Eowyn and the Nazgul... Critiques: Round 1

Firstly, let me say... 'Wow'.There have been some amazing submissions to the Art Order Challenge. We will be critiquing some of these submissions both today and Monday. There are nearly a hundred submissions at this point, and we obviously can't address them all, but we will try our best to get to as many as we can over the next 2 days.The Muddy Colors members were asked to simply pick whatever pieces caught their interest. As such, there will...

Read More

Eowyn and the Nazgul... REMINDER!

If you guys haven't been keeping up with the Eowyn challenge, you're missing out!We are just about half way through the deadline, and the first round of crits starts tomorrow. If you haven't started yet, it's not too late! You still have today to get a rough sketch in for critique.Go over to Art Order now, and take a peek at what you've been missing:Painting by Craig J Spear...

Read More

Two in One

By Jesper EjsingToday I want to share with you a painting that is actually two paintings. I did the Troll and the Ranger with only one other painting in between, and when I finished I realized that they were almost identical in colors and themes: I placed the 2 boards next to each other and broke out laughing. They fit completely together- in Photoshop i blended the board edges and voila! One painting. It is actually a bit embarrassing. This way...

Read More

52 Weeks

One of my favorite artists, Greg Ruth, has started a fund drive to help publish his next book, 'The 52 Weeks Project'. Though, it's not really a fund drive, because you get tons of cool shiz by donating. So really, it's more like a sweet deal on some amazing prints, books and tees. Click here for more info.If you're unfamiliar with Greg's work, go to his site: www.gregthings.com. His ink work is spectacular, and...

Read More

Switchblade Goddess

-By Dan dos SantosHere's a new cover of mine that just went public. Aside from the glint on the switchblade and a few color adjustments, it's all oil paint. The original measures roughly 20x30 inches on illustration board.This was a really fun job (for obvious reasons), but was also one of those assignments that took far longer than expected. In fact, I'm still feeling the repercussions of having gone well over my deadline. Unfortunately, I had to...

Read More

Idyl - I'm Age

by Arnie FennerWhile thinking about my previous post about art books I'd like to have (and thanks to everyone who added some "want lists" of their own!), I began to wonder why some titles seem so obvious to me, but don't seem to be on the radar screens of the various publishers. (And lest anyone think, "Well stop bitching and publish all these great ideas yourself!"...Cathy and I aren't publishers. We work for publishers and are as susceptible to...

Read More

2011 Hugo Announcement Coverage

The 2011 Hugo Finalist announcement and live blogging coverage will begin today at 5pm EST, 2pm PDT.To watch the announcements live from Eastercon, click here:http://www.ustream.tv/channel/illustrious-2011-hugo-nominationsUPDATE:The list of 2011 Hugo nominees are:Best Fan ArtistBrad W. FosterRandall MunroeMaurine StarkeySteve StilesTaral WayneBest Fan WriterJames BaconClaire BrialeyChristopher J GarciaJames NicollSteven H SilverBest FanzineBanana...

Read More

Happy Easter

...

Read More

Dorian Vallejo: Workshop

Dorian Vallejo, whom we have spoken of here before, is holding a portrait painting workshop next month in New Jersey, May 28th through the 29th.I can personally attest to Dorian's teaching abilities, and strongly recommend that anyone on the East Coast who is interested in realist painting look into it further. I honestly believe Dorian is one of the finest portrait painters working in the United States today.The workshop is two, 7 hour days, and...

Read More

Getting There

by Arnie FennerOne of the myths that sprang up around Frank Frazetta (and there were and are many) was that he didn't do roughs, that he just sat down and drew or painted spontaneously without any forethought or preparation. That, of course, is all hooey: Frank was a constant doodler and he created roughs for virtually everything he ever did (we gathered a number of his sketches and comps in Rough Work). How an artist "gets there," how they problem...

Read More

IlluXcon Scholarship!

Despite the fact that it is only in it's fourth year, IlluXcon has quickly become one of, if not 'the', best con for those interested in SFF art. Just about every major genre illustrator exhibits there, and the weekend is jam packed with live demos and lectures.Another exceptional aspect of the con is it's scholarship. Last year, IlluXcon granted all expense paid trips to the con to three very deserving students. I repeat... 'all expense...

Read More

A Closer Look : Dean Cornwell

-By Dan dos SantosEvery year, Heritage Auctions, the third largest auction house in the world, holds an auction of classic American illustration. One of the coolest things about this auction is the preview. Not only are there a lot of pieces you will not see elsewhere, but Heritage consistently posts amazingly high resolution scans of the works available. These scans are a great opportunity to get up close and personal with some of your favorite...

Read More