Far East

Early rough for Far East Challenge. Don’t ask what the giant vehicle in the back is. I’ll work on a name for it like: Maximum fun floaty joy joy palace.

Hiding In Plain Sight

Here be a little piece I did for a challenge themed “Hiding In Plain Sight”. It’s not quite what I envisioned but I had fun and it’s still pretty cute.

Hibernating MulchMuck. Though rare, these strange beasts are rumored to reside in the Southern regions of Limestone.

Spectrum 17

One of my goals for the past year or so has been to submit work to the Spectrum art book. Lo and behold!… I finally did. I sent off two of my favorite pieces last month. Selected entrants for Spectrum 17 are to be notified by the end of February or sometime thereabouts.

It’s pretty exciting really. Regardless of the results, it feels good to follow up on a goal and put my art out there. You have to try right!

<<< No, not my art. That’s the cover to book 16.

Hell’s Belles

Retail work is a bit depressing but art is keeping my spirits aloft. Here’s a screen-shot of my progress for this weeks MyFX challenge. The given theme for this one is Hell’s Belles. I’m having fun so far.

First Work Of 2010

Here’s my entry for this weeks MyFX forum challenge. The set theme for this one is “It Came From Below”.

My entry didn’t quite jell with the challenge, but I really dig it. I started with a squid-like creature bursting from the ground, but ended up here. I had a lot of fun with the bits of crap breaking apart everywhere and the strange colors scheme. Heh Heh… personal joke really.

Also, here’s the final for last weeks challenge. “Cyborg Warfare” Both images were dun up in ArtRage 3.

James Cameron’s Avatar

Well, I just watched experienced Avatar today and I’m working on writing a review. The movie truly inspired me to do so.

For now, I just have to say this: If you were disappointed in the story that’s fine. You probably don’t even like sci-fi/fantasy or classic storytelling.  Yes, I have seen many versions of this story before but I have never seen this movie. It’s a fresh and exciting take on a classic tale.

I also refused to watch the 3D version (first) for reasons I’ll explain later.  Don’t get me wrong I’m catching it in 3D as soon as I can!

If you have yet to see this incredible film, do it!  It’s hi-tech storytelling at its very best! Also, there is a showcase of The Art Of Avatar opening January 23rd at Gallery Nucleus.  For me, it’s a great excuse to finally check out the gallery. You can grab more info and a great review of Avatar over on Kazu Kibuishi’s site.

[UPDATE] The 3D version has some impressive stuff in it, but the standard version is easily my preferred version. The film is paced so well you don’t need any crazy gimmicks to pull you in. The movie works perfectly fine without it. Amazing 3D is not James Cameron’s great accomplishment here… it’s the absolutely beautiful & entertaining film he made.

Cyborg Warfare Challenge

This week I joined in on another ImagineFX weekly challenge. For this one I’m taking the new ArtRage Studio for a spin and loving it.

Her’s my work in progress. I’m shooting for something subtle which is certainly a challenge with a title theme like Cyborg Warfare.

More Goat

Development on Adventuregoat continues. I’m pretty darn happy with his design so far- which is a huge deal since I’ve been struggling to resolve his look for quite some time. I also resolved a major story element that helped a few things click into place all nice and stuff.

There’s plenty more to do, so I’d better get back at it!

Stuff

I’ve been trying to keep up on sketching traditionally lately. I need some more absurd content for a book I have been producing. Sketching also makes me very happy. It’s like therapy or meditation. One week it’s cute little Adventuregoat, and the next it’s Creepy Hot Chicks Punching Rusty Robots. Hmmm… probably a little more therapy than meditation.

More Late Night Quick Sketches

More Late night sketching

Some more character sketches using ArtRage

Halloween 09

Halloween was good fun! Lots of wine, laughs, and well… fangs of course.

Late night sketching in Artrage2

Ahh…. more creepy hot chicks.

Sasquatch Survivor 2

To celebrate Halloween I am posting the delightfully retched masterpiece called Sasquatch Survivor 2. I directed the short film many moons ago when I lived in the Sierra Foothills of northern California. I wasn’t a film student or anything, I just started making movies with my 400 dollar video camera and minimal understanding of the filming process. The digital FX were done using Hash Animation Master.

There’s mystery, action, special FX, and a giant Sasquatch! So pop some corn, crack a beer and enjoy the arguably epic saga? Seriously though… I look back at this and I actually find it mighty impressive. Some of it works so well, you’d think I knew what I was doing.

The Show

It was exhausting & exciting! We had a great turnout and there were some great costumes!

Photos & video up over at the show site.

Show Flyers

Well, the first batch of flyers for the art show came in! I must say, I’m mighty happy with them. I know I’m not a super graphic designer  but I do try my best. I started out in a much darker direction, and then ended up going sleek & streamlined.

The cover photo was taken by Michelle Darensbourg. Aside from cropping, there’s no photoshop involved, it’s her original image. Michelle will have plenty more photos in the show. The ones I’ve seen practically knocked me out. Super, ultra, mega sexy stuff- I must say.

First published art

An image of mine somehow made its way into the August issue of ImagineFX (page 31). I have been joining in on the weekly challenges over on the IFX forums and won one of the rounds. I’ve just been using the challenges to push myself, so it’s a surprise to actually land in the magazine. It’s probably just me lucky charm.

The featured image is the only space, or spaceship art I’ve ever really done. It’s kinda funny really. Seriously though, I am proud of what I accomplished developing the image. I also had some amazing help from some talented folks over on the challenge forum. I highly recommend participating, it forces you to work fast and push yourself.

Save The Date!

I am putting together a group gallery show called NETHERWORLD. Mark October 16th & 17th down on your calender. More info is coming soon. I’m currently working on the show’s site/blog over at www.netherworldshow.wordpress.com

Been working on plenty of fun, new stuff- but in Lou of posting any of it, I’m posting some really old comics. Here’s one from over ten years ago. It’s ridiculous and has no conclusion. I like it.

In other news, I’m pushing to have a swell book ready for the show. By ready, I mean that I’m hoping to have multiple copies available for sale. By book, I mean an art book/sketchbook. It will have both finished paintings as well as delightfully ridiculous sketches. I Just gotta keep bustin’ it out. Things are looking mighty promising so far… not a whole lot of time.

Adventure Goat

I painted this mock comic cover for this weeks ImagineFX challenge themed “scarlet“. I almost sat this one out but I’m glad I followed through. Now I have an inspirational piece to motivate me. The Text & fonts are just temporary. I’ll certainly put more time into the title design further down the road.

I’ve also been doing lots of prep work for the actual comic. Character sketches and such. Stay tuned, Adventuregoat is on his way!

Tools of The Trade

Ok, I’ve been meaning to put this post together for quite some time. I love seeing what other artists use, so here’s a little somethin’ somethin’ regarding some of my favorite traditional tools.

It’s good to be versatile but I don’t like to be bogged down by a tackle-box load of junk. I have a simple set of tools that I enjoy. I’m not going to talk about erasers or sharpeners here, just some of the junk that makes me all happy & stuff.

Col-Erase Sketches

As you can see, there are no graphite pencils shown here. For pencils I use Prismacolor Col-erase. These work great for me since I’m not big on blending and such. I switch between Blue, Violet, Terra Cotta & Brown. The Blue & violet scan pretty well. And yes, the blue does scan. The Terra Cotta & Brown work well together if you start with the Terra Cotta, which is pretty light… then come back in with the Brown to punch up some lines and such. I don’t necessarily use these because they erase, I really like the line variation I can get- as well as the anti smudging qualities. Note: I don’t color my art with these. I sketch & draw.

Prismacolor Col-Erase

Pitt Pen Sketches

I’ve been doing a lot of straight pen sketching lately. It’s really great practice since you have to commit to your lines. As for pens, I’ve tried a lot of pens. Currently I’m in love with Faber-Castell Pitt Pens. They are waterproof, lightfast & all that good stuff. But most of all, I enjoy sketching with them. There are several different tips, including a brush, but I only really use the S & F sizes.

PittPens

The tips are shaped in such a way that you can tilt the pen a bit to vary your lines for some “Thick & Thin” action. To change things up a bit I also like to use an Itoya Doubleheader Calligraphy pen. This of course produces some nice, dark, chiseled shapes & varied lines. I really like the Itoya DH, but it’s not waterproof. Additionally I recommend trying the long, thin Stabilo pen shown. It just feels nice in your hand and produces thin, crisp lines. Oh, and let’s not forget the wonderful and versatile Sharpie. The sharpie is the only pen I am able to produce true thick & thin lines with. I don’t have the patience to use the Crow Quill pens that many comic artists use, but a good sharpie can do a pretty swell job.

Itoya Doubleheader Sketches

The clipboard shown way up top is pretty handy. I have sketchbooks I use, but slapping some copy paper on a clipboard is freeing in some strange way. Some of my favorite sketches were done on cheap copy paper. It’s great to have your work contained, but sometimes sketchbooks can feel a little too precious. The whole idea of sketching is to study, loosen up, and explore. If you find yourself being overly cautious, I recommend buying a block of copy paper and a clipboard. Preferably the legal sized board (not letter). The extra length comes in handy- as you can prop the board with your lap or hip and the paper is still high enough to draw on without having to hunch over. You’ll see.

So, that’s it for right now. I hope some folks find this info helpful or interesting. The next Tools&Tips post will be about some of the books I find useful & inspiring.