Here is the finished piece from last week (duh). I decided to switch from cool blue colors to oranges and reds to convey the sense of urgency and violence.


Here is the second piece I'm making for the contest. I'm still deciding on a color palette, but I don't think the tones need much more work.


Also, after a lot of cleaning, tossing, rearranging, and more cleaning, I finally finished setting up a studio in my garage with Jessica.

WIP from a Week Well Spent

All this past week I've been trying to dig in and put as many hours as I can towards this piece and one other for a contest being held by an RPG publisher. I've been trying to focus on mood and composition lately, reading as much as I can and looking at a lot of the illustrators from the golden age.

The Monstrous Manual Project 001

I recently dug out my old Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd Edition Monstrous Manual. Flipping through it reminded me of how much I used to sit with it in front of me, just looking at the illustrations. It's part of the reason I got into art. Anyway, it occurred to me that with all the great creature descriptions inside, I should try making my own illustrations. If nothing else, it'll be good practice and more stuff for the portfolio.

DISCLAIMER:

Dear Wizards of the Coast,

Please don't sue me.

Thanks,
~Z~


Aarakocra

The first creature in the Monstrous Manual, as it is alphabetized by the creature names, is the Aarakocra. Aarakocra are bird men that live in tribes in the mountains. They share large communal nests, and hunt with javelins using their thumbs on both hands and feet.

Sketchbook Update