The Art of Conversation

I think we've all had a conversation that felt like this before. Ink on illustration board with digital color.

Smart Animals Being Dumb!

Hey all, here is a series of trading cards I made about smart animals looking dumb! I highly recommend drawing something smart looking stupid, it is very therapeutic. I do not recommend drawing intricate borders like that on trading-card sized pieces of illustration board, it is very hard on the eyes. And the hand. The owl doesn't look as dumb as I would have hoped but I can't really say she looks particularly smart, either.

WIP - The Art of Conversation

Just wanted to give everyone a sneak peak at the linework for my next illustration. Enjoy!

Better Late...

Buddy of mine hired me to draw two different pin ups for a sleeve tattoo he's getting today. I had about a two day timeline to get these done but they came out ok considering. I only used a few colors on each one to give it a little bit of that old rock-a-billy event poster look. That and I'm not to sure what tattoo art limitations are. I don't think the tattoo artist will able to get all the detail I have in there, but it's there if he needs it. Also tried to make the proportion and gesture of the figures interesting just in case the tattoo guy decides not to pay attention to line weight. Just wish I had more time to do the whole sleeve for him.

Sketchdump!

Hey everyone, have some sketches. These are some my favorite odds and ends from the last several months. To do lists, inks, pencils, whatever, it's all here. Enjoy.

W.I.P. - My First Portrait Commission

Just thought I'd share a little WIP shot of my latest piece. I just finished inking, and am ready to begin the coloring process.

The actual size of this piece is 10" by 18", although I scanned it with the intent of printing it larger. This is my first major piece where I've used brushes for the inking. They're a lot of fun, I would recommend them to everyone because they are just that awesome.

Also, as the title would indicate, I was commissioned to do this piece by a guy on a website I frequent. He's even paying me money for it, surprisingly. So I guess I can add "freelance illustration" to my list of jobs now, too.

Artist Trading Cards

After a month or two of working on them, I completed my series of 5 artist trading cards. I based each of mine of the name of a different devil or demon and tried to come up with an original, non-cliché representation of each of them (except Lilith, she was my first card and not very well done compared to the rest of them). For those that are interested, I'll give a brief explanation of why I chose each specific image.

For Satan, I originally wanted to stay away from goats, hooves, tails, and most of the traditional images associated with him. Originally, Satan was an angel who was cast out of heaven, so I designed him with that in mind. He is a corrupted version of the Cherub described in the first chapter of Ezekiel, "As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a man, and the face of a lion, on the right side: and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four also had the face of an eagle."(Ezekiel 1:10) So, only 3 faces are shown here, but they are a goat, a crow, and a dog. The rest of the image (wings, hands, etc.) is straight out of the description. The book at the bottom doesn't have any significance, sorry. I needed something to put there, and the book seemed visually pleasing.

Mephisto is the shortened name of Mephistopholes, which wouldn't fit on the small width of the card. He is usually desrcibed as being human in appearance, but that would be very boring to draw. He usually plays the part of the trickster, convincing people to sign away their souls in his red book. I went with a cuttlefish for this image because of their high intelligence and ability to blend in perfectly in any surrounding, two traits also associated with Mephisto. The aquatic theme of his border is only to match his design.

Lucifer's name conjures up images of fire and the phrase "Lucifer's Hammer," which is the name of a science fiction book I read as a kid about a comet colliding with the earth. I like the idea of Lucifer being Hell's blacksmith, so I gave him a hammer, and an anvil.

Beelzebub is also known as "Lord of the Flies," so he's a collection of fly parts. Sorry, nothing too complicated with this one.

Lilith was the first card that I did, and the one that I took the fewest risks with. In Christian mythology, she is supposed to be the first woman that God created, alongside Adam. However, she viewed herself as an equal and would not submit to his will, so God sent her across the sea and created Eve from one of Adam's ribs. I took a very literal view of her, drawing a seductive, forward woman with horns to signify her new alignment. I might redo this card, as the border is very bland, and the typography is pretty bad as well.

If you line up the cards next to each other, the vines all interconnect from card to card. Fun!

Some excerpts from McThrill's sketchbook

I've been working on some anatomy and figure studies. Nudity ahoy, so be careful and don't get fired.

Backs are pretty sexy, it turns out.

I like her hair, and stomach. I think they turned out well. Not so crazy about the fade-to-nothing crotch, though.

I hate the shading on her face, but I think her hair looks pretty neat. I like her posture as well.

I swear to god, the reference I used for this was a female, and looked very feminine in the photograph.Something went wrong, though.

This is my favorite. I did this today.