Tobis Calgrim is a gnome inventor who spends most of his time tinkering with his automatons. He is famous for his horse automaton that can travel long distances without rest unlike real horses. Very few exist due to the amount of time and gold that is needed to create the automaton. Though many of his small automatons are seen all over orbitis. From his orb bot (which he is holding in the drawing) delivering letters to massive golems digging tunnels for dwarves. Tobis has a large workshop to for building and employs many gnomes to aid him in construction. The location of the workshop is unknown, a few people believe that dark magic is needed to bring life to the automatons and thats why the lab is hidden.

Monster Monday-January 5, 2015

Starkens live in the vast fields of Orbis. Spending most of their life traveling the lands following game rather than settling in one select area. There lives are built to move, their yurts can fold into smaller parts and carried on bison. Traveling for weeks on end before establishing a settlement is normal for Starkens from a young age, you carry what you own. Starkens govern in a true democracy, all voting on laws, rules, and travel. Rarely Starkens have been involved in war, they prefer to create peace then get involved in others politics. The only reason for having warriors is to hunt and protect the group while they migrate. Starkens are skilled martial artists that focus on the spiritual side being trained by monks who teach them the philosophies of their society and of the world beyond their own.

Monster Monday-December 22, 2014

The Ettin are 2 headed giants that live deep in the woods of Orbis. Rarely seen near cities or towns. They prefer the isolation of the forest then civilization. When Ettins are seen they are usually arguing between themselves. Each head wanting there way over the other. They don't complete much of anything since each step is a quarrel. But if they get mad, both will go into an uncontrollable rage ripping the forest apart like a tornado, leaving little standing. Legend tells of an Ettin that cleared the land that Orbis' capital sits on.

Sorry for posting Monster Monday a day late. Yesterday was a little exhausting and it slipped my mind.

Gnome Spell Caster

One of the first drawings I made after returning from Illuxcon that for some reason never made it up on the blog. My take on a gnome spell caster for a table top RPG game. Played around with textures created by line to create a cohesive ink drawing. Currently in the Work in Progress folder to be colored in photoshop.

Technomage Gnome

Blizzard was holding a contest for their game Hearthstone. For my entry I created a technomage gnome inspired by the design and direction of Hearthstone. Finished it just in time to enter into the contest.

Bugbear now in Technicolor

Over the past few months, I've been creating and coloring many of the monsters of Orbis for a person project. Here's one of the finished character illustrations. By spending more time in photoshop, my digital skills have grown since September. Learning more color theory, harmonIous color palettes and experimenting has a major part of this project. It's one thing to read about color theory and another to put it in action. I hope by the end of January/ early February to have 50 inked and colored monsters to share as a cohesive work. Time to pull out the paper, grab a pencil, and get drawing.

Quick reminder character commissions and toned paper commissions are open. Order soon if you want them for the holidays.

Monster Monday- December 8, 2014

Mimics are creatures that are able to replicate objects in texture and design to disguise themselves to trick others. There true form is unknown but they are thought to be an ooze that was infused with changeling DNA, that allowed the ooze to morph. Most likely created in a wizards lab and escaped disguised to multiply into Orbis' cities. It's unknown how many mimics exist or that an object is a mimic till it reveals it's face to fight back. Usually a mimic is harmless unless it feels threatened where it can change into a weapon and fight back.

Rus Dread-gouger

Rus Dread-gouger, assassin for the Goblin Guild in the capital city of Orbis, Muruspatria. Known for his skill throughout the guild, he has been tracking his prey for days through out the city and  he is ready for his move. With his dagger in hand and target in sight, Rus will king the city’s court wizard and take down the magical barrier to let the goblin horde invade.

Monster Monday- December 1, 2014

Hill Giants live in the valleys and foothills near mountain ranges. They live in small traveling families that constantly move for fresh grass for their herds of sheep. Since Hill Giants don’t have a system of formal currency, sheep are used for trade instead of coins. Sheep are the basis for their society as they sell their wool to trade for tools they need. With families of Hill Giants constantly moving it’s difficult to track them down with out following their path to see where they camp for a day or two, though Giants rather be left alone then become members of formal cities or states.  As long as the families are left alone, they are known to be peaceful and don’t attack or destroy settlements unless provoked.

(wasn't happy with the last Hill Giant I drew and decided to create a better design)