GenCon - The Return

I am back from my GenCon trip, but feeling as though I am hovering somewhere over the mid-Atlantic as my jetlag eases.

I took as much of my original art with me as my cases and weight allowance permitted. Whilst this excluded some of my larger pieces I was still very happy with my display. I even managed to leave some space so that I could peek out.

The artshow was in the centre of the exhibit hall this year, which was great for feeling fully included, and allowing more casual browsing. The show spread across several aisles, and I had some great neighbours on mine; Chris Rahn one side, Christopher Burdett the other and facing Dan Scott.

There was some great art on display throughout the show, and I made sure I took advantage of being an exhibitor by going into the hall every day before it opened to the public so that I could browse properly. GenCon has over 30,00 attendees and it can be hard to grasp the overall scale of the convention centre, even this troll standing sentinel barely demonstrates the length of just one corridor.

Wandering the halls and corridors invariably threw up surprises, be it belly dancers, a steampunk band, or much abused/sculpted cards.

These were all finally trashed by coin throwing, with the latter being collected up for charity.

The last time I attended GenCon was 2008 and it was gratifying how many people sought me out again, having met me in previous years; more so when they ended up adding more of my art to their collection, bought further white-backs, or just asked for a sketch.

I was especially amused when this sketchbook appeared again:

This sums up my own GenCon attendance - though sadly I notice in 2006 I only autographed the page, at least I have made up for that since, albeit only with a simple image.

Incidentally the latest iteration was created with a brush pen I borrowed from Christopher Burdett (who was very generous in supply different implements throughout the show - thanks), and I was won over by it. Great flow, sensitivity and solid black!

Some sketches get  a little more time spent on them, for instance I had good fun with this beholder:

Thanks to everyone that stopped by. Meeting the folks who play the games that my art is intended for is great. I work in the bubble of my studio and email communication with an AD such that getting out to shows like this make a lot of difference. I am also very happy that quite a number of paintings have escaped the confines of my cupboard and are roaming the world.

Other people that come by and lighten the show are the Cosplayers and costume wearers.

Indeed sometimes there were more of them than the rest of us.

However the best artistic complement was the one paid to Wayne Reynolds when a woman turned up dressed as one of the iconics he painted for Pathfinder.

I had a very enjoyable time in Indianapolis, not just in the show, but socialising with other artists in the evening. However I was grateful not to have to step outside very often as the city was experiencing a heatwave, the like of which it hadn't seen since 1936.  I melted in the 90F+/35C+ humid heat, and was appreciative of the a/c everywhere.

I also had the pleasure of staying in the most interesting of hotels - it had previously been a train station. This certainly meant it diverged from the standard box format of so many modern hotels, instead cast iron beams sprouted from walls and ceilings.

and pullman carraiges doubled as bedrooms, as can be seen behind Franz & Imelda Vohwinkel.

I now look forward to my next US trip to Illuxcon, and hope I can make GenCon again next year.

IndyGenCon

Tomorrow morning I will boarding a plane at Manchester airport, UK, and flying across the Atlantic to indianopolis. This due to the fact that I will be attending IndyGenCon; in their own words "the original, longest running, best attended, gaming convention in the world".

I will be taking  a lot of original artwork with me, and hope some of you will stop by my stand in the artshow to say 'hi'.

Talisman the Dragon

Talisman the Dragon

© Fantasy Flight Games/ Games Workshop

Acrylic, 22.5" x 22.5"

Original artwork for sale

I have been enjoying the continuity of working on the Talisman board game line, and I am happy to reveal my cover artwork for Talisman the Dragon, the latest expansion.

As usual we have a very mixed bag of adventurers attempting to battle their way to the top of the Dragon's tower and gain the treasure inside. Creating a narrative with the different archetypes is an enjoyable challenge, and better still was devising a new Dragon. I wanted to echo aspects of the Talisman boardgame's cover Dragon, whilst making him distinctively his own beastie. I feel he is suitably fierce and threatening, something helped by the dramatic perspective.

Below is the initial sketch, in the background of which you can see the Dragon Rider character. Whilst she features in the game it just seemed too confusing to have an additional Dragon on the scene - and she got dropped.

Talisman the Dragon - Sketch

Ambush! - A Walkthrough

Ambush!

©Wizards of the Coast.

Original acrylic painting approx 22" x 22".

For Sale.

Around Christmas I was commissioned to work on a large interior illustration for Dragon magazine. The publication date was due April/May, however unfortunately the article was pulled at the last moment and this accompanying illustration with it. Happily the Art Director, Jon Schindehette, helped secure the necessary permission for me to share my work publically anyway.

The topic for this piece was full of drama; a pair of Thri-Kreen stop at a waterhole to refill their canteens, and ease their parched throats, when a Water Drake leaps from it's hiding place to satiate it's own hunger.

The sinuous Water Drake leant itself very nicely as a strong compositional tool. It's length encircles it's victim, whilst all the lines of force, including head and tail, point to the targetted Thri-Kreen.*

Whilst painting the picture I took  a large number of photos and I have whittled these down to a selection that reveal my process. In this case a very methodical front to back, element by element approach. This is my norm, but sometimes I can lay down broader areas of colour in order to aid the colour/value balance. This time I had a very clear image in my head, and it unfolded as I anticipated -  which I wish it always did.

*It was fun to revisit the Thri-Kreen , of whom I had previously created a Chesley nominated illustration. A printout of which can be seen on the top right of the drwaing board.

1.The background colour is laid down.

2. The shading and values are refined.

3. Hard at it.

4. Leading the background values through onto the rear figure.

5. The skin tones completion defines the rear figures value range.

6. Bringing in the blue and starting on the foreground Thri-Kreen.

7. Liking the red/blue juxtaposition.

8. Skin and values defined.

9. Figure about complete.

10. The workspace - with notation of clutter reference materials.

11. Developing the water, cast shadow, and foliage.

12. Nailing the Drake's palette and head.

13. Brought that over the whole body.

14. Drake's highlights added and the base for the dripping water started.

15. Lots of droplets!

16. The apprentice gives his input - yum, snacks.

Going Digital... Well, Sometimes.

Forged in Shadow and Flame

- V1.0 - a rural idyll -

The key part of my work as an illustrator is providing the client with the image they want. It seems like an obvious statement, but it involves not just having the skill set that enables you to deliver, but also requires adopting the flexibility to make it happen.

That flexibility is best exhibited through the ability to tailor the image closely to your client's needs by modifying the work as it progresses. If this is required it is usually done at the sketch stage, and it is easy enough to alter a graphite drawing. However, rarely, a request can be made at the 'final' stage, once the painting has been completed. This can be more challenging.

I particularly enjoy working in acrylics, and whilst anything can be painted over, it is not always the easiest way to make amends - which is when I can adopt a digital process.

Forged in Shadow and Flame

- V.1.1 - Going Undergorund -

In the latest World of Warcraft tcg set I had a piece approved, but whilst I had painted a rural backdrop it was decided to change the setting to an underground location. The image, Forged in Shadow and Flame, had a very simple background, and altering this to indicate stone would have been easy enough - except that the key feature is a splintering crate with magical effect. Blending in/painting around these would have been very time consuming and awkward compared with tweaking overlay and adjustment layers in Photoshop.

I adopted a palette for the background that borrowed from the crate, and made sure this bled through onto the figure to help unify all the elements, whilst also punching up the saturation around the magical effect.

Here is a comparison image of the two side-by-side:

It is also interesting to see how differently the same colours can read when set alongside a different companion colour.

Postal Treats - World of Warcraft

It is always great to get presents in the post, and better still when they have been FedEx'd all the way from the USA. I just received the latest batch of artists proofs (AKA white-backs) from Blizzard.

Postal Treat

This also means that I can get to share the latest artwork that appeared on these cards with you:

Warning Shot

Forged of Shadow And Flame

Which in turn reminded me of some other outstanding World of Warcraft artwork I can show:

Daze

Stasis

Crystals Of Power

Swift Hand Of Justice

Stakethrower

All paintings are acrylic on board, and ©Blizzard.

Illuxcon 4 Trailer

A trailer for Illuxcon 4 has been posted on the Illuxcon website. It consists of footage of the 2010 event and gives a great idea of what the event entails.

It also served to get me excited about the prospect of attending again this year.