More stuff I do when I actually have work to finish

Just tell me that it's not possible, nay, LIKELY...
To be a great horror writer, you need an oddly shaped noggin.  I'm convinced.

Card Game Update!

So ARC The Game's new website is up and running which is AWESOME!  Granted, I do miss having my piece fill the browser like it did while everything was under construction, but alas alack.  Their new website is http://www.timetravelgame.com/ and my cards can be found in the Mercenary and Engineer decks.  Keep your eyes peeled for when the game hits shelves!

In other news Issue #2 of Things Better Left Unsaid will be available in early April.  If you haven't picked up the first issue then...well, golly it'd be groovy if you did.  All the info is at www.jpfreemanpresents.com

And that, as they say, is that.

What I do when I'm supposed to be working

This.  Although I have to admit it felt good to just goof off with cartoony stuff for a minute or two. 

Stuff and junk

Really quick update because I haven't in a while.  Lotsa things have been goin' on and I've been swamped.  But stuff is coming to fruition against all odds!

First off!  The comic I'm illustrating, "Things Better Left Unsaid," is up for sale at http://www.indyplanet.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=6539
as well as in select comic shops in Maine.  You can order your copy right through that site and enjoy it thoroughly.  I'm not the writer, so you're better off reading the synopsis there.  I just draw crap.

Also, Time Flux pre-constructed decks are on presale (that's a lotta "pre's" now that I look at it) at
www.timefluxgame.info.
A couple of the cards therein have artwork previously seen on this blog.  It's also a super fun card game with a crazy in-depth story.  A lot of love went into the project and I highly recommend it.

And that's it for right now!  Working on paintings that may someday get finished (I hope) and end up here, but in the mean time BACK TO WORK!

New stuffs! Huzzah!!!

Quick update:  New painting!!  For the same project as the first, but more DYNAMIC!  Sorry for the shouting, I just finished a big ol' cup of joe here.  What would you do if you were being portal-ed somewhere you didn't want to go?

What's more, be sure to check out www.timewarsccg.com and if you have a few bucks, donate to their Kickstarter.  It's gonna be an awesome game and donating now is the best way to get your hands on some limited edition cards and stuff!

Boy I'm bad at being punctual!

Allo, all!  Sorry for the absence...been doin too many things at once but hey, that's how I roll, yo.  Is that what the kids say these days?   I would rather like to come across as "hep."

But I have a new piece, so it's all good bro (hep?)!  It's for a (for now) undisclosed upcoming project.  But I can at least show you the art I'm doing for it!  And so I present....

.....this


And that's all I'm a'sayin for now.


Stay jiggy with it, y'all!!







Hep?

On improvising...

SO!  Been working with a painting recently, something a little more lighthearted than I usually go for.  But it's been a blast so far.  Here's a quick detail of the rough/underpainting:

Now...this whole idea did not come without it's....erm....unique issues.  Luckily, having spent all of art-making career incredibly broke, I've sort of learned to MacGuyver things together to make reference photos.  I'm not talking about making maquettes here, although that's a pretty great option if you're stuck, because, frankly, I can't afford to dish out Scupley money.  And Sculpey isn't so great for BIG props.  I needed a metal helmet for the reference, and although I have an ever-growing collection of hats (ranging from Victorian top hats to 40's style stocking caps), I actually don't own any sort of helmet.  Not even one of those Halloween, plastic Viking helmets I could pry the horns out of.  What to do?

This is when you sit down and think through what exactly is involved with the prop you need.  In my case?  Metal + helmet shape.  Well...tin foil is metal.  And it's the right level of "shiny" as far as what I'm looking for, so there's that.  And bowls are pretty helmet-shaped, right?  All I'd have to do is "build" on a lip to make it look legit.  Imagine my mother's surprise when she came home to find me rooting through her glass popcorn bowls, methodically trying each of them on head.  Luckily, luckily, one sat on my noggin correctly and I figured if I only needed to wear it for a little while to get the photo, the whole "this is cutting off my circulation" problem wouldn't be TOO big a deal.  

To make a long story short (too late), the picture above is actually me sitting with a tin-foil covered popcorn bowl on my head.  It looks much less goofy in the painting, which is good news for us all.

The lesson?  You don't need fancy, expensive props (most of the time-I'm not going to say always because I refuse to be held accountable for your results).  With a little ingenuity, and a lot of patience, you can pretty much make anything you need for a painting.  Provided, of course, you're not afraid of looking like a lunatic.