So, as I previously mentioned, I got a little sidetracked from my "Origin" comic.  I had an idea for a "swamp elder" and just had to go for it.  See below for thumbnails, sketches, studies and at last...the "final" piece. There is a lot of fine-tuning to be done with it as well plenty of stuff that just plain isn't finished yet.  I need a break, though, before I dive back in.  I'm also hoping to get a critique on it, so if I do, I'm sure lots of things will need to be changed!

 First thumbnails with a (photo) study of an old woman's face

 Character sketches

 Large thumbnail

 Final thumbnails with shell sketches

 Close-up of final thumbnail

 Live study of snail shell

 My little set-up for studying the shell

 Photo study of some mossy branches

 Photo study of a hunchbacked old woman

"Final" digital painting

Just a little study of a snail shell (dredged out of our local lagoon by my dearest just for me). Took about 3 hours...I think (I didn't time myself too closely).  This is preparation for an upcoming piece--yes, I got a little distracted from my comic, "Origin". I promise I'll get back to it ASAP.  First, though, I'm going to tackle this totally sweet idea I have...

I've been meaning to mention that "L'Angoisse de Méduse" was featured this past summer in 33 Contemporary Gallery's 7th Annual National Self-Portrait Exhibition--click on the link to view all the pieces that were exhibited!  It was a fantastic exhibit!

Ack...so, this is taking some time. Having trouble with the firelight lighting, and of course the feathers are taking forever (in part because I am an idiot and didn't devote enough energy to finding good references and doing some studies beforehand...when will I ever learn?). I also realized (rather late in the game, I know) that there is NO WAY this is going to work as the second panel--way too sudden. I'm going to need to ease into this shot a bit more gradually--I think I know what perspective I want to do for this additional panel, and it will also permit me to distribute the text more evenly. Sucks, though, because I was definitely ready to move on into the next part.

In other news, did a little bit of work on "Leviathan Queen" this weekend--nice to get back into the oils for a change.  Also did some anatomy studies...need to do A LOT more of those.  :\

So...this is what a critique will do to you! This is so different from the first version that I can't even look at them side by side because my brain explodes. Just to be clear, though, the big changes that came from the critique were the darkening of the mountains and the tweaking of the composition. Everything else is a result of working on it more. Is it the final version yet? Probably not.

New stuff--whoo!  I spent the last 2 months alternately being sick and slacking off, and I apologize. BUT by slacking, I mean of course doing awesome stuff like sword training, trapeze, reading and writing!  Well, ok--I played some video games, too.

At any rate, first off:

 "Koi-Ai"

Finished this just recently--those scales took me quite a while. I'm calling it a digital illustration because it's inspired from a short story (think fairy tale) I wrote recently. I suppose that, technically speaking, it's not an illustration, though, because it's not illustrating a particular scene. Whatever. In any case, hoping to get it published at some point...

Next off, my big project: a mini fantasy comic. I've decided it's HIGH TIME to get serious and really move forward with focus. Doing various personal paintings is interesting for me, of course, and I do learn a lot, but it's probably not the best way to market myself in the concept art arena, which is what I'm going to target.  So:

Panel 1 Progress

Panel 1 Final (?)

I put a question mark because I was setting out for more realism, but it ended up like this--was it meant to be? I sort of suspect that by the time I get to the final panel, I'll have learned so much and my style will have developed more, so I might have to come back and redo this. Oh, well. This is the first "environment" I've ever painted!

For anyone wondering--the Leviathan Queen is still in progress and probably will be for some time, especially in light of my new project.

Anyway. Stay tuned.

Finished!  Actually, I'll probably tweak it more--you know, 'cause I always do...

24 hrs later - Yup, I tweaked it just a tad.