The Ergot Dream (Changeling: The Lost)

Just a fast update: This is a small concept piece I worked on a little while ago. It was inspired by a dream sequence presented in White Wolf's Changeling: The Lost. From the book Rites of Spring.
Marker, ink, gouache, pencil crayon and photoshop.
It's good to be back.

Tiny Little Monsters

Here are some samples of pixel art monsters for an iPhone game project I was working on.

Montreal's Drink & Draw Social Club: Summer 2011

Hey all!
I've recently taken over organizing and hosting the one and only Montreal Drink and Draw Social Club. Thus far, attendance is still tricky, but we're doing this weekly so people have a lot of chances to come by. I figured I'd post some of the spoils of my sketchbook and show people all the fun that they're missing.
It's sometimes amazing how cathartic it can be to draw something really silly and cartooney once in a while. It really reminds me of what it felt like to draw as a kid, when things didn't have to make sense, they just had to look good. I feel like this could be a valuable exercise for some, especially those who've endured the rigors of art school.
This is something that I kind of miss about art school and hate about real jobs, however; the lack of free doodle time. I still try and take an hour at least of every day to create something new, not counting the time to edit and post images likes these to give myself a web presence. Back in Illustration, we always had materials on hand to doodle with, and on top of that once we hit third year we got access to the much coveted drafting tables which, in order to keep pristine, we covered with sheets of kraft paper. As an art medium, I actually find kraft paper very useful. It's lack of durability can sometimes be a point in its favor, as it forces you to move on and not get too attached to any given piece. I'd begun drawings on my desk with the intention of being large and significant pieces, only to have someone draw a dog or a cock or something on it and scrap the entire endeavor, and I didn't care because it was all in good fun.
This is really the best thing about the D&D Social Club; not everyone draws, but everyone has something to contribute. It's being in the presence of creative individuals that keeps the event going, and keeps me posting a new one every single week.
If anyone feels like joining in on the fun, we meet every Wednesday at Hurley's Irish Pub in downtown Montreal. Look for the loudest table in the place.

Victorian characters

Hey all!
A few months ago I treated myself by buying the art book for American McGee's Alice: Madness Returns. While I'm still one of those poor individuals without the means to afford one of the major gaming system, my enjoyment of the game has only been visual. I have been watching the gameplay videos and checking the reviews, and while I'm fully aware that it's a flawed game, the original was very flawed as well and I still find enjoyment in replaying it now. Except when I forget to save. But I'm getting off track... All things considered, though, there's a lot to enjoy. The book (and the fact that every time I visit my parents Sherlock Holmes is playing on satellite) put me in a distinctly Victorian mood for a while. In that spirit, here're a few random doodles of some semi-steampunk Victorian creepy people. Also, I've really begun to enjoy photoshopping my basic sketches. Enjoy!

IZM 2011: The Zombie Priest 2.0

Hey all!
I just noticed the strange number of religious pieces done this year for IZM. Oh well...
You can check out deviantart for a full description of my concept. This is to talk about my technique a little. To start with, the original image was done in HB and 2B graphite on a page taken from my sketchbook. It's a very high-tooth paper, so it suited my needs well. After I was pleased with the composition and level of detail, I ported it into photoshop to play with it a bit. I spent a long time (almost as much time as it took to do the original linework) on a transparent layer of white with the burn tool in order to give the image some shade and depth. I went very liberal; applying thin strokes of dark tone with a large brush and eventually building up more depth with progressively smaller, textured brushes. After I was happy with the level of tonal depth, I went in with the dodge tool and pulled out some highlights. I then created a soft light layer tinted to a burnt sienna color and then painted all the other colors overtop of that. I set the brush to low opacity, to keep as much of the burnt sienna undercolor as I could. Once I was happy with the color, I created a multiply layer to add in extra shadow areas and then a normal layer to add highlights. Once that was done, I flattened the whole thing and put a new layer of yellow ochre over top. I cut a big hole in the middle of the layer, gave it a really high gaussian blur, made it pretty transparent, and flattened the whole thing again. This gave the image a nice overall warmth and helped to center the figure. Finally, I out a very light canvas texture over everything, to unify any little irregularities in the burning or color process and called it a day.
This has been a good experiment. I'll need to think up a new dimension to add to this whole proceeding. More digital painting, perhaps. Or some traditional work first off. We'll see where it takes me.
More on my concept can be found here. http://tristan-despero.deviantart.com/art/The-Zombie-Priest-2-0-215681539

The Encounter! IZM 2011

Hey all!
I was thinking a lot about the source of a number of zombie plagues in movies and the like, and a large number of them seem to come from outer space. It was that idea that inspired this image or the alien outcast, infected and set adrift in the void, alone and hungry.
Graphite and a whole mess of Photoshopping. It was a fun technique to experiment with, though I don't think it will ever replace my love of traditional mediums. I began with by retouching the original graphite drawing, and then adding a multiplied white layer which I used to add more contrast with the dodge (mid tones) and burn (highlights) tools. I retouched the color of the original graphite drawing (with an Overlay layer) to a light blue-green, for atmosphere purposes.Afterwards, on a soft light layer, I added the colors. From there, on a multiply layer, I put in more shadows and dark areas. I got to a kind of experimental part of the image, when I put a layer of a dark blue-purple over the entire image, made it very transparent (about 15% opacity) and erased some highlighted areas, then hit the entire layer with Gaussian blur. Afterwards, I made normal layer to add the highlights. From there, I flattened the image, gave it a very light texture and added a little something else while I'll leave you to guess.
It was fun to play with and works well in a pinch. I'll use this again, I'm sure.
More zombie goodness to come!

The Zenbie: International Zombie Month 2011!

Hey all! Once again, International Zombie Month has crawled from the grounds and is pounding at our doorways. To honor this most undead of months, I present you with my first offering. Originally spawned from a bad set of Zen jokes at the Drink and Draw Social Club, I eventually created this image around the idea of "Zen Zombie eats his own brains."
Graphite, marker, pencil crayon and gouache on rag marker paper, with an assist from Photoshop.
For more details on International Zombie Month, please see our official facebook page, or look it up on deviantart.
More zombie goodness to come!