The Stygian Witches

... or The Graeae of the 41st Millennium.

Yesterday was Waitangi Day here in New Zealand and there's no better time than a mid-week holiday to get stuck into a painting. So I decided to use my "day off" to give a more recent sketch of mine some attention... the Stygian Witches, inspired by Warhammer 40K.

Originating in Greek mythology, the Graeae (translates to "grey ones", "old women", or "grey witches") seemed like a great set of (kind of creepy) characters to be placed in the grim darkness of my favourite science-fiction setting.

I got a little carried away with the details when I did the sketch, so it took me the better part of the day and evening to flesh it all out in colour using Photoshop.

Plague Demon

Revisiting old sketches is not really something I do as much as I should.
The other day, however, I was flicking through my sketchbook from a couple of years ago and came across a sketch that I had always been rather fond of... a Warhammer inspired demon known as a Plaguebearer. In a flash of inspiration I decided to give it some colour. So below is the result of about 3 hours work in Photoshop.

The Legendary Pirate Cap'n Redbeard

Happy New Year everyone!

When our postie handed me the latest issue of Imagine FX magazine the other day, I could barely contain my excitement. As usual, the issue is filled with lots of wonderful art, as well as plenty of useful tips and tutorials. It also features a piece by yours truly. The legendary pirate Cap'n Redbeard.

This piece was my entry for the MyFX Weekly Challenge #301, late last year. Needless to say, I was pretty thrilled when I found out that, not only had I won the challenge, but my picture had also been selected as the forum image of the month by the IFX staff. Which, of course, means that I get a whole page to myself :)
Big thanks to Nicola and the IFX crew for letting me share the whole spread (which features some more great work from fellow forumites) on my blog.

For those that are interested in what the text reads, here it is:
With a keen interest in pirates since childhood, the challenge to create an imposing Scottish pirate captain was right up Christian’s street.
“My pirates tend to be of a more medieval variety, with some Warhammer influences thrown into the mix.” Coincidently, as the challenge brief provided details of the Captain’s unmistakable red beard, Christian’s took inspiration from Warhammer artist John Blanche in terms of colour and style. “John is a huge inspiration for me, and looking at his artwork also brought about the mostly red palette I’ve used in the piece. It was tons of fun to work on.

Shouldn't be too long before IFX Issue 92 hits the shelves here in New Zealand. Here's the cover, if you want to look for it.

Merry Xmas!

I wish you all a very merry Xmas and happy holidays.

Britanan All Stars - Relics: AL Fantasy Football Miniatures

Bringing a touch of Stitchpunk to the fantasy football pitch with the Britanan All-Stars team for Relics: Armistice League.

That's right sports fans, Tor Gaming's latest project is now live on Kickstarter. Click the link below to check out all the yummy details and pledge your support:

Britanan All Stars - Relics:AL Fantasy Football Miniatures Kickstarter Project

To further wet your appetite, here's a few pieces of concept art I've created for the project (which I will only get paid for if the project is successfully funded).

The Grim Dark Tooth Fairy

The Tooth Fairy myth is not really something I grew up with as a kid. So when the challenge came up on the Imagine FX forum, I wasn't quite sure where to take it.
All I knew was, that the whole idea fills me with unease - like all things to do with teeth - so I wanted to it to be quite creepy.

Being the Warhammer fan-boy I (still) am, I decided to go with something that would fit nicely into the grim dark future of the 41st millennium.

Frankenstein Revisited - Final

It's day 5 of the Art of Schwager Halloween Special... and it is done.

I stayed up late last night and started adding highlights and giving the paint-job a further polish.
Then up early again this morning to put on the last finishing touches and upload the final piece to the poll on the Imagine FX forums.

So here it is, my very own version of Frankenstein and his creation... Happy (if a little belated) Halloween everyone!

Frankenstein Revisited - WIP4: Refining the Colours

Day 4 of the Art of Schwager Halloween Special... only slightly behind schedule.

Yep, I'm still going and spent some more time on the painting this evening. I've added a few more colours into the mix and worked some more on the details.

It's pretty late already, so I'll keep this short and leave you with WIP4: Refining the Colours.

It's getting pretty close to finished now, so I should have the final version up for you tomorrow.

Frankenstein Revisited - WIP3: Basic Colour

Day 3 of the Art of Schwager Halloween Special... and we're on to colour.

I managed to spend a few hours today to play around with some ideas for colours. Initially I had a much more red theme going on, but that didn't really click with me. So I starting painting in some blues and greens until only traces of the red remained... and the big red coat of Doctor Frankenstein, of course.

Tomorrow we're on to the detail work and I'll have another update for you then.

Frankenstein Revisited - WIP2: Pencil Sketch

Day 2 of the Art of Schwager Halloween Special... and we're still on schedule.

I managed to get the sketch finished today. The characters came together fairly quickly, with only a few minor changes along the way. The background was a different story, and I did about four or five different versions before settling on this one here.

Here we go now with WIP2: Pencil Sketch

Am hoping to get a chance to start on the painting sometime tomorrow. Will post an update as soon as it comes to hand.
Until then, feel free to let me know what you think of it so far in the comments section.