Today I have for you a new Star Wars study! This time around it is one of the many cantina aliens from Star Wars: A New Hope, the wily Advozse smuggler and mercenary, Bom Vimdin. This particular piece has languished on the work station for some time waiting to be painted. It was there so long it was slowly acquiring a nice patina of over splatter from other paintings. Before leaving town for our European trip I made the time and finally finished up Bom Vimdin...


Not sure why Bom Vimdin ended up on the side lines for so long, but it was really good to FINALLY finish him up. Always thought he was a sharp looking alien in his studded vest and silk cravat. ...and that one horn on the top of his head, how can you not love that?! Here is the drawing that was done long ago when I first imagined myself painting Bom Vimdin in a matter of days... not months...


As an added bonus here are some images I thought to capture while I worked on this piece. A handful of images so that you can see how the piece took form and came together...


This marked the completion of a bunch of personal pieces I had planed. Since completing this one I have since prepped a new batch of personal projects that I am already beginning on... more on that hopefully soon!

That is all for another exciting Monday on the blog, see you back here on Wednesday! Until then...

Know your strengths and confront your weaknesses. With my currently limited down time in between client assignments I have been focusing on one of my less developed skill sets... the man monsters, Here are a pair of studies I have done recently from some newly acquired reference images. Nothing heroic or ideal about these, just monstrous and fun. One day I will try to tackle 'pretty' ...or not.



I worked on these in little bits here and there. Not the best way to focus on them, but I make the best with what I have available. These were informative, but I am definitely ready to get back to some monster drawings! Here are some process images I thought to take when I came to a stopping point...


That is all for another exciting week on the blog, see you back here on Monday! Until then...

I recently shared with you a Star Wars piece for an upcoming card set. The piece focuses on the bounty hunter droid, IG-88, but the piece also features a member of the alien species known as the Rodian. I have had Rodians on my mind a lot for the past year...


When I originally created this image last year I was reminded by a piece that haunts my past... a piece that I have hidden away for over nine years. A piece that for some reason I am sharing with you today. Back in 2005 Wizards of the Coast still held the license for Star Wars games. At the time I was still on the outside and I was desperate to get my foot in the door at WotC for both D&D and Star Wars. To that end I was producing spec pieces that showed my "understanding" and "competency" with the product. Unfortunately, I created and submitted this...


To be honest, this may have been started in late 2004 and was finished in early 2005, but that does not change the fact that this piece... this piece... has issues. Live and learn, growth and progress and all that. I DID use reference thank you very much! Had a coworker at the time pose on the floor holding a light bulb to simulate the blaster firing. I look at this piece and quickly see all the the young painter/digital painter mistakes. ...but you know what? I was a VERY inexperienced painter when I created this and was desperate to learn and improve. More then anything I look back at this piece and laugh at how silly it is and how much it reminds me of the time I created it. EVERY Rodian needs to make sure his socks match his shirt. Also, make sure you foreshorten arms so that they look SUPER stumpy. No point in flogging a dead horse... or a sad Rodian.

I did say I have had Rodians on my mind a lot. Here is a warm up sketch / study using some unused reference that I did a couple weeks ago. This was done super quick, in less then an hour or so. While it is not perfect, it still managed to be a better Rodian then something I labored over for hours and hours nine years ago...


Don't worry, there will be more Rodians along in the fullness of time, and they will be way better then all of these combined! RAWR!

That is all for another exciting week on the blog, see you back here on Monday! Until then...

There are times when I am busy and then there are times when I am BUSY. I am fast approaching the latter as the summer event and convention session looms on the horizon. The Illustration Master Class is a month away and I am booked up with monsters. This is not leaving a lot of time right now for my personal monsters. I did make a little time to work on a quick study to working on some digital inking. I have a bit of this sort of work ahead of me so I figured I better make sure I am ready for it all. Here is how the study turned out...


Practice makes perfect and perfect is a goal that is always just out of reach. So make sure you are getting in lots of practice! This one was just a quick study out of my head, but I find it funny to see an actual bird in there that I have seen many times. I guess that is the point, build up your tool box of skills and knowledge to make sure you are making better and more informed choices when working... but that is a topic for another time, I need to get back to work!

That is all for another exciting week on the blog, see you back here on Monday for a NEW MONSTER painting! Until then...