Expo Posters Part I

This is the first group of art I had completed for the Expo. On reflection, I had said I wanted to do only original artwork for the Expo. That wasn't the best of ideas. Even though I might have had good intentions, fan art would have turned me the biggest profit. That being said, I will aim for that the next time I get an art table there (I have some TMNT, Green Lantern, and Spiderman fan art already in mind)

First off we have a Shaman Mouse. I loved the movies The Secret of NIMH and The Tale of Despereaux. I've never been terribly fond of anthropomorphic mammals, but they've started to grow on me!

This was my very VERY first work with colour for the Expo. It had been years since I had painted my Tribute to Davy Jones, and without touching a brush for that long, I lost some of my magic. I think that magic is on its way back. A Catalope is what this is.

This picture was my first attempt to paint without outlines. This is my mom's favorite image, but to me it's still not amazing. Once more my ability to render the female form isn't perfect, but it gets better and better. This lady is like a spirit mermaid/ghost form that lives in lakes.

 

The last of the first batch of images was a nifty creature I made that's part woman, part sea dragon. The yellow tang in the corner is maybe my favorite part. This one was one of the first images I made during my time off construction.

My exploration with colour began with these images. I'm getting better with every image, I believe. 

This concludes the first part of my Expo Posters. Up next will be Part II, which I think are even better than the first!

 

Meet the Bookmarks

One thing I learned at the Calgary Comic Expo was to make things small and affordable. I made four bookmarks for the Expo, which were decently popular, but Pins seemed to be the in thing this time around (what with the introduction of eReaders, bookmarks seemed a little old). I do not regret making them, even if books are not as common, it was still very cool to work with a different canvas shape.

First up was a nifty contrast between the ocean surface and the deep sea. I enjoy the concept of bio-luminescence, especially in a place void of light.

 

Next up is yet another little dragon. I also very much love the insect kingdom, so I wanted to show a mix of my imagination and reality. I like the choice in colours.

I once used to draw a lot of anime inspired work when I was much younger, and even though I have been trying to push it away (many folks in the gaming and comic community do not look highly upon those too inclined to Japanese style artwork). I still believe there can be a lot taken from anime and expanded upon. This bookmark and the next are two of my more "cell shaded" styles.This one was a sort of mermaid.

A little Sylph for between the pages. I would like to redo this one with better wings, but everything else I like about it.

These bookmarks are some of the first pieces of work I had done in full colour. I had always been afraid of colour (perhaps not colour in and of itself, but of my limited experience with it) so it took a lot of effort to make the leap from outlines to colour. I think I made the jump more gracefully than I had expected.

This concludes the bookmark section of my artwork. Next up we'll have some of my full page pictures that I had made for the Expo (as well as a return by someone that I very much love...)

Stay tuned!

Some Oldies, But Goodies

Let's start this process with a quick look back on some of my older artwork that I think is worth a mention.

I have always been interested in outlines more than colour. Here are some of my favorite images that are strictly outlines.

This is my rendition of one of those Chinese Dogs that protect entrances.

This is what I called a Draconic Ryder, a creature that travels on lightening.

Continuing my love of dragons, this is an Ancient Lizard, since it has no wings, it cannot be a dragon.

This is a quick study on the female form. I have always had a tough time with female bodies, but I'm always getting better. 

The last two you might have seen on this blog before, but I will post them again, as I very much love the detail and design of these two dragons.

Lexis is his name, a dragon no bigger than a large house cat. I loved drawing him, his details in his skin surfaces and the little poor mouse!

The final dragon, and my favorite, drawn for a very great friend, is Mathias. If he wrapped his wings around, it could encompass a small house! Beware, he does like the taste of human.

So this concludes the first post of my artwork. Next up will be some of my newer work that I had brought with me to the Calgary Comic Expo. Stay tuned!

A long awaited return

I have been away from this blog for a long time, but I think it's high time I post at least some of the work I have completed over the last while.

After attending the Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo in 2012 as an artist, I was given a lot of feedback and comments on my work. I still have not given up looking for work in my field, but I have definitely decided that I must not stop working to get better.

This is a little difficult in some regard, as my primary means of work currently states that I spend up to 11 hours in a piece of heavy equipment. This leaves very little time to work on my art, let alone anything else. 

This past off season I spend my time working on my jewelry crafting rather than my portfolio, which has brought me some great insight; I am meant to create. My necklaces have become so popular that I will likely set up an etsy account next year to sell my fine jewelry.

That being said, I still have not lost interest in looking for a career in my field of concept and digital artwork. I have, and always will, love creating creatures and characters. It's just unfortunate that, as with every year about this time, I must return to construction to pay the bills.

So without further adieu, I shall post some of my most recent work.

A Weekend of Dragons

So this weekend I got out of a weeklong slump. I had not been drawing and should have been, and have been fairly under the weather causing me to fester in my own sorrow. Don't worry though, all is good now, and even moreso due to the fact that I drew some dragons that make me very proud of my talents.

I had pondered the last week of my abilities, considering whether or not I am really on the right path. After a long conversation with a dear friend I realized that yes, I indeed am doing precisely what I should be, and that is translating what my imagination gives me into works of art for others to enjoy. With that being said, I do hope you enjoy these two dragons! They will be two of many more to come, as I find they allow me to explore muscle structure and flow in my art, rather than drawing characters just standing there, showing off their outfits.



This one is named Lexis, and she will be making a decent meal out of that poor rodent.



And this one is named Mathias, another version of Matthew, whom is the talented musician that helped me realize what I am meant to do. Thank you Matt, and I hope you like your dragon!

Arturios Zbrush

So here's a little update on Arts' details. These are the big details, I have a lot more work to do on the little details, but with my other models ready for thier rotations (which I shall be sneakin' in to the school to use the sweet new computers for rendering on the weekends, hehehe) I am free to do some decent reworking of this character.




His detail work thus far hasn't taken much time, a good 5 hours or so, but it's the tiny details and texturing that will take time a patience. This is a large picture, but it shows some nice detail, and is a mix of about 4 smaller, close up screenshots from the Zbrush interface.

If anyone has comments or critiques, feel free to post!

Arturios Remastered

As of this final semester at CATO, I have chosen my final 4 models for my demo reel. They are Mana, Visarith, Vespoid Scout, and Arturios. I have avoided finishing Vladmira as her base mesh is a little floopy and my over enthusiastic approach to tackle her has caused me more time than I wished for... so on to the back berner she goes :)

Almost all of these are complete, but Arturios needed a very big fix. He was very low in poly count, and poorly done in ZBrush. This was literally my first model done with a model pack, and thus I agree it wasn't my finest of models, but I can not let him go now!

I've fixed his base mesh with the knowledge of what I've learned over the last year, and am proud to admit it's much MUCH better.


The primary changes made if you cannot clearly see are as follows:
- Body in general is smaller and more proportionate
- Features are better rounded and less sharp
- Hands and feet are more detailed to accommodate normal map
- Better use of edge loops and mesh in general
- Much easier to animate with higher poly count

All in all his remade base is much better. He's under 6k tris, and I may make room for some armor, but only if time permits. I shall be unwrapping him very soon and will get going on his normal map and diffuse. He'll also have a specular map, and I may try with some subsurface light scattering on him.