Flaming Coward

Flaming Coward
This critter is a large creature, approximately 12-15 feet in length. The Flaming Coward is a clever, skulking predator that travels the Underdark in search of easy prey. It is particularly fond of Drow sandwiches.Flaming Cowards are, as their name says, cowardly creatures. They prefer to lie in ambush or stalk foes from the shadows. A Flaming Coward will often wait for it's prey to engage in combat before moving in for an opportunistic bite attack. Because of this hunting technique, the Flaming Coward will normally "shadow" other creatures that are often in contact with Drow. The Flaming Coward, if attacked, will try to run from the fight unless victory is assured. In the event that it is unable to flee, and it's death looks evident, it will use it's special attack. Once a day, the Flaming Coward has the ability to put their body into a state of extreme stress. This causes a chemical to be released into their body (similar to our adrenal response) that causes a dramatic rise in body temperature. So dramatic is the rise in temperature, that is can cause burns upon contact, and is even known to cause flammable material to spontaneously combust within 10' of the Flaming Coward.
For this creature I came up with the idea that the power of the heat comes from two seperate chemicals that when mixed causes a reaction and radiates immense heat, killing anything up to 10 feet away.

Earthquake Dragon

Concept Name: Catastrophic Dragon
Due Date: July 12, 2009, Noon PST Concept
Description: Let's get back to our roots here - critters!
Our very first challenge had to do with development of a critter, and it just seems fitting to have the first challenge for the next "best of ArtOrder" kick off with a critter piece. Not to mention - I love critters! While critters are cool, let's kick it up a notch. I've received a million requests to make an art challenge based on dragons...well now is your chance. Yesterday, Dragon® magazine rolled out a playtest article so you could test drive a new catastrophic dragon - the Volcanic Dragon. It's a really cool new dragon. Without getting deep into the story and mechanics of the piece (you want that, then subscribe!) - the basic concept of the catastrophic dragon is simple. They are infused with the elemental fury that brings about catastrophic effects in the world. So, a volcanic Dragon is infused with the elemental fury of the volcano. When you look at the concept art created by Richard Whitters, Wizards of the Coast Lead concept artist, you will notice that the "body" of the dragon is just a shell or carapace that holds the elemental fury. It is a fun and cool concept.The Details
• The catastrophic force that you will be using is "earthquake".
• You can choose how you show that elemental force.
• Create a catastrophic dragon that follows the basic body style shown in the Volcanic Dragon
• Create a unique head profile/silhouette, and other body elements that create a easily identified dragon (from the other catastrophic dragons)
I designed my Earthquake Dragon to be a ground dwelling dragon; this means the Earthquake Dragon cannot fly. The Earthquake Dragon can dig and borrow underground and as it moves beneath the surface the "rock like" spines on its back tear through the earths crust creating devastating tremors ultimately destroying everything in its path. Once the Earthquake Dragon emerges from the depths of the earth it is just as destructive. The Earthquake Dragon does not have the ability to breath fire like the traditional dragons, but it does have the ability to release seismic sound waves from its vocal cavity that can crack through rock and stone mountain sides. The size of the Earthquake dragon is catastrophic in itself. Any movement shakes the earth beneath its claws.

B&W Vampires Challenge for Wizards of the Coast

Concept Name: B&W VampiresDue Date: June 28, 2009, Noon PSTConcept Description: This is it - the very last challenge to join and get the qualified to be considered for entry in the first ever "Best of ArtOrder" book.
Twist 1 - I've asked two art directors from some competing games publishing companies to jump in and judge the challenge. As soon as I get confirmation, I will reveal the art directors in question. Think on it - three art directors...three companies...three times the exposure.
Twist 2 - I'm going to toss a commission into the mix. I'll put on B&W commission for an upcoming product into the ring, and see who wants to walk away with it. I will name that person, based upon their quality of work and ability to execute the art description to my satisfaction. I've also offered this option to the two other art directors...so keep an eye on these pages and see if they accept the challenge and sweeten the pot even more.
The Art Description:Illo 001: Gwenth and GarrethSpecifications: 1/3 V - 3” w X 6.75” hThis illo depicts a pair of vampires: Gwenth and Garreth. Must be B&W - no grayscale. You can use line, hatch, zip tone, stipple any tool or technique - as long as it is strictly BLACK & WHITE.
Gwenth: A female vampire, once a human, who excels at stealth and ambush attacks. She wears leather armor and carries two short swords. She should look both seductive and dangerous, but let’s avoid clothing that’s too revealing or risqué. She has short, dark hair, and is an effective assassin. If we see her partially obscured by shadows, that’s great.
Garreth: A male vampire, once a human, who is more of an up-front bruiser. He wears leather armor, and carries a heavy shield and short sword. He’s standing in front of Gwenth, almost protectively. He has pale, almost white hair, and the scars of several battles. He’s thickly built and muscular, and his mouth is open to reveal his fangs and vampiric nature.

Rendering 1- Assignment 8 Final

Assignment: Standing Figure- Create a standing figure based on a human and animal form. The basic form must be organic, with at least four distinct surface textures included and carefully rendered. Some parts should be metallic. Use a hot main light source and a cool reflected light. Due Wednesday, May 20.
This project was very challenging in the sense where I needed to concentrate on the light source as well as the way the light source will read when it hits a specific type of texture. I did a lot of research for reference in order to complete this final project. This project proved to be the most challenging for me. I chose to do a half female; half black widow spider creature with feather-like hair texture and liquid metal arms. I am not too happy with the results, but If I keep at it I think I can do better. I named the character "Blood Widow".

Typography 1- Assignment Final

In this assignment I was to create a workbook of all my typography projects from the semester. My book was 145 pages long! I made the design simple so that each project could stand alone on it's own page. This class was AWESOME! I had a lot of fun with the typographic drills although it was CRAZY!! Here are some of my typographic drills.

Rendering 1- Assignment 7

Assignment: Color still life- Create a still life of fruit. Use at least four kinds of fruit. Use Acrylic and Gouache. Make half the fruit in a non-fruit texture. Due Monday, May 4.

In this project I picked an apple, a banana, a small watermelon and a guyabano. I tried to choose two types of fruit that were interesting enough as they were in texture and two that were simple in texture. The two that were simple and texture (apple and banana) I chose to change the texture. I made the apple look like human heart tissue and the banana look like a cigar. I found this project tested my ability to, not only paint, but paint realism. I feel I learned the most from this project.

Rendering 1- Assignment 6

Assignment: Mask 2- Render the same mask with a texture of your choice. Render the mask in a gouache wash and detail in prisma color pencils. Use two light sources, one warm and one cool. Paint a flat black background behind the mask. DUE MONDAY, APRIL 20.
Again this assignment kicked BUTT! Just when I thought it couldn't get any COOLER, my instructor throws a texture into the warm and cool color mix. I had a lot of fun finding what texture I wanted to do. I went with Dart Frog skin texture. The trick was to make that specific texture look like it was being lit by a warm and cool light. Prisma color was easier to work with, but did not seem to have the same crispness as gouache, but I think it turned out pretty well. I got some good feedback from the instructor. I really think I can do a series of these masks. Could be fun! A mask for every mood.