Ch-ch-ch-changes...

I'm on a creative roll lately...Photoshop seems to be my weapon of choice, especially since I've basically shelved Painter for the nonce.  Speaking of Painter...

I've always liked this image, which I did as a test image in Painter.  I tried to use Todd Lockwood's technique, and with a little coaching from the man himself, I managed to get version #1 done.  A little bland, not much going on overall, but a successful test.  Still...I've always felt with a little tweaking, this could be a stronger image.  So with a little downtime on my hands, I decided to just push this image a little further using Photoshop, fixing some of the more obvious errors and voila, version #2.  A little more eye candy, and I like to think, a better image. 

And the meek shall inherit...

So I entered the 'Creature of the Week' challenge over at conceptart.org, and it turned out to be more of a challenge than I thought.   Design a Bipedal Insectiod; no gear, no extras, no eye candy of any sort.  Just a straight up specimen of the species.  Simple enough, no?   Well..perhaps not.  You'd be surprised how much little extras like clothing, gear, etc add to a character or creature's overall design.  Not to mention, insects are probably the most diverse species on the planet.  Then there's the maddening array of colors to consider...oy!   I decided to base my concept on existing specimens, but without simply patching various parts together.  It needed to look like something that maybe could actually occur somewhere, somehow.  Anyways...coming to a picnic near you...

Only a man who is pure of heart...

I'm actually excited about the new Wolfman movie that's due out soon.  By all accounts, it seems they're paying some serious homage to the original Wolfman movie starring Lon Chaney Jr.,  right down to the makeup.  I love werewolves.  Tortured souls, cursed to stalk the night, slaves to their most primal, savage and bestial nature.  And more often than not, their own loved ones become their victims.

The original film was made all the more tragic by the slaying of the beast by his own loving father.  Such a good movie...I have high hopes for the re-make.  Meantime...to satisfy my own savage instincts, an homage of my own.  AwwoooOOoooOoooo!

More chompy goodness...

If it's not obvious by now, I have a thing for anthropomorphic creatures; that is, creatures who are part man, part animal.   Killer Croc, pictured below, is one of my favorites.  One of Batman's arch-nemesis, Killer Croc is one of the few comic book villains who is truly scary.  Aside from the incredible strength, speed, claws and toothy grimace, there was always the possibility that Killer Croc might actually eat you if you caught him at the wrong time. 

A tragic figure as well, Killer Croc suffered through a life of abuse, rejection and ridicule, his mind slowly devolving to a more primal, bestial state.  While not a major player in the Batman line-up, I'm never disappointed whenever Killer Croc is showcased.   Oh, and venom or no venom, Croc can kick Bane's tights wearing arse any day.

Yellow yes...but terrible?

Seems like artists all over are creating images inspired by Maurice Sendak's classic "Where the Wild Things Are",  in homage to a work that's touched their lives in some form or another.   For me, 'Wild Things' was one of the biggest influences on me as a child, inspiring both my art and my love of monsters.    After seeing some of the artwork that's happening, I felt inspired to do my own.   

As a child I'd always wondered what would have been, had Max opted to stay in the land of the Wild Things.  I imagine over time, eventually he would perhaps even become a full fledged Wild Thing, complete with fangs and terrible, yellow eyes!   And so that's the basis for my own tribute to Maurice Sendak's gift.  Thank you Maurice...for showing us where the wild things are.

and now for a little turf...

I wasn't going to do the latest challenge over at ArtOrder, but at the last minute I decided to just go for it.  If nothing else, it's an opportunity to paint a land based critter.  Something furry...and chompy.  The challenge is to re-invent the OwlBear, the idea being that instead of a mish-mosh of Owl and Bear, we have a creature that is it's own entity, with features that at first glance can be described as 'Owlish' or 'Bear-like'.  I'm happy with the results, but I think I might've pushed this one a little further had I not waited til the last minute to do it.  As well...here's my take on the thing which is neither owl nor bear.