Fantasy Illustration Blog by Cynthia Sheppard

Finished DragonLord cover!

sheppardarts@gmail.com (Cynthia Sheppard) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:28:00 +0000

At long last, the DragonLord cover is finished! Here's the final proof:

Meanwhile, I took a little snapshot of the pile of stuff I'm bringing to Illuxcon this weekend:

I have to give a shout out to clearbags.com (recommended to me by Laura) - they make every kind of display bag imaginable, for a good price, and their delivery is great. I'm always experimenting with different ways to display/show work, and a plastic protector is both cheaper and lighter than framing. Great for print shows you have to travel some distance to.

Also, as usual I used OvernightPrints.com for my biz cards & postcards and UPrinting.com for my posters.

Illuxcon 2 is NEXT WEEK!!!!

sheppardarts@gmail.com (Cynthia Sheppard) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:00:00 +0000

SO EXCITED. I even made a little postcard holder out of scrap moulding. :)

Hope to see even more folks there than last year! I'll be there the full four days this time, so come find me at the Ramada hotel bar any evening and we'll talk art.

Eyes & Expressions

sheppardarts@gmail.com (Cynthia Sheppard) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 15:03:00 +0000

Another quickie for ImagineFX - This time the subject was eyes. I grew up loving portraiture, thinking someday I'd like to be a portrait artist before I discovered the versatility of the fantasy & sci fi genre. So I kept this a very simple composition, to demonstrate how making eyes slightly larger than is natural is a fun way of unnerving your viewers into a subconscious interest in your piece. I also created one of those sketchy eye expression tables to accompany some text about how the facial muscles work with certain emotions and how they affect the shape of eyes.

Underwater - quickie

sheppardarts@gmail.com (Cynthia Sheppard) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 13:48:00 +0000

Another quickie for IFX Q&A, started and finished last night.

Meanwhile, preparation for IlluXcon 2 continues... only 3 WEEKS left!! I've got a massive amount of prints ready to order, and it was confirmed this week that Laura Diehl and I will have adjacent tables at the Saturday Evening Showcase, at the Altoona Ramada on the 14th of November.

In the Mirror...

sheppardarts@gmail.com (Cynthia Sheppard) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:09:00 +0000

A quickie I did yesterday for Imagine FX Q&As, upcoming issue 51:

I'm always amazed by how long it takes me to write tutorials and answers to art questions. It almost takes me longer than doing the work itself. I guess it's sort of like typing or playing piano - you do it for so long you can't remember where the keys are unless you're touching them.

Close up #1: [link]
Close up #2: [link]

More Progress on the DL Cover

sheppardarts@gmail.com (Cynthia Sheppard) — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 03:01:00 +0000

Since I have a family obligation tomorrow, I spent about 12 hours on this today, getting it ready for a web preview. It's only about halfway there (just wait until I start adding beasties!) but it's still going smoothly.

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I've been getting a lot of questions recently about time management- people asking how I manage to balance a day job, illustration job, and a social life. Honestly it's tough, and I don't balance things very well. I try to reserve whole days or large blocks of time for painting, and I don't go out as often as some. To those who have asked, I'm working on it!

In other news, I've got a couple of ImagineFX articles coming up over the next couple months, including some tips and a Q&A that I'm currently working on. Always happy to contribute to such a fine pub.

More later...

"Cruciata Navaar" for Sinister Adventures

sheppardarts@gmail.com (Cynthia Sheppard) — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 14:08:00 +0000

This one was SO much fun. Read more about the character here at the SA website: http://sinisteradventures.com/index.php/sneak-peeks. The character designer and art director Nick Logue's ultra-descriptive character studies are some of my favorites to work from - in fact, he does half my work for me by creating such vivid imagery with his writing. We did a few snippets together last year, and I hope to have the pleasure of painting many more.

Dragonlord cover, painting progress

sheppardarts@gmail.com (Cynthia Sheppard) — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 15:03:00 +0000

I snapped a couple progress shots of the Dragonlord cover last night (underpainting + first session).

Also over this long weekend, I've got some board game artwork to finish up and a 1/4 page vampire illo for one of my favorite returning customers. Groovy.

Return to Neverland WIP - collaboration with Aaron Sikstrom

sheppardarts@gmail.com (Cynthia Sheppard) — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 13:25:00 +0000

Pan? Wendy? A jealous mermaid? What could possibly be cooler subject matter for a collaborative effort? A few weeks back I got a very nice email from Aaron Sikstrom (http://seethrou.deviantart.com) asking if I'd be interested in doing a piece with him. At the time neither of us knew the other had an affinity for Peter Pan mythology, so it was quite a nice surprise when I first saw the sketch he provided for me: [link].

As the painter/colorist, I thought the otherworldly lagoon-light would make a great contribution to bring out the magic of the story. There's still a fair bit of work left to be done, but it's really shaping up.

Dragonlord cover, more progress

sheppardarts@gmail.com (Cynthia Sheppard) — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 13:33:00 +0000

Here's the latest digital sketch for the Dragonlord cover. As I mentioned earlier, this is purely a digital sketch for a full-blown oil painting. In some ways it's developing its own personality as a digital painting, but the super cool author in this case prefers the look and feel of real paint, and I have a lot of respect for that. A few key changes were made here from the original b&w sketch I posted in July, my favorite being the main male character; he's taken on a bit more of a cro-magnon appeal. I had originally misread (or missed) a vital descriptive part of the story and made him too human at the start. This is one of those cases where working directly with an author is truly a worthwhile experience.

Exotique 5 & Getting back in the saddle...

sheppardarts@gmail.com (Cynthia Sheppard) — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 14:46:00 +0000

I got the good news this morning that Half her Heart made the cut for Exotique 5!! This is not just "everyday cool" but also gratifying since I very much had Exotique in mind when creating the piece.

As for my absence lately, my father in law passed away at the end of July, so it's been very hectic at home. I'm just now getting my artistic affairs back in order from the brief hiatus (including road trips to Iowa and North Carolina). As I get older I realize that interruptions in my workflow are harder to bounce back from. I think tonight I'll require extra coffee to get something done for a Friday deadline!! It's good to be back.

Dragonlord, in progress

sheppardarts@gmail.com (Cynthia Sheppard) — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 13:42:00 +0000

First compositional draft of a cover for CJ Henderson's upcoming Dragonlord novel. This illo will probably change quite a bit as I get comments back, and I hope it does. The author's writing style is more conversational and verb-driven than visually descriptive, so I'm really looking forward to hearing back about how close I got the characters (or not). I'll probably send it off to some of my favorite artists for critique too, just cuz.

The final will be a larger oil painting. I am excited.

Week In Review...

sheppardarts@gmail.com (Cynthia Sheppard) — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 14:34:00 +0000

Thus concludes another busy week! On Monday I learned that Half Her Heart has made it to the final judging for possible inclusion in Exotique 5... fingers are crossed on that one. I'd really like to make the cut for at least one book this year. I finished up a logo project on Wednesday, which will be followed up by a set of illustrations starting this weekend.

Last night I spent a totally awesome 40 minutes on the phone with a cool author about his swords & sorcery book cover while he simultaneously basted a chicken. Normally I'm apprehensive about working directly with authors, but this is one of those unique match-ups that (so far) almost seems too functional to be true. Needless to say, I'm excited about reading the chapters he sent over and starting on the sketches.

During my down time, I've been overcoming some frustrations and personal challenges with the client-artist relationship schema. For example, I work for a marketing company all day, so I have an engrained urge to marketing-direct my clients, sometimes without them asking. I need to stop doing that, unless they ask. While some people are completely open to it, some people aren't. And at the end of the day it's their project and they'll do what they want with it, even if their aesthetic choices aren't what my training would call the 'best' choices. Sometimes you just have to separate yourself a few degrees from the work to stay sane. There's a mantra in there somewhere... hopefully I'll be able to elaborate when I've put all my thoughts in order.

Signing off. Have a great weekend! -CS

Character Sketch, complete

sheppardarts@gmail.com (Cynthia Sheppard) — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 20:53:00 +0000

Here's the finish of the 3-hr sketch I posted back on 6/14. I enjoy combining different style influences; it's like a fighting bellydance costume... I think. I do know that ever since my husband bought his Samurai sword I haven't been able to get enough of drawing it.

Happy 4th of July! Remember, after tomorrow all those fireworks will be on sale.

Rockin' Kid

sheppardarts@gmail.com (Cynthia Sheppard) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 17:05:00 +0000

There's a lot going on at my desk right now - for starters, I just finished up a portrait of an 18-month old rock star yesterday:

Yes, sometimes I do take breaks from drawing dark stuff. I have another new large-scale project going on that I can't talk about (strict NDA) but it's fun so far. Also continuing to hack away at character design for a book...

We just got word at the design office that we're absorbing the 5 designers from our satellite office, and I think this is a good thing.

ImagineFX Magazine #46 - coming next week!

sheppardarts@gmail.com (Cynthia Sheppard) — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 21:15:00 +0000

Tune in next week for IFX #46, and check out my "grunge" workshop! I've even put some DVD assets out there for everyone to share. The whole issue has "gone goth," so I think I might make a pot of ultra-black coffee and puff on a clove while enjoying this issue...

Read Beren's post, via the iFX forums

Speaking of grunge, I took some great photographs of my father-in-law's house last weekend. It's reminiscent of what I imagine a nuclear test site would look like after 30 years of nature taking over. No doubt some of those textures will be showing up in new artwork.

ArtOrder Vampires Challenge

sheppardarts@gmail.com (Cynthia Sheppard) — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 16:12:00 +0000

I don't normally work in pure black & white, but that was the nature of the "Vampire Challenge" recently posted on ArtOrder. It's been a while since I've participated in a short-term challenge, too. And winning isn't everything; I entered more for my own edification and practice. I'm looking forward to seeing the other artists' renditions. Enjoy.

3-hour character sketch

sheppardarts@gmail.com (Cynthia Sheppard) — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 13:05:00 +0000

Another work in progress. My husband has been dying to see me create a character with a robot arm for years. This one's for you, baby.

Doors Opening, in progress

sheppardarts@gmail.com (Cynthia Sheppard) — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 13:49:00 +0000

I think my favorite part of designing characters is introducing them to their environment. In this case, we have a samurai-sword wielding ultramodern schoolgirl mercenary. Normally I wouldn't show a character from the back, but who can resist looking at a metro train as it whizzes past? She's probably too cool to look you straight in the eye anyway (unless she's threatening your life).

Characters are one thing, environment is another. What kind of town would spawn this girl?

Still got some work to do, but it's coming along.

Via David Palumbo's blog...

sheppardarts@gmail.com (Cynthia Sheppard) — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 16:28:00 +0000

Via David Palumbo's blog, RECENT PAINTINGS AND SKETCHES BY DAVID PALUMBO, I've just preordered a copy of his new ltd edition book, QUICKIE: 58 Erotic Portraits. I've been a huge fan of his fantasy work for a while, and this showcase of his figure paintings and studies is sure to be maximum eye candy.

Meanwhile, on my desk, I'm doing character studies in between work on other paintings. Why? Because I'm hoping to try out for some concept work soon, and the dearth of legitimate character concept art in my portfolio has become a large gaping hole in the center of my field of vision.

Here's a cellphone snap from my doodling of a gal in a decrepit underground tunnel from yesterday:

What you can't see is the sword she's wielding. Yes, sometimes it's ok to wallow in clichés (or iconic images, depending how you see it). Especially when you've been obsessively playing Fallout 3 for weeks, and all you can think about is how sweet it would be to walk around the post-apocalyptic DC metro system with a FLAMING SWORD. What was all that about erotica...?

2D Artist Magazine #41

sheppardarts@gmail.com (Cynthia Sheppard) — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 17:35:00 +0000

I'm a little late on this one, but Half Her Heart's Duet is available at higher-than-normal resolution in the Gallery section of 2D Artist Magazine's May issue! There's some awesome artwork and content in this e-zine. I particularly enjoyed Ivan Kashubo's sketchbook, and the speedpainting article...

You can purchase the mag through the 2dartistmag.com website, or download a free "lite" version as a .zip file.

Donato's

sheppardarts@gmail.com (Cynthia Sheppard) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 16:20:00 +0000

About two years ago, Dan Dos Santos invited me to a party in Brooklyn at Donato Giancola's house. It was an experience that changed my life, not just in terms of networking with veterans of the fantasy/sci-fi illustration field, but because when I walked in that door, I didn't know I wanted to be an illustrator yet, and walking out I was certain that's what I wanted to do. I'd admired a lot of these guys since I was a teenager, but my artistic plans had been all over the map. Until I discovered there really IS a group of people out there who are like me, and they showed me what I needed to do.

Last week I got an email from Scott Grimando about this year's gathering, and I couldn't pass up the opportunity.

It was great to reconnect with folks I hadn't seen in a while - Kristina Carroll (www.kristinacarrollart.com) is an awesome up-and-coming illustrator and total sweetheart. Also Zelda Devon and Kurt Huggins (www.teeteringbulb.com) who I met at Illuxcon last year. I also got a chance to meet some new folks like Ruth Kim (www.ruthkim.com) and Robert Brown (www.bobbrownart.com). All great stuff worth checking out!

One of the highlights of the evening was having a conversation with Gregory Manchess about his current re-working of an illustration featuring a certain famous (or infamous?) pirate.

So in conclusion, it was another awesome night. And totally worth braving bus travel. It also made me realize how far I've come in 2 years. I'm hoping I can keep up that pace in the next two.

W.T. Woodson Alumni Art Show - June 2

sheppardarts@gmail.com (Cynthia Sheppard) — Wed, 27 May 2009 17:01:00 +0000

Yep, next week I'm showing work at my high school's Alumni Show. According to one of the art teachers, I'll be the oldest one showing. Ack! If you're a Woodson grad or just want to come for the heck of it there will probably be free food, and the new art wing they built is a friggin huge and amazing sight to behold.

Art Remixes

sheppardarts@gmail.com (Cynthia Sheppard) — Wed, 06 May 2009 16:12:00 +0000

(Click to enlarge)

I just had to redo the mer-people! I got a lot of good critique on the original version of this piece, and decided to act on it. Honestly the original was done as figure practice— not sure why I took it seriously enough to ever post it anywhere, but by putting the mer-folk in a new context I think I really made this work. I've gotten even more good input on this in the cgsociety.org and conceptart.org crit forums since yesterday, which I'll carry on into my next onslaught of work.

Also last week I reworked the 2007 painting Shall we Count His Rings?):

(Click to enlarge)

Digital Art lecture & demo at WT Woodson High

sheppardarts@gmail.com (Cynthia Sheppard) — Wed, 06 May 2009 15:47:00 +0000

Last week I got a great opportunity to visit the digital art/animation/AP portfolio prep classes at WT Woodson (my old high school) and give a slide presentation and digital painting demo to the students.

The first part of the lecture was focused on how I got started; My teacher, Donna, even had some [embarrassing] examples of digital artwork I did when I was in her classes for effect. Then I talked about some of my methods, and about the business side of it all. We're business card-carrying members of society too! Tell your parents we're like lawyers and executives, only way more fun.

I think the demo was much more interesting. I let the students pick the subject and they said "people!" so I borrowed one of the students.

This is the 10 minute portrait doodle that ensued:

Meanwhile, I've got all my tips turned in for an upcoming Imagine FX article, along with my bio, headshot, 5 pieces of recent work. Their latest issue is on the gaming industry, and I have a business card in my pocket which Donna gave me for the game studio EA/Mythic. It's down the street from our apartment. I'm thinking of calling them and scheduling a review or something, if they're interested in working with contract artists.

I've got to draw line art for a "Professor Gizmo" today at the office, who I imagine is a steampunk wizard chemist guy. We'll see what the client actually says.

And lastly, here are some macros of me reaching for my coffee mug during the school presentation, courtesy of Livejournal user oldsmobile_mike.