She's alive...ALIVE!

15"x24" acrylic gouache and pencil on 300lb watercolor paper, private commission

Fireborn

Here is the cover to FIREBORN, the sequel to DRAGONBORN. I finished this one almost exactly one year ago, and the book still won't be on the shelves until December! Book publishers sure do plan ahead.

While I provided several different sketches, the art director liked the idea of basically mirroring the Dragonborn cover thematically and compositionally. There are four books in the series, so I was a little concerned about how I would handle the next two should I be asked to do them- I can't keep flopping the characters back and forth- but this is what we went with, so I'll have to figure it out eventually. Maybe the next one will be a straight-on shot of the main character, and the last could be a group shot. I don't know, but I would like the covers to work together somehow.

You'd think with all of that lead time we'd have a plan...

My original color sketch for this one was a bit moodier with darker shadows and the like, but the publisher wanted to keep it a bit brighter and more colorful, and asked me to avoid too much black. When I look at this now, it's a bit too "Photoshoppy" for me, but I feel that way about most of my digital colors. I still haven't found the "less is more" filter.

Marker-made Mary Marvel

I need to wake up this sleepy blog, so here's another one of the 9"x12" marker commissions I take on occasionally. This one is from a while back, but I don't think I posted it here. At least, I hope not. Pretty sad to have a blog in reruns.
I just finished a fairly large painting which I will be posting next, along with some process stuff, so please stay tuned.

I'm also finalizing my plans for San Diego Comic Con, July 17-21, which is creeping up fast. I'll post the info soon.

I hope everyone is doing well out there.

Psi-Judge Anderson commission

Here is a commission I painted a couple of months ago of Psi-Judge Anderson (with Judge Death in the background) from the 2000 AD Judge Dredd comics. The original measures about 12"x18" and is painted in gouache. 

Post-Wondercon post

 

Thank you to everyone who stopped by my table at the big show. I had a wonderful time talking art with so many enthusiastic fans of comics and all things fantastic. An extra thanks to those of you who purchased prints, books, or original art. Your support means the world to me.

Speaking of original art, above is a sampling of the commissions I delivered at the convention. All of them were drawn on 10"x14" watercolor paper in pigmented ink.

Sketch of a Ziegfeld girl with flowers