New Gallery: OTHER FEATURES

I've added a new gallery, Other Features, to give a clearer pathway to viewing my older work in From the Archives and to put a spotlight on my new features Exhumed and Saturday Sketch.  Each section has selected pieces as examples of style and content as well as a main link to all my artwork under those individual headers.  Check it out and let me know what you think.  Enjoy!

UPDATE: Psyche Delectus Tenebrarum

I just completed another update to the Psyche Delectus Tenebrarum gallery. Thumbnails for all 2012 posts are now up in their entirety.  I hope you enjoy!

Psyche Delectus: Church of the Burden

Minds shut tight like maidens of iron,
their bodies were only ever formed
to service the dissolution
of their God's hunger.

Saturday Sketch: Classic Hellcat

Marvel Comics Hellcat, Patsy (Walker) Hellstrom, was one of the first female heroines I read as a kid.  There was something about her simple design and bright primary colored costume that called to me.  Her later marriage to the Son of Satan and connection to demonic forces also made her very intriguing.

{2.5x3.5,  created in Adobe Photoshop}

I claim no copyright for the properties represented in the Saturday Sketches.  All copyrights and trademarks are retained by their respective owners.  I make no money from what I am presenting here.  It is presented for portfolio purposes only.  

Exhumed: Dark Magus

This piece was originally posted on EXP3 back when I was still posting artwork there.  In the original sketch the character was a villain from a fantasy story.  In the color rework, I feel like he has taken on a more mythic quality.  Now he seems more like the dark magus of the plains of sorrow or some such title.  For this rework, I added elements from another older sketch that this seemed to echo in tone. 

{8x5.33,  Graphite with Color added in Adobe Photoshop}

From The Archives: Loose Zombie Head Sketch

Here we have the last of loose zombie sketches.  Because of the size of this sketch, I had to piece it together from multiple scans.  It came through mostly okay, but there are a few patches of variation between the scans.  This piece is the last of the loose zombie sketches.

{11x17,  Graphite}

Featured Creature: Gift of the Pyxis

Sigurd and Donna were fighting again.  Behind me, at the second table of artifacts, they stood over the ancient box that had been found at the new dig site and all but spat in each others faces.  An inscription translation was the item of contention this time.  I tried to concentrate on translating the runes on the sword in front of me, but they continued to escalate.

Professor Lincoln wasn't at camp today and in his absence they always went after each other.  They had not liked each other from the moment they had met.  A week in the cramped quarters of the base camp had not helped their temperaments at all.  Any professional courtesy had quickly withered until only venomous disagreement remained.  All common ground was lost.

"The inscription clearly calls this chest the Pyxis of Union!"  Sigurd said with derision.  Donna sighed heavily and flipped several pages in her notebook.  She read from her notes and glared back at Sigurd.

"The rune for death and transfiguration is clearly displayed at several key points on the chest.  It is the Pyxis of Death!"

Psyche Delectus: Red Wizard in the Grey Temple

In that forgotten place,
he became the flickering flame
at the heart of the lantern.

Saturday Sketch: Classic Mephisto

I always found something very unsettling about Mephisto whenever he'd show up in a classic Marvel Comics story.  Beyond the fact that the implication was that he was THE Devil, his presentation was always creepy.  All these years I've never been able to put my finger on it exactly.  

UPDATE: Psyche Delectus Tenebrarum

Just a quick heads up from the Psyche Delectus Tenebrarum.  I've added more links for posts from September 2012 - December 2012 at the bottom of the thumbnail gallery and more images to the slideshow.  I hope you enjoy!

Exhumed: Searching The Stars

This piece was always about vastness and immensity, so with the color, I tried to push the depth of the space within the piece further.  Also I feel that with the color I was able to give the figure in the foreground a bit more substance and form as opposed to the heavily designed shapes in the black and white version.  I apologize for the lack of darkness or horror here.  Exhumed is about previous posts and as much as I try to keep Zombie Bites completely dark, sometimes the light just slips in.

{11x14,  Ink and white acrylic with color added in Adobe Photoshop}

From the Archives: Loose Chunky Zombie

Here's another loose zombie sketch with a chunky undead emerging from some bloody chamber of horrors.  With this one I had a bit of trouble getting it scanned.  The original drawing was fairly light and on a heavier stock paper.  This sketch had been folded like several other pieces from this month and the creases were very dramatic in the scan.  I had to play around in Photoshop a bit to erase the creases.

{11x17,  Graphite}

Featured Creature: The Shard

"Nick.  I've found something, something amazing."

Tony looked ill.  His skin was very pale and his eyes had dark circles beneath them.  His hair was disheveled and he had obviously been wearing his wrinkled tee shirt and jeans for several days.  As we walked across campus, he developed a slick sheen of sweat on his face and neck.

"When was the last time you slept?"

"That doesn't matter.  What I found is gonna change everything!"  He raised his arms up as danced around euphorically.

We turned the corner of the mathematics building and moved around the backside, a shortcut through the faculty parking lot to the cafeteria.  The building butted up against a large grassy field at the edge of the university property.  Birds chirped and danced in the sunlit grass. I enjoyed the warm afternoon air despite Tony's cryptic euphoria.

Psyche Delectus: In the Bloodlands

Even the soil weeps
for the imperative horror of life
on those blighted plains.

Saturday Sketch: Classic Man-Thing

I've always had a fondness for Marvel Comics' Man-Thing since I first saw him in Marvel Teamup #68.  Something in this simple guardian of the Nexus of All Realities appealed to me.  That particular issue was also the first appearance of D'spayre, one of my favorite Marvel concept entities.  I've drawn Man-thing before here and D'spayre as well.  Although Morbius got posted first, this piece was actually the first Saturday Sketch I did.

{2.5x3.5, created in Adobe Photoshop}

I claim no copyright for the properties represented in the Saturday Sketches.  All copyrights and trademarks are retained by their respective owners.  I make no money from what I am presenting here.  It is presented for portfolio and appreciation purposes only. 

From the Archives: Loose Twisting Zombie Sketch

Within this sketch, you can see that I was fighting the looseness a bit.  The essence of the loose style is present, but I don't feel that is it as successful as the slender zombie I presented last week.  I feel like the fault lies with the detail.  Although in some areas it works better than others, the arm for instance, but I feel like it flattens other areas, the legs and shoulder.  This one also belongs to the 11x17 folded set.

{11x17,  Graphite}

Featured Creature: A Room at the Alta Viso

Rocco waited until the last car had passed before he slid under the plastic tarp and into the building.  The sun was almost set and in the long shadows he was sure no one could see him.  He moved quietly through the dust and darkening rooms.  On cold nights, the Alta Viso building was his secret spot, at least for now. 

The second night he'd slept here, Rocco overheard two contractors discussing the pending renovation of the Alta Viso.  The old business plaza had approval pending as an historical landmark.  This meant that any renovations were on hold until the approval passed. From the way the contractors had talked, it sounded like the process would take months.  Rocco had slept here every night since.

As he snuck through the lobby and past the scaffolding he noticed the doorway to the basement hung ajar.  The fetid odor of rot and sewage drifted up through the open door.  No renovations there yet, he thought.  He rushed up the stairs.

Psyche Delectus: Red Satyr

He is the throne of his own desire.

Saturday Sketch: Classic Morbius, the Living Vampire

Welcome to the Zombie Bites Saturday Sketch!

The Saturday Sketch is a way for me to familiarize myself with and practice drawing popular dark characters from different genres.  I'll be focusing primarily on superhero universes that involve dark, occult, or magical characters.  However, I think over time the subjects may bleed over into other fictional works with dark or supernatural aspects. 

To double the challenge, I'm giving myself very little time to finish each piece.  I'm not allowing myself to work on each piece longer than a single sitting, about two to four hours.  The goals for me are speed and veracity of representation.

Featured Creature: The Judgement of Winter

I've been giving it some thought and I think I finally understand the reason small children are instinctively terrified of Saint Nick.  Children do not have the filters in place that we develop as we age.  They sense what we've all glossed over or forgotten: Santa Claus is a Judge.

Featured Creature: Grüße vom Krampus!

Here's a naughty portrait of Krampus to help celebrate Krampusnacht!

{8x5.33,  created in Adobe Photoshop}

From the Archives: Loose Slender Zombie

More loose zombie goodness from some time ago.  This looser style is very visually pleasing in retrospect, but at the time I remember being frustrated with the loose shapes and lack of explicit detail.  I wish I could let go more to explore this style, I enjoy the organic quality of the shapes.  I can't imagine inking it though.  My inking process is very controlled.

This one is the first of a set of sketches I'll be posting that were done on 11x17 sketch paper.  For storage purposes I had folded the sketches and placed them in binders.  After scanning, I went back into the images in Photoshop and removed most of the fold lines, but you can still see the folds in a few places.

{11x17,  Graphite}

Featured Creature: The Thing in the Tree

Here is something creepy and furry in preparation for upcoming Krampusnacht.  Sorry there's no fiction this week, but I am currently struggling through a rough bout of the flu.  I even got the flu shot this year.  Go figure.  I'll update as soon as I can. 

{8x5.33,  Sharpie and Uni-ball Vision Elite Pen with color added in Adobe Photoshop}

Psyche Delectus: Aethernaut

The flesh must made virtuous
before the spirit can sojourn.

Apologies

Apologies for the tardiness of this week's Featured Creature.  Things have been a bit hectic leading into the holiday and I didn't realize that my automatic post was for the wrong date until early Wednesday.  I hope everyone has a pleasant holiday!

From The Archives: Loose Sketch Zombies

More loosely sketched zombies and poses this week.  With the larger portrait I brought in a fine point marker for more detail.  I usually keep my imagery very separate, but with the looseness of these sketches, the images all began to blend together.

{8x5.33,  Marker}

Featured Creature: Scene at the Shores

Ron shifted in his seat and took a large bite of his cinnamon pastry.  The Quis Terra cafe was in full morning rush.  A line of customers ran from the cash register to the door and most of the seats were occupied.  He took several sips of his fresh latte.  The morning had been chilly and he enjoyed the warmth in his mouth.  He heard someone talking loudly when the door to the cafe opened.

Outside, a homeless man was confronting a large woman in dark green dress.  He had been peripherally aware of the the vagrant pacing outside when he was standing in line earlier.    Ron had overheard another customer complain and Frank, the manager, said that he had called the police.

The woman glared at the transient and moved around the him to enter the cafe.  The cars in the street beyond them blurred in a haze of movement.  With an urgent shift, the vagrant turned and disappeared past the edge of the front window, ostensibly chasing after another victim to harass.

Ron finished the last of his pastry and disposed of his napkin.  The woman in the green dress was complaining to the cashier and pointing towards the front of the store.  The cashier was nodding apologetically.

"At least something is being done," Ron thought.  He grabbed his briefcase and latte and moved to door, waving to Frank as he left.  When he exited the shoppe, Ron could see no sign of the vagrant.  He sighed with comfort and moved down the sidewalk towards the subway entrance.  As he passed the alleyway between him and the entrance, the dirty man rushed from the shadows of the alley at him.  His coffee slid out of his grip and twirled once in the air before splattering on the sidewalk.