New environmental piece...

Fantasy Stuff...

Hey all!  Just a quick post of an illustration I did recently.  For fun!

Noah Bradley's The Art of Freelancing

Becoming a full-time freelancer has been a long term goal of mine for years.  But it's not an easy path to take.  I did it while getting my BFA and somehow my wife, our two kids, and I made it through the experience alive.  After graduation, we were relieved when the offers for in-house positions came in.  Now, after being in the industry for 5 years, I'm beginning to get that freelancing itch.  My family has grown and we still like to eat, so the idea is still a daunting one to consider.  But I recently found a great video seminar that was insightful and inspiring at the same time.

Noah Bradley's Art of Freelancing is a 5 hour lecture that covers a wide variety of professional tips and strategies specific to the fantasy illustration and concept art world.  From contracts and conventions to marketing and art directors, this video is great for starting freelancers and those considering the possibility of full-time.  He makes many of the typically scary parts of freelancing (like marketing and networking) seem doable and even fun.  Noah makes a point of labeling himself as a freelancer that has to work for his commissions.  Which makes his perspective that much more valuable to me.  I feel like he could be the "me" I might become in one or two years.  And that's a very hopeful part of the lecture.  In addition, his nature, and the way he presents this video and the other provided resources, feels very approachable.  If I were to send him an email with a question (have a few), I expect he would respond.

At $57, it's an investment.  But a very worthwhile investment, in my opinion.  It's more than buying a video.  It's like joining a network.  Check out his site (link above) and watch the 30 minute preview.  Very awesome!  Thanks, Noah, for sharing!

An update to an older illustration...

Hey all! Just updating an image I did earlier. I submitted this one to the Spectrum Annual. Fingers crossed!

Speedpainting...

Scifi APC

Hey all!  Still trying to improve my scifi stuff here.  After the submarine bridge, a couple posts ago, I started working on some vehicle concepts.  It's been fun gathering ref and learning to appreciate the cool shapes already in our modern day vehicles.  Concepted many designs, made a quick mockup in Sketchup, and finally ended up with this.  Much to improve, but hope you enjoy!

Some sorcery!

Before I put up more scifi, I thought I'd put of this fantasy piece I did for fun.  I took some elements from an old illustration and made something I'm pretty excited about.  Don't really know what's going on, but I liked the look of it.  Hope you like!

Working on the scifi...

I'm really horrible with this blog thing.  I've been very busy over the last year, but much of that busyness was with freelance work that I can't post up here.  Well, my freelance work has slowed in the last month and it has allowed me the time to do other things.  I've realized that I have nothing sci fi in my portfolio and so I'm making a big push to fill that gap.  It's been hard and sci fi is a lot less forgiving than fantasy, but I have one piece to show for it.  Since I only had a couple of hours per week to put into this, I was very sick of it by the time it was done, but I'm still fairly pleased with myself.  Lot to work on still, though.   More to come soon.  Probably some vehicle designs!

Some more practice...

 

Hey all!  It's been a while since I posted last, but I've been working on some personal projects.  I've been trying to practice some concept process and techniques at home, so I gave myself an assignment.  Based on a Brainstormer prompt (desert + knight), I came up with this.  It was mostly shape driven, but I want to try exploring character concept through different processes in the future.  Anyway, hope you like it!

Merry Christmas everyone!!!

Hope your holidays are joyful and awesome!

Just for fun...

Hey all! I've been busy for a very long time with random freelance work and have not had any time to work on my own things. I'm now taking a short break and had a chance to finish this. Hope you enjoy!

Just a little something something

The Brainstormer Iphone App is Here!!!!

Hey Everyone!!! Well it's taken a little while, but it's happened. The Brainstormer iphone app is now available at the itunes store!!! Thanks to the hard work of Joel Davis, an early fan of the original Brainstormer, the new app is full of new, great features. It has taken the original and kicked it up a notch. You can share the Brainstorms you create (via email, twitter, or facebook), you can customize the lists, and much more. All in a little app. All with the same design and style. It's awesome! Thanks to everyone who has shown an interest in the original flash tool and encouraged the development of this new app.

Now I need your help! If you have an iphone/ipad/ipod touch, please check it out (http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/the-brainstormer/id374496865) and spread the word (post about it on the forums you frequent, twitter about it, join our upcoming facebook fan page, etc.). It truly is the ideal way to use the Brainstormer and well worth the purchase.

What's next for the Brainstormer? Well, I'm working on a Brainstormer fan page on facebook where all news and info will be posted. It will also be a place to share what you've done with the Brainstormer and participate in group Brainstormer challenges. Joel and I are considering the idea of developing this for other platforms (android, etc.), but don't have a specific timeline for that. And I'm already developing a new Brainstormer, specifically for the ipad (all that space!!! think of what we could do!!!) with a whole new set of features well beyond what we could do on the iphone. I'm very excited!!! Please pass the word around and get creative with this! I'll post more as things develop! Thanks!!!

New (old) illustration

Hey all! Realized I never posted this illustration to the blog. It was done for a Gnomon competition a ways back and I liked the way it turned out. Thanks for visiting!

AuthorCulture's "Spin the Wheel" Writing Competition!

Hey all! A lot of exciting things have been happening and I need to leave an update soon. But before that happens I need give a shout-out to a great writing blog and a very talented author.

A few months ago, author Linda Yezak contacted me. Her writing blog (AuthorCulture) was hosting a short story writing competition and she wanted to use the Brainstormer as a tool in the competition. The idea was to spin the Brainstormer and write a story based on the word association combos that came up (exactly what the Brainstormer was created for). I was very excited and happy to offer my support to the competition and to the site. AuthorCulture is a great resource for authors of all levels. Definitely check it out (see link above)!

Well, the competition came, stories were entered, and a winner has been chosen. Congratulations to Kate Mahoney for her fantastic short story, "Human History"! It's a very clever take on the word combos she used...Self-sacrifice/dystopian/UN conference room. Though I'm finding many people are enjoying the Brainstormer as a novelty (and it is fun in that way too), it is rare to find someone willing to really challenge themselves and make something great out of an unusual word association. But Kate has done that. And she did a fantastic job. Though the story is quite short, it is too long to post here. Hopefully Kate will post the story on her blog (http://kateness.wordpress.com/) soon. Congrats again to Kate! Well done!

Kate's Bio:
Kate is 22 and a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania. In between tossing resumes to the wind, she enjoys writing and running. Her fondest ambition (other than finally being able to move out of her parent’s house) is to be a published author, and her biggest vice is the lure of books when she should otherwise be looking on Monster. Unemployment aside, she does secretly love being at home, because home is where the cats are; Blackie, Misty, and Roger, who are as much a part of the family as its human members. Her blog, kateness.wordpress.com ruminates on topics as diverse as her writing travails and the uncovering of her computer’s plot to one day take over the world (or at least her bedroom).