December 29, 2011

Supergenius Brew Label


Finally something to post!  I'm working full-time for a game studio in Oregon City these days, called Supergenius Studio.  I'm putting together some art for client gifts, etc.  This year one of our staff members is home brewing amber ale to give out (which is delicious).  I whipped up a label to put on the bottles and thought I'd post it up.

December 26, 2011

The Book of Vile Darkness

Here are a few images I did for The Book of Vile Darkness for D&D (I worked with Mari Kolkowsky as AD. As a side note, I have to say, I feel that all the work in there is absolutely fantastic.  I keep picking up my copy and looking at all the great art inside!). I had loads of fun with this set, and I think these are still some of my favorite illustration pieces to date.  I struggled most with the Cultist (the last image).  I find that if I don't nail the colors to start, I usually wrestle with the piece until the end.  If the colors are working, it makes all the other problems with the piece much easier for me to handle.  Color is one of the things I enjoy the most out of making art, so usually a piece does not click for me until they do.




December 15, 2011

ImagineFX issue #77

If you are outside the US this is may be old news, but since issue 77 of ImagineFX is just hitting the shelves here I thought I would mention I have a two page spread in this issue. I was approached a while back to have my work in the EXPose section of the magazine but I was not expecting a full two pages! If you haven't seen the issue, here you go...


A big thanks to the folks at ImagineFX for the interest in my work! Thanks to Eva as well for letting me know last month that I was in the issue!

December 12, 2011

Talon of Umberlee

Recently I created a cover/ad materials for D&D's organized play release called Lair Assault: Talon of Umberlee.  Unlike any other project I have worked on, I was tasked with creating an image that would be used not only for the print materials, but also for any other needed advertisement for the release.  This meant, all the element in the image needed to be movable so that marketing could place items where they needed for various banners and things of that like.  So, I had to paint everything on separate layers.  I have never done anything like this before so I was some what at a loss on how to even approach it.  I normally paint flat in Photoshop and Corel.  I decided I would do an overall sketch of all the elements together as a composed image and then break them down and paint them out separately.  It certainly took a lot of time but it was really fun.  I worked with AD Kate Irwin on this one.  Always a pleasure.


Here is the result:



This is a breakdown of how it all went and how each layer was placed in.  It was really a challenge keeping everything in order and in the right place. 







...and here is the final booklet.

 

December 5, 2011

Heart of the Scar - Dungeon Issue #197

Issue 197 of Dungeon Magazine is out and I am on the cover. This is my first cover piece and I am very pleased that it is for Dungeons and Dragons. I was tasked with designing and illustrating the big bad monster featured in Heart of the Scar, the final chapter of the Chaos Scar adventure. They asked for a horrific mass of tentacles and eyes that came from beyond time and space and I was more then happy to deliver! This is how it turned out...

Heart of the Scar - Shoth-Goragg
© 2011 Wizards of the Coast

Dungeon Issue #197

Here is a little process progression of this piece from drawing to final painting. This was one of the lowest stress, easy to paint pieces that I have ever had. Let's hope there will be more like it in my future!

Heart of the Scar - Shoth-Goragg - Process
© 2011 Wizards of the Coast

December 2, 2011

The Hengeyokai and other Characters

Recently, I was asked to design/update, some creatures for D&D called Hengeyokai.  The particular ones I worked on took the form of a Badger and Hare.  I also did some small illustrations showcasing these characters in October's issue of Dragon Magazine (404).



This brings me to some other characters I have worked on for D&D over the past year or so.  Jon Schindehette has put me to the task of creating a number of heroes the latest D&D Character Option books.  You have probably seen some of these guys popping up in the D&D products and if you are illustrating for D&D then you have probably received them as reference.  So I thought I would share them all.  Here are a few from the Feywild as well as some Elemental Characters






Many more to come at a later date....