6.22.09
IlluxCon2 commission : "misaligned" or "Hey -it's a dress with faces on it!"
I was extremely excited and flattered when Pat Wilshire commissioned me to do some artwork for IlluXCon 2. . Very briefly, IlluxCon is the largest gathering of fantasy/ sci-fi illustrators that I know of. Gathering is a more appropriate term, since it feels way more intimate than a convention.

The best part for me about this commission, was I was given carte blanche with the image. I was tossing around a few ideas, and I decided to revisit this one idea that has been bothering me for years. I am not sure why - usually when creating personal work if something doesn't click in a relatively short time I just move on. Once in a while though ,I get obsessed and almost take it as a challenge, as if I am going to conquer this image and rid if from my brain forever. Truthfully - it feels great when I do that. I feel like I can move on to other things without the extra burden of incomplete ideas.

I'll post a few sketches I found...some of which are quite old. I probably couldn't even find all the sketches I did for this over the years, as I tossed probably half of them. Oddly enough , I was just doodling in a tiny moleskin, waiting for my son to finish his gymnastics class when I found the composition I was finally pleased with.


"misaligned"
oil on linen
16"h x 26" w


underpainting


digital sketch


old sketches


old sketch

I will definitely be posting about IlluXcon 2 when it gets a bit closer- it's worth checking out if you can.

6.16.09
The Mysterious Mr. Spines : SONG
Penguin Group USA / Grossett & Dunlap

Completed this cover a while ago. This is the last book in The Mysterious Mr. Spines series by Jason Lethcoe.. This book gets a little darker and more intense, so the client wanted a red based cover to go with the blue and green.

It started off in oil, but I ran out of time so this is more digital than I usually would like to do for a cover.
More images coming shortly!



[

5.22.08
The Death-Defying Pepper Roux
Harper Collins[[

Here is a cover I did a few months back by the great author, Geraldine McCaughrean. I don't want to give away too much, but this is a really great book with a unique vision. It's not really fantasy, and it's more than just an adventure story. It's like existentialism for kids. Very briefly - the book is set Post WWI France, and the main character, Pepper, has been told he will die when he reaches the age of 14. The book starts on his 14th birthday.

There did come some minor issues with a story like this: How do we make a cover that is truthful to the story yet entices young readers to pick this up in a bookstore. The art director, Alison Donalty, had some great ideas and was just awesome to work with.



After the first set of sketches, we went with the top version. They liked the dramatic perspective and sense of adventure. We got to the color rough phase , and then the author decided that she would like to aim for a more mature look and the boy should be older looking. The fine folks at Harper Collins also liked the other sketch with the birds, so they asked for a revised version of that one. They also wanted to make his jacket reddish to stand out against the blue background.



This started off as oil on linen and I worked digitally on top.



Some time after the job was all wrapped up, the author requested the jacket go back to navy. Thank goodness for the magic of digital alterations. A few hours later, this was the final.

5.17.09 - Flora Fyrdraaca Cover Art

Got the go ahead to post this cover i did recently for the Science Fiction Book Club. This one was a really fun job. I got to indulge in some offbeat colors, play with tentacles and the art director , Matthew Kalamidas was fantastic to work with.

The art is for the story , Flora Fyrdraaca by Ysabeau Wilce.
I also attached the jacket design Matthew did, just because I thought it was so perfect for the look and feel of the story. Good jacket design must be really tough to do, because I see more poorly designed covers than good ones.

It started off as oils and then I worked on top digitally. It's my new thing :)
Thanks again for stopping in.

5.14.09
Surprisingly, a lot of the work I have been doing has been given the go-ahead to share.
This particular project is a bit different for me, which is why I took it. The client asked I don't speak about the project, but here
are two concepts I did for them . I don't do a lot of environments, so this was good practice for me. I'd definitely like to get better at doing environments , as I have A LOT to learn in that area.

Gotta cut it short for now, but hopefully I'll be back sooner than later. Thanks again for looking and all the comments!

5.08.09
I know. I know. Way to not post anything for a month. Truth is, the busier I am , the less I get to partake in all this wonderful bloggy goodness. There's plenty of work being banged out in the studio - but it may be a bit until I get the approval of the publishers to share it.

Until then- here's a drawing I did for the fine people at GlubDub.com. Alex at GlubDub is working on story involving a man who falls in love with siamese twins. It's pretty crazy and funny. He's gathered a bunch of artists to do some imagery for it. I didn't have time for a painting, but I took the drawing and started to play a bit digitally. If I get the time , I might paint it up. I say that a lot.

Thanks again everyone. There probably will be another big gap between posts. Don't give up on me. There is hope for me, yet.
Scott

Snow Day 3.2.09
Found a bunch of images I did that seemed to have been released lately, and felt it would be cool to share and get some thoughts. I might not say it enough, but critiques are always welcome. Feel I really need to step it up lately - getting a bit too comfortable if that makes any sense. The gears are turning though, and I'm looking forward to improving.


This is a cover for a guitar sticker book I did for Dover Publishing. As someone who likes to make noise with guitars, this was a cool project. digital on computer :)


This was my first wrap-around book cover, done for Random House / Golden Books for Young Readers. It's a really fun book that definitely has appeal for multiple age groups. I don't think I've ever done an illustration without a figure , so this was a challenge. Check out the author's site here : Chris Grabenstein



Another World of Warcraft card that got released. A little dwarf dude trying to get his mits on a fat mushroom. Kinda trippy, eh? UpperDeck Entertainment / Blizzard Entertainment (da Blizz)



Here's a study/ experiment for something more personal. The plan was to eventually take this to traditional oils. Not pleased with the lighting at all. I think I might go with something along the lines of Zorn's double side lighting. Just not feeling where this is going , so I may just drop it. I'll give it a bit more push and see where it goes.

Thanks again everyone- scott