Thursday, July 28, 2011

The power of SCIENCE

Here's a series of illustrations for St. Edward's University Magazine about scientific advances and breakthroughs from St. Edward's alumni:






My sketches!
Spread 1: Eating salmon may help prevent alzheimer's!



Spread 2: Nasa is testing out a more fuel efficient engine lubricant on a fleet of carpet-industry trucks! (way to get in there, carpet industry!) AND seismic detectors exist and cellphones exist--why not combine them to create an early warning system?


Spread 3: The CDC's Global Disease Detection Program is like the SWAT team of infectious disease threats! (I only wish they had giant robot syringes and a bank of disease screens, though) ALSO patient medical history will soon be available to doctors on iPads, because doctors like to be cool too. (and efficient!) PLUS: Solar powered dairy farms=cheaper milk! Solar powered cows not included.


These illustrations may be some of my new favorite editorial pieces! Science is always pretty fun to learn about, and my designer Natalie and my art director Rick were both very excited and open to my ideas. A big thank-you to them, they were great to work with! Plus, I think I drew the best ear I've ever drawn on that opening spread with the salmon. (the secret: find good reference)

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

The Leech Lord

It's been a while since I've done an ASOIAF piece (and I have other longer blog posts to write!)...buuuut A Dance With Dragons has been filling my free time with tales of Westeros and the Free Cities and I can't let Sam have all the fun with his ASOIAF portraits!


Roose Bolton only sporadically shows up in the books, but I think he is one of the most physically described side characters. His most cited feature is his disturbingly pale eyes, like chips of dirty ice. Though past 40, his pallid skin is absent of any lines, wrinkles or distinguishing marks. His face isn't handsome but not quite plain either, and his physique is neither fat, nor thin, nor muscular.

The Boltons are a shadier branch of the Stark bannermen, and Roose is a deceptively soft spoken and calculating lord. The Bolton house sigil, a bloody flayed man upon a pink field, hints at the twisted ancestry he shares his surname with. Roose's mannerly but callous nature is often overshadowed by the brutal acts of violence his bastard son Ramsay is allowed to commit. Lord Bolton is known for frequently leeching himself and touts it as the secret to long life, but it's said that his constant leechings have drained him of both color and emotion.

So whaddaya think, should I just go ahead and replace all future illustrations of happy, pleasant ladies with disturbing men?

For anyone interested in more ASOIAF art, I was recently a part of a ASOIAF art zine-- "Blood Magic". You can browse the list of artists or order a zine for yourself here.
I have also been informed there are still some posters of mine available over at 1200 Posters. Nab one yourself, or check out the new poster up for sale.