Living Tomb

Another experimental creature morph / airbrushing.

Initial stages abstracted from stock photography by Marcus Ranum - http://www.ranum.com

Approx 1hr 20mins.

I have a (slightly incomplete) video of the painting as it happened. Will upload when I've sorted it all out.

Larger version on DeviantArt - LINK.

Life Saving Reactions

Another piece towards the RPG inspired by Roadside Picnic / Stalker / S.T.A.L.K.E.R. coming soon from http://www.fzideas.com/

Theres a larger version on my DeviantArt account: http://cyrus-crashtest.blogspot.com

Pinhead

A quick version of Pinhead - the main Cenobite from Hellraiser / the original story "The Hellbound Heart".
I referenced a still from the DVD.

25 minutes.

I made a custom 'pin' brush to do this, and now intend a much better version that I'll take longer on.

Clive Barker who penned the original tale and directed the original film is quite an artist too - I suggest you check his facebook page; http://www.facebook.com/officialclivebarker

Sketchdump

Lots of different odds n sods I've done over the last week or so that I'm not sure what to do with...

Features brushed by Shifty J - http://shiftyj.deviantart.com/

Flamethrower Acolyte

Another random bit that has ended up looking a bit like something from W40k

Features a stock texture copyright Dom Bailey 2012. All rights reserved. Used with permission.

Environmental Morphs

Been playing with some of the awesome stock by  http://legends-of-the-west.deviantart.com/

They've been abstracted from the original stock image - in a similar manner to the Creature Morphs that I do.

Hopefully by this weekend I'll have something more 'finalised' for you to enjoy!

Time: twenty minutes approx.

Ion Freighter

Quick conversion of another piece I did earlier today.

20 minutes.

A Few More Environments

These are for nothing in particular - just me getting used to my new WACOM.

The cable sheared off the last one through general wear and tear - thankfully on the latest Bamboo pen they've managed to sort out tha design flaw with the use of s seperate USB cable. It also has a much larger active area - hence me having to get used to it.

About 20 minutes each.

First four images contain elements of photography copyright Jase Brooks 2012. All rights reserved. Used here with permission.

The image below shows how this piece was done - I did two at the same time and chose to 'complete' this one, rather than continue with both (the other not taking my interest as much, and this one was happening far more rapidly!).

Environmental Roughs

These are for the aforementioned RPG project (LINK), though they're little more than useful for me to get into the idea of the atmosphere, scale and shapes of the environments.

Initial stages abstracetd from photography copyright Jase Brooks 2012. Used with permission.

Around 30 - 40 minutes each.

Surface Exploration

This fits in with several previous posts to do with a new project for CRASHNEXUS.

Initial stages abstracted from stock photography copyright Jase Brooks 2012. All rights reserved. Used with permission.
Jase plays bass with Hellbound Hearts - go check em! http://hellboundhearts.com

I'm not sure if it's finished, or if it's a prelim sketch for something bigger -  we shall see!

Time - 80 mins approx.

Searching Through Remnants

A concept piece towards the cover for a tabletop RPG style game that will be coming out sometime soon.

I'll update this post as and when there's something to update with.

Version 2.3

Version 1.1

Commissar

Another experiment. This time messigng around with the face of my mate Simon.

This really is just a WIP as theres plenty of other directions I'm looking into with this.

Think he'd make a great Warhammer 40,000 Imperial Commissar though.

This post will be updated  as the work goes on.

Experiment 10: In Distant Lands

Another creature morph.

Original stock image by http://mjranumstock.deviantart.com

Time 3 hours.

About as finished as it will ever be I suppose.

Higher res version on DeviantArt http://cyrus-crashtest.deviantart.com/art/In-Distant-Lands-331217500

Imperial Frontier Outpost

Another piece set in the same universe as this previous post: LINK.

* * *

After the collapse, many states found themselves with little or no leadership. Many others turned on what remained and renegade factions sprang up across the globe. Tyranny, extremism and plain foolishness threatened to throw much of the planet into a sub-medieval dark age. This was not the case for the citizens of the UK.


Under the guiding hand of the former prince and looking to the past for inspiration, a new democtratic empire was formed. Many member states of the old Commonwealth soon joined up in the face of weaker enemies and a wish to return to simpler times. Canada (facing an ever growing threat from the People's Consulate) also pledged fealty, along with several of the north and eastern most states of the shattered Americas. With strong trade bonds and an amount of shared history, parts of Scandinavia and France took membership in the New Empire.
Today, the Empire specialises in exploration and frontier colonies and commands a formidable fleet much like on Earth of old.

Asteroid Services

Just a wee doodle - set in the same universe as the previous post. A hypergate network 'road' services. Same crap food, same awful toilets, same high prices - 10,00 years away!
I really wanted to add loads of ridiculous advertising, but haven't got some of the spoof-brand logos finished yet and still make more, so I figured I'd  upload this as a work-in-progress post for now.
Hopefully we'll be doing some short pieces based around this universe at CRASHNEXUS.

The Tunny Debris Field

The Tunny Debris Field in the Caroteu Nebula is a notorious wrecking zone for freight shipments and unwary Captains. As a result of both minute gravitational shifts within the nebula causing some angular change to the hypergate, and stray bodies from the field colliding with ships, the area is rife with salvage. Occasional smugglers also find themselves wrecked in the field.
The Peoples' Consulate of Earth maintains a constant presence - with salvage crews doubling as rescue operators when the need arises. The massive ship "Wind of Proxima" acts as a breaking yard, whilst the crews operate from high powered and manoeuvrable platforms -breaking down the larger hulks into manageable chunks for return to the ship.

* * *

This has taken FAR too long to get done, and as it is, I'm only really happy with the background and the platform in the foreground. Still for that reason you'll see a close up of it further down the post.


Stuck for names, I asked my friends to come up with realistic names for the debris field and nebula via facebook and twitter. Thanks to Martin Tunnicliffe, the nebula was named, so I took his nickname for the debris field (a rather awesome irony if you know him!).


I'll upload a higher res version to DevianArt when I get a chance, so keep checking back - or 'Watch' me over at http://cyrus-crashtest.deviantart.com

Experiment 9

So I finally 'finished' this piece. I think I'll return to the 'character' though as its an interesting development.

I figure she's some kind of  shark-woman - from a time when altering our bodies becomes easier and neccesary. Whilst I couldn't fit in the other hand holding the mirror (couldnt manage it without the right reference) I think she looks pretty pleased with the outcome!

Features stock by http://faestock.deviantart.com

Theres so much stuff in that stock gallery, I actually started with another image (I may also return to this one in the future), and made several attempts before finding one that stuck with me.

Consumed

Practising some effects / techniques for making planets and the like appear 'real'.
60 minutes (and about 80 layers!).

...And some additional odds n sods that don't quite make the cut: