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.
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
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
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 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.
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
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
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
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.
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.
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.
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!
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!
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!
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.
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.
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
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!
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.
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.
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
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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!
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
