Spectrum Shiva

Just finished an interesting assignment;  a play-mat for a collectible card game company, Card Advantage.  It allowed me to try an experiment.  I've been meaning to try to mix how I use traditional B&W  line art with digital colour for a while and the content of this image really allowed for that.

Line art:  pen and ink on 11x17" 2-ply Bristol paper.

Finished illustration: digital colour, 14x24" @450dpi 

I'm trying to remove some self-imposed limits with this.  To no longer approach a piece thinking it has to look like digital colour under a black ink drawing or that a painting has to avoid line contours or textures.

~R

The New Doctor

Not as big a Dr. Who fan as some, but I'd become one if they cast Ian McShane as the new Doctor and let him play the character as Al Swearingen from DEADWOOD.

~R

Dungeoneering Preview

This month's challenge at the Outland Collective is Dungeoneering 101 -- see the whole piece over here: http://outlandcollective.outlandentertainment.com/

~R

Revised Batman Sketch cover

Decided to do a little more work on this sketch cover before listing it on ebay.  The Copic airbrush background looked far too pink, so I deepened it, added some other colour with a looser texture overall.

I like doing wrap-arounds on these blank covers, but dealing with the crease and staples is troublesome, so I'll go back to black and white (or primarily B&W with a touch of colour in spots).

If you're interested, the auction can be found here: http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330928537233

~R

Thor - Classic Mythology II

Just got the clearance to share this.

Thor, a special promotional card for Perna Studio's Classic Mythology II limited edition sketch card series.  The announcement and final appearance of the card can be seen here: http://www.deviantart.com/art/Thor-Promo-Card-P3-372948839

Here's the B&W line art:

I'll have 11x17" giclee prints of the colour version available at the Fan Expo in August.

I'd really like to do at least another ten of these Norse mythology pieces and I'll likely do a larger Valkyrie as a personal piece for August as well.

~R

Ottawa 2013

Had a blast last weekend at the Ottawa Comic Con last weekend.  Here's a few sketches from the show.  The new smart phone takes pretty good pictures. Actually started a commission just before the show ended, got home, decided I can do better and restarted it. I'll share that later on.

Did get a delayed bout of con crud/flu, though I seem to be recovering already.  Steve Niles's post-con cough turned out to be bronchitis, so send him good vibes for a speedy recovery.

Particularly enjoyed the company of Dale Keown, George Perez, Steve Niles, Ben Templesmith (who gave me a wicked Lovecraft print!), Arthur Suydam, and the great folks from Paradise Comics of Toronto (who treated me to a most excellent steak dinner Saturday night).

Would certain say yes to a return visit to this convention!

~Richard

Conan Sketch

Working on a personal Conan piece when I can.  Finally happy with the main figure.

~R

Batman Sketch Cover

So, I have a few blank cover books laying around the studio and I decided to do one as a quick warm-up.

I got a little carried away.

~R

Hulk Commission

Private commission. 10x15. pen and ink on bristol.

Dracula: Son of the Dragon

My amazing artist pal Max Douglas/Salgood Sam has a Kickstarter under way with writer Mark Sable for their historical horror series, Dracula, Son of the Dragon here http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/78669939/dracula-son-of-the-dragon/posts

As I'm putting this up there are just 66 hours left and it's very close to hitting it's goal. I really recommend checking it out!

Figure Drawing March 28

A sampling from this week's Open Studio Figure Drawing session.  Used some willow charcoal in addition to regular charcoal for the first time in ages;  forgot how much versatility it had (and I also forgot how much of it will literally fall off the paper if you roll it it up to pop into a tube).  Just a gesture and a pair of longer studies.  Next week is the last of the sessions -- already going to miss the weekly life drawing.  There's so little of it available out in my area.

~R

Sketching a Head

Made this for my class and a friend suggested I might want to share it online.  It starts with the premise you have to learn the facial/skull anatomy no matter what construction method you use, so it's likely better to start with the shape of the head you want to draw rather than force a circle, block or cylinder into that shape.

There was a whole lot of talking and demonstrations that went along with this handout, but I'm not too keen to type all that up right now.  If you've any specific questions, feel free to ask in a comment.

~R

Stark Truth About Gay Marriage

~R

Figure Drawing march 21

Longer studies (5-20 minutes) from last week. Charcoal on paper.

~R

Gestures - March 21

Still catching up on posting some pics of the work from the Open Studio Figure Drawing sessions.  Above is a sampling of the 1-minute gestures with Kiera-Arielle.

~R

Figure Drawing March 14

Catching up on a few things -- including posting a few pics from the open figure drawing session two weeks back.  Some of the rust in my life drawing is shaking loose, but it's still rough.

Caught some interesting shadows from a studio window and liked the cool blue light colliding with the warm golden light inside the studio so I kept clicking them despite the potential for distraction.

The model, Andrae, was spectacular and will be returning for the next session at Durham College on the 28th.

~R

Nightmare - Outland Collective

I little while ago I joined an artist group called The Outland Collective.  Every month they do a sketch challenge and the above is a portion of my first entry there.  This month the subject is 'nightmare'.

I'd love it if you all would click on over and see the fine bunch of people producing some amazing artwork there and, perhaps, take a peek at the whole sketch I did! http://outlandcollective.outlandentertainment.com/

~Richard

Figure Drawing 7 March 2013

Organised a series of five open studio figure drawing sessions at Durham College for Thursday evenings.  Open studio means anyone can drop in to draw (after paying the $10 model fee) and it isn't an instructed class.  Last week was the first session. . . 

Gestures

5-minutes

10 minutes

15 minutes

 All are charcoal on cartridge paper.

If you're in the Oshawa area Thursday night, I can't think of a better thing you could be doing!

~R

Toronto Comicon Day Two Sketches

I added some black linework on the Thor with a Copic after the black pencil crayon could only go as dark as a pencil on the stock used for the cover, but that was after the pic was taken.

And another Wolverine.

Toronto Comicon 2013 Day One

Sketches!!!
First day of the 2013 Toronto Comicon has wrapped and I'm off for the second in a few hours.

~R