Dryad´s step

Here is a magic card illustration from core set 2011. It features a guy I did for an older card called Borderland Ranger. When Choosing the colors I was very inspired by another artist called Chris Moeller. He send me a handfull of WOW-cards and one had a really cool wood background that was rendered in a much lighter and realistic looking way than what I am used to. Chris´sky was almost white. So I wanted to at least try to use a more subdued palette and a lighter sky color. This is the result.

Of note: the right bottom part of the roots are only fist layer of paint.

Goblin Tunneler

This here is my favorite illustration. I think the reason is that it is pretty simple and straight forward in the design. The description was simple: A goblin with a hacking tool who has dug himself out of a tunnel. What I like about this specific work is that the brushstrokes are very loose and chunky but still precise accurate. I think it has thus aura of easiness that I constantly seek and that I find so hard to achieve. When it succeed it is not until afterwards that I realize that it went well: While in it it just flows without thinking.

One of the reason might be that the drawing is simple and the background is just like a wall. I felt I could relax a lot and concentrate on obtaining texture in the skin and material rather than painting elements. that is my downfall. If I start thinking too much about the elements it goes sour. "Oh well this is robe, its brown. the skin is red, the metal is grey and the cliffs are brown". I try, and by try I mean force myself, to paint texture within the same value instead of thinking too much in colors. If I go loose and muddy and dots different colors within the same value on, lets say metal, I get a nice dirty look. I can then add shadows and especially highlights to pull out the form. You see this in the metal hooks or the wedges in the belt.

Also I am pretty happy with the sloppiness of the cliffs to the right.

Progress shots

Dragon Magazine 389

http://www.wizards.com/dnd/TOC.aspx?x=dnd/4new/drtoc/389

This is a precious illustration to me. It is one of those where I took a step in a new direction. Where I took a chance and dared something out of the comfort zone, and also one , where I diverted a lot from the art description and hoped that they would go for it.

Jon Schindehette had just a week ago written an article in his blog Artorder, where he said that a good way to not get hired again, would be to stray too much from the art description. So when mailing him the sketch for this one, I was crossing my fingers that he would like the new approach...well he did, and I picked up the brushes.

In this painting I tried for the first time a zoomed out scene with smaller figures than what I am used to. I almost always focus on a main figure making a heroic portrait with a semi detailed background. I was in the mood for doing a more complex painting. also I wanted it to be more of a scene than a portrait. That is ofcause a lot more difficult, but I am glad I did. The painting shows a female wizard being hunted by Wyvern riders. ( there is one more on the rooftop ) I wanted to capture the moment where the hunter and the hunted sees each-other and the last fight begins. this is the moment that are always the most intense in roleplaying. I cannot count the times I have been in the situation where the pour wizard girl is, wounded, out numbered and without the equipment, that could safe you.

Notice the reward posters on the wall with her picture on them.

When painting the fighter I focused on making him a solid muscular guy leaning toward the heavy site, ( kind of like myself except for the muscles ) thus making him seem more real and dirty.

Mists of Zanaga

This is one of the Runebound covers I did for Fantasy Flight Games. The illustration is going to be used in a cirkular frame, but I still paint it almost rectangular. I enjoyed making up small details in the monkey-demons design. Especially the impaled body of a human king that is stuck on one of his horns, is a detail I am proud of. I looked at different monkeys to get the idea for the coloration.

Taunter and Godtoucher

Here is 2 magiccard illustrations I have been asked to upload.

Dungeon Quest

This is an illustration I did for Fantasy Flight Games. It is a classic dungeon crawl game, so the illustration had to be classic too. I really enjoyed doing this illustration. They gave me almost free hands and i came up with the idea of a wizard repelling the breath of a dragon. In the first sketches there was a figther too fleeing while the wizard was holding back the dragons fire, but the game was design to be played against each-other, not together, so I had to cut the figther.

In the game the wizard is wearing a half mask covering the left side of his face.

Ravenloft Boardgame

I was very happy to get this assignment. The painting is for a Boardgame set in the world of Ravenloft, called Castle Ravenloft.

I already knew all about the original roleplaying game and was very familiar with the cover illustration from back then. My job was to do a more modern version, while still being true to the original mood.

I have attached a version showing a lot of the referanches I used during the process.

In the end I did not pose for the Count myself, but made the pose up from my head, since the photo I took had me looking completely like an idiot - as I am sure you can tell.

Prey´s Vengeance

Here is a brand new magiccard illustration. It is one of 2 cards featuring the same 2 monsters. I think the light burning out the outline of the treetops are a nice touch. Also I played with the effect of warm light bouncing from the ground up on the tail and legs of the Baloth.

This is one of the paintings where I did not change anything from thumb to final painting. As a afterthought I see now that the yellow beast looks to much like a giant evil teletubby. Sadly it is one of my own designs. See what happens when you let me do something by myself! Gotta stop watching television with my kids.

Balor and friends

This is a cover for a Dungeons and Dragon Book. I was going to portrait a bunch of different demons having Balor as the leader of the pack. As you can see from the forst sketch his horns and face has undergone a lot of changes. Also the sketch shows how searching I am in this stage. I need a lot of trying lines to shape the form. I am not one of those who sees it in his mind first and then more or less print it out on paper ( Would be cheaper I guess ).
The colors are some of the brigthest I have ever used and the contrast almost hurt my eyes when I first started blocking in the colors. Paul Bonner, with whom I share a studio, walked by and exclaimed: "Oh my God", when he saw my first couple of layers. I do not think he meant it in a good way so turned it down a notch.

Sea of Blood

This is a cover I did for Fantasy Flight Games. I did a million or at least 40 thumbs trying different angles and setups before settling into this version.

The irony of it is that the final thumb that I liked took less than 10 minutes, where as the rest of them had me sketching and sketching for days. I try to convince myself that they are necessary and lead up to tha final good one. But boy do I wish I could just skip all the ugly ones and get right to the gold in one shot.

When I have sketched the details and all onto the board I ink the whole thing and greytone it in black acrylic, thereby establishing the values of the painting. the greytone painting is scanned and i print out a couple of copies to do colorroughs on.

The painting process is a fast process. I used only three days on this and the whole of one day was spend only on the barbarian. Him being the focal point and hero.

This is one of the paintings I will send in to Spectrum and I cross my fingers that it will get through.

Borderland Ranger

This here is one of my magic illustrations that went through a lot before turning into the version that was printed. I submitted a sketch as you can see here. It had all the dynamic and action that the artdirector was asking for. He told me it should look like an ”Aragorn of Magic the Gathering”, and I kind of aimed at that, just made him a little younger.

Somewhere in the painting process he turned into an Erold Flynn/Selda-pancy in a superhero-like costume. Jeremy – the artdirector – was not going for it. Not at all. So I tried to change it digitally and failed, like all the other times when I try to do major changes on the computer. In the end I reasoned myself into painting on top of Erold Flynn and kind came up with this more muddy leather weatherworn costume, thinking I got nothing to loose. To those who work digitally it might not be a big deal, but I tell you, there is nothing cool about me when painting on top of another painting. I have no Idea if I am messing thi sup for good or actually doing something nice...not in the first half an hour that is. Painting this way is slow. The correction took me the same amount of time as the whole first painting did.

The face got a redo and well...in the end I do not think any of the first ranger was left intact. Except for the strap on the shoulder pjece.