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Been working on lots lately. I’m preparing to have some new work ready for Spectrum Art Live in May this year. It’s going to be an exciting convention! If you’re in the Kansas City area, mark your calendars to come out and see some incredible art! I’ll be sharing what I’m bringing here as it gets closer and such.

One project I’m working on in between things is the Flora/Fauna Project. It started with an image I created for Imagine FX magazine a while back – in which I created a creature made from plants. I had so much fun exploring plant-life that I’ve decided to create a mini series out of it. The image above is the first (official) creature from that series. This time I decided to explore Opium – poppies and such. I’ll be exploring other plant groups as I am the Lily beastie below:

Lily (work in progress)

This weekend I created something for a blog I’m part of called Fanartica (finally). I decided to draw and paint one of my favorite comic book characters, Wexter. He was a challenge because I don’t usually get to draw guns too often but he was too much fun to paint!

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He’s from a comic called AxeCop, which if you haven’t read this comic, you NEED to. It’s amazing. The artist that creates it is incredible and the writer (his 6 year-old brother) is awesomely imaginative. This comic has me laughing and cheering non-stop. It’s a favorite among me and my friends. Go read it here: http://www.axecop.com.

More updates to come soon! Work from The Red Valley is on the way with some new environment and creature studies I’m very excited about along with announcements of some upcoming projects due toward this summer! :)

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Two new images that I’ll post more about later. One has inspired me to create a series of plant/creatures. Should be fun when I get more time! :)

In other news, I’ll be showing and selling a few Limited Edition prints at Rendition Gallery’s “IT’S ALIVE” show. The show is focusing on creepy creatures for Halloween! If you’re in the Fort Collins area, you should check it out! It will be a really great show! I will take some photos of what I will be showing this week once everything is framed.

Working on deadlines today. This weekend is going to be sleepless…

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Finished this up the other day and thought I’d post it here too. It served as a warm up for a few mornings. I tend to forget that I need to take about a half hour to warm up before I start working for the day.

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Also working on another image that I think I might make into a promo-poster. This was originally started for COW over on ConceptArt.org. I haven’t participated with COW in so long!

Anyway, more work to come along with some exciting announcements in October and November! :)

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Created for a private commission of the mythological bird: The Phoenix. Birds are always fun and challenging to paint! :)

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More creature work! I’ll post more about these soon. For now, I have lots of work to start on. Things are picking up again!

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I can’t believe it’s already August. 2011 is just flying by! This year has been excellent so far. I’ve learned so much and I’ve gotten to work on some really exciting and fun projects; some of which I have yet to share! I really can’t wait to either. This is a work in progress – a profile study of something I’m working on in my spare time.

Lately, I’ve been trying to work out more human characters and I’m going to need it. I’ll need a lot of practice for another upcoming project I’ll be involved in. This is the more successful out of the few I’ve sketched out this last week:

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This character is actually directly based off of a man I saw in the Mission in San Francisco last month. I was on my way to give a talk at my former college when this man came walking down the street, cat and all. His boom-box was blaring metal too! It was a pretty remarkable sight. This can only mean I need to spend more time in the Mission to observe more amazing people for my sketchbook.

That’s it for now. More updates coming soon!

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These two images were created a while ago but they are in the current issue of Imagine FX magazine and can be seen in the Q&A section. I really loved creating these two paintings. It’s an awesome creature design issue! Bobby Chiu created an excellent cover for it! You can check it out here –> Imagine FX – Issue 72

Also, I just found out that I am on the confirmed exhibitor list for Spectrum Fantastic Art Live! - A new fantasy art convention being held in Kansas City, May of next year! It should be really awesome and the list of exhibitors is pretty incredible. Needless to say, I have lots of work to get done before next Summer!

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This is a work is progress. I help run an activity on CGhub called Creature Planets. It’s a creature design activity and the current topic is to design a new mutant creature Villain for the TMNT (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle) Universe. I chose to create a Honey Badger chick! Excited to get her done – I think I might put together a tutorial for this image if I get the time.

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New personal piece. I actually didn’t like the way this image started but it grew on me as I worked on it. I’m currently working on some new work to replace some of the images in my portfolio that I feel are “out of date”.

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One of the images I was working on was this one, of a female space pilot. (Can you tell I’m trying to include more humans in my portfolio?) Anyway, this character is actually part of a private commission that sort of came to a halt a while back. I decided I’d use some of the prompts as a loose inspiration for some character studies. When I was fleshing out the costume for this character study I looked up X-Wing pilots from Star Wars for reference:

(© Lucas film)

I love this costume. It looks so simple. I mean, I’m pretty sure you could replicate this pretty easily at your local hardware store. It’s awesome and I think it points to a time in film where there weren’t massive budgets to be thrown around. At least the budget wasn’t the selling point of a movie anyway. It was about keeping it iconic. You immediately know what this is when you see it (assuming you’ve seen Star Wars). I think it’s a great reminder that, in design, the best solution is usually the simplest one.

Anyway, I’m not sure if I’ll finish the pilot or not. She was a good warm up but I think I’d like to explore more ideas about the costume and such…

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Here are two new beasties! I’ll post more about them later when I get more info and such.

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I hope everyone (in the states at least) had a happy 4th of July! It was a great weekend for me. I was able to see family and sort of take a break from work. It was a good “re-charge” and I totally needed it. Excited to get back to work though. I have lot’s planned for the next couple months!

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Here are the books that I own:

Animal Anatomy for Artists: The Elements of Form

I’ve had this book for years and I turn to it almost daily. It’s a very simple guide to bone and muscle structure to most mammalian forms.

The Art of Animal Drawing: Construction, Action Analysis, Caricature

I recently picked this up and I love it! This book is older and the drawings inside are mostly about form and action – drawing animals in motion.

Animals Real and Imagined

By one of my favorite creature artists, Terryl Whitlatch compiles her knowledge into a beautiful book! I’ve turned to this book for all sorts of anatomy questions. Not to mention its very inspiring to look through!

The Wildlife of Star Wars

Same as above, an inspiring collection of creature designs from the Star Wars movies.

The World of Kong

This book is gorgeous. I kept getting comments on The Morae River about how people were reminded of this book after looking through the project (I was incredibly flattered!) An inspiring collection of creature designs from the recent re-make of King Kong.

Creature

This was a gift and I never thought I’d really use it for reference. However, I look through it all the time! Especially for ideas on skin texture and facial expression.

Anatomy for the Artist

Not the traditional creature anatomy book but I love this human anatomy book. The artist handles the body so well and I love the overlays inside. It really helps to see the muscle structure of the animal that is most familiar to us! ;)

Wildlife Fact Files – I got these when I was a kid. I’m not sure if you can still subscribe to them or not. They offer some photos and interesting facts about animals. They aren’t extensive but are good for quick reference.

The Encyclopedia of Animals

An amazing book FULL of images and illustrations! This book helps me so much!

The Audubon Field Guides

These are small quick field guides and while they don’t offer a huge amount of photo reference they offer behavioral traits which is super important when designing creatures!

Here are also a few books that are on my “To Get” List:

Art Anatomy of Animals

Animal Drawing: Anatomy and Action for Artists

Prehistoric Life

Color and Light

When it comes to referencing animals, I also like to watch Nature Documentaries. Nothing really beats seeing the animal move around in it’s natural habitat doing what it does. Here is a quick list of some documentaries that I find particularly helpful and have watched too many times:

Life of Mammals – available on NetFlix Instant Watch

The Blue Planet- available on NetFlix Instant Watch

YellowStone – available on NetFlix Instant Watch

Planet Earth

Life

Life of Birds – available on NetFlix Instant Watch

Human Planet

Of course, going to the zoo and museums helps tremendously! It’s something I know I need to do more of too. In any case, I hope this list is informative for those of you who might be interested in creature design and animal illustration. If you know of any books that you like to reference or share, please comment! :)

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Here are the two illustrations I created:

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Been working on lots lately. I was also recently asked to do an interview about my work for a different magazine – I’ll share more details on that later when I get the go ahead. Gearing up to start my new personal project soon as well. Really looking forward to focusing on some personal work. I’ve been working to round out the fantasy side of my portfolio lately too.

But for now, tea time! :)

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Some quick creature concept sketches for the current CGhub Creature Planets challenge.

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Been working away lately and the year is going by so fast! I can’t believe it’s already May. Where is 2011 going? So far this year has been full of surprising opportunities and good things.  Just finished two new pieces. I’ll post more about them later when they go live and such. These were super fun to create! I always enjoy painting Gnolls and weird alien creatures.

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This critter above was actually inspired by an older sketch I did. You can find him in one of the sketchbook pages of this post.

Trying to fit in personal work lately. Finding it harder to find time for things of the sort though. However, it is a must so I’ll be posting some progress here soon to stay on top of it more. I have a new project I’ve just become a part of. I’ll be working as lead artist for a new start-up in Seattle, WA. I’m very excited about the project (as it involves a huge amount of creatures) and I can’t wait to start sharing work. I’ll be posting news and such as we release content online. Of course, this is a freelance gig so I’ll be staying here in Oakland for the time being. :)

Here is something I’m currently working on:

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Obviously still a work in progress. I’ve warmed up to the image in the process of creating it but I’m not sure if I’ll keep it around. I’m wanting to update my website with some new work and this image was the beginning of that…

I’d also like to post a reminder about my book “FishHooks”. May is my birthday month so if you buy FishHooks during this month you can save 15%! I had a lot of fun putting together this book and have started plans for my second volume. Of course, that means that I will probably discontinue this book once I release volume 2 this fall. You can view more images of the book here: http://www.fishhookstudio.com/2010/09/fish-hooks/

You can buy FishHooks on Lulu.com, here: http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/fish-hooks/12917022

Anyway, I suppose that’s it for now. I’ll be posting more news soon!

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Things have been bittersweet lately. The sketch up above was something I thought I’d finish but it’s been “collecting dust”. I’ve had some really great prospects for a new job coming up soon. I’m really very excited about it! It would definitely be a step up and more in the direction I’d like to go with my career. Of course, as it is with movies and video games, everything is “Non-disclosure”. I can share things as I go along though. I’ve been working closely with Sychey Games recently on a new project they are creating. Here is some artwork that I am allowed to share. Sketches for Plasmagonia™ :

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This project has been a blast to work on so far! Lots and lots of creatures to design. I’ll be sharing more about this project as it moves forward too!

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I suppose (some) of the bitterness of the last couple of weeks would come from the fact that my project, The Morae River, has come to a close. I’ve decided to leave it alone for now. It’s hard to let go of a project that has been such a huge part of my life for the last three years. I feel as though the project has grown stagnant and I’ve fallen into a “system”. Which is always good but I need the project to be more than that. The Morae River taught me so much though. Really, I’m seeing it as somewhat of a jumping off point for my next project. I’ve realized that I’d rather not be in Solturna. Of course, even though I rarely have time to work on personal work my mind needs a place to go so I’ve decided to take on something new a little closer to “home”.

This is a rough banner for my new venture. I’ll be posting more on this project soon but for now it’s very “under construction”. I am really excited for it though. I feel as though it’s closer to the project I envisioned in the first place.

Also a reminder that you can follow my activity and such on Facebook now:

Brynn Metheney – Concept Art & Illustration

I also post sketchbook pages on that page a little more frequently than I do here so check it out! :)

More exciting news coming soon!

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I don’t have much to post in the realm of personal work. Adjusting to my work load has caused some of my personal stuff to become neglected. I do manage to sketch here and there though. This is something I like doing – just sort of sketching lots of body-forms quickly in pen. I have a tendency to want to get everything right and so this helps me to loosen up and try to let go of making the drawing perfect.

Here are more doodles:

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I’ve also recently made a facebook page for my artwork. I was sort of opposed to the idea for a while – only because I already update a million things on the internet already so one more thing seemed like a bit much. However, it sort of needed to happen. If you’d like to keep up with my work on facebook you can here:

Brynn Metheney – Concept Art and Illustration on Facebook!

I know a very talented lady by the name of Laura Guill – we went to school together and had studios almost next to each other in thesis. Recently I commissioned a small illustration from her and just had to share it!

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This tiny tapir is literally the most adorable thing in the world. Laura’s work involves her painting subjects in acrylic and then cutting them out and pasting them to a background to created a three dimensional effect. I love my tapir so much! Thanks Laura! :D You can see more of Laura’s tiny animals on her blog, here: http://crown-of-laurel.blogspot.com/

Anyway, I’m off to work on some developmental work. I do have a about 10 card illustrations I’m hoping will be released so I can show those as well.

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Been trying to do more sketching in the sketchbook lately. Here are some recent doodles. Really liking the blue pencil. It sort of takes me back to when I was studying game design and animation in L.A. I’m hoping to dig a little deeper into more traditional media soon.

I’m leaving for L.A. 6 hours from now. I’m not very sleepy but I am exhausted. It’s a weird in between feeling. This last week has been full of work and surprises. I’ve been keeping up a steady flow of Q&A articles for Imagine FX magazine for the last couple of months. Mostly to do with creature questions. I’ve been having so much fun creating and showing process for the magazine. I’m really excited to see them in print soon and show them here on the blog.

Mostly nervous about L.A. I guess. Some exciting things are taking place lately. Things are looking up…way up.

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Things have been really busy as of late. Working on lots of projects all at once these days. This is always a good thing though. I’ll have more info and images to show when things go live and whatnot. I did post some of the new work on BrynnArt.com but I’ll post a more detailed look here in the coming months. Looking forward to sharing some of the work I’ve been able to do over the last few weeks. This was something I doodled in my sketchbook weeks ago and I thought I’d revisit the fellow. Trying to focus more and more on creatures as of late. I’m finding that they are really what I’d like to continue doing.  Still trying to figure out what I’d like to do with The Morae River…speaking of which:

I believe about a year ago I was asked by Brazilian Magazine – Contém Glúten to be included in their lovely publication. It features artists from all around the globe so be sure to check it out – There are some very talented people in there and I am very honored to be among them! It’s gorgeously designed! As you can see, the work I submitted is a bit older – The Greater Fugamus is still walking on two feet!

I’m also re-designing my website! This will be the 8th time I’ve done it since 2007 I believe. Sort of ridiculous right? I suppose I’ve never found a look that I’m fond of. I feel like I might stick with this look for a while though. It’s a simple design. I should have it up within the next few days.

I’m off to work on sketches for card illustrations…

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Here are two works in progress. This first one is only half of a larger piece for a project. I’ll post the finish when it goes live and everything. There are other parts to it as well, so more creature goodness is coming!

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This second one is for my upcoming show. It’s a selection of species from the Morae River itself. This piece has been in my head for a while now and I’m really excited to finally be able to start it.

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Just wanted to post a reminder about my book. I created a book of artwork through lulu.com. Its 40 pages of full color sketches and illustrations. I’m very proud of how it turned out and I’m hoping to make another volume next year. This volume will only be available until June next year.

It’s also on sale! I’ve marked it down 20 % until the end of December! 2011 will bring it back up to its normal price so get it now while its low at $17.60!

You can view more photos of the book HERE

You can buy the book here: http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/fish-hooks/12917022

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Two works in progress. The first is a study of the Southern Shore of Tul. It’s still in the “awful looking” stage but hopefully that will change the more I work into it.

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This is a page of studies of a new organism in the works… More on her coming soon.

Lately I’ve been trying to get ready for APE. I’ve put together a sketchbook though Lulu.com. I’ve sent out for the first draft and I’ll be posting pictures of it here on my blog. It will be available at my table as well as online through lulu. Look out for it soon!

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This was done for Creature Planet’s Dead Flat-Footed Drizzler Topic over on CGHUB. This particular entry was late due to a very complicated day I had yesterday.No matter though, here is the final…

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Finished up the Pygmy Esorifleu for CGHUB’s creature planets. These were lots of fun to do. I’m currently working on the next species for topic # 15 – Viscinian Scavenger. These are just some rough sketches of the overall form that I want the organism to have – following the guidelines provided in the prompt.

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This forum activity has been really good for me. It a lot of fun to help run but its also pushing me to try new things with creature design and even graphics. I’ve been producing the banners for the activity with direction from Shane Watson – CGHUB’s community director.

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In case you’re wondering, I did not paint the actual planet. I use Flaming Pear’s “LunarCell” to produce it. Creating a banner along with stats and a creature for the activity each week can be a lot fo work and so any shortcuts are vital to get things done on time. I did, however, paint the galaxy and produced all of the other graphics on the banners (except for the little icons on the top banner, those are winning entries) Anyway, This has been loads of fun for me and my partner in crime (co-runner of creature planets) - Ogi Grujic. As the activity progresses, I’d like to re-work the layouts of the planet banners and such but for now these seem to be working ok.

Like I mentioned in my post before, I’m wanting to share things that inspire me, things I find funny, and things that I think others should watch. This was a short that brought tears to my eyes. I love how animation is able to span gaps and make you care about lumps of dirt on the moon. Enjoy…

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Something I’m working on for Creature Planets – the weekly activity I help run over on CGHUB.

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After a good 4 days of looking through forums, sifting through websites, and pulling my hair out, I have finally been able to get Fish Hook Studio back up and running. Of course, I didn’t do this alone. In fact, I was ready to call it quits and just forget about the blog entirely when an old friend showed up and helped me get through what was wrong. An extremely big thank you goes to Josh Blanton for helping me out. I could not have recovered this blog without you! You’ve made my week!

Anyway, in between worrying about this blog, I have been working hard on things here and there for different projects. I’ll be posting more images soon! I was able to complete an image for The Morae River. Of course it’s of a Mardik (there are four different species on the island) they are my favorite genus. However, new creatures are on the way.

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Sketchie fun…

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some sketchbook fun. One from life, one from my head…obviously…

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Here is a progress shot of a drawing I started yesterday. I’m hoping to get it finished this week along with one other. Trying to get a lot done before I go an vacation. Me and my partner John Mathis are off to The Mission today to do some research for a project he’s working on. Can’t say much about it yet until it goes live.

In other news we’ve also decided to create a small company for our website and graphic design. This is the sketch for the logo but we hope to have it up soon. It says specializing in artists websites but we do other stuff too – this logo will change a bit. Anyway, I’ll post more about Oranda later. I’m off to S.F.

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Sort of at a loss tonight. I’ve been experimenting with painting environments with no luck so far. So to take a break from doing that I painted some quick alien-ish heads to serve as avatars for this blog. I’m hoping to have some more work up soon. I might do more fun things like this for a bit. I’m needing a bit of a break to get some things figured out. I have a trip coming up soon so that should be good separation from my work right now. I’ve been feeling somewhat dry. Anyway, I elaborated one bust a bit for fun…

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This is where I’m stopping with the male greater fugamus for now. I believe he’s done and anymore work will be fine adjustments here and there. I’ve started work on the next depiction of the species which will be two males fighting over territory.

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Here is the other piece I’ve been working on – a female balandic cula. She’s still a work in progress but I like how she’s turning out so far and I’m excited to finally put one in an environment.

I’m currently making a small art book through lulu.com. Its a small collection of sketches, illustrations and designs – most of what you see on this blog will be included. Anyway I’ll be posting a link to it soon for purchase.

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Haggis are omnivorous mammals that roam the Scottish Highlands. They grow to the roughly the size of a small dog and are almost hairless. They live in burrows in large family groups. Haggis  spend their days searching for roots, grasses, and insects to feed on underground and have even been spotted consuming carrion. Male haggis have large, bulbous crests on top of their heads with which they use to attract females. Males also have a pair of tusks which they use in combat with other males during the breeding season.

Based off of the traditional Scottish dish for this

:D just for fun

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I’m revisiting the Balandic Cula next. I’m working on putting together a large hardcover book to sell at APE this year. Since I’m migrating The Morae River to the computer I thought I’d take the opportunity to revisit the animals and refine their designs a bit. Anyway, I’ll have more to show next week…

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this little guy was my doodle for today. I think he might have been inspired by How to Train Your Dragon…

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Go check it out at: http://www.brynnart.com

I’ve been working recently on improving my drawing in the computer and I have been experimenting with The Morae River in this…This image below is of the updated fugamus.

Because I’ve switched to a digital pencil I am able to work much larger than I was able to before. This drawing here is 16X12 and will make a nice print one day. No to mention the detail is very, very clean. The effect is basically the same, minus the step of scanning it into the computer. While I do still draw with an analogue pencil for myself, I imagine The Morae River and my concept art work will all be digital very soon. I’m finding I make better choices in the computer and I am more willing to push things. I was at first apprehensive of moving into the computer, especially for work pertaining to The Morae River. I’m finding that I had way too much fun drawing this male fugamus out…

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Going through a bit of a stint right now in my work. I feel like there is a transition coming up. I’m having issues with exactly what I want my work to look like. The thought of becoming more marketable is always appealing but I’d like to try and stay unique in what I do. The computer has freed me up a lot and I really do enjoy working with it. I’m really wanting to dive back into some creature design I’v been thinking about lately as well. I always enjoy thinking up species and behaviors to write and draw about. The Morae River has been on the back burner for a bit and I’m ready to pick it up again maybe even move into some digital renditions of things.

In other news I’ve gotten my aquarium back in order. I’m thinking about  adopting some neon tetras and gouramis to live in it. I’ll post some pictures when I get them settled in the tank.

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Finished “Dinner with Gnolls: The Alpha Females Table”. Now I’m working on a tree sprite for my next piece. I’m enjoying these fantasy pieces but I’m wanting to get more detailed in them from now on. I’m hoping I can capture more detail in this sprite image than the prior two.

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Expect more soon….

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So after my ridiculous post last night (which I’ve edited) I decided to put that thought on hold and get some work done! Right now – Fantasy!

“Wyvern Rider” and soon to be finished “Dinner with Gnolls”

more fantasy fun coming soon along with some sci-fi happiness!

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Started doodling today. I think I might finish it…I’m still figuring out the human…(of course)

Anyway, more work coming soon…

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Some sketches and quick finishes from a few weeks prior. I’ve just returned from vacation and am getting back into the swing of things…

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This was for CG hub Creature Challenge – “Dazzling Prancer”. I included a small run-cycle so the creature could be seen from a side view as well.

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Then I got distracted and tried to animate it. I’s not complete (you can see how rough it is and its stops half way through) but I thought it was fun.

prance cycle animation

More work coming soon in the human category…

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Just a quick post of my progress…

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This beastie here was done for ConceptArt.org’s C.O.W. – something I don’t usually get to participate in but I found some extra time to work her out.

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This one is for another CGhub Creature Challenge - The Dazzling Prancer. I’m really enjoying drawing these guys and might keep them around for some personal projects.

Meanwhile Im currently working on getting some private commissions done – a tattoo design and a brachiolope. I’m doing both in pencil and I’ll be posting work for both in the coming days.

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Character study for the day….

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