More WoW ills

Lance Henriksen

EDIT: So I forgot to mention, the reason for this commission was that the collector is attending a signing for the release of Mr. Henriksen's biography (official website), which is being released this week to honor Mr. Henriksen's birthday on the 5th. So happy birthday Sir and many more.

Here is a drawing commission I recently finish for a collector. I enjoy Mr. Henriksen's work quite a bit, and thought his "look" fit well with my style, so I had a lot of fun with this one.

Monsterpalooza 2011

Hey all,

A little over a week ago my buddy Dug and I had a booth at one of my favorite conventions of the year, Monsterpalooza. It is a show geared primarily towards the arts in horror, spanning from the early movie make-up work to the modern collectible model and sculpture market. It is a show I plan on exhibiting at as long as they keep having it, in its third year it is already growing and getting better each year. Highlights of this years show were getting to meet Guillermo Del Toro (and having him buy two of Dug's original inks) and Mike Hill who exhibited several of his works in the booth next to ours.

Also just a quick reminder that Wizard World Anaheim is next week, I will be there as well.

our booth

Me posing with Mike Hill's rendition of Werewolf of London

Mike Hill's life size Monster

Mike Hill's silver screen sized Monster and life size Curse of the Werewolf

More work from Mr. Hill

one of the many fans in costume.

From Dusk Till Con Interview

Hey all,

The folks over at From Dusk Till Con did an interview with me a bit back. If that sounds like something you would be interested in reading head on over.

Painting Demo

Another semester has started this week at Watts Atelier. Here is a demo I just did for a painting class. Done from the live model, approx. 3 hrs

Life Drawing (follow-up)

Saturday was our last day of the winter session, so I drew along with everyone. Here is my effort, about 4.5 hours. It came out okay, but I am definitely rusty on longer drawings.

Life Drawings & Demos (March 2011)

25 min figure demos from life

25 min head drawing demos from life (yes even the Abe)

5 min quicksketch warm-ups and demos

Anatomy demos

Figure invention demo

New Warcraft card art

Hey all here are a couple new cards done for the WoW TCG

Sketch Redux (No Hero)

Here is a piece I just finished for Nightshade Books called "No Hero"

Description:

Action flick meets cosmic horror/alien invasion. Cover should mimic an ensemble cast action movie poster.

British suburban street. Oxford. Shops, apartments. A few cars. A "WWKRD?" (What would Kurt Russell Do?) bumpersticker on the closest of them (undercover Ford Escort). Something exploding (double decker bus?). Tentacles (maggoty, pale) creep in from the distance, wrapped around buildings/cars.

first pass at thumbnails

The A.D. had this to say

Hey Erik, LOVE the action movie feel on these, I can totally picture Jack Burton in there :)

I'd go with the middle comp on the left side, but if we could add in the exploding of the bottom left corner? Tie that level of drama and action into the middle left composition. Let me know, thanks!

thumbnail revision

Awesome, looks great!

Final Sketch

Hey Erik,

yeah, just had to get notes from the editor. Sketch looks awesome! I have
a few notes to keep in mind for the final:

Tabatha (with laptop) is Pakistani, dark-complected with white ink
tattoos: angels, devils, & heavy metal icons, and Kayla (the
swordswoman) wears her bangs so they cover her eyes

Also, There's concern over the car looking "British" enough. NBD on this
one, but maybe just to keep in mind.

But yeah man, looking fantastic! Thanks!

Final Illustration

Hey Erik,

So I do have one note on the piece from (the editor in chief).
Basically he just wants to see some details fleshed out a little further. I
know we were pushing you on this one with a short deadline and I think the
piece looks fantastic overall, but his concern is the tentacles. Basically
just love em up a bit more, particularly those in front of the explosion. I
love the finish on the main figure and the buildings, and his concerns are
mainly just the disparity from those areas to the tentacles (what with them
being a compositional tool and story delivering focal area). Thanks Erik!

This was actually music to my ears, because I wanted to give the whole thing one more pass. Especially the things mentioned and the explosion.

Final Illustration Revision

so awesome, we are fully approved!

Watts Atelier Spring 2011 Schedule

Hey all,

The new Watts schedule is out. Some points of interest for me are the Advanced Figure Drawing, and Long Figure Drawing on Monday as well as the Reilly Painting on Wednesday. Also there is still room in the Boot Camp running this Fall. I hope to see some of you in class soon.

Figure Painting Demo

Here is a demonstration I did for my figure painting class this semester. I cannot say I am particularly proud of this piece, but I promised my class I would post it.

Rondo Awards

Hey All,

Every year the "Rondo Awards" are held to celebrate the best in classic horror. Now I always do a lot of horror illustration, but this year has been particularly good for me in regards to classic horror, what with my illustrations for Kolchak and Planet of the Apes. There are many great nominees that worthy of recognition so go over and cast your votes, it is easy just copy and paste the category and your selection into an email with your name and send it to taraco@aol.com by March 27th. Oh, and the best pro artist category is by write in only, so if you feel I am worthy of a nod I would appreciate it.