Susan Van Camp's Studio

Frostbite

2012-01-26T09:45:00.001-08:00

January has brought the normal temperature drop in Michigan. I thought the character name on this badge made it a good fit with the weather. I took this commission at Furfright last October. The initial sketch as cute and I love the colors and tones on the finished piece. Thanks for this commission, Frostbite!

I had a great time at Further Confusion

2012-01-20T07:17:00.001-08:00

Thanks to many fans and friends, this show was wonderful. In addition to a successful show, I visited Winchester House with friends and got to see California palm trees in January. Below is just one of the very cool commissions I completed at the show.

Dancer Mouse

2012-01-09T11:21:00.001-08:00

Further Confusion is a large furry convention in San Jose that I regularly attend. It is a great show and i look forward to it every year This time around, I decided to do a set of five new dancing girls that I would release at FC. Here is the first in the series. For those of you who are not attending FC, I have included a link to my Etsy shop for this piece.

Dancer Mouse

My Latest comic work

2012-01-09T11:18:00.001-08:00

David S. hired me to do two more comic pages for him late last year. Here are a couple of panels from one of the finished pages. These comics are always great to do. Working on them has done a lot to improve my comic work. I think these panels are some of my best work yet in this series. Thanks for your patronage, David!

More Dragons More Tea

2012-01-06T12:07:00.001-08:00

The piece I blogged about Monday, East Meets West, proved to be so popular that I painted a second piece in the same style. It is West Meets East, which shows the same western style dragons, a teapot, and an eastern style dragon who is not a painted image. It makes a great match with the first piece. To see it in my Etsy shop, click on the link below.

West Meets East

The Elegant Sorcerer

2012-01-04T08:53:00.001-08:00

Twila P commissioned this digitally colored sketch of her intriguing character. He is a half eleven, half Japanese mage. I love the idea of the character and I'm please with the way it came out. Everything seems to have turned out just as I wanted it to, from his pose to his shoulder dragon. Thanks again, Twila, for commissioning this artwork.

Dragon and Tea

2012-01-02T09:30:00.001-08:00

Here is another piece you may not have seen if you are new to my blog. It is East Meets West, a piece that includes western style dragons meeting an eastern style dragon by way of a teapot. In color, composition and story, this is one of my best pieces. You can see it in my Etsy shop here.

East Meets West

Cat and dragon painting demo

2012-01-02T08:48:00.001-08:00

Speaking of the sketch event, there was more going on than drawing on the Sonic. Many artists taught classes during the event, covering figure drawing, anime, comic story telling and many other subjects. I taught a class about painting with the iPad. Below is the piece I completed as a demo for my class. I drew this piece with pencils, scanned it, then painted it on my IPad I had a great time teaching, largely because the folks who showed up for my class were excellent students.

Sketch Event last week

2012-01-02T08:34:00.001-08:00

Flint Comix, General Motors and The Sloan Museum of Flint organized a cool project last week. GM provided a vinyl wrapper New Chevy Sonic, the Sloan provided a venue and Flint comix brought out artists to draw on the car. I drew Witt and Whimsey, two of my characters from familiar place, on the vehicle. The pics below show the car and a closer view of the drawing.

Unicorn Knight

2011-12-30T16:55:00.001-08:00

I enjoyed illustrating is character commission for Jeff G. His unicorn character looks great as a mounted knight. His at guard pose reflects both the personality of this character and the real person who commissioned it. My deepest thanks to you, Jeff.

Have you seen this art?

2011-12-29T18:05:00.001-08:00

Some of you have been following my blog for a while. Others are more recent readers. If you're relatively new to this blog, you will want to click on the link below. It. Will take you to a piece in my Etsy shop that's worth a look (or even a second look!). Spring Shrine Kitsune is a vibrant, detailed artwork showing a fox priestess with five tails standing in a forest grove. The listing is for an ACEO. I have it available in larger sizes too. You can see it here.

Spring Shrine Kitsune

Sphinx Cat and Dragon

2011-12-26T13:51:00.001-08:00

If you have even seen a sphinx cat, then you are seeing what a cat looks like under the fur. A sphinx does not have the fluffiness of most felines, but possesses the elegance and grace of the species, made obvious by the lack of covering hair. I had a chance to show these attributes when I was commissioned to do this piece by my patron, Steven B. He gave it to his daughter for Christmas. Part of the reason the piece turned out so well was that he provided me with excellent photos that displayed this agile and playful cat at his best. Thanks again, Steven.

I've made a print of this piece and I am offering it for sale in Etsy. You can see it there at:

Sphinx Cat and Dragon

Portrait of Andy and Sara

2011-12-26T09:39:00.001-08:00

In keeping with the holiday season, here is a commissioned portrait that was given as a gift for Christmas. Some of my fantasy pictures are portraits of real people shown as fantasy characters. Gordon N., the patron of this piece, was very happy with it. He ordered multiple copies of the finished art, which he gave to his family. Thank you, Gordon!

I had a happy holiday

2011-12-26T09:29:00.001-08:00

I visited my family and my husband's family this year. Both of us are fortunate in our families, who are lovely, intelligent, affectionate people. We are also fortunate in our mothers, who preside over holiday feasts surrounded by children and grandchildren. The picture here shows the house of my husband's mother decorated for the season.

Panther Princess

2011-12-20T10:33:00.001-08:00

Wow. I just found a hidden treasure.

Mark has been gradually going through older art files and posting the best of what he finds in my Etsy shop. Among the oldies but goodies is this black painter princess painting that I did as a commission some years ago. I had forgotten how nice this piece was. To view this it, follow the link below.

Panther Princess

Chihuahua portrait New Print on Etsy

2011-12-19T17:31:00.001-08:00

If you look at the images I've posted on my blog you will see a lot of cats. In the last few years I've added a line of dog prints. I did it for variety, for fun and because my dog was getting tired of my cat getting all the attention!

The piece I've posted today was commissioned in fall this year. I was delighted when I discovered that the patron wanted a digital painting of her chihuahua. I think this breed is charming and I had meaning to do a painting of one.

A print of this piece is available on Etsy at the link below.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/88971202/golden-chihuahua-8x10-print?ref=pr_shop

Sketch event at Sloan Museum in Flint

2011-12-18T18:25:00.001-08:00

Happy December, everyone. Late this month I'll be appearing at a unique event in the Sloan Museum. General Motors has joined with Flint Comix to sponsor a 3 day artists' workshop. 8 different local comic artists will be giving talks and doing demonstrations showing their techniques for making comics and other art. My workshop, on December 28th, will be about creating art with an IPad. In addition to all this, General Motors has provided the artists with a new Chevy Sonic and invited us to turn it into a work of art by drawing on it.

You can learn more about this event by clicking on this link.

http://www.sloanlongway.org/ProgramsAndEvents/Families/ComicSketch.aspx

Classroom Dragon

2011-12-05T09:55:00.001-08:00

Here is a quick sketch I did while doing a talk in front of my nephew's creative writing class. They timed me: i did this in about 16 minutes. The students were great and I had a lot of fun talking to them about my work.

Calico Winged Cat

2011-11-11T11:22:00.001-08:00

Here is a commission I took at FurFright. Kit commissioned this for her house sitter, as a gift. The sitter had calico cat who had passed; this cat looks like Lola, a cat I kept company with for more than 25 years before she moved on. I think of this piece as my cat welcoming her cat to a wonderful new home.

My Neighborhood

2011-10-07T07:36:00.001-07:00

I have always liked the place I live, a house in a neighborhood of Flint Michigan. Lately, I like it even better. Some very good things have been happening here lately, among them this. A vacant house that had been abandoned and falling to pieces for years was recently demolished. It looks like a neighbor plans to plant a garden in its place.

Castle Defenders

2011-10-03T09:22:00.001-07:00

Here is a fun commission that I did for Alexandra L. and her beau. It is based on a live action role playing game that both of them enjoy playing. The castle in the background is based on a photo of a real castle on a play site. Alexandra is the Tiger girl. This piece was very interesting because it involved coloring an existing piece of gray tone art, modifying an existing photo, creating the portrait of a second person and putting them all together in a single image. Thanks, Alexandra, for this very cool commission!

Draconic Health

2011-09-30T08:58:00.001-07:00

It is getting on towards fall at home and the cold weather is setting in. I am thinking about good food. With this on my mind, today seemed like a good time to post the art for Draconic Health, which appeared in a new Dragon Storm set this summer. An apple a day is good for dragons too!

Kitten and the Magic Tea Pot

2011-09-19T10:10:00.001-07:00

I have pieces that I pull out of circulation for a time. Later, I bring them back into my regular print offerings. This piece is one of those, I painted this when I was in an especially whimsical mood. Either that or I had been drinking a little too much tea. In either case, enjoy!

Travels of Kit 3

2011-09-13T07:30:00.001-07:00

After Hans and Fran have proven, once again, that everything people say about them is true, There is not much left of the tavern. It has been destroyed, again! And again, the tavern owner blames Kit. Tigreans started the fight, so of course Kit must have been involved. Why can't she be a well behaved tigrean like that nice priestess, Tabitha? Kit's opinion regarding this turn of events clearly shows on her face.

Travels of Kit 2

2011-09-13T07:28:00.001-07:00

After some time, and multiple rounds of drinks, Hans and Frans make a point of living up to their reputation in a characteristic manner. To be exact, they start a bar brawl. Kit is mortified, wondering how she can belong to the same race as these two.

New Travels of Kit 1

2011-09-13T07:22:00.001-07:00

Good morning, everyone. You're in for a treat. I've got big bonus post this week!

Travels of Kit is a comic project I have been working on, with the help of Jim H. for some years. All the illustrations in this series are based on his Dragon Storm rpg character, Kit. Incidents shown in the story are taken from DS sessions Kit has been played in. I have had a lot of fun illustrating this series and I am grateful to Jim for conceiving the idea and sponsoring it. The two of us have had a great working relationship, despite the fact that we have an on going battle over the sketchbook in which the original artwork is done. Both of us claim parentage to the book. Recently Jim presented me with a court order (absolutely valid, of course, not at all written by him and printed on his home printer) giving him custody of the book. Sigh. At least I still have my visitation rights!

Anyway, enough of that. Onto Kit! Please enjoy the first of three new episodes. To view previous episodes, click on the link that appears below the art.

Kit goes to her local tavern to drown her sorrows in ale. This tavern is the same one that was destroyed with Kit first meant Tabitha some time ago. Since that ill fated meeting the owner has rebuilt the place and it is thriving. Kit has just began to relax when she is confronted by a pair of young male tigreans. These are Hans and Franz, a pair of bothers with a reputation for making trouble wherever they go. What king of trouble is made clear when Hans slaps Kit on the back and speaks his first words to her: "Sister! Buy us a drink!"

Previous Episodes available at: http://www.myonlinecomics.com/travelsofkit/001.html

Family Portrait as Tiger and Wolf

2011-09-12T10:07:00.001-07:00

Elizabeth Y and family asked me to do this delightful portrait of her family as furies. It was fun to do, especially their child; she is a mixture of tiger and wolf, showing the influence of mother and father. Thank you for hiring me to do this wonderful image!

Dwarf Werewolf

2011-08-29T13:04:00.001-07:00

One of the things I like about Dragon Storm is how many different kinds of characters there are to play. Since people of most mortal races can be born shape shifters and since there are a good number of different types of shifters, the combinations are many and exotic. The art below shows one of these exotic racial combos. It is a dwarf werewolf from the upcoming werewolf set release.

Autumn Lady

2011-08-22T17:00:00.001-07:00

I found this piece while reviewing some of my work this year. This piece was done as part of the new Dragon Storm 2 cards. It was originally part of the Life Line cards. i renamed it for print sales and it has done quite nicely as a badge. The Autumn lady is illustrated in what I call my 'realistic anime' style. It's a style I hope to do more with in the future.

Tail Percher Cat, 1 and 2

2011-08-17T06:10:00.001-07:00

Here are a pair of pieces that I painted in acrylics. They are the first cats I have painted in traditional media in a while. I had fun with these and I like the way they turned out. I plan to do more paintings of this type in the future. If you would like a print of these cats, you can find them at my Etsy shop at link below.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/79600811/tail-percher-one-sammy-cat-wizard-and

It is good to have Friends

2011-08-11T15:10:00.001-07:00

Here is a piece for the upcoming Dragon Storm card, Great Wolf. I decided to show this wolf in a protective mood, hence the small cat sheltering by his legs. I did this piece as a pencil sketch then finished the colors on my IPad 2. I am very pleased with how it came out and I plan to use this technique again in the future.

Night Claw

2011-08-02T09:36:00.001-07:00

Here is a piece that I did for Gordon N of his Tigrean Werecat, Night Claw. I enjoy doing tigers in general (such a gorgeous fur pattern) and Night Claw had the bonus of being a Dragon Storm character, which was a real plus. Thank you, Gordon, for commissioning this gorgeous piece!

Mallet Maid and Sugar Bandit

2011-07-28T11:30:00.001-07:00

Some of the commissions I get are a blast. This is one of them. This is first in a series of commissions featuring Mallet Maid and Sugar Bandit, two characters inspired by Saturday morning cartoons popular back when I was a kid. You know, the ones where the hapless scoundrel is constantly undone by the wierd hero who won't give up, no matter what? Well, Mallet Maid is determined that her kitchen is going to stay varmit free and she has got the chops to make it so. Thank you AJ for this wonderful commission.

Mucha Style Badge art

2011-07-18T18:38:00.001-07:00

I was fortunate enough to get this commission from Tristan. He asked me to do a badge of his character in the style of a famous piece by Mucha. I happen to admire Mucha's art quite a bit and consider his work one of my primary inspirations. As a result, this piece was a blast to do. The badge was oversize when I printed it--5" x 7"--so that all that detail is visible on the final piece. Thanks again Tristan for this wonderful commission.

Butterfly Dragon and Company

2011-06-17T10:24:00.001-07:00

Yep, has been a very long time since I posted whimsey on my blog, so I am adding a second piece on this theme today. This brand new image will be available in print and badge form at both Origins and Anthrocon. In the meantime, enjoy this preview.

Cricket the Kitten

2011-06-13T10:28:00.001-07:00

I noticed I haven't had many cats posted here lately so I decided to post this piece. Cricket is a charming kitten. I did this portrait of her as a mother's day gift for a patron's wife. Thank you RR for hiring me to do this lovely, whimsical piece.

Jeb in Prime Gargoyle Form

2011-06-04T13:15:00.001-07:00

Here is another pic from the AROC 2011 project that I wanted to show off. I had a lot of fun with the design and detail of this one and I am quite happy how it turned out. In fact, DS players should expect it to show up in an upcoming DS card. Thanks again, guys!

Horse with Guns, the Sequel

2011-05-23T18:14:00.001-07:00

After posting the pencils of this piece earlier this year, I have been looking forward to posting the finished colored version. I had a blast doing this one, and it may set me on to doing more pieces with guns and gear. They are fun to draw. Thanks again to S. P. for this commission.

Even Cooler Werewolf

2011-05-08T15:20:00.001-07:00

Back in February of this year, I posted the black and white version of this piece. Tonight, I want to share the finished color version. I am seriously geeked with how this came out! Thanks again to the AROC group, and J, for this commission!

Ginger the Werewolf

2011-04-19T10:19:00.001-07:00

I've got some new images to post on the project for AROC I am working on. Here is a portrait of Ginger the werewolf, done for D H of the AROC group. I've followed the adventures of Ginger and the rest of her group as I've done these commissions; the story is part of what has made these projects so fun. Thanks again to D H and the entire AROC group!

Big Horse with Big Guns!

2011-04-06T06:40:00.001-07:00

Good Morning, all! Have a look at the pencil sketch for a piece I am doing for S.P. He wanted this character shooting a pair of hand held modern gatling guns. I saw weaponry similar to this in Ghost in the Shell, which is one of my favorite anime series. It was a lot of fun to draw. I will be coloring this piece soon and I will post it here when it is done. Thank you very much, S.P.

Michael's Group Shot

2011-03-28T08:15:00.001-07:00

Here is one of the most detailed character commissions I have done yet. Michael S. commissioned this piece on behalf of his role playing group. Each character was done as an individual portrait. I then combined the individual pieces to create this group shot. Each member of his group will receive their character portrait and a large copy of the group shot will be sent to Michael. I am quite pleased with how this technique worked and I plan to do more of this kind of thing in the future. Thanks again, Michael, for this very cool commission.

David's Comic Color

2011-03-08T11:06:00.001-08:00

I couple of weeks ago I posted a black and white sample from David's latest commission. This week I want to show one of the panels from the project in its final, colored form. I am pleased with how this one came out, both in the black and white and colored versions. In this version it keeps the shadowed style but still has colors I find appealing.

A Very Cool Werewolf

2011-02-28T17:18:00.001-08:00

This is the first of a series of images I will be posting from the new AROC commission I am doing this year. I believe in a strong start and here it is. This is Jay's custom werewolf form. It came out very nicely, in part because Jay gave me such an amazing description of the scene. The idea of a ferocious black werewolf in a snowstorm really works for me. I hope all of you enjoy looking at this one as much as I enjoyed drawing it.

From David's Latest Comic

2011-02-18T14:10:00.001-08:00

Hello! I have been working hard on a number of different commissions for the last few weeks, including a new comic page project for David S. These are always a lot of fun. I really like the dark inked style of these pieces and I get a lot of excellent practice with this style when I do his commissions. Thanks again David!

My Cat Mac

2011-02-12T17:22:00.001-08:00

I have done a good number of pet portraits for other people. This week, I am posting a piece I did for myself. Here is a digitally painted portrait of my cat Mac. This is based on a photo I took of her that captured her personality quite nicely. That knowing look is typical and sums up everything that makes her a marvelous companion. This was done as a sample for cat portraits, which is will soon be selling through my Etsy site. If you are interested in having me do a portrait of your cat, email me at svancamp@mac.com for an estimate.

Ohayocon Color Commission

2011-02-05T19:40:00.001-08:00

I am having a good time doing digitally colors commissions at shows on my IPad. I find myself stretching to do more every time I take one. Here is a dwarf with some serious attitude that I did at the show. He is a dwarven Gargoyle in Dragon Storm. He stands on a vanquished madspawn while inviting the monster's comrades to come see if they can do any better. Thanks to Gordon N. for commissioning this piece.

Back from Ohayohcon

2011-02-01T16:49:00.001-08:00

Hello! I am home from Ohayohcon and enjoying a couple of days of recovery before returning to work. I want to send out a thank you note to all my friends and patrons who showed up to chat and make purchases. I also want to say hi to all the new people I met at the show. Ohayohcon has great energy and a first rate Artist Alley staff. I hope to see you all at the show next year.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Dragon Smile

2011-01-27T03:29:00.001-08:00

Here is a piece that I did for an upcoming Dragon Storm Card, Fire Breath 3. I was pleased with the color and design of this piece and amused by the expression of the dragon, who seems to be enjoying itself.

Dragon Smile by Art by Susan Van Camp. Character designed by Sue Van Camp. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Waarhorse and Lord Griffon

2011-01-20T17:25:00.001-08:00

Good evening, everyone. I attended Further Confusion in San Jose last weekend and I had a great show. It was cool to chat with the folks who stopped by my table. I offer special thanks to all the patrons who came to see me. Some of the works they commissioned will appear on this blog in coming months.

To start with, I would like to,present this gray tone commission I did for Waarhorse and Lord Griffon. They graciously allowed me to mention their true names: STC Henry Bestwick and LTC Norman Fabian. Thank you, gentlemen, both for this commission and for your service to the country.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

I painted this on a Magic Card

2011-01-03T10:30:00.001-08:00

Here is a piece that I did for Andrea P. Last year. It was done as a one of a kind commission. I altered a copy of Hymn to Tourach by paining a portrait of her cat in place of the wolf in the original illustration. I was delighted with now this turned out. The card and the paining blended together beautifully. Thanks again, Andrea, for this delightful commission.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Ruma Rules

2010-12-27T16:40:00.001-08:00

I do a lot of pretty art. It's fun to do and I welcome work of this sort but once in a while it is nice to do some not so pretty for a change. Enter Ruma, a Dragon Storm character who is not so pretty and then some! I did this for Debbie L, as a gift for Elizabeth L. It was a surprise gift, so I did not post it until Elizabeth kindly let me know she had gotten it and gave me permission to post it. I am absolutely in love with this character, who is a dwarf who turns into a pony sized unicorn. Thanks again, Debbie and Elizabeth!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Ignatius Kreel

2010-12-20T11:14:00.001-08:00

Here is a sharp piece I did for AJ some time ago that I want to share this week. AJ has well thought out story ideas and he hires me to do visuals of his character concepts as he develops plotlines. It's absorbing work, as the details of his characters Are fun to research and draw. Thanks again, AJ!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Sasha, my Neighbor's Dog

2010-12-13T11:32:00.001-08:00

Sasha is a lovely, 13 year old German Shepard who belongs to my neighbors, Mark and Jean. I did this pet portrait as a gift for them. I think it does a good job of capturing her gentle disposition.

Wizard Constable

2010-12-06T18:51:00.001-08:00

Hi folks. Sorry for the lack of posts since mid November. Shows, holidays and the start of my December vacation conspired to delay me.

Below is a detail from a book cover I illustrated. The Author is Tom Van Natta and the book is Wizard Constable. It's a fun read. Have a look at:

http://www.wizardconstable.com/

Stealing Skippy's spotlight....

2010-11-15T10:08:00.001-08:00

Swann commissioned this piece from me at FCN earlier this year. It shows his character building a mechanical squirrel assistant. Meanwhile, the necromancer Alkali fumes, as he thinks Swann is stealing his thunder. On his shoulder can be seen his undead familiar, Skippy the zombie squirrel. Thanks Swann for this very fun commission!

For Del

2010-11-10T15:16:00.001-08:00

We had a wonderful show at Pentacon on Fort Wayne last weekend. Thanks again to all the folks who came to see us, and thank you very much on the feedback on the V1.1 rules. In addition to gaming, Pentacon is a great show for doing commissions. Among the pieces I drew this year at this show is this digitally colored commission for Del, who came to Pentacon with his son and friend to reconnect and have a good time. It was great to see you again, Del. Thanks again for the commission!

Experiment in Color for Devotion

2010-11-04T09:20:00.001-07:00

I am always practicing new techniques to improve my art. Last week, this practice involved doing an experimental piece for the Devotion Project. I decided to make an IPad color sketch of Paladin. I am not sure if this will be his final colors, but I do like this look. Enjoy!

Happy Hallowwen!

2010-10-31T15:48:00.001-07:00

I'm at Furfright, preparing to draw a commission. Between jobs, I wanted to share this piece commissioned by. Eonis, specifically for Halloween. It is his dragon Fursona transforming into a giant spider! Thank you Eonis, and happy Halloween to all.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Halloween Goth

2010-10-24T16:04:00.001-07:00

Here's a bit of Halloween art this week. Mark P. hired me to do this piece as part of series featuring one of his characters. She's got a lovely, goth look and I had a blast with that costume. Thanks again Mark, and happy Halloween, everyone.

Thursday comics update

2010-10-21T14:17:00.001-07:00

Good Thursday, everyone! Time for another update on what I'm doing with the comics side of my work. This week I have a bit more information about Devotion, the cool new web comic/painting project I'm working on with Tim Batchelder. This week, I want to introduce the male lead of the story. Have a look at the link below to see him. I don't think it will surprise anyone to discover that he's a dragon, as Tim and I really like dragons....

The second link below leads to an important supporting character. He's an owl, which I find pleasing. I enjoy drawing bird anthros. I haven't done much with owls to date, so drawing him will give me an opportunity to learn.

http://www.bnesanthromovies.com/webcomic/devotion/page03.pdf

http://www.bnesanthromovies.com/webcomic/devotion/page07.pdf

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Cejula and the Beast

2010-10-18T16:59:00.001-07:00

I recently accepted a commission from AJ, who commissioned this piece. When I sent him an estimate, I asked if he would like me to go 'over the top' with this piece. Although it was more expensive, he generously agreed to the more detailed version I described. Here is a WIP of the artwork. I am quite pleased with how it is coming along. I'll post the colored version when it is done. Thanks again, AJ!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Familiar Place Continues

2010-10-13T06:12:00.001-07:00

I just finished my latest strips for Familiar Place and sent them off to Flint Comix for publication. These will be appearing on the My Online Comics site next year. I wanted to show a piece of art from this month's strip as a teaser. Have a look at the current Familiar Place strips at

Famiar Picture

Wolfsinger Hunts

2010-10-10T08:56:00.001-07:00

Here are the pencils for a piece I'm doing for Wolfsinger. He's going to be gray and brown when I digitally paint him. I'm considering elm trees in the background, as I think this would make good contrast with his colors. I'm happy with the look I got on his face; I can imagine him scenting his prey. Thanks again, Wolfsinger, for commissioning this piece!

New Posting Time and New Project

2010-10-07T12:14:00.001-07:00

Hi everyone. I've been posting regularly (all right, fairly regularly) on Mondays. I am adding a Thursday blog post to my schedule. If all goes as planned, my Thursday posts will concentrate on comic and game related projects, while Monday posts will continue to show commissions and print art projects. That, at least, is the plan...

With this in mind, I am introducing a new project today. It's name is Devotion. This is furry comic story set in a fantasy world. It will run for about a year, starting in 2011, and end in 2012. At the end of the comic story I will be finishing a painting based in the comic. I'll post a digital copy of the painting as the final page of the online comic.

Devotion is shaping up to be an exciting and original project. It's sponsored and written by Tim Batchelder. Thank you, Tim, for the chance to work on this intriguing new multimedia project. For a first look, I'm posting links to Tim's introduction to the story and to Desiree, the leading lady. The story and writing of Devotion is Copyright to Tim Batchelder and the art is Copyright to Susan Van Camp. Enjoy!

Intro Page
http://www.bnesanthromovies.com/webcomic/devotion/devotion.html

Desiree
http://www.bnesanthromovies.com/webcomic/devotion/page02.pdf

Whimsey Time has come again!

2010-10-03T17:23:00.001-07:00

This is the art from the D S card Called Companion. When I saw the finished piece, I just had to post it. Cats and dragons go well together.

Sofi in Color

2010-09-26T18:40:00.001-07:00

I just finished coloring the Sofi Starwind commission for Amy T., and I must say that I really like how this one came out. If you want to compare the finished piece to the pencil sketch, check a couple of posts down. Thank you, Amy!

DS wedding commission

2010-09-21T08:54:00.001-07:00

Kevin D commissioned this lovely piece as a memento of his real life wedding. I am always tickled when I get commissions like this one. They are invariably an emotional upper to do. Thanks again to Kevin and his fiance and congratulations!

More Familiar Place

2010-09-21T08:48:00.001-07:00

I'm having a lot of fun doing Familiar Place. It's been a real treat to get back to doing comics on a regular basis. Have a look below to see a sample of the strip. You can find it at the link below, or as a monthly strip of Flint Comix, if you prefer to read it in a paper.

http://familiarplace.myonlinecomics.com/

Sofi Starwind WIP

2010-09-12T18:37:00.001-07:00

Amy T. has given me a wonderful trio of commissions, including this one of Sofi Starwind. Sophie is a tigrean princess who is not shy about displaying her status, in dress and in attitude. When Amy described her I suspected it was going to be fun to draw this character, and I was right. Sofi will be appearing again, after I have digitally painted this piece. Thanks again, Amy!

This Place is getting Familiar

2010-09-12T18:28:00.001-07:00

iF you haven't already heard, I'm doing a new web comic called Familiar Place. The third strip just went up. You can sneak a peek here.

http://familiarplace.myonlinecomics.com/

On the back of a Magic Card

2010-09-06T08:53:00.001-07:00

I drew this.

I think it came out quite nicely, despite how small the original image was (2.5" x 3.5"). I'm considering coloring it and making prints. This would be the first time I've made a 5"x7" print from an image this small.

Familiar Place

2010-09-02T09:32:00.001-07:00

Good afternoon, everyone. I have a new project to announce today: Familiar Place, a web comic that will be running weekly on my site. To have a look, check out the first strip by clicking on the link below.

http://familiarplace.myonlinecomics.com/0001.html

Goth Elf Clubbing

2010-08-11T21:25:00.001-07:00

Hi folks! I had a great time at Gencon; in fact, I am still recovering from the show, which is why this posting is late. Among the very cool commissions I did at the show was this one, given to me by Michael H. This piece was a hoot to do. I especially like the orc in a suit. Thanks again Michael.

Better be a Fast Learner!

2010-08-02T14:53:00.001-07:00

This is a fun commission that I did for AJ earlier this year. The young warrior is getting instructions from a war hardened veteran. I love to draw quirky looking characters once in a while and I think that the 'trainer' came out nicely (well, as nice as this individual can be).

Cheetah Taur Go

2010-07-26T15:33:00.001-07:00

Here's a fun commission that I took at Anthrocon this year. I've done cheetahs before, but I think this one shows more motion than any previous cheetah illustration I've done. Many thanks to Whitefang Graytail for commissioning this piece. The image is posted small to prevent cropping; click on it to see it full size.

Character Story

2010-07-19T19:46:00.001-07:00

This piece, a commission for Gordon N, has a nice sense of story to it. Gordon gave me a detailed character background to go with this one, and I think I was able to depict both the personality and the history of his character in an elegant fashion.

Henry the Cat, Painted

2010-07-12T12:17:00.001-07:00

Not long ago, I posted the sketch for this piece. Today, I'm not just posing the finished piece, but two WIP shots showing early stages of the painting. The first shows the roughly painted cartoon, the second shows the refinements and details about half finished and the last is the completed work. It was done in acrylic on multimedia art board. Many thanks to Azreal, who commissioned this painting.

Back From Anthrocon and Origins

2010-07-05T16:55:00.001-07:00

Hi people! I'm home, rested up from doing Athrocon and Origins on the same weekend and ready to post. Here is a piece I delivered at Athrocon; it's a digitally colored commission of Kale's dragon character. The print of his piece was 16"x20" and the colors came out beautifully. Thanks again, Kale, for this delightful commission.

To avoid cropping, I've posted this image in a small form. To see a larger image, click on the picture.

Henry the Cat

2010-06-14T17:32:00.001-07:00

Happy Monday, folks. Here's a sketch for a painting I just finished. Henry the cat is being painted for a patron. He is planning to give the painting to his mother; Henry is aging, and he wants her to have a memento of him. I like how the sketch came out. It really captures the personality I saw in the reference photo of Henry. After I deliver this to my patron, I'll post the final painting here.

IPad Painting Evolution

2010-06-08T13:06:00.001-07:00

As anyone who has been following my blog knows, I have been taking commissions and painting card art on my IPad. Today, I am showing a glimpse of how I've been using the IPad and my favorite art program, Brushes, to create art on this device. The sequence below takes this piece from rough sketch to finished drawing. I did a lot of layering to achieve these results, especially when painting highlights on the elementalist and the Earth Golem. Because there are multiple images here, I've posted everything small to speed up load time of this page. To see any image larger, click on it.

It's Whimsy Time Again

2010-05-25T11:55:00.001-07:00

Looking over recent posts, I see it has been a while since I posted a whimsical image. To remedy this I give you "Bop". This piece was done on my IPad and it came out well enough that I will be making prints to sell at upcoming shows and on my Etsy shop. If you want more information on buying a print of Bop, email me at svancamp@mac.com.

To avoid cropping, I posted a smaller image. To see it larger, click on the picture.

This piece was commissioned by Lisa and Leo O. Thank you very much for your patronage.

Godzilla's offspring

2010-05-20T10:42:00.001-07:00

Here's a really fun iPad commission that I did for Jeff A. While discussing he would like drawn, a question occurred to me. What would the child of a marriage between Godzilla and a dragon look like? It was a strange question that wanted a visual answer. Since Jeff was curious too, that's what he had me draw. Here is what resulted. Thanks again Jeff!

Spring Bonanza Part Two

2010-05-17T12:14:00.001-07:00

Hi folks. We are back from Novi Comic Con and we're prepping for next week's show. In the midst of work, I am taking a bit of time to post some commission art from last weekend's show. There is quite a bit of it, so I figured I would do a second spring bonanza to cover as much as possible. Enjoy!

First up are the large color pictures that I delivered to the AROC gaming group at the show. I have been looking forward to showing these off here. Some of these are posted as small images to avoid cropping; to see them larger, click on the image.

Next up are a couple of black and white commissions that I completed for AROC group members at the show.

Finally, here are three different IPad commissions that I did at Comic Con. The cat portrait was drawn by hand, scanned, then colored and finished on my IPad. The other two were done entirely on my IPad.

My deepest thanks again to the patrons who helped make Comic Con a fun and profitable show.

First look at Elementalism Art

2010-05-13T10:13:00.001-07:00

I've been using my IPad to do DS card art and I think I am making pretty good progress. Here is Burst of Wind, which will appear in this Summer's upcoming elementalism set. It was done entirely on my IPad. I find my previous experience using a Wacom tablet is making it pretty easy to pick up IPad drawing skills.

Spring Bonanza

2010-05-10T14:47:00.001-07:00

Happy Monday, everyone. I've been a bit remiss in my posting duties lately, so I'm going to make up for earlier stinginess with a spring bonanza. Today I've got four new images to show off.

First up is a piece I did for Chris S., a generous and enthusiastic patron who I met at Pentacon in November of last year. Thanks again Chris! She plays the tigrean shown in this artwork in her local Dragon Storm campaign. Yes, both she and her elven friend have griffit familiars.

Next up is a piece called 'double 20's'. I posted this on Fur Affinity last week, but I like it so well I decided to show it here as well. It was commissioned by Dave W. It shows a scene from his gaming group that occurred last year. After preparing a detailed game adventure featuring a horrendously powerful enemy, he watched said enemy taken down early in the game by a player who rolled 2 natural 20's in a row. Anyone who has game mastered will appreciate his reaction to this turn of events.....

Finally, these two pieces are from the AROC project. Terrie and Kay are central characters in the AROC campaign and they have been through a lot. These pictures, which will be colored and printed as custom character cards, show the characters after years of adventuring. I love how they look as a set and I am going to see if I can do the backgrounds in similar colors. Thanks once more, guys!

Hyena Cola

2010-05-03T09:49:00.000-07:00

Happy Monday, folks. Me and Mark are on semi-vacation, resting up as we prepare for this summer's convention season. Last week, while relaxing, I did this piece as practice on my iPad. It turned out so well I decided to post it here. I don't know what Hyena Cola tastes like, but he sure looks like he could use a swig of something refreshing to me.

The IPad art commission round-up

2010-04-16T12:00:00.001-07:00

Last weekend I attended FCN, a furry convention in Michigan. I had a great time and I want to give a shout to all the folks who stopped by my table to buy and chat. I also want to show the results of my first attempt to sell commissions that I did on my IPad. I was able to offer digital delivery, badges and 5"x7" prints of these images, all of which turned out sharp and vivid. I'm excited about this new technique and I'm planning to continue with it. Many thanks to the folks who commissioned these pieces, which gave me a sound financial reason to improve my IPad drawing skills. The art is unintentionally cropped in some of these images--to see the full picuture, click on it.

Aroc Group sketch

2010-04-16T11:55:00.001-07:00

The deadline for the AROC project is approaching; as it comes closer, I am beginning work on larger scale, detailed and really fun parts of this commission. Here is a WIP shot from one of them; a group shot of characters from the AROC group. The picture has been unintentionally cropped; to see all the characters, click on the image. When this sketch is approved it will be digitally painted and printed for delivery at Novi Comicon this year. I'll post the color version when it's done. Thanks again, guys!

Travels of Kit has a Big Update

2010-04-08T09:52:00.001-07:00

I had an oops moment recently; I did a big update for Travels of Kit, the illustrated story project sponsored by Jim H. There are nearly twice as many images and stories up now. The image below is a cropped section of image 33, which I think is the most over the top illustration in the story so far. Have a look at Travels of Kit by clicking this link.

http://www.myonlinecomics.com/travelsofkit/001.html

I drew it on my IPad

2010-04-06T08:49:00.001-07:00

Me and Mark were up early on Saturday, waiting for UPS to deliver the IPads we ordered several weeks ago. For me, the device is a portable digital art studio. I've tried to build a transportable system for creating digital art for some time. I made my first attempt with a portable computer and a Wacom tablet. This proved to be a marvelous set up for home studio work, but it just didn't travel well enough to prove useful for me (too many cords, for one thing). When I purchased an IPhone I found part of the solution with a Pogo Stylus and digital paint software that worked on the phone, but the surface was too small to be really useful for me. Then Apple announced the IPad. With it's 7"x10" screen it solved the size problem neatly. The image below shows what I was able to get out of this device shortly after I started working on it.

I hope to start offering color digital commissions drawn on my IPad and emailed directly to patrons. I might be able to offer this type of commission as early as FCN. As with any tool there is a learning curve involved. I'm having a lot of fun figuring out what I can do with this device.

Samurai Portrait

2010-03-29T11:10:00.001-07:00

Claudia H commissioned this appealing portrait of herself and her fiance as Samurai warriors. Gamers familiar with the mythos of Legends of the Five Rings will recognize the lion and scorpion in the background as symbols of clan affiliation. I enjoy drawing detailed Japanese armor so this commission was a treat. Thanks again, Claudia.

Second Post of Aroc Week

2010-03-25T09:29:00.001-07:00

As promised, here is more art from the AROC commission.

The wereshark character card, shown in the previous post, shows a wereshark standing on two legs. They can also go on all fours when on land, as can be seen in the form card art above. I like the idea of this, since their bodies, in the water, have a horizontal orientation; it would probably feel a lot more natural to maintain that orientation when walking on the land.

The amythest ring shown here is another case of me having fun with my 3D programs. I especially like how this style lends itself to illustrating items.

First Post of AROC Week

2010-03-23T18:39:00.001-07:00

As I've mentioned before, I am working on a large commission for the AROC gaming group, which includes multiple custom DS cards. This week I am going to concentrate on previews from these cards, which will be available in May 2010. This is a great art project to work on and the guys have given me lots of room to play, so my style is all over the map on this set. Organized chaos can be you friend.

The piece below is the merfolk shape shifter I mentioned last week. Merfolk turn into weresharks! Here is a look at the art to the wereshark character card.

This is the Truth Seeker harp. I created this one by using four different art programs and I'm pleased how it turned out. I especially like the carving on the harp.

There will be another posting this week with more images from the AROC project. Stay tuned to this blog!

Merfolk and More

2010-03-18T17:31:00.001-07:00

I'm a bit pressed this week with family matters so there will only be one post here this week. To compensate, I'm adding a second piece. The first is part of the AROC group commission. Merfolk are a new race for Dragon Storm. They live underwater but they can walk on land and breathe air for limited period. Like most sentient races on Grandilar, some of them are shape shifters. What sort of shape shifters? That will be presented in an upcoming spot.

This is an at show commission completed at a recent convention. The griffon shown here is a mix of bobcat and owl, which I think is a very cool mix. The patron who commissions it plans to use it as an illustration for her book review site, which makes it even better.

New for the Aroc Project

2010-03-11T19:44:00.001-08:00

Here is a new post for the AROC project. This is the art for a card called Iron Body. It's a new Essence card that adds +4 DEF for a combat. I used an orc for this card; since an orc shape changes into--well, an orc--I figured this will be a popular card for folks playing this race.

Burning Heart Phoenix

2010-03-08T12:24:00.001-08:00

Jeanette P. commissioned this lovely tattoo design, which came out so well that I'm going to color it and use it as an upcoming DS game Phoenix card. Thanks again Jeanette.

A Little Night Work

2010-03-04T12:28:00.001-08:00

J. Burkhart commissioned this very cool image of his character at Gencon last year and I just got it done. I'll be sending it to my printer early next week; in the meantime, enjoy!

MM2 Merry the Madspawn

2010-03-01T16:16:00.001-08:00

Here's another sampling from the upcoming Mighty Madspawn set. He attacks twice a round as an independent action. That would make any Madspawn happy.

Grog!

2010-02-26T10:49:00.001-08:00

Here's the first art post from a new card set I am illustrating for the AROC gaming group. When I was working on the sketch for this mini gargoyle form, I thought back to the personalities of gargoyle characters I had encountered in Dragon Storm games. Hence, the ale.