Thursday 17 November 2011

BAD CHIMP...

it began with a simple doodle a random character i named 'BAD CHIMP'...
soon the idea exploded in my mind and all sorts of new angles began to emerge in my mind.



after much playing about, a few other versions and a little development i suddenly remembered that
for some stupid reason, nobody has comissioned any album art from me this year. i find it quite disturbing, and so began to create some simply to update the portfolio - using the BAD CHIMP as some sort of gangsta rapper type. heres the results - you can see larger version on my DEVIANTART account.

front cover (right side) / album inlay

inlay centre

album rear

Sunday 6 November 2011

Vector Art Practice...

Took about an hour - not entirely complete, and sort of randomised / organic in the direction it took. Quite happy with it though.

Used Inkscape to draw the lback and white vector shapes and various programs to add the spats and colours.

Referenced from a photo I took of my friend Fran on a night out.

See a larger version on my DeviantArt account.


EDIT

Second version using the same 'outline' vectors as before. 30 minutes.







Saturday 29 October 2011

Friday 28 October 2011

There's No Avoiding It...

More work on The INVOKED.

See more over at CRASHNEXUS.

http://crashnexus.blogspot.com

You can see a larger version of this on my DeviantArt page.

The Sparkpoint of the Cataclysm...

Some more work on The INVOKED - one of the upcoming CRASHNEXUS projects.

We'd undoubtedly have a greater output rate if some of you kindly donated a few quid as you can - so go over and plop a tip in our box at http://crashnexus.blogspot.com



Monday 10 October 2011

You've got to rob a grave or two...

Another bit of work on the Artful Dodger's halloween poster. This time, Fagin the everliving...




Sunday 9 October 2011

Artful Deader

more work on the halloween poster


Friday 7 October 2011

Thursday 29 September 2011

Landscapes

some more random landscapes i did - some are a few weeks old and have been hiding away in some long forgotten folder. the bottom one is something for another CRASHNEXUS project.







Wednesday 28 September 2011

Landscape

landscape doodle. 20 minutes. i want to revisit this one at some point and add in some airships etc


Edit.

Ive already done a second version - along with a short piece of simple verse to give it some depth of setting. Ive since sent it over to Psynexus, so hopefully he'll whip up some kind of story to accompany it, at which point I'll either do a futher piece of artwork or remix this one again and we'll post it out over at CRASHNEXUS. meantime, heres the roughshot...


Sunday 21 August 2011

Quick Landscapes

a whole bunch of landscapes - most of which took under twenty minutes to complete - save for the top two. just trying to ressurect any skills ive ever developed in that depeartment as ive a piece coming up where ill need to add a decent environment. had fun doing them though - particularly the top one.

see a slightly larger version on deviantart LINK










Thursday 18 August 2011

FRUSTRATION SOLUTIONS

I spent hours yesterday trying to get on with something - be it commercial or personal work. Nothing good was coming out of it and i realised I needed to loosen up. Theres a variety of excercies I have used over the years to manage this, from simply scribbling around until amongst the mass of shapes I see something more specific and begin to block it in and build it up - to simply trying out software that gives you a very different approach (like Al:Chemy - one of my favourites, and one you may be familiar with from much of my work).

Thats exactly what worked for me in this instance - well, at four in the bloody morning it did! I suddenly remembered the free program INKSCAPE. It's essentially a vector program - much like Adobe Illustrator - though the preset tools make it far easier to produce some wild designs and images quickly than the more corporate program. One particular tool I like is the one for calligraphy - by playing around with the settings, you can quickly gain a host of effects - from highly scrawled to thick and angular strokes.

The pieces below were initialised with inkscape - i then exported the basic design and layered over using similar effects from LIVEBRUSH and MY PAINT - both free programs also. Have a bash yourself if you're getting stuck and drop a comment with a link to your output - the worst that can happen is you return to your standard media with a sense of freshness.

If you want any of the free software I've mentioned, simply click the links at the bottom of the page.


Sunday 7 August 2011

A Postcard from The ZONE

A SNIPPET AND IMAGE FROM OUR UPCOMING S.TA.L.K.E.R. GRAPHIC NOVEL SERIAL AT CRASHNEXUS WHERE WE ALSO CURRENTLY HAVE A FREE, ILLUSTRATED SHORT-FICTION DOWNLOAD
LINK






I can see the Zone’s perimeter fence approaching quickly – the old barbed wire stretches around a vast area that holds things I can’t even imagine from the safety of the civilized world I am about to leave behind me. The area around it doesn’t look as abnormal as the rumors about the constantly-changing landscape would suggest; fields of tall grass and rolling hills lead all the way to the perimeter, giving off a peaceful calm as they wave blissfully in the breeze. But there is a change in the air; an overwhelming sense of dread passes over me as I begin to make out small details beyond the barbed wire. Old, abandoned houses, a long, abandoned road whose faded lines and cracks remind me that no vehicles have traveled it on over two decades, and an overgrowth of plants that conceal the rest of the area in mystery.

I can already sense the voice in my head telling me to turn back now or be prepared to never return. The feeling of death and decay is strong around me; even though visually the landscape is lush and overgrown with new plant life since the removal of mankind. But my primal instincts are telling me that this place is death and that I’m walking willingly towards my doom.

Sunday 31 July 2011

An Old Sketch I Found...

another piece from a few months ago here -  yet again found whilst i was trawling through backup discs for some urgently needed files after my computer conked out the other week.

its just an airbrushed sketch towards a scene i want to paint of a cavalry charge.

horse referenced from stock by http://venomxbaby.deviantart.com

click the image to see a larger version on deviantart




Thursday 21 July 2011

Creature

creature design. just allowed it porgress naturally. now planning a short series of vignettes with furthered designs.
click the image to view a larger version on DeviantArt.



Add caption

Monday 18 July 2011

Airbrushing

Built these up starting with very large, soft brushes, finalising with a 100px soft brush.
Only used two colours; a mid-tone grey and black.
The other 'shades' are brough about through pressure-related opacity and blending mode trickery.
As always, comments and criticisms are much appreciated.