Tomorrow October 25, I will be at the Comic Book Shop for there Halloween weekend. I'll have prints, books, and original drawings. There will also be a bunch of other awesome artists and writers at the shop as well. Make sure to stop by!
Here's a sneak peek at a monster I've been coloring.
I've been a fan of Rocket since I picked up back issues of Mike Mignola's run back in the '90's. A raccoon running around with a crazy gun and Mignola draws it, awesome. Experimented with more texture in the piece like Rocket's hair, pants, and rocks. It was weird drawing a crazy scifi gun since I don't draw a lot of science fiction. But it does make me want to try to make a large scifi illustrations.
Rocket raccoon belongs to Marvel
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
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.
Created from corpses and magic, an Abomination is a horror. Necromancers collect parts and use dark magic to construct an undead creature as a being to serve in the dark arts. Magic symbols are draw onto the creatures skin to enchant the animation of the body. Abominations are in a variety of sizes and shapes due to random collection of body parts and medical knowledge of a necromancer. Many are created in order to create a horde that is able to overtake towns and farm lands. They are not known for being smart individually but together they can use shear numbers to overpower a group of trained fighters. Abominations are rare to see unless a known necromancer lives or works in an area.
Last week was Illuxcon, I traveled to Allentown PA for the convention to see many of my favorite illustrators as well as portfolio reviews. This year I was able to attend every day since I graduated and didn't have to worry about dealing with classes. Most days I attended multiple lectures. The most informative lectures were the Artist Bootcamps by Drawn and Drafted. I attended all 3 of the two hour lectures. It was great to learn the ins and outs of being a successful illustrator. Here's a link to the information sheets that were used during the bootcamp.
The main show was packed with amazing artwork. It was overwhelming by the amount and array of drawings and paintings to see. It took me the whole convention to see the whole show. Every year the show has different artists and new works to see. I also had two portfolio reviews with art directors. This was my first time having a portfolio review with art directors face to face. It was a little nerve racking while waiting for a review but the positive results made it worth it. I was recommended to research board game companies since my style would suit board games well. I was also recommended to send my portfolio to game companies that create games for mobile devices.
Through out the convention I talked to the Illustrators displaying in the main show and side show. Justin Gerard told me about his process of creating an illustration with multiple figures. I talked dragons with William O'Connor. And Chris Seaman saw improvement in my portfolio thanks to has advice from last year. I also got to see a former professor, Prof. Jeff Menges, who I worked with on an independent study my senior year of college.
This year was my first time showing my work in the showcase on Friday night and Saturday evening. I tabled for the first time by myself, usually at conventions I share a table with friends. Illustrators Annie Stegg Gerard, Justin Gerard, and Chris Seaman stopped by my table. I enjoyed talking to them and they gave me advice on how to improve my illustrations. I sold some original art as well as copies of Conjured Thoughts. And new hand made accordion books of monsters, I don't have many left, people really liked them.
Here are some photos of how I set up my table.
Last year I bought a painting from Chris Seaman and this year he bought a drawing and a copy of Conjured Thoughts.
Through out the convention I met a lot of people who create all different types of illustrations. Some people I'm familiar with from Tumblr and Twitter. It was fun to trade portfolios to check out each others work as well as talk comics, monsters, and books. Next years's Illuxcon is already on my mind. I have two big personal projects that I plan to finish to premier at next years showcase (i hope to get a table again).
Since Wednesday I've been in Allentown PA for Illuxcon. I had a great time meeting new people, talking to the artists in the galleries, and learned alot from lectures and portfolio reviews. (later on this week I'll write a post about Illuxcon). Since I was busy the whole con I wasn't able to complete an ink drawing for Monster Monday. So for this week here are some sketches I drew while at the con. There's a goblin bomber, mushroom folk and mandrake roots, and a troll.
Through out the next few weeks I'll be updating my online store with original drawings for sale.
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 .
Born of the elemental energy of the earth, Carig was brought to life through natural powers along with all of the craglins. Due to Carig's large size he is able to manipulate the abnormal amount of magic that flows through his body. After many years of training with all kinds of magicians and wizards, he was able to harness his magic to protect craglins from their natural enemy in the cave systems called crawlers, bat like beasts of great speed and a venomous bite. Carig guards the graglin tunnel systems with enchantments and hexes to keep the mines safe from thieves and crawlers as well as the crystals magic that brought their kind to life.
For Twitter's Wizard Battle, created by Marek Jarocki, I decided to create a geomancer to enter as my wizard. Currently I am coloring the character in photoshop to enter in the contest tomorrow. Originally I was going to create a goblin wizard but wanted to do something more interesting since I've drawn a bunch of goblin magic users in the past. The other night I was unable to sleep, so while sketching in bed I drew a thumbnail of a rock character and thought it would make an awesome wizard. And today I sketched and inked the drawing to prepare for the deadline of September 9 for my wizard. Tomorrow I'll post the colored version along with the bio for my geomancer.
Over on instagram, I'm going to be posting drawings from my sketchbook a few times a week. Follow me on instagram or periodically click on the tab for instagram above to see weekly sketches and my other adventures.
Puca is a trickster fairy that can be equally helpful and confusing at the same time. He spends most of his time climbing around the trees, sleeping in the branches, and fooling the other creatures in the forest with his pranks. He is also known to be a changeling able to transform into animals like a rabbit, a goat, or a cat. The disguises are used to enter human settlements to steal food or trick people for his own amusement. In order to please Puca and keep his trickster ways to himself, people will leave a share or their crop for him at the edge of the forest as a present.
A while ago I posted the toned paper drawing of Gandalf the gray, to continue the series of Middle Earth Wizards is Radagast the brown, wizard of nature and animals. For his staff, it's made of twisted vines from the forest that he constructed himself. His clothing is made of durable fabrics and furs for long journeys into the deep woods. For his hat, I wanted it to have a wizard feel with out being cliche. With the addition of the straps, berries, feathers, and stitching it strays away from a pointy wizard hat. Though Radagast doesn't play a large role in Tolkien's books, it's easier to design him since he doesn't have a standard classic look like Gandalf does.
Next up is Saruman the White.
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.
Another Bugbear for Monster Monday. I continued with experimenting with adding texture to my ink drawings and have been getting positive results. The Bugbear is a part of a small book that I am creating for promotions to send to Art directors. It's a small accordion book of black and white drawings of monster. On instagram I post a dummy version of the book that helped me decide what changes to add to the final version of the book. The dummy is a little to big for the envelopes I purchased and stronger glue to hold it all together. With the next few days off, I'll be formatting and being the production of my book.
For this week's Monster Monday is a rogue goblin. The idea started as a sketch while I was working on a slow day. Then developed into a sketchy pen drawing then an ink drawing. This goblin is a thief in the Goblin Guild. He carries two swords on his back at hip level. The armor is leather with leather scaling for easy movement. Though he doesn't wear a cloak to hide his face, he uses his scarf to disguise himself. Like many in the Guild, he steals gold and supplies to help the guild gain power. And will do all in his power to get what the Guild needs.
A new 11x14 tone paper drawing of Goblin Rocketeer. This was recently completed after sitting on my desk for a while. The first drawing became to busy and dark, needing more contrast and less confusion. I took time before starting the image to study the first drawing to see what worked and what didn't. Which led to the finished drawing. The idea of the Goblin Rocketeer started in my sketchbook, pretty much like everything else I create. I'll have to do another sketchbook post again soon since I am nearly done with my current book.
The Goblin Rocketeer drawing will be traveling with me to the Illuxcon Showcase Friday and Saturday night were I will be displaying my work along with other illustrators.
This week's monster is a spell caster orc. It's been a while since I've experimented with color on toned paper. Instead of using marker and color pencil, I just used marker to try and replicate techniques I use when coloring digital. This piece was inked with FW Burnt Umber and white then colored with sharpies (I can't afford some of those fancy copic markers.) Over all, I liked the result and plan to continue experimenting with color on toned paper.
Remember if you want your character drawn, head over to my store for private commissions.
The Art Order is holding a challenge to create a piece of personal art. Some of the prompts were mythology and folklore which got me thinking about mythology that isn't as popular. That led me back to mythology and stories I was researching early in my first 2 years of college. I was interested in learning more about Asian mythology since I have a martial arts background. Soon into my research Monkey King came up. After reading numerous academic articles and stories, I knew I had to create an illustration of the character.
Now a few years later, I was stumped on what to create for my next illustration. I draw European fantasy often and wanted to do something different. While looking through an old folder of drawings I found my first drawing of Monkey King and was immediately inspired to create a new piece based on the character. I got to work and created the new personal piece that I am happy with.
A while back I posted the ink drawing of tihs Forest elemental. I began to digitally color the piece a few months ago and it sat in my work in progress folder. I decided to finish the character as a way to practice digital coloring since I want to continue to improve. Having a Work in Progress folder is helpful, when I feel stumped on a project; I'll search the folder and work on the piece while thinking of how to solve a problem on the other piece. And this helped me finish a new illustration I created for the Art Order challenge that I'll be posting this week.