*UPDATE* - This piece has sold. Thank you!
As mentioned last month, I created color art on the back of several Magic
Today, I am happy to share the process and steps for my
I was asked to design and illustrate the Cranium Rats in Disguise. I knew instantly that this would be a fun one. It is just so silly and cool at the same time that I needed to make it special. The Cranium Rats in Disguise was described as:
A mysterious figure surrounded by cranium rats walks down an alley toward the viewer.
Figure: The figure is covered in a ragged cloak and wrappings and walks awkwardly. We can't see any of the figure's features. It's suggested that the figure is actually all cranium rats wearing clothes, but we can't be sure.
Alley: The alley is a creepy alley in Sigil's Hive Ward. It's filled with trash and razor vine.
After reading that, I was ready to get to work on some thumbnails. As I have stated countless times here before, I start nearly all of my projects with a
The drawing was approved without comment, and it was time to start on the final painting. Here is the painting of the Cranium Rats in Disguise taking shape.
As with
That's all for another exciting Wednesday on the blog. See you back here on Friday! Until then...
I feel like I am WAY behind on sharing these, but that is due to the book being delayed due to a printing issue. But now, after a bit of a wait, I have my comp copies, and I can now share my contribution to the recent Dungeons & Dragons release of The Book of Many Things (Which comes with the Deck of Many Things set). Here is said book that, in fact, contains many things!
You will find two of my illustrations in The Book of Many Things, one being a monster and the other being a man with some issues. The long and the short of it is that I made three pieces for this book, but due to travel, I was unable to see to some very late revision notes, and that third piece was replaced by another artist. At a later date, I hope to share that piece with you all, but that is for another day.
First up, we clearly have my favorite piece for the book, and likely for some time. It is Wanewort the Night Hag, and she has a pair of kitties. Not just any kitties, but she is holding my Mietze, and my wife's little Zemo is sniffing around Wanewort's dress. She was described as having two cats, and I asked if one of them could be changed in the final piece to be a little bitey orange kitty. Production gave their blessing, and so Mietze and Zemo are now in a D&D book! The second piece for the book is Boss Augustus, and he is struggling with an internal conflict. The weird thing about this one is that, while the entire thing was based on me, the drawing looks like someone I know, and the painting looks like another person I know. I'm not sure how this happened, but here we are all the same. Here are the final paintings for Wanewort and Boss Augustus.
As with all my D&D pieces, even though the final is digital, there are original drawings available. These are no exception, and I was pleased with how the drawings turned out. Here are the drawings for Wanewort and Boss Augustus. A word of advice: if there are any D&D pieces of mine that are coming out that you want the drawings for, you need to reach out to me as soon as possible.
Lastly, I have some photos of how the work looks in the book. I think they printed great, and now Mietze and Zemo are forever a part of D&D!
That is all for another exciting Monday on the blog. See you back here on Wednesday! Until then...
I am always surprised
While the first mini had a unique pose, this new version is based directly on my
Lastly, here
I speak highly of Pensacon for a reason. There is something about this show, well, there are a lot of some things about this show. Do not get me wrong, all of the shows I do repeatedly year after year mean something to me, but they are all different and unique. Mike Ensley and his team make an amazing show and a wonderful con to be a guest at. The attendees are great and are always super excited and happy to be at the con. The returning artist family continues to grow, and seeing them every year is such a treat! Pensacon stands out as the start of the convention season for me and sets the pace for the rest of the year. And if Pensacon was any indication for the year, it is going to be a crazy, fun time.
When I returned to Pensacon post-COVID, I did not know what to expect, and what I found was my sales more than doubled from 2020 to 2022. I assumed it was a fluke, but my sales were slightly higher in 2023. That was, of course, a fluke as well. Then we come to 2024, and sales have doubled from 2022. I had my single best day yet at a convention and the best total sales at any convention to date. I also sold an original for more than I have ever sold a piece of art. What does this all mean? I have no idea. But I know I need to get my second book finished! People want more!
Besides record sales, there was a singular moment for me at Pensacon this year, and that would be the Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel Q&A panel that I was on with James Marsters and Charisma Carpenter. For years, I believed it would make for a good panel if you had cast and crew together talking about the same projects from their respective viewpoints... and it turns out I was right. I had SO much fun! James and Charisma were welcoming, and we had loads to share. I brought the few remaining artifacts from my time on Buffy and Angel, and the crowd went wild. I will be honest, LA was very hard. It took a lot to live and work out there, and at times, it felt like everything was working against us, especially some of the people I worked with. At times, I found myself in very hostile working conditions. This is something I haven't really spoken publically about, and one I will continue to leave vague as much as I can. This is not the time for that whole conversation. But I would like to say that being on this panel has brought me so much closer and peace with what I went through out there. I am in a really good place now, and my memories of LA and working in the film industry are a whole lot brighter.
I launched the Kickstarter for my book at Pensacon in 2020, and to continue to return there and to have more and more people telling me how much they enjoyed it, how much it means to them, and how excited they are for book two means more than I will ever be able to express. It is wild to be selling a book to
We focused on the con during the day and ourselves in the evening. We didn't have any late nights or big adventures this year, and I was fine with it. It is better to miss out on a few things and to be rested and ready for a long day at the booth. We had meals with wonderful friends and saw so many familiar faces. From start to finish, this was an amazing Pensacon and one that will be hard to top. Again, thank you to Mike Ensley, Julio Diaz, Lemmie Crews, Roland Paris, Mark Maddox, Steve Wise, and way too many others (sorry that I am not mentioning you all) for making Pensacon so wonderful for the both of us. Here are some photos and additional thoughts.
That is all for another exciting Wednesday on the blog. See you back here on Friday! Until then...
UPDATE! ALL
As I write this, the good folks behind Pensacon are hard at work to get every last detail finalized for this weekend. This means I do not have final details on everything I wanted to share with you today. That said, I think I have something pretty cool, BUT you will have to come to Pensacon to see it. For the first time ever, I will have some of the original concept art that I created for Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel with me for sale at Pensacon!
In time, I will share all of this art with you, but for now, those attending Pensacon will get to see them first and have the opportunity to purchase them. These are only a few of the works that I did for the shows, and these are pieces I am comfortable with parting with. It is a mix of early and late work and
Speaking of art, I will be debuting many new art pieces for book two of the Grand Bazaar of Ethra VanDalia. If you are on my mailing list, you have already seen a lot of this new work, but not all of it. If you are attending Pensacon, you will be able to see all of my newest work for the book!
Lastly, the
That is all for another exciting Wednesday on the blog. See you back here after Pensacon! Until then...
*UPDATE* - All have sold. THANK YOU!
As mentioned over the weekend, I will be returning as a guest to Pensacon this coming Friday. I have some special surprises planned, and I can share one of them today! I plan to have (already completed) color Magic
For these, I wanted to pull directly from the original drawings for the card art. I have been working on a method to transfer images onto the backs of the cards, and this allows me a lot more options for my artist proofs. Historically, one of the biggest hurdles for me is working this small. I enjoy drawing much larger,
That is all for my first surprise. As long as things get
That is all for another exciting Monday on the blog. See you back here on Wednesday! Until then...
