February Art Lottery Winner!

Amidst all the recent commissions at which I've been scratching away, I finished up the first winning image from the art lottery. +Mike Davison 's request won the first round, so congrats man! Here's the pic:

"Best treehouse EVER!"

Mike had requested a Chaos Marine with mutations boarding a space hulk - and in all fairness I spent almost as much time lost on the Warhammer 40k Wiki as I did actual painting, which added to the fun. I chose to approximate a Plague Marine, because I often make a joyous noise unto the Plague Lord anyhow. It was a natural fit.

Don't forget to keep your submissions coming! All submissions that don't get drawn will stay in the lottery for next month, so no need to repeat yourself. Anything that pops into your head, go for it! The submission button is below, and thanks again!

Monthly Painting Lottery! (I make art for you for free.)

Its simple: I want to kick out some jams! and make some artwork for folks in the gaming community on G+ and beyond, and I figured a monthly assignment for myself would be a realistic goal.

All you have to do to for a chance for some free artwork from yours truly is to click the Kontactr Button at the bottom of this post, fill in the form with your info and a description of what you want me to digitally draw or paint, and your submission will be numbered and entered into a new lottery each month. Here's the lowdown:

• On the 5th of every month I will run a random selector and announce the winner on G+ and this blog. 

• I will spend 5 to 8 hours on every piece and do my best to meet the specs in your description.

• I will email you your artwork in advance of posting and discussing it on this blog, which will happen by no later than the 20th of the month. 

• If there's time, I might be able to make some minor changes at your suggestion. If time is short and I can't make changes, please don't beat me. I am a fragile kitten and bruise easily.

• You can submit as often as you like, but keep it cool. Try not to flood me with piles of submissions, as I will grumble loudly and burp acid.

• I promise not to share your contact info with anyone, EVER, and also forever pinky swear not to send spammy things to your inbox.

• If your subject line says, "MAKE ART, MENDICANT!!!" I will love you deeply. 

Thanks guys! Spread the word and submit away!

Krül images of Violence and Conquest

I've been busy since my last post at the beginning of July, wrangling concept art and illustrations for a variety of clients. In the near future I'll be discussing what I can about the Arcane Knights video game, for which I am the 2D Lead right now, but for this post I want to talk about cruelty. Or rather, Krül thoughts . . .

Punning aside, Robert Parker runs an excellent game design blog Rogues and Reavers, where he actively develops The Savage World of Krül as a campaign setting and more. While we aren't discussing the full spread of media through which Krül will grow its cancerous tendrils, Robert has green-lighted me the opportunity to discuss some of the concept work I have done for and with him.

First up: The Barbarians of Oxala!

This piece started from a combination of Popular Mechanics covers from the 40's featuring monowheels and an excellent post on the variety of lizard men floating around the gaming world, which you can find at MonsterTV's Bleaklands gaming blog here. So there's that - Robert's barbarians, absurd military vehicle design from PopMech, and Lizardfolk! Cyborg barbarians are a full go on Krül, so how could I resist meshing all this together?
(Total time: 4 hours)

Next: THAGGADOOM!!!

 A few weeks ago Robert and I were cooking away on some dev for the setting, and a grand giant figure was mentioned for a particular desert scene under work. After soaking up some inspiration from Kirby's mutant monsters, Thaggy was born. Check out this repository of giants for more. I decided to use the exaggeration of the great ape's figure as an indicator of form, then apply the craggy rock textures and turtle-backed silhouette to the figure. Knowing that the Thagster had to possess both receptive and intimidating qualities, I opted to soften the facial expression a bit and counter it with the craggy, violent peaks on his back.
(Total time: 3 hours)

And finally: The Abandoned City of Izuma!!!

The Skardi octopi beings dwell deep beneath this pipe-riddled temple city, with the upper levels often inhabited by wandering tribesmen, barbarians, and creatures less savory. This was a great opportunity to explore mixing neoclassical architecture with some subtle sci-fi rumblings and a ruined fantasy finish. I imagined the tubes functioned as two-lane streets for the Skardi to navigate the levels of their city.The bylaws of this image: scale and description.
(Total time: 6 hours)

If you dig the concept art I generate for The Savage World of Krül, or if you would like to commission some work for your blog or campaign setting, feel free to comment or drop me a line! Thanks!