Reynisfjara beach

30 minute study

90 minute study

Finally back from the east coast and I'm getting back to work. Took a break from my project to do this quick study. I had a lot of fun working with a set of brushes that I got from shaddyconceptart.com. Shaddy is an amazing artist who is having a huge influence on my work flow, so big thanks to him and all that he gives back to the digital artist community.

More clouds

10 minute study

Quick study

Took a break from my work and painted some Florida clouds.

Current project

These are sketches and paintings I did recently for an unannounced project I'm working on. I planned on sharing this work when I was closer to announcing the project, but I'm going through a rough patch right now. I figured I'd get back to focusing on work by sharing some of it.

The painting helped me settle on the basic shapes of the landscape, but it lacks a sense of scale. That's due to me not being sure about how large I wanted these crags to be, my indecisiveness during the painting left design issues unresolved. But I did settle on some details, contrasting shapes and atmosphere. I then went back and did some value thumbnails and this time I was thinking on a grander scale.

Once I captured just the right atmosphere and feel of the planet with my second painting, the other two paintings came along quickly. Each painting informed the next one and gave me direction. I'll post more of this project soon.

Another speed painting

40 minute study, more to come.

Waitress

Happy new year folks! It's been a couple of months since my last post and now I return with my most recent art test. I've done a lot of art tests over the years and this one is one I'm particularly proud of. I was provided with a clear description of the concept and a great style sheet. From preliminary sketches to completion, I feel like I explored a lot of possibilities of what a waitress concept is. I'm happy with how it turned out. I think at this point I have to admit to myself that I am better at doing cute things than I'd like to think. This would be a difficult admission if I hadn't enjoyed the process so much. More to come soon!

Vacation painting

So here I am in Florida to visit my family. I never look forward to these visits, don't get me wrong, I love my family, it's Florida that I hate. People here are rude and will eat your face off (that reference will never be out dated in my book). I also don't enjoy flying, it's a big hassel and is an exercise in patience. My visits here are often not very productive. Luckily this time a friend lent me his laptop so my two weeks here aren't a complete waste, as an unemployed artist I can't afford two weeks of vacation. My first three days here have been pleasant, catching up with the family and going out to enjoy each others company. But today is the start of a new week and so it's back to business as usual, even if you're on vacation in Florida. So here is something I did today, it was supposed to be another quick 20 minute speed painting that ended up being a 90 minute painting. It's obviously much tighter than the previous speed paintings and the extra time invested in the painting was well worth it. This was done from photo reference and I'm hoping to snap some good photo reference while I am here. I have a couple of other bigger things I am working on, which I am hoping to finish by the end of the week, I refuse to let these Floridians and this muggy weather drag me down and lounge on the beach with a drink that has a tiny umbrella in it. Till next time!

Speed paintings

I did these in the last three days, the first one was done from my head and the second two were from photo reference. You can tell the first one has a surreal fantasy look to it while the second two feel more grounded in reality. All three took 20 minutes, maybe a bit more, I'm trying to get in the habit of stopping at exactly 20 minutes, but it can be hard when you get neurotic about your paintings. Also, the job hunt continues, I'm trying to produce work daily and not get hung up on one piece and fiddle with it for days. I finally uploaded images to my cgHub account which I have had for years. Take a moment to check it out and give me some my work some love! http://echo.cghub.com/

Rain and characters

Been away for some time, busy with friends wedding, but that's all over now and the fall is here. I welcome the rain and cloudy weather with open arms because it's perfect drawing and painting weather. During the summer I get antsy while I work because I think of all the outdoor activities I could be up to! Anyway, here are some new character concepts, not fully polished, but the style and type of character are clear! As always, I included the silhouettes I do at the start of ever character concept I do.

Oh and here are a couple of pics of the field by where I am living now. Oregon is beautiful in the fall! Stay warm folks!

Olympic tribute

Haven't watched much of this years Olympics, though I hear NBC has really dropped the ball on airing the events. Anyway, I did a quick sketch of one of the events based on the best photo reference I could find. I worked off the reference image and obviously added some from Street Fighter-esque energy strokes.

Armor

Inspired by one of my favorite science fiction books, this cover was done in Painter. I did the thumbs and value roughs in PS and then moved on to Corel Painter for rendering. I think the any of the thumbnails could  work as good covers, but I chose this one because it conveys emotions that were felt by the protagonist. The helmet itself has plot significance, so this composition provided the greatest potential for depth. I tried out a lot of different blocky fonts, I liked a lot of them equally and went with two of them for the type. I finally learned how to get a gif to play in a blog post instead of having to click to watch it.