Giant

Materials: Pencil and paper then painted in Adobe Photoshop

The original drawing is shaded with the markers I mentioned in an earlier post but I really wanted to add colour to him and so I set about using a bright Red/Orange light from the right side and and a cooler light from the left. I altered his face, the length of the chain on the flail and tweaked the shape of his head and helmet as they didn't quite work for me. Before you question the dog heads, I do not intend any creature harm, however, I felt that they best illustrated his no s**t attitude towards life. Just don't get hit with the mouldy foot! Enjoy.

Obi Wan - quick sketch

Materials: Pencil and paper

Though I love the Star Wars movies and some of their related paraphenalia I've never bothered with any drawings of the characters. After I saw the work of Tom Hodges I had to give it a go and this sketch of Obi Wan was a bit of fun. I really like it however, as you will find out, I tend to stick to my own creations rather than draw existing characters.

Arianna: An old favourite

Materials: Pencil and paper then some smudging work in Adobe Photoshop

Created for a computer game I designed for a competition. Arianna was one of the characters and looking back she really doesn't have the most practical outfit! I recall a few comments when I first showed this drawing as I had never created anything quite so sexy before. Still one of my favourites as it's one of my earliest images drawings that really started to show my knowledge of proportion and anatomy (okay the bottom is a little big). I recall that things just clicked when I drew this and the next few I attempted were rubbish by comparison... Don't know if other artists experience that but it can be frustrating. Anyway, enjoy.

Wandering warrior: An old favourite

Materials: Pencil, Fine liner and coloured using Kurecolor markers

Drawn around the same time as the Cleric but this concept just flowed onto the paper. I didn't plan anything in particular but felt the person was a traveller of some sort. Nothing else to add really, I just think he's cool. Enjoy.

Kick ass Cleric: An old favourite

Materials: Pencil, fine liner and coloured using cool grey Kurecolor markers

One of the few images I have where I have included the different stages. Every game I played that featured a cleric seemed to show the same old stereo types and I had the thought "What would a cool cleric who kicks ass look like?" On his back are two small hammers and he has his staff of course. The bottom right image is the quick visualisation version that lacked movement. I liked his clothing but the image felt flat and boring. With the top right version you see I added movement to the fabric and cleaned up the design. The largest image is the final version and was one of my first experiments with the Kurecolor markers. They are really expensive but when used on bleed proof paper their effect is fantastic. Definitely one of my real favourites and I hope you like it too. Enjoy.

Beautiful Ranger: An old favourite

Materials: Pencil and paper

I must have drawn this character about Five times before I reached a design that worked for me. I wanted her armour and weapon to reflect her respect for her natural habitat. The leaf shield, boots and leaf like curves of fabric round her back are one aspect. Her sword is decorated with a vine like motif to further emphasise her love of the forest. Admittedly she may have used a little too much Herbal Essence on that shiny hair but there's nothing wrong with a bit of artistic licence. Enjoy.

Trojan: An old favourite

Materials: Pencil and paper

One of the few images that I really can't remember what inspired it other than wanting to draw someone with a mad weapon. As if it's not enough to be hit with the hammer the thought of being smacked round the head with spiked balls is just not fair. His hammer arm is too long but I wanted to emphasise the power in his body and left it that way. Enjoy

Folium Viridis: An old favourite

Materials: Pencil and paper

My brother used to play Everquest and his main character was an Elven Ranger. As a gift I drew his character for him and of all the Everquest characters I illustrated this is by far my favourite. There are one or two anatomy issues such as the height of the arrow and bow (should be higher) and the thigh of his front leg is a tad long. Still, I love it and that's why it's here. Enjoy.

Beautiful lady: An old favouite

Materials: Pencil and paper, then scanned into photoshop and painted

I was inspired to try out a more angular, simple way of defining forms when I looked at the work of Tom Hodges. He is an amazing artist and has worked on some Star Wars projects amongst other things. I was astounded by how simple some of his drawings looked and yet when I tried to emulate and experiment with his style I found it difficult. This is one of the best examples of my interpretation of a more angular figure. I like the clean lines, dynamic pose and the simplicity of the forms. Enjoy.

Greb the swamp creature: An old favourite

Click the image for a larger version

Materials: Drawn in pencil then inked with a fine liner, scanned ito Photoshop and painted.

Inspired by Dexter Jetster From Star Wars episode II Attack of the Clones. Dexter has Four arms whereas Greb has Two and there really aren't many similarities. I liked the way Dexter's weight was illustrated through his movement. I loved the texture of his skin, his muscle tone and how his folds of fat seemed real. I tried to convey that Greb is aquatic and has elements of a frog (facial features and neck) and an alligator (armoured back.) I wanted his skin to look softer on the front but more scaly and hard round his joints and fingers etc. I hope you enjoy it.

Dragon Slayer: An old favourite

Click the image for a larger version.

Materials: Pencil and paper

One of my favourite pieces of work and perhaps one of my best. This is a re-imagining of the original piece of work that wasn't quite what I envisaged (trying to find a scanned version to add). Here you see the original pencil version and the shaded final. The design process was to create someone who respected their prey and therefore all his weapons and armour have trinkets taken from the creatures he has slain. He made his armour from dragon scales, uses claws and teeth as parts of his sword and daggers and so on. Enjoy.

A new beginning

For quite some time now I've hosted my artwork online but not made anywhere near as much effort as I should have to get it noticed. With this blog and www.conceptart.org this will change. My old website is still available to view at www.sketch.talktalk.net but due to family life I stopped updating it last year. My old site was a pain to update because the design I used required updating of at least 3 parts of the code for a single image. I've chosen a blog because I can update it from anywhere, quite easily and it's far easier to upload images.

This blog will host my favourite pieces and will be home to my latest updates. Some of which may appear in their rough form before being fleshed out as the days go by. I draw whenever I can get a few spare minutes and I find that sitting on the bus, whilst being a little too bumpy for anything other than pre-vis is a good place. I draw inspiration from the world around me and it may take the form of seeing someone in unusual or striking clothing, someone I think is beautiful or interesting either because of their physical appearance or their attitude, an unusual pose, tv, adverts, games, artwork on the web... The list is endless.

I hope you enjoy looking at my work and I look forward to your constructive comments and feelings on my pieces.

Thank you for reading