What I've been up to lately

Since my last post in May, life has been crazy busy, both in the studio and the office, cooking up all sorts of crazy schemes, plots, and pictures. Here's a look at what I've been up to...

-You're a Wizard, Harry!
I'm now an art director for keeps. Yay!
Translation: My managers at Wizards of the Coast saw fit to convert me from contractor to full time in August. I was certainly hoping that would happen, but I didn't want to get too comfortable in my seat until it was set in stone. I've now commissioned hundreds of pieces of art for Magic, and cut my teeth on all kinds of creative behind-the-scenes stuff I can't talk about. That's really the only downside- the shroud of mystery evokes a similar feeling to painting something I like that has to stay under wraps for a year, but protracted.

It's a fun, challenging, hard-ass job. I've learned a lot, and am still learning. Joking with a publishing AD I called it "atoning for all my sins as an illustrator." hah. It's a little true, though. If I could yell into the past, it would sound something like "Communicate! Don't rush that final! And for the love of god, name your files correctly!!"

From L to R: artist Sara Winters, art director Mark Winters, and me. On our way to PAX Prime, Seattle

As an extension of the art direction, I went to PAX Prime last month with my fellow AD Mark Winters to give portfolio reviews. I'll be flying to Pennsylvania for more portfolio reviews at IlluXCon in just a few short weeks: Sign ups begin at 6PM Eastern Time on October 3rd. Slots for reviews at IX have gone quickly in the past, so if you want to talk with me about your work, do not miss that signup date!


-Recent Work
I've been remiss in my responsibilities to you and have skipped over posting a bunch of my artwork that's come out recently (for which I apologize). Some of this may be review for those of you who follow me elsewhere, but some will not. Starting off, my latest cover for Tor Books was released today, for Emily Foster's novella, "The Drowning Eyes," art directed by Christine Foltzer:

full art on Facebook

A couple more Tor book covers I worked on with Irene Gallo from earlier this year- for all the full art in one place, take a peek at my portfolio archive on Imgur: http://imgur.com/a/VVn9H

"A Daughter of No Nation" novel cover art, © Tor Books

"World's End" novel cover art, © Tor Books

Next up, some creepy Eldrazi and weirdly angelic Magic card artwork from the latest set, Battle for Zendikar (coming October 2nd!):

 

"Lithomancer's Focus"

"Incubator Drone"

"Transgress the Mind"

 "Emeria Shepherd"

And a few from the previous set, Magic: Origins:

"Archangel of Tithes"

"Reclusive Artificer"

 "Send to Sleep"

"Ampryn Tactician"

(All Magic: The Gathering artwork above ©2015 Wizards of the Coast)

-Some semblance of a social life?
If you find yourself in the Georgetown area of Seattle, I highly recommend going to Atelier Coffee Company for a cup- the guys are awesome and will take good care of you. The storefront has a curiosity shop/steampunk/artist studio vibe, and on Sunday afternoons it's filled with amazing costumed models and a range of artists, from beginners to skilled pros (many of them are my coworkers) for really cool figure drawing sessions. Whenever I attend, I like to post sketches on my Instagram.

Here's some stuff from the last few weeks:

-On the Horizon
Heads up, Infected by Art Vol. 3 preorders will ship in October- Earlier this year, I was fortunate enough to win the juried contest for IBA3 and my art for Karen Memory is featured on the cover. I'm looking forward to getting a copy, not just for myself but to peruse its pages for artwork- some people may think art directors don't use annuals to search for artists, but pssst... we actually do. ;)

With the full-time job at Wizards, I'm not taking new freelance assignments right now, but I assure you that does NOT mean I'm going to stop making art. Hell no! How could you even think that, you monster?! I'm finishing up some stuff through the remainder of the year, including 13 pieces for a 2017 calendar, and preparing some personal works for next year. Details on all that later. I'm looking forward to having more creative exploration time once my current projects are wrapped up.

I hope I'll see some newcomers as well as familiar faces at IlluXCon! Signing off for now. Cheers, and happy painting.

"Momentum" | New personal work

What gives you your sense of wonder, when your momentum is stolen by your surroundings?


Momentum | digital painting, December 3, 2014
Prints available here

Wednesday was my 31st birthday, and I also finished and released this new personal painting.

The development of the piece was a bit fuzzy and half-baked (like most of my personal paintings), and started with an emotion and a vague composition and color scheme. A feeling of hope as a jewel set into a wall of stagnation. This is a page from someone else's story, as interpreted through my eyes, but one that I closely relate to, having experienced similar feelings. Like my environment was slowly killing me, and if I didn't have my creativity I would die, or at least go mad.

Subject vs. environment has been a running theme in my work for years, and something I haven't gotten as much of an opportunity to explore in my commercial work. In older personal pieces like East End of the Water Chamber (2009), Escapism (2009), and Beautiful Grim (2010), there's a character featured in some kind of hostile or dilapidated setting, either remaining strong despite it, or succumbing to it, depending on what I was going through at the time.


Early sketch.

My original idea was a figure placed among large stone monuments of some kind, frozen in time. I didn't know they were going to be horses, but horses were the first thing I tried, and it worked, mostly. I started with several more horses, going in different directions, because I thought that would make a good representation of arrested movement, but instead I got a composition that spiraled directly into a giant horse butt. Not exactly what I was going for. So I kept the top three horses which were galloping in the same direction, and surrounded them with rocks and rubble, and that felt much more like the arrested movement I was going for. The metaphoric steeds were headed swiftly in a direction and halted. Perfect.

A quick note for the groups of students I've talked to recently: When I said don't be afraid to edit something that's not working, that's exactly what I meant!


"Momentum" figure detail.

The finish on this piece is one of the tightest I've done recently, and to date. You can still see the digital brushstrokes when you get up close, but there are more of them per sq inch. I used some textures over the whole image to add sharp grit to the rocks and debris. The figure was painted in a separate file first at 2x resolution. High detail has been coming up a ton recently while discussing art with other people, so the thought of doing something where more forms are realized and fewer things are suggested by fat brush strokes felt natural. I was transported back to my teenage years when I enjoyed doing detailed drawings of ruins in which you could see every leaf and crack in the stone... and apparently busted stones in the foreground, I swear that wasn't even intentional.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this image. It's been very well received so far, and I think it's a nice send-off to a big year. For the first time ever, I'm proud to show off my work this year and say "this is who I am as an artist," and this new piece has got me more excited for next year.

Magic ProTour Qualifier and visit to Havre de Grace

As an artist for Magic, I get a lot of really interesting opportunities for travel and exploration, and I've been taking advantage of a lot of them since I've been on my own this year. I'm also guilty of failing to document most of my trips- I'm the type who doesn't like to be on my phone or behind a camera the whole time I'm having an in-real-life experience so I forget to update social media, then when I return I'm often swamped with work or email and writing about my travels gets put on the back burner, and then forgotten forever.

Last Saturday's journey was up to a ProTour qualifier (aka "PTQ" -a small-ish event where folks play competitive Magic, and the winner(s) get to move on to compete in an upcoming ProTour). That was the official reason for leaving home, but there were so many unique aspects of this trip that I feel compelled to sit down and spend a minute time typing them out before getting back to business.

Spencer Silver Mansion: Living Room | digital painting study from life (while sitting in front of a fireplace)

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PTQ's don't normally have artists, since they're hosted by independent game stores, but John Klisavage who owns Washington Street Books wanted to make the experience for his players different. I happened to luck out and take another artist's place because he had a schedule conflict, and it was drive-able for me. The PTQ itself went great- I got to sign a lot of cards, do lots of sketches and alters, and chat with folks. A good day's work, and I think people had fun.

Now, the trip's first interesting side feature was that I got to stay in a beautiful historic Bed & Breakfast built in 1896, called the Spencer Silver Mansion. I also had extra down-time since it was only a one-day event, so I got to do some sight-seeing and sketching that I'm normally too rushed or tired to do during events.

Concord Point Lighthouse | Graphite in moleskine sketchbook

One of the best places I visited during the whole trip was John's store itself. Washington Street Books is a collector's paradise. You think that you can find anything in a big city, but this is the kind of out-of-the-way place where you find amazing things you can't even find on eBay. He has everything from rare old books to movie props from The Last Samurai. I ended up doing a fair bit of Xmas shopping at the store, and picked up a couple things for myself...some Magic cards, comics, and an all-Japanese box set of collectible figures from Final Fantasy 9, including Princess Garnet, who is my video game alter ego (still totally geeking out about it!!!). John was kind enough to let me browse through a bunch of his collectibles and even sent me off with some of his Lone Wolf Cub comics. You just don't have nice personal experiences like this working from home all the time.

One of the many many display shelves at Washington Street Books- I spent a good deal of time with the Star Wars collectibles, duh.

For those who like my step-by-step posts, I'll leave you with a two-night digital painting study I did of my cozy bedroom:

Thanks again to John K. (and family) for the experience and for hosting the event, Carol for taking great care of me at the B&B, and all the players and fans who came and said hi. :)

"Karen Memory" | Tor.com Book Cover Reveal!

"Karen Memory" | Digital painting, 2014
Cover for novel by Elizabeth Bear
Art director: Irene Gallo

It's with immense pleasure that I get to show you my latest illustration: the cover artwork for Elizabeth Bear's novel Karen Memory, published by Tor Books. This was actually my second time working with the inimitable and talented Irene Gallo. I don't know if she knew how badly I've wanted professional excuses to paint Steampunk-oriented stuff, but let's just say this was one of those dream jobs you spend years hoping for.

See the official post via Tor.com

Prints available in my INPRNT store: http://www.inprnt.com/gallery/sheppardarts/karen-memory/

Magic Card Art: Canyon Lurkers

Card Name: Canyon Lurkers
© 2014 Wizards of the Coast

Gatherer Link: http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=386503

Medium: Digital
Original Art Available? No
Prints Available? Yes
Artist Proofs Available? Yes
Foil Artist Proofs Available? Yes

New Personal Work: "Soulbound," and DeviantArt Updates

First off, here's a new personal piece I finished yesterday:

"Soulbound," digital painting, ©2014
[prints available here]

This piece was originally conceived as an entry for a male pin-up challenge on the Women in Fantasy Illustration Facebook group, believe it or not. Through a couple conversations and the ideation process it ended up evolving into something else- there's a story that's been developing behind the scenes, and you can see some recurring symbolism and themes emerging in my recent personal work. If you're feeling adventurous, see if you can spot some of it.

On a style note, I really enjoy that aesthetic in 19th century paintings that feels like you're watching actors in a Greek tragedy, with sheet-draped actors and the intimate eye-level POV. I don't know how many more I'll do like this because I don't want it to become a crutch or a formulaic "thing." I dig it here, though.

"OMAIGAHHH..."

Second off, I finally updated my DeviantArt account again, with loads of work from this year so far. There was some shockingly old (translation: bad) work still on there that I cleared out, too. And I don't want to hear about how DA is a great place to show an artist's evolution. No one needs to see that crap within 100 miles of my portfolio. Those lazy compositions, the blinding saturation, the knuckleless sausage fingers...

Yeah, sausage fingers.

Ok, my dear readers... It's been a day. Time to paint.

"Athena" cover for ImagineFX Magazine, issue #110

I'm honored that I get so many amazing opportunities in the illustration world, and this is no exception. Some of you who follow my work know that I've been creating workshops and tutorials for ImagineFX Magazine since 2009 (June 2009, to be exact). Here we are exactly five years later, and I get to show you my very first COVER for the illustrious publication!


ImagineFX Issue #110 "Athena" Cover

The subject was Athena for their Myths & Legends issue- the magazine features a step-by-step workshop on the process of creating the image. No spoilers here... go buy the issue! You can also see the full painting without the text on my portfolio website.


Proud moment when my copy arrived in the mail today! via Instagram

Magic Card Art: Wind Dancer

Card Name: Wind Dancer
© 2014 Wizards of the Coast

Gatherer Link: http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=382407

Medium: Digital
Original Art Available? No
Artist Proofs Available? Yes

Artist Notes: I made a blog post exactly one year ago today about a painting that changed everything. This is that painting.

I had been going through a tough time for months prior to working on this, both with my work and my life in general, and was starting to give up on myself. The painting depicts a faerie character reaching out to the viewer over turbulent waters, offering safety, or a way out- in a sense, that's exactly what I was looking for at the time. The creation of the painting itself is what jolted me out of that bad period, and another literal interpretation of something I was going through, that paved the way for more recent pieces like Learning to Leave.

2013 was a crazy growth year no one knew I was having, and I came out of it with momentum that's still going. Thank you to those who've stood by my side.

EDIT: Adding a link to the art review on GatheringMagic.com.

"Divine Restraint"

I took some time away from concept art over the long weekend and made a quick & fun personal piece. My partner-in-crime Jonathon modeled as the character, and made up a back story involving how he came to possess the magical armor and its power.


"Divine Restraint," digital painting, 2014

Prints Available

Magic Card Art: Shadowcloak Vampire

Card Name: Shadowcloak Vampire
© 2014 Wizards of the Coast

Gatherer Link: coming soon

Medium: Digital
Original Art Available? No
Artist Proofs Available? Coming Soon

Artist notes: First of my cards spoiled for Magic's core set, M15. The art brief for this one was largely open to interpretation, as long as it had a big flowy batwing cape, so I spent a lot of time noodling on the fabric for fun.

New "Virtual Plein Air" Landscape Studies

Study of Melville Caves Trail, Australia | Google Street View Reference

I'm just finishing my second of five weeks working in-house at Wizards of the Coast on a concept art project. It's been an amazing and very challenging experience; since I come from more of a finished illustration background, doing concept design is something I'm just starting to sink my teeth into, but I'm learning a ton and the educational rewards of each day at the office are plentiful.

One of the biggest challenges has been doing environment designs for the first time. I've always thought of myself as a "micro" painter, looking inward toward everything, instead of outward. I was the kid that picked four leaf clovers, always looking down at the ground and imagining being really really small. Imagining vastness is a new feeling.

Suddenly, with the most fortuitous timing imaginable, the Virtual Plein Air Facebook community sprung up. The group, founded by artist Timothy Rodriguez, prompts group members to find places on Google Street View, and paint studies from them. Of course nothing can compare to actually going outside and painting a plein air study, but this is a really fun and novel way to draw interesting scenery that's inaccessible, and get some quick practice to jumpstart my brain into making images of wide open spaces. The group has been exploding with studies since its inception one week ago today.


Study of Jasaan, Philippines | Google Street View Reference

This is the study I posted in the community yesterday. A couple people wanted to see the process, so I'm happy to oblige.

Like all my figure work, I start with a sketch to get the landmarks in place. I jump straight into color without doing any black and white or value studies, since the value and color information already exists in the reference image. Jumping straight into color, I put in large areas of local color to start with, and do several detail passes.


Close up of water detail.

A few people specifically wanted to know about the water texture, and it's actually fairly simple to achieve. Starting over the base color (the greenish-blue gradient) I brushed the lighter color all over the surface, then erased away the ripples. It's not an exact match to the photo but the surface highlights follow the same "rules," so to speak.

During the last few steps of each painting I do something I like to call "atmospheric noodling," which is mostly using Screen and Overlay layers to apply subtle changes to the contrast and color over the whole piece. In the case of the Jasaan study, I used the Gradient tool on a Screen layer to simulate the mist in the background, etc. This is the biggest thing that makes digital painting different from traditional for me- if it was oil, I could glaze darker darks into some areas, but it's harder to go lighter at the end with real paint. Digital allows you that flexibility, so the order of operations is a bit different.

Most of the textured brush work is done toward the end as well. Here's what the Jasaan study looks like from start to finish:



Enjoy, and I hope you'll check out the Facebook group and try one of your own.

Magic Card Art: Reviving Melody

Card Name: Reviving Melody
© 2014 Wizards of the Coast

Gatherer Link: http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=380483

Medium: Digital
Original Art Available? No
Artist Proofs Available? Yes

Artist notes: My 3rd (and favorite) card released from Journey Into Nyx. It's partly a gender-reversed Orpheus & Eurydice, and the could be read as disintegration or reintegration, though given the flavor of the card we know she's bringing the hoplite back from Erebos's clutches through the power of her song.

Also, here's a review of this and other JOU art on GatheringMagic.com.

Magic Card Art: Prophetic Flamespeaker

Card Name: Prophetic Flamespeaker
© 2014 Wizards of the Coast

Gatherer Link: http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=380475

Medium: Digital
Original Art Available? No
Artist Proofs Available? Yes

My 2nd card released from Journey Into Nyx.

Step-by-Step and Thank You to Family, Friends, and Fans

The reactions to "Learning to Leave," the new painting I posted on Sunday, have been astounding beyond words.

First and foremost, I want to thank everyone who's written me emails and comments in its wake. The expressions of support and acts of kindness have been overwhelming. It feels like people are there physically trying to prop up the characters in the painting, and the experience of putting the painting out there and the warm reception has kickstarted the healing process for me. People saying they've been inspired by something I've done is the highest compliment that I could possibly receive. People saying they've looked at it and can relate deeply to their own experiences, or that it brought tears to their eyes... I hope everyone knows how much that means to me.

To close this note, here's one of my favorite videos of the figure skaters I mentioned in my last post. They're so beautiful that I don't care if it's not directly related to painting. It is art, and inspiration comes from all over the place. My post-Olympic crying jag helped prepare me for everything that's come out of my brush since then, so I owe them my thanks too.

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Now back to the painting for a minute, I always save iterations while I work, so for the curious, I put together a step-by-step gif of the process:



When art resonates with people, it tends to open the door for some great discussions and exchanges of ideas. My friend and fellow artist Adam Paquette and I had an eye-opening conversation about symbolism over email. We talked about the use of the skull as an universally-accessible metaphor for loss, and what other ways one might be able to convey relationship separation visually. I always feel honored when I get to pick his brain. Discussion about the use of the classical "ballet toe" came up on Facebook as well, and to sum that up, I do think it's important to be cautious about using gestures or poses that look off-balance. It was a risk I took with this, and I'm still not 100% sure it reads properly as weakness, but I'll carry that consideration forward into my next paintings.

Anyway, enjoy the process images, and I'll be back soon with more art. Here's to better days ahead, and great things to come. Love to you all.

"Learning to Leave," New Personal Work, and Updates

Allow me to break my silence for a few minutes and share with you what's been going on with me lately. (warning: human feelings)

Over the holidays, my husband and I began the long, sad process of getting a divorce. I spent most of January packing my things (about 80% of which was my art studio), and moved into an apartment about 45 minutes away from my former home. I chose to move, and on the record, the separation was mutual and amicable. That's not to say that I'm not hurt and struggling, and my internet silence has been a direct result of that.

Heartbroken doesn't quite describe it. I've been feeling such mixed emotions that it's hard to lock in on one, and sometimes they come back to back with a completely opposite emotion; I was enjoying the freedom of watching the Olympic figure skating pairs at 2:00 in the morning, until Maxim Trankov embraced Tatiana Volosozhar at the end of their winning performance, and I started crying uncontrollably. "They're so beautiful. That's what I always thought love should look like."


"Learning to Leave", 2014, Digital Painting

A better thing to call it might be grief. This painting is a symbolic interpretation of my current state of mind, and also a literal self-portrait x 3. In it, the first aspect clings to the past and mourns for her loss (and failure to save her relationship). The second is the voice of reason- she's responsible for quieting the grief when she can (in realistic terms, she keeps me from posting horrible things on Facebook when I'm upset), but she's also fragile and sometimes too weak to have any effect. The third aspect is ready to begin anew, though for the time she's stuck behind the other two, waiting for them to finish their grieving process. She exists but lacks an identity of her own yet, so we don't see her face. I thought the flower petals were a nice symbolic nod to both path-making and weddings.

This painting is about as stream-of-consciousness as it gets while still using photo references and obeying (most of) the technical rules of art-making. I started it at 8:00 PM on Valentine's Day, and finished up this morning, taking a day's break in between. Make of it what you will, I just really needed to get this out before moving forward with my artwork and my life.


Detail

So, that's what's going on right now. I'm working on getting back into a healthy, positive groove- slowly it's happening but it will take time, and I thank everyone for their patience with me. Until next time.

*EDIT: I feel embarrassed for not giving a shout-out to all my wonderful friends and family. My life is not ALL doom and gloom- I've had an incredible support network helping me through this. From the bottom of my heart, thank you guys so much. <3

[Prints available in my Print Store]

New Cover for Call of Cthulhu "Denizens of the Underworld" Expansion

© 2013 Fantasy Flight Games | Digital Painting | Art director: Andrew Navaro

My latest cover for the Call of Cthulhu: Denizens of the Underworld expansion was just released to the public while I was at IlluXCon last weekend. This was a really fun assignment, and a big challenge. The composition was pretty much set in stone before I started working, but creatures aren't normally a staple in my artistic diet. I had more questions for the art direction team than usual, but Andrew was very patient with me as I figured out the byakhee anatomy. I learned from this that I love rendering creepy scaly skin.


The box art, courtesy of http://www.fantasyflightgames.com

Magic Card Art: Jeleva, Nephalia's Scourge (spoiled at SDCC!)

I've never been to San Diego Comic Con, but anyone can tell you it's huge.

Every year, Wizards of the Coast holds a Magic: the Gathering panel at SDCC, and they'll show off some cards in advance of upcoming releases to drum up publicity and excitement. I'm very pleased and honored to have a piece of art among this year's SDCC spoilers- Jeleva, Nephalia's Scourge was released to promote the Commander product coming out later this year!



Card Name: Jeleva, Nephalia's Scourge
© 2013 Wizards of the Coast

Gatherer Link: http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=376382

Medium: Digital
Original Art Available? Drawing SOLD
Artist Proofs Available? No

Artist Notes:*Not to be confused with Gevalia, the coffee company.

Compared to the direction of my current work, Jeleva's (visual) design is simple. I made a conscious decision not to define her body under the swirly cloak; I think a black mass coming toward the viewer is more intimidating than a cheesy leg action pose or a heavily-designed outfit, and it doesn't distract from the face and arms, which are screaming "I'm HUNGRY, and I'm coming after YOU!"

(Or, as one commentor pointed out, she might be about to squeeze an epic booty. You decide.)


^^Here's the actual card^^

Getting to paint a mythic rare card is a special treat, not only for the collectible value, but because of the card's potential in actual gameplay. I know enough about the basic rules to play (poorly) now, but I've never played EDH/Commander, so the folks who use Jeleva as a commander will have to write to me and tell me how she does.

Two New Portraits, "Cassandra" and "Vasara"

I've got two new digital portraits available at my Print Store. Cassandra and Vasara are two of my favorite models, and I've used each of them as reference for paintings in the past (and future).



"Cassandra" - 2013, digital painting



"Vasara" - 2013, digital painting