Enter Six Hard Mercenaries For Hire...

Think this is going to be my last bit of geeky/fantasy work for a while, as I want to concentrate on a couple of proper illustrations. But, what better way to go out than on a bit of fan art!
Myself and my friend Wayne are huge Chaos Engine fan's and recently Wayne set up a fan page for the artist from that game (and numerous others) Dan Malone.

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=pa.177114695677685

Being part of this fan page he set off a chain reaction of nostalgia, that is now running through my geek fueled viens! Therefore I thought I'd take on the challenge of painting up all six of the lead character's from the Chaos Engine. I did the same challenge a few years ago and part of the draw with this new challenge is to be able to compare how my style and skill levels have changed in the 2 years since.

The grayscale Navvie piece at the top is only 40% finished. And yes, I have another 2 characters to draw, but I think I want to get one character fully finished so I then know what direction I'm taking them all in.

What's that...a bit of professionalism...yep :)

Ok, ok It's basically the same image as yesterday. But looking at it late last night, I saw the potential for it to become part of my Blogs banner. So, after many, many month's of bareness (and sheer laziness) I have finally given this Blog a proper title!

Conversation with self:


"So, you think this new and more professional Blog title will now make people start following you then?"

"Your having a laugh ain't ya. People wouldn't follow me if I was the lead in a Conga line!"

A Wizard, with armour....Erm!

This was done for my friend's over in the Drawing Guild

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_135896133151193

The brief was a Wizard with a pointy hat and armour...Yer, I kind'a bypassed that last one, soz!
Sketched and paint all today and was a nice little exercise to do.

P.s) I know this and the last post both have fly's in them, it's no fetish I swear!

Nobody Likes A Fly, Not Even Shit!

Done simply for the fact that I hate Flies. Especially the (soft bastard) ones, that brake into your room through the open window...and then when it's time to go... suddenly forget how they got in!

Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead......well, uni has finished!

Ok, uni is finally over (big smile) and what a waste of time it was!!! But, I've wasted 3years on the bastard, so I'm not going to waste any more of my time by ripping the place to piece's.

Anyway, this is my first piece of work since escaping the clutch's of university and my first real (digital/fully finished) piece of work since my Grendal image, which was month's ago. The brake away has done me the world of good, though having so much time away from the computer/photoshop has made me very rusty and the first 2 sessions on this picture were tough going!

The Escape:

Sketch/Paint Dump!!!

Still choker blok with uni work at the moment, so I'm just uploading these collection of sketchs and quick paint up's.

I Mean You No Harm!

Really bizzy with my final years project for uni at the mo. But I enjoyed doing this little sketch and thought I'd upload it.
(Yes, I love Big Trouble In Little China :)

Yes, I love my IPad 2 (maybe more than I should)

Not been able to focused on anything of late, maybe having picked up a IPad 2 whilst over in New York has something to do with it...

Speed Painting Pt2

Okay, after having a artistic brake through yesterday. I thought I'd try the process again and see if it was all a fluke (or had I actually lernt something)
I confess this image didn't run as quick as the previous one, but I did pretty much manage to follow on from yesterdays brake through. All in all, I'm happy that I can move on in this manner and hopefully develop it much further and all the while gain more pace with it.

P.S I have no idea why I've painted these porky little fellows (maybe I'm due a bacon butty...Umh...bacon)

(Amended)

Speed Painting Pt1

Never really feel like I have the skill's with which to speed paint. I know that may seem like a strange thing to say (after all, speed painting on face value seems an like a much easier method of painting, no real detail, loose and suggestive markings, at times even child like!!!)  However, I honestly feel you need a certain collection of skills and approach to achieve such a quick and understated painting.

 In the past, I've found that I've not had the patience and visual understanding to work within this carefree manor. I get over focused and instantly start thinking about the minor detail's and the overall presentation. Today, those worries and barriers were no where to be seen. I approached this painting head on and to my surprise I didn't get to my usual 20minutes barrier, with which I would normally lose all focus,speed and revert back to type. Amazingly, I had totally artistic belief and foresight throughout the whole process and had the piece finished within 50minutes. Now I know the image below is no Mona Lisa, but for me the speed with which it was done and the approach that was taken were both a real stepping stone for me. I hope I can continue working and developing this approach, so that my portfolio will eventually contain a nice balance between loose work and more detailed and time consuming work.

Oink...Oink

(amended)

KILL DA WABBIT, KILL DA WABBIT

A little up the wall at the mo with working on my final university project. So I did this for a little fun.

Flying Gobbite

I've got an idea for a forthcoming illustration and I'm determined to approach this one as professionally as I can. I guess there is no real 'professional' approach to any image, but what I intended to do is to try and work everything out before I go straight into the finished piece. I've been guilty of steamrolling head first into a piece of work in the past and although there are some benefits to this approach (fun, spontaneity,instinct) there are however negatives (misplacement,lost possibilities,regret)

I going to try and ride a wave in between both of these approaches. I'm not going to be doing loads and loads of thumb nails, character studies, lighting concepts, colour concepts. There is nothing wrong with doing all these things, in fact many an artist (and highly successful ones) do take this approach. But, for me this slows the instinct down and then that effects the fun. That said I'm far, far away from having the skill to be able to dive head first into an image and expect it to be a success. Therefore I will be taking the advantages of some pre studies.

This is a watercolour (see, I am trying to work more traditionally) concept of a Flying Gobbite that the scene in mind, will contain 3 of. Each Gobbite needs to be physically and characteristically different from each other and I think it's important at this stage that I get that nailed before I move on.

Grendal

I originally drew this Grendal image before Christmas 2010. However, with Christmas being a little hectic and me having to catch up on some university work, the time passed in a blink of an eye. It wasn't till early February that I picked it back up again. This image is hopefully (time given) the first in a series of images that I want to illustrate from Seamus Heaney's transcript of the poem Beowulf. If you've not read this transcript, I highly recommend it. It was written some time between the middle of the seventh and the end of the tenth century of the first millenium. Having read it, it makes you realize that this is the birth place of todays archetypal action hero. Considering the date Beowulf was originally written, I find this amazing.

The image itself (at this moment) I'm happy with. I like the design of Grendal best. I kind of wanted to mix an ork with a bald baboon (those spiky haired bastard's scare me!) and I think to some degree I've achieved this. When I first set out on this image I wanted to tone the whole image in watercolour and then use that as a base coat to take into Photoshop. I wish I'd have followed through on that idea, but alas, I went down the old route of pencil-photoshop. That said, I feel I stayed away from making it look to plastic like and false, so that's some comfort.

Jimmy Mc Big Bastard

Having now been back into drawing and painting for the past 3 years, something that I've been stupidly searching for (though now with hind sight I realize you don't find this thing, it finds you) has finally come my way.
What am I talking about? I'm talking about style and more importantly your own individual style as an artist. For me personally, this is everything. Every artist I look up too and admire has this in bucket loads, Frank Frazetta, Simon Bisley, Paul Bonner, Kevin O'neill, Justin Gerard, Nico Marlet, Paul Pope the list goes on. I find a lot of art these days lacks any identity, this may be down to the fact that nearly everyone uses the same techniques and digital mediums, or that most people just want to be sheep and follow whatever style is currently popular. I guess it's not really my place to bemoan this type of thing, but I think it's a real shame. Who knows what awaits these artists if they where to go out there Bilbo style and take on an (artistic) adventure!

What does all this prattle have to do with this piece of work? Well, this is the first piece where I feel I'm expressing myself more honestly and in a way that I'm pleased to see. For far to long I've been stressing over style and this in turn has been blocking me from finding my own natural pathway to such a thing. I'm sure as the years go by, my approach, methods and style will all change and evolve. But, for the first time I feel I'm at least on the right pathway.

(had another play around with this image (couldn't help myself) Its at the bottom...?)

Draw Sucker!!!

Don't dare call him bandy leg's!

I've been frightened by Painter since I first laid eye's on it's formidable layout, all it has to do is look at me and I quiver. But, with the new year comes a new approach and I'm going to try and overcome that fear. I would like to say that this was completed entirely within Painter, but it's not. It is however a mixture of both Painter and Photoshop... "What!... it's a start isn't it?"