Title: Study of Daenerys Targaryen
Year: 2012
Medium: Digital
Size: 8.5″ x 11″
Notes: This is a study of Daenerys Targaryen I worked on from a still frame of the final scene of HBO’s Game of Thrones Season 1. In this scene rises from the funeral pier cradling three newly hatched dragons.  I chose this to study this shot in order to practice my digital painting skills – particularly rendering form and texture – and because I hadn’t yet painted a dragon.

I started with a lineart sketch with the scratchboard pen, then rendered the forms with dull conte, worn oil pastel, and a touch of digital airbursh with generous blending – all in Corel Painter.  Working in greyscale first helps me concentrate on getting the lighting and forms right before I introduce color.  I took some small liberties with the design and adjusted the lighting slightly in order to make Daenerys and her dragon read better.

Do you get bored setting up your perspective lines when drawing a landscape or cityscape?  Want to save time and get back to the fun part – drawing?!

Well, thanks to Johnny Quan, a member of DigiPaint, the Facebook critique and resource network I founded for Academy of Art University members, I learned about a fantastic tool today which was developed by FreddieArtMedia at DiGi Art QuickTools.  And even better, it’s free!  So, with thanks to his generosity and a nod to his awesome work, I’m sharing it here with you!  Go to Digi-Art QuickTools here or  here to download and then view the tutorial below.  Enjoy!

City of Shadows Poster | Commissioned by Skeleton Crew | Featured in the 2013 Academy of Art University Spring Show
Notes: Poster illustration commissioned by Skeleton Crew for their City of Shadows web-series; text by Dustin Sklavos.  The theme is a complex one  - it’s about coping with psychological injury suffered through unavoidable attraction.  Allyson is still recovering from her last relationship when an accident renders her comatose; as a result she must confront her demons or risk losing her life.  The story is painted with surrealism and psychological horror with an understated film noir style.  I wanted to capture all of these elements in a single, clear, image.

I’ve continued my project of touching up illustrations from my Character Design Portfolio with these two gesture drawings of Aphrodite in Bruce Timm’s style.  For more detailed notes, click here and here.

I originally created this design of Aphrodite in Bruce Timm’s style as a final project for my Character Design portfolio.  Tonight I went back and touch it up and tried out an alternate color pallet for her dress.  Below are the two new versions, I’m not sure which I like more. The lavender makes me think of royalty and sensualness, as only the very wealthy could afford the dye to make purple in ancient times.  As a plus, it also contrasts with her hair really well.

I also tried the turquoise-blue hue based on the triad rule.  It brings out her eyes more and makes me think of life and her vibrancy.  For more detailed notes, click here in the gallery.

Follow this link to see three videos of Matt Rhodes, Associate Art Director for the Mass Effect games, as he discusses the creation of the Asari, Krogan, and Salarian races respectively.  I find his discussion of how he and his artists used model and animal references as launching points for their designs particularly interesting.

Designing Asari, Krogans, Salarians, and Batarians: Mass Effect: The Origin of Species – Features – www.GameInformer.com

Designing Turians: Mass Effect 3: Creating Garrus

What makes an alien race sexy and approachable to humans?  What animal features make a race look predatory?  Scientific and enlightened?  How can designers differentiate members of these species?  How would they look in different points across their lifespan?  All of this must be considered when designing an alien character in addition to the practical elements of movement, weight, balance, and constructing armor and clothing.

Q: So what are you offering today?
A:

• Original Characters and creatures
• Landscapes and cityscapes both real from photo reference and imagined
• Fanart
• Pets
• Book Covers
• Nudity you wouldn’t mind your mom seeing
• Your relatives and friends (not nude)

I work mainly in digital realistic and painterly styles, but upon request I can work in either comic book or animation styles.

Q: What’s that?
A: Full color head & shoulders of any character OR real life people if you have a good quality reference of front/side/3quarter.

Q: What do I need to provide?
A: Several good images of the character, plus a description of their personality, OR one good image of the real person and descriptions of their personality. If the subject is a real person, you’ll need the rights to the photo too (if you took the photo yourself, or have permission from the photographer).

Q: Then what happens?
A: I scurry away and sketch up an outline. I’ll show it to you and you can make your comments and I’ll tweak it. Once you’re happy with that, I’ll color and detail it in my painted style. I can’t accept revisions after it’s done, since portraits are quick and cheap. Unless, of course, it’s my own fault for getting something wrong that was clearly shown in the reference.

Q: What can I do with the image?
A: Print it, hang it up, stick it on your fridge, anything you like…just don’t make money off it or use it to create new artwork. If you post it online, I would also ask for credit when and where possible.

Q: What will you do with the image?
A: I’ll add it to my portfolio and use it for promoting my work.

Q: What else should I know?
A: I retain ownership of the final artwork and reserve the right to display it on my website, portfolios, and submit it to magazines or artbooks. It will however never be sold, used for profit, or licenced to another without your approval. You may use the image for non-profit purposes only unless agreed otherwise. Full licence agreement is available on request.

Q: I am totally cool with all that. How much?
A: Portraits……$50 US
Waist Up…….$70-$80 (Depending on costume and pose complexity)
Full body……$90-$100 (Depending on costume and pose complexity)
Scenes………$160+ (Depends on background detail, number of characters, size)$40 via Paypal.

If you want two characters in an image, double the price and subtract $10. For scenes, it’s generally $50 per extra character (eg. a three character scene would be $260).

Portraits, full bodies, and waist-ups come with simple backgrounds (ie colour gradients, textures, blurry detail) only. Adding a full background counts as a scene.

Q. Ok great, how do I hire you for a commission? 

Contact Me first describing what you would like for your commission.  Please provide a detailed description of the character (pose, appearance, costume, personality) and any visual references or inspiration. For commissions of real-life people, provide either one photo (I will reference it directly, guarantees likeness) or many quality photos from multiple angles (I will use them to figure out face shapes, results in unique image but may not be perfect likeness).  I can then price your commission and you can return here to purchase it.

Commissions are first come, first served. Most artworks are completed within two weeks

I accept payments through Paypal only. 50% of payment is due upon approval of sketch (except for portraits, full payment is due upon approval of the sketch). Remainder must be paid before full-resolution 300dpi image is provided. Due to the fluctuating exchange rate all values are in US dollars.

To purchase your commission:

Website Updates Include:

• Updated portfolio with most recent work & higher quality images.  This included photographing my charcoal drawing series under better lighting conditions than before and resizing them.
• Updated Categories for easier navigation.  Categories relate to Concept Art, unless otherwise specified (ie: Personal & Educational Projects).  This is the blue drop-down menu at the upper-right corner of the header.  Portfolio is all-inclusive, whereas the categories below are divided by subject.
• Updated About page.
• Created new pages: What is Concept Art? and Why Concept Art? The later was the essay I submitted to the Academy of Art University for acceptance into the MFA: Illustration program.
• Updated Widgets – removed distracting elements of website and included more social network options through which to share art and blog entries.
• Prints Now Available for Purchase – with the aid of my site manager, selected prints are now available for order at Imagekind.  If you would like to purchase a piece that is not available for print, contact me, and I will make it available if possible.
• Announced that I am available for commissions.

Future Updates:

• As I work through my studio courses, beginning this January 31st, 2010, I’ll be adding and replacing artwork as I create them to reflect the most current level of my skill.  These will probably be posted in chunks between major assignments or semesters.  Commissions may also be included in my portfolio.
• I may make my .pdf portfolio available for download.  Currently it’s available upon request.
• I may make my new CV available for download.  Currently it’s available upon request.
• I plan to document the process of earning my MFA in illustration, as well as post tutorials along the way, here in my blog.

Any particular requests for site updates?  What would you like to see here?  What would make the site more useful to you, easier to navigate, or get in touch with me?  Thanks for reading!