Sure, most of the time I’m a happy-go-lucky person with a cherub-like demeanor. But once in awhile I let the world get to me, as I’ve mentioned plenty of times on the site here. I’ve found one thing, that I love to do anyway, that gets rid of the depression Read more…
Previously on my site here (well, here), I talked about foil stamp designs. I posted examples of designs from one of the books by Brian Keene, A Gathering of Crows. Earlier this summer I had the opportunity to create the foil stamp designs for the second Maelstrom set of books Read more…
Recently, I’ve had a couple of commissions to do ebook covers. Which is great, because I really am a starving artist (unemployed and all), so commissions help me survive. But that’s only part of why we’re here, the other side of it (and the point of this article) is designing Read more…
One of the great things that I like about digital art is the ability for programs (I use Photoshop) to let different layers of art interact. For example, I can have a painting of a character on one layer, with all the shadowing, anatomy, and so on, and on a Read more…
Ok, this is tutorial isn’t about making eyes at someone else, or processing new eyeballs to replace the ones your T-800 lost. It’s just a quick tutorial on one way to create eyes in Photoshop. More specifically, this is about the iris and pupil. There are many ways to do Read more…
I originally wrote this article for my Apex Magazine slot this month, but in the long run I decided to go a different way with it. I thought this one ended up a little more about creators than about the things the Apex might need, so I wrote a different Read more…
As a freelance artist (and designer), the need to have a contract template available becomes apparent pretty quickly. I like to think I work hard as an artist, and I want my works to be taken care of and used in the proper manner. So, I did a bunch of Read more…
Recently, a client of mine (who I used to do plenty of graphic design for) asked me for something a little different. Instead of the graphic design work that I’ve been doing for many years for her, she asked if she could commission a full painting from me instead. Being Read more…
I toy with my procedures all of the time, to try to do things better. If not better, than more uniquely, or to a different effect or feel, I’m certainly a tinkerer. Case in point, clouds. There are roughly 1, 192, 632,325 ways to make clouds digitally (“roughly”, he says), Read more…
I think it’s very important as an artist to get inspiration from all different kinds of things. Especially nature, which offers so many unique and interesting features that, as an artist, I can’t help but be inspired. Sometimes it’s worth it to just take a drive, and see what’s around Read more…
There are a lot of social networks out there, and often as an artist it can be difficult to choose which ones would be best. There’s something to be said for really needing to be doing art all the time, but I don’t think that’s quite fair. In my situation, Read more…
I’m sure most people are aware of this, but here it goes anyway. There are people on the web that, when they find an image on a website, just grab the web URL directly to the image and paste it into their forum/website/blog/whatever. This is called hotlinking, as you are Read more…
Being on Twitter (quite often) gives me the chance to see what other artists are up to, and the kinds of projects that they work on. Case in point, yesterday Eric Orchard posted one of his sketches, and the idea came up that it would be fun if a bunch Read more…
A few years back, I wrote an article about the art technique books I have (it’s here). I thought it might be a good time to revisit that, as well as post some of the artist books that I have as well. However, reading a bunch of text is probably Read more…
I’ve been considering doing an ink work of something from the film District 9 for some time, and I finally decided to fit it in here. I managed to fit it in between two other commissioned pieces (call it a “break”). I also decided that, instead of just an ink Read more…
Something that comes up from time to time is the need, as an artist and a designer, to have a portfolio to show someone in person. That could be at a convention, or a job interview, various places where having a portable way to show your work would come in Read more…
Despite the bad way that my year is going, I still manage to get some great projects by some wonderful authors. Case in point, I was given the chance to work on author Ray Garton‘s new book, Vortex, out soon from Cemetery Dance. It’s a great honor not only to Read more…
For once, I’m posting less about art and more about life. Don’t worry, I’ll be getting back to posting about art soon enough. I think, looking at my work overall, you can see that I’m influenced by a great many things. I don’t really match any one artist, or one Read more…
I think it’s important as an artist to look at a lot of art, and in fact I love nothing more than to flip through the many art books I have on the shelf. Seeing different styles, different techniques, and just appreciating what others have done is a great way Read more…
My latest article for Apex Magazine (check it out here) is about, as an artist who likes being noticed, learning how to approach people. It’s not easy, and being a wallflower most of life it really becomes a challenge. As the article I wrote discusses, putting that first step out Read more…