Charcoal Demos and Warm-ups

Here are some 25min demos and 5 min warm-ups from last term.

Happy Holidays!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!


A painting I did for my sister for Christmas. It's her cat, "Miao Yin".

On The Shelves - "Dean Cornwell - Dean of Illustrators"

Ever since I was introduced to Dean Cornwell's work, I've been a huge fan. I picked up this book about 7 years ago and I'm glad I did. It was the second printing of the book and has now since gone out of print again. You can still get it for around $150 which isn't bad considering the quality of the book. As far as I know this is the only book on his work and it is packed full. The book has a lot of full color images and a lot of the preliminary work for his finished pieces. I was fortunate enough to see a few of his pieces while I was back on the east coast. His paintings are a lot of fun to look at because of how much paint he used. Very thick! Anyway, go pick up this book while you still can!

Here are some pages from the book.

Watts Atelier 2010 Winter Schedule

The NEW Winter 2010 class schedule for the Watts Atelier is available. We are nearing the end of our Fall term, and recommend early registration for the next term. Classes fill up quick. Classes start January 11th. Here is a list of classes I will be teaching:

20 MINUTE FIGURE LAY-IN
Tuesdays
10:00am-1:00pm

DESIGNING DRAPERY IN OIL
Tuesdays
2:30-5:30pm

PERSPECTIVE ESSENTIALS
Wednsdays
2:30pm-5:30pm

VISUAL DEVELOPMENT FOR PICTURE MAKING
Wednsdays
7:00-10:00pm


Click on a class above to be directed to the class page.

Another Gouache Comp

Here is another gouache comp studied from Mr. Phil Hale....

Gouache Comps From The Masters

These were demos from a 'Composition From The Masters' class I taught this term. The main goal was to get familiar with how masters broke up space using shapes and values. The exercise with the color comps is to establish the mood and color harmonies that the masters got. Each comp takes no longer than 30-40min. The goal is not detail, but getting the overall graphic design and mood.

Masters studied here: Jean Leon Gerome and Frank Frazetta

Masters studied here: Dean Cornwell and Lawrence Alma-Tadama

Watts Atelier - Winter 2010 Brochure

Here is the new brochure for the Winter schedule. Here is a link to the PDF version: Winter 2010 Brochure

Older Portrait Work

Here are some portrait paintings done over the last 4-5yrs. You can see me trying to adopt that loose Jeff Watts style. Notice how I said "trying"...
This one I did as a demo for a portrait painting class I taught about 3yrs ago.

This one was done in a workshop. I believe a workshop I took with fine artist, Carolyn Anderson.

This one was done in an outdoor portrait painting class. You see the best part of living in San Diego is that our weather is almost always good out door painting weather. It was a great change compared to studio lighting.

On The Shelves - "Merlin" Aleksi-Rossbach-Istin

I just received my copy of Merlin and it's a damn cool book! I had to order it from overseas because no one here in the states carries it. There is some amazing art and the layout of the pages is especially nice. Every page is full of collage style work retelling the story of King Arthur. Unfortunately it's all in French and since I can't read the language I'll have to use my imagination from the artwork. I'm assured by a friend that the story is one of the better King Arthur stories told. You can see quite a bit of influence from a range of different artists like Alpohnse Mucha, Yoshitaka Amano, Alma Tadama, and even a bit of Waterhouse. I highly recommend this book, just get ready to pay more in shipping than the actual cost of the book if you live here in the state!(not really)

Here are some shots from the book:

World of Warcraft Illustration

Here is a World of Warcraft TCG illustration I did a while back. It was release about 2-3mos ago and I thought I'd share a larger version.

More IlluXCon 2009

Here are a few more photos from IlluXCon, taken by Ryan Schutter.

Dan Fowlks talking with Boris and Michael Hayes reviews a portfolio.



Donato's booth take over and Dave Seely talks with a fan.



Some shots from around Altoona, PA.

IlluXCon 2009

Hey Everyone-
I can't begin to describe how amazing IlluXCon was! I met some amazing people and made some new friends. The smaller size of the convention made for a more intimate setting. There were a lot of one on one conversations between artists, students, art directors, and collectors. There was definitely something very special about this particular convention. Kudos to Pat and Jeannie Wilshire for hosting such a great event. The hard work they put into the show made for a wonderful time. Everyone one I talked to seemed to feel the same way. So if you missed it this year, make sure you go next year. This is one you will not want to miss.
Here is a shot from the 2nd floor from one of the students at the show. I thought it encompassed the feel of the show floor pretty well. And, yes that is my booth right in the middle of the picture! That is Brom to my right and you can see Dan Dos Santos across from me. I can't wait for next year!

The Undead Step by Step - Psychopomp

I'm off to IlluXCon tonight. I wanted to update the blog one more time before I left. Looking forward to meeting all sorts of new people, and catch up with a few friends!

Here is a third step by step of a character/illustration I did for "How to Draw and Paint the Undead". This character is commonly known as "The Boat Man" or "Charon". He comes from Greek mythology and ferries the dead to the underworld for coin. I think that most of my inspiration for the character came from the original "Clash of Titans" movie.

Just like the previous undead posts, I start with thumbnails and try to come up with a look that might work for an illustration. Thumbnails are a great way to get ideas out quick with out laboring over details.


Now we have the turn around. As a concept artist, in gaming studios, you'll most likely do quite a bit of these. The turn-around acts as a blue print for the team that will model the characters in a 3D program.

...and the finish. I really enjoyed working on this project. They were a smaller company and didn't have a large budget. This allowed me to explore some painting styles I may not have normally done.

On The Shelves - "The Lure of Paris: Nineteenth-Century American Painters and Their French Teachers"

I first saw this book about 5 years ago when Jeff Watts brought it into a class I was taking. This book is great! It covers some of my favorite painters. At 295 pages with an image on almost every page, this book is very well done. The only disappointment is that about 65% of the images are b/w. That aside there are plenty of full page full color images. You'll see work from Jean-Leon Gerome, William Bouguereau, John Singer Sargent, Charles Sprague Pearce, and another dozen artists you've probably never heard of that are equally as good. The book is out of print and goes in price between $120-$700. Check out Bookfinder.com for the best price.


Here are some pages from the book.

WFC Oil Demo

I know that most of you also follow Erik Gist's blog, but I thought I'd post the demo as well, just in case you don't. We had the first panel of the convention and had a better turn-out than I thought we would. We spent about an hour on it for the demo and maybe another 40 min each in the hotel room. The theme of the convention was Edgar Allen Poe. So we thought it was an appropriate demonstration idea.

IlluXCon Preview 6 - Sith Master

Just got back from World Fantasy Con. I got to meet some real nice people, and sit in on some very informative panels. E.M. Gist and I headed up one of the panels for a live oil painting demonstration. I'm sure he'll be posting the finished painting soon on his blog. When he sends me the image, I'll post it here.

Now I'm gearing up for IlluXCon. No rest for the wicked! I'll be flying out to PA next week. Posted below is the final image I'll be showing for this series of posts. This one was done for SOE's Star Wars Galaxies game.

World Fantasy Con Demo

Hey all,
E.M. Gist and I will be doing a live, relay painting demonstration in San Jose at the World Fantasy Con on Thursday the 29th at 3:oo pm. If you are planning on attending come by and say hi. We will also both be exhibiting in the art show.

On The Shelves - 'Shadowline: The Art of Iain McCaig'

I picked up this book early this year and I couldn't be more pleased! Ian McCaig is best known for his work on the Star Wars films. This book is full of his sketch and finished work for a number of different projects. I love seeing an artist's sketch process and this book is definitely not short of that! The book retails for around $40 and is worth every penny!

A couple of shots from the book.

Oil Demo Step by Step

Here is a step by step from my painting demo yesterday. One of my students was nice enough to take these and send them over to me.

Head Drawing Demos

Here are a few head demos from last term.