More digital sketches......

I have recently been inspired by the works of Beksinski to try to more solidly define my level of fantasy surrealism. Beksinski had an amazing ability to give you just enough reality to make you think that maybe his visions could actually be alive on some distant planet, or in some alternate reality.... at least during his "fantastic" period. Not so, in my opinion, with a lot of other surrealists. Even Giger's work can drift too far towards the abstract for my taste. I think a good rule of thumb is: 70% fantasy, 30% surrealism... well, for me anyway. I'm excited about sketching this way, I could see taking any one of these and doing them up in a style like the Globe Chaser. At least, that is what I am going to try.

"The Globe Chaser" - FINISHED! YEE-HAW!

Will he ever catch that pesky will-o-the-wisp? It's just so dern pesky!

I think I am pretty happy with the end result of this guy. I am going to experiment with using this method more often in my personal work. It's more satisfying... for me anyways. I don't see a whole lot of line-oriented work in American concept art and fantasy illustration, but maybe I need to look harder.

I think digital painting has encouraged a lot of looseness and painterliness, which is awesome, and works great for artists who are "painters" and think in those terms.... but that just isn't me. I am a slave to the line. Don't get me wrong, I think the painterly guys really are doing some amazing stuff, but I find the art of mark-making fascinating and relaxing, almost meditative. My better "paintings", I think, are the ones that start with a more well-defined drawing, or line art. Although, I do enjoy doing those quicky, loose black and white digital sketches.... but really as more of a starting point.... so I guess there is merit to both, and maybe learning to combine both methods will have good results too.... so many choices, so little focus....

Finished Mr. Skullneck!!!!!

Finally, something "finished". Well, at least what I am willing to call finished. Nothing is ever truly finished, right?

Also, if you want to see image grabs of my process on this piece, follow this link:

http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=112322

-SAM

The Globe Chaser.....

Here's ANOTHER WIP, which is using a more "hyper-detailed, pen and ink/crosshatch" approach which I really enjoy doing, and is influenced by some of my favorite artists like Ian Miller (see link on the right), Bernie Wrightson, Gustav Dore, Arthur Rackham, Hieronymous Bosch, Peter Breughel the Elder, and Albrecht Durer. I think I just like making lines, so I want to try to do more of my personal work in this style.... let me know what you think.

More digital sketches....

And yet, some good ol' sketchbook sketches....

Here are a couple of recent sketches from the ol' sketchbook.... gotta love the pencil.....

Quickie digital sketch.

I have started doing some sketching digitally, despite my love of the pencil. I find it's better to experiment with new methods, than to get bogged down in one way of working for the rest of your life....... remember kids, a rolling stone gathers no moss.... God, that's dumb.

Another WIP: The Messenger

Here's a piece where I took three separate thumbnails from my sketchbook and cobbled them together to make another piece. I like the composition so far (thanks Kenji for the suggestion), but not sure about color. Thoughts? Any suggestions for a good direction to go with for the colors?

Mr. Skullneck

Here's a piece that I am almost done with. I started it a while back, then I got bored of it, and now I am into it again, and plan on finishing it...... sensing a "lack of focus" theme yet? But instead of fighting it, I have decided to embrace the chaos, and let the chips fall where they may.

Another dude smoking.....

Just to illustrate my last statement, here is a recent sketch from the sketchbook. Another guy smoking. But this guy has a cat/dog-thing. Don't smoke, kids, it's bad for you. Would you really want to look like THIS guy?

"Fish Lady" WIP

"Fish Lady" WIP. I also seem to draw people smoking a lot. I guess that is another recurring theme. Weird. I used to smoke a little bit. It started to get more frequent than it should have been, so I decided to stop. But I still like the visual of weird creatures smoking... kinda like those old Hollywood head shots, only with aliens. Anyways, I should finish her up pretty soon.....

The Fish Lady

OK, now for my first legit sketchBlog entry. Here's a new piece i am working on called "The Fish Lady". For some reason, i seem to draw fish people in my sketchbook a lot. I guess that is what you call a recurring theme. No idea what it means.... I once had a pet catfish when I was 5 or 6, guess that could have something to do with it. It lived in a little pond in our front yard for about 6 months, and then the pond kinda dried up. But amazingly, when I went to check on the fish, it was still alive! Living in the mud. So I grabbed it and took it to a nearby lake and let it go. Goodbye fish.

My Hero, Doug Henning. What a face. What a magical spirit. Look how he holds the power of illusion in his skinny hands, and how it glints proudly off of his semi-white teeth. Oh, glory be.