Extreme contrasts from black to white really made this insignia stand out. The plain flesh of the hand with the obsidian background are offset by the high contrast micro details in the circuit wrist and electrical eye. I really think when this graphic is plugged into some characters costumes it will all come together as I am laying the graphic arts groundwork on the new “LORDS OF THE COSMOS” Project with the most basic of components- the logos for our villains, and next the heroes!
A pencil sketch commission at Free Comic Book Day of the Grim Reaper- some classic imagery!
The first piece of graphic design for my new project “LORDS OF THE COSMOS”. This is the logo for the Villains- the “Disciples of Umex”
A Mechanical Hand covered in artificial skin, with a vast mechanical eye staring outwards outlined by a hexagon.
This is the symbol of the Terrorist Army which is led by their Master: the Biological and Mechanical Terror known only as “Lord Umex”.
The logo could be worn as jewelry, branded into skin, carved into stone, or engraved on metal armor in his army of bio-mechanical/magic wielding/whip carrying/monstrous soldiers. The people of the Planet Aiden view this symbol with abject horror in my upcoming story as the back story of this group of “divine evil” brings havoc to the civilian population.
As a project visual architect, getting the logo and basic design down first is important when world building, Dennis Fallon and Jason Palmatier have been working on the character bible and scripts for about 7 months now, so I am getting started up (or caught up) on the art chores to bring the story of “LORDS OF THE COSMOS” to life- keep an eye out for more artwork and updates as I get time to create them!
Four Commissions from Clients from AwesomeCon in Washington D.C. – Two in Ink, and Two in Pencil. Always fun and a challenge doing artwork onsite with little to no reference, a time limit and tons of lively people!
This piece seemed like it took FOREVER, and yeah back to work, family, home shows for my regular job, comic shows etc. etc. all got in the way. However the end result turned out to be, well outstanding. Yes I called my own work outstanding, because I really like this piece.
Took the CONFORM sign out, it started to make a tangent, really worked the crazy textures on the ghoul’s skin and veins, and just really took my time to deliver the artwork that I wanted to see from this classic movie.
Not much else to say except…
“I’ve got one that can see….
He’s a tall, Caucasian male….
Unarmed, wearing sunglasses….”
My other Nittany Con Commission from last weekend- a Unicorn/Eagle with a Devil Tail… a “Whatley”
Just a quick fun sketch of Kitty Pryde from the X-Men I did at Nittany Con last weekend. I wanted to emphasize and show her power to move through objects, so she is shifting up through an angled floor/object. Good stuff.
In Honor of Big Red’s 20th anniversary, a wee sketch commission for a client on Hellboy Day! Thanks Mike Mignola for this awesome creation, and some amazing artwork since 1994!
“THEY LIVE” is my last “mainstream” pinup in the extended series I’ve been working on from late summer of 2013 before I go back into my next comic book project. If you consider a 1988 horror sci film from John Carpenter “mainstream”, congratulations, we are on the same wavelength! To summarize- a loner (played by Roddy Piper) finds a set of black sunglasses that shows him the “rich” are ghoulish aliens that have the population sleeping through life while everything in print is a subliminal message- so a billboard says “OBEY” as an example. There are also hidden pieces of technology (saucers, broadcast dishes) that monitor the populace while also reinforcing the messages in the print ads saying things like “SLEEP”. The aliens also dress like rich people in the late 80’s and have wrist watches that they can report to their Headquarters on, and also teleport away in case of emergency. You can see alot of that cool stuff in this clip from the film here. It is a like a super powered episode of the OUTER LIMITS, and has some amazing imagery and concepts, and can be categorized as a true underground hit that has a fandom that 26 years later still holds the film in high regard- I just saw a photo goof on the Grammy Awards and Ellen DeGeneris that gave me the final nudge to do this piece and not another pinup- here is the “straw that broke Jason’s back” in my decision making process- and reminded me that “THEY LIVE” is a social statement of rebellion against authority held by the elite. I find that is a theme I will always identify with.
So here are my ref pieces as well as my layout pieces- the composition evolved a bit, but stayed fairly consistent to show as many of the iconic elements in one piece of artwork. The faces on the Aliens were what changed the most- you can see this in my sketches and tracing paper overlays below. I realized that fandom and film reference were inconsistent on the actual facial anatomy, so I really tried to stay close to the film for their appearance. I early on decided the POV from inside the sunglasses was the best and most exciting way to show the Aliens in a group, using their watches, and coming up on the viewer. Then I put 4 of the iconic messages into the background – with OBEY being the main visual piece in the background, with the street signs and newspapers as the “support” messages. So SLEEP CONFORM and REPRODUCE and enjoy this artwork- inks coming soon!
REFERENCE SOURCES
So here is the new cover for my latest project- THE ART OF JASON LENOX VOLUME #2 ….the follow up to my first art book in 2012. Which now make it a series, and that is really cool.
So- if you are reading this, and dig my work, and you know that is a killer cover, hit up the kickstarter link here and donate a few bucks and get some awesome swag from yours truly!
I also want to give props to graphic arts student Aaron Wharton for the execution of this in Photoshop, I would be lost without his expertise.
You can read Aaron’s musings at
@unicorncarcass
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