The Art of Eric Braddock

ImagineFX Magazine spot: Issue #079

2012-01-16T14:07:00.000-08:00

Hey guys, some cool news came my way recently, I've got a spot in next month's ImagineFX Magazine's FXPose section, a friend of mine was awesome enough to get a scan for me since she's across the pond and got her copy today in the mail (Special thanks to Eva Widermann!)

G1988 Presents Adult Swim

2012-01-07T09:33:00.001-08:00

Jedi Master Yoda

12x24"

Pencil, white charcoal and pastel on paper

Hey guys.. thought I'd share my submission to Gallery1998's next show, Adult swim, that opens January 13th. Hope you guys dig it :)

Christmas

2011-12-25T12:45:00.000-08:00

Cowardly Lion

Hey guys, wanted to share a painting I did for my mom for her christmas gift this year. She's a huge Wizard of Oz fan and it was her favorite movie growing up as a kid, so I painted a portrait of the Cowardly Lion for her. Hope you guys dig it!

Lord of the Rings Portraits

2011-12-17T13:22:00.000-08:00

Some new lord of the rings portraits I finished up recently, thought I'd share them with you all :)

World of Warcraft TCG sample: "Scorch"

2011-11-10T23:26:00.000-08:00

wallpaper: 1900x1600

Wanted to put together a new World of Warcraft TCG sample piece for the portfolio before tackling a few other projects.

Gallery 1988 Melrose: The Bill Murray "Please Post Bills" Show

2011-10-29T05:17:00.000-07:00

"Captain Steve Zissou"

13x19" Pencil, white charcoal and pastel on paper

Something new to change things up a bit, I occasionally do gallery work and my more regular location for such is Gallery 1988 in Los Angeles. It is an awesome gallery and they have killer shows (In case you don't know about them, do check them out). If you're down in the LA area, stop by the show if you're up for a good collection of art! Their shows never disappoint.

Gallery 1988 Upcoming Shows

I originally was going to go with the Ghostbusters theme since my piece sold pretty fast at the show last time but I decided to try something different and get out of my comfort zone. The reason this is outside of my comfort zone is because I never saw The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou but know that the film has a huge cult following. It was also a lot of fun drawing Bill Murray at an older age versus how young he was in Ghostbusters. I'm pretty happy with the result, I wanted to do a larger piece full of Bill Murray portraits arranged in a typical movie poster montage, but time ran short because of current projects.

Speaking of which... in a day or so, I'll have a new card illustration posted, swing on back and check it out :)

Thrall at the Maelstrom

2011-10-20T08:26:00.001-07:00

"Thrall at the Maelstrom"

detail

Since I'm waiting for some of my illustration work to clear that's currently under wraps because of NDAs, here's a personal piece I recently finished. Normally, I try to steer clear from doing any kind of "fan art", but what started out as a simple warm up sketch ended up getting me excited and really into the piece so I decided to just finish it up. Normally when I do warm ups, I choose familiar subject matter (this ends up being things from games that I play or movies that I watch). In this case, I decided to do a portrait of the character Thrall from Warcraft. I try to keep things relevant to the game's storyline whenever I decide to do a Warcraft related piece and this one focused on the most recent Patch 4.2 - "Rage of the Firelands".

Concept work

2011-09-29T13:16:00.001-07:00

3D Concept - Guardian Crystal Blade

3D Concept - Scourge Box

Just wanted to share some of my recent concept work I finished up. Hope you guys dig them. Any equipment/weapon or environment prop requests are welcome and I'll see what I can come up with :) I'm open to trying all kinds of new things. I think my next few will be some armor models.

Samwise in the Pass of Cirith Ungol

2011-09-19T08:36:00.000-07:00

Roughly a year ago, I started doing my Lord of the Rings portraits. They have luckily led me to a private commission on a grand scale which I'm really excited to start soon, this will be my largest painting to date, as it will be about 72" in height when completed. I knew from the start that I wanted to paint Samwise in one of his many awesome moments in Lord of the Rings, so I've chosen one of the most climactic ones–Sam as he comes across Shelob in her cave. Originally I wasn't planning on showing her in the picture, but after trying some things out, I've decided that it really tells the scene best with her included. I'm very excited to start this one, it will be my first oil piece in over a year since I've completely immersed myself into digital applications lately. I'm sure process shots will be posted as this project is started, but I wanted to share the final sketch on here with you guys.

Lord of the Rings Portrat: Saruman

2011-09-17T07:15:00.000-07:00

Saruman

19x25" Pencil, white charcoal and pastel on paper

"Concealed within his fortress, the lord of Mordor sees all. His gaze pierces cloud, shadow, earth, and flesh. You know of what I speak, Gandalf: a great Eye, lidless, wreathed in flame." ~Saruman

Lord of the Rings portrait: Lady Galadriel

2011-09-16T09:26:00.000-07:00

Galadriel

19x25" pencil, white charcoal and pastel on paper

Cate Blanchett's portrayal of Galadriel in the Lord of the Rings films was a spot on cast for the character. She's beautiful, but strong. Firm, but fair. I loved the scene in the Fellowship where Frodo offers her the ring after looking into the mirror, even someone as powerful as she showed that sense of temptation for the One ring. I was pleased to hear that Peter Jackson would be casting her to reprise her role in The Hobbit films, it'll be interesting to see how PJ incorporates her into the story considering she isn't in the book. I know many die-hard fans are against his methods, but as a fan of the films, I love the return of these characters to link the series. If done tactfully, which I believe Jackson will, it'll be a really nice addition.

Lord of the Rings Portrait: Bilbo

2011-09-15T05:32:00.000-07:00

Here's another portrait from the batch of Lord of the Rings drawings I recently completed. I had a hard time figuring out what aspect of Bilbo I wanted to choose for this. I felt his role in Lord of the Rings was more of the kind, but troubled uncle with the burden he carried after having the ring for 60 years. Ian Holm did a fantastic job portraying the character, I think Martin Freeman has some big shoes to fill but I'm confident he's going to be outstanding.

Lord of the Rings portrait: The Witch King of Angmar

2011-09-13T16:37:00.000-07:00

The Witch King of Angmar

19x25" Pencil, white charcoal and pastel on paper

I finished another batch of Lord of the Rings portraits recently and finally got a chance to get them scanned in so I can post them up. Usually I do one large post of them, but I'm going to get more in the habit of posting a new image every day :)

Hope you guys dig it!

H.P. Lovecraft Gallery Show

2011-09-05T07:19:00.000-07:00

The sketch for my piece included in Dead and Dreaming exhibition at Paradigm gallery, opening September 30th, curated by the awesome Sam Heimer. Details about the show can be found at: http://bottomoftheinkwell.blogspot.com/2011/08/dead-and-dreaming-and-other-good-news.html

Dead and Dreaming

Paradigm Gallery

www.paradigm-gallery.com

2020 South Street, Philadelphia PA

Opening Reception: September 30th 6-10 PM

TheOneRing.net Featured Artist

2011-08-28T07:35:00.000-07:00

Video chat by Stickam.com

Hey guys! I apologize for my lack of posting lately, I've been doing a lot of projects and portfolio building so there have been a whole bunch of NDA work I can't show yet and a lot of portfolio pieces that are close to being finished. September will have way more action going on!

I wanted to share this news with you, I was recently extremely lucky and honored to have been asked by the team over at TheOneRing.net to be a guest on their weekly TORn Tuesday show that's hosted by Clifford "Quickbeam" Broadway and his video producer Justin Sewell. A special thanks to those guys for the invitation and being awesome! I had a lot of fun chatting with them about my work and about Tolkien, the video is posted above so feel free to check it out! Throughout the 2 hr show, roughly 26,000 viewers tuned in and an average of 800 or so for the entire duration. It was a really cool experience and I was truly humbled to have been their first featured guest artist.

For those of you who aren't familiar with TheOneRing.net, it is the official fan page for all things Lord of the Rings and Hobbit news/facts. I honestly don't know any Tolkien fans who aren't aware of them and their site but just in case, go over and browse around for yourself if you're a Tolkien buff like the rest of us ;) Don't forget to check out TORn Tuesdays at 5pm PST at http://www.theonering.net/live/ and also their Stickam channel.

Gallery 1988 presents: "Crazy 4 Cult 5, I'm getting too old for this shit"

2011-07-04T12:39:00.001-07:00

"The First Goonie"

18x24" Pencil, white charcoal and pastel on paper

Hey guys, I wanted to share one of my recent gallery pieces which will be shown inGallery1988's Melrose location in LA. I was lucky enough to be asked to submit a piece for this iconic show, Crazy 4 Cult. A special thanks to Jensen for the invite! This will be their 5th C4C annual show so I feel honored to be a part of it! The show's theme is exactly what it sounds like, cult movies. And what better cult movie from the 80's is there other than The Goonies. Here's my submission for the show, hope you guys dig it!

DreamWorks Animation Fine Art

2011-06-30T17:58:00.001-07:00

Earlier in 2011, I was approached about doing some DreamWorks tribute pieces for a project they had selling original artwork and giclee prints of artwork of the films. I was lucky enough to be asked to do one of 3 of their best films- Shrek, Kung Fu Panda and How to Train Your Dragon. I'm a huge fan of all three so it was something that was incredibly fun to work on. They're finally posted up on their website and are for sale through the site, DreamWorks Animation Fine Art

Some textures

2011-06-16T16:29:00.000-07:00

Just some texture samples I finished as warm ups recently.

TMNT PRINTS PRE-ORDER

2011-05-30T00:22:00.001-07:00

Hey everyone! I've been asked by a handful of people so far about whether or not prints would be sold of my TMNT pieces, so this post will have all of that information!

All prints will be 8x10" signed and printed on archival paper, $15 + $5 for shipping domestically. (International shipping costs vary, let me know where you're located in your email and I can respond with the proper adjustment)

Price of all 5 is $60 + $5 for shipping. (saving $15 and basically a buy 4 get 1 free deal!)

This will be a limited edition printing and I'll only be printing 20 of each. Printing will take place next week and will shipped out shortly after. Please email the following information to ericbraddock@gmail.com:

----------------------------------

Full Name:

Mailing Address:

Print(s) that you're purchasing:

----------------------------------

PayPal:

the email you'll contact me at is also the email address that you can make your payment to, ericbraddock@gmail.com

Any other questions and specifics can be emailed to my website email: eric@ericbraddock.com

TMNT: Michelangelo

2011-05-27T23:39:00.000-07:00

I decided to go a bit different with Michelangelo, I based his design off of a painted turtle species. I liked the idea of him being somewhat different than his three brothers because his personality is a bit more outgoing and energetic. I think it fits him best. In a side story in Volume 2, it's revealed at an early age that Michelangelo was a talented artist. Without getting too literal with the painted turtle concept, I still enjoyed giving him a bit of a louder design than the other 3. Michelangelo was my first favorite when I was a kid.

TMNT: Donatello

2011-05-25T20:12:00.000-07:00

Here's my 4th piece for my TMNT series, Donatello. I went with the blue for an electrical effect to subtly imply his affiliation with inventing stuff. I actually had this see-through computer panel in front of him with some tech programming type going on, but I was too torn with it and it didn't really look right so I scrapped it. If it wasn't so up close, I'd probably have kept it. Oh well ;)

Magnar the Lavalchemist

2011-05-24T00:47:00.000-07:00

New sample for the portfolio. I wanted to paint a World of Warcraft goblin so I came up with a character in mind.. the idea was a goblin who harvests lava for his alchemy.

TMNT: Krang

2011-05-21T22:43:00.001-07:00

Rough sketch

Here's my 3rd TMNT Series painting: Krang. Originally I was only going to do the four teenage mutant ninja turtles, but then I had a request over Facebook from an art friend of mine. I drew out a rough sketch to see how I felt about possibly doing a Krang portrait. I really liked the idea of the glow behind him being the portal to Dimension X (too nerdy of a reference? haha) and I was excited with what I came up with and decided to give it a shot. The painting was about 5-6 hrs and I'm happy with the result, plus it was a nice break from painting green skin. Besides my turtle pieces lately, I'm finishing up a new WoW sample goblin illo, so this was a good change of pace. Hope you guys dig it.

TMNT: Raphael

2011-05-20T22:13:00.000-07:00

TMNT tribute painting for a group show. The second of a series of four.

TMNT: Leonardo

2011-05-20T02:50:00.001-07:00

Hey guys, I'm participating in a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles show at the beginning of June here in Philadelphia, doing four pieces in total (obviously)

Wanted to share the first round with you guys. I did this piece tonight after I finished my day of painting, so I'll probably take a second look at this after I wake up. Some changes might be made, but as far as the overall finish goes, I'm pretty happy with the result.

New Props Design: Gilneas Grave

2011-05-17T14:16:00.000-07:00

Hey guys, I just finished up this new props design page. I based the work off of a piece of concept work I found on Blizzard's concept art gallery on their website. Sculpted in ZBrush, painted in Photoshop. Hope you guys dig it. More to come!

ArtOrder challenge: Eowyn and Nazgûl

2011-05-15T21:37:00.000-07:00

Here's my entry for the ArtOrder Eowyn and the Nazgul Challenge. The entries showing up over at the ArtOrder forum are looking amazing, can't wait to see all of the finals together.

News update: ImagineFX Featured Image

2011-05-11T12:40:00.000-07:00

Hey guys, just wanted to share a bit of cool news I found out today, my Bilbo painting is currently featured over at http://www.imaginefx.com/ as Image of the Day! Was a cool surprise to come across when I signed onto my profile there.

New painting: Death Knight

2011-05-09T18:06:00.000-07:00

Kinda approached my Thor sketch with a Death Knight in mind... decided to change it up and make it a fully fledged Death Knight painting.

New Props Design: Runestone

2011-05-09T13:13:00.001-07:00

Thor Thursday

2011-05-05T16:30:00.000-07:00

A buddy of mine, Jarreau Wimberly, asked me to participate in his Thor Thursday finale. He asked a bunch of other artists to contribute as well and here's my piece for the series. All of the images will be posted up on the Thor Thursday blog later on, but I just finished this and wanted to show you guys.

Eowyn and Nazgûl value sketch

2011-05-02T13:50:00.000-07:00

Revised on 4.4.2011: Both Chris Rahn and Craig Spearing suggested changing the sword direction and Dan Dos Santos suggested I bring her up to overlap the FelBeast's legs a little, it also gave me some room to go into Eowyn's cloak design a bit. I think they were some really good suggestions. I started into color last night, the final will be posted whenever it's finished.

New painting: Coldsnap Magi Dagger

2011-04-26T09:33:00.000-07:00

In between projects, I've been doing more illustrations between all the zbrush work, LotR portrait work and this was a quick one I finished up recently. Hope you guys dig it.

Z Brush sculpts

2011-04-21T13:25:00.000-07:00

Hey guys, just wanted to share a little bit of what I've been working on in between projects.

Here are some zbrush sculpts I've done recently, I'm also working on a full figure sculpt, that'll get posted in the next day or so once I get some other things wrapped up first.

Few a Day

2011-04-16T17:26:00.001-07:00

Cliffs of Moher - Ireland

Matt Stewart and his wife Gina just went to Ireland for a trip and they took so many awesome photos, I've saved a bunch for my Few a Day project. This was today's landscape study, 30 mins.

Few a Day

2011-04-14T13:38:00.000-07:00

Landscape study after my lunch for a warm up. 30 minutes.

Lord of the Rings Portraits: 3

2011-04-09T08:09:00.000-07:00

The next batch of Lord of the Rings portraits. These will get posted every week or so as I get them done with my other work. Hope you guys dig em!

New painting: Venomous FelBlade

2011-04-01T14:06:00.001-07:00

Just a new painting I finished up today in between other projects going on, hope you guys dig it. I had a lot of fun with this one.

New painting: Highborne Warlock

2011-03-14T11:11:00.000-07:00

Here's my latest painting, Highborne Warlock. I started this in oils a while back and finally got a chance to finish it up.

Lord of the Rings Portraits: 2

2011-03-12T14:49:00.000-08:00

All drawings are 19x25" white charcoal, pencils, and pastel on paper

Second batch of Lord of the Rings portraits, Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli. Next batch will finish up the Fellowship with Gandalf, Boromir, Merry and Pippin. I'm looking forward to having the fellowship done and move onto some villainous characters from the story, however I'm juggling all sorts of projects at the moment so more will get posted as soon as I can :)

Studio.

2011-03-10T19:04:00.000-08:00

Just rearranged some things and attempting to clean up my studio space. Thought I'd share a picture with you guys.

New piece

2011-03-06T03:28:00.001-08:00

New piece I finished recently that I worked on between other commissions. After seeing the kick ass WoW TCG work that Chris Rahn has been posting up lately, I couldn't keep myself from doing my own WoW inspired Worgen piece.

BG

2011-03-02T04:41:00.000-08:00

Background for an illustration i'm working on at the moment. Thought I'd share it with you guys.

Z Brush

2011-02-27T04:52:00.001-08:00

Started learning zbrush this week. This is my first sculpt: Birdman. I picked up a zbrush magazine to get myself off to a solid head start, I'm pretty happy with the results. This was lesson 1. It's such a complicated program with tons of features and abilities so at times it can become overwhelming.

I can't wait to do my next one. It'll have to wait until other projects are finished ;) Hope you guys dig it.

A few a day, every day no matter what.

2011-02-16T14:26:00.000-08:00

This year I came across Nathan Fowkes's art blog. His sense of color, composition and his confidence with making images is truly inspiring. One of his posts that really struck a chord with me was his "A few a day, every day no matter what" post. I decided that I'm going to give it a shot. These are the first two and I'll be adding them as I can.

UArts Guest Artist: Jon Foster

2011-02-10T16:00:00.000-08:00

Matt Curtius and Jon Foster

demo, he discussed his approaches to his palette and how he goes about using the tools photoshop offers to push and pull his image values and hues

dabbling in color towards the end of the hour long demo (yes. 1 hour. insanity.)

Today I had the pleasure of seeing Jon Foster at University of the Arts today for his guest artist lecture visit. Jon's work is known by tons of fans and fellow artists, if you aren't familiar with his work, you should definitely check out his stuff. (www.jonfoster.com) During his lecture, he touched base on topics such as breaking into the industry, his bit of OCD, his struggle through art school and developing his personal vision, his experience with Rick Berry, his influences (James Jean, Phil Hale, NC Wyeth, among others), and parted advice to the audience about making decisions in illustration and discussed learning to love the process.

Jon is also a contributor to the amazingly fresh and popular art blog Muddy Colors. Along with Jon, the blog is run by the following:

Dan Dos Santos

Donato Giancola

Gregory Manchess

Jesper Ejsing

Eric Fortune

Justin Gerard

Arnie Fenner

and John Jude Palencar

It's an extremely informative blog and one of the top few you should visit on a daily basis.

Jon Foster is awesome. That said, he is not only a fantastic artist, but he's also an extremely down to earth person. I was lucky enough to be included in the faculty lunch between Jon's demo and his lecture. He's a really cool guy with a lot of great stories to share, I hope I get to chat with him again sometime in the near future.

A large selection of his work can currently be viewed in the Richard C. von Hess Illustration Gallery at University of the Arts. More info and details here.

Lord of the Rings Portraits

2011-02-07T16:11:00.000-08:00

Hey all, I recently was asked to do a large commission of portraits. When discussing what the he wanted, he stated "I'd like you to do a charcoal portrait of every character from The Lord of the Rings and also the Hobbit." Needless to say, I jumped on the chance. I had started doing a few portraits in my spare time in between jobs and other portfolio pieces, now I can finally get back to them! Granted he does want me to do many from the films, he also wants me to mix in characters that were never included into the movies. I think it's a nice combination, I always like to strive for likenesses and it also gives me a chance to do my own take on some of the great characters that were missed out.

Two I had already done (Sam and Denethor) and he asked I started with Treebeard because he's his favorite. Frodo was the start of what I'll be tackling next, the remaining members of the Fellowship. Next up are Gandalf, Boromir, Gimli, Legolas and Merry.

Here is the first batch: Frodo, Samwise, Treebeard and Denethor.

All drawings are 19x25" white charcoal and pencils on paper

Weapon concepts - staves

2011-01-30T09:31:00.000-08:00

Some staff concepts I developed recently, the venom staff is my favorite

Weapon concepts - daggers

2011-01-30T09:30:00.000-08:00

Some dagger weapon concepts I worked on last week.

Weapon concepts

2011-01-28T05:32:00.001-08:00

Just a little bit of what I've been up to... Hope you dig em.

Larger post to follow soon.

Eragon and Saphira

2011-01-21T02:06:00.001-08:00

"Eragon and Saphira"

19x25" pencil and white charcoal on paper

Was asked to draw Eragon and his dragon Saphira for a drawing commission, here's the final.

Next post: UV Maps, texture painting and 3D weapon models :)

UV map texture painting

2010-12-28T23:19:00.001-08:00

Sword concept:

UV map painting / 3D model:

(click image for full view)

*having some blogger difficulties with the images, click these links below to view larger*

sword concept

UVmap painting

Here's a UV map painting along with the model fully rendered in 3D. Wanted to show you guys a little bit of what I've been up to lately. More to come soon! I'll try to get a video clip of the image rotating so you can see it in full view and at multiple angles.

Christmas 2010

2010-12-24T19:23:00.000-08:00

Tonight is Christmas Eve and I guess it's safe to show off what I did for my mom this year. She's always been a huge supporter of my artistic goals and I occasionally like to create things for her. This year, keeping with the whole silhouette studies I've been into, I decided to make four silhouette portraits of the characters from her favorite movie of all time, The Wizard of Oz.

I don't have a photo of it in the frame, however its size is 24" wide by 10" tall, with four individually matted panels, each 4"x6".

Merry Christmas to you all and have a safe, happy holiday!

Sketches

2010-12-08T01:02:00.001-08:00

Sorry for the lack of posting lately. Lots of project juggling at once, however in the mean time, here are some Samwise silhouette sketches I worked on tonight. I'm leaning mostly towards the confrontation between him and Shelob, however there are a few random ones mixed in there as well. They were a lot of fun and fast, let me know what you think and which ones you like most! I'm taking a vote ;)

Last Arthas study

2010-11-09T15:39:00.001-08:00

Last Arthas study I've got going before I make the jump to the finish. Just getting it cleared with the buyer before moving forward. Sorry for my absence lately, I've had a ton of new projects going on, lots will be posted soon!

Also, I leave for Disney tomorrow morning so when I get back on the 15th, I'll have a new post, so be sure to come back and check out the new stuff :)

New work

2010-10-18T04:52:00.001-07:00

Scourge Gate

2010-10-09T00:37:00.001-07:00

New piece I finished to add to the portfolio, Scourge Gate, a very Warcraft inspired one. I came across a photo of a friend who was traveling and he was standing on a wall next to this giant arc gateway and it inspired me to do this piece. I thought how cool it would be that instead of a road passing through the arc, it were a green liquid plague running through in a river of sorts. This is the result that I came up with.

Arthas

2010-09-28T02:24:00.001-07:00

This past summer, I painted Frostmourne, the weapon of Arthas, the Lich King. This Fall, I'll be painting a 6' tall figure piece of him. To get myself prepared and ready for such a thing, I'll be doing a handful of studies like this one to become better familiar with his armor and helm pieces. This is a study I did from the cinematic for Wrath of the Lich King. Roughly 3-4 hours in photoshop. I did a drawing on paper first, photographed my quick sketch and then painted overtop of my drawing. I'm not sure if this is a way I'll continue to work or not, but I had a lot of fun with this and am excited for the next bunch before I start on the actual painting, with a sketch I'll draw up completely unique from the studies.

Battleguard Orc

2010-09-25T02:51:00.001-07:00

New digital piece for the portfolio, been working on this one between other pieces and projects. I start the next one tomorrow along with a sketch for a private commission that I've been amped about.

3G Show, Gallery 1988

2010-08-19T22:58:00.000-07:00

Hey, guys! I was asked to participate in a group show out in Los Angeles, CA at Gallery1988, a very popular and awesome gallery venue which focuses mostly around cult classics from the 1980's. The show has been called the 3G Show, 3 G's for the movies the show is based off of. Goonies, Gremlins and Ghostbusters. As a member of the Autumn Society of Philadelphia, it was extremely exciting to hear we'd be hosting a show this year out on the west coast at such a great gallery. Their shows always do really well and have a huge amount of foot traffic going through. Here are my 3G Show pieces. I would've liked to have enough time to finish these as paintings, but this month I am swamped so I decided to do some finished drawings instead. I wish I could make it out to the opening in LA, I know it's going to be a killer time.

"It's right here, Ray. It's looking at me"

13" x 19" Pencil and white charcoal on paper

"C'mon, guys, this is our time"

13" x 19" Pencil and white charcoal on paper

"With Mogwai comes much responsibility"

13" x 19" Pencil and white charcoal on paper

Studies

2010-08-11T19:28:00.001-07:00

Just trying some things out.. having some fun.

Woods environment

2010-08-05T16:44:00.000-07:00

New environment piece, just trying some new things out. I've got a busy month this month so I'll be posting a lot more pieces as they're finished.

New environment concept

2010-08-02T17:42:00.000-07:00

Just trying some things out.. More weapon studies coming along and more environment pieces.

Environment Digital Study

2010-07-25T12:22:00.000-07:00

Hey guys, just wanted to share this environment digital study I did last night, I grabbed a random piece from Blizzard's concept art gallery and did my best to copy it without grabbing colors or just tracing from the original. It's a great learning tool doing things freehand like that and I feel I really got a lot out of it. Expect to see more of these in the future as well as original ones from me.

My copy is the top image, the original is on the bottom, I believe it's done by Peter Lee, but I might be mistaken since there's no signature.

Blood Elf weapon concepts

2010-07-18T04:00:00.000-07:00

Just some new weapon concepts, expect to see a lot more of these in the near future.

Digital work

2010-07-14T23:15:00.001-07:00

Tonight I did a few weapon concept designs. I'm pretty happy with how they turned out, they were so much fun, I intend on building up a portfolio of concept work soon, starting with weapons/armor/items etc.

Frostmourne Hungers

2010-07-07T13:24:00.000-07:00

"Frostmourne"

18x24" oil on board

This is my first piece in my Arthas series that I'm working on and it will be part of a group show in Philadelphia, PA for the next month. Next piece in the series will most likely be the Lich King's helm, Helm of Domination.

3D Artist Magazine spot

2010-07-06T17:04:00.000-07:00

Hey guys! Just wanted to share a bit of news with you. My Highborne sketch can be seen alongside Daniel Dociu and Alena Wooten's incredible pieces for an article in issue 17 of 3D Artist Magazine this month about the Beautiful Grim art auction! Even though mine is tiny in the article, still pretty sweet seeing it in print :)

Zombie Pin up / Frostmourne WIP

2010-07-02T02:10:00.000-07:00

Hey guys! Here's my first completed digital piece since getting my tablet.. a friend of mine, Alex Eckman-Lawn, illustrates the comic "Awakening" (some page samples here) and it's about zombies. So when he approached me asking if I'd be willing to do a pin up piece for the interior of his next book, how could I not!?

This piece was drawn out like my normal sketches are drawn and the rest was worked/painted in Photoshop.

Sketch time: 4 hrs

Photoshop: 3 hrs

For the way it turned out, I'm pretty content for it being my first digital illustration.

(IN PROGRESS)

Second, I've been painting away this week on my first piece of my Arthas series, Frostmourne! I've been so giddy while working on this and am really happy with the way it's coming along. The painting is 18x24" and I have about another 20 hrs to go that I want to put into it before it's done for a group show next week in Philadelphia. The show is titled, "All Hands on Deck" and the theme is anything to do with the ocean/sea. If you're in the area, here are the details for the show opening next week!

Date:	Friday, July 9, 2010
Time:	7:00pm - 10:00pm
Location:	Chapter House Cafe and Art Gallery
Street:	620 s. 9th st between south and bainbridge st
City/Town:	Philadelphia, PA

Hope you guys like it so far! The final image will be posted within the next few days.

Fantasy Flight Games work

2010-06-21T19:17:00.000-07:00

Noticed one of my illustrations on each side of the box!

my new medium intuos 4 tablet with the 9 card illustrations I did for FFG

Just got a package in the mail today from Fantasy Flight Games! It's always exciting to see new work you've done printed, these are the cards I did for their Talisman Highland Expansion. And also pictured is my new Wacom Intuos 4 tablet! I'm breaking into working digitally, but I'll never give up painting in oils entirely ;)

Donato's Studio / Art Walk 2010

2010-06-07T16:38:00.000-07:00

Donato's new piece, "The Taming of Smeagol"

view the whole set of images here

For those of you who weren't able to make it out this weekend to Brooklyn, NY, I wanted to document a bit of the visit! It was a really awesome time and was great to meet other amazing artists that day. I drove up with Matt Stewart and we met up with Eric Wilkerson at Donato's, later on meeting up with book cover artist Chris McGrath in Manhattan. Such a cool time hanging out at Donato's place, talking with fellow artists Kristina Carroll and Scott Bakal there as well. Getting a chance to see a bunch of Donato's new work for his Middle-Earth book coming out with Underwood Books was exciting, definitely an inspiration every time I drop in up there. Thanks again to Matt, Eric and Chris for sharing their stories in the business with me and all of their input, and to Donato for allowing all of us to stop in and hang out!

Fantasy Flight Games work

2010-06-04T08:28:00.000-07:00

Tuskgore

Mountain Lion

Here are some pieces I did for the Talisman game with Fantasty Flight Games. These were a lot of fun to work on, I'll be posting more and updating my website with these over the course of the week with a bunch of new pieces.

Both are 12x16" oil on board.

Made in America Show

2010-06-01T20:06:00.000-07:00

George Washington study

Oil on board, 11x14"

Hey guys, this is a piece I started yesterday and finished tonight for a group show I'm part of this month at TRUST Gallery located in Philadelphia, PA, at 249 Arch St. The group show is titled, "Made in America" and there are 52 artists in the show, including myself. If you're in the area, swing on by!

Details for the Made in America show: June 4th, 6pm

For a while now, I've been wanting to try to paint a Master copy of an old painting. I never decided on one until now, for the show, I used it as an excuse to do a portrait of George Washington, but the great portrait painter Gilbert Stuart, known famously for his unfinished portrait of George Washington, but still a fantastic portraitist nonetheless. It was an incredible learning experience for me and I'm looking forward to my next Master copy, perhaps a Rembrandt.... or Rubens...

btw, for any of you in the NYC area, this weekend is Donato's open studio Art Walk in Brooklyn! I'll most likely be trekking up to that to take a peek at all of his new middle-earth pieces :drool: For more details, check it out here.

Anyway, hope you guys like my master copy! I hang it up at the show tomorrow evening. :)

Philadelphia Sketch Club

2010-06-01T08:45:00.001-07:00

Just got news that two of my pieces, Wizard King and Defection both won honorable mention awards in their categories at the Philadelphia Sketch Club's 2010 Phillustration show :) Pretty sweet news to get this morning.

Info for the show opening:

Where: Philadelphia Sketch Club

235 South Camac St, Philadelphia PA

When: June 13th, 2010 from 2-4pm

Who: Tons of great artworks!

Hope to see you there!

Arms

2010-05-29T14:46:00.000-07:00

Studying from my anatomy books has been quite refreshing. When I was in school, I remember always being anxious for anatomy class and it feels so good to get back into the basics and freshen up a bit. These drawings were done from the Burne Hogarth's Dynamic Hands book, I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to brush up on their practice with hands.

New Routine

2010-05-22T18:40:00.000-07:00

So living at home has been difficult to maintain some kind of order between family life, friends, work, relationship and recently working out. It's a lot to juggle and keep organized so I finally caved in and wrote myself up a weekly routine. This routine ranges from my workout schedule to my designated work hours each day and even threw in drawing exercises for myself. Different days will be focused on different aspects of anatomy and figure drawing. Today (Saturday) is all about the skull/head. I decided to get out of my house for a bit to my local Starbucks and did some drawing from my anatomy books in between reading up a bit. Needless to say, there is something awfully therapeutic about fundamental drawing, even if it's just brushing up on your skills.

Inspiration: Gurney Journey (James Gurney is doing a series of posts focused around portraiture right now, definitely worth checking out)

RIP Frank Frazetta (2.9.1928 - 5.10.2010)

2010-05-10T12:23:00.000-07:00

One of my favorites of his.

Frazetta was a giant. His work inspired many of us all and his work will continue to inspire future generations of artists. A sad day indeed for the art community.

UPDATE: website with hi-res pictures of Frazetta work here.

Been busy

2010-04-27T01:33:00.001-07:00

Hey guys, just wanted to let you all know that I've been pretty busy with things and once NDAs clear, I'll be able to post up a whole batch of new work.. see the picture above? That's a stack of paintings in my studio that I'm not allowed to show yet! I'm anxious to post them up, but until then, sorry for the lack of updates! I promise more will be coming more often very soon :)

in the meantime, take a trip over to these guys' blogs and check out the stuff they've been posting up, it's a great way to get inspired, these guys rock. period.

Tyler Jacobson

Chris Rahn

Ray Bonilla

Just finishing up a personal piece and a poster job. Pictures will be posted soon, so make sure to check back!

NYC and Donato's

2010-03-23T02:02:00.001-07:00

Last Tuesday, I made a trip to NYC for a portfolio drop off. While enjoying my stay in the city for the day, I called Donato up and asked if I could swing by to visit. I managed to navigate my way through the subway system and got to his place in Brooklyn and hung out for a bit. While there, we talked as he worked on one of his new Middle-Earth pieces, we looked through James Gurney's latest and spectacular art book, Imaginative Realism. The painting Donato was working on was the scene where Gollum attacks Frodo and Sam and has Sam pinned down while Frodo has Sting unsheathed... and let me tell you, this piece is just stunning. He's doing a series of Middle-Earth pieces for a book he'll be putting together soon, I'm sure you can keep updated by checking out the News section of Donato's site here.

After leaving Donato's, I made my way over to Tor Books to visit Irene Gallo. Her birthday had passed a short while back and I had promised her cupcakes! We had a great conversation before I had to make my way over to pick up my portfolio, I was trying to make it to the Chris and Soojin Buzelli lecture that was happening at the Society of Illustrators that night, but unfortunately, I had a rough night and was exhausted. I made my way back to the train and went on my way back home.

Anyway, I wanted to share some of the photos I took while at Donato's, I hope you enjoy them! You need to see these things in person if you get the chance :) Thanks again to Donato and Irene for being such generous hosts while I waited for my portfolio review to end!

What I've Learned So Far

2010-03-12T18:57:00.000-08:00

Over at Zelda Devon and Kurt Huggins's page, The Teetering Bulb, Zelda has created a little list of things she has learned to celebrate her site's 4th year anniversary in lieu of posting illustration work that hasn't cleared yet. So in the spirit of Zelda's post, I'd like to share a list of my own :)

There is no easy way, there is only the way. And the way requires work.
Have an abundance of music, podcasts, videos, tutorials and interviews that you can listen to while working. You'll burn through them faster than you might think.
Make connections with other artists, a studio can become a lonely place.
Network online and make opportunities happen in person.
Be nice.
Always accept criticism with open arms when getting feedback from professionals and ADs, the information they can share is invaluable.
Choose whatever medium and style you feel comfortable working in, there is no right or wrong way of working, but understand that certain areas require certain looks.
Draw, sketch, doodle and thumbnail as much as possible. And then draw some more.
Learn and respect the craft. Read up on things related to the field that you want to work in, doing research will only help you.
When you get in the zone, keep going until you literally can't go any further, those moments come around whenever they feel like it.
Email professionals and get their input, just be sincere and honest about things and they'll be more than happy to answer in kind.
Experiment.
Figure out what your weaknesses are and tackle them instantly, your work is only as good as the worst parts of your pieces. It will show.
Update your sites often, make yourself known, get your name around and keep the fire going as much as you can. People are watching and you never know who visits your pages.
Learn your process and make it as efficient as possible, you'll be saving yourself some trouble in the long run.
Set deadlines for yourself for whatever projects you're working on, even if it's personal work.
Try not to let people discourage you, it's likely that they don't understand what it's like being an artist. (both good and the bad)
Love what you do.
Let yourself geek out over things that get you excited, those will be your best pieces.
Get plenty of rest and exercise! You'd be surprised what a 30-60 minute walk/run a day will do for your energy and mental health.
Draw some more.
Challenge yourself. Work bigger, work smaller, work faster. Just work.
This life isn't easy and I don't think that's going to change. Are you willing to accept that?

Thanks for inspiring me to post a list of my own, Zelda! I hope to see more of these surfacing around :)

As a side note: My summer project will be a series of paintings focused around the character, Arthas, from the Warcraft games. I've yet to decide just how many pieces I'll be doing, but some will be studies while others will be life size paintings to scale. This is a project I've been wanting to do for quite some time and feel confident enough to try it. I'm looking forward to starting the paintings and hope you all stop back often to check up on progress shots! I'll be posting sketches and WIPs throughout the next couple of months once I have them started.

For now, I leave you with my first sketch WIP: Frostmourne.

7x22" white charcoal and pencil on toned paper

Cheers,

Eric

Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts Demo

2010-02-26T19:10:00.000-08:00

Over the shoulder from the group's point of view.

Sorry for the lack of posting lately, had a crazy February, the Northeast has gotten rocked with it's 3rd snow storm in the past 30 days and I'm recovering from being sick for the past week, so I promise more posts and more often in the future!

This past Wednesday, I was asked to give a demo at The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia, PA. It was a great and enthusiastic group who came for the demo and I had a great time working. I decided to bring in one of my paintings in progress and I'd work a little bit on it while answering questions that anyone may have had, I was pleased that there was a lot of discussion going back and forth in the group and even with myself, it was easy to work in that kind of environment.

Thanks again to Will and to the group who showed up, it was a very flattering and fun experience.

-Eric

Jon Schindehette's ArtOrder 2010 Calendar

2010-01-31T11:12:00.000-08:00

Mock up Calendar
(Picture taken from Jon's ArtOrder blog)

my self portrait piece that made it into the calendar

I've got some great news to share! Wizards of the Coast AD, Jon Schindehette, finally has copies of his ArtOrder 2010 Calendars for sale! This is great news because I was lucky enough to make it into the calendar, I believe my piece is for the month of April. I'm with some really great company too! The other artists involved are:

Aaron Miller
Andrew Olson
Anna Christenson
Dominick Saponaro (Fellow UArts grad!)
Garrett Hanna
Lu Vazquez
McLean Kendree
Sabin Boykinov
Tiziano Baracchi
Tobias Kwan
Tyler Jacobson
William O'Connor

Thanks again to Jon for including me in such a very awesome project! I'm really excited to see the calendar in person. For more info on how to get yourself a copy, head over to ArtOrder and order one while they last!

Eric

Beautiful Grim Art Auction Fundraiser

2010-01-26T22:32:00.001-08:00

"Beautiful Grim"

18x24 white charcoal and pencil on paper

Hey guys,

Just wanted to share a sketch that I recently finished for a piece I'll have included in a charity art auction fundraiser that will be held this Spring. But first, a little backstory: Mike "Daarken" Lim is a working concept artist and freelance illustrator who's girlfriend, Cat, was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 25 earlier in 2009 . She is now recovering from her treatment and surgery but the medical bills and toll it took on her mentally and physically have been overwhelming, so Mike and his friend, Leif Jeffers (an animator at DreamWorks) organized this fundraiser to help her out. The proceeds of the auction will go to paying off Cat's medical bills and the remaining funds will go to a breast cancer related charity.

There will be a show held with the artwork at a soon to be determined venue this Spring. Over 200 artists have joined in for the cause and submissions have been capped due to gallery space.

Some of the artists involved include:

Peter De Seve

Donato Giancola

Matt Stewart

Paul Bonner

Bobby Chiu

Dan Dos Santos

Andrew Jones (Android Jones)

Daniel Dociu

Jon Foster

Scott Altmann

Todd Lockwood

Steve Belledin

(a very small handful of the bunch)

For more info, feel free to check out the website at Beautiful Grim.

Thanks for taking the time to check this out and I hope you all like the sketch!

Eric

Lord of the Rings Sunday

2010-01-25T00:44:00.000-08:00

"Lord Denethor"

18x24" white charcoal and pencil on paper

"You think you are wise, Mithrandir. Yet for all your subtleties, you have not wisdom. Do you think the eyes of the White Tower are blind? I have seen more than you know."

This is my 2nd, new Lord of the Rings character sketch in this series. Next week I'll have another, at the moment, I'm torn between Aragorn and Eowyn.

Lord of the Rings Sunday returns

2010-01-11T00:34:00.001-08:00

"Samwise the Brave"

18x24" white charcoal and pencil on paper

Hey guys, just finished a new character portrait sketch for my return of Lord of the Rings Sundays. I've been meaning to get back to this and I'm happy I finally have a little time to get back into routine with it. I'll be posting them here weekly on either Sunday night or Monday morning, so please check back occasionally, I hope you all like the finish!

Return of Lord of the Rings Sunday

2010-01-06T13:57:00.001-08:00

Gandalf sketch I did last year.

Hey everyone, last year around this time I started a Lord of the Rings Sunday routine. Basically, every Sunday night, I would draw up a character sketch using reference stills from the movies. Anyone who knows me personally knows that I am a great fan of the movies and the story. I also intend on doing some sketches that aren't just based off of the characters This is something personal I've been wanting to do and enjoy but last year freelance work started to pick up and I got rather busy, this year, I've got a better routine down and a more efficient handle on my time so I'm giving it another go! Over at Tor.com, they're still doing the Lord of the Rings re-read, which can be viewed here. I'll be posting my drawings over there as well as here so I hope you enjoy them wherever you may see them!

Spectrum

2010-01-05T07:47:00.000-08:00

Submission poster design done by Paolo Rivera.

Don't forget, guys!

Spectrum 17 deadlines are coming up soon, I'll be sending in a few entries myself this year.

View more info on submitting here.

William final

2009-12-28T15:19:00.000-08:00

detail

"William"
12x16" oil on paper on board

Here's the finish for my portrait piece, "William" Hope you guys like it!

With the holidays stampeding through December, I'm excited for 2010 to start up and get back to some new projects. Hope you all are having a great Christmas and New Years holiday.

Teaser: "William"

2009-12-20T17:32:00.000-08:00

Multiple things going on right now with the holidays. This is a teaser for my upcoming portrait piece, "William" .. hope you all like where this is going.

Hellboy

2009-12-13T11:43:00.001-08:00

"Hellboy"
11x14" Pencil and white charcoal on paper

In between projects at the moment and currently painting "William" so until I can show more, here's a piece I submitted to The Autumn Society of Philadelphia's Hellboy show being shown at Brave New Worlds in olde city.

Portraiture

2009-11-26T00:05:00.000-08:00

"William"
18x24" pencil and white charcoal on toned paper

I've noticed lately that I've really been getting into portraits. I've always had an interest with them, but lately, it's been heightened. For the past few months, I've been brainstorming some ideas for upcoming personal works and have decided to pursue a solo show. This show won't consist mostly of work I've already done, but instead, new pieces focused in portraiture. I'll go into more detail later about what I intend on doing specifically with my portraits, but until then, here's a sketch for one of my latest commissions, so far the sketch is only after one sitting, but I'm happy with where it's at so far. Happy Holiday tomorrow to all of you! Hope you enjoy the time off and time with your families.

Illustration course

2009-11-12T15:26:00.000-08:00

Hey all, just got some news recently and I wanted to share it with you guys. As some of you may or may not know, for the past year, I've been in the works of setting up my own illustration course at Burlington County College. Had to go through tons of red tape and paperwork for things to get pushed forward, but things have finally been approved and the course will begin next semester, starting in January. It's an intro class and I based my syllabus off of many of the courses I had taken at UArts, so I know it'll be a lot of fun. I'm a bit nervous, but very excited to see how things go. A special thanks to Patrick Auletto for his input and advice, I'm sure his experience will be of great help to me!

Also, since we missed the official catalog deadline, I've been making class visits to many of the different art classes offered at the school to promote the course. So far I've got 5 official sign ups and need 5 more to ensure the course runs this Spring.

New Online Card Game Art

2009-10-11T02:55:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to post some recent stuff that I've done this past month. These were done for the online card game, The Far Wilds. Currently working on 4 other pieces along with a few others that I want to show but I'm waiting on them being cleared/approved. Thanks, guys, hope you like them!

All images are 12x16" oil on paper on board

Defection

Evangelist of Deeds

Dwarven Tunnel Guide

Dia de los Muertos Show

2009-09-20T17:53:00.000-07:00

I really admire painters who work loose and really show off their brush strokes. Some that come to mind are Greg Manchess, NC Wyeth, Justin Sweet and the like.. The marks they make and the affects that occur are absolutely beautiful and are so interesting to look at. I've been wanting to bring some of that into my work lately and took this piece as an opportunity to try it out. This is my submission for a Dia de los Muertos show I'm in next month, I've been delayed due to some freelance work on my plate, but I am glad I finally got to post this up. Hope you all dig it!

5x7" oil on panel

Spectrum Exhibit Opening 2009

2009-09-12T22:44:00.000-07:00

Wow.

That's pretty much the only way I can explain it. Last night was quite a night to remember indeed. I honestly have no idea where to begin! Firstly, I'd like to thank Cathy and Arnie Fenner for even making Spectrum possible, it's made such an impact and can't wait to see more of it in the future. Secondly, a thanks to exhibit coordinator, Kate Feirtag, and also those at the Society of Illustrators who were responsible for putting together an incredible show. Lastly a thanks to all the artists in the show who continue to inspire not only myself but also all of us who are passionate about making art and pursuing our dreams as illustrators.

A special thanks to Irene Gallo and Greg Manchess for inviting me along to dinner before the show, it was a lot of fun and I really had a blast getting a chance to hang out and talk with you as well as everyone else that came along.

Me and Greg Manchess

Me, Donato, Matt Stewart

myself with James Gurney and Matt Stewart

Speaking of which! I met so many amazing people last night, just to name a few, Chris McGrath, known mostly for his cover work of The Dresden Files series, Zelda Devon and Kurt Huggins, the artists behind the extremely awesome and popular graphic series "King of an Endless Sky " which can be seen here over at Tor or at their site, theteeteringbulb. I highly recommend you check them out!

Meeting up with James Gurney, Matt Stewart, Jon Foster, Rebecca Guay, Paolo Rivera, Peter De Seve, Steve Belledin, Andy Sinclair and Yuko Shimizu was so amazing, I honestly can't even put words to it. Each and every one had such great stories to tell and I had a blast getting to know them all. I got to talk a bit with some more familiar faces, some being Kristina Carroll, Matt Dangler, Mike Capprotti and Reau, all great artists and I was so happy to see them all there.

The night ended upstairs at the Society, followed by more drinks and more talking. I worked my way back and had the pleasure of sharing conversation with yet another great group of people. Dan Dos Santos, Dave Palumbo, Sam Weber, Donato, Charles Vess, Justin Gerard, Jason Chan, Eric Fortune and Irene were all sitting, gathered around. We spent that last half hour just laughing and talking. It was a fun end to an incredible night.

Dan Dos Santos, Dave Palumbo, myself

Charles Vess, Donato, Sam Weber

Justin Gerard, Irene Gallo, Charles Vess

Irene and me

After getting kicked out at beyond closing time, everyone decided to go out for drinks, but sadly I had to call it a night. I had a decent commute ahead of me still and didn't know when my last train was heading home. I had to walk 5 blocks to the subway, then 8 blocks to Penn Station, where I arrived just in time at 1:15 when they were boarding. The next train home was 5:15am.

I lucked out.

My train pulled into Hamilton, NJ around 2:50am and still had to drive a final 40 minutes home. It felt great getting back to pass out.

My night was incredible and eventful, though I'm sad I couldn't make it out to the Art Out Loud event that is held in conjunction with the Spectrum Exhibit. James Gurney, Sam Weber, Charles Vess, Donato Giancola, and Gregory Manchess all gave demonstrations. I'm sure more pictures will be posted up, but in case you aren't already, be sure to follow Irene's blog over at The Art Department as well as James Gurney's blog, Gurney Journey. Kate posted a few pictures from today's events which can be seen here.

the lonely umbrellas at the end of the show. So glad I brought a red one.

Some of the work from the show:

Donato's piece with Justin and Matt, Justin said I should take a shot of it with a person to show the scale. The astronaut is bigger than Matt.

Brad Holland. So good.

Paolo Rivera

Scott Fischer

Matt Stewart

Justin Sweet

Matt Stewart

2009-08-13T10:52:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, I had the pleasure of stopping by Matt Stewart's studio. For those of you who don't know him, Matt is a fantasy illustrator working in book publishing and the gaming industry. As an oil painter, his work is epic and beautiful. Whether he's painting scenes from the Lord of the Rings stories or illustrating cards for Magic: The Gathering, his work will leave a lasting impression. I also got a chance to meet his wife, Gina, who is also an artist, a graphic designer and art director. They are an extremely humble and kind couple, I had such a great afternoon with them both. Thanks again for letting me visit!

While there, I took a few photos and thought I'd share them with you guys. Matt had just finished a huge painting depicting the Battle of the Five Armies, from the story, The Hobbit, for Illuxcon, which is coming up in a few months. This painting is gorgeous, standing at somewhere around 50" tall, it's quite inspiring to say the least!

Matt hanging out

"Skyward Eye Prophets"
This is one of my favorite cards he's done, it's so beautiful.

detail

"Sigil Blessing"

detail

A little maquette for the "Sigil Blessing" piece

"Invincible Hymn"

color study for the Battle of the Five Armies piece

"Battlegrace Angel"

Paint station

Matt's studio is filled with these originals

Gina working

"Architects of Will"

Gamervision Interview for tomorrow's "8-Bit and Beyond" Autumn Society Show

2009-08-06T19:28:00.000-07:00

Awesome little interview with Gamervision over on their site, click here to check it out. I'm in good company with fellow Autumn Society members and friends, Jude Buffum and Alex Eckman-Lawn.

Can't wait for the show tomorrow and I hope to see all of you there!

Stage Select: Air Man

2009-08-05T02:27:00.000-07:00

Original screen shot

"Stage Select: Air Man"
5x5" oil on board

Hey everyone. I've been real busy since I finished the last piece but I absolutely had to get in on this next show with The Autumn Society of Philadelphia! Here's my piece.. it's my version of Air Man's stage select icon from Mega Man 2.. I've been wanting to do a series of these, doing all 8 of the bosses on little 5x5 boards. I wanted to make it a bit more realistic and darker than the typical blue color, since there was no background to go off of, I thought a stormy sky would work perfectly. Anyway, hope you guys dig it :)

Ring

2009-07-30T18:11:00.001-07:00

5"x7" oil on panel

Hey guys, just posting a little ring painting I did up the other day. Wanted to do something out of the ordinary. I've never worked with black before so this was different for me.

Sidenote: I'll post my AirMan painting as soon as I can.

-Eric

Wizard King Final

2009-07-18T23:03:00.000-07:00

Wizard King 24"x36" oil on panel

Hey everyone, this has been a couple months in the making and I can finally say to you (and to myself) that it's done! This piece will be mounted above the front door in my parents' house in honor of my dad who posed for it. I've had to set this piece off to the side one too many times to work on other projects but it feels amazing to have it finally done! I'd like to thank everyone who took the time to stop by the blog and leave their comments and encouragement. It really means a lot to have that kind of support. This is the largest painting I've done to date and it was a whole lot of fun to work on along with being a huge learning experience.

Anyway, I hope you guys dig it!

Progression of the process from sketch to final

sidenote: I'll be updating this photo in a day or so after I get a chance to varnish it, but I was just too excited after finishing it tonight and had to post it.