Blood Bathory

This piece was originally a concept I had for IF (Illustration Friday 4/25/14 Vanity), but I was having severe difficulty with the layout, and ultimately, scrapped it several times before finally finding something that worked for me.  I wanted to depict the legendary 'Blood' Countess Elizabeth Báthory de Ecsed (or ecsedi Báthory Erzsébet in her native tongue).  Báthory was a Hungarian Countess who was married away at young age to Ferenc Nádasdy the son of a Hungarian Baron.  Ferenc spent most of his time away, while Báthory toiled away in their homes in Hungary, Austria, and Slovakia.  During this time period it is alleged that Báthory tortured as many as 650 victims, and buried their remains around her homes.  It is said that Báthory would use the blood of young virgin maidens and 'bath' in it in order to maintain her youthful appearance.  Báthory was eventually put on trial and imprisoned in her home in Slovakia (Čachtice Castle), where she remained until her death.  I used some photo reference for the figure, and have been working on it in between other projects.  The piece is entirely digital done in Painter.

Climate Control

IF (Illustration Friday) 9/19/14, the topic was Novelty.  This particular topic was a difficult one for me, I played around with a few different ideas before ultimately deciding to redo a piece from my undergrad program.  For the original work we were required to create a piece that dealt with a world issue, or political commentary piece.  I chose to address Global Warming in my piece, and created a melting globe of the world inside a Lava Lamp.  I originally wanted to incorporate the entire globe, but it wasn't reading well, so I decided upon the most easily recognizable continents (North/South America).  I would have liked to have done an original piece, but I think this particular exercise was a good fit, and I was able to retune a piece that was original done as a stippling. The piece is entirely digital done in Painter.

First World Problems

IF (Illustration Friday) 9/12/14, the topic was Money.  The concept for this project came pretty easily, it was the actually execution (or design), that was the actually challenge.  I've always found it funny how even within the upper class there is a hierarchy of how "rich" is really rich, or who is richer than who.  I guess at a certain point its the only quandary one can left, hence the terms "Old Money" (having inherited ones riches throughout generations), and "New Money" (having amassed wealth recently or within ones lifetime).  The inspirations for each should be pretty evident.  Both illustrations were done digitally, in Illustrator, Photoshop, and Painter.

Rhythm and Hues

IF (Illustration Friday) 9/5/14, the topic was Radio.  To say I wasn't inspired by this topic is an understatement, but through brainstorming, and the input of friends, I was able to create something utilizing several different ideas.  As an artist it can be difficult to be inspired by work that doesn't fall within my interest, and it can be a challenge to overcome it, but I think I did so successfully.  My original idea was to simply depict radio waves or a sound spectrum of a song I really enjoyed, but due to my lack of knowledge in that area, and my inability to find a simulator that would generate what I was looking for, I resolved to instead aim for a combination of the original intent.  I did a search on the internet of 'radio waves', and came across a color spectrum of sound, and some depictions of what the waves looked like.  After some sketching I came up with the final product which I happy with.  I'd like to at some point create a vector of the design in the future to make the line work cleaner.  The piece was done entirely in Painter, with some manipulations in Photoshop.

Crimson Butterfly

IF (Illustration Friday) 8/29/14, the topic was Metamorphosis.  For this topic I already had a piece that was almost complete, I just haven't had any time to work on it as I like to generate original content for IF, but occasionally I'll dust off an old project if I feel it fits the topic nicely.  This piece is part of a series of four, that I intend to do the depict a lifeform of some some kind, created from an element that would be foreign to them.  In this particular piece I chose to depict a hand (which I used photo reference for), creating a butterfly out of fire.  The background and hand for this piece were the easiest elements, it was the butterfly itself that proved to be the most challenging. After several attempts I was finally able to capture the 'action' I was looking for in the generation of the flames swirling to create the insect. I often have difficulty in capturing the action from the original sketches I have done for works, and when I attempt to finish them they look stagnant.  I would have liked to create a stronger contrast for this piece, but ultimately I am happy with it. The work is entirely digital done in Painter, with some layout adjustments done in Photoshop.

UPDATE 3/26/18:
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Crimson Butterfly

50 Shades of Grayskull

IF (Illustration Friday), 8/22/14 the topic was Skull.  I had some issues with this topic, it was completely uninspiring and any idea I did have was either too grandiose or layouts just weren't striking a cord with me.  I spent some time trying to come with a new idea, when I finally decided that it was time to utilize a concept I had for a previous IF.  For this topic I decided to illustrate 'Castle Grayskull' from the animated series "He-Man" or "Master of the Universe", that I used to watch as a child after elementary school.  I also wanted to capture what I felt the show was mainly about, which was the titular character He-Man, who wielded the 'Sword of Power".  I was originally going to use a silhouette of He-Man raising his sword in the air (an infamous pose), but ultimately decided against it, as it lacked the symmetry I needed for how I wanted the piece to look.  Instead I chose the Sword he wielded in the original series to house the illustration I was going to showcase.  I also wanted to keep the illustration loose, and simple.  It seems the more I labor over a work the more stagnant it becomes.  I did this one quickly, and I believe it to be one of my more successful attempts, as it captures what I intended.  The piece is entirely digital done in Painter with some manipulations done in Photoshop.

Cautionary Tale

IF (Illustration Friday) 8/15/14, the topic was Journey.  Many of the works here that I have produced, have been influenced by other artists, or some kind of media be it film, television, or literature.  For this piece I wanted to pay homage to one of my favorite childhood films 'Labyrinth'.  In the movie the protagonist Sarah wishes away her younger brother, only to immediately regret her words when he disappears.  Sarah then journeys to a fantasy filled dimension, to retrieve her brother before her parents notice he is missing.  I decided to put my own spin on the piece, I had been toying with this particular idea for some time, and was glad I was finally able to work on it.  I would love to do a graphic novel based on the movie, or even create my own based on the ideas I have fleshed out while planning the piece.  The style in which I did this illustration was a bit looser than usual, I wanted to retain the quality of the original sketch without it appearing too rough.  It's a style I'd like to pursue more often with my work, and I'm glad I was able to pull it off with some success despite the challenges I face (I had particular trouble with deciding on colors for this one, and resisting the urge to clean up my line work).  The piece is entirely digital done in Painter.