The Hobbit: On the Doorstep

 On the Doorstep - 14 x 36 in., oil on masonite

Hey Everyone! This one's been out for a while but I just realized I haven't posted it yet and since everyone's going to be in Hobbit-mode this weekend it seemed like a good time.  It was done as packaging art for Fantasy Flight Games for one of their card games and it's the sequel to the earlier piece I did for them of the party leaving the Shire.

It was a serious challenge composing all those figures but in general I really enjoyed working on this one. As great as it was getting to do the first one, this scene is a lot more up my alley. It was a real kick getting to figure out what my interpretation of Smaug would look like, once I got that figured out and what I wanted to do with the lighting, everything else kind of fell into place.

Here's a detail shot:

Black Lotus!...on eBay!

Black Lotus - 14 x 16 in., oil on masonite

 

 More on this later but, long story short, I was asked a few months back to create new art for the Black Lotus (one of Magic: the Gathering's most famous cards). I was totally honored to do it and really enjoyed working on it. While the card won't ever be printed, from what I understand it will be the new look of the card for the Magic: the Gathering online game. 

 

Anyway, because of the huge response to the art I wanted to give everyone a fair shot at owning the original. If you're interested, you can find it on eBay here.

 

Also, I've (finally) started a Facebook page! Follow me here.

IlluXcon! + New Book Cover

Storm Riders 14 x 22 (-ish, it's at the framers right now), oil on masonite

Hey everyone! If you're within driving distance of Pennsylvania and and want to see some of the best fantasy/sci-fi/horror art in the world (for real) next weekend, I highly recommend you make the trek out to IlluXcon. Last year was my first time exhibiting there and I just about lost my mind between all the art and getting to meet a bunch of my art-gods. I'm really looking forward to doing it all over again and hopefully I'll see ya there!

Alright, moving on. The piece up top, which I'll be showing for the first time next weekend, is a book cover I did a while back for Tor Publishing. It was my first time working with them and I had a great time with it. The real challenge with this one was pulling off the value structure with so much going on, I spent a lot of time squinting at it trying to make sure the silhouette of the dragon stood out from the airship, etc.

Isperia's Skywatch

Isperia's Skywatch - 12 x 16 in., oil on masonite

 

This is my last one for the new Magic, the Gathering set, Return to Ravnica. I remember really wanting to get that sense of her just catching the last bit of daylight before diving down. The hardest bit was definitely figuring out how to treat the blues of her skin and clothes in that lighting situation without getting too muted.

Guest Post on Muddy Colors!

Last week I was asked by Dan Dos Santos to contribute to a dragon themed series of guest posts over at the Muddy Colors blog. If you're not familiar with Muddy Colors, it's got to be the best blog out there on the subject of fantastic art with a list of regular contributors that will make your head spin. Anyway, it was an honor to be asked and you can check out my post here.

Cyclonic Rift

Cyclonic Rift - 11 x 14 in., oil on masonite.

 

Here's another one from the new Magic set. It's always a little bit strange to me working on pieces that don't contain any figures but it was fun to just trip out on clouds and atmosphere for a while.

Azorius Justiciar

 Azorius Justiciar - 12 x 16 in., oil on masonite
 

Here's another one from the new Magic set. Her art description basically sounded like a fantasy version of Judge Dredd...if he was a wizard, obsessed with the law almost to the point of zealotry. This was one of those rare pieces that came together really easily and wound up really close to the way I saw her in my mind when I began.

Corpsejack Menace

Corpsejack Menace, 11 x 14 in.

 This guy's the first piece of mine to be previewed in the new Magic: the Gathering set; Return to Ravnica. Ravnica is world covered completely by a massive city so this year has been a lesson in how to paint cityscapes as fast as possible. Anyway, this guy's basically a massive fungal monster that lives in the huge sewer system below the city. I was given a reference sketch for this guy but I had a lot of fun figuring out how every thing fit together and trying to make him as terrifying as possible. 

The only crit I remember getting back on my sketch was to make sure his mouth didn't look too "suggestive". So, as funny as it would have been otherwise, I really tried to push the structure of his jaws on the final.

Conclave Kickstarter

Over the past couple of years I've done quite a bit of work for an independent online gaming company called 10 x 10 Room and their game Conclave. They've been great to work with and I hear the game is a lot of fun, it's constructed in the style of classic table-top fantasy games. Anyway, they've got a Kickstarter going as of a couple of days ago with the goal of expanding their game in a ton of different ways and there's a lot of cool rewards set up (including some of my originals) for the different pledge amounts. So if you're interested in classic online RPGs or if you'd like to see a cheesy picture of me in their pitch video, check out their Kickstarter page here.

New Magic Work!

 Hey everyone, sorry for the long absence. Work's been insane, including a couple of full-on all-nighters, but now I finally have a chance to chill out, catch my breath, and post some new stuff. These four are all from Magic: the Gathering's new core set, M13. A few of them wound up being printed really dark for some reason but hopefully here you can pick up some of those lost details.
 

 Wit's End - 16 x 22 in., oil on masonite

 Primal Huntbeast - 11 x 14 in., oil on masonite

 Searing Spear - 11 x 14 in., oil on masonite.

I had my buddy Reggie Mace (owner of Mace Mead Works here in Dayton, WA) pose for this one, hence the falling mace.

Slumbering Dragon - 12 x 16 in., oil on masonite

Glissa, the Traitor nominated for a Chesley!

Just got word that Glissa here has been nominated for a 2012 Chesley in the 'gaming related' catagory! I'm really excited to be considered and humbled to be included along with such freakin amazing artists.

Also, for anyone in or around Vancouver B.C. this weekend, I'll be attending a Grand Prix tournament there for Magic: the Gathering. I'll be signing and sketching as usual so come on by.

The Hobbit: Over Hill and Under Hill

14 x 36 in., oil on masonite

This was one of those assignments that I just had to take. My schedule was already crazy and I knew it was going to be a lot of work but there was just no way I could turn down the chance to do my take on The Hobbit. It was also a really nice break from a long string of stark, gory and grim assignments that, while I love that stuff, can definitely wear on you after a while. 

What the Art Director asked for was basically a portrait of the Shire, including the Green Dragon Inn and Bag End, with Bilbo riding out still looking optimistic about the adventure.

detail

You can see on the final product that I wound up painting out past the frame on the box, so that the designers could pop out certain elements and wrap the image around the sides of the box. Plus it made for a better composition on the actual painting (which, by the way, my wife claimed before it was even finished).

Spectrum LIVE! Next Week!

If you're in the Kansas City area or can be by next weekend I highly recommend coming out the the Spectrum LIVE! show. It's the first one but it's shaping up to be a doozy, I can already tell I'm going to have a hard time staying at my booth. Anyway, if you make it out come by and say hi. I'll (probably) be at my booth.

Goldnight Commander

Goldnight Commander, 12 x 16 in., oil on masonite

This guy's the last of my work for the new Magic: the Gathering set; Avacyn Restored. Originally commissioned under the name Avacyn's Warchanter, it was assigned as a companion piece to Demonic Taskmaster (a couple of posts back) so I was asked to work them out in similar mirrored compositions. 

It was hard not to think of the crusades when working this guy out but I guess religious violence is excusable when you're fighting actual demons.

MicroVisions is LIVE!

For anyone interested in simultaneously supporting future illustrators and picking up a beautiful piece of original art, check out the MicroVisions auction, now live on eBay.

Sigarda, Host of Herons

Sigarda, Host of Herons - 12 x 16 in., oil on masonite

Another new one for Magic, the Gathering. She's the second angel I've done for them (the first was Jenara, Asura of War) and with this one I really wanted try my hand at glowing, backlit wings and the color effects that are involved. The weirdest part is how the color changes and darkens where the feathers overlap, not the easiest thing in oils it turns out (at least for me)

  Craterhoof Behemoth - 11 x 14 in., oil on masonite

Here's another piece from the new Magic: the Gathering set. Back when I got the assignment, he was called Province Trampler. It came with a pretty clear concept sketch of what he needed to look like (basically a cross between a frog and a rhinoceros). The design was great but it was pretty wild and stylized so the challenge with this one was pulling off the design they wanted and still trying to make it my own, or at least look like I painted it. I tried my best to do this by focusing on color and mood. Overall I got a kick out of this guy, there's something funny about a creature so big it's likely to kill you by accident.

Demonic Taskmaster

  Demonic Taskmaster - 12 x 16 in., oil on masonite

Here's the first of my work for the new Magic: the Gathering set, called Avacyn Restored. I had a lot of fun with that whip.

Brainstorm

 Brainstorm, 12 x 16 in., oil on masonite

This one, like the Time Walk art I did last year, was done as alternate art for one of Magic: the Gathering's classic cards. It won't be printed as a card but the original will be given away to the winner of a tournament this year.

The hardest part by far was trying to show the lightning forming inside the brain, under all the folds.

Microvisions

   Little Prince - 5 x 7 in., oil on masonite.

This little guy is my contribution to this year's Microvisions auction. Microvisions is basically an annual show/auction held at the NY Society of Illustrators to raise money for an illustration scholarship. The only catch is that all the paintings have to be 5 x 7 inches.

I've always loved following the show in the past and seeing what artist were able to pull off in such tiny paintings so I was really excited when I was asked to participate this time around.

Mikaeus, the Unhallowed

Mikaeus, the Unhallowed, 12 x 16 in., oil on masonite

Here's my last painting for the latest Magic: the Gathering set. He's a follow-up to Steve Belledin's awesome piece; Mikaeus, the Lunarch. This time he's shown busting out of his tomb, soon after his death.

I really got a kick out of this one, I'm not sure why exactly but it wound up being one of those rare pieces (at least for me) that came together fairly easily and the final product was actually pretty dern close to what I'd originally envisioned (Not to mention the fact that getting the chance to paint what's basically a zombie pope was almost too good to be true).

Huntmaster of the Fells/Ravager of the Fells

  Huntmaster of the Fells, 12 x 16 in., oil on masoinite

In the new Magic: the Gathering set, called Dark Ascension, for the first time they have included double-sided cards, representing creatures that have the ability to transform into a different and usually much more terrifying version of themselves. In my case, I was asked to paint a trapper who's nursing a bite-wound from...something. What he becomes (after that sun's done setting) is this guy: 

Ravager of the Fells, 12 x 16 in., oil on masonite

New work for World of Warcraft

Happy new year everyone! For my first post of 2012 here are a couple more for the World of Warcraft card game.

-Deathstalker Commander Belmont (aka 80s punk zombie) 11 x 14 in., oil on masonite
-Mograine, 11 x 14 in., oil on masonite.