Monday, December 12, 2011

Paki Says Hello

A recent sketch of Paki, the guide from The Explorer's Guide to Drawing Fantasy Creatures.
Would you like to buy a copy of The Explorer's Guide to Drawing Fantasy Creatures at a discounted price? You would? Then head on over to my publisher's online store, North Light Shop, and enter the code PakisGift upon checkout to receive a discount of 50% off the retail price of the book! The coupon code is good until December 31st.

Happy Holidays!

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Creature Scales



This scale chart from The Explorer's Guide to Drawing Fantasy Creatures shows the size of all the creatures from the book (minus the sea serpent and living island–they're too big!) compared to a human.
I would have loved for these scale diagrams to appear alongside the description of each creature in the book, but, sadly, we couldn't find the space.

Did you know that you can download bonus materials for The Explorer's Guide, including this scale chart, from IMPACT Books?  Click here to go to IMPACT's website and sign up for their mailing list to receive free desktop wallpapers and a bonus drawing demonstration for the cavern rat!

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Faun

And now for something completely different.

I like to sculpt. I've actually only completed a handful of sculptures over the last decade or so, but sculpting is something I've enjoyed doing for a long time. Molding and shaping something with my hands is relaxing for me. While I still make plenty of mistakes while sculpting, I don't have the same anxiety about it that I often do about painting. Somehow it feels like the clay can always be fixed.



I made this sculpture way back in 2003, specifically for a mold-making and casting class I was attending. Once the class was over, I didn't have the space at home to work, money for the supplies, or the time to practice making molds, so my knowledge has since lapsed. These photos show the sculpture before it was taken to class, where it was subsequently destroyed upon its removal from the mold. This was something I was aware would likely happen. The sculpture has many pesky undercuts that a sculptor would usually deal with by cutting apart the sculpture and molding and casting each piece separately.  I still have two resin casts and a silicone mold of this sculpt should I ever try my hand at casting more.



The sculpture was made of super sculpey with a wire armature underneath. I've learned a lot since making this piece. You can see how much of it has not been smoothed out or sanded, and the tail, especially, is lumpy.



I've also included the design sheet I drew up before beginning the sculpt. Not very technical. Remember, those drawings are nearly ten years old. Please be kind!