Echoes

I've settled on a starting point for my fictional world, the one vaguely hinted at in the painting I titled "Necromantic Goddess."

Some of you are probably wondering why I haven't updated recently. It's because I literally haven't created anything truly original in the past couple months. That time has been mostly spent doing study after study; complimented with some step by step process analysis thanks to the Gnomon Workshop DVD's I won recently. I'm trying to digest the information as best I can and it's becoming painfully apparent how this affects my creativity at large. Not to mention I have a 6 month old baby girl that is finally starting to realize how awesome her daddy is and she absolutely loves to hang out with me... Oh yeah, I'm playing the Diablo 3 Beta too! WTF? How am I supposed to get anything done?! Haha.

Truth be told I feel as though I'm accomplishing much even without the "tangible" artwork to show. Granted, my portfolio hasn't grown very much recently; in the end the work I'm putting in now; the time I'm investing into reinforcing my skills will pay off more than just dredging away in the same old fashion.


ANYWAY... Echoes. So the plan has shifted somewhat. I still plan on creating the 3 paintings though I am taking a more round about approach. It will be a while longer before I finish them. This is because I am actively building the world they depict. I am writing notes in my journal about the terrain, the creatures, the cultures, etc. I'm sketching little doodles here and there and brainstorming about possible "main story" scenarios. The idea is moving in a more "child friendly direction". Necromantic Goddess isn't a very child friendly painting, but I'm ok with that. In fact the remaining two paintings will possibly be equally as inappropriate for children; that's not to say the final work of fiction won't be packaged and presented in a manner more suited to the youth.

My fiance's little boy is 7 years old and I am always encouraging him to read more. He hates reading and it breaks my heart as I know what fantastic places he could visit within his mind; if only he understood. I decided I want to write a children's book or a series of them because of him. I want to help create something that children can enjoy.

The reason for this is that the three paintings are meant for ME. As a means to inspire myself and help root my creativity with a sense of focus. The story/books will more than likely be chapter books with some illustrations peppered around here and there.

Necromancer Teaser

Just a little teaser on the new painting I'm working on right now. I don't want to upload hi resolution WiP's on this one until it's finished. I don't want the WoW factor to dissipate. This small teaser should be enough to keep people excited.

Female time

And by that I mean time to draw some female characters. I'll start with a female Necromancer, then move on to a female Hunter/Archer type. Each of these will feature a pet. The Necromancer with a wicked looking Skeleton warrior and the Hunter with a massive cat. And here we go!

Champion of Boethiah

"Boethiah is the Daedric prince who rules over deceit, conspiracy, secret plots of murder, assassination, treason, and unlawful overthrow of authority. This is his champion. No living soul knows the truth behind this legendary figure. Some say his origins began within the Dark Brotherhood, but that his ambitions quickly dwarfed that of his organization. They say he became the ultimate assassin through the sacrifice and absolute betrayal of his brethren to his master Boethiah."

Created as an emotional response to the lack of any truly intimidating assassin styled armor in the game Skyrim. I have the itch to play as an evil vampire/assassin, but none of the light/leather armor in the game even comes close to the aggressive look that I think is needed for such a character. So I created this. My vision of a great player villain.

Centaur Death Dealer

"Among the deafening sounds of steel meeting steel upon the battlefield, wind becomes as a rhythm of hoofs and stone. Death comes swiftly and surely for all who would face the Centaur Death Dealer. He is the mightiest of all Centaur warlords. His victims are struck with awe. Awe turns to fear, but he is not without mercy. He shows it in the form of release from the mortal coil by his twin cursed blades."

Centaur Death Dealer was created due to the recent influence I received from the game Skyrim. It's not Fan Art because there are no Centaurs in the game, but the fantasy "kick" is all derived from the same source.

The True Dovahkiin

Created November 2011. Prior to this design I was in the "armor and magic" mood. A frame of mind brought upon by the game Skyrim. It's not that I was spending a lot of time playing the game... Ok, I really was. The shear scope of the game itself, the potential for true role playing unlocked an area in my brain that I didn't know existed. Suddenly ideas for my own interpretation of things that are within the game started to manifest through my artist's hand.

Here is one of those such pieces. It's called True Dovahkiin, mostly because I felt the Dragon Armor in the game left something to be desired and I thought of my own Dragon Armor. Maybe one day (if I learn sculpting and 3d modelling I can make this guy in full 3D)

Character sketching

Gonna do some character sketches today. Some fantasy themed warrior types, maybe some Sci-Fi ones too. Not sure what the focus is, but first I gotta do some research. Time to bust out my art books and look at artwork of such characters by other artists.