Wednesday, February 27, 2013


It's been a few months since I updated this post, so here it is. If you missed the first half you can catch it here. Prisoner of the Mind Cole Maquette work in progress.


This has turned out to be quite a challenging project. I used to do a lot more sculpting than I do today, so I am still a little rusty. I originally wanted to create this project for a limited edition sculpt, but it is almost too large for that now. I am now at over 1 pound of clay and still climbing. The reality is, that's a lot of material to cast which could drive up the cost considerably. The thing is, instead of setting it aside and starting a new one, I decided that I am too close to quit now. I will see it through even if I decide not to cast it. So, the process has been slow going this year. I am involved with just too many projects to give this Maquette the proper attention. My last encounter was an eight hour sculpting session to try to get it to a finished piece.


Cole's face still isn't where I want it to be, but it is making progress.


He still kind of looks like a deer caught in headlights.


I am satisfied with the upper body progress. From the last update, I had to do some chopping of the torso, and adding much more material to give him the correct dimensions. In my first sculpts at the top of this post, his waist is too skinny and his shoulders are too wide.


You can see that he is starting to look a little more proportionate.


His facial structure and left ear look pretty good too.


I am not happy with his hair on this version, I have almost decided that I will shave off all of his hair leaving him bald before I bake the entire body and head. Once I do that, I will go back and add hair on top of his hardened bald head. It's much easier to sculpt soft clay over baked clay and then re-fire the whole thing. This process will allow me to get much greater detail without marking up the sculpted area that is already there.


His shoulders are starting to take shape.


I am very pleased with his back and muscle structure.


He looks quite human here, everything is almost in the right place.


Everything looks good, his torso might be a bit too long still, and that pencil up his *ss can't feel very good.


The folds of his pants are coming along too. The feet were much harder than I expected but they are making progress.


His midriff area is really coming into it's own. The pant folds and belt have quite a bit of detail now.


Another profile shot showing his neck muscles and shoulder.


Here is a small top view to show symmetry.

 I will post updates here as the project moves along. They may be less frequent, because the graphic novel is almost ready to print. It's all about priorities when you are working on a project. I am looking to cast this guy  sometime this Summer.



Monday, February 25, 2013


PRISONER OF THE MIND ISSUE NUMBER 2 ONLINE. 

Updates Every Monday!

Suggested For Mature Audiences; not suitable for children. 
Contains strong language, explicit sexual content, graphic nudity, and graphic violence.

Visit the Prisoner of the Mind Archive if you missed the previous pages.

Please keep in mind that this is a work in progress until it is printed. That means some of the story will change, it will have typo's, grammatical changes, and things will move around until it's final release. I am sharing my process with you, if you have any questions feel free to email me or hit me up on Twitter. Thanks for the read, I hope you enjoy it!



Stay tuned next week for page 24 of Issue Number 2.





Wednesday, February 20, 2013


It's been a few months since I updated this post. So, here is the latest on this project. If you missed any of it, here is the entire post. A Commissioned Painting for a Friend



At this point it's all about refinement. I am slowly bringing out detail.


Here I am getting a feel for the people on the street, colors, shapes, and highlights.


This side of the canvas needs more work. The angle of the street isn't quite there yet, and the tree is still a green blob, but it's coming together.


I am trying to create definition from the background to the foreground.


Here you can see a little more depth looking down the street. Remember, that I am not going for photo realism. This type of painting tends to be a little more impressionistic than anything else, so I don't want to overdo the detail.


I am quite happy with the colors that are emerging on this side of the canvas, but the people still look like something out of the Walking Dead. I don't want zombies in this work, so further on I will begin to really refine the people on the street.


Stepping back from the canvas you can see that the painting is coming together as a whole. I don't want to overwork one side and leave the other side out. Painting is an experience that is learned. A little here, a little there, but never too much in one area otherwise it will look unbalanced.


This is a little more true to the actual colors. It's a real mix with warm and cool, but it is becoming very cohesive.


Here is a little more work on the tree in the foreground as well as the street sign.


The colors here look great to my eye. I am beginning to pull out shadows on the sidewalk even though the people still look a little stiff. I look at them as if they are place holders. What I mean by that, is that my next step in refining the people on the street is that I will do many sketches of different people walking, shopping,  and moving about the city. I will superimpose them into the scene in the final work.


More blending of colors.


The background is really becoming defined here, and you can see I've added a bit of yellow to the sky to give a little cloud reflection.


Finally, the tree looks like a tree, the sidewalk on this side of the street is now at the correct perspective and the street sign looks like a street sign. I've added a few more reflections and some balance to the color, but I still need to add people on this side of the street, and their shadows. If you look at my sketch in the first post, you can see that there were people on this side too. I will add them in the final painting.


After about a four hour session, it's time to call it quits. I will update this post again for the final painting. I am not rushing this painting at all. Fortunately I am not preparing it for a show or anything else, so I get to savor every moment working on it. Total painting and prep time so far is about 5 months. It's a real pleasure to be able to take this amount of time to work on art for a client. Usually it is a much faster process.

Check back for more updates later.


Monday, February 18, 2013



PRISONER OF THE MIND ISSUE NUMBER 2 ONLINE. 

Updates Every Monday!

Suggested For Mature Audiences; not suitable for children. 
Contains strong language, explicit sexual content, graphic nudity, and graphic violence.

Visit the Prisoner of the Mind Archive if you missed the previous pages.

Please keep in mind that this is a work in progress until it is printed. That means some of the story will change, it will have typo's, grammatical changes, and things will move around until it's final release. I am sharing my process with you, if you have any questions feel free to email me or hit me up on Twitter. Thanks for the read, I hope you enjoy it!


Stay tuned next week for page 23 of Issue Number 2.





Monday, February 11, 2013


PRISONER OF THE MIND ISSUE NUMBER 2 ONLINE. 

Updates Every Monday!

Suggested For Mature Audiences; not suitable for children. 
Contains strong language, explicit sexual content, graphic nudity, and graphic violence.

Visit the Prisoner of the Mind Archive if you missed the previous pages.


Stay tuned next week for page 22 of Issue Number 2...



Thursday, February 7, 2013

Here's a sneak peek of my new comic book project Quantum Enigma.

Who are you? Where do you come from? Why are you here? Questions not easily answered when you are 9 light years away from earth without a way to get home... More to come soon.






This new project is progressing nicely, I already have my prototype books for proofing. Above, is the artwork I created for the cover from pencil, ink, and finally color.  Look for Quantum Enigma this Summer.








Monday, February 4, 2013


PRISONER OF THE MIND ISSUE NUMBER 2 ONLINE. 

Updates Every Monday!

Suggested For Mature Audiences; not suitable for children. 
Contains strong language, explicit sexual content, graphic nudity, and graphic violence.

Visit the Prisoner of the Mind Archive if you missed the previous pages.


Stay tuned next week for page 21 of Issue Number 2...