Tastes like Forehead

Hey all! Another coffee shop sketch, using the 8B again. I made this sketch bigger than the last, To try and get more detail in. As I was working on this, I realized I needed to come up with more diverse concept art if I'm going to hope to build my portfolio. Does anyone have any suggestions for what I should do? Let me know.
Also, this one comes with a bonus, you get to see a tiny thumbnail of a larger image I was contemplating.

This Mortal Blade

This is a piece I meant to do during I.Z.M. 2010, but I ran out of time. He's an old character I kind of did on a whim who I've wanted to give a fresh treatment, and what better reason to revisit an old idea than getting my fancy new Pentel Brush Pen. I've wanted to get one for years, and I had a couple of bucks left over from my birthday. So, huzzah.
This guy is a former, disgraced samurai, having died in an honorable duel with a fellow warrior. His head was cut right down the middle and he was left to rot at the side of the road. A wanderer, be they a sorcerer, a demon or a god, took pity on him and decided to rebuild him, albeit imperfectly. His original intention (for me as well) was for him to be a force of terror and sorrow, but too much of his disgraced spirit remained in his mangled form. And frankly, how can something looking this goofy be truly evil? Here we see him with the severed head of a fellow undead warrior, who serves as his traveling companion/projectile weapon.
Pentel makes a good pen.

Traumatist

A new piece that's technically an old piece. This is an old monster I devised years ago that I decided to give a new polish. Wanna know the idea? Of course you do.
Traumatists are named from the Greek word trauma, meaning wound. They serve as supernatural shock troopers for a cult who worship a particularly bloodthirsty demon god. Traumatists are drawn from the ranks of both loyal supplicates, and the non-believers, to show them the error of their ways. The creation of a traumatist is a ghastly, but simple ritual. A specially crafted and anointed blade is plunged into the heart of the future traumatist, henceforth known as the "victim". The blade must make it through the heart in a single thrust, or the ritual will not work. The force of the murder, combined with the intent of the blade's wielder, activated the energies infused into the weapon. The victim's death creates a vacuum where the soul used to be. The void is filled with hatred, and fueled by the victims mindlessness. The victim, now a Traumatist, is a vessel of fury and loathing with no mind to direct its energies, and very easy to control by an initiated member of the cult. Removing the blade will cause a dangerous reaction inside the empty shell of the traumatist, resulting in a horrible implosion. Destroying a sufficient piece of a traumatist's body will cause the energies that preserve the body to quickly dissipate over a few minutes.
I've been working on creating more traumatists, wounded in different ways with other weapons. People hunting for game concept artists should take note.

Emissary of the Black Flame

Hey all! A new week, a new batch of horrific artwork. This is a little something I wanted to try out. See, I've never made much use of the darker end of the B pencil spectrum, and I've been a little curious. For those who don't know, B pencils are softer and darker. An 8B is almost as high as it goes, and it feels like drawing with something between a pencil crayon and charcoal. It's not as greasy feeling as charcoal, though, and not as waxy as a pencil crayon. The results are pretty satisfying, so say the least. I'll probably do more in the future.

Clawhead

I've been experimenting more with mark making, line quality and rendering. At the same time, I've been looking at some of my favorite artists, trying to figure out what it is about them that inspires me. I've been told that I need to find what my real art looks like, without a whole lot of outside distractions. As the ever-so-talented Sean Gordon Murphy said, you need to be in your art. Now, I try and figure out how to do that.
This was just a fun coffee shop sketch. I made an effort to work on a larger scale than I usually do, taking an entire page instead of just a small corner of the page. I'm used to working small, you see.
I still need to work on the lighting a little, but I'm pretty pleased with this for the most part. I'll just have to keep experimenting and find what works. I was given a little pro-bono illustration work from a friend, so I'll be doing that before I get more seriously into my painting stuff. I've got a small one I want to warm up with before I get to the larger, more ambitious pieces that I'm still gathering references for.
Also, I really like extreme facial expressions like this.

Monsters Galore

Hey again! Here's a little insider treat for anyone interested in my process. Here we see a complete page from my sketchbook. This is pretty typical of how I draw. I fill the page, no particular forethought to placement, I just throw things down as they occur to me. I was having a particularly good creative day when I started this. It's so much fun getting back into monsters. Actually, the guy in the top right corner of the page is the first seed of a painting I'd like to work on. I need to develop the composition a little more, of course, think a little harder about backgrounds, but something appealed to me about this horrible demonic beast appearing weak and babyish. His physique, for the most part, is meant to be like a baby: kind of soft and pudgy, save for the claw-like legs. Those are just for good measure.
As I've stated before (at least I'm pretty sure I have) whenever I feel deprived of inspiration, I return to my old creative safety net: demons. The fact there are so few rules as to what they look like, but strong established rules about what they're all about, gives me a great deal of freedom.

Ol' Scratch

Hey all! Sorry I haven't been posting much lately. It's been a hectic couple of weeks. I'm still on the job hunt. It's a little appalling that no one seems to ever want to write back or acknowledge an email or CV. Just getting an automated response these days is a good sign. No matter, it's frustrating, but livable. And I still get to draw. Case in point, here's something I threw together yesterday.
I've been endeavoring to strengthen my style and technique. I've been experimenting with bolder lines, less "petting the line" as I've seen it described, and more solid strokes. Also, I've been really getting back to my first love; monsters. I've been digging through folklore, mythology, cryptozoology and my old sketchbooks for anything worth expanding on. So, here we have a character I created a number of years ago who I've always had a bit of a soft spot for: Ol' Scratch.
If you do a little homework (wikipedia is acceptable) he's one of the many names given to The Devil. Specifically, he's the Southern U.S.'s depiction of The Devil. The guy who's be waiting at a crossroads to barter your soul for some gift or other. Descriptions are usually pretty vague, since it seems to be assumed you'd know he's The Devil as soon as you saw him. I wanted to go with something that looked like something between a wealthy gentleman and the typical Southern hangin' judge: the kind of guy who's feared and respected all over. Black eyes, gnarled hands and a hideous, contemptuous sneer complete the package as one evil bastard, willing to give you your heart's desire for one hefty price.

Smoking Demon

The other night I had a little get together with some friends about the aforementioned gallery show. It was mostly to discuss advertising specifics. I'm still waiting to hear how that goes. Anyhow, after our talk, the night became a bit of a Drink n' Draw, in between a live jazz band and numerous really good comedians. I did a couple of doodles, but I kept poking at this one over the course of the night, so figured I'd post this hear. No theme in particular, I just felt like drawing a demon.

I.Z.M. 2010 comes to a close

Hey all! The second annual International Zombie Month is pretty much wrapped up, and with this final zombie, I'll bring things down to a close. This is a pretty simple concept, but one I enjoyed working on. I saw the movie I Sell The Dead last year, which was a fun little horror film about grave-robbers stealing the undead. So, I decided to take the idea and turn it on it's head: an undead man burying the living. Good wholesome fun, right?
Anyhow, I'll try and keep the small sketches going, but most of my work in the near future will be devoted to my (and my friend's) upcoming gallery show which will be held in 2 months' time. I'm really looking forward to it. I'll be sure to keep everyone posted.