(Click an image to see full size views of our work)
"Shadow Warriors - The Defel"
Some of my favorite characters from the expanded Star Wars Universe. The Defel, or "Wraiths," are fierce hunters and warriors. Due to their fur and other factors, they can blend in with any terrain, becoming nearly invisible. The media is hand drawn computer graphics utilizing a wacom tablet and Manga Studio drawing program. The rendering and layout was completed in Photoshop.
"Knights of the Old Republic - Lord Arkadia"
I recently finished the novel, "Star Wars: Knight Errant." Lord Arkadia was one of the antagonists in the story and I was utterly fascinated by her character. The author gave a vivid description of the character, but I felt that I needed to create my own version of her. The media is hand drawn computer graphics utilizing a wacom tablet and Manga Studio drawing program. The rendering and layout was completed in Photoshop.
"Knights of the Old Republic - Darth Scythe"
A dark and sinister creature, even for a Sith Lord, Darth Scythe is a Sith Alchemist and beast master that was so corrupted by the dark side that she lost the ability to speak. She communicated with her beasts, mechanization and creations through telepathy alone and rarely made contact with sentient beings. When she did, so powerful was she, that she usually bent them to her will and destroyed their minds. Only the strongest Sith Lords could tolerate her presence. The media is hand drawn computer graphics utilizing a wacom tablet and Manga Studio drawing program. The rendering and layout was completed in Photoshop.
"Shistavanen - Rise of the Wolfmen"
Some of my favorite characters from the expanded Star Wars Universe. The Shistavanen, or "Wolfmen" are fierce hunters and warriors. During the Imperial Regime of Emperor Palpatine, the Shistavanen were highly regarded for their tracking and scouting abilities. The media is hand drawn computer graphics utilizing a wacom tablet and Manga Studio drawing program. The rendering and layout was completed in Photoshop.
"Shadow Warriors - The Noghri"
Also some of my favorite characters from the expanded Star Wars Universe. The Noghri are fierce hunters, warriors and assassins that are able to blend and live in shadow. Their martial arts are among the deadliest in the galaxy. They are a loyal, cunning and couragious people. The media is hand drawn computer graphics utilizing a wacom tablet and Manga Studio drawing program. The rendering and layout was completed in Photoshop.
"The Final Knight Falls"
A solemn portrait of the last fallen Jedi. She will be reborn as Darth Jennix, Dark Mistress of the Sith. The media is hand drawn computer graphics utilizing a wacom tablet and Manga Studio drawing program. The rendering and layout was completed in Photoshop.
The above image gives you a really good idea of the level of detail that can be accomplished with the pen tablet and Manga Studio. The program has rendering capabilities, but Photoshop has always been our rendering program of choice, so we stick with it and continue to learn more and more of its capabilities, which can be seen below.
"Malach"
Our own comic superhero creation! Malach is a tetramorph. "What the hell is that?" You're asking yourself.... Well, a tetramorph is an angel. Many of you may have heard the myths and legends of angels and what they look like. Many descriptions give them 4 heads and six wings and this is what we built on to create this character for a comic book hero design competition.
The premise for the story is that "Malach" (taken from hebrew meaning, "messenger") was once the angel of death "Malach Ma Havet." In ancient times, when Lucifer fell from grace, he took several angels with him. Malach was one of those angels. To make a long story short Malach is searching for his grace and working to redeem himself in the eyes of the lord. As reward for carrying out God's will, and fighting the forces of the Satan, he is slowly put back together, one golden feather at a time. The media is hand drawn computer graphics utilizing a wacom tablet and Manga Studio drawing program. The rendering and layout was completed in Photoshop.
The premise for the story is that "Malach" (taken from hebrew meaning, "messenger") was once the angel of death "Malach Ma Havet." In ancient times, when Lucifer fell from grace, he took several angels with him. Malach was one of those angels. To make a long story short Malach is searching for his grace and working to redeem himself in the eyes of the lord. As reward for carrying out God's will, and fighting the forces of the Satan, he is slowly put back together, one golden feather at a time. The media is hand drawn computer graphics utilizing a wacom tablet and Manga Studio drawing program. The rendering and layout was completed in Photoshop.
"Knights of the Old Republic"
Another classic rendering from the Star Wars Universe.... Well, at least our own little private corner of it. This drawing, like so many of our recent works, is a series of lessons in using textures, filters and blending options to render photo realistic materials in Photoshop. The media is hand drawn computer graphics utilizing a wacom tablet and Manga Studio drawing program. The rendering and layout was completed in Photoshop.
"Darth Jennix, Dark Mistress of the Sith"
The media is hand drawn computer graphics utilizing a wacom tablet and Manga Studio drawing program. The rendering and layout was completed in Photoshop.
"He Who Craves Battle - The Sith Battlemaster"
The media is hand drawn computer graphics utilizing a wacom tablet and Manga Studio drawing program. The rendering and layout was completed in Photoshop.
"The Jedi, Terrian Ventalli"
The media is hand drawn computer graphics utilizing a wacom tablet and Manga Studio drawing program. The rendering and layout was completed in Photoshop.
"The Jedi Master, Noah Tressaan"
The media is hand drawn computer graphics utilizing a wacom tablet and Manga Studio drawing program. The rendering and layout was completed in Photoshop.
The hornet, target and Vespa logos are iconic symbols of this great company and their long history. The 300 GTV IE is our ride, and we love it! Especially in Portifino Green...
"Vespa - Voo Doo Style"
With classic, iconic graphics and symbols that characterize this great company and their products (of which we have become avid riders!), this is a fitting "Big Easy" tribute to Vespa Scooter Company. The media is hand drawn computer graphics utilizing a wacom tablet and Autodesk Sketchbook drawing program. The layout was prepared in Photoshop.
"Our Allie Girl"
A fitting tribute to our beloved companion. We lost our little Allie Girl this year. This work was created so that we would always have her with us. The media is hand drawn computer graphics utilizing a wacom tablet and Manga Studio drawing program.
"The Ghost Rider - Hell Cycle"
One of our favorite comics of all time! This work was created not long after the movie came out in theaters in the mid to late 2000's. The media is black ink pen on paper, scanned and brought into Photoshop. Rendering was completed using a variety of brushes, filters and blending options. This drawing was, for lack of a better term, "a test bed." What we mean by this is that we learned what amazing things blending options could do along with brushes and filters to accent and bring a drawing to life in Photoshop. This drawing was the beginning of it all.
"The Sofa Kings - T-Shirt Logo"
This image was created for a friend who is captain of a barbecue team in Jackson, Mississippi. The name of the team is, of course, The Sofa Kings. Interesting name eh? Well, if you read the caption below the team name you will understand what it all means. Anyway, the image was hand drawn with pen and ink on paper, scanned and rendered ever so basically in Photoshop. Being that this was to be a screen print on a T-Shirt, the coloring had to be simple with a limited pallet of colors.
"Nightmare Works - Planet Photoshop Tutorial"
In 2009, we discovered the wonderful world of Planet Photoshop. It has been mentioned in this blog before and a link has been provided so that others can learn what we have learned. The media is complete computer generation utilizing images, text, lighting effects, and blending options in Photoshop. The original images consisted of a picture of blue smoke, a thunderhead, and a series of rain cloud images
"Playing with Text - Planet Photoshop Tutorial"
Another Planet Photoshop tutorial. This one worked with text and lighting techniques, as well as different blending options, in order to create a "Matrix" like effect.
"The Saints"
This image was prepared utilizing the new three dimensional features of Photoshop Extended. Lighting and text were used to make it all jump right off the screen!
"Terminator - Planet Photoshop Tutorial"
Another Planet Photoshop tutorial. This one worked with utilizing and manipulating composite images to create a whole new scene. In this case, an image of a human skull formed the base for the terminator skull, while an image of the blast at Bikini Atoll was used for the mushroom clouds. This tutorial was really interesting because it showed a really quick, simple and effective way to create fire using the finger-painting tool. Other features of the tutorial included working with blending options to achieve a metallic look on the skull and setting up the text in the foreground to leap off the screen.
"Transformers - Planet Photoshop Tutorial"
Another Planet Photoshop tutorial. This one worked with the three-dimensional features of Photoshop Extended. The image of the transformer head was drawn in two-dimensions, converted into a 3-D object and further manipulated from there to create the shards that explode outward. Lighting and text effects were also key to the success of the image.
"I Want You for the Imperial Forces"
Ok, so we are complete and total nerds here at the shop! And we got the glasses to prove it! (pocket protectors are coming soon) Anyway, the above two images have a similar concept but were totally different in the creation methods. The upper image was completely created in Photoshop using drawn shapes and text while the lower image was created using a composite image pulled off of the Internet, text and similar effects to the other images you've seen thus far. The lower image actually came from a picture of some dude's T-Shirt (Would love to have this T-Shirt!). It was brought into Photoshop where it was cleaned up and re-purposed to create the image you see above.
"The Knights of Ashla - Book Cover Concepts"
So.... We have a dream here at the shop. It is a simple, elegant dream. Some would probably call it a fantasy, but we choose to believe that it may come true one day. We want to write Star Wars novels. Thus far, we have read almost all of the Star Wars novels created and published since the 1980's. It is a universe so rich in culture, history, characters, beauty, and the ugliness that can come from us all. It is a universe that we would love to a part of. Currently, the dream goes on unfulfilled, but maybe one day. Anyway, the images above and the following images below are the cover art that we designed for our trilogy that depicts the fall of the Infinite Empire, a race of beings that ruled the Star Wars universe long before the rise of the Old Republic or Emperor Palpatine. It should be noted that the top image of each series depicts what would have been the front cover of the book, while the bottom image depicts the back cover.
"The Scourge of Bogan - Book Cover Concepts"
This image set shows the cover art for the second book in the series. There was a variety of media used in the creation of all of the concept images in the series. The shop had not yet acquired Manga Studio, so much of what you see was hand drawn with pen and ink and scanned into the computer. Other media included some composite images captured from the Internet, re-purposed, and incorporated into the designs. Otherwise, the drawings were rendered with standard Photoshop tools, text and lighting effects.
"Fall of the Infinite Empire - Book Cover Concepts"
The final book in the series, to us here at the shop, is the most interesting, especially the back cover (lower image). "From the fires of the burning empire will rise the great republic that will unite the galaxy as a free people..." This image shows the symbol of the Old Republic (center of the lower image) literally rising out of the fires. This set of images was the most complex of the series and required those of us here at the shop to go back to Planet Photoshop and try out a few new tutorials. Ironically, one of those tutorials just happened to deal with creating lightning from composite images found on the Internet... Go figure..
The final book in the series, to us here at the shop, is the most interesting, especially the back cover (lower image). "From the fires of the burning empire will rise the great republic that will unite the galaxy as a free people..." This image shows the symbol of the Old Republic (center of the lower image) literally rising out of the fires. This set of images was the most complex of the series and required those of us here at the shop to go back to Planet Photoshop and try out a few new tutorials. Ironically, one of those tutorials just happened to deal with creating lightning from composite images found on the Internet... Go figure..
"Fall of the Infinite Empire - Concept Image"
Continuing on with the dream of one day joining the ranks of honored Star Wars authors and illustrators, this image begins to tell the story behind the new trilogy set 25,000 years before the events of "A New Hope." The image was originally hand drawn and inked in Manga Studio then imported into Photoshop where it was rendered.
"The Scourge of Bogan - Thanatos Venge Concept Image"
The Shop's latest creation! This dude looks like he's ready to kick some body's arse with some serious force lightning or a force choke move or something! Pay close attention to the eyes. The eyes were captured very well in this image and tell the story of this trouble twisted soul. The image was originally hand drawn and inked in Manga Studio then imported into Photoshop where it was rendered using the full arsenal of techniques discussed in this portfolio, plus a few new ones only recently discovered...
"The Pinewood Grill"
Kelly's first Photoshop rendered drawing ever! Created in the fall and winter of 2003, this drawing opened the doors to a whole new world. The media began as a hand drawn sketch that was to be physically painted in watercolors. However, it evolved into something else entirely. The drawing was scanned and dropped into Photoshop where it was "painted" using brushes and the gradient tool. Filters and blending options wouldn't be learned until much later.
"The Fountain"
One of the last fully hand rendered drawings prepared by Kelly, this image was created in the spring and summer of 2003 utilizing pencils, marker, black ink pens, crayons, and white-out on canson paper. The drawing won a third place award at the Vicksburg Art Association Spring Showing in 2004. Later on, in 2008, the image was scanned and dropped into Photoshop where it was converted to the black and white image shown here.
"The Plaza Cafe"
Kelly's second Photoshop rendered drawing ever! Created in the spring and summer of 2003, this drawing was the second created that year using Photoshop. Kudos have to go out to Clark Condon Associates of Houston, Texas. I learned so much while I was there. In partiuclar, special kudos go out to a guy named David Daughtry, a fellow landscape architect. Where ever you are, thanks for getting me started in Photoshop and digital media... The media began as a hand drawn sketch that was scanned and dropped into Photoshop where it was "painted" using brushes and the gradient tool. As with the "Pinewood Grill," filters and blending options wouldn't be learned until much later.
