More Inked Characters

Here are a few new characters I've recently drawn in pen and ink. In case anybody is curious, my method for these is very straightforward. I just start sketching on Strathmore 500 bristol (vellum surface) and once I've arrived at a character design I like,  I ink it using Micron pens. It's a very relaxing process.

Hearthstone: Broom

This is my favorite of the pictures I painted for the new Hearthstone expansion One Night in Karazhan. It was a chance to get a bit silly and I love it when I can really embrace a humorous approach to a painting or a character design. In this case, I was able to paint a mean-spirited, magically-animated broom! It was a good time from start to finish.

I've included my initial concept sketches for the broom at left.

From the Archive: Unduur Angel

Here's another old image that never saw the light of day, an "angel" created for a short-lived game called Heroes & Havoc. I was supposed to do a bunch of these but the company went under right after I did this first one. It's a shame because it was nice working with them.

I don't remember many specifics about the character other than what is apparent in the artwork itself. The client wanted a tightly-rendered design and this character would have been seen on-screen as sort of a small avatar, floating above a circular base (like the base on a physical game piece). At some point in the game, the character would "sprout" glowing magenta wings (which couldn't be too intricate since they would be seen at a small size). The wing color indicated an affiliation so some other characters would have similar wings.

It was a fun assignment, even if it didn't end well! I've included  an image with wings, one without wings and a detail shot.

Goblins! Part 2

As I promised yesterday, I'm posting the large, burly goblin design today. Again, these designs were done for The Workshop.

These goblins are nocturnal creatures so I gave them eyes more like those of a cat (or even a reptile) than those of a human. I like the idea that two creatures of such different size and stature are members of the same species. We see that kind of variation in humans so why wouldn't we see it in goblins? If species such as goblins, dwarves, elves, hobbits, etc. actually existed, I suspect there would be significant differences in the height, weight and bone structure of individuals, just like the differences we see amongst ourselves.

Goblins! Part 1

A while back I did some goblin concept drawings for The Workshop, a California-based game company. They were looking for designs that would be somewhat unique and would straddle the line between whimsical and formidable while still keeping the creatures recognizable as goblins. There were to be two basic types, wiry little goblins and big, burly goblins. I worked up some ideas and you can see the design for the small goblin above. I will post the big fellow tomorrow.

We tried a few different skin colors, including orange-hued skin and a mustard green but ultimately, decided the green you can see in the artwork was best.

Vampire Counts Barding Concepts

As I promised last week, I'm posting the barding concepts for the Vampire Counts. These designs, like the barding pieces I posted last week, were created for Warhammer Online. However, unlike the Brettonnian designs I posted last week, these concepts are much darker in tone, right down to the horse itself, which is as undead as it's vampire riders. Also unlike last week, I was able to design and paint the horse that would wear these sets of armor.

There are 3 tiers of barding, each more elaborate than the last. I incorporated a lot of skull/death imagery and used bat wings and similar shapes as a motif throughout the armor. As you can see, the colors are primarily black and red, for what should be obvious reasons.

All 4 pieces were created in Photoshop and Painter.

Property of Games Workshop Limited 2012. All Rights Reserved. Used with permission. Games Workshop, the Games Workshop logo, Warhammer, the Warhammer logo, ’Eavy Metal, the ’Eavy Metal logo, Citadel, the Citadel Device, Warhammer Armies: Vampire Counts, Vampire Counts, Wight King, Crypt Ghoul, Corpse Cart, Grave Guard, Blood Knights, Blood Knight Kastellan, The Black Coach, Spirit Host, Cairn Wraith, Fell Bat, Dire Wolf, Nightmare, Skeletal Steed, Hellsteed, Abyssal Terror, Varghulf, Count Vlad von Carstein, Countess Isabella von Carstein, Mannfred von Carstein, Konrad von Carstein, Nagash, Chaos, Realm of Chaos, Bretonnia, Skavenblight, the Empire, Border Princes, Karak Azul, Nehekhara, Priest King Settra, Khemri, Sigmar, Grand Theogonist, Dwarfs, Ogre Kingdoms, Grail Knight, and all associated marks, logos, places, names, creatures, races and race insignia/devices/logos/symbols, vehicles, locations, weapons, units, spells, special powers, items, rules, characters, products, illustrations and images from the Warhammer world and game system are either ®, TM and/or © Games Workshop Ltd 2000-2012, registered in the UK and other countries around the world, Used without permission. All Rights Reserved.

Warhammer Online Barding Concepts

I've been waiting to post these pieces for a long time! I created the barding concept art above for the Warhammer Online game. For those who don't know, Warhammer is a long-running tabletop miniatures game produced by UK-based publisher Games Workshop. The game's popularity has resultd in novels, comics and inevitably, a computer game. Warhammer has a rich, detailed universe and since I used to play the miniatures game, I've always thought it would be fun to work on the game. Consequently, when I had a chance to do some concept art for it, I jumped right in.

Barding is a term used to describe armor for horses. I was provided with a painting of a horse and asked to apply the armor to that particular horse so while I designed the armor in these pieces, the horse was created by another artist.

These barding designs are for a human faction in Warhammer called Bretonnia, which was modeled to some degree after medieval France, England and Arthurian legends. The idea was to create 3 tiers of barding, each more complex and detailed than the last.

I'd love to do more of this kind of concept work. It's really fun to just dig in and explore the possibilities in different armor designs, patterns, etc. If you like these images, you'll be pleased to know I have more. I did a second set of (much darker) barding designs for a faction named Vampire Counts. They will be included in my next post so please come back for more!

Property of Games Workshop Limited 2012. All Rights Reserved. Used with permission. Games Workshop, the Games Workshop logo, Warhammer, the Warhammer logo, ’Eavy Metal, the ’Eavy Metal logo, Citadel, the Citadel Device, Warhammer Armies: Vampire Counts, Vampire Counts, Wight King, Crypt Ghoul, Corpse Cart, Grave Guard, Blood Knights, Blood Knight Kastellan, The Black Coach, Spirit Host, Cairn Wraith, Fell Bat, Dire Wolf, Nightmare, Skeletal Steed, Hellsteed, Abyssal Terror, Varghulf, Count Vlad von Carstein, Countess Isabella von Carstein, Mannfred von Carstein, Konrad von Carstein, Nagash, Chaos, Realm of Chaos, Bretonnia, Skavenblight, the Empire, Border Princes, Karak Azul, Nehekhara, Priest King Settra, Khemri, Sigmar, Grand Theogonist, Dwarfs, Ogre Kingdoms, Grail Knight, and all associated marks, logos, places, names, creatures, races and race insignia/devices/logos/symbols, vehicles, locations, weapons, units, spells, special powers, items, rules, characters, products, illustrations and images from the Warhammer world and game system are either ®, TM and/or © Games Workshop Ltd 2000-2012, registered in the UK and other countries around the world, Used without permission. All Rights Reserved.