Do you enjoy stories about Samurai warriors? Forbidden love? ...Zombies?
If you answered yes to any of the above, you should watch this short video:
"Shogun Rising is an original story and full 48 page color illustrated graphic novel about love, samurai, and zombies. Near-future Tokyo is zombie apocalypse ground zero. Survivors are forced to flee to a remote samurai village. Hiroshi, a samurai prodigy, and Mizuki, the daughter of a ruthless Tokyo crime-boss, attempt to navigate the new world and their forbidden love. Tensions arise as cultures clash and the chances of survival diminish. And yes, samurais will totally fight zombies. But who will win?"
The Awesome Horse Studios team, (Marc Scheff, Aaron Miller, Noah Bradley, and I) did all of the concept artwork for the upcoming graphic novel Shogun Rising. We're currently using Kickstarter to fund the project. Go here to find out how you can help make this happen!
It's not entirely unlike tea...
Monday, May 6, 2013
Saturday, May 4, 2013
"A Saga In The Stars" at Gallery Nucleus, Opens Tonight!
"A long time ago, in a gallery far, far away..."
I'm so excited to be participating in A Saga in the Stars: A Tribute Event to a Galaxy Far, Far Away, with a new painting:
"Undoing"
11x14 inches
oil on illustration board
All framed up in the studio
"...I considered painting a scene much like the end of the final battle in 'Return of the Jedi,' where Luke embraces his father as the dark side of the Force leaves him. In the end, I stripped that concept down to what I felt was its most important element- Darth Vader's severed hand and his light saber, flickering with its final glow, portraying the moment Darth Vader ceases to exist, and Anakin Skywalker is reborn."
If you're in Los Angeles, definitely go check out the show. My paintng will be displayed among the work of many talented artists (see the list below). The painting will also beavailable for sale on the Gallery Nucleus website after the show officially opens. UPDATE: The painting has been sold! Huzzah!
I'm so excited to be participating in A Saga in the Stars: A Tribute Event to a Galaxy Far, Far Away, with a new painting:
"Undoing"
11x14 inches
oil on illustration board
All framed up in the studio
"...I considered painting a scene much like the end of the final battle in 'Return of the Jedi,' where Luke embraces his father as the dark side of the Force leaves him. In the end, I stripped that concept down to what I felt was its most important element- Darth Vader's severed hand and his light saber, flickering with its final glow, portraying the moment Darth Vader ceases to exist, and Anakin Skywalker is reborn."
If you're in Los Angeles, definitely go check out the show. My paintng will be displayed among the work of many talented artists (see the list below). The painting will also be
Friday, March 15, 2013
*This Weekend!* StarCityGames Open Series DC
I'll be a special guest at the StarCityGames Open Series DC this weekend, March 16-17th. Come say hi! I'll be sketching things and signing cards, and will have a few prints and playmats for sale, too.
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Painting Daenerys: A Time-Lapse Digital Painting Study
So there I was, labeling some spice jars and looking up recipes for a Game of Thrones S3 premiere-themed dinner, when I decided that it would be fun to make some sort of art to put on an invitation for my friends. For fun.
Several hours later, this happened:
Youtube link if you want it in HD: http://youtu.be/sz9bXePMWbQ
What's cool aboutaccidentally making a fan art digital painting demo is a lot of people have asked about fan art lately. Some students wanted to know if it's a worthwhile practice for learning painting skills.
I'd say yes- if you're talking about photo-referenced fan art studies, it's about as useful as any other photo study for learning how to mimic visual images with your digital brush. Try to approach photo studies in a way that helps you get the most out of them. For example (as shown in the video demo):
Digital Study of Daenerys Targaryen
Several hours later, this happened:
Youtube link if you want it in HD: http://youtu.be/sz9bXePMWbQ
What's cool about
I'd say yes- if you're talking about photo-referenced fan art studies, it's about as useful as any other photo study for learning how to mimic visual images with your digital brush. Try to approach photo studies in a way that helps you get the most out of them. For example (as shown in the video demo):
- Paint by sight instead of tracing or painting on top of a photo. You get a different learning experience when you make the extra effort to measure proportions by eye.
- Pick your own colors instead of sampling from the photo. Same principle.
- And for an even deeper practice, don't faithfully recreate a single photo pixel for pixel- reference two or three images of the same subject if that's available to you. Many portrait artists do this to give their paintings a more lifelike feel.
Digital Study of Daenerys Targaryen
Friday, February 1, 2013
The Month of Love: 20 Illustrators, 20 Sketches Every Day in February
Awesome lettering design by Jeanine Henderson
The concept is simple: 20 illustrators create one sketch every day for the month of February, with the overarching theme of LOVE. I'm so excited to be a part of this amazing team of artists, and to see what kind of awesome work is generated here.
Visit the Month of Love Blog: http://monthoflove.blogspot.com/
Meet the Artists:
- Scott Bakal
- Scott Brundage
- Kristina Carroll
- Narciso Espiritu Jr.
- Kate Feirtag
- Sarah Gay
- Jeanine Henderson
- Tara Jacoby
- Jeffrey Alan Love
- Carly Mazur
- Scott Murphy
- Terese Nielsen
- Chris O’Neill
- Ricardo Lopez Ortiz
- Tim Paul
- Marc Scheff
- Cynthia Sheppard
- Kyle Smart
- Alice Stanne
- Jaime Zollars
For me, free-form sketching like this is a great way to generate ideas for future paintings. In fact, the very first seed for my painting Omens started as a red pencil sketch on the back of a Magic Card proof (trivia!). And this challenge couldn't have come at a better time— I've been "cocooning" lately. That is, I've been holed up in my studio trying to find a new direction to take my personal work. Imagine the grumpy old writer repeatedly wadding up paper from his typewriter and throwing them in the garbage... soon enough I will emerge, changed.
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Take-Home Commissions & Happy Holidays
Convention season (for me) is officially OVER until March 2013. Allow me a sigh of relief:
---Ahhhhhhhhhh---
Don't get me wrong, I love going to conventions and working tables. Love it. But it does wear me out, especially when there's travel and/or long hours involved. I'm ready to hibernate for the winter, but that doesn't mean things have slowed down in my studio. I need the help of my toes to count the assignments I had to finish before mid-December, and there's still a heavy handful of projects I'm working on through the holidays (one final is even due Xmas Eve). This has left very little time for blogging, or having an online social life at all, but I thought I'd take a quick break and show off a couple of the small commissions for Magic card alterations I had to take home with me from the StarCityGames Open Series earlier this month, because I think they're neat:
At the risk of getting flooded with requests for these, I've been dabbling in acrylic border extensions...
I've also bought an unprecedented number of extra-fine Sharpie markers for jobs like these... how am I just finding out that Sharpie released a limited edition 80's Glam color pack?!?! I had a set of crayola pens of the same color variety in the actual 80's. Memory lane, I am walking down you.
I expect I'll be pretty quiet for the rest of 2012, but I do want to share one more piece of good news... I just found out yesterday that a jury found me fit to show my work at the IlluXCon 6 Weekend Salon -the first of its kind- in Allentown, PA September, 2013. More news on that closer to the time, but I'm very happy to be accepted, and it will be a great motivator to keep oil painting with gusto.
I hope everyone has a cheerful holiday and best wishes as 2012 comes to a close!
-Cynthia
---Ahhhhhhhhhh---
Don't get me wrong, I love going to conventions and working tables. Love it. But it does wear me out, especially when there's travel and/or long hours involved. I'm ready to hibernate for the winter, but that doesn't mean things have slowed down in my studio. I need the help of my toes to count the assignments I had to finish before mid-December, and there's still a heavy handful of projects I'm working on through the holidays (one final is even due Xmas Eve). This has left very little time for blogging, or having an online social life at all, but I thought I'd take a quick break and show off a couple of the small commissions for Magic card alterations I had to take home with me from the StarCityGames Open Series earlier this month, because I think they're neat:
At the risk of getting flooded with requests for these, I've been dabbling in acrylic border extensions...
I've also bought an unprecedented number of extra-fine Sharpie markers for jobs like these... how am I just finding out that Sharpie released a limited edition 80's Glam color pack?!?! I had a set of crayola pens of the same color variety in the actual 80's. Memory lane, I am walking down you.
I expect I'll be pretty quiet for the rest of 2012, but I do want to share one more piece of good news... I just found out yesterday that a jury found me fit to show my work at the IlluXCon 6 Weekend Salon -the first of its kind- in Allentown, PA September, 2013. More news on that closer to the time, but I'm very happy to be accepted, and it will be a great motivator to keep oil painting with gusto.
I hope everyone has a cheerful holiday and best wishes as 2012 comes to a close!
-Cynthia
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Interview with StarCityGames [Video]
November. Was. INSANE.
I'm still catching up on email and work after that crazy brutal month, recovering from IlluXCon, hosting Thanksgiving, trucking across state lines to deliver a painting, and (probably most of all) devoting a lot of time to caring for my physically disabled mum-in-law while she visited from her assisted living home in NC.
Continuing the nutty trend, December kicked off with a bang, with a guest appearance at the StarCityGames Open Series: Baltimore. The SCG fellas were nice enough to tape an interview with me on Sunday. As a side note, this is the first time I can recall that I don't utterly hate the sound of my recorded voice; I attribute the random husky smoothness to exhaustion, so maybe I should avoid sleeping before I go on air from now on. Anyway, check it out:
Bonus! They did a similar interview with Noah Bradley, which was taped right before mine.
I'm still catching up on email and work after that crazy brutal month, recovering from IlluXCon, hosting Thanksgiving, trucking across state lines to deliver a painting, and (probably most of all) devoting a lot of time to caring for my physically disabled mum-in-law while she visited from her assisted living home in NC.
Continuing the nutty trend, December kicked off with a bang, with a guest appearance at the StarCityGames Open Series: Baltimore. The SCG fellas were nice enough to tape an interview with me on Sunday. As a side note, this is the first time I can recall that I don't utterly hate the sound of my recorded voice; I attribute the random husky smoothness to exhaustion, so maybe I should avoid sleeping before I go on air from now on. Anyway, check it out:
Bonus! They did a similar interview with Noah Bradley, which was taped right before mine.
Monday, October 29, 2012
Gearing Up for IlluXCon 2012
It's less than two weeks away now... the fifth annual IlluXCon! Are you as excited as I am?
This year is a bit different for me, and I'll explain why. Unlike 2010 and 2011, I will not have a table in the main show. There are very good reasons for this, the main one being that I didn't try out for the main show. "Wait... what??" Yes, you heard me: I didn't try out. In late 2011, when IlluXCon announced they were officially going traditional-only, and everyone had to be juried into the show, I had to get honest with myself about my work. I've been a working illustrator for a few years now, but primarily a working digital illustrator. When I did a hard comparison between my digital and traditional work, I saw a big enough disparity in the quality that it bothered me, and I thought it would be best to spend part of my first year as a full-time freelancer working toward getting back into shape with oils.
Instead of trying out for the main show, I set a goal for myself to make 5 oil paintings to present at the IlluXCon Showcase, which is the one-night-only art extravaganza held at the Ramada hotel. Not just paintings for the sake of painting, but paintings I would be proud to put my name on and show off as a sample of my latest work.
I think I met that goal.
A couple weeks ago when I started planning my table display, I made a second big decision that will set 2012 apart- I'm only bringing traditional work. Digital artwork isn't necessarily verboten in the Showcase, but it's not part of Pat and Jeannie's vision, and it's unfair to collectors who want to buy originals to get them interested in what they don't want. Also, for the first time, I don't need to show it to feel good about my work. If I had had enough original oils the last two years, I'd have done this sooner, but I just didn't. In less than two weeks, you won't even see a print or postcard of a digital piece at my table. **SPOILER ALERT** Here's what that might look like:
I'll have 5 original oils, 3 of which are still for sale, as listed below:
• Blue Flame, 2012, 16x22 in. | $1,200
• Rush of Blood, 2012 | Sold
• Tarzan: The Light of Knowledge, 2012 | Sold
• Omens, 2012, 22x30 in. w custom frame | $3,200
• Phial of Galadriel, 2012, 11x14 in. | $600
On the table I'll have a binder of original drawings, including richly-detailed preliminary drawings for four of the oil paintings listed above, priced between $150 and $300.
The binder will also have large giclée prints of some traditional work; if you can't pick one up at the Showcase, they can also be ordered online from my inprnt.com store for the same price.
Something new that I'll be trying out is playing my Making of Omens painting video at my table (sans audio, so my table-neighbors don't go insane from hearing the same 10 minutes of sound on loop). For people who want to watch it after the showcase, I'll have little cards to take that have a QR Code on the back, that will link you directly to the video:
Lastly, I'll have the usual takeaways, in the form of business cards and postcards, all bearing images of traditional paintings from 2012.
None of this is to say that I'll be abandoning digital art- no, siree. I still plan to work both ways, but I'm hoping to continue focusing more on honing my traditional skills throughout next year. I'm really hoping that I might have a shot at the main show again when IlluXCon moves to Allentown- that is a great motivator.
Lastly, since I'll only be behind a table for one night, I'll get to go to some lectures and hang out this year! :) Looking forward to seeing you all very soon! Now, get back to work.
This year is a bit different for me, and I'll explain why. Unlike 2010 and 2011, I will not have a table in the main show. There are very good reasons for this, the main one being that I didn't try out for the main show. "Wait... what??" Yes, you heard me: I didn't try out. In late 2011, when IlluXCon announced they were officially going traditional-only, and everyone had to be juried into the show, I had to get honest with myself about my work. I've been a working illustrator for a few years now, but primarily a working digital illustrator. When I did a hard comparison between my digital and traditional work, I saw a big enough disparity in the quality that it bothered me, and I thought it would be best to spend part of my first year as a full-time freelancer working toward getting back into shape with oils.
Instead of trying out for the main show, I set a goal for myself to make 5 oil paintings to present at the IlluXCon Showcase, which is the one-night-only art extravaganza held at the Ramada hotel. Not just paintings for the sake of painting, but paintings I would be proud to put my name on and show off as a sample of my latest work.
I think I met that goal.
A couple weeks ago when I started planning my table display, I made a second big decision that will set 2012 apart- I'm only bringing traditional work. Digital artwork isn't necessarily verboten in the Showcase, but it's not part of Pat and Jeannie's vision, and it's unfair to collectors who want to buy originals to get them interested in what they don't want. Also, for the first time, I don't need to show it to feel good about my work. If I had had enough original oils the last two years, I'd have done this sooner, but I just didn't. In less than two weeks, you won't even see a print or postcard of a digital piece at my table. **SPOILER ALERT** Here's what that might look like:
I'll have 5 original oils, 3 of which are still for sale, as listed below:
• Blue Flame, 2012, 16x22 in. | $1,200
• Rush of Blood, 2012 | Sold
• Tarzan: The Light of Knowledge, 2012 | Sold
• Omens, 2012, 22x30 in. w custom frame | $3,200
• Phial of Galadriel, 2012, 11x14 in. | $600
On the table I'll have a binder of original drawings, including richly-detailed preliminary drawings for four of the oil paintings listed above, priced between $150 and $300.
The binder will also have large giclée prints of some traditional work; if you can't pick one up at the Showcase, they can also be ordered online from my inprnt.com store for the same price.
Something new that I'll be trying out is playing my Making of Omens painting video at my table (sans audio, so my table-neighbors don't go insane from hearing the same 10 minutes of sound on loop). For people who want to watch it after the showcase, I'll have little cards to take that have a QR Code on the back, that will link you directly to the video:
Lastly, I'll have the usual takeaways, in the form of business cards and postcards, all bearing images of traditional paintings from 2012.
None of this is to say that I'll be abandoning digital art- no, siree. I still plan to work both ways, but I'm hoping to continue focusing more on honing my traditional skills throughout next year. I'm really hoping that I might have a shot at the main show again when IlluXCon moves to Allentown- that is a great motivator.
Lastly, since I'll only be behind a table for one night, I'll get to go to some lectures and hang out this year! :) Looking forward to seeing you all very soon! Now, get back to work.
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Voting for the "Illie" Awards ends tonight!
(File under Shameless Plug)
One of my paintings, Rush of Blood, has been nominated for an Illie Award, along with tons of other awesome works. Voting ends tonight at Midnight EST! The Illie Awards are presented by IlluXCon and the Illustration Exchange.
Visit the IlluXCon site to cast your vote.
One of my paintings, Rush of Blood, has been nominated for an Illie Award, along with tons of other awesome works. Voting ends tonight at Midnight EST! The Illie Awards are presented by IlluXCon and the Illustration Exchange.
Visit the IlluXCon site to cast your vote.
Saturday, October 20, 2012
New York Comic Con!
Last week I had my first Comic Con experience!
I shared a table at New York Comic Con with my good friends Noah Bradley (left) and Marc Scheff (top) from Awesome Horse Studios. Photo courtesy of Irene Gallo.
I was going to write out a huge list of tips like I usually do, but our friend and left-hand booth neighbor Kiri Ø. Leonard beat me to it! And she did a great recap, with good advice for first-time exhibitors. Read about her 10 Things She Learned at NYCC.
Instead, I'm going to sum up the 4 day art extravaganza and share some personal experiences through the majesty of captioned photographs.
Every convention starts weeks or months in advance withgood decent planning.
We discussed what we were going to bring and drew up a little table plan before the con... of course, we thought the tables were going to be 2 feet wider than they actually were, so our setup ended up being quite different.
Wednesday Night: I measure some foam core board in Marc's studio while Tim Paul makes custom wallets.
After arriving in NYC, we got straight to work making tiered foam board stands for our prints. Thanks for the idea, Tim!
Thursday Morning: We arrived at Javits Center, along with Marc's assistant Alex, and set up our display.
All done with setup! Posing at our table just before the doors opened on Thursday.
Sharing a 6-foot table among three people meant we needed to maximize our vertical space. We were guilty of a bit of "visual vomit" (too much disorganized clutter), but since we were treating the Con as a fun learning experience, we rolled with it.
Me and Noah looking suave and/or cheeky...
Sushi dinner with artist Kiri Ø. Leonard and art director Lauren Panepinto
Work hard, play hard. Just like any convention, evenings are for hanging out with friends and colleagues. Not pictured here: the alcohol.
Friday Morning: I pose next to Marc's banner with Kiri. The banners, much like the rest of our setup, were fastened together with duct tape and wishes.
I decided Friday was going to be dress-up day. Coincidentally I also had my best sales day... ha! Anyway, things got so hectic starting right after this photo was taken that we barely have any photo record of the next 48 hours. To paint a very small picture: Javits Center was PACKED wall-to-wall with attendees for the remainder of the con. The recorded numbers topped 116,000 for the whole weekend. WOW.
Saturday Afternoon: Posing with Dan Warren (center) and Dave Rapoza (far right) from Crimson Daggers.
Sunday, at last! And coffee. Delicious, delicious coffee.
All told, we had lots of fun and did well with sales. I'm really looking forward to the possibility of doing NYCC again next year!
I shared a table at New York Comic Con with my good friends Noah Bradley (left) and Marc Scheff (top) from Awesome Horse Studios. Photo courtesy of Irene Gallo.
I was going to write out a huge list of tips like I usually do, but our friend and left-hand booth neighbor Kiri Ø. Leonard beat me to it! And she did a great recap, with good advice for first-time exhibitors. Read about her 10 Things She Learned at NYCC.
Instead, I'm going to sum up the 4 day art extravaganza and share some personal experiences through the majesty of captioned photographs.
Every convention starts weeks or months in advance with
We discussed what we were going to bring and drew up a little table plan before the con... of course, we thought the tables were going to be 2 feet wider than they actually were, so our setup ended up being quite different.
Wednesday Night: I measure some foam core board in Marc's studio while Tim Paul makes custom wallets.
After arriving in NYC, we got straight to work making tiered foam board stands for our prints. Thanks for the idea, Tim!
Thursday Morning: We arrived at Javits Center, along with Marc's assistant Alex, and set up our display.
All done with setup! Posing at our table just before the doors opened on Thursday.
Sharing a 6-foot table among three people meant we needed to maximize our vertical space. We were guilty of a bit of "visual vomit" (too much disorganized clutter), but since we were treating the Con as a fun learning experience, we rolled with it.
Me and Noah looking suave and/or cheeky...
Sushi dinner with artist Kiri Ø. Leonard and art director Lauren Panepinto
Work hard, play hard. Just like any convention, evenings are for hanging out with friends and colleagues. Not pictured here: the alcohol.
Friday Morning: I pose next to Marc's banner with Kiri. The banners, much like the rest of our setup, were fastened together with duct tape and wishes.
I decided Friday was going to be dress-up day. Coincidentally I also had my best sales day... ha! Anyway, things got so hectic starting right after this photo was taken that we barely have any photo record of the next 48 hours. To paint a very small picture: Javits Center was PACKED wall-to-wall with attendees for the remainder of the con. The recorded numbers topped 116,000 for the whole weekend. WOW.
Saturday Afternoon: Posing with Dan Warren (center) and Dave Rapoza (far right) from Crimson Daggers.
Sunday, at last! And coffee. Delicious, delicious coffee.
All told, we had lots of fun and did well with sales. I'm really looking forward to the possibility of doing NYCC again next year!
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