So this was a personal milestone- the first time I got paid to do a commission of one of my own characters- one of the villains from LORDS OF THE COSMOS- the living acid tank… Mordantix.
I forgot how complex his design was- so I tried to give it all to my client at the Hershey Comic Con in his sketch book, which was filled with other sketches from amazing artists! Check out your first LORDS OF THE COSMOS Commission- hopefully one of many!
This was a really fun commission to ink, having Smaug coming out of those rich dark shadows, and the great texture on the bony ridges on the bottom jaw and the scaled texture just built out those two clear eyes as the main focal points- unlike my Hydra with the lifeless clear blank eyes from earlier this year- this is a highly intelligent creature from The Hobbit and to viewer, that aspect should be told via those evil eyes!
enjoy!
A fun commission for a client- the Peter Jackson Hobbit film version of the Great Dragon- SMAUG! I really didn’t like the film design, but I think I was able to pull something good out of their design. Full disclosure, I love the Rankin Bass version of Smaug from 1977 better. I used the same square edge composition I did on “Skull King” for this one, and It had a really cool graphic design result to the final pencils.
Really loved how the background of the Darkened Tardis worked out to highlight the Angel’s face- and the muted pointilism gave that slight stone shade to the whole project-and that face- just gorgeous twisted love in those inks, I had to pull back to not over-do the inks, and hopefully, I got it just right!
Enjoy- the WEEPING ANGEL!!
So, my client from Pittsburgh asked to have this small commission inked- I was REALLY happy with how this little one off sketch turned out, especially that Owl. Enjoy your Wizard and Familiar-!
Like a game of pictionary for geniuses, the citizens of Pittsburgh put me to the test with no less than 10 commissions last weekend. Enjoy.
Well the Dr. Who project gets to add a new member to my Time Lords Rogue Gallery. One of the newer show villains- a “Weeping Angel” was commissioned by an awesome fan at Baltimore Comic Con for a gift for his signifigant other’s birthday. While I need to get Lords of the Cosmos rolling again, I am still getting research done for my next team pinup, and with Pittsburgh Comic Con coming up this weekend, this is a perfect time to fit in this artwork, and add it to my print gallery for future shows and as a portfolio piece.
Work notes- this creature has very little context- they are statues with sharp teeth that only move when you can see them, and they love to have odd hand and arm gestures like they are reaching towards you when “locked” in their static stone state. I tried to capture that facial expression and outlandish arm/hand gestures as well. Finally, I added the Tardis for a recognizable background to bring it into the WHOniverse from a graphic sense.
There are two pencils below, the first is a modified photo of the final artwork, I need to ink it very soon, so a full and proper scan is out of the question, I played with the contrast and brightness and it gave the pencils an otherworldly look. The lower penciled piece is a proper scan, but I did some work after it, which is the more completed penciled scan above it.
Just got the final scan back from Blair Smith of the “Living Corpse” Team, lots of Black just highlights that creepy face and wrinkled hand. For a simple composition, I was really happy with the final results of this Baltimore Comic Con commission….Enjoy!
I was very pleased with the fast pace I turned this commission from Baltimore Comic Con around, lots of energy, and I used large areas of black to get it done fast, and the effect of the chiaroscuro really served to highlight the figures in the artwork. Gotta admit, Im still rooting for Alien!!
A nice bookend piece to my Colonial Marines Vs. Aliens from this winter. Thanks to my Client Eric who paid me to make this awesome pinup for his collection!
Final Inks, and a photo of Eric with his Dad and I below!
More commission mash up fun from Baltimore Comic Con. Supergirl’s blood fed by kryptonite sword to Vampirella by a fan. Who says a blood fetish with a tortured super-heroine from the fans can’t be cool? Thanks to my amazing helper Skittlez in D.C. for introducing me to Marco!!
This was a fairly complicated piece to pull off with limited time, no reference, and a very tired (3rd day of the con!) artist that had been drawing non stop to get “The Living Corpse” and “Alien Vs. Predator” done that weekend as well.
I really liked how Vampi’s face and hair turned out with the dripping blood- the artwork below is from photos of the pencils before the client took it away, so the quality is sort of sketchy – no pun intended. Enjoy!
Some closeups
