New Work for DragonCon 2012

So I have been busy working on some new imagery for DragonCon 2012.  I will have a booth there (as will fellow Muddy, Dan Dos Santos.)  If you will be attending stop by and say hello.

It will be my first year at the convention, and I want to make a good impression.
So I canned my original idea of Ninjas vs. Bears as being out of place for this event, and I went with something more traditional.  (I am not ruling out Ninjas vs. Bears for next year's Spectrum Live though.)

These are my studies for a more DragonCon-themed image.  This one continues the thread of; if I was a player in some fantasy story, I'd probably be the guy who made the really dumb mistake and got us all in a lot of trouble.
In this case, our hero is thinking, 'maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all,' as he tries to quietly draw his sword. The dragon has its head up, suddenly alert.

Next week: Watercolor and Final.

The Digital Silmarillion: Joining the Dark Side

So I know I said I wasn't planning on doing (or monkeying with) any of these Silmarillion pieces digitally.  But I gave in and joined the Dark Side for a bit to push the Glorfindel and the Balrog piece a little further.

I can't help it, sometimes I just have to monkey with the paintings.  This version of the image is much more like the frame that was in my head originally, with a little more emphasis put on the fire and atmosphere. Hopefully the digital work doesn't affect the overall classic feel I was going for in the original.  Having things turn out too synthetic looking is always a concern when painting in Photoshop.

In the end, I just love pushing the traditional parts further on the computer. Like the Dark Side, Photoshop can be a lot of fun to work in once you really figure it out.

But this is where it starts guys. One day your happily adjusting Photoshop dials, the next thing you know you've built a Deathstar and you're about to blow up Alderaan.