Pure Sugar

IF (Illustration Friday) 4/18/14 the topic was Natural.  This topic was a difficult one for me to come up with an idea.  After ravaging my brain and exhausting my options, I ended up utilizing a subject matter that a close friend of mine has used for a series of cereal box illustration (thanks Kimber ;0P).  A lot of products these days claim they're "All Nautral" or contain "Natural Flavors", but ultimately are ambiguous when it comes to what exactly they are selling that is natural in a product.  Basically this piece was simple, yet fun, and became kind of a social commentary on kids cereals.  I also didn't have a lot of time to work on it, and while I'm glad I finished it, I'm sad I didn't make the deadline!!!!  The piece is entirely digitial done in Painter with some adjustments made in Photoshop, and Font designed in Illustrator.

Zodiac

IF (Illustration Friday) 4/11/14 the topic was Zodiac.  For this topic I utilized some creations I had made over the last couple years.  I have always had a fascination with the esoteric, and astrology so I decided to at first do my own symbol, which then led on to a continuation of the series of all twelve.  For each symbol I wanted it to retain the original glyphs shape, and incorporate the animal/creature assigned to it into that said shape. As I continued the series some became more complex than others, while the simplistic nature of some of them were a challenge to make more detailed.  All the Zodiac designs were created in Illustrator as vectors, then transferred into illustrator where I used a gradient to fill them.  In the collective, I simply took those graphic designs and implemented them onto a spacey background which I hand painted digitally, then tweaked here and there.  It's simple and effective, and I finished it early which is rare.  I will include the original designs in their full scale size so that the detail can be appreciated as I worked very long and hard on them.

UPDATE 3/26/18:
Each individual sign is available currently on my etsy store here:
 Zodiac

Survival Horror (V1.0)

IF (Illustration Friday) 4/4/14, the topic was Survival.  For this particular piece I had waaaay too many ideas, and they all coalesced into a hodge podge of amazing creativeness.  When I finally narrowed it down to what I decided I was going to do, I became overly ambitious (as well as incredibly frustrated), and ultimately ran out of time (hence the V1.0).  I do plan on returning to the original concept and finishing it at some later when I have more time, and honestly this particular exercise taught me to simplify a concept (less is more).  Basically the piece I have here is part of a larger whole, and I decided I'd submit this portion as it looked the most finished out of the lot.  I chose to recreate Chris Redfield from the survival horror (hence the title), franchise Resident Evil (or Biohazard in Japan).  I utilized reference for this piece, and while it captures the original's substance, it does have read in my own signature style.  The piece is entirely digital done in painter.

Porphyria

IF (Illustration Friday) 3/28/14, the topic was Sizzle.  This was a tough topic initially, and I had a hard time coming up with an idea.  Most of the ideas I had were too bold, or would have been both frustrating and laborious.  After sketching out ideas, one came to me.  I had just completed a video game with vampires, and it occurred to me that vampire's skin "sizzle" when they are exposed to sunlight.  So I took some photo reference of my hand and used a light source in my house.  I spent quite a bit of time on this piece, and really enjoyed the smoke effect (I literally had to tear myself away from the piece at one point because I just kept playing with it).  The piece is entirely digital done in Painter.

The Red Bull

IF (Illustration Friday) 3/21/14, the topic was Red.  This was an incredibly broad topic which in contrast to the previous week seemed a bit difficult at first, but then ideas began to pour in...too many in fact.  I draw a lot of my inspiration from film, and animation which are what initially brought me to pursue art as a career in the first place.  This piece takes me back to my childhood, and is inspired by the original 'Red Bull', from the classic animated film "The Last Unicorn" (which itself is based upon the book by Peter S. Beagle).  The piece is entirely digital, done in Painter.

When the Bat is away....

IF (Illustration Friday) 3/14/14, the topic was Gone Fishing.  This topic was hard, in part I believe because it was more than a single word making the work itself more...specified and less open to interpretation.  I had very few ideas, and most of them revolved around an old man sitting in a boat in the middle of a lake.  It didn't set in motion very many ideas, but one did finally come.  I decided to get as creative as I could, and used the backdrop of Gotham with the Batsignal in the air spelling out "Gone Fishing" in the shape of Batman's insignia.  I thought it was clever enough for me to enjoy, and it was simple and graphic.  The piece is entirely digital done mostly in Painter, with the exception of some fine tuning in Photoshop, and the actual bat emblem I did in pen by hand before scanning it in and overlaying onto the piece.

The Flame Alchemist

IF (Illustration Friday) 3/7/14, the topic was Spark.  The idea I had for this topic came pretty quickly, but the illustration itself took some time.  I would have liked to have dedicated more time to this one, but I'm pretty pleased with the results.  The subject for this one is based off the an anime series, and the character in question can create fire by snapping his fingers.  I wanted to try and capture the look and style of the series, but as usually my style seems to have melded into it which is nice.  The entire piece is digital and it was done in Painter.