Ryan Pancoast Illustration

PreRelease leftovers

2011-09-29T09:14:00.004-04:00

Here are some leftover artist proof sketches from the Innistrad prerelease. Many thanks goes to the Mana Core for hosting the event and the players for stopping by my table. They were giving away my promo card for entering the event, and I was a little surprised how few people wanted a free signature on their card! So ultimately, I had some time to sketch.

...And the rest of Innistrad

2011-09-22T09:22:00.005-04:00

Here are my final three cards in the Innistrad set. I don't have too many things to say about these particular pieces and I don't have the full-size art yet. But while I wait for the originals to come back from Wizards, I'll share some thoughts.
Unruly Mob was my final Zorn palette (cadmium red, yellow ochre, black, white) Magic card. You can't really see him too well, but the guy with the axe is one of my favorite human characters that I have painted for Magic. I don't even know why. I just think he's cool.

In Innistrad, for every standard piece commissioned to me, there were one or two pieces where the character was breaking into or out of something. Breaking out of a window, breaking into a cottage, or in the case of Claustrophobia, out of a coffin.

I painted this one upside-down for most of the process. I was trying to figure out why it didn't look right and finally realized that I had painted his cuffs falling toward the lid of the coffin. I repainted that area to fix gravity.

For Unburial Rites, the "breaking out" theme continues with a corpse trying to break out of a crypt. There was a time last year when I wished my characters could just stay where they were.

Mythic Rare

2011-09-07T19:57:00.005-04:00

The world of Magic: The Gathering can be a random place. Artists generally have no clue whether their art will be used on a very powerful card or a relatively weak one. Army of the Damned is the first mythic rare card I have illustrated, meaning it's the most rare and generally the most powerful kind of card. A total surprise to me.

The assignment was to illustrate the inside wall of a cottage barricaded against a horde of zombies. The importance of the card clearly had to do with the many, many zombies, but the hardest part for me was to make a cottage wall compelling. Architecture, even a rundown cottage, is difficult for me to paint. Add in tons of arms and hands and the assignment becomes a big undertaking.

I don't have a larger image of the painting because I mailed it in before I could photograph it. Honestly though, I enjoy the art more on the card than I did in person.

Mayor/Alpha sketches

2011-08-30T07:32:00.006-04:00

Below are the sketches I submitted for Mayor of Avabruck and Howlpack Alpha. You can see that in the sketches for the mayor, I was going for a more peaceful, relaxed, intimate scene. The assignment required that I include the mayor studying a map in front of a big window (or with the window somewhere in the room behind him). The trick would be to get the lighting right. I had a general idea, but I ended up taking very, very complete photo reference.
The success of the piece hinged on the detail and subtlety of the lighting, something that in hindsight I could have done better. At the time, I was also still trying out the Zorn palette (cadmium red, yellow ochre, black and white), which didn't make the job any easier. However, I did have fun designing the mayor. To this day I still dig his outfit, regardless of what others think. I think its Gothic-derivative, but not colonial. Plus, he has a cool collar to ward off vampires (even though he should have been worried about werewolves, apparently).

I did a ton of thumbnails for Howlpack Alpha, but only came up with one idea that seemed to work for me. The werewolf needed to be jumping through the window, glass shattering around him and if possible, to include a full moon. This is the only way I figured out how to do that:
The sketches were approved, but the art director told me to keep the anatomy of the werewolf in line with the other werewolves of the Innistrad world. I reworked the sketch and submitted this:
This was approved but the art director requested that I make his fur mottled. This is very, very hard to do with paints. Mottled fur is meant to hide a creature's form in the wild; just like camouflage. The painter's motive, however, is to create form. So not only do you have to figure out where the light and shadow are falling, but you also have to change that pattern if you are painting a spot of dark fur. It's hard to see on the final but I was happy with what I achieved.

Now, the broken window. The trick with glass is that it's transparent from certain angles and translucent or opaque from others. Since the light is coming from below, any edge of glass that points in that direction would produce a highlight. But if the face of the glass is pointed at the viewer, you can see through it. What if the face of glass points toward the light? How does the moon affect the glass? For each shard of glass, I had to answer those questions.

Again, the lighting effects could have been more subtle and the whole piece could have been moodier. However, I'm really happy with the broken glass. It took a lot of planning and was an absolute pain in the rear, but if I ever have to do broken glass again ( please God, no), I will be referring back to Howlpack Alpha.

Innistrad Prerelease

2011-08-29T10:07:00.006-04:00

It's that time of the year again: the new expansion set of Magic: The Gathering is coming out. Called Innistrad, it's the game's take on Gothic horror. The Mana Core will be hosting a Prerelease event in Providence, RI, and I will be there signing cards.

Coincidentally, I illustrated the promo card that will be given out at the event. It's a double-sided card in which the Mayor of Avabruck (below) turns into Howlpack Alpha (bottom). This is breaking the mold in the world of Magic, so it will be interesting to see how players deal with the new cards.

There are many things I did right with these illustrations. But, as always, there are things that I definitely could have improved upon. Maybe I'll cover those things in a future art-related post.

Catsitting

2011-08-27T12:42:00.003-04:00

Homer usually lives with my fiancee, but because her apartment is on the first floor and might flood during Hurricane Irene, he's staying with me for the remainder of the weekend. Needless to say, I'm not getting a whole lot of painting done. I'm trying to make sure he can't get into anything he shouldn't. Plus, he's miserable, so I'm trying not to ignore him completely.

Tools of the trade: Mirrors

2011-08-25T08:53:00.006-04:00

Almost all artists occasionally back up from their work to look at the piece from a distance. You can more easily see the painting as a whole, making judgments on value, composition and the overall success of the piece. I use this technique frequently.

But anyone who has seen me work knows I also use mirrors. Instead of backing up from the piece all the time, I use a hand mirror to view the work at double-arm distance. In addition, the mirror also flips the piece, making any mistakes instantly visible. You can see if the composition is falling off one corner, if a piece of architecture is asymmetrical, or if the impact of the color needs fixing.

Usually, I have been looking at the painting for a long time, so to see its flipped version makes my mistakes immediately clear. Since I work alone, it's the only way I have found to get fresh eyes on the piece without consulting other artists.

For example, here's my 2008 painting, Red.

Everything looks normal. But view it flipped:

Pretty different, but everything looks correct, including her face and anatomy. After a few moments, this flipped image starts to feel normal. If that happens, I know that I'm on the right track.

Almost that time ...

2011-08-19T15:29:00.003-04:00

Spectrum 18 is just a few months from publication, so over at their website they are offering a preview of some of the pages.

You'll notice one of my pieces is in good company. It's nestled comfortably below Bob Eggleton and to the right of Petar Meseldzija; surrounded by legends.

And its almost time to start thinking about Spectrum 19 entries already!

Keeping the ball rolling ...

2011-08-11T10:04:00.006-04:00

To keep the momentum building on my blog, I thought I'd share some old news that I neglected to mention weeks ago. My friend John Tomac, illustrator, designer and former high school and college teammate, had an illustration printed in the July issue of Runner's World magazine. RW Art Director Kory Kennedy (formerly of Rolling Stone) works with some pretty big names in the industry, so getting into Runner's World is a huge deal.

But not only did John get an illustration in the magazine, it was a full-page piece (a page ahead of Lance Armstrong's article ... fitting), narrating his own story of running and survival. Please click on the image to read the entire thing:

There is also a short video online featuring John's process.

And if you are inspired to do so, please donate to his cause.

Return to Blogging: Of Limited Loyalty

2011-07-26T22:54:00.004-04:00

This is obviously my first blog post in quite a long time. Over the past couple of months, I felt uninspired about the state of my own work. It did not affect the quality of the work I was creating (recent work has been pretty good, actually), but I certainly did not feel like blogging. It's very hard to fake enthusiasm, so I decided to spare the Internet community my thoughts until I had something meaningful to say. So here it is: my return to blogging.

Back in February, I was assigned the sequel to At the Queen's Command, by Michael Stackpole. The aesthetic of the sequel was similar to the first; I needed to imitate the style of 18th century painting but depict an 18th century in which dragons, zombies, and a mysterious race of underground-dwellers shared the earth with humans. And while At the Queen's Command asked for a specific painting to mimic, Of Limited Loyalty was a little more open-ended.

The short story is that I went with these two John Trumbull paintings:

The top painting would serve as the model for the composition and the bottom would provide color inspiration. I took that basic outline and began planning where the major characters in the book would go. The dragon (or wurm, technically) in At the Queen's Command had been transformed into a larger monster with wings and Gila Monster coloring. Also important were the grey-skinned, magical humanoids that were to be shown in conflict with the humans. I tied these creatures together, and replaced the figures in the Trumbull painting with the book's characters. The sketch I submitted was approved on the first round and I was ready to go to final.

I prepped the 20x30 canvas and used a projector to transfer the sketch to the final size. Here, I'm tracing the projected sketch onto the final surface.

But I had much more drawing to do. The traced outline was only a compositional guide. I still needed to refine the drawing much more. Below, you can see the final drawing taking form over the loose outline. The biggest problem was the character in the fur cap. He went through many revisions until he didn't look like he was shooting the main figure in the back.

The following animation shows my progress after each work day. Fifteen stages over fifteen days … just in time for the deadline.

I painted a loose color study before working, so I knew the hue and values I wanted over the entire painting. As a result, I could work on small areas of the canvas and be fairly certain the whole thing would tie together. I could paint a small amount of background color around each character and then work on the figure, so that I could get the edge quality I needed right away; I wouldn't have to go in later and try to blend all the edges to various degrees.

So anyhow, here's the smallish version of the whole illustration (click for a bigger view).

And some details:

And the final cover from Night Shade Books:

Spectrum 18 entries

2011-04-22T12:18:00.002-04:00

These are the two pieces that got into Spectrum 18. At the Queen's Command got into the Book category and The Victor in the Uncommissioned category. I submitted five pieces and I figured these were the ones that had the best chance to get through the judging.

Switching gears

2011-04-19T08:21:00.004-04:00

A couple new jobs came in, so I decided to put off the photo reference session mentioned below to another day. As is so often the case, I now need to switch gears and go back to sketching. As I have things to post, I will post them.

I the meantime, check out my dad's new office; the only collection of my work on permanent display ...

The process continues ...

2011-04-15T12:52:00.005-04:00

Today, I continue preparing the canvas. Usually, I use Yes brand canvas, which is halfway between canvas and paper. It provides a fine grain texture that is easily adjusted for your specific use. I'll usually go over the surface a few times with gesso. I'll usually leave brushstrokes going in a horizontal direction or get more creative, letting the brushstrokes follow the action.

Once there are enough layers of gesso, I'll sand the dried surface gently to smooth out the sharp bumps and brushstrokes. After sweeping away the gesso dust, I will usually prop the canvas against the wall and coat the entire thing with a layer of water, starting at the bottom and moving up.

Pictured above is my color study. We have a defeated knight, surrendering to a dark queen and her minions. Or, perhaps he is willingly joining forces with her. The story doesn't matter to me as long as there is a story. Being ambiguous is good; it allows viewers to interpret their own adventure.

As for the palette, I have a small variation on a combination I discussed earlier: Ultramarine Blue, Transparent Red Oxide, Yellow Ochre, and Winsor Red.

Tomorrow, I will try to shoot photo reference.

Easter Island

2011-04-14T17:12:00.003-04:00

I might get a chance to do a personal project in the coming weeks ... or possibly, get started on one. I'm hoping to make it big (30x40) and supplement it with some fairly involved photo reference. So while I collect props and costumes (and models), I got a jump on things and sculpted some trolls. The mini monoliths are now watching over my drawing table.

The rest of the project is still in the thumbnail stage ...

I (sort of) won an award (I think)

2011-04-08T18:27:00.003-04:00

I just found out that the cover for Hawk of May won a PubWest 2011 Silver Award in the Jacket/Cover Design - Small Format category. When I first heard the news, I'll admit, I had to look up what it meant.

PubWest is Publishers Association of the West, a trade organization. This is the 27th year of their Design Awards. Jacket/Cover Design - Small Format category means "Books of any genre/category with strong shelf appeal and use of design, photography, artwork, and/or typography to enhance the subject matter."

Designer Pete Garceau deservers much of the accolades, but as the illustrator, I'm taking pride in it, too.

Spectrum 18

2011-03-31T19:48:00.002-04:00

I got into Spectrum 18! This time last year was my first entry into the annual publication, and I'm proud to repeat. I don't have any clue whether I got multiple pieces in, but to make the list at all is still a thrill.

The list of accepted artists is here.

Or here, taken from the Muddy Colors blog:

Marwencol

2011-03-28T09:28:00.005-04:00

I heard about artist Mark Hogancamp on This American Life, and found his work fascinating. However, I struggled with how to describe it in my own words, so I will quote from the website:

"After being beaten into a brain-damaging coma by five men outside a bar, Mark builds a 1/6th scale World War II-era town in his backyard. Mark populates the town he dubs "Marwencol" with dolls representing his friends and family and creates life-like photographs detailing the town's many relationships and dramas. Playing in the town and photographing the action helps Mark to recover his hand-eye coordination and deal with the psychic wounds of the attack."

Hogancamp is certainly an unlikely artist. His work was therapy until it was discovered by outside sources who saw it's emotional and visual power. The documentary "Marwencol," coming out on April 12th, follows the artist's story.

What I find so engaging about Mark's work is the storytelling. I struggle with trying to come up with ways to tell a story in a single two dimensional plane, but Mark seems to be a natural. His world is real and surreal at the same moment, evoking the feelings young children have when playing with toys. We recognize the doll-ness of the scene, but can't help but get carried away with the emotional punch of his compositions (Thank you Art Appreciation 101).

But seriously, check it out for yourself.

Gathering Inspiration

2011-03-24T16:49:00.003-04:00

Movies are a great source of inspiration. The good ones, at least.

The really well-made movies have a great sense of color and composition. Period pieces offer terrific historical information as well. I try to capture all that information. Using the VLC player, I can pause DVDs at any time and take a snapshot of the screen. These snapshots are quickly becoming an important part of my reference file.

The snapshot above is from Elizabeth: The Golden Age. Not only is the composition interesting, but the hue and lighting are great. For a future piece, I may be inspired by this image and use it to spot test color and value.

And if you use the mosaic filter on Photoshop to simplify the color, you have the basis for a pretty decent palette. Bonus!

New High-Res Scans

2011-03-17T16:52:00.002-04:00

Check out the new photos of my work from Boston Photo Imaging (click through for an even better look):

I highly recommend Boston Photo Imaging for all the Boston-area artists out there.

An update on my palette

2011-03-17T12:10:00.002-04:00

Reading James Gurney's Color and Light has given me a lot to think about in terms of my palette. Most of my choices in the past have been gut reactions to the given assignment. To a certain extent, that's still the way I approach it. Still, I'm trying to use a more academic approach.

One example is that I have started to use color wheels. For the past few assignments, if I try a new palette, I record it. The upper left is the "Zorn Palette"- black, cadmium red medium and yellow ochre. I became fascinated with this combination and using it, I painted "The Victor," or "the painting with the girl pirate," whichever you prefer.

Obviously, that had limitations, especially in the blue spectrum. For a recent Magic card I needed more intense colors. The upper right wheel was what I settled on. Ultramarine Blue was the main color, and that was complemented by Ultramarine Pink and Naples Yellow, two colors that would not dull the blue or pull the painting out of the blue family. In addition, I believe I used ivory black to darken the ultramarine blue and Indian yellow to provide a transparent substitute for the Naples Yellow. (I used both yellows in very, very small amounts; in fact, I may have discarded Naples altogether).

The most recent color wheel represents my most recent pieces. The bottom left has great potential:

Ultramarine Blue Deep
Transparent Red Oxide
Yellow Ochre
with the addition or subtraction of
Naples Yellow
Cadmium Yellow
Cadmium Red
Venetian Red
Ivory Black

By using UBD, TRO and YO as the base wheel, I can achieve a dark color similar to black by mixing UBD and TRO and a warm light by mixing TRO and YO. The addition of the high and low chroma reds and yellows can round out the piece where needed, but I don't think I would ever use all of them on the same piece.

This is still a work in process, but I think I am on the right track. I think my next Magic card involves some green, so I will have to experiment with new color wheels. Maybe I'll add Viridian to the mix? Or perhaps I'll try different Blue-Yellow mixes?

Update

2011-03-12T09:53:00.004-05:00

I just finished a fifteen day stretch of some of the most intensive painting I have ever done. Six main figures, plus various creatures and around 20 minor figures, all for the sequel to At the Queen's Command. Beyond that, I shouldn't comment, although the title and the synopsis have been online for a while. Now, I am traveling back to Connecticut to get the piece scanned for submission. I hope it reproduces well, because I like it better than the illustration for the first book:

So while that doesn't excuse the absence, it does explain it. But don't worry, I took photos of the process which I will post here when the image is officially published.

In the meantime, I noticed this photo online. Before I saw this, I did not know that the Oval Office had a Norman Rockwell hanging in it. Apparently, right above the Frederic Remington sculpture, The Bronco Buster, hangs Rockwell's Working on the Statue of Liberty.

Illustrators are talented people

2011-03-01T07:51:00.005-05:00

On Sunday night, illustrator Shaun Tan won an Oscar for best animated short film. If you're an illustrator, you have probably already heard the news, but for those who haven't ... The film is an animated version of his picture book, The Lost Thing. Watching it feels like you are entering Tan's sketchbook. The aesthetic, the mood and the pacing all have the Shaun Tan treatment.

I am trying to comprehend how I would animate my own work, and I can't come up with a good way to do that. Taking two-dimensional images and turning them into three-dimensional, moving ideas is quite a feat. Maybe it means that my work is not meant to be animated, or maybe it means that Tan is just way, way more talented than I am.

It is worth a watch here.

More art! More sales!

2011-02-22T08:32:00.004-05:00

Dungeons and Dragons released Fortune Cards recently. I suppose they are cards that somehow determine your fortune within an adventure. I'm not really sure. All I know is that last August I did 5 small, quick illustrations for the product. The original illustrations are on 8x10 canvas.

More than anything, I enjoy painting character portraits. The human body is a lot of fun to paint, and faces are even more fun. You can infuse so much personality into a piece just by adjusting the small details.

What also makes character portraits interesting is opportunity to inject the painting with the personality of the model. In the portrait of the Norse hunter girl above, I used my girlfriend Shelly as the model for the face. Shelly is certainly not Scandinavian. She doesn't have pale skin, or blond hair, or blue eyes. So she finds this painting really funny.

On a related note, I'm selling a booster box set of Fortune cards on eBay. This is only a 7-day auction , so get bidding!

Cards and original sketch for sale!

2011-02-15T14:53:00.003-05:00

It's been a hectic 2011 so far. The work has been good, but I have had to put in long hours. I probably won't get a break in the action until mid-March. Unfortunately, due to non-disclosure agreements, I can't show you a single thing. So in the meantime ...

I'm selling some goodies on eBay.

It's a complete, factory-sealed Booster Box of Mirrodin Besieged. Also included is a sketch on the back of a Brass Squire artist proof card, showing a Phyrexian version of the same card. I'm also throwing in the Player's Guide Booklet.

Get your bids in, MtG fans!

Google Art Project

2011-02-06T20:17:00.003-05:00

Google does some amazing things. Street View, Body Browser and now Art Project.

Art Project is a kind of Street View within the walls of the major art museums. The ability to "walk" through the galleries is pretty limited, but that's hardly the best part of this. What is most amazing is the ability to zoom in on specific pieces of art. You can zoom so far in on some pieces you can see the texture of the canvas and every color detail of every brush stroke. But don't bother reading my description. Try it out for yourself!

Vedalken Infuser

2011-01-28T08:43:00.003-05:00

This new Magic card had no concept from the art director, other than, "paint me a cool Vedalken of your design." This is great for an artist to hear and I think in this piece I did what I had hoped to accomplish. I just wish I had planned out a stunning background, but at the time I wanted to simplify for some reason. That said, it's still the best of my recent work and the only one I will post to my site.

I provided a detail to show you what I was most proud of. Whether by the grace of the art gods or by luck, I was able to maintain the transparency of the shadows. I love this effect, but can rarely achieve it. The opaque illuminated head merges quite nicely with the brushstroke-y transparent shadows.

Tangents are annoying.

2011-01-21T09:16:00.003-05:00

As I was putting down my most recent project on canvas, I was struggling, as I always do, against tangents. Tangents are an interesting feature of high school geometry, but are very annoying for artists.

For instance, take a look at the two T. Rex above. You can't really tell which Thunder Lizard is in front of the other, or whether they have dipped their tails in a tar pit and are stuck that way. The tangent of their two tails meeting is uninformative and draws way too much attention to itself.

Above is an improvement. Now we have more information, a little visual weight and we can now concentrate on the subject of the drawing.

But tangents get more annoying as the complexity of the image increases. In this drawing, All the circled points need to be addressed. Either I need to change the proportion of the bricks, or I need to change the position or pose of the figure. The shoulder area is not really a tangent, but the meeting of the shoulder with the brick edge is distracting.

Tangents and awkward line intersections happen automatically and often. My mind always wants to join two lines neatly. I always have to fight that response in favor of a more pleasing solution. By the way, enjoy these sketches because they are some of my best work recently.

Even the President uses reference.

2011-01-17T20:25:00.002-05:00

He knows what he's doing ...

Jeffrey Jones Documentary

2011-01-12T19:49:00.004-05:00

Jeffrey Catherine Jones is one of my favorite artists. His work is emotionally evocative and mysterious and unlike any other in the field. Part of the reason I like him so much is because his early work is a little rough and maybe a little too Frazetta-derivative. His recent work, however, is breathtaking. Jones' growth as an artist gives me hope. Improvement is possible!

That is why I'm so excited about BETTER THINGS: The Life and Choices of Jeffrey Catherine Jones. I really, really hope it is released.

Visit MaCab Films to see more footage and a longer cut of the artists interviews.

If you are an artist who wants to make sure this project is released, consider making a donation.

Updates, updates ...

2011-01-11T14:23:00.004-05:00

I'll be honest. In recent weeks, I have sort of been climbing out of a professional hole. While fixing mistakes and trying to get ahead, I have not been blogging. Meanwhile, my friend Steve Belledin has been writing some great posts over at his blog. I'm feeling outblogged, so here we go:

While finishing assignments I can't show you, I have been gathering the last of my Spectrum entries. This year I'm making some changes to the presentation of my entries. For the first time, I'm using plain old CVS photo prints. These look amazing and even if the color is off a little, the price is right. Plus, I'm spacing out the delivery of my images so I won't be competing against myself on the judges table. If they accept more than one into the book I will know if my plan worked.

Also, I was so impressed with James Gurney's Color and Light, that I ordered the book most people read first: Imaginative Realism. I'm almost done reading it. I would love to show it to anyone who has asked, "What do you do?" It's the step-by-step textbook for any artist creating fantasy works in a realistic style. I'll say it again: I wish I had this five years ago.

I'm also working on personal assignments whenever I have a chance. My goal is to create three large scale personal pieces this year. I'm getting there in five-minute-intervals.

Useful reading ...

2011-01-02T22:28:00.005-05:00

I started reading James Gurney's Color and Light. It has been making a huge impression on the entire field, so I was looking forward to digging in. Turns out it's just as good as every other artist says it is.

So far, everything I have read has indicated that I'm on the right track (a good feeling), or has answered a nagging question that has never been answered for me. The list of oil color pigments in the back is worth the price of the book. I'm not even half way through and the good stuff is still to come!

The frustrating thing, of course, is that I wish I could have read this five years ago. Any serious young artist out there should snatch this up quick. Buy it here.

Christmas Break

2010-12-28T09:58:00.005-05:00

I'm spending about a week at home in Connecticut for the Christmas Holiday. Unfortunately it's not a total vacation, as there are still projects due. So I set up a miniature studio next to the Christmas stockings in my parent's downstairs family room.

In terms of Christmas gifts, I got a lot of useful items for my business. My collection of historical costumes and props keeps growing with the addition of a breastplate, shoulder pauldrons, a cowboy pistol, holster and ammunition belt. I will probably try to take some shine off the armor, but I want to do some research on the process before starting.

And I also got some fake tattoos. It's a fake cigarette, too. Don't smoke, kids.

Homer the cat

2010-12-21T20:54:00.005-05:00

This is my Christmas gift to my girlfriend Shelly. Don't worry, we already exchanged gifts so I'm not spoiling anything.

I hate doing pet portraits. I really do. That's why, when asked, I usually charge an EXORBITANT amount. But Shelly loves Homer so it was worth taking some time to draw this for her. Homer is surrounded by a few pieces of his dry food, or "crunchies," which is not very accurate as he usually doesn't take a break while eating. He would never leave food behind.

Current sketchbook excerpts

2010-12-19T14:03:00.005-05:00

After a long hiatus, I started a new sketchbook a few weeks ago. Most of the pages are junk, but that's fine with me. I tend to sketch in the morning as I'm drinking my coffee. I find that the morning haze allows me to be more free with my ideas and I'm less concerned with how things are presented on the page. Much like dreams, I usually forget what I drew later in the day and sometimes it turns out to be a pleasant surprise.

IlluXcon leftovers

2010-12-17T11:41:00.003-05:00

As requested, some of the Artist Proof sketches leftover from IlluXcon. It's a shame I don't have a portable scanner because I really enjoy some of these sketches. But the good ones usually sell on the spot and I never see them again. All that's left are the ones that I do toward the end of these events. I really like the green goblin on the top row. I'm glad I got a chance to make a record of him.

Blog issues

2010-12-15T09:52:00.002-05:00

I still can't recover the images from my posts prior to November 2010. Everything disappeared when I clumsily tried to update my website and lost access to my old server. You can still read my clever and intelligent writing, however.

Apologies to anyone trying to access old images.

Kingdom of Summer

2010-12-05T09:54:00.004-05:00

Browsing on Amazon yielded this little surprise:

It's Kingdom of Summer, by Gillian Bradshaw, the sequel to Hawk of May. KOS is scheduled to be released in the Spring, and the final book in the trilogy (hopefully) will be published in the fall of 2011.

The censors

2010-12-03T09:34:00.005-05:00

I'm sure many of you have heard about the recent controversy over the exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery. An article (one of many articles written recently) on the subject can be found here. I don't want to get too political on this blog, but it seems to me that this is only the most recent battle between controversial art (when in the last century was art not controversial?) and congressional leaders feigning outrage to garner support among a specific demographic. Personally, I think it's indefensible that the National Portrait Gallery removed the art in question.
What do you think?

And to illustrate this blog post, I'll represent a book cover I did a few years ago. Since it's illustration and not art, no one should be offended.

The Victor

2010-11-29T07:57:00.004-05:00

I debuted this painting at IlluXcon, and have finally gotten around to photographing it. I'll eventually have this painting professionally scanned, as this reproduction doesn't quite capture the contrast and color.

I'm proud of this one (the original painting, not so much the photo). It's certainly not perfect, but I feel it's going in the right direction. A higher resolution image is available on ryanpancoast.com.

Recently, I've been trying to limit my palette. This was a test of the "Zorn" palette: Ivory Black, Titanium White, Cadmium Red (Medium) and Yellow Ochre. Those four colors seem to fit my needs, and I can always add ultramarine or viridian if I need to. The project I'm currently working on calls for a strong blue light. So I started with some Scheveningen Blue, used a Venetian Red (instead of Cadmium), Yellow Ochre, Black and White. It's a Zorn-derived palette to suit the specific job.

You can read more about the Zorn palette on this great blog.

Finally!

2010-11-17T17:09:00.004-05:00

I made it into the Society of Illustrators Annual!

At the Queen's Command will appear in SI53, book category. A dream that I have had since high school is finally realized!

IlluXcon!

2010-11-17T09:35:00.005-05:00

The new Ryan Pancoast Illustration site is now up and running. I'm still ironing out the kinks on both the main site and the blog. In the meantime, let me recount some highlights from IIuXcon.

For the past 3 years, Pat and Jeannie Wilshire get together the best artists in the fantasy field for one weekend in November. The annual convention in Altoona, PA draws collectors, students and fans from all over the country. This year, after Matt Stewart and Lars Grant-West put in a good word, I was granted a spot in the show! My table was right next to Bob Eggleton. Across from me was Steve Belledin, who up until Thursday was just my facebook friend. I was in good company in my cozy corner of the hall.

I could go on and on about how great the experience was. The other artists were incredibly welcoming and kind. The students were appreciative. The collectors were passionate and knowledgeable. But I think the weekend can be summed up by all my firsts:

I did my first portfolio reviews. Strange to finally be on the other end of a review, but I did my best. (below photo by Cynthia Sheppard)

It was the first time I saw one of my covers in the book store.

I sold my first painting: At the Queen's Command. It found a good home in Ohio, and it was one less painting to pack up at the end of the weekend.

But the best part of the event was the opportunity to talk shop and hang out with my colleagues. Working in my studio can sometimes feel like a vacuum. Going to Chili's or the Ramada bar with Steve Belledin, Doug Cowan, Scott Brundage, Randy Gallegos, Lars Grant-West, Steve Prescott , Jeremy Jarvis and others was a lot of fun.

Now, it's back to work. I have sketches to do and a website to clean up. Of course, I'm also brainstorming about next year if I get another opportunity to show my stuff!

Technical difficulties ...

2010-11-10T17:52:00.003-05:00

As you can see, things are a little off. I tried to be fancy and launch a new website in conjunction with IlluXcon, but I screwed up. Good timing, huh?

In any case, GoDaddy is working on the problem and I should be up and running within 48 hours. In the meantime please visit my Directory of Illustration Page for all images and contact info.

IlluXcon prep

2010-11-01T08:33:00.004-04:00

My parents are great. I'm 27, and I spent most of my mid-twenties living with them. They didn't kick me out and they never complained. They believed in my ability to make it as an illustrator and gave me the rent-free opportunity to do nothing but try to make that happen. And now, living in Boston, I'm making this illustration thing work.

But they are still helping me out. My dad, for instance, has been making frames for IlluXcon. He bought a Morso chopper and set up a joiner in the garage. He's been buying leftover or cheap moulding from local dealers and making frames in his spare time.

Buying unwanted moulding can be a gamble. Occasionally they are pretty ugly. When paired with the right painting, however, they usually work. I'm excited to show off an ugly green frame that is absolutely perfect for Plague Stinger.

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-31T10:02:00.002-04:00

My hair doesn't slick back like I wanted it to. So my pirate looked pretty weird.

New Book Cover: At the Queen's Command

2010-10-23T14:13:00.003-04:00

I found this online today: At the Queen's Command, by Michael A. Stackpole was recently released by Night Shade Books. The cover illustration is mine, done early in the summer.

The idea was to replicate a John Trumbull painting depicting the French and Indian wars. The horses of the English were to be replaced by wingless dragons, and the French were using both Native Americans and zombies. Art Director (and fantastic illustrator ) Dave Palumbo gave me a couple paintings as reference, including this one:

It was daunting to say the least. I knew I would have to tackle as many figures as I could but still do something within the deadline. Plus, there were a certain number of characters I had to include. I did a quick sketch to show Dave my idea and where I was planning to put the characters. The rest of the figures were to be filled in if I had time.

Admittedly, it was a quick sketch. I decided to replace the dead horse with a stone wall and eliminate a few of the riders behind the main character. I tried to imagine myself as an 18th century painter in designing the dragon. I thought that since the horses in the Trumbull painting looked a little thin and unimpressive, I would tone down the dragon a little. I figured an 18th century painter would be working from stories and maybe quick sketches, drawing dragons that looked more like medieval depictions of the creatures. To my surprise, the sketch was approved to go to final on the first round.

I got to work, and two weeks later, I sent the final to Dave.

But he had some concerns. To a certain extent, I had misunderstood the concept and look they were going for. They wanted a more fierce looking dragon, since it was to be the focal point of the cover. Also, I gave them a color intensity that might have existed in a new John Trumbull painting and they wanted a more "aged" appearance. This was Friday evening. I was leaving for a trip to Utah early the following week.

I raced back to the studio and got some paints and a piece of illustration board. I took the original sketch and transferred the dragon sketch to the new surface. I drew a more, in Dave's words, "bad-ass" dragon over the previous design and started painting, using the same color palette as the painting.

The following morning, I went back to the studio and photographed the new dragon head. In Photoshop, I took the new dragon and pasted it into the original painting. I had to use a few color matching techniques, but it worked pretty well. Finally, I used a few color layers and adjusted the levels to get it more yellowed and darkened. The result is what you see on the final product:

I hate using the computer. I really do. But in this case, it definitely made the piece better. More exciting, more moody. So kudos to Dave Palumbo. I just need to make sure I understand the goals of the project a little better right from the start, so I don't need to scramble at the end.

Click any of the images above for a better view. Here's a detail:

One of the gang, sorta ...

2010-10-20T21:30:00.005-04:00

Dan Dos Santos called me a couple weeks ago to invite me to "visitor day" at an artist's retreat in Western Massachusetts (almost the farthest you can get from Boston in the state). In addition to Dan, many more industry greats spent a week in an old barn working side-by-side. Thursday night was when guys like me could come by and intrude.

Turns out it was also their group photo night. As they were taking the picture, Lars Grant-West invited me to stand with them. I felt a little weird, seeing as I had only been there a few hours.

But there I am, top row on the right, in the midst of some of the greats.

Top row: Winona Nelson, Anthony Palumbo, Scott Brundage, Justin Gerard, Jordu Schell, Randy Gallegos, Chris Moeller, me, Dave Seeley
Bottom Row: Lars Grant-West, Michael Whelan, Dan Dos Santos, Julie Bell and Boris Vallejo

Many thanks to the artists who were there, and thanks to Randy Gallegos who posted the photo to his blog. Randy Gallegos' blog

College sketchbook

2010-10-13T09:46:00.002-04:00

By the end of my senior year in college, I started being pretty diligent about keeping a sketchbook. Since then I haven't really done a good job at that task because I started doing, you know, real work. Less time to lounge around and do little sketches during the non-art classes.

But here are some interesting excerpts from my '05 sketchbook.

Dragons and Dinosaurs

2010-10-03T23:02:00.006-04:00

What can I say? I knew what I liked from an early age ...

To see some of those dinosaurs and other monsters, here's my portfolio from 1989.

Alternative Art

2010-10-01T21:27:00.003-04:00

Every piece requires a series of sketches. I usually provide 2 or 3 options to a client, and they can choose their favorite. Sometimes when I'm really stumped, I'll just do one sketch and hope for either approval or some constructive criticism.

For Affa Guardhound, I provided two ideas. The first would have been easier to do, but the one that was chosen made for a more exciting piece. It illustrates the function of the card better as well.

Plague Stinger was a similar story. I provided three options. The first is a downward shot and would show the setting from above. The second is an extreme upward view, with the insect horror attacking the viewer. The final idea (my favorite) was the one chosen to move to final.

Scars of Mirrodin Pre-Release Boston

2010-09-26T09:37:00.002-04:00

The Scars of Mirrodin Pre-Release was held yesterday in Charlestown. It was a good turnout. I sold a few prints here and there. But mostly, people wanted the tokens I was drawing on the back of the artist proof cards:

About the cheapest original art you'll find anywhere!

Glimmerpoint Stag

2010-09-22T09:18:00.003-04:00

Last card of the Scars of Mirrodin set. Glimmerpoint Stag, the second elk I have illustrated for Magic the Gathering. But this one shines in the sun ... glimmers, I guess. Trying to figure out how all that light was bouncing off the multiple surfaces was a nightmare. Of course the job also called for two different color suns. But I feel it's fairly successful.

I also did half the piece with a sliced-open thumb and got stitches in the middle of completing the face. You can see I blurred out the art back in the February post.

Click the image for a better view.

Myr Propagator

2010-09-21T08:24:00.002-04:00

Another new card!

I wasn't sure how I would go about composing this scene: A basic Myr standing beside a copy of himself that it made by tearing up the landscape around it ... in this case, the landscape is the Glimmervoid, which is made up of hexagonal tiles of metal. The Myr also had to be staring blankly at the viewer, emotionless.

I'm pleased with the image that resulted. Click through for a better view.

Myr Art

2010-09-16T10:39:00.004-04:00

The full art. Click through for a better view. I was lucky with this one. The day I mailed it to Wizards, I put a coat of varnish on it. Turns out, some red oxide in the lower right hadn't dried, and the varnish washed it away, spreading it all over the canvas. It didn't affect the look of the piece and I was quite happy with the texture it created. A rare happy accident.

The Myr

2010-09-15T10:24:00.002-04:00

There are bunch of interpretations of the Myr in the upcoming set of cards, but here's what I came up with for the My Token:

Plague Stinger

2010-09-12T23:38:00.004-04:00

Here it is. The full art of Plague Stinger. Click through for a larger view. I'm proud of this one ...

Myr Token

2010-09-10T08:44:00.003-04:00

I found the following image on the Magic: The Gathering site. It's a diagram illustrating a certain card mechanic:

With a little rotation and a crop ...

It appears to be one of the new token cards for Scars of Mirrodin! When a Houston GP attendee back in February asked if I knew what a Myr looked like and if I could draw one, I smiled to myself. Little did he know that I had recently painted this image.

Time for a new set already?

2010-09-06T23:50:00.006-04:00

Well, look what I found today ... One of the first cards spoiled from the Scars of Mirrodin set of Magic: The Gathering:

This was a really fun one to paint. If I can't paint a humanlike creature, an Insect Horror is pretty good. For those interested players, I will be attending the Boston Scars of Mirrodin Regional Pre-Release at the end of the month. Details to come ...

Zuran Orb

2010-09-02T18:10:00.004-04:00

As promised, the full art of Zuran Orb. Click the image for a bigger view ...

Also, I'm selling a signed copy of the box set of FTV: Relics, complete with an extra signed Zuran Orb. Check out ebay ...

Another sketch

2010-08-26T08:23:00.003-04:00

One more sketch from the painting that is being developed in my free time. It was more practice at self-modeling: setting the timer on the camera, jumping into position, checking the results and doing it again until I get what I want.

Future project

2010-08-19T09:41:00.002-04:00

Here's a sketch for a painting I am planning on doing between paying jobs. Click the image for a better view. Everyone needs a pirate painting ...

Alternate art

2010-08-16T11:04:00.003-04:00

This is how Escaped Null appeared in its final version:

And this is how it might have appeared. I was thinking a misty forest color scheme; light blue and black, with the null emitting a ghostly vapor from its mouth. You can click the image for a slightly better look ...

From the Vault: Relics

2010-08-13T18:13:00.003-04:00

From the Vault is a popular collector's item for Magic players; reprints of old, popular cards that may or may not still be legal in play. All are printed on special foil backgrounds, and some of these cards come with new art. This year, the set is called From the Vault: Relics.

Here's my contribution:

... and for reference, the original card:

The original art (posted soon, promise!) for Zuran Orb is available for sale ... just shoot me an email.

Monster Maquette

2010-08-06T08:59:00.003-04:00

Does this pretty face look familiar?

No? How about from this angle?

It's my Sculpey maquette used for the new Mind Control.

Moving Day

2010-08-02T12:16:00.002-04:00

I just moved to Boston! No A/C, but the breeze is nice and it has pretty good light throughout the day. I may need to set up some lights, but otherwise pretty nice. For the next week I'll be organizing my equipment and getting all my software installed on my new laptop. Then it's on to my next job for Wizards.

The Great Outdoors

2010-07-29T20:50:00.003-04:00

Part of the reason I haven't posted in a while is because I took a vacation, hiking around Bryce Canyon in Utah. Maybe another cowboy painting on the horizon? I'll have to see how good my photo reference is ...

I feel the power ...

2010-07-29T20:33:00.002-04:00

New cards! One "Uncommon" and one "Rare."

Larger Mind Control

Larger Leyline of Sanctity

Oil sketch

2010-07-02T22:24:00.003-04:00

Going on vacation for a week. I really need a vacation. Here's an oil sketch that I did in preparation for this piece. It served to loosen me up and eliminate bad color choices.

Reality TV

2010-06-28T07:45:00.004-04:00

Whew! After about a month and a half of being completely swamped, I'm back. I was coaching high school track for a while, which definitely put me behind. Since that responsibility ended in mid-June, I have jumped nose-first into paints and canvas and haven't come up for air since. Now, I have just one more Magic card to get done by the middle of July and I can take a vacation for a couple days. I probably should be concerned that I have nothing else lined up in terms of work, but right now I'm so tired I don't care.

I was watching tv on Wednesday night and decided to watch Work of Art, Bravo's new show. A handful of contestants, artists all, compete to see who is the "best" artist. This week, the artists were assigned a classic novel to illustrate. They were given a day to complete the art. The winner got published by Penguin books.

I almost fell out of my chair. I wanted to jump right into the TV and show these chumps what-for. Most of the episode was difficult to watch, considering many contestants were butchering an easy assignment. However, I was happy to see that they showed the artists working, including sketches, reference photography and buying supplies. If anyone watches this show, they will at least learn that images don't simply emerge from the ether, but in fact must be crafted by a specific process.

The results were mixed; reminiscent of college critiques. Some artists knew they blew it. Some tried their best to B.S. their way out a complete train wreck. And some actually created something interesting. The winner was an illustration of The Time Machine. It had a retro pop feel to it that reminded me of some of the old 1960 - 1970 Society of Illustrators annuals I have in my possession. It was whimsical and I liked it.

Not sure if I'll watch it this week.

Oh, who am I kidding. Of course I will.

John & Mary

2010-06-19T11:20:00.003-04:00

My good friend, fellow runner and fellow illustrator John Tomac married his beautiful wife Mary yesterday. It was a great ceremony and ended with a reception overlooking the Brooklyn Bridge. It fit perfectly with the graphic design of the entire wedding and their own story as a couple. The blue lights on the bridge and the gold lights in the reception hall even fit in with their color scheme.

Please wish the happy couple well by donating to John's fight against Leukemia.

Mind Control

2010-06-15T09:48:00.002-04:00

Looks like one of my new cards was slipped into a new Magic deck a couple of months before I expected it to show up. For the Magic players out there, it's not a new card. Illustrator Mark Tedin did the previous illustration for the same card, and this is a new spin on the art.

But the best part is that one of my cards is finally sparking discussion:
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=248892

Is the humanoid figure a Magic character called Jace? Some players say "yes," some say "no." Is the beast something that has appeared before, or something new? I know the answer, but I'll let the mystery continue ...

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. My nose has been pressed to canvas for weeks now. I'm taking a coffee break right now, so I decided to do a quick post.

Busy month!

2010-05-28T09:51:00.002-04:00

May was the busiest month in my professional career. A cover illustration for Metal, Magic and Lore, two spot illustrations for Dungeons & Dragons, and two Magic cards. My last deadline was today, so the finals were shipped yesterday. Whew!

I have two big jobs in June. One book cover for Sourcebooks, and one book cover for Night Shade Books, both in the historical fantasy genre. Dave Palumbo hired me for the Night Shade job. Apparently, in addition to being a fantastic illustrator, he works as an AD. I won't say much, but I'll certainly be using my collection of historical costumes. Stay tuned, because I'll post new work as soon as I am contractually allowed.

But today, it's about time I catch up on everything. Invoicing, banking, cleaning, priming canvases, blogging ...

Hawk of May

2010-05-19T23:38:00.003-04:00

Look what I found on Amazon. It's Hawk of May, published by Sourcebooks, and featuring my illustration! Its the story of Gawain, one of King Arthur's knights. On Wikipedia, I found an image of Gawain, as illustrated by one of my heroes, Howard Pyle.

I like having a (small) connection to Pyle. It makes me feel closer to the great ones.

Here's the process for my illustration, as seen in this old blog post.

Frank Frazetta

2010-05-10T18:17:00.004-04:00

Frank Frazetta died today. If your worth as an artist is determined by the number of your imitators, he is surely unmatched in modern illustration.

Big-time reproduction for a big-time occasion

2010-05-05T23:13:00.002-04:00

The piece I call Wind Spirits is the work that was accepted into Spectrum 17. I submitted it in the "Unpublished" category. None of my published work made it in this year.

The artists now need to submit high-res files. The files I create with my camera and lights are suitable for internet use and small prints, but for this occasion, I decided to get it right. Don Sigovich in Westport, Conn. does a phenomenal job of scanning and reproducing artwork. He does his best to match color and give his clients great prints. He's also a RIT grad. Here is the result of his process:

You can see that the resolution is pretty impressive. You can even see the canvas texture ...

Not a screensaver.

2010-05-04T08:41:00.003-04:00

I'm really not a fan of this comic strip series(to put it mildly), but today's was apt.

Good Show, Sir.

2010-04-20T07:46:00.004-04:00

Good Show, Sir is a blog devoted to bad sci-fi/fantasy novel covers. If anyone who visits my blog has illustrated any of these covers, I apologize ahead of time. Some of these are not poor illustrations. Some are just victims of bad concepts. Then again, some are just bad Frazetta knock-offs and wacky examples of 1970s illustration. If we can't laugh at ourselves, what's the point?

Sara the Vampire Slayer

2010-04-17T13:39:00.002-04:00

More new work! Sara the Vampire Slayer ...
full size Vampire Slayer

Angelball

2010-04-16T23:43:00.002-04:00

New work! Angelball ...
full size Angelball

RoE Full Art

2010-04-15T15:01:00.003-04:00

Here are the large versions of my illustrations for Rise of the Eldrazi. Click through for the largest size. Enjoy.
full size Escaped Null
full size Affa Guard Hound
full size Shared Discovery
Full size Reinforced Bulwark

Rise of the Eldrazi cards

2010-04-14T07:26:00.005-04:00

Here is the complete set of my cards from Rise of the Eldrazi:

Full art is coming soon ...

Magic the Gathering article

2010-04-13T11:22:00.005-04:00

Today on the Magic: The Gathering website, there's an article on the upcoming card set.

The article includes this image:

Might this be a section from one of my new illustrations? Only a few more days and you can find out ...

Houston Grand Prix

2010-04-06T20:17:00.005-04:00

The Houston Grand Prix was a great event. At the Boston GP last summer, I only had two cards in print. So this time, it was great to have a collection of cards behind me, even if, as I heard many times, my cards are "only good in limited." This refers to the kind of gameplay in which my cards would see action. As the cards I illustrated are fairly weak common cards, no one uses them in their premier play decks.

But not a big deal. I was there as an artist, not a gamer, so I set up my display and got to work. I signed stacks and stacks of cards, but I spent most of the weekend sketching on playmats. These are protective surfaces on which one can put cards without fear of them getting dirty on the table. Many have a blank face, so some fans of the game like to have signatures and original drawings inscribed on them.

I was also selling sketches on the back of my white-backed artist proof cards, which have the playable side printed, but no logo on the back. I created some sketches that a player could potentially use in the game: placeholder cards called "tokens."

I sold a few art prints, but no one took the jump and bought one of my original canvases (yet!).

The other artist in attendance was Steve Argyle, who seemed to have the opposite experience I had. His cards are mostly pretty powerful; some of the better cards in the game. He had a line of fans any time he was at the table. Some wanted signatures, some wanted sketches and others wanted to buy prints. He had to take breaks during the day to catch up on commissioned work. He looked swamped, but managed to stay in a good mood the entire weekend. He's a great guy, so check out his website.

When I go to these events, I'm usually not one of the big-name artists (Not yet, anyway). So I'm trying to make a name for myself as a good sketch artist until I have some powerful cards commissioned to me. I try to make sure everyone who purchases a sketch has something great in their hands when they leave. Doesn't always happen, but I try. So spread the word. I like drawing dragons.

New Card

2010-04-06T06:20:00.002-04:00

I got back from the Houston Grand Prix last night. A recap is coming as soon as I catch up on everything I missed over the weekend. Until then, here's a new card that will be released with the new Magic: The Gathering set, Rise of the Eldrazi.

No. 27

2010-03-29T17:53:00.003-04:00

It was my (and my dad's) birthday yesterday. Here two gifts I got: A projector to replace the hulking old one I have, and a ukulele. One gift for work, one for fun.

Spectrum!

2010-03-23T21:16:00.003-04:00

!!! ... I think it deserved a few more exclamation points.

I got into Spectrum 17! Spectrum is the leading annual of fantasy/sci-fi art, and apparently they got about 6,000 entries this year. I was pretty bummed the past few years when I didn't get in, but this makes up for it. I was so used to not seeing my name after John Jude Palencar, Anthony Palumbo and Dave Palumbo, that when I actually saw my name, I nearly did a double take.

Other than the great honor, its good advertising to get into the book. Plus, I might have an opportunity to display my work at the Society of Illustrators in NYC.

I don't know which piece(s) got in, but I'll find out soon enough.

Hello again.

2010-03-19T14:57:00.003-04:00

It's embarrassing how long it's been since my last post. I haven't been sick or out of town. Just apparently very neglectful of this blog.

On Easter weekend I fly out to Houston once again for the Houston Grand Prix. I still have to make a few more prints and organize my setup, but I'm pretty much ready.

A few weeks ago, I visited Dan Dos Santos at his studio to seek out advice. He was very helpful. I learned a lot and also learned how much I still have to improve my skills.

I'm staying busy, trying to stay ahead of the bills. Filing my taxes didn't help my bank account. That self-employment tax is a real killer. I mailed out two illustrations for Magic a couple weeks ago, and submitted sketches for new ones this week. I'm currently waiting to hear back. I'm finishing up two new portfolio pieces. As soon as they are varnished and photographed, I'll post them here and on my website.

I could really go for a big assignment right now. Fingers crossed ...

New book cover illustration!

2010-02-26T22:17:00.000-05:00

My new project was completed two weeks ago: an illustration for the cover of a book to be published by Sourcebooks. My first real book cover. Here's how it went:

Started with my initial sketch. Printed it out and threw some paint on it to test the color I was thinking of using.

Made notations of the colors so I wouldn't forget the combinations when I actually started painting.

Photo reference came next, using props I either made or bought.

Drawing on the canvas.

Finished drawing.

Laid down the initial color layer, using the same colors as my test, but thinned with solvent. I use Gamsol, as it has the least amount of odor.

Started blocking in the face, using the established color, but in thicker applications. I like to start with the face since it sets the mood for the rest of the piece.

The pattern continued down the body; blocking in color in thin applications, then finishing off one area at a time.

With half the body done, I moved to the background. Since the top half of the body was going to blend into the background, I needed to establish both areas first so I could blend the two together on the lower half of his body.

The ground was next, followed by the feet. I then moved upwards to merge the two halves of his body.

Let it dry and varnished it. Photographed it and sent it off to the client. Click the image for a slightly larger view.

Ouch!

2010-02-26T16:44:00.005-05:00

A couple hours after my last post, I was cleaning dried paint medium off an old palette. I was scraping away using a palette knife. I hit a hard spot in the medium and pressed a little harder. Then the fleeting thought went through my head, "Maybe this isn't a good idea."

Too late. The knife slipped and sliced the thumb on the hand that was holding the palette. Six stitches later, I was back to work. Lesson learned. When you think you're being stupid, you probably are. I'll have a nice scar on my thumb to remind me.

I finished up my Magic cards and sent them out today. I'm pleased with how they look. Now I have to bear down and work on more portfolio work in this upcoming lull. Here's one that I just photographed today:

Fingerpainting

2010-02-10T08:58:00.003-05:00

I usually don't care about things like this. There are always those media-proclaimed "kid geniuses" who can paint well. Frankly, a 6 year old who can paint abstract paintings isn't all that impressive to me.

However, a 3-year-old with drawing chops? That's a different story.

I'm not going to call this kid a genius. Art is different than music. Early talent doesn't indicate a future career. A toddler can play Mozart or Bach on the piano, but a toddler can never paint like Caravaggio. But his understanding of light and shadow and his brush work (finger work) is pretty great. Plus, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are cool.

How cool is this?

2010-02-08T12:25:00.001-05:00

Look at the list of guest artists for IlluXcon 2010! I'm excited for the show ...

Happy Birthday, Norman Rockwell

2010-02-03T11:15:00.003-05:00

Happy Norman-Rockwell-Birthday Day to you all. He's still memorialized on my studio wall, looking at me as if saying, "Keep working, kid."

Interesting note: When I took this picture last year, I had to blur out the Magic art hanging and leaning up against the wall. Can you tell which pieces they are?

Houston Prerelease Recap

2010-02-02T11:16:00.002-05:00

I got back from Houston on Sunday. I spent all day Saturday at the Worldwake Prerelease event, from 8 am to 8 pm. I learned a lot from the experience.

The first thing I learned is that I probably got an unfair impression of downtown Houston. I didn't have a whole lot of time to explore, especially on foot. But when I got into town on Friday, I had two choices for dinner: McDonald's or a fast food place called James Coney Island. I opted for the latter. This means I took a three hour flight from New York to Texas only to eat at a place named after a New York City location. Worse, I ordered the New York Combo: a hotdog with sauerkraut. But don't worry, I had McDonald's for breakfast the following morning just for a little variety. Does anyone from Houston want to suggest a good place to eat for my return trip in April? Perhaps even a diner for breakfast?

Another thing I learned is that no one in Houston jaywalks. Everyone follows the law and waits for the little man to light up. Strange!

I learned that I can't anticipate which pieces of my art will be most popular. I also can't anticipate which prints will sell. For example, I printed 3 Khalni Gardens, 7 Nemesis Trap and 2 Crusher Zendikon, all Worldwake cards. I made prints based on my impression of the usefulness of the card, the rarity, and the quality of the art. I sold out of Crusher Zendikon in two hours and didn't sell any of the others. Almost the opposite of what I expected.

I learned that my new art case is fantastic.

I learned that many people get really confused when they see a painting on canvas. Here's a sample conversation that I had quite a few times.
"What programs do you use?"
"I don't use a program. I paint with a brush."
"Really? I didn't think anyone did that anymore."
"There are quite a few who still do. Dan Dos Santos, Matt Stewart .... umm I'm drawing a blank. But yeah, I make preliminary drawings, then transfer it to the canvas, and then lay down the paint. In fact, over there are some of my original illustrations."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean I mail those canvases to Wizards and they photograph it and put it on the card."
"So this is like the only one?"
"Yup, it's the original."
"Wish I could afford it."

Conversations like these really got me thinking. So, I got out my set of Zendikar and made a tally of Digital v. Traditional. Of the artists in Zendikar, 39 work digitally and 20 work traditionally. In case anyone is curious ...

Finally, I continued to learn that Magic players really care about the art and the artists. Art is subjective by nature, so I may never understand what people like and dislike. But regardless of whether they like your work or hate your work, they still appreciate when the artists make it to the event.

So, a big thank-you to Sheila Weissman and Event Horizons for sponsoring the event and flying me in (and also for getting me lunch and dinner!) And thanks to all the players who came and stopped by my table. I look forward to coming back to Houston in a couple months. The Grand Prix should be really fun.

Worldwake 3

2010-01-28T14:44:00.002-05:00

In preparation of my trip to the Houston Regional Worldwake Pre-Release, I uploaded the full size images of the three Worldwake images. Click the appropriate link to see the largest size.

Full Size Nemesis Trap
Full Size Crusher Zendikon
Full Size Khalni Garden

...and over at magicthegathering.com, you can put together a puzzle of Nemesis Trap. You can collect the free wallpaper after you're done (Or, just click the link above).

Worldwake 2

2010-01-26T08:00:00.003-05:00

Card number 2 (of 3) in the Worldwake set. Last one is revealed tomorrow.

I'm not exactly sure what to say about the Khalni Garden art. Definitely a departure for me, and unlike most of the art I have done for Magic so far. Based on browsing the Magic: The Gathering message boards, people either love the art or hate the art. This is fine, as I'm simply glad my art is finally sparking any reaction.

Just so you're aware, Khalni Gardens was supposed to be overflowing with weird plants. The plants were supposed to be glowing with powerful green mana. I intended this green glow to be the only light source, as no outside light could penetrate the garden. Hence all the green.

Would I have made changes if given a second crack at it? Absolutely. Do I still fine it interesting? Sure. But here's something some fans may not have noticed: did you see the plant in the center of the piece digesting a humanoid figure? Khalni is huge and dangerous.

Worldwake

2010-01-21T06:48:00.005-05:00

Magic: The Gathering's new card set, Worldwake, is about a week away from being released. As always, the Magic website is showing the cards one by one. And look here:
Wasn't crazy about this illustration when I shipped it out last Spring. But it looks really cool on the card, so I'm pleased. Another one of my cards will be previewed next week, so stay tuned ...

EDIT: Maybe someone who plays Magic can tell me; So if it's a land and a beast, can you tap a land and enchant the tapped land? Can this thing power itself?

Illustration Friday: Wilderness

2010-01-15T10:20:00.002-05:00

These guys are in trouble. They shouldn't have gone into the wilderness.

It's Not Magic

2010-01-14T10:23:00.002-05:00

Leonardo da Vinci was a great painter. In fact he was great at a lot of things. He was probably a genius.

But he was not a magician. Even on NPR, when the topic is the Mona Lisa, some host will casually say how her eyes follow you no matter where you stand in the room. Can we all get over this?

When you paint someone on a two-dimensional surface and you paint their eyes pointing toward the viewer, the "eye-following" effect is created. Go ahead and try it out: Draw a smiley face on a piece of paper and look at it from the side. Or look at one of your family portrait photographs from JCPenny. If you're looking at the camera when the photo was taken, your eyes in the photograph will "follow" a viewer around the room.

Some paintings of mine even have this effect. And I'm not a genius. Or a magician.

New Year, New Projects

2010-01-11T22:38:00.003-05:00

Happy belated new year! So far 2010 has been eventful, even after only 11 days. It looked as if January might be a little slow, so I started on two new portfolio pieces, trying to fill the gaps in my portfolio. I decided to work on two paintings at the same time so I wouldn't waste time letting paint dry. Maybe I can double my productivity this year.

While I was working on these, a new job came in. One that has been on the back burner for nearly a month. It is a commission for a series of book covers. I'm excited about meeting my 2009 goal only a few days into 2010. It's not a big publisher, but it's a paying job, so I'm thankful. Obviously I can't say much, but I'll post the results once it's done and published.

Looking forward, I'm planning my trip to Houston in two weeks. The Magic: The Gathering Worldwake Pre-Release has the potential to be a great event. I just bought a art traveling case, which will be able to fit my 18x24 canvases plus all my prints. Rather expensive, but it's an investment that will pay for itself soon enough.

January has proven to be a month of investments. In addition to the art case and a page in the Directory of Illustration, a full chain mail shirt was delivered to the studio today. It's another necessary addition to the collection of period costumes. Eventually, I might have one of the best collections of historical outfits of all the 26-year-olds in the country.

To understand why I need all this stuff, please read this post over at Tor.com. It follows illustrator Sam Weber as his completes a book cover. His methods are generally the same as mine and you can see how he requires good photo reference and interesting costumes. But while Mr. Weber has access to the costumes of fellow illustrators, I need to rely on my own collection. I haven't been as good as I should be at cultivating relationships with illustrators who may be able to help me out in those areas.

That might change, however, come November. I'll be one of the guest artists at IlluxCon, the premier convention/art show for fantasy illustrators. I was honored to be granted a spot. Perhaps it will be the turning point in my career. We shall see ...

Projector broke ...

2009-12-22T22:54:00.003-05:00

The bulb blew in my ancient projector. I'm not sure when it was made, but it's called a Vu-Lyte. So you know it was made when spelling things like that was in fashion. It weighs about a ton and I have to drag it back and forth to get the right magnification. And take a look at the bulb. Wow, this thing is old.

I project my small sketches onto the larger canvas, where I trace and draw the image at the larger size. This piece of equipment is essential for me.

I had two choices. Find a new bulb or buy a new projector. Surprisingly, a company in Kansas still sell these bulbs, so I got one for $30. I'm waiting for it now. When it blows, I'll spend the $200 for a new projector.

Letters of Note

2009-12-21T16:36:00.004-05:00

I stumbled upon this amazing letter published on the blog, Letters of Note. Tons of old, odd, or beautiful notes are posted here, but this one got to me. View it here.

Wow. If that doesn't make you tear up, I'm not sure what will. This may make me sound like Andy Rooney, but isn't there something amazing about a handwritten letter? A few people have sent me cards to sign in the mail and most of them have come with handwritten thank-you notes. It's a nice touch. I usually will write a note back, but maybe my New Year's Resolution should be to find more excuses to write letters.

And here's another letter that will make you laugh or cry, depending on the mood you're in.