Recent progress on Zombie image number one. I love drawing zombies because each one is its own little story. You can't just draw a generic zombie. You have to think about who they were in life, what they were doing when they turned, and how they died. You have to know how long they've been a zombie, and what has happened to them since. If all of that comes through in the image of the zombie, you've done justice to the genre. This one was inspired by my discovery that hardcore surfers actually ride the N'awlins waves. Crazy Zombie surfers.

Beach Bum Zombie

Here is the roughest of rough sketches for a zombie concept. This one was infected at the beach, and some unfortunate soul attempted to fend her off with a beach umbrella, to no avail.

Andy's Action Pose--Next stage

This one is almost halfway through the inking phase. Yay, inking! I use the word loosely, of coarse, because this is all 100% digital. My scanner is so lonely.

Zombocalypse Graphic Novel Concepts: Natasha, Finished

This is the first finished drawing in the Zombie Story's character concepts. The next one of this character will be a little further along in the story, methinks, and she will show much wear and tear from repeated zombie attacks.

Andy Sketch number 2

Here is the beginning of an action pose of Andy with her bike polo mallet, ready to splatter some zombie brains. More to come!

Zombocalypse Graphic Novel Concepts: Natasha, Part 2

Natasha with a revised pose. Still not a finished bit of line art, but getting there. Fun art fact: pose reference is your friend. This is going to be the last post on this one for a little bit, as I go back and revise Andy and start up on action poses for these two.

Zombocalypse Graphic Novel Concepts: Natasha

Here's the beginning of character number 2 in the graphic novel. I'm trying something new with this one, color coding the layers of my sketch process. In this case, blue is the body, red is the clothes, and black is final sketch line. It's proving effective, I think. More to come!

Zombocalypse Graphic Novel Concepts: Andy

This is the first sketch thus far of "Andy," the sporty hero of the story. She plays bike polo. Zombies don't stand a chance. More detail to come!

Jesusaurus Rex Phase 6: Background!

And here is the finished product. Hooray for halos!

Jesusaurus Rex Phase 5: Highlights &Shadows

Here is the final color sketch. The method I used here yields a very cartoony feel, and is relatively quick. Tune in next time for a more painterly approach. Basically, after the flat colors, I added two layers: a highlight and a shadow layer. Each one uses a different blending mode to create a specific lighting effect. I laid out the shadows and highlights with crisp edges, and then went back and softened the edges of the shading, and voila! Jesus riding a dinosaur. Next: a background!

Jesusaurus Rex Phase 4: Flat Color

And on the second day, Robin said "let there be color." And there was color, and it was good.

Jesusaurus Rex Phase 3

This is "finished" line art. I put finished in quotes because I will refine it as I color the image.

Jesusaurus Rex Phase 2

And lo, did the detailing begin. This is basically just a process of filling in details and connecting everything together, and then tightening those details so that they make sense in the illusion of space. If you're wondering, that thing between Christ's thighs is a pommel for a saddle. Jesus don't ride bareback.

Jesusaurus Rex Phase 1

I'm going to show more steps on this one. First, I do a rough compositional sketch, which is little more than a vague scribble to the eyes of anyone but me. Once I have the nebulous beginnings of a pleasing composition, I tighten up the focal points a little, often using reference if I need it. That is the stage you see on this commission.

Inquisitorial Armour: Color

Ah, the satisfaction of completion. This is a colored version of the previous post, with and without a cassock-style coat.

Inquisitorial Armour: Sketch

There is still much work to do on this piece, but here is the first complete step--the sketch:


image is copyright 2010 Robin O'Connor

This is the first stage of concept art for a client's fan convention costume. It should be pretty imposing upon completion.

Introduction

Welcome to the Art Warrior Work-in-progress blog. Here, you can see several things. You can get a window into the design process, check on the progress of your project, or just see some cool art. Some works in progress will feature some how-tos, giving you some insight into how these sorts of projects are created. For me, it establishes a history of work; something I can look back on, and see how far I have come. Lastly, I am a firm believer in the value of openness, and this blog is designed to open me and my work up to the world. Enjoy.