Tough Mudder & Sketches

Hey all, if you have not heard I am running in the Tough Mudder Next summer. The worthy cause associated with this event is The Wounded Warrior Project. The goal is for each participant to raise at least $150 each in donations in their name, but I would like to get at least $1000 . I will offer one of my printed sketchbooks, or a Kolchak print (signed with a doodle) to anyone who pledges $20 or one of my finished sketches to anyone who pledges $50 or more on my behalf. Here is the link to donate.

Just so there are some images to accompany this post here are some sketches I have done recently. Some of which were done on my recent trip out to Altoona, Pa for Illuxcon, which was once again one of the highlights of my year.

Happy Halloween!

I hope everyone had a frightfully safe weekend.

Outdoor Sketching: Tractor

Here is another demo I did in my outdoor sketching class. We went to the Gas and Steam Engine Museum, on of my favorite spots to draw and paint.

Plein Air Sketching

Last week I took my outdoor sketching class to Balboa Park. This was our first week using gouache, so I did this little demo. It is about 5.5 inches tall and 3.25 wide in my recycled paper sketchbook.

Watts Atelier Fall 2011 Schedule

Hey all,

The new Watts schedule is out. Some points of interest for me are the Spectrum Illustration class, and Composition class as well as the Reilly Painting on Friday. Also there are about three spots open in the Boot Camp running in September. I hope to see some of you in class soon.

Click here to download a PDF of the brochure

Life Drawing Studies and Demos (August 2011)

The Hound

I have long felt that one of my weakest points is my ability (or lack there of) to render armor or metal convincingly. So with that in mind I have decided to commit my sketchbook work to the improvement of this shortcoming.

Speaking of my sketchbook, some of you may have noticed the addition to the sidebar on the right where I have a couple items now for sale, including copies of my convention sketchbook.

One of my favorite characters from the Game of Thrones series (the books not the tv show, he is a bit shorted there) is The Hound. So I decided to start with him.

From a still from the show.

Conspiracy of the Planet of the Apes

Awhile back I did two illustrations for a novel set in the 1960's PotA movie continuity. The second illustration was a double page spread of Milo, who while searching the "Icarus" discovers Stewart's corpse. The image was edited and cropped in the book, so I thought I would post the full image for your enjoyment.

Captain America Commission

EDIT: Here is the thumbnail I did prior to the final sketch. I only did one thumb in this case because what I was drawing was so heavily based in the original cover.



To finish up commission week here is a sketch for a painting I have been commissioned to do for a collector who hires artists to illustrate "One Minute Later"s. Basically he picks a comic cover and has the artist paint what happens an instant after.

The Nyarlathotep Event

Here is another commission I recently finished for Jonathan Wood, author of No Hero from Nightshade Books. Awhile back I was hired to illustrate the cover to No Hero and since then Jonathan and I have gotten to know each other over the internet. So when he agreed to do a serialized short story for the GEEKDAD blog on Wired.com he asked if I could do an illustration for it. The story revolves around the further adventures of the characters from No Hero, go check it out.

The original pencil sketch

and a bit of digital polish

The Doctor

I apologize for the long absence, I have been very busy lately. This week I will be posting some fun commissions I have done lately. I have been stockpiling commissions for awhile, and have made a pledge to myself to start really putting a dent in the list by the end of the year.

Commissions are fun because you get to do things (either stylistically or subject matter) that you don't usually get to do. In this regard I am starting the week off with a job from across the pond. I was contacted by a collector in England that has commissioned several artists to execute illustrations based on Dr. Who. The catch here is that he has them done on a page in a Dr. Who compendium. So he shipped this very nice collector's book, full of great info on the long history of the show, out to me. I was stunned by the quality of the work that has been painted directly onto the pages of the book, and was glad to add my own contribution.

Step X Step: Necropolis

Hey all,

Here is a little step x step of the cover I recently completed for the novel Necropolis by Michael Dempsey, published by Nightshade Books