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.

Psyche Delectus: The Spider Wizards of Ith

Dread sorcerers of the Winterlands,
Their cloaks deny

the shape of their intent.

They walk as men do,

triumvirate terrors of the snow.

They pretend fireside intimacy,

in truth seeking only succor

from the sanguine cup of a heart.

Where they pass

only wind and bones live henceforth. 

Beware the Wizards of Ith!

Psyche Delectus: Invisibles Day 2013

The dark half of the year is in full swing and Odin and his wild hunt are coursing the land.  Even though we still have a dark month long trek to the winter solstice, this day has become a hallmark to me for the re-ignition of failing light.  It marks a variety of events both personal and global, microcosmic and macrocosmic.

On November 23rd, 1995 Grant Morrison involved the readers of his comic book series The Invisibles in a group act of sigil magick.  Check out the original letters page to see how the idea was initially presented.  Join me today in my annual celebration of The Invisibles Hypersigil! 

Exhumed: If Flesh Could Crawl

The original piece was part of larger set, but didn't necessarily match up stylistically.  Working in color, I wanted to move the piece more towards my original vision: A molten figure singing in a pit of fire.  The fiery emotions here have built up to a point where they are consuming everything.

From the Archives: Loose Demon Sketch and Figure Poses

Here are some super loose marker sketches from some time ago.  Either the marker I was using had a brush tip or I was having a spastic sharpie day.  I do not recall.

Featured Creature: The Mask of Mephistopheles

Excerpted from Marge Hollander's Digest of Demons and Devils:

This golden horned mask was commissioned by the nineteenth century Italian actor Arturo del Volto.  In 1831, under the patronage of an unknown nobleman, Arturo was paid to facilitate the creation of the mask at a local smithy in Umbria.  The mask was to be used as a special costume piece for the role of Mephistopheles in a production of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's Faust at the Teatro delle Visioni.  It is wondered by many occult historians if Arturo made some deal with his own devil due to the apparent curse of tragedy and death that followed the mask after its forging.  Arturo would wear the mask only once.

Accounts of the mask's creation indicate that odd materials were added to the forge during the casting process.  Timber was brought for the forge fire that gave off an unpleasant smell when burned and bystanders remarked on the odd color of the flames once it had been added.  During the casting, the process had to be halted multiple times.  The flames within the forge were burning so hot that they threatened to consume the forge itself.

Psyche Delectus: Armor

It was ever
only a separation
from wholeness.

Exhumed: The Black Sun

This image was originally posted on my other art blog, Trail of Breadcrumbs, but I feel that its tone and meaning work better here at Zombie Bites.  Here we have a personification of the Black Sun, an Occult as well as Alchemical symbol.  When coloring this piece, I felt like the image needed some moody lighting to set off the brooding aspect of the piece.  I wanted to give the piece the feeling of a much larger space so I added a mist effect by layering a series of soft gradients throughout the image.

{8x7.28, Sharpie with color added in Adobe Photoshop}

Night of the Cauldron Gallery and Recommended Listening

I wanted to share all of the Night of the Cauldron pieces in one post so that they could easily be viewed together as a set.

From the Archives: Zombie Profile Sketch

Here is a super loose graphite sketch of a zombie in profile.  At the time I drew this I was experimenting with a different technique from my normal style.  I was turning the pencil sideways from my regular hand position I use in an attempt to draw more loosely.

Featured Creature: The Eilium

Albert was chasing a young woman in a flowing gown.

She had been walking slowly down one of the aisles of the store where he managed the lawn and garden department.  She had smiled when she saw him and waved.  He was having an uncomfortable conversation with his boss about why the ducks from the live duck display kept escaping and wandering about the store.  His boss held a duck under one arm and was quickly turning a bright shade of magenta.

After seeing the young woman, he wandered away and his boss faded into the background like a muted watercolor.  He followed the young woman into the body of the store, past automotive, past the toy department.  She was walking along leisurely and turned a corner where Albert couldn't see.  That's when he'd begun running.

Albert almost caught the young woman several times, but she always giggled and turned another corner before he could grab hold of her arm.  Soon he felt he'd lost track of her completely, until he began finding pieces of her gown strewn about the isles.  He'd picked up the first piece gently as if he'd were touching the petal of a delicate flower.  He followed the trail collecting the torn pieces of gown as he went.

Psyche Delectus: Within the Ultraviolet Catacombs

The surfaces belie the depth of the truth.

Night of the Cauldron: Part VIII, The Tree of Death

Continued from Night of the Cauldron: Part VII, The Scythe of the Reaper

Night of the Cauldron

Part VIII

The Tree of Death

The pumpkin faced reaper leveled its baleful gaze upon Traci.  It moved to her and lifted her face in it's skeletal hand, examining her with the same detachment it had viewed her uncle's body.  She tried to pull away, but it held her fast.  The creature stunk of earth.

"Tt tt,"  The reaper released her face and walked about as if it were smelling the air or listening to some silent melody.  As it turned its back to her, Traci reached over and wrapped her hand around the length of the shovel. 

"Remember this night,"  The reaper gestured to the green air, "Though surely it is not likely that you can forget it."  It chuckled and touched the tip of the scythe blade into the green column of flame.  It stood silently for a long moment, watching the flames dance around the scythe's tip, much like a child burning ants with a magnifying glass.  Small sparks flew upward, dancing into the green fog.  Through it, a firetruck's siren clearly blared.

From the Archives: Flower of Sorrow

More recent sketchwork from painting in Adobe Photoshop.  This is my digital painting of a friend's psychic SOS I received at 4am one morning.  At the time I couldn't figure out where this was coming from.  When I started asking around the next day, I found out about my friends problem.  Things are much better now but at the time they were intense and sorrowful.

{Created in Adobe Photoshop}

Featured Creature: Worm

"It moved through water like a bullet.  That horrible maw opened up like a balloon and I knew that the man who had fallen overboard was lost.  I couldn't see that it even had a mouth until it ate him.  I watched the thing swallow him in two even gulps.

In the moonlight, we could see the black waters were becoming full of the things.  Their white shapes darted about just beneath the surface.  If I didn't know better I'd say they were glowing.  There were so many of the things moving about underneath, the boat started to rock.  When they started hitting the underside of the boat we didn't waste any time.  We cut our nets loose and turned the boat toward land.  The Captain ran the engines as hard as he could without burning them out.

Night of the Cauldron: Part VII, Scythe of the Reaper

Continued from Night of the Cauldron: Part VI, The Scarecrow's Lantern

Night of the Cauldron

Part VII

Scythe of the Reaper

Traci watched with horror as the mechanical grim reaper peeled itself off the fence and climbed down toward her and her father.  The reaper's fake teeth chattered as it crawled.  It cackled endlessly now, no longer waiting for Traci to come near.  It was coming to her.  As it moved, it's scythe knocked the Jack O Lantern off the edge of the railing.  The large pumpkin rolled across the deck and finally came to rest near the cauldron.

Suddenly, she was moving backward, away from the reaper and green glow of the cauldron.  Her father had opened the sliding glass door and pulled her inside the house.  The door slid closed with a soft hiss just as the reaper's skeletal fingers danced across the glass.  Traci's father quickly pushed the lock button and dropped the security bar down into the door's track.

The reaper flattened its plastic face against the glass door.  Much like a bird, it seemed unable to see the glass.  It pushed forward, perplexed by the unseen obstruction, biting at the air.  Traci noticed that its movements had become less mechanical.  It seemed almost to slither now as it sought passage.