Saturday, December 6, 2014

Happy Holidays!



Happy Holidays everyone!  I have a special on my prints for the month of December.  Head on over to my Etsy store.  I'm offering a Buy 2 Prints get 1 Free discount.  Select 3 prints, add them to your cart, and use "HappyHolidays" code for the discount.

Etsy Store

All orders placed by December 18th within the US, will have a guaranteed delivery by Christmas.


Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Magic GP Los Angeles - October 17-19th




I'll be attending the Magic GP Los Angeles next weekend.  I'll be signing cards with 9 other Magic artists!  If you're planning to attend stop by, get some cards signed, and or just say hello.

I'll have prints, playmats, artist proofs, and original MtG art for sale at the show.  I will also be doing sketches and alters.

Here is a link to some of the Magic cards I've illustrated - Magic Art by Lucas Graciano.


Thursday, September 11, 2014

New Magic: Khans of Tarkir Card

Here is a card that was recently released for the new Magic the Gathering: Khans of Tarkir.


Mer-Ek Nightblade
11x14 Oil on Masonite



Friday, August 29, 2014

Upcoming Classes at the Watts Atelier

The term is drawing to a close this week at the Watts Atelier.  It was great to see so many new students this term at the Atelier and it's amazing to see the how good the intermediate students are getting!  We start a new term October 13th and I wanted to give a little info on the classes I'll be teaching.

The Art of Sketchbooking
Meets Tuesdays 2:30-5:30, October 14th- Dec 16th

In this class we will explore a variety of exercises, including: thumbnails for picture making, free hand perspective, anatomy, gouache studies, draped figure sketches, and more.  I will also demonstrate some digital sketch work, showing some techniques for picture making.  Below are some examples from my sketchbook and just a few things we will explore in The Art of Sketchbooking class.  This is a great class for all levels.

(Digital Studies- Done for Dark Horse's Predator Comic)


(Pen Studies - Done for Sony)


(Gouache Studies - Frazetta Masterstudies)



Head, Figure, and Quicksketch
Meets Tuesdays 7:00pm-10:00pm, October 14th-December16th

This is one of our core class.  This class allows students a chance to do all three of our major core classes in one class.  A great class for all levels.






Monday, July 7, 2014

Sunblade Elf Up on Ebay!

***UPDATE - My apologies.  Ebay decided that my item was "miscategorized".  Without any kind of warning, they pulled the auction.  I'm very sorry for any inconvenience.  I'm hesitant to re-list the item due to the low turnout.  I will take some time and decide what I want to do with the painting.  I want to thank the bidders and everyone who helped get the word out about the auction.


Now that Chris Rahn's Planeswalker auction on Ebay is done killing it, I thought I'd step in and offer up the original oil painting for Sunblade Elf.  I have received several emails about the original and thought it only fair that everyone who was interested had a shot.  The original is 12x16 Oil on masonite and is on an upcoming card for the new Magic M15 set.  You can find the listing here:

Sunblade Elf Auction


"Sunblade Elf"

Friday, July 4, 2014

Second to Last M15 Artwork Revealed


This is the second to last M15 artwork that I did that's been released.  The last one is a PROMO art that hasn't been revealed yet.  I'll post that when it pops up online.



"Vineweft"
11x14 Oil on Masonite



Chesley Nominations 2014


I feel very honored to be among some of the best illustrators nominated this year for a Chesley Award.  My work "The Last Stand of Thorin Oakenshield" is being nominated in "Best Gaming-Related Illustration" category.  A big congratulations to all who were nominated this year!  Good luck to all!

Here is a link to see a gallery of the images being nominated this year: Chesley Award Nominations


"The Last Stand of Thorin Oakenshield"
30 x 40 Oil on Masonite


Wednesday, June 25, 2014

New M15 Work


Spoilers are starting to surface around the web for Magic the Gathering's new Core set, M15.  So far, two of my images have been released for the set.....I believe there is more to come.  I will bring both of these with me to 2014 GP Washington DC this weekend, along with other original paintings.  If you're planning to attend, please stop by and say hi.


Sundblade Elf
12x16 Oil on Masonite





Soul of Ravnica
12x16 Oil on Masonite

Thursday, June 12, 2014

Imagine FX Article

A cool little article on some of my work being featured in the latest issue of Imagine FX!



Saturday, May 24, 2014

More New Magic Work -Secret Summoning


Here is some more new work for the Magic Conspiracy set.  The vertical format was a fun change of pace.  I'm not sure how or if it will be used in this format.



"Secret Summoning"
16x20 Oil on Masointe



Thursday, May 22, 2014

Grenzo, Dungeon Warden - Magic's Upcoming Conspiracy Set


 The second new artwork I did for Magic's new Conspiracy set.



"Grenzo, Dungeon Warden"
16 x 20 Oil on Masonite



Monday, May 19, 2014

New Magic Art for the Journey into Nyx: Conspiracy Deck


Here is another Magic piece that's being released in upcoming, Journey into Nyx: Conspiracy Deck.



"Marchesa's Infiltrator"
11 x 14 Oil on Masonite


Thursday, April 24, 2014

Xenagos Scorn Original Painting Up On Ebay



Xenagos Scorn
12x16 Oil on Masonite



Detail


Anyone interested in picking up this Key Art done for Magic the Gathering's Journey into Nyx expansion set, head on over for your chance to bid on the original painting.  You can check out the auction HERE.

Sunday, April 13, 2014

New Magic Piece

This is a piece I did for Magic's latest set Journey Into Nyx.  The image is being used as limited edition playmat.  More to come.





Xenagos Scorn
12x16 Oil on Masointe

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Predator




Predator #1
18x24 Oil on Masonite

Growing up the Alien and Predator comics were one of the few comic books I actively followed.  I read every series and still to this day own about 40 or so of those comics.  I even got the cover artist of the very first Predator comic to sign my copy at a Comic Con one year.  The Predator comics played a key role in inspiring me to do art for a living.  So when Dark Horse approached me to do the next covers for their Predator series, my childhood life flashed before my eyes and I couldn't believe the good fortune I had for the opportunity.  I also have to thank EM Gist for recommending me to the AD's at Dark Horse.  He knew what a big fan I was of the IP and helped to get my name in front of the right people.

The first cover is pictured above and the second below.


Predator #2
16x20 Oil on Masonite


  You can find more info on the comics at the website Bleeding Cool.

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

GP Vienna 2014




"PROMO Grave Titan"
© Wizards of the Coast


I'm very excited to announce that I'll be attending the GP Vienna 2014.  I'll be signing cards, selling prints, AP's, custom mats, and other special collector items. If you plan to attend the event, please stop by, get some cards signed and say hello.

Thursday, February 6, 2014

GP Mexico City 2014 Next Week!


Just a reminder to anyone attending the event...I'll be in Mexico City next week for the Magic Grand Prix Mexico City 2014.  I will be on hand to sign, sketch, or alter cards of mine you might have.  I will also have with me a variety of collectibles, including:  Artist Proofs, Oil painted Token AP's(pictured below), Prints, and Custom Playmats.  Please stop by and say hi!

Advent of the Wurm AP
with Original Wurm Token Oil Sketch 


Thoughtseize
with Original Returned Token Oil Sketch

Saturday, January 25, 2014

More Born of the Gods Work


Nyxborn Wolf
11x14 Oil on Masonite







Thassa's Rebuff
16 x 20 Oil on Masonite


Wednesday, January 15, 2014

New Magic: Born of the Gods PROMO



Forgestoker Dragon
11x14 Oil on Masonite


Here is a PROMO card from the new Magic the Gathering expansion, Born of the Gods.  It was originally titled "Crashing Dragon", I like the new name better!




Thursday, January 9, 2014

The Battle of Five Armies - "The Last Stand of Thorin Oakenshield"



"The Last Stand of Thorin Oakenshield"
30x40 Oil on Masonite

If you were at IlluXCon in Sept of last year, then you've seen this already.  I had the original on display at the show.

One of my first illustrative drawings when I first started attending art school was the iconic scene of The Battle of Five Armies from the book The Hobbit.  It was a decent effort, but an ambitious image to tackle, especially for a new art student.   I had always wanted to illustrate the scene again at some point.  So, when Ares Games emailed asking me to illustrate their The Battle of Five Armies board game cover, I jumped to the opportunity.


Detail


There were a couple of artists Matt Stewart and Justin Gerard who've illustrated this scene before and they just nailed it!  As much as I wanted to do my interpretation, I just didn't know how I was going to go about not looking like a hack next to these amazing works.  The director and I agreed that picking another moment in the battle might be best.  There were a few key things that happen in the battle that would make for a cool image.

We finally decided on the scene where Thorin enters the battle and is surrounded.  Seeing this as a golden opportunity, I wanted to go as epic as I dared with the image.  I came up with a composition that I thought would make a great image.  It encompassed a pretty large scene with 20 or so characters in it.  The director only needed a certain amount of the image for the box art, but I had a second agenda.  I made sure to finish what they needed first so that I would be able to hit their deadline.  The final box art also has some digital manipulations.  They wanted key elements on the box art that didn't fit exact with what I had in mind for the original paintings.  For example you'll notice the eagles in the background are moved closer to the center.




After the assignment was over I would spend another few months, off and on, finishing the painting.  Since half of the painting was for my own pleasure I had to work on it in between jobs.



Detail

I wouldn't normally do something like this, but the subject was something I've always had a strong passion towards.  I would have been a fool not to take the opportunity to do it.  Plus, I wanted to get this out before Peter Jackson put the visual out there that will forever be in people's minds!


Detail





Friday, January 3, 2014

GP Mexico City 2014




"Dragon Queen"
24x18 Oil on Masonite


I'll be attending the Mexico City Magic GP as a guest artist.  The event is February 14th and 15th.  I'm very excited about this trip, I have never been to Mexico City and I'm looking forward to doing a bit of sightseeing.  The event organizer commissioned me to do the artwork for the event playmat(above).  He wanted a Magic flavor illustration that somehow fit the Mexican culture.

I will be bringing a variety of collectibles with me, including:  Artist Proofs, Original oil illustrations from MtG, Oil painted Token APs, Prints, and Original sketched APs.  If you plan to attend the event, please let me know if there are particular prints/sketches you'd like to see.  I will do my best to accommodate.  You can leave your response in the comment section below.