Finishing up yesterdays doodle. Trying to just get in the habit of doing more work, whether or not it's perfect.

Nashville, Jobs, Illuxcon.

Been a while since I posted anything. Over the summer I graduated from college, moved to Nashville and got a full time job doing web design. I've been busy. But I've also been doing tons of drawing, and I usually post all my work to my twitter page (link HERE). But I've decided I need a more localized area to post what I've been doing, so I'll try and post more stuff here too. Anyways, here a smattering of what I've been working on. There's a few finished pieces, a few sketches and several warm ups. I want to try and get some of my sketchbook stuff scanned and put online as well. We'll see how much I can get done before Illuxcon(two weeks! GULP).

TARZANS DISCOVERY LINES

Lines of a new piece I'm working on. Tarzan. Super excited about this one. Learning so much about body language/ expression and it's importance in character! Anyways, here it is.

Quick Study from a Brave still. Just a warm-up.

You know what more fun than self portaits?

Painting the negative space behind the portraits.

Total Recall Warmup Turned into Study.

Put about 5 hours into this. First time I've done something digital that I am happy with. Excuse my while I stretch out my sore fingers.

Senior Show

For those of you who are poor, don't know me when this is taking place, live far away, or just don't care, this is a little preview of my Senior Show. I say preview, but it's pretty much the whole thing. Except it's not on a wall and it's not framed. 

 Mercy

 Peace

Purity

I've learned a heck of a lot over the course of this semester, and I'll probably type up a post on it soon. Anyways, have fun, and let me know what you think!

Oh, and here's a copy of my Artist Statement, so you know a bit more about the pieces as a whole.

            I once read about a regal dwarf who said, "“A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only one." And in that moment, I realized that I am approximately 200 years old, give or take a decade, and I wondered what that would do for my taxes. You see, when I was young I got sick. We lived in a house that had black mold, which inflamed my Asthma and I couldn't play much at recess. During one of those lonely recesses my teacher saw my sitting to the side and gave me the second greatest gift in all of my life. She gave me a book. One of those Chicken Soup for the Soul books, with the cheesy heartfelt stories. It was ok, but I still finished it fairly quickly and when I was done, I asked my teacher for another book. Well she didn't have one, but she said there were bunches more at the school library. I had never been to the library so I went and looked around. What a wondrous place! All these books just for me! And, being a 10 year old boy, I found a war story titled Fallen Angels. Boy. That was a good book. I devoured that story, and returned to the library to find more. I found Holes, and Hatchet, Brian's Winter, Julie of the Wolves, and my favorite, My Side of the Mountain. Books, or really the stories and characters inside of them, became my life. I have fond memories of adventures on desert islands, adventures on frozen tundra, and flying with dragons. I have fonder memories of getting into trouble because I would stay up too late READING. I swear, my parents must have been so proud. As I got older I went through cycles, as we all do, of reading and not reading. But what I did find was a larger library, and more books, and a voracious appetite for stories. I used to come home with a stack of books that stretched from my fingers to my nose. Not just fiction, but anything that caught my fancy. I would sketch plans for airplanes and gliders, for bow & arrows, forts, anything. And my appetite kept growing, and my mind thirsted for more information, anything interesting, I would find a book and teach myself.

Then something amazing happened. I found a book. A very special book. I actually still have it. It was James Gurney's Dinotopia. It was on the bottom shelf of the Young Adult section of the library. In it was a story filled with images, paintings of a land with populated by dinosaurs AND humans. Such a rich world was created within these pages I would read them over and over again, pouring through the images and castaway in daydreams. I actually convinced myself (and still am, a little) that this place ACTUALLY EXISTED. Thinking back, I can cite that book, those stories as to why I wanted to be an illustrator. To draw and create these worlds, these stories that were just SO REAL. There is a life to the characters, a vitality to the story that births the warmest feeling in my heart.

As I have said, I am roughly 200 years old, give or take a decade. This extra ~180 years have been spent riding a Skybax, and delving in dungeons and fighting wars across the universe. My goal in life is to share, as James Gurney shared with me, a place deep within my imagination where life is greater and adventures longer than I can ever dream.

Thematic Teaser

Three Black Queens

Click for full Res. Image

        This here is a little taste of my past semester. Next Tuesday is my Senior Show, and I should be getting those photos up Monday. Afterwards, I have to finish another ~6 paintings for Thematic Illustration. All the drawings are done, I just have to paint them. This one is acrylics on watercolor paper mounted on board. Expect more posts this following week!

Cluck-Tastrophy

My friend Alex and I did a quick comic where we switched off every 2 panels or so. It was too much fun. More of these are likely to continue.

Digital Process Practice

Practice

F-ART

        Or, as I like to call it, Fan Art of That Game Companies new Game (or work of art) Journey. Unfortunately I do not own a PS3, but I did watch a great HD Let's Play, and this is truly art in the form of Video Game. If you can, go out and buy it, or at least watch someone play it. The atmosphere and music are brilliant. I give it a 10/10. ANYHOW, enjoy this meagar piece of Fan Art. I might actually do another one analog, as my digital skills are a bit lax.

Thematic Illustration, Senior Show WIP and the Race to (hopefully) Graduation.

So, what have I been up to? Let me show you! Currently, it is Spring Break, which I am using to get my work DONE!

This disaster zone is my bedroom in it's current state. It's a lovely place, and luckily no Gnomes or Pixies have decided to take up residence!

Here is a WIP picture of the largest piece I'm working on for Senior Show. It's titled Purity. I've made good headway since the beginning of break, but I've still got a good ways to go! Picture also blew out some of the colors, so just imagine its a bit neutrals down and thats how it REALLY looks!

Detail shot from Purity

The second piece I'm working on for senior show. This ones started out a bit chaotic, which I like, but now I'm working on restraining in the colors and values into something readable.  This one is titled Mercy.

Here's a picture of my current work load, to be finished within the next month and a half. Pray I get it done and end up sane! I only have paint on 4 of them currently, and its 11 total paintings. Guess why I don't post super often!

So, heres a list, for you, but mostly for me, of things to do so I can graduate.

Finish all eleven paintings.

Sign up, study, Take, pass and pay for 3 separate CLEP tests.

Start/Finish a Stiles Art History paper.

Find out What I'm doing with my life Post-Graduation, including where I'm moving to, jobs, where I can get a car with my income(practically nothing).

And anythings else I've forgotten. Im sure there is something.

So. That's my current situation. I'd appreciate any prayer, or a friendly phone call/FB message/tweet. 

Thanks for stopping by and taking a look at my work!

Is this.... Concept Art?!?

Sure is! Me and 2 friends are looking into making a video game using the Unity Engine. If not, it's just a fun distraction from our Senior Exhibits! Anyways, check out these quick drawings for our Lost Pilot!

Click to see it larger, and check back later for more Concepts/Illustration.

Long time, New Sketch

Don't worry, I'm not dead, just way busy working on my Senior Final Show. As proof, heres a preliminary sketch on one of 3 pieces, this one is titled Purity. 

I'm also working on and 8 piece book for my Thematic Illustration class, and I'm doing The Legend of King Arthur. Prepare your mind to be blown.