Lemme spitball for a sec.

Reflecting on my art career, it reflects a lot of my other jobs and life in general. Living by the motto, "doing a lot with very little" is something that's been ingrained by upbringing, necessity, and inventiveness. I've been in companies where resources were tight and we had to wear many hats. Had to pull off projects that typically used 5 to 10 times the manpower. Work within very tight budgets and timelines of clients. There have been plenty of experiences where we made the conventionally impossible, possible and beautiful.

This doesn't just extend to *how* I do work though, but also what kind of work. I try to look for stuff in terms of simple shapes & make the most out of them. Create "a lot with a little" in terms of composition, color, storytelling, construction, etc.

Some may think that simpler design and illustration *is* simpler than something ornate. I'd argue it's just a different outlook - both require a lot of thought & effort, but the results are highly contrasted. But that's another part of what makes art beautiful - so many ways to get to so many different results. And even if two people take the same exact approaches, it can still end up with very different results.

So, I've had my mind on comics for a while.

Specifically, a comic idea that originated with Minecraft. But then it grew into something with its own characters, motivations, etc. etc.

This was done to 1) see how I fared at doing a comic page (because most of my life it's been character designs, one sheet illustrations, icons, etc.) and 2) give a nod to the story's Minecraft origins.

I'm a little nervous about sharing this stuff. I'm always glad to get constructive criticism, but my worry comes from newness. Doing about any other kind of illustration is something I have experience with. Stuff like this? It's like I'm learning to walk all over!

Made this while cooling down from today's projects.

I'm not entirely sure if I like it or not - on one hand, it's my first time playing with a lot of brushes, and it's been a while since I've tried to break out of some shapes/habits I adopt when just doodling.

On the other hand...? Not convinced I like how it looks. But it's good practice and there are some things I learned while doing it.

OK, dust this thing off, move this over here, and...

*ahem*

Hey folks! It's been a while!

I'm still making art, and I'm still all over the internet. Cases in point:

My dA page
A new(ish) Facebook page!
Now on Tumblr!
And always on Twitter!

Cool stuff I've done lately:

• Work featured in Udon's Tribute books (3 out of 4 so far!), with the most recent one (a WoW book) out this month!
• Designed backgrounds - from buildings and props to entire environments - for two iOS games from The Playforge (found here and here!)
• Made cool commissions ranging from work for an artist's comic (Misfortune High), to stuff in videogames, and so on
• Currently working with Timbuktoons on a project

I'm trying to fold this blog back into the circle of places that I check/update, although I could really do with finding a way to consolidate all these info dumps. Other than that, what are plans with this blog?

Not really sure - I use dA for general art posts, twitter to chat with other artists, tumblr for quick sketch/progress/wip dumps & share inspiring stuff, and facebook as just a fb "face" online...so...what could blogger do that the other formats can't?

Long form posting for one. So maybe stuff about art theory? Try to wrangle out the "why" of what I do? Not really sure...

One thing is for certain - I don't like the notion of letting these things languish, so I'll try to keep this page active.

The Hidden Content

aka taking tests!

I've been working the past few months on a few things that I can't show (yet?). One is a test for LEGO. Another is a test for Boom Studios (a comic publisher). Then I'm learning Maya for what would hopefully be content creation for a MMO.

We'll see how these go. In the meantime, I should be posting more sketches on a regular basis. This is a good thing. The reason why I'm able to? Not so good.

I'm working on my old workhorse computer, Locke, who has all the drivers needed for scanning, working, etc. It runs pretty slow, but at least it's still kicking.

A few months ago I got a much better computer as a hand me down. Dual core, good vid card, plenty of RAM...but it ran on 64-bit Win XP. Which my scanner has no known drivers for, along with other small compatibility issues. So a lot of sketches went unposted - the notion of plugging back in an older computer to do one specific thing didn't make much sense for me.

Now a new issue came up - the newer computer won't boot past the bios. So, I'm back on Locke full-time until the mess is sorted. On the bright side, more excuse to scan sketches!

The Wall

Hey folks!

I haven't been doing much updating here. After spending some time talking with other illustrators, going to conventions, and giving it some thought, I've decided this place should be used more for content right now, other than feeling the need to have something specific to show.

It used to be that I would update deviantart (heavily) with finished work, while this had a mix of that and some sketch stuff. One thing I've noticed in other blogs though, is that people also share information on how to do stuff or thoughts on certain issues in art, work, and visual communication.

I'm not 100% sure what I can add to this kind of conversation, but I think an effort should be made. If for nothing else, at least for my own sanity - sometimes the illustrators life is much like the mountain-dwelling hermit :p

Designed for Threadless

Hey folks!

I'm submitting a design for the "Threadless Loves Comics" contest! The winner gets paid, an iPad, plus a few trades of "Chew" along with their design showing up an issue of the comic.

Here's the link:

http://www.threadless.com/submission/290501/Tonsil_Hockey

So please, if you dig it, tell others about it! It's not up for voting yet (but when it does, I'll let you know) but I'm just concerned about getting some eyeballs on it first.

Smarter than the Average...You Know...

An artwork request - lots of open space for the type treatment going in.

It's BBQin' Time!

In before the 4th of July

PS - Happy Canada Day my northern cousins!

Red Cyclone!

Sure You Can!

Tonsil Hockey

Logo/shirt/something idea!

Summer Can Be Brutal

Happy Dave

Inspired by my girlfriend's roomate - we were all out at the beach this past week and she had mentioned something about hairy men...so I sketched Dave, the rainbow, and stars. Didn't have a layout in mind until working on it tonight.

June is National Safety Month

Guy and sign were done for work - all the extra treatments (type, tones, BG) were for fun!

Started an Etsy!

Check it out - http://herogear.etsy.com

Selling a few postcard sized prints to start, but the sky's the limit!

Also: Some new work (made for a friend):

Mini Updates

Been taking some time to work on a submission for Disney Animation's Talent Development Program. Looking to get into the Visual Development arm for 6 months and get some experience and face time with creatives already doing what I'm aiming for.

Outside that, just some daily sketching and big overhauls at home. Got a new TV and stand, had to do some major reorganizing between the old shelf space, the new stand, and my ridiculous collection of art books, comics, and...games!

Past few weeks have been exciting - Crewest Show, then Easter, then my girlfriend's birthday followed by mine the day after, then a new TV...*whew* Lots of blessings and lots of hustle.

Character Designs - Artists and Star Wars

Gallery opening at Crewest was a lot of fun! The night started slow but by the time I left, it was so crowded that folks spilled out into the streets!

Been drawing a lot for the Design a Character group on DA. These two assignments were fun. The artist was a 'prop' challenge where the chair had to be created first, then a character based on the chair. The Star Wars characters came from an opposites challenge - making two characters that play off the opposites of each other.

Super SF4 - Ibuki

Dudley - Street Fighter 3 (and 4)

Another in this series of SF characters. This time with more deliberate design in pattern and badge/frame/motif around the character.