Los Vengadores Mexicanos!!!

I've long been a fan of Robert Rodriguez's films and have enjoyed the splat happy, continuity lacking, insanity of the 'Mexiverse' many of his films erupt from. Having finished watching Machete Kills I felt it necessary to produce the following faux poster, something I've been meddling with for several years.

A team up of all the gun wielding, psychopathic, leather clad, amputees that populate his films would deliver a fantastic antidote to the slick, glossy, superhero movies that currently barge into our multiplexes.

And lets face it, basing a film on a trailer is so last decade. But basing a film on a poster, now that's ballsy! ;-)

Charming Prints

Hey! You! My most recent Destiny images, Little Chewie's Destiny and Little Vader's Destiny, are now on sale over at ACME Archives. I think they'd look great on your wall.

Heck, you've been working hard right? There's still a few Han, Luke and Leia images left. Why not treat yourself to two! A matching set! And you may as well get one for that baby shower you're going to as well. Perfect gift material to initiate the newborns into the world of Star Wars!

Also, feel free to enquire about the very limited, signed artist proofs that will be available via my own store soon.

Moor Work

So, happy new year. I'm a bit slow off the mark but I'll just start this off with a quick sketch of some local moorland I produced this evening once the family were all tucked away in bed. Got a lot of ideas on the go so I'm going to have to be stringent with my time in order to get some finished... As soon as Black Flag is done with.

Who do? You do? Pandoo!

Pandoo Nation is a forthcoming game that blends virtual entertainment with real life by allowing its community to have a direct impact on a number of charitable causes. To learn more about this original concept, check out the teaser trailer.

I had the opportunity to develop the look and feel of Pandoo Island along side a number of its inhabitants. The brief was to use South-east Asia as inspiration.

The first character I developed was a member of the mountain tribe. I drew inspiration from traditional tribal face-paints and head-wear.

Once he was locked I was able to create a female equivalent and then the other races that would compliment their diminutive stature and build on the notion that Pandoo is populated by several unique cultures each with their own rich history.

Having I'd previously visited Borneo I had first hand experience of the rich colours, textures and cultures that make up this diverse part of the world. One of the first elements I created was the Pitcher tree which incorporated themes that were used throughout the world of Pandoo which was that it seemed to simultaneously feel familiar, yet alien.

Developing architecture I was inspired by traditional buildings found across the region.

I also wanted to create a world that reflected the ramshackle nature found in the rural areas without presenting this a negative element so the colours from the local fauna were included to break up the texture and make it more picturesque.

Boats were going to be a strong element of Pandoo Nation so creating believable yet fun aspect of the game so incorporating the same themes from the architecture I produced some concept art for these modes of transport.

The islands that made up the world of Pandoo were situated in a lush tropical seas and building the current civilization on top of temple ruins delivered the idea that there was a rich history to the islands.

So over to you. With the game almost done, Pandoo Nation is currently undergoing an indigogo campaign for that final push to completion. So get involved, learn about Pandoo, bag yourself some limited edition merchandise and begin to make the world a better place in the process.

PANDOO NATION - What If It Isn't Entirely A Game?

Sith are red and Wookies are... blue?

So in order to placate your frothing desire to learn about the forthcoming Star Wars: Episode VII (no?... Just me then?) here's some previews of the next characters to get the 'Destiny' treatment, Little Vader and Little Chewy. Both will be receiving limited print runs, fully certified by Lucasfilm, in the near future.

Keep an eye out on here or on my facebook or twitter feed for details of when the prints will be available.

The images depict Anakin/Vader unleashing his early desire to become a pilot and the not so Mighty Chewbacca at home on Kashyyyk (Pronounce it? Not a clue.) momentarily distracted from his playful rage

While the first three Destiny images were conceived to work as a set, these two have been designed as companion pieces to Luke and Han respectively, with Anakin/Vader running to collide with Luke against a foreboding red sunset and Chewie, like Han, is distracted by a glimpse of his destiny.

ADVERTISEMENT... well... promotion. Of sorts.
In the meantime, in order to grab the other images in the series head over to my store where there are still some remaining from the limited stock I have. And remember folks, exclusively, each image bought on my store is signed and will include a hand drawn sketch of that character.

Be sure to get your ordered now to beat the Christmas rush!

Sketchbook Medley

Ok. My time has been elsewhere as of late but despite being AFK I've still found the odd moment to meddle in my sketchbook. Here's a small selection of what I've done over the last few weeks, mildly
enhanced to ease me back to work.

I'll possibly colour a couple of these up.

One day.

 

Welcome to the official GRAND OPENING!

Due to popular (and unpopular) demand, I can finally announce that my new on-line store is open for business.

To coincide with the opening, I'm happy to announce I'll be taking orders for the full set of Destiny prints, officially approved and certified by Lucasfilm. Exclusively to my own store, each of these prints will be signed and include a small original sketch of that character.

There is also a selection of my other work available. I'll be adding more items to the store over the coming weeks but in the meantime and I'm happy to answer questions about these prints or any other pictures on my blog or website.

Go on, treat yourself, you know you deserve it. And after all, its practically Christmas.

Sort of.

Lets get ready to rruuumble! - Part III

(Part I)

The primals are a colourful bunch of characters, Colour is a simple yet successful way of differentiating between environments, and certain hues immediately bring to mind certain geographical regions. Because of this its easy to dream up surroundings such as ice, desert and jungle levels as they're easily associated with a specific hue.

However, alongside these staple elements I wanted to illustrate some less familiar scenarios that drew from dino mythology explored in decades of popular culture. Environments such as the tar pits, or a night-time landscape lit by the unearthly glow of the comet that brought about the end of the age of lizards. Or birds... whatever they've decided today. Fish?

Anyway, enough science! Congratulations to all at Rivet on their hard work and go see for yourself as Rivet Studios' title Primal Rumble is out very soon! Get rumbling!

Home

Lets get ready to rrruuuumble! - Part II

(Part I)

With the characters and the style of Primal Rumble taking shape, I felt it was important to deliver a series of concept images that would promote the rich colour palette and the kind of humour that should be present in the game. You know, dinosaurs calmly assaulting on each other. In lavish environments. For profit.

With the T-Rex being the most iconic of all the dinosaurs I felt that our Primal equivalent, Big Rex, should be the focus of these images.

The expressionless faces of the Primals were perfect to deliver dead pan humour, be it stuck fast in a gloopy tar pit, being hit by a snowball thrown by a cowering foe, weeping quietly at the sudden revelation of the catastrophic events that are about to unfold, or engaging in balletic martial arts most unbecoming of a bottom heavy Primal.

Part III

Rivet Studios' title Primal Rumble coming soon

Lets get ready to rrruuuumble! - Part I

At the beginning of the year I worked on a project for Rivet Studios that featured dinosaurs. Which are cool. FACT!

Primal Rumble required cute, colourful and iconic characters that couldn't look out of place kicking seven shades of dino doo-doo out of each other and after a couple of days of intensive sketching I produced a bestiary of characters that met the criteria.

Once the characters were hatched (... hatched! Get it? 'Coz they came from eggs! Right?... Sheesh! ), I took key motifs from their designs and produced some illustrations that formed the foundation for the arenas in which they would do battle.

Part II

Rivet Studios' title Primal Rumble coming soon

Well, here we are.

With the fresh theories of Martian Panspermia, I guess today would be an appropriate time for me to post this follow up to my Steps, leaps and bounds image.

I recently re-read Kim Stanley Robinson's Red Mars. It being a fairly weighty book, I spent several weeks engrossed in and thereby inspired by our ongoing desire to visit our closest neighbour.

Its looking more and more likely that a private initiative will put someone on Mars within the next 25 years but in the meantime I have to get my space travel fix by following the astronauts currently orbiting our speck of dust, who are constantly working towards goals like this.

Three cheers for people in space!

Hip hip...

All new!

So first of all, LOOK! What an exciting new look blog! And WOW! What an exciting new look website (all updated with shiny new art)! You'd better show this to all of your friends! (waits for applause...)

OK, now that's out of the way...

It's been a long time coming but I always intended the Little Luke's Destiny image to be the first in a series, so I can finally reveal the next two characters that I've worked on.

Without further ado, may I present, Little Leia's Destiny and Little Han's Destiny.

Leia is leading an imaginary charge into battle, whilst Han has distracted from target practice by a famous ship roaring over head. The colour palettes have been carefully selected to compliment Little Luke's destiny meaning they'll look great as a set.

Both will soon be available to order as a limited edition run and there along side their predecessor Little Luke's Destiny (currently on sale) and would look great on the wall of your kids bedroom... oh who are you kidding, your wall.

Watch this space for more info.