Friday, December 30, 2011

Infernal Devices sketches

From my tumblr, to you! Some fan art for the Infernal devices series! Also an excuse to put Sketchbook Pro through it's paces.


Jem and Tessa. Pro kept crashing while I was trying to finish this up. I think it's not a fan of this particular love-triangle pairing.


Jem and Will. Oh Will, you and your Demon Pox ;)

I'm going to have a lot of fun refining these guys (and ladies, of course) in my spare time!

Thursday, December 29, 2011

Large Endeavour

So I endeavored to do a large-ish group image project! Larger than anything I've done as of yet, at least. I mentioned it in the last post I made. Thought you'd all be interested in an update:
... And a bit more work done on it still!

The holiday rush caught me by surprise. I meant to have this finished in time for Boxing day but...
Also I had been working on this on a PC based machine with Paint Tool Sai. But now I've managed to procure a copy of Sketchbook Pro and CS5 respectively for my Mac! This is wonderful as I'm no longer dependent entirely on one machine for my work. Also it opens up more opportunity for streaming properly!

And! ... I really missed working on a Mac!

Anyway, switching over mid-project is always a challenge. Buttons and etc change over... But it's been a fun challenge!

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Things in Motion, projects and more!

I've got a lot of bits and bobs in motion here! Many I hope to add to my portfolio page soon.

Here's a cropping from a commission in progress:

It's much further along, and into the detailing stages now. Colours adjusted, etc. The bunker background was giving me the most issue, but I've settled on something I like!


Then I had this CRAZY IDEA for a group style commission. The concept is simple: create a scene, and perhaps define one or two solidified characters within it, then stage the rest as sketch 'dummies' and offer up those different spots for sale!

This is an idea I had purely for fun.
Am I a bit of a masochist? Absolutely. But how can I expect to learn if I don't challenge myself!
My actors are all solidified and I'll be streaming segments of this piece periodically! and (hopefully) have it complete in time for Christmas!


and then some Ookami sketches for fun:

Both "Young" and "Older" as he will appear in The Refuge (eventually) Older Ookami is such an interesting guy to me, and I'm sad that gesture of him pulling off his tie got cut off by the scanner. I'll have to draw that separately as I like how that turned out.
Fun fact: Ookami doesn't really smoke anymore. I tried it on the character for a while, but decided it was too Cliche'.

and finally, I'm in the process of assisting my wife in a book project! Some business for a local woman (very nice) that she'd like to have for her newphews in time for Christmas.

Not a big production or anything, but also a fun set of challenges. I'm assisting Iron-Gibbet style. I.E. helping with layout/composition/rough sketching. I've never drawn tractors before today!
I'll post what I can when I'm able.

Ah, speaking of which, three more sketches to go! Back to work!

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Fresh Coat of Paint!

Just a quick bob to say that I finally applied an update to my portfolio site:

http://www.aromaninvasion.com !

The resume and portfolio page need a proper update, but everything has a fresh new look. So! Browse, peruse (hire?) and enjoy!

Thursday, December 1, 2011

NaNoWriMo-Fail. Exerpt.

So yeah. I totally failed! But at the same time I did not. I solved a LOT of story issues, namely how to get started, which is the whole reason why I opted for the challenge.

Here's an excerpt I already posted:

Ookami swore softly at the sight of blood running down the man’s face. He bent down and checked for a pulse and exhaled when he found it. Unconscious. Examining him more closely, he found a small gash on the side of his head. Not too deep. He intended only to give this man a scare before leaving his mark, but he was glad to see he hadn’t accidentally killed him.


...And that's it. Any more would be too much right now.
This is supplementary material for the other comic my wife and I collaborate on called "The Refuge". I know I've mentioned it before. I don't fancy myself a professional writer or anything, but it is fun to switch things up sometimes. Explore characters, relationships, things that may or may not be seen in what is posted to the public, etc. I'm sure we'll release these stories in full some day, but... well, obviously not today!

Anyway, there's Christmas to set up around the house. Cheers!

Monday, November 28, 2011

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Guns Blazing!


Both of these ready for colour! Decided to tackle the 'armored' commissions since they seem daunting.

Really, the more I draw, the easier it gets! redrawing the mercs in the first pic for instance was taking the longest. I just flew through it today. The rifle our smoking friend is holding too. ref pic, quick sketch-ink.

I'm super happy and super excited to bring these to colour! But next time I'll be working on something else. But at lease these guys are ready!

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Omega Commissions: Changes and Updates

Omega Commissions: Changes and Updates: All right kids. I'm happy with this so I've made updates! NOTE: The tabs above! Each with their helpful points if interest. Notably Conside...


New blog up and running! Specifically for business. I'll probably cross post from here and there, but here will remain my primary art blog for EVERYTHING-business and pleasure.

Monday, November 14, 2011

Triumph

I actually have no idea what I'll name this when it's done.
KEEP YOUR OLD SKETCHBOOKS! You'll never know when those old ideas will come in handy! *gestures above*

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Ubisoft Deals With Sony for Assassin's Creed Movie

Ubisoft Deals With Sony for Assassins Creed Movie: Hollywood Not Pleased (Article)

Copypaste opinion from my tumblr post this morning:

To me it seems like movies and games have been colliding more and more. I've had more fulfillment in the games I've played than many of the movies I've watched lately.
Game Producers are story tellers.  Games tell interactive stories.  I don't understand why the segregation is necessary. I understand why the idea is scary.
Hollywood (in general) wrote the book on film making, sure. But I think it's afraid to admit that they're going a bit stale. How many films have relied on remakes and book properties and milking cash cows? The ONLY original film I've enjoyed lately was The Rite.
And if I'm really honest with myself, it was primarily because the leading actor (Not Anthony Hopkins, the young kid) Has the PERFECT face to play a character of mine in my wildest dreams even if he's a bit old. (lolol) The Woman in Black (With Daniel Radcliffe) also looks interesting. I'm really hoping it's awesome.
Most films these days Are slappily put together and rely way to heavily on special effects (AKA "SHINY COLOURS")  to distract the what-I-assume-to-be Sheep of an audience that Hollywood has been treating us as. So In that sense, I've just felt as though movies are an insult to my intelligence lately. Like they're talking down to me because they've gotten so hung up on themselves they've lost sight of what actual storytelling is.

"Just throw some colours and 3D their way. They'll fall for that"
Game companines have to spend time to develop their franchises. Especially those that span over multiple titles. That requires an engaging story FIRST and then the graphics and such to support that. And after doing ALL OF THAT WORK, of course the company wants to make sure that their mind baby is taken care of and the story that they intended from the beginning is told properly.
You don't want to spend all that work crafting some intricate glass blown vase only to hand it over to some clumsy idiot who's probably going to drop it, after all.
Obviously, I hope that this works. I love the Assassins Creed series, I really do not want to see it fail as a film-or get hung up on the development process.
Maybe if this film succeeds, Hollywood should take note instead of being afraid. After all, an expansion of your resources is never a bad thing. Team up with new thinkers and embrace new concepts, then maybe I'll stop waiting for movies to come out on free tv/netflix or something.

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Misc Study sketches




Mis sketches from various sources. Books, photos, some Requiem Mask,  and also Asere was there!

Thursday, October 27, 2011

NaNoWriMo

My good friend reminded me that next month is National Novel Writing Month.
Considering the outline I've been sitting on for forever, I figured that next month would be a good time to put some words onto paper!


So...I'M GOING TO DO JUST THAT!
Also I have a whole shwack of sketches to upload. But later, though

Saturday, October 22, 2011

Epsilon



 I almost forgot I had finished this! Turned out rather nicely, I think.










I scanned a whole bunch of pages from my sketchbook... But I can't find the flash stick I saved them to. Whoops.





Wednesday, October 19, 2011

In the Doghouse

So I did a Stream a thon this weekend. Here are a couple of my favourites:







And below is a teaser illustration I did for the book "In the Doghouse of Justice" by Kyell Gold earlier this year! The work was so frantic I had nearly forgotten about it! 













Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Fireballs and Mechs

   Just a slew of recently finished pieces! Many of them from the last post. And by many I mean all of them.





Had my wife help me out on some of my colour choices! Particularly with That firey cat. ;)
The inks I did this morning. Mechs are still a bit of a challenge for me, but practice makes perfect!
 

As for writing, I've been in a rut. Stuck in that "First chapter" syndrome. While I've been able to work out a lot of story kinks-and wrote the first ever outline of my life! (as opposed to the make-it-up-as-you-go approach) ...I can't get past the first chapter. I have some good writer friends and favourite authors that all say "Just write", which is fine, but I never have the time!
Soon, though, soon...


Monday, September 26, 2011

This, that, and inspiration

  So I do like blogger's new pic uploading thing. Here's a whole lot of things! 


Fireeee (commission)

Onigiri! (Commission)



Crunch! (commission)
Beautiful music (Mortal Instruments fan art for fun)

 
...and this guy! (commission)

It's kinda nice to just let loose and draw as it appears sometimes. It's easy to get caught up in how busy things are and forget that. As an artist of any means (writing, sculpting, music, etc) if it starts to feel like work, it's worth stepping back and going back to the basics of what made you fall in love with your trade in the first place! 

While I haven't seen it (recently, I know the movie by heart!), the rerelease of The Lion King kickstarted that frame of mind. A movie I loved (still do) and endless hours practicing characters I could never seem to get right!

Now it all seems so simple.

Never forget the things that inspire you, friends.



Friday, September 23, 2011

I Need an Adult

So It's been a while since I've updated! embarassing, actually.
Well, befor I get into things about stuff (and stuff about things), I'll just re-begin things with this piece I posted everywhere else but here. ;)



Oh Alistair, there was a reason you were a lady-only romance option. That's just uncomfortable. :C

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Many a thing

Our live have been consumed by home rennovations lately


Alistair from Dragon Age (and Dragon Age 2, i guess) just a screengrab... for now.

A commission done by me and my best friend, Donovan! I did the line art, he supplied the colour! I will add this to my portfolio once I finally finished the website reconstruction!




This last one may be a LITTLE Not worksafe! Be advised before your scroll!

















Claudia... orage cat... you're at it again. Being creepy. Poor Ookami is going to have a complex.

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Being an Artist

This is an EXCELLENT set of words recently written by an artist I have admired for a long time. Also, he's an excellent guy. So bask in the excellents, and honesty of what he has to say on the subject:

It really, really, is about practice and getting your hands dirty.

It doesn't matter what your last image looked like, only what you plan to do next.

The finished image is a pattern that's already been made. Once you decide it's done, then really all it's good for is progressing away from as a learning tool. Or perhaps marketing. Which might make you a student, or a salesman - but as far as being an artist goes, that only happens when you are making art. The finished image is useless. Maybe it was your masterpiece, or a crappy warm-up sketch with unfamiliar tools - but once you step away from it, then it's no longer art in the making.

Which means don't get hung up on stuff you made that you don't like. It's out of you and fixed into form and frankly inert, unless you do more to it (in which case it's still present tense, not past). And don't preen over stuff you made that you do like, or endlessly regurgitate that thing you do that you think you do so well (or at least do comfortably). Instead, get busy making something else, something new.

Your past creations do not limit nor define your untried future efforts. You are completely free to draw your next image in any way you want, in any way you haven't tried before. Because whatever you made before is dead, unless you choose to bring it with you, unless you choose to stay stuck in it.

That art is dead the minute you set down your pencil. Oh, this is not to say it's not valuable, or worth considering, or admiring or critiquing or whatever. But that's the realm of the viewer, the critic, the colleague, the rival, the fan, blah blah etc. But for the artist (by definition: the one making art) the finished piece, however, is simply in the way to the next thing. It's taking up space on the easel, tying up processing power on your computer, filling up your mind with judgments and assessments of old marks and old lines.

Here's what you do: when you finish something, you turn it over and begin again. And when you finish that, you start something else. And so on, until your hands fail you.

Anything else, from wallowing in your perceived Failures As An Artist - or worse: wallowing in your perceived Triumphs As An Artist sucks away time, thought and energy that you could be using to uncover Whatever Comes Next. You kind of need to stop looking in the rearview mirror and get on with the drawing at hand. Unless, OBVIOUSLY, this does not apply to you :B

tl;dr -

Being an artist does not mean accumulating a collection of beautiful images; mere inventory.

It could all burn in a fire, and it would not matter. It means constantly starting over and making.

-Christ Goodwin ( http://www.goodwinillustration.com/)



Honestly, this guy has a way with words.


Monday, July 25, 2011

The Refuge: Inception

So! This is a treat. Out of the blue, my wife decided to finally dig her heels into a project 13 years in the making. Writing, planning, rewriting, reworking, stopping, starting, falling-in-and-out-of-love again project.

The Refuge!


I've blogged about it before, referenced it before.
This is the thing I've dreamed about, have been writing for. No doubt you've seen this guy's face above. It's a story I've been itching to tell, and now, finally, it's going to happen. I won't seem so crazy!

...Well, I take that back.

Requiem Mask was a bit of an experiment, I confess. To see how well, efficient, and effective the collaborative efforts my wife and I can be. Some parts I draw, some parts she draws, always we come together.
Honestly, the amount of love Requiem Mask has recieved, and continues to recieve will always amaze me.


Requiem Mask won't stop, but I hope our fans and friends will grow to love and appreciate these oddly familiar faces as much as not only my wife and I have, but our surrounding friends and family have as well.

The Refuge is an original story, based loosely on the events of our lives. It's been a long and crazy road, and I am sincerely hoping everyone will enjoy the ride!

This gif my wife made sums it up rather accuratley;



More coming soon!

The Bet

So, there's a webcomic I collaborate on with my wife called Requiem Mask. I'm pretty proud of it, we have a loyal group of fans, it's fun! But it's also a labor of love, so often it gets delayed when contracts and such come along. I keep our readers updated to the best of my abilities every week on our forum.
On one such occasion, a contract of mine was running rather long. So, I made a deal with myself; either I finish by the next update, or the protagonist kisses his antagonist square on the mouth.

Well, I lost that bet and I try to make good;
And in glorious colour, courtesy of my wife;




Trust me, this is NOT a good thing for them!

Friday, July 22, 2011

Stark and a Gollum


I felt like drawing Farscape's Stark! I didn't think I'd like him as much as I do.
It's the crazy, I think. I'll throw some colour on this soon.

My wife said "Draw Claudia [our roomate's cat] as a gollum!" so I said "....okay"
Naturally, I had to have both anthro and 'cat-lump' versions.

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Space Invaders and Prose


A Krogan enjoys one of the greatest games Earth has to offer.
Actually, this piece, and "Space Chips" were submitted to the San Diego Comic Con Bioware Fan Art showcase, in colour of course. I'd appreciate it if folks let me know if they saw them about!

Also, here's a bit of rejected writing from something I've been working on for quite some time, and going:

He was currently engrossed in the game he was playing, brow furrowed in concentration as the pale white robed figure of his avatar perched precariously on the edge of a rooftop.

“I’ve done this before.” He said.

“Famous last words.”

“Shut up.” Dr. Anders smiled crookedly.

The figure on the TV dived awkwardly off the rooftop, clumsily lashing a blade out before his body landed on the dirt below. The game screen shuddered and displayed a game over message. Anders swore.



.... and that's it for now.

More later. Always later.
(ten points if you can guess the game)

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Space chips and Super Cats

If I'm not careful, people might think that I'm an artist or something. ;)


So our roommate's cat- Claudia- is pretty much the best at everything. Vegeta works so hard to only get outshined by Goku... and now... this cat. :C


So these guys I came up with around watching all the Neat Things (tm) BioWare announced at this year's E3. Totally psyched for Mass Effect 3! But not so much more psyched than this guy. Although he probably wants to see more Turians. Turians all the time!

The more I find him in my sketchbook, the more I like him, but they both need names.
We'll see them again soon.

Angry faces

So much anger happening!


Oh Vegeta... (work in progress)


Those empty rooms just make me so mad! I think that's why Vegeta's mad too.

So we have a critter that should have a tail, and one that shouldn't. Although Vegeta should, but if you've watched Dragon Ball Z, then you know all about that. For our purposes, he doesn't have a tail.

Below him is a commission in progress. The composition allows for a tail, but I've opted out. Why? Because it doesn't serve a real purpose and you wouldn't see much more than a shape/blob of colour anyway. There will be a lot of things going on in the image. I can always add it in if I change my mind, though...

Oh, mind the knife.
That's how vegeta lost his tail, isn't it?

Monday, July 11, 2011

Helping Hands


RAKEM FRACKEM!
Darned giant Kangaroos!

Along with my blog's theme here's a thought;
I normally wouldn't have put a tail on the angry bear foreman, but... this time I thought it was just funny. :)

Friday, July 1, 2011


Hello folks! Many of you may be wondering what this blog is about. It's hard to describe that in such a short description (but I do try) so I hope I can make it clear as this blog finds more use.
Until then, enjoy the strange sketch.