Dragons, Trolls, and Crème Brûlée

WIP - Future New York

2011-05-30T00:50:00.000-07:00

Just a quick speedpaint to get an idea out. Still a little too open for what I was going for, so I'm probably going to scrap this and try again for something a bit more claustrophobic.

Around 30 minutes in Photoshop.

Banana Skink

2011-05-12T08:14:00.000-07:00

An idea by my friend Jade that was issued as a challenge. Such a funny idea I couldn't resist!

Mother's Day

2011-05-08T21:27:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's Day :)

Tea with a Gryphon

2011-05-05T17:29:00.000-07:00

I've had this idea rolling around in my head for almost a year now and finally got a base sketch started for it. As a kid I always thought the "bad guys" in stories weren't really bad, just misunderstood, and this piece plays a little off that. The idea was for this princess who occassionally sneaks out to go have tea with this vulture-gryphon dude that everyone else thinks is a blight on the kingdom (Even though he's actually quite the gentleman once you get to know him).

I plan to redraw this a couple more times though as the gryphon doesn't look vulture-ish enough, and I want to make him look a bit more aged and weathered, like he's seen some rough times in his life.

Sketched while hanging out with all the cool dudes over at Popcap.

Draw a Bird Day

2011-04-08T23:59:00.000-07:00

I just had to get in on this holiday. I only wish I'd known a day sooner.

Batch of Morning Warm-ups

2011-04-04T20:11:00.000-07:00

Figured I'd start with a batch of some of my warm-ups. With the exception of this first one, I usually spend 15 to 20 minutes on these. I start by scribbling some non-intersecting lines with my left hand, then rotate the image around until I see something and then start defining it. If I can't come up with anything from the lines, abstract imagry like this first image here are the result.

2011-04-04T00:46:00.000-07:00

Checking the date since my last posting, I obviously failed at keeping up with this blog. But it wasn't just here, I stopped keeping up with the internet in general for several months.

I'm back to getting myself more organized, which includes my internet activity, so over the next couple days I'll post a bunch of stuff from the last few months. I've been doing things the old-fashioned way for quite some time now and I'm finally opening up to using things like RSS feeds and tools for posting to blogger and tumblr. It's kind of fun catching up with the times.

2010-11-19T22:01:00.000-08:00

So a couple weeks ago I started a sketchbook over on ConceptArt.org, but in turn started neglecting this place. Felt redundant to post the same pics to two places, but I'll probably start doing it anyway until I have more finished illustrations, and then I'll probably revamp this blog to house those and hopefully act more as a portfolio.

That's some time ahead though. For now I'll try and get back to posting here.

WIP - Pub Scene

2010-10-30T21:15:00.000-07:00

A sketch I started last week and managed to get some more work done on it. Building interiors are quite difficult for me, so the best practice is to do more of it!

I finished something!

2010-10-09T01:27:00.000-07:00

Started getting a little carried away with some of my life studies and decided to push this in a more illustrative direction. Her helmet sort of evolved out of several misplaced pencil strokes for her hair and I just kind of ran with it. I think it turned out okay.

Got a ton of art done today! Well, three images started and one finished illustration. I want to paint this later after I finish some other projects and commissions, but for now I'm rather happy with it. I'll scan the other stuff once I do a bit more work on them. They're still rather scribbly.

WIP - Om Trollkungen

2010-10-08T13:49:00.000-07:00

This started as a speedpaint, but I'm liking it so much I'm probably going to go all out with it. I have a few ideas to really push it, but it's probably going to take some time. I want to have branches growing out of him, maybe some roots and lichen growing on him to really push how old he is (For a troll, anyway). Also want to add in his throne of stone and tree roots.

1 hr 30 min in Photoshop.

Huldra

2010-10-01T20:25:00.000-07:00

I have a big softspot for folklore from many countries and cultures. The other night the song Herr Mannelig started playing in my playlist and I was reminded about the Huldra, a seductive forest creature that appears, as wiki puts it, "a stunningly beautiful, sometimes naked woman with long hair". From behind she is hollow like an old tree trunk and is often depicted with a tail.

I went with the Swedish version in this case, which can have a fox tail, and decided to have both the hollow body as well as adding bits of bark around the upper edges. I drew the piece first then used reference to clean it up.

Dragons and Battles

2010-09-29T20:39:00.000-07:00

Finally finished these. Totally botched the dragon on the right in the bottom panel, but whatever. They're just quick ideas for full compositions, right? Practice for coming up with ideas on the fly.

An idea I had in my head. This is only the thumbnail (It's pretty tiny) but I'm struggling to get it right on the full page. I'll scan it after I've wrestled with it a bit more.

Forest Sketch

2010-09-28T15:34:00.000-07:00

Just a quick speedpaint to start out my day. Trying out Brad "Cryptcrawler" Rigney's painting technique and it's still a bit foreign. Using mostly tools I'm not adjusted to using and I'm still learning how they function. It's definitely interesting though. I plan to give it another whirl and put more time into it later.Wanted to add some kind of commando guy hiding behind the tree in the foreground, but I just ran out of time. May add it in later or revisit the composition from scratch. My foundation work tends to be really weak when I draw straight digital and I spend more time trying to fix it than if I had just done it in pencil. Haven't figured out how to get better about that yet. Hopefully it's just practice.

Thumbnail Sketches: Personal Retreat

2010-09-26T16:44:00.000-07:00

Just some quick thumbs I hammered out on a scrap piece of paper to hold onto the idea. Was asked the question "If you had a place to escape to get away from everything, where would that be?" So I pictured some kind of floating vessel filling with plants and soft cushions high up in the sky overlooking fantastical landscapes. Came up with multiple iterations though and if I turn it into a final painting, it will still probably look a little different from this. But these have the basic gist.

Some Dragon Doodles

2010-09-26T11:08:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to get something posted to show I haven't forgotten this place. I've been working mostly traditionally for the last couple weeks so I've got a pile of half-finished projects that I don't bother scanning because I intend to finish them, but then instead of doing so I start something new. I'll try and get better about scanning more often.

This particular image was inspired after watching Massive Black's "Evoke the Dragon" video by Sammy Hall. I admit I'm a fan of Sammy's work. We have a lot of the same interests: Dragons, dinosaurs, video games, etc.
My composition in the third panel needs a lot of work. I was falling asleep at the workdesk on that one so the proportioning is way off. That right fellow needs to be bigger and more in the foreground. It'll get fixed before I ink it.
Definitely liking the method though. It's pretty good for just hammering out quick ideas. Right now I just have some compositions of your most stereotypical dragon painting scenarios, but that was actually intentional. I've never drawn a stereotypical scene before so this was my shot at it.

Speed Sketch - Marketplace

2010-09-11T02:35:00.000-07:00

Just a quick 20 minute doodle before bed. Had an idea about some kind of open-air market with mythical creatures and such, and some sort of encounter. I purposely left it ambiguous in if the fellow in the corner is a friend, foe, or just a fishmonger who has caught the eye of a possible quadrapedal customer.

My marketplace is a little plain or empty though. Really gotta start pushing my environments more. Maybe I'll add some flags and streamers in there or something, or possibly pencil a full sized piece with greater detail. We'll see what the future holds! For now, some much needed Zzz's.

Done in photoshop on a single layer, single brush, with a single color (With varying opacities).

Sketchparty Doodles

2010-09-08T01:04:00.000-07:00

Went to a sketchparty at Popcap this evening and managed to get a bit of art done. I didn't bring any projects along so I just drew some silly doodles. Met some awesome people, sketched and basically talked art. Good times were had and I look forward to next time!

First of my doodles. My usual method when I don't have anything particular in mind, draw a line and make it into a creature. This guy looks so smug. Maybe he'll play us a tune with his interesting nose trumpet?

Is it just me or does it look aweful tempting to try and toss coins in there?

Found a Tombow marker in my bag so I doodled some kind of robot dude. Apparently his weapon has broken, but that doesn't seem to be discouraging him.

Moved!

2010-09-04T14:04:00.000-07:00

Finally moved and settled in Tacoma. Hoping to get back on a regular art schedule within the next week.

Morning Speed Sketch

2010-08-13T14:47:00.000-07:00

Another morning warm-up. I pretty much just scribble a contour line and then see what I can turn it into. Gave myself 30 minutes again but I finished this guy in 20. Couldn't think of anything else to add or take away.

Speed Sketch

2010-08-12T14:36:00.000-07:00

Just a quick 30 minute doodle before breakfast. Not sure what he is, I just sketched the outline and this is what it ended up turning into.

Moss Beast WIP

2010-08-02T20:10:00.000-07:00

The start of a painting commissioned by a friend of mine. The only specifications were "something with fungus" and he let me run wild with the idea. The image will eventually have all sorts of different types of fungus in it but I wanted to get some groundwork in there. Also going to expand the canvas a bit when I finally paint it so the creature isn't centered.

New Set-up

2010-06-06T14:08:00.000-07:00

Decided to lay my other blog to rest and start anew. Time to get intense!

Going to be fiddling around with the appearance of this blog over the next few days, and then I'll start posting up work.

The old blog can still be found here.