I've Been Published!

Huge, great news! Palladium Books is using my contest entry from this spring for the cover of Rifter #52, and asked if I would be willing to illustrate for them in the future! My fingers are crossed, and I'm very excited to start working with them!

Hive Titan

Here's an overview of the making of this monster:

Part 1

When I began, all I knew was that I wanted to play with scale and make a giant creature. I started with a general lumpy shape, which turned into a shell. I started putting holes in the shell, and got the idea of something other than the giant mutant snail living inside. I added the smaller swarm shapes and started placing light and dark shapes around the creature, which turned into plants and clouds. Then, I went into the creature's head, starting with a snail like head, so the shell could be more easily identified, and then embellishing to make it something more interesting.



Part 2

As I developed the different forms and broke up the major shapes, I added color. I put warm colors on the shell where it faces the light, and the color of the sky and plants where it is in the shadow. I added tiny figures and stone henge boulders to have something to measure the size of the creature against.



Part 3

After I made the sky bluer and the light more gold, I made the lit edges of the trees warmer. Then, to add depth to the scene, I lightened the shadows and blurred the edges of everything beyond the foreground increasingly as it recedes into the distance.



In Hindsight

I like the light in this piece, but I think the creature could be more interesting and active, and the composition is a little lacking in drama. However, as a quick project without much planning or time put in, I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out.