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.

Monster Monday- February 2, 2015

After goblin week, I wanted to draw something that was completely different. Heres a pumpkin headed ghost I designed a while back and colored last night. I might create some other characters to go with it for my concept art portfolio but I want to make some changes to the design first, so we'll see. That's it for now, back to photoshop to work on coloring props.

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.

Monster Monday- January 12, 2015

Rock Elementals live in the craggy, rocky lowlands and mountains. They sleep for long periods of time, usually weeks, months and sometimes even years or decades. They start life out as a small rock, adding other rocks to themselves to add better mobility and grow in size. There are rumors that some of the mountains and volcanoes of Orbis are actually Elementals who are in a deep slumber. This hypothesis has not be proven but there is evidence that elementals are difficult to detect and often go unseen to untrained eyes.

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 29, 2014

Last Monster Monday of the year! And this year I didn't miss one week reaching my goal of having a monster posted every week of 2014. Having a project like Monster Monday really helps hold accountability to post on my blog, tumblr, and other social media. For 2015, I hope to make it another year full of monsters and creatures as well as other projects.

The image above is the final colored version of the goblin entry to Blizzard's Hearthstone contest.

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.

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)

Monster Monday- November 24, 2014

Hobgoblins are cousins of both goblins and bugbears. They are known to be the intelligent of the three, but not considered geniuses either. Hobgoblins are often elite fighters compared to goblins having more training.The mass amount of weapons and armor for the goblinoid army is crafted by Hobgoblin smiths. In the depths of volcanoes they use the lava to craft tools of destruction. Often the most crude weapons are given to goblin soldiers and the best crafted armor is given to the Bugbear guards of the Goblin King. Hobgoblins often experiment with new materials and explosives to help conquer enemy territories.

Monster Monday- November 10, 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.

Monster Monday- October 13, 2014

Imps are small, mischievous, creatures seen as pests to others. They live in small, tight areas ranging from attics to hallow trees. Imps enjoy stealing metal objects from human homes, most notably silverware and coins. Inside their burrows, they use the metal to sharpen their teeth or carve crude weapons. To keep Imps from stealing, hang cut up onions in doorways and window sills. Imps' sense of smell is very sensitive to the distinct odor and won't enter the house. This technique can also be used to rid an area of unwanted imps.

Sorry for the silence lately, was dealing with some food allergies that left me out of commission for a while, but i'm better now. So later on this week I'll post some monsters that I finished up coloring in photoshop

Monster Monday- October 6, 2014

Born from the wraith of the sea god himself, the tritons are amphibious creatures constructed of some of the most feared beasts of the sea. Legend said that when a small fishing town began to stop thanking Tritonus (the sea god) for the food, calm waves, and good weather, he became angry for their selfishness of taking with no thanks. Tritonus pulled a rock from the depths of the ocean and carved an army of soldiers. The soldiers had the face of an eel, the fin of a shark, and smarts of a dolphin. After arming his new people, he sent them to the town for an attack. The Tritons sunk the boats and destroyed their equipment. The town was in horror of the aquatic beasts that Tritonus forged from anger. From then on, people made sure to give thanks to Tritonus. Though the story is thought to be pure legend, Tritonus are know to attack ships that enter their territory. Working together in large groups to use shear numbers to intimate their foes. It is rare for Tritons to be seen on land unless they have a reason to leave the water. Some even believe that Tritons are as much legend as the story itself.

Monster Monday- September 15, 2014

This week's monster is a goblin on green paper. A while back I sketched out the idea for this goblin for Goblin Guild. But I was not happy with how the soldier ended up. As a way to relax between preparing for Illuxcon, I worked on this drawing on and off. This version will replace the older design in reprints of Goblin Guild.

On Wednesday I'll be driving to Allentown for Illuxcon. I'll be exhibiting my work at the showcase on Friday and Saturday. Original drawings, prints, and books will be available at my table. Make sure to stop by .

Monster Monday- August 25, 2014

The past week has been busy preparing for Illuxcon along with working on new drawings and illustrations and a part time job. But that didn't stop Monster Monday from happening, this week's monster is a Fate Spirit. A Fate Spirit is a creature I imagine that lives in ancient tombs to protect secrets or treasures. It uses the ancient rock to craft armor and weapons that it used in their former life. The Fate Spirit reminds me of a creature that could be used in a role playing game where a group of adventurers have to enter an ancient city or tomb. It would have multiple levels in order to create different challenges for the party and end with a battle with a fate spirit of a king or warlord. 

Monster Monday- June 30, 2014

This week's monster is a Catoblepas from Ethiopia, one of the monster requests I received on Tumblr. It's said to look like a boar or buffalo with spikes along the spin. It's breath turns people to stone or kills them. For the creature's design I looked at oxen reference since they have an interesting silhouette and a strong build. For a future I plan on using the Catoblepas for an illustration. 

Monster Monday- June 9, 2014

When in doubt, draw a Satyr, this week's monster was created as a practice for inking. I bought a few new brushes to try out to see if the brushes would be an improvement from the Blick brush I usually use. I bought a Princeton Preferred synthetic brush and really liked the way the brush moved on paper. After the ink test I began to use it to ink larger illustrations I am currently finishing up. Later this week will be a process post on a new toned paper drawing. Stay tune.

Monster Monday- June 2, 2014

A little creature inspired by insects of many kind. A little drawing I inked for practice and turned out well. This design will be done on toned paper and inked maybe even colored. This creature is very small and lives inside trees with a larger colony of its kind. They work together collecting pollen to create a honey that can heal even the worse wounds. Many people wander the woods looking for the honey to help the injured or sell to a doctor.

Monster Monday- May 19, 2014

This week's monster is a Minotaur. I've drawn minotaurs in the past but wanted to have a more unique looking design with long ape like arms. When it rests, it lays it's hands down on the ground similar to a gorilla. This design is one of the creatures of Fable Wood, which I have two stories on their first draft. Minotaurs will play a role in a few of the short stories and are helpful builders because of their strength.

Monster Monday- April 21, 2014

With a busy weekend, I didn't have too much time between family gatherings, hanging out with fellow illustrators, and attending an art show, to draw for monster monday. I drew the orc last night and inked it today. Orcs are fun to experiment with design and the black, white, and green paper are one of my favorite combinations to create a drawing on. Now it's time to get back to work.

Monster Monday- March 31, 2014

  This week is all about getting ready for MoCCA Fest in NYC. Here is a Jackalope I created as one of the designs for stickers I sell. I didn't want it to be a fluffy happy rabbit, so I added scruffier fur, sharp teeth, and dark brown hair elements.

If you are interested in getting a copy of my book, Conjured Thoughts: Volume 1, attend a con or shop visit that I'm attending. During May or June, I might open a store to make prints and books available.