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!



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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

Still under a mountain of work, but I mustn't neglect my blogging duties.
A new great blog dedicated to the figure was kind enough to feature some life drawings of mine:
Artistic Anatomy Blog

Also , I just saw this image I did for UpperDeck / Blizzard Entertainment's WoW TCG was released so no harm in posting it here:

Anthony Waters Workshop!

*Note: images belong to Anthony Waters...not me !
I apologize for the lack of posts as I am probably the busiest I have ever been. BUT - my friend and fellow artist Anthony Waters has asked me to help spread the word of an upcoming workshop. Awesome guy and awesome artist I had to take a break from the deadlines. Feel free to pass this info around. He says:

There’s going to be a concept art workshop hosted by the Laguna College of Art and Design in Laguna, California the first full weekend in February, and we want you!

http://fyreant.deviantart.com/art/LC…r-02-110970255

I’ve linked to my DA page for the flyer; in case it doesn’t work, I’m including my URLs and the school contact information too. The event will take place on Saturday, February 7 and Sunday, February, 8 from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm in studio 9, at the LCAD campus. Lunch will be provided.

The workshop will feature presentations by Anthony Waters (that would be me), Dean Deakyne, Farzad Varahrayan and Joe Peterson.

The cost of the event is $235. A non-refundable deposit of $100 is required by Friday, January 30. The remaining balance is due Friday, February 6 at noon. Please contact Kerri Redeker at 949-376-6000 ext. 240 or kredeker@lagunacollege.edu to provide your payment. She accepts Visa, Mastercard, check, and cash.

There you go. Come on down, it’s gonna rock!

Ant

Anthony Scott Waters
http://www.thinktankstudios.com
http://fyreant.deviantart.com/
http://bloated-nose.blogspot.com/

quick update:article
A huge 14 page interview with me from the excellent Taiwanese magazine Artist.Record.Teach
Of course it is not in English, but most of the pages are full page illustrations from yours truly. I think there are more images in this article than I keep in my portfolio.

To kick off 2009, I decided to post a bunch of sketches I don't believe I have shared yet. It's kind of a mixed bag of work...sketches, fun stuff, doodles, WIPs....
I apologize if some of these are double posts -hard to keep track.
Thanks again for all the comments, folks.


acrylic on masonite, 6" x 6"


acrylic on masonite, 6" x 6"







oil on masonite-personal work in progress.

12.03.08 - The return to life-drawing

I used to monitor a life-drawing class every Monday night, which was a terrific way for me to keep on top of my life studies. Life and work got too busy, and I had to abandon the monitor position. What used to be a guaranteed weekly drawing session , turned into a year and a half without any life drawing. I've been really determined to change this. 

On Nov. 22nd, I made the jump back into life drawing at the very popular Dr.Sketchy's with model MOSH.  

It felt great to get back into it. I was definitely slower and my lines lacked confidence, but overall I didn't feel I lost too many beats while I'd been away.  

Here are the 2, 20 minute poses from the session.  The other sketches are just some fun things I've done in the last few weeks. 

11.03.08

I believe I can show this new cover now. This is the second book in The Mysterious Mr. Spines series by the talented Jason Lethcoe.

I posted the image for the first book in the series, WINGS 

some time ago. The second book is called FLIGHT, and I think it is going to appeal to a lot of young readers. I believe they are expecting to release the first book early 2009.

Here are some of the sketches. The first book the team had a more definite idea of what they wanted on the cover, but for this one they really gave me a healthy amount of freedom to explore other ideas. I feel that extra elbow room made for a much stronger cover. 

I will be selling originals and prints at the upcoming IlluxCon.

November 6-9 in Altoona, Pennsylvania.

Check out the guest list - a great group of artists will be there. Should be fun!

oil on board, approx. 30" x 40" with digital embellishments and tweaks. 

10.30.08 - 

Some World of Warcraft TCG cards just got released so I can show these now. All were done digitally, and heavily influenced by caffeine.

copyright Upper Deck Entertainment / Blizzard Entertainment World of Warcraft

Also , whipped up this little guy after work one night.Pretty rough and sketchy, but it was all in good fun.  I posted him on a new blog I was invited too, which I think you all will enjoy:

Creature Artists

It has great artists and illustrators from around the world. I know it definitely provides me inspiration and motivation to do some great creature design.

Happy Halloween everyone!

10.16.08
Been some time since I posted here. It's been very busy with work, and for the moment I am legally restricted to show most of it, but I will be free to show some things next month. Last night I was up late finishing up a deadline, and when it was all done I needed to relax and unwind. So I decided to draw more :)
Opened up ArtRage and spent 90 minutes on this girl. Of course there are numerous flaws, even for a sketch, but I had fun and I do feel it has a respectable amount of energy to it that often gets lost in the polish of my illustration work.
I'll be back with more work sooner than later if all goes well.
Thanks -s.

8.26.08
Some news and recently released work.
I was pleasantly surprised to be included in Ballistic Publishing's, D'Artiste: Digital Painting 2 book. It's just a small spot, but you can see my image, BudHead, in there. Very cool to be included, considering how few artists are represented.

I also received word that I will have this guy along with this gal, in Ballistic Publishing's upcoming Exotique 4 book. Might be a bit of a wait on that one, but since this bragblog seems to be full of patting myself on the back, I figured I'd get it out of the way now.

No artist blog can do without some inward depreciation and self-loathing, so I will get that over with too. Here are some images I did for Wizard's of the Coast, Magic: The Gathering ,Eventide set (whoa- mouthful), and some others for Upperdeck Entertainment's and Blizzard Entertainment's World of Warcraft TCG (more mouthfuls) . Looking back I see tons of laziness, stupidity and a downright shortcoming of abilities.
It's okay.
Better I see them so I can improve and work on whatever was holding these images back from being better, than to be content with what I see. Optimistically speaking, I've already seen improvements in my latest work ( which of course is all NDA now).

As always - thanks for looking and thanks for the comments.


Wizards of the Coast, Magic:The Gathering


Wizards of the Coast, Magic:The Gathering


Upperdeck Entertainment/Blizzard Entertainment: World of Warcraft TCG


Upperdeck Entertainment/Blizzard Entertainment: World of Warcraft TCG


Upperdeck Entertainment/Blizzard Entertainment: World of Warcraft TCG

*All of these are digital with the slight exception of the swamp hag looking thing. Started off as an acrylic underpainting, with digital on top.

8/10/08
I will be at the Gen Con Indy signing for Wizards of the Coast, alongside fellow artist Tom Baxa. We'll be signing cards, selling prints and other assorted goodies. Keep us company.

August 14th to 17th

7.28.08
Still buried under deadlines, but I did manage to squeeze in some 'in-between work' fun and practice.

Here's a guy I did about a year ago, who never went past the loose sketch stage. I was browsing through old files and thought he might be fun to paint up. I might go back into some older sketches and do this now and then.



Here's another quickie enviro I did. Just trying to practice enviro's every now and then, even if it's only a study.
Added a little gif of the process for kicks.