Matthew Stewart Illustration

Lambholt Elder/Silverpelt Werewolf

2012-01-16T15:16:00.001-08:00

Innistrad is a world filled with many characters that are mild manner humans by day and vicious zombies and werewolves at night. Many of these characters appear on double faced cards, something new in this block. On these cards, one side depicts these creature in the light of day, and the other at night. For Innistrad's upcoming second act, Dark Ascension, I was asked to illustrate one. The daytime side is called Lambholt Elder, depicting an elderly, seemingly harmless herbalist in her humble shop.

Lambholt Elder
9" x 12" oil on paper mounted to board

The night version is Silverpelt Werewolf, a powerful silvery white werewolf howling at the moon. For these cards, the two pictures have to have a visual link to show that they are the same being in different incarnations. The link here is the shop. The iron fittings and the carved jamb of the door, the window, and the jars and pots give the viewer a clue that the old lady of the shop and the werewolf are one and the same.

Silverpelt Werewolf
11" x 14", oil on paper mounted to board

Dragonforge details

2011-11-21T09:47:00.000-08:00

Dragonforge

2011-10-25T10:54:00.000-07:00

This is a private commission I just finished. It’s a variation on the same theme as a previous piece, Waterfall Dragons. The painting had to have three women, a dog, and a dragon. The client wanted a dwarvish version, though. There is also a hint of a story going on here. The female dwarf at the top of the stairs is holding an multicolored dragon egg. Maybe the eggs are being transported, and the females are the only ones who are allowed to handle the eggs. Hence the dragon rider is also female. The dogs stand near the rest of the eggs in a golden dragon shaped nest. At least that’s how I understand it, and the story hasn’t actually been written fully as far as I know, but its fun to think that I could be molding the story with a picture, instead of the other way around.
I also drew inspiration from Tolkien’s dwarves in The Lord of the Rings. In particular, what we learn about their relation to the natural world in the the dialogue between Gimli and Legolas in the Glittering Caves. In this part of the story, Gimli is overcome by the natural beauty of the caves, and fantasizes about making them a realm like Moria or The Lonely Mountain. Legolas’ response is first that he would rather be in a forest, and that it’s a probably a good thing that dwarves are unaware of the place because they would destroy its natural beauty by mining it in their greed for precious metals and gems. Gimli’s corrects the elf, explaining that dwarves look on the rocks and the caves of the earth in the same way elves appreciate forests and things that grow. The appreciate the value of nature in itself, and not from the wealth and resources that can be extracted from it. The dwarves would no more spoil the natural beauty of the cave than the elves would cut down an entire forest for its wood.
I wanted to show this by making the the cavern a place where glittering gems and veins of gold are undisturbed while the dwarves go about their task of forging armor for the dragon. I couldn’t resist painting a forge if I was going to do a piece about dwarves either.
It’s oils on panel, 28” x 44”. It’ll be on display at my booth at Illuxcon in Altoona, Pa next week.

Gruesome Deformity

2011-10-18T21:59:00.001-07:00

This one is called Gruesome Deformity. As you might guess, my wife was of course extremely pleased to pose for this one. It shows a woman looking at her reflection in the water of her washing basin. She’s horrified to find that her once beautiful face has deformed buy some spell or curse. The challenge was that viewer would see her face as she does, in a reflection in water, rather than straight away or in a mirror.

Not all the light that hits the surface of the water is going to be reflected back at the viewer, especially at such a steep angle. Reflections are stronger at shallow angles. This means there would be a limited range of values to work with in rendering the face. Also, only the highly lit areas of the face are going to reflect clearly. Dark areas would have very faint at best. Therefore, the light illuminating her face had to be a strong edge light that would show the form of her face, as well as bring out the texture of her diseased skin.

The sketch still doesn’t look quite right. It’s not reading as water. Maybe used motor oil, but not water. When shooting the photo reference, we used a dark metal pot because it gave us a stronger reflection. It's not looking like the white porcelain washing basin appropriate for her decor. I still needed a dark background for contrast because, again, only the strongly lit areas are being reflected. So I put the washing basin in shadow in the finish. It took a little more fudging of the values it a little bit, but I think its convincing enough in the end.

It’s oils on paper on MDF. 9” x 12”

Manor Gargoyle

2011-09-22T08:22:00.000-07:00

This one's called Manor Gargoyle. It's oils on paper mounted to board, 12" x 16".
When I was gathering the images for this post, I thought to myself, "Why didnt I go with the first sketch?" You can see it below. Here's my thinking as far as I can remember: I wanted the gargoyle to appear as both a living (or merely animated) creature, and a stone sculpture at the same time. The pose is important in communicating this. So I opted for a symmetrical, static pose you see in the finished piece. Only the head deviates from the forward facing position, turning to the viewer. I felt this communicated the balance better than the first sketch, which go could either way, a lifeless sculpture, or a looming demon. But not both. At least that's how I saw it at the time. I'm not sure if I would agree now, but I'm happy with the piece anyway.

The first sketch

Maybe I just think about that crap too much and I should just make it cool. I don't know.

Another reason I chose what I chose is because there was more sky in it to paint, which gave me a chance to rip off one of my favorite painters, Atkinson Grimshaw (1836-1893). I looked to his work not only because of the great mood and atmosphere of his night scenes, but also his the variety of color he uses. I thought I might be painting a lot of night scenes in this set, and didn't want all of them to end up blue.

Cobbled Wings

2011-09-18T21:42:00.001-07:00

The full Innistrad spoiler is up so I can start showing the rest of the work I've had to sit on for a while. This one is called Cobbled Wings. Think of this guy as a gothic horror version of Leonardo Da Vinci. The necro-alchemist here has made a flying apparatus, and we see him as he has just jumped from the balcony of his laboratory to test his creation. The wings are made of pilfered bones and flesh, metal, and are controlled by wires and pulleys.

When I can, I try to show sketches to other artists to see if an image is reading properly. Usually its my wife Gina, who is also an artist and pulls no punches. Often there are problems or potential improvements with an image that I won't see while working on it. In this one, the sketch is pretty much unchanged except for one thing. There is more of a tilt in the figure and wings, giving it a stronger sense of movement. This change was a suggestion by fellow artist John Stanko. I was pretty happy with the sketch initially, but I think the change made it even better. There's always room for improvement, and another pair of eyes can be invaluable.

More Innistrad!

2011-09-06T19:00:00.000-07:00

This image was revealed on the WotC website yesterday, so I can show it now. I dont know anything about the card, but the art depicts some of Innistrad's vampires feasting on some poor sap. I enjoyed composing a picture where the many figures are interacting with each other in close confines. I also liked the chance to depict the well heeled vampires in all their animal viciousness.

The development of the composition, from thumbnail to comprehensive drawing.
©Wizards of the Coast

Reaper from the Abyss

2011-08-29T22:32:00.001-07:00

This is the second piece revealed from the upcoming Innistrad set for Magic:The Gathering. I'm not really the go to guy for big bad ass demons, so I was pleased to get asked to do this one. I have to say I rather enjoyed painting all the scars on his torso and arms. It's oils on paper mounted to board, 12" x 18".

The thumbnail from my sketchbook

Fantastic Worlds Exihibtion

2011-08-16T15:11:00.000-07:00

I'm pleased to announce that three of my paintings, Dernhelm, Skyward Eye Prophets, and Knotvine Paladin will be featured with the work of over 25 awesome artists. The show runs from August 13 through November 13th at the Kenosha Public Museum in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

Creepy Doll

2011-08-14T21:37:00.000-07:00

This one is called Creepy Doll, and it's my first image from the upcoming Innistrad block. The block isn't due out until September, so it's a pleasantly unusual circumstance to be able to show anything from the block this early. Like Force of Will , which I wrote about a couple posts ago, WotC purchased the original art (I'm a big fan of this trend). It was be given to a fan at the Magic panel at San Diego Comic-Con about a month or so ago. You can read about it here.

I enjoyed getting the details right on this one. A feeling of authenticity was important, but without referencing any specific historic dolls too much. Virtually all the 17th century dolls I found looked were odd looking, almost grotesque. Alot of them had really small heads in comparison to their bodies, or strange grins. I felt, however, that the the piece wouldn't work if the dolls looked too weird. The uneasiness should come from the contrast between the cuteness of the child's toy and the evil and cruelty of its actions.
It's 12" x 16" , oils on paper mounted to MDF.

A digital color study

More WoW!-Obsidian Drakonid

2011-08-10T10:53:00.001-07:00

Here's another piece I did for the new Twilight of the Dragons set for the World of Warcraft TCG. It's oils on paper mounted to MDF, 11" x 14".
The tail was crowding the already tight composition, and I felt I needed to knock it back a bit. Although I usually try to make the changes in paint, I was up against the deadline, so I did them digitally.

The original image is on the left, the image with the modifications on the right.

An alternate sketch idea

GenCon and Force of Will Alternate Art

2011-07-31T23:53:00.000-07:00

Later this week I’ll be in Indianapolis for GenCon. Last year was my first year there, and this year I’m back for more- with more space for more art, along with prints, artist proofs, play mat drawings.. all that good stuff.

Speaking of GenCon, Wizards will be holding it’s 2011 Legacy Championship there on Saturday. The winner of the tournament will be given an over sized alternate-art card of a well known card. This year, I was asked to paint it. Hence, my version of Force of Will. It's oils on paper on MDF, 12"x 16".

Sketchbook Thumbnails

Figure Study

Brel Blazebeard

2011-07-28T09:48:00.000-07:00

This one's called Brel Blazebeard. Its oils on paper mounted to MDF, 11" x 14". The image was just released on Tuesday with the Twilight of the Dragons set for the World of Warcraft trading card game. Illustrating for Warcraft is a lot of fun, but is also a challenge, at least for me, in that they are very specific about the physical proportions of the different types of inhabitants of the game. Bodies are thicker, with large barrel chests and powerful hands. I've found that in many of the illustrations I've done for them so far it serves me well to do a anatomy study beforehand. Then it is easier to add on the fantastic armor and other costuming on top. This way, I know that the proportions are correct, and I still have the movement and gesture of the pose. These studies aren't pretty, but they help me out a great deal.

From this I do another pencil sketch. I could just refine the digital sketch, but I still feel more comfortable with a pencil than a stylus. So this study is printed out and used as a guide for the more refined sketch by means of a light box. The paper I do most of my drawings with is just Staples all purpose copy paper. It's acid free, and thin enough to use with a light box, but not too translucent like tracing paper. I love the surface of it as well. Very smooth with just enough tooth for me. I starting using this paper after I heard from Tom Kidd that he uses it for all his great sketches.
This pencil sketch is then scanned in and further refinements can be made in Photoshop. I'd probably save time if I did everything digitally, but I still haven't made the total leap yet.

Beehive House

2011-07-13T23:27:00.000-07:00

A Beehive House on the Dingle Peninsula, Ireland. I could have drawn all day at this site, but there was a lot more to see, and it was starting to rain as I finished this one up.

Druidic Satchel

2011-06-30T10:03:00.001-07:00

Here's the third card I illustrated for Magic 2012. Basically a satchel bag with a funny green man face in it. I originally had the eyes glowing, as seen in the digital color study below, but that changed to glowing magic leaking out of the bag. It's oils on paper mounted to MDF, 8" x 10".

Skinshifter

2011-06-28T10:33:00.000-07:00

Here's another piece for the upcoming Magic 2012 set. It's called Skinshifter, and depicts a mage with the power to transform himself into animal or plant. This ability is eluded to in the covering of ivy and the forms in his staff. His eyes are that of a bird of prey, as if you are seeing him just as he is beginning to take another form. It's oils on paper, mounted to MDF, 12" x 16".

One of my initial ideas was to make him an old man, kind of a Merlin type. The tone of it wasn't right for the card, so I made him a bit younger. I also removed the ivy mantle to make his head stand out a bit more, particularly when the image is reduced to card size.

Dungrove Elder

2011-05-24T19:08:00.001-07:00

I was pleasantly surprised that I'd be able to show this one this early. Dungrove Elder is one of the first cards spoiled for the upcoming Magic 2012 core set. I always enjoy any chance to paint trees. It's oils on paper mounted to MDF, 12" x 16".

Pestilent Souleater

2011-05-04T06:15:00.000-07:00

As if being a "souleater" was bad enough, this guy's pestilent as well. This is the fifth and final card I've got in the New Phyrexia set. The design of this creature, just as the pliers headed guys in the last post, were given to me by WotC. My job is to show it in its environment doing something, preferably pestilent in this case. Hence, more slime.

The sketch. Unlike most pieces that require a lot of adjusting, composition changes, and redrawing, this one pretty much came out in one try.

Gremlin Mine

2011-05-02T09:08:00.001-07:00

Another one for New Phyrexia. The creatures in the background have set a mine for some unfortunate passer-by. They've made the mine out of the metal bodies of the fallen comrades. I based its design on a naval mine. It's oils on paper mounted on MDF, 9" x 12".

Noxious Revival

2011-04-29T21:55:00.000-07:00

Being that the entire New Phyrexia set has been revealed on the WotC site, I can start showing the rest of the stuff I've been sitting on for a while. I got the chance to paint a lot of gross creatures, which I'm suprised about because I never thought it was my strong suit, but I tried to have fun with it. And translucent, gelatinous slime is actually really fun to paint.
This one is called Noxious Revival. It's oils on paper, mounted to MDF, 9" x 12" . Here's the sketch.

An alternate idea. I didnt go with it because I felt it wouldn't translate as well when the image is reduced to the card size

Slash Panther

2011-04-19T09:41:00.001-07:00

Another card for the upcoming New Phyrexia set for Magic.
This piece gave me an opportunity to try to paint a number of visual effects. First, let me give credit where credit is due. It's fairly common knowledge that blurring can give the suggest motion in picture. I have to thank James Gurney, however, for clarifying two different types of blurs and how they work, and when to use them. You can find out about them here and here on his blog, as well as in his latest book Color and Light. I'm going to use his terms as well.

Imagine that my painting is actually a picture taken by an imaginary camera, and that camera moving along with the running panther. The great speed that both are traveling at is suggest by the blurring of the ground passing beneath. This is speed blur.
The panthers legs are moving relative to the rest of its body and the camera, and are therefore blurred. This is motion blur.
The third effect I employed is the refraction of light caused by heat. This wavy distortion can be seen on the rib cage of the panther.
It's done in oils on paper mounted to MDF. It's 11" x 14" I think.

Phyrexian Myr Token

2011-04-14T06:16:00.000-07:00

This was just spoiled on the Wizards of the Coast site. It's for the Myr Token card for the upcoming New Phyrexia set for Magic. The vertical format of a token card was a refreshing change from the usual horizontal painting. I was allowed to paint the entire standing figure and not have to pay for it with a lot of background on the sides.

A Myr is a inhabitant of Mirrodin, a world where virtually everything is composed of metal. Not the get too inside baseball here, but by now in the storyline, the Mirrans are about to lose their fight against the alien bio-mechanical Phyrexians. This is reflected here in the Myr by the dented up, peeling metal, and the flesh growing like weeds on its limbs. These are the symptoms of phyresis, the corrupting disease by which Mirrans are turned into Phyrexians. Or at least that's how I understand it.

It's Oils on paper mounted to MDF board, 12" x 16". Below is the preliminary sketch.

Ireland

2011-04-11T22:35:00.000-07:00

The Cliffs of Moher

The Mrs. and I had been planning to go to Ireland for the last five years, and we finally went.

Gina on The Burren. Or at the Burren? Anyway, the limestone rocks there are like nothing I've ever seen

Connemara

At the top of Diamond Hill in Connemara. We hiked half way up and stopped to draw. We were chased off the hill by a passing rainstorm. We were going to leave, but the weather changes so quickly there, we decided to wait it out, and try again for the top. Despite the fact that Gina lost her hat on the way up, I'm glad we did.

On the way back from Connemara

When we went to Dingle, it was overcast and foggy, which I think made for better pictures.

Taken at a falconry demonstration at The Burren Birds of Prey Centre. The Falcon started the show by dissappering over the hills for like 10 minutes or so. Apparently the falcon wasn't too hungry (and therefore motivated) and decided to ride some warm air currents for a while. When he decided to come back, he more than made up for it, putting on a clinic of speed and agility, earning a "Stuart Little" for his efforts.

The Rock of Cashel. The little doorways between the windows of the monastary is actually a passage way for the bishop so that he could navigate the the building without being seen. You can also see the iconic Irish round tower behind the wall.

The kerbstone of the neolithic tomb at Newgrange in County Meath. The tomb there, along with others around the Boyne River are older than the pyramids, dating back to 3200 BC. There are a lot of ideas about the specifics meaning on the swirl patterns on the kerbstone, but the stone itself acts as a boundry. To enter the tomb, one has to cross the stone, leaving the material world and entering the spirit world. We got a chance to travel down the extremely narrow passageway to the inner chamber. In the picture you can see a window above the entrance. This is so that on the winter solstice, and only on that day, the first rays of the sun reach all the way into the inner chamber. Apparently there is a lottery to be in the chamber on that day with thousands of people hoping to get the chance. What if it was cloudy that day?
Also, in inside the chamber, along with more neolithic carvings is grafitti carvings from like the 1830's.

Sheep on the road in Connemara.

While in County Meath, we also visited Trim Castle. This is a view of the main keep from a side gate. Trim Castle is the biggest Anglo Norman castle in Ireland, built in the late 1100's. It's also the castle where Braveheart was filmed.

Skellig Michael has got to be one of the coolest places on the planet. About 9 miles of the coast of County Kerry, it was the site of a monastery founded in the 7th century. We were lucky to find someone going out to the island this early in the season (it was actually the first trip they made this year), and due to the rough conditions we weren't able to land on the island. Despite that minor dissapointment, it still was a truly mind blowing experience.

Skellig Michael again, showing the mist shrouded summit. You can see in this picture the winding staircase to the top.

Nini, who along with Ken Roddy took us out to the island.

It does taste better over there.

We must have taken at least 700 pictures , along with iPhone videos. More of them can be seen on Gina's flickr. I'll also probably posting more about it from time time to time, including some sketches I was able to do while over there. As with all trips, we didn't get to see everything, but we did enjoy everything we saw, and hope to get back some time in the future.

The Tolkien Professor

2011-02-23T21:00:00.000-08:00

There are a lot of things that I might do while I’m working. Listening to music, books on tape, DVD’s etc. Recently I’ve had the pleasure of listening to “The Tolkien Professor”. “The Tolkien Professor” is Corey Olsen, an tenured English professor at Washington College who has put his course on J.R.R. Tolkien’s writings online and as podcasts on iTunes. Along with the course, he also offers discussion like “How to read Tolkien and Why”, “Tolkien and Food”, “On Dragons and Orcs” and the like, as well as a more indepth discussion of the Hobbit, and a Silmarrilion Seminar.
Even if you're not a huge Tolkien geek like me, I highly recommend them. You can check them out here.

Imagine FX #66

2011-02-18T09:36:00.000-08:00

Imagine FX #66 is out on newstands this month, and includes an interview with yours truly. It also has a great profile on Charles Vess, and a great drawing step by step by Justin Gerard.

Two more for Magic

2011-01-26T09:18:00.001-08:00

This one is called "Loxodon Partisan" This one was a lot of fun, and although I'm very happy with how the painting turned out, there is one thing I would change. When the image is reduced to card size, the strange dog like creatures the elephant headed loxodon is fighting are lost in the background. Maybe a more cropped composition, or at least some fog or something might have helped.
Oil on paper on board , 12" x 16".

This is "Quilled Slagworm". An enormous, copper plated worm, with quills and hair. When Gina would look at this one on the easel and say "eew, gross", I took it as a sign I was on the right track.

For reference, I made a model. Most models I make are not this elaborate-a relative term when you see the ones James Gurney makes. It's made out of sculpey, copper sheers, and plastic bristles from a broom. Regardless of the quality of the model, there's almost always information that can be gleaned proves useful.

Most times I make a model, it's done exclusively for lighting. This time, however, in addition to the lighting, I got some useful information about color, texture, and reflections. The ground is aluminum foil spray painted black. Originally I intended to paint it completely black, but I liked the way the spray paint collected in the crevices of the crumpled foil, letting metal show on more elevated areas. For something that is supposed to exist on a world literally made of metal, I thought this was an interesting surface I couldn't have made up on my own.
Oil on paper on board, 12" x 16".

Neurok Commando

2011-01-24T21:45:00.000-08:00

The art director's request was simply "paint me a cool looking Neurok". I'm glad a use was found for this one. Done earlier than the other pieces for this set, I feared it would linger forever in the limbo known as the "slush file". Oil on paper on board, 9" x 12" .

Viridian Emissary

2011-01-21T07:03:00.001-08:00

Another piece for Mirrodin Besieged. Oil on paper on board , 12" x 16".

Crush

2011-01-18T21:15:00.001-08:00

Something for the upcoming Mirrodin Besieged set of MTG . Oil on paper on board, 9" x 12".

Illustration Portfolio class

2010-11-29T22:07:00.000-08:00

This Spring I’ll be teaching a class entitled “Illustration Portfolio” for the Continuing Education department at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. The focus of the course is the development of an impressive illustration portfolio to show potential clients or employers. We’ll work on researching potential clients and creating samples tailored for prospective clients’ brands while maintaining an individual artistic vision. I’m really looking forward to getting out of my hermit cave and trying my hand at teaching. You can download a pdf. of the Spring brochure here. Also, here’s an interview I did for the Continuing Education Blog, Creative Consumption.

The Cloud Roads

2010-10-25T10:22:00.001-07:00

Here's a book cover I just finished for Night Shade Books called The Cloud Roads. The story is about Moon, an orphan who finds he has the ability to transform himself into a flying creature. Moon finds more of his kind, and joins the fight against an strange power called the Fell.

Digital comps showing two different approaches to the cover. An action scene, and a portrait of the main character, Moon.

Strider

2010-10-21T18:57:00.000-07:00

This is a new piece I’ve been working on between commissions. In The Lord of the Rings, Strider the one of the many names and pseudonyms that Aragorn goes by in his travels to conceal his true identity and the heir to the long empty throne of Gondor. This is how we first meet him though, rough looking with mud caked boots and a weather-stained cloak. Though it’s a fairly literal interpretation of the text, I felt it also illustrates who Aragorn is at this time in the story. Strider’s face is obscured in shadow, just like his true identity and lineage is hidden. Just as he is waiting for the hobbits, he is waiting for the time to be right to reveal himself and confront Sauron openly and claim his rightful throne.
Oil on board, 24” x 30”

Armor studies

2010-10-05T00:17:00.000-07:00

These were done a while back at the arms and armor section at the Philadelphia Museum of Art . Pencil and white chalk on toned paper proved to be the perfect tools for quickly rendering the steel pieces of armor. Studying the real thing, understanding how it all fits together, all the little bolts and rivets, is invaluable when designing an armored character in a illustration.

jousting helmet

helmets

gauntlets

fluted armor

cuirass

side view of a cuirass and pauldrons

Pumpkinhead

2010-09-30T11:11:00.000-07:00

This little painting is my contribution to the Hallowed Halloween show. I doesn't really mean anything, I just thought it would be fun to paint a goblin with a pumpkin on his head. The opening of the show is tomorrow night. My wife Gina, contributed a piece as well (and totally kicked my ass on it, but she's the Halloween Queen, so what can you do? ). You can see it on her blog. It's small 5"x7" , and done on primed clayboard.

Here's the info for the show:
Hallowed Halloween
Opening reception October 1st, 2010
October 1-October 31
Proximity Gallery
2434 East Dauphin Street
Philadelphia PA 19125
267.825.2949

If you'd like to see more stuff about it, check out here and here.

Strider Harness

2010-09-22T06:39:00.000-07:00

The last but not least of the Scars of Mirrodin cards illustrated by me. The legs of the running elf are bionic additions which enable her to run with blazing speed. I tried to get that across with the speed blur in the background. Oils on paper on board, 11" x 14".

Speaking of Scars of Mirrodin, I'll be at the Montreal Prerelease this Saturday. If you're in the area, stop by and get some cards signed, see some original magic art, or just say hello. You can get more info about the event here.

Bloodshot Trainee

2010-09-20T22:15:00.000-07:00

Another piece for the upcoming Scars of Mirrodin set- depicting a goblin dragging a metal boulder up a hill, so that he can drop it on some unfortunate being below. Trying to figure out how to pose the goblin was difficult. Should he be pushing the boulder from behind, or carrying it on his back? How would it work if he were pulling it? I remembered a painting by Ilya Repin, Barge Haulers on the Volga, which showed peasants in a somewhat similar predicament, in as far as ungodly back breaking labor is concerned, which gave me my answer. So I have to give credit where credit is due.
oil on paper on board, 12" x 16".

Blunt the Assault

2010-09-13T21:36:00.000-07:00

I found this piece I did for the upcoming set on the Scars of Mirrodin minisite. Oil on paper on board, 12" x 16"

Ichor Rats

2010-09-07T06:49:00.000-07:00

New card art done for the upcoming Scars of Mirrodin set.
Oil on paper on board, 9" x 12".

Gencon and Chesley Awards

2010-08-11T09:50:00.000-07:00

I’m just catching up with things after getting back from GenCon on Monday. It was the first GenCon I’ve attended, and for an artist looking to work in the RPG gaming industry, there’s no more important show to attend. Virtually all of the game publishers are there, so you can see what’s out there to see where things are going, as well as to make contacts with potential employers. It’s also that rare show, outside of Comicon or Illuxcon, where so many artists are at the same show at once. Putting faces to names and artwork is invaluable. I’m always impressed and amazed at the depth of the camaraderie that illustrators have. It’s basically four days of hanging out, sharing stories and swaping tips about art and business. I meet a lot of artists there who I only knew from their websites and published work. It was also a wonderful to see their original paintings and large high res prints. It’s also a great place to meet with the fans of the games and the artwork. I must have signed countless cards, and drawn on more playmats and AP cards than I can remember. A big thanks to Barbara and Diesel for organizing a great show. Oh yeah, and I even got a 1st place ribbon for my painting, Skyward Eye Prophets.
When I was there I also pleasantly surprised to find out that I won two Chesley awards, one for Best Hardcover Book, and one for Best Product Illustration. It’s a tremendous honor to have won, and a huge Congrats to all the winners and nominees!
You can see my winning pieces here and here, and a list of all the winners here.

P.S. Thanks to Llereni for sending me a scan of a something I sketched for her at the show

Waterfall Dragons

2010-07-28T12:29:00.000-07:00

Here's a private commission I just finished. I rarely get to paint dragons, so this was a treat.
It's oils on board, 32"x 40".

Hunters' Feast

2010-07-07T08:48:00.000-07:00

One of the more unique subjects I've been asked to paint- Hunters returning with the main course, a glowing floating woolly rhino beast. I hear the left overs are even better.
The third new card for Magic 2011. Oil on paper on board, 11" x 14"

Hornet Sting

2010-07-05T14:59:00.000-07:00

Another Magic Card Illustration for M11.
oil on paper on board, 9" x 12".

Sacred Wolf

2010-06-22T22:23:00.001-07:00

Sacred Wolf

oil on paper on board, 12" x 16"

This one was done for the upcoming Magic 2011 Core set, and was just spoiled on the WotC website.

Chesley Nominations!

2010-06-13T19:48:00.000-07:00

Three pieces of mine have been nominated for ASFA's Chesley Awards! Valley of Shadows has been nominated in the Hardback Books category, Serendib Efreet in the Gaming category, and The Battle Under the Mountain in the Product Illustration category.

Aboleth

2010-06-09T21:10:00.000-07:00

Another D&D monster. Just for fun in my sketchbook.

Phillustration 2010

2010-06-02T22:32:00.000-07:00

Phillustration 2010, the third annual exhibition of illustration is going to be held at the Philadelphia Sketch Club, and I'm pleased to announce that I'll be in the show. I submitted two pieces, Dernhelm, in the Self Promotion category and Skyward Eye Prophets in the Institutional category. I'm also very honored to hear that both pieces were awarded first place in the respective categories. Thanks to judges, and the check's in the mail.
The show runs from June 4th to June 16th. Check out the Sketch Club's website for more info.
UPDATE: The show will be put back up Monday, June 21, and run through July 16th.

The Beautiful Grim auction is up!

2010-04-27T13:55:00.000-07:00

The Beautiful Grim auction is up. My piece "Daughter of Aries" is in with a lot of great artwork offered in first wave of the auction.
I blogged earlier about the good cause that the auction is for, and the story behind my own submission here.

Update- A great big thanks and congratulations to the person who bought my painting.

Spectrum 17 and the wall at Misty Mountain Games North

2010-04-20T22:02:00.000-07:00

I'm just getting back into the swing of things after a fun weekend in Minneapolis, where I was the artist guest at a Rise of the Eldrazi pre-release there. A huge thanks to Steve, Cedan, and all the staff at mistymountain north. Those guys did a spectacular job of running the well attended event, all the while taking great care of me. I also had the honor of leaving my mark on their wall.

RK Post did the first dragon, on the top right. Below his is really cool drawing by Matt Cavotta. Jeff Easley's (who I've been a huge fan of since I was about twelve years old) is on the top left, and mine is below his. I was asked to draw whatever I wanted, but with three dragons already up there, I felt that only another dragon would hold up next to the other drawings. Plus, I pretty much never get to do dragons.

my drawing

When I got home on Monday, I was pleasantly surprised to find my Spectrum 17 confirmation letter waiting for me. I'm pleased to say that I've gotten two pieces into this year's issue- The Battle under the Mountain and Kor Firewalker. It's a big deal for me to get one piece in, so I'm extremely excited to get two in.

Rise of the Eldrazi

2010-04-15T21:38:00.000-07:00

I've been swamped this month, so it's while since I've posted. I can, however, finally show these. They're for the Rise of Eldrazi expansion set for Magic: The Gathering, which has just been released.

"Echo Mage"
Oil on paper on board, 10 3/4" x 16 1/4"

"Halimar Wavewatch"
Oil on paper on board, 12" x 16 1/2"

"Umbra Mystic"
Oil on paper on board, 12" x 16 1/2"

"Zulaport Enforcer"
Oil on paper on board, 12" x 16 1/2"

Stone Troll

2010-03-10T21:27:00.000-08:00

More sketchbook stuff. A Troll, maybe like the ones Bilbo encountered.

Georgie

2010-03-01T22:07:00.001-08:00

He's always willing to pose

Blue Slaad

2010-02-25T22:46:00.000-08:00

This was for fun. Although I usually work in oils, I've been trying to teach myself digital painting lately. I use photoshop for color studies right now, but I haven't reached the point where I could do a finished piece entirely digitally. Its a Blue Slaad, a classic Dungeons and Dragons monster that I took from my sketchbook. I don't know how successful an illustration of a vicious beast it could be when my wife Gina says it looks cute.

Worldwake

2010-02-19T22:01:00.000-08:00

Worldwake, the second set of the Zendikar block of Magic: The Gathering was released a couple of weeks ago, so I can show these. Zendikar is a world where gravity doesn't always act in a predictable way, hence all the hooks and rings on the clothing and gear of its inhabitants which was fun to paint.

Quicksand

Marshal's Anthem

Kor Firewalker

Beautiful Grim

2010-02-19T18:50:00.001-08:00

After much procrastination, I’m finally getting off my duff and starting my blog. It’s mainly a way for me to show everybody what I’m up to.

Here’s a painting I just finished called Daughter of Aries, for an art show and fundraiser called Beautiful Grim. The show benefits Kat, the girlfriend of a fellow artist, Daarken, who at 25 was diagnosed with breast cancer. The auction of painting and prints will help them with the resulting medical bills along with aiding some cancer research charities. The artists taking part were asked to intepret the theme “Beautiful Grim” in whichever way they chose.

I chose to depict the myth of the Amazons, the female warriors from Homer’s Iliad. The title Daughter of Aries refers to the Amazons’ association with the Greek God Aries. This painting was an opportunity for me to blend fantasy, myth and history. I was itching to paint something related to Amazons after watching a PBS documentary called Secrets of the Dead: Amazon Warrior Women. It was about the discovery of the 2,300 year-old skeletal remains of a warrior priestess in a tomb on the Russian steppes. The locations of tombs roughly correlate to where Herodotus placed the legendary warriors, on the borders of ancient Scythia. These women could have been the inspiration of Homer’s Amazons. The make of objects found in the tomb, including decorative patterns, is similar to those found in Central Asian and Mongolian design. The archaeologists–and this was the really cool part of the show–were even able to match the DNA of the remains in the tomb to a young curiously blond-haired girl living in present day Mongolia.

The painting is also informed by the more mythological aspects of the Amazons. The Archer’s left breast is exposed and she wears a tunic with a zig zag pattern. This alludes to depictions of Amazons on Greek pottery. Her right breast is covered, and might have been removed, refering to the legend that Amazons cut or burned off their right breast so that they could shoot their bows and throw their spears better. The quiver and the mirror hanging from her belt are Scythian.

Along with allowing me to indulge in my love for history and myth, the Amazon encompasses the theme of “beautiful grim.” She is grim in that she is a fierce, yet scarred warrior, and she is beautiful and courageous.