Magic the Gathering Art Price List

Just in time for the holiday season, Josh Krause of www.originalmagicart.com has been kind enough to post my list of Magic the Gathering artwork for sale on his site. I have paintings and sketches available so if you're looking for a special holiday gift for someone, you may want to take a peek! The 3 paintings featured above are available and much more. You'll find the complete list here:

http://www.originalmagicart.com/marketplace/for-sale-by-artist/jim-nelson/

There are some great artists with work listed on the site so if you're not in the market for one of my originals, please take a look at what those talented people have available.

Happy Holidays!

Hearthstone: Cobalt Guardian

The working title for this piece was "Protector Robot" and it was sort of a dream assignment for me. I've been designing robots for a couple of years now, mainly as vector art. It's become a passion of mine, so when I was given the opportunity to design a robot for the game Hearthstone, I was thrilled. This 'bot needed to look like it belonged in the World of Warcraft universe (and as if it was built by gnomes) but beyond that, designing it was basically up to me. I'm very pleased with the way it turned out.

I've posted some process images along with the final art. The entire picture was done in Adobe Photoshop. I began with a simple line drawing, then painted a complete value study in gray. From there, using color, overlay and multiply layers, I began adding color to the grayscale image. I made additional adjustments along the way, painting into areas that needed it, pushing the value range and making the color stronger, until I ended up with a finished image that just need the final protective energy shield the robot is projecting. I initially chose a shade of blue for that as I felt it harmonized with the color scheme better. I still lean toward that color choice for purely personal reasons but the shield is painted in warm colors on the final art, to create greater contrast between it and the cool colors in the rest of the picture.

If you'd like to see some of the robot designs I mentioned above, they are all on display at: http://robotspot.tumblr.com/

Hearthstone: Shrinkmeister

This is one of the illustrations I did for the upcoming Hearthstone expansion, Goblins vs. Gnomes. It was an absolute blast to paint this gnome priest wielding a crazy"shrink ray"gun. I love old toys and vintage science fiction art so the Shrinkmeister's weapon is partially inspired by vintage ray gun toys. However, I also tried to create something very much in the spirit of existing gnome tech in the World of Warcraft universe.

I've included some images below

to illustrate my process on this piece. I began with a simple drawing, utilizing a custom "pencil" brush I created in Photoshop. Then, using a few different brushes, I began building up the values of the picture in gray, eventually ending up with a very finished image in black and white. Next, I began "glazing' color on layers over the black and white image, gradually building up the intensity of the color. The energy effect was painted on a layer as well.

As I mentioned above, the Goblins vs. Gnomes expansion hasn't been released yet but 30 of the cards froim the set were revealed at Blizzcon last weekend: http://www.gamespot.com/articles/a-look-at-30-cards-from-the-new-hearthstone-expans/1100-6423453/

KAIJU!

I did this illustration earlier in the year and I've been given permission by the publisher to show it, although it hasn't been published yet so unfortunately, I can't name the publisher or project just yet. When the project is released, I'll make sure to post an update.

The client wanted a "comic book style" image (ie: ink line and color) so after working out a  composition, I did a brush and ink drawing (using some micron pens for the buildings) and then applied color digitally in Photoshop. When I work this way, I usually leave the black ink line alone, allowing it strike through the color. However, in this case, I used a lot of color holds (a technique that retains the line but in a color rather than it's original black). I thought it helped bring the image together.

I've attached the full version of the artwork along with a cropped version (which, as I understand it, is how it will appear in print) and the ink drawing.

For those who don't know, Kaiju is a Japanese word that translates to "strange creature". It's most commonly used to refer to the giant monsters seen in many Japanese movies and TV shows.

New Tharkule

Here's the fourth and final illustration in the series I recently did for Red Aegis. It's more or less self-explanatory. 

Like the other pieces in this series, this one was a serious challenge and I chose to work as much of it out in black and white as possible before adding color. In this case, I kept the colors pretty muted (for me anyway). I thought too much color would just hurt the picture.

The title of this post (and the piece) refers to the name of the city below the aerial battle between choppers and dragons.

I've included my initial sketch, a grayscale value study and the final color art above.

You can learn more about Red Aegis at the links below:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/vorpalgames/red-aegis-roleplaying-game

https://www.facebook.com/VorpalGames

Jumpgate

Here's the third of four illustrations for Red Aegis. It illustrates a fleet of ships entering a jumpgate in orbit above a ringed world. the planet has a dense network of satellites around it, which I tried to suggest without rendering it too much.

This was the first time I can recall painting a picture quite like this and it was a learning experience. In the end, I felt like I got a little too focused on sharp edges, details and the idea that there's no atmosphere in space. If I were to do it again, I think I'd soften more edges, bleed the color around a bit more and take a looser, more atmospheric approach. Nevertheless, I'm pretty happy with how this turned out!

I've included my initial sketch, a grayscale value study and the final color art above.

You can learn more about Red Aegis at the links below:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/vorpalgames/red-aegis-roleplaying-game

https://www.facebook.com/VorpalGames

Wimachanca

Here's another illustration for Vorpal Games' Red Aegis. This one involved showing a day-to-night, orange-to-blue transition of a city (Wimachanca) high in the Andes, built around a huge pyramid. It was difficult to work out the color transition in this one. I don't paint cities much and I find that when I do work on a  picture like this, it can be a bit of a rabbit hole. I could have continued adding details and tweaking this one for days.

As in the previous post, I've included the preliminary sketch and the grayscale study.

You can learn more about Red Aegis at the links below:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/vorpalgames/red-aegis-roleplaying-game

https://www.facebook.com/VorpalGames

Ascendant

I work under a lot of non-disclosure agreements so I haven't been able to post anything new in a while but here's one of 4 illustrations I recently did for Vorpal Games. It's for their science fiction game, Red Aegis. I will post the other 3 illustrations in the near future.

This project was challenging in a number of ways and it pushed me into some unfamiliar areas. For example, this piece involved illustrating a meditating character whose chakras are visible (represented by the vertical line of glowing, colored lights in the middle of the picture) and who is "tethered" to alien worlds both in space and cyberspace. That was a lot to pack into one picture!

I 've included my initial sketch, a grayscale value study and the final color art above.

You can learn more about Red Aegis at the links below:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/vorpalgames/red-aegis-roleplaying-game
https://www.facebook.com/VorpalGames

Forest Elephant

I wasn't quite sure what to title this post but the image above was created years ago for Magic the Gathering. If I'm not mistaken, it was only released digitally, as part of an online version of the game. It depicts an elephant being formed out of the moss, soil and vegetation of the forest. I painted it in Adobe Photoshop and had a great time doing it! It's a personal favorite.

Firefly Archetypes

 

A crazy work schedule has kept me away from posting for a while but once all the things I've been working on for the past few months are actually published, I'll have a lot of cool new work to share. Meanwhile, I wanted to share some more Firefly character archetypes with you. I've been holding them back for a bit because the hardcover for the game hasn't been released (up to this point, it has only been available in digital form) but it's coming out soon!

I've attached the artwork for the Triad Gangster archetype and the Minor League Hustler archetype, as well as the preliminary drawings for each. I hope you enjoy them!

More Firefly Characters

 


The PDF version of the Firefly RPG has been released so I can post more of the character archetypes I painted for the game. I'm posting two of my favorites, along with the preliminary drawings for each piece. The first is an Alliance Engineer. I was able to incorporate more elements than just the figure into this one so I'm pleased with it in part because I like the overall design those extra elements allowed me to create.

The second character is a Derelict Salvager. As I mentioned in my previous post on these archetypes, I really tried to portray an ethnically diverse group of characters and these two pieces are certainly representative of that effort. The second piece also illustrates an effort to use colors that would work well with, and against, a blue background. In this case, I even went so far as to work quite a bit of that blue into the character. I did this because the planned layout for the book involved putting the characters on blue. Knowing the artwork would have no painted background but would be placed against a medium blue rather than a light color or white impacted the choices I made. For example, it takes darker colors and stronger edges to stand out against a medium value than against white, cream, etc. Each piece was painted with that in mind but, unfortunately, in the final PDF book (and presumably in the print edition, to be released soon) the artwork is all placed on a white background. Changes like that aren't uncommon and I'm sure there was a good reason for that decision so I'm not complaining but the decision did result in some of the artwork looking darker than intended. When painting something intended to go against a light or white background, I normally try to make choices that soften the contrast between art and page a little.

That's a little insight into how color choices are made and how layout choices can impact the final presentation of an illustration. I've included a sample image below to illustrate what I'm talking about. The figure is unchanged. Only the background color is different and as you can see, the difference is somewhat dramatic.

Thanks for reading! You can learn more about the Firefly RPG at http://www.margaretweis.com/

Firefly Character archetypes

As a science fiction fan and a fan of the short-lived TV show, Firefly, I was very pleased to have the opportunity to illustrate some character archetypes for the Firefly RPG being produced by Margaret Weis Productions.  The game should be released next month but for now, I'm able to show you two of the archetypes I painted. Quite a few of the characters don't have a futuristic or science fiction look to them because many aspects of the Firefly universe are pretty low-tech. However,  the bounty hunter illustration above was an exception. Since I paint fantasy subjects most of the time but tend to read a lot more science fiction, it's great to be able to dip my toes in "sci fi" waters once in a while. I hope to do it more often.

I've also posted a dock worker character. I really tried to vary body types, ethnicity, etc. in this group of illustrations. I'll be able to post more when the book releases but for now, I hope you enjoy seeing these characters.

You can learn more about the Firefly RPG at http://www.margaretweis.com.

The copyright to the artwork belongs to Margaret Weis Productions.

Stymphalidies

Here's another creature I painted for the Pathfinder Pawns: Bestiary 3 Box. It's essentially a heron made of brass. I love drawing and painting animals so naturally, I had a good time with this one!

Azruverda

This odd creature, a huge beetle with a human-like face, was created for Paizo Publishing's Pathfinder Pawns: Bestiary 3 Box and like the squonk I recently posted, it was really fun to design. I relish opportunities to design creatures that aren't big, menacing, "bad ass" monsters, equipped with massive teeth and claws. That stuff is fun too but quirky, strange, more atypical creatures like this are far more interesting to me. In addition to being a beetle with a human face, it was described as placid, "kind of an underground Buddhist beetle".  I'd like to think I managed to capture that tone.

Squonk

My first exposure to the word squonk and the creature associated with it came when I borrowed the Genesis album, A Trick of the Tail way back in high school! There's a song on that album named "Squonk" (it's a good tune, look it up) and it's based on the mythical creature of the same name.

The mythical squonk is said to dwell in Pennsylvania, of all places. It's a creature with ill-fitting skin, warts and blemishes. Ashamed of it's appearance, it spends much of it's time hiding and weeping and when threatened, it can dissolve into a pool of tears to evade capture!

This version of the creature was painted for Paizo Publishing's game Pathfinder (it appears in the Bestiary 4) and was described as a fat, hairless pig-like thing. I've included a preliminary sketch as well.

Now you know about squonks! I love the concept of this mythical creature so much that I'll have to re-visit the idea one day and design another take on it, just for kicks.

Squonk art  copyright © Paizo Publishing. 

Pathfinder Kaiju

Last summer, I was asked to design 3 kaiju for the game Pathfinder. Kaiju is a Japanese word for "strange creature" but has come to be known in english as "monster", usually of the gigantic variety. Godzilla is probably the best-known example of a kaiju, but he's far from the only one.

I was asked to illustrate 3 fairly archetypal kaiju for the Pathfinder Bestiary 4 book: a large, reptilian kaiju, a flying, dinosaur-like kaiju and an "insect" monster. The well-known Japanese film equivalents to these archetypes will probably be familiar to just about anyone reading this blog. Because these kaiju were somewhat archetypal, I couldn't go crazy and create really wild, exotic monsters. Nevertheless, I had some freedom to play and I had a good time with these illustrations, especially the insect/crustacean kaiju, which ended up being my favorite.

The illustrations were to be text-wrapped so they don't have backgrounds. At some point, I'd love to revisit this subject and paint a full-fledged scene of a kaiju wreaking havoc and causing destruction!

I've included both the final art and the preliminary drawings. In some ways, I prefer the clean simplicity of the latter.

The Kaiju images are copyright © Paizo Publishing.