Workstation Improvement

I'm so excited about this.  My brother works for Intel and he surprised me on Saturday with some new hardware for my workstation.  Not only am I ecstatic about getting to utilize Intel's newest, fastest processor, but I'm also elated that it's a processor my brother worked on.  This processor is beating everything else on the market right now.  It took most of Sat. to complete the hardware installation.  I never knew a Dremel could be so handy for such things.  I also highly recommend utilizing an Intel employee ;).
This upgrade has also forced me to switch to Windows 7.  I've had some difficulty reinstalling software, and some of it is still in process.  But for anyone who is trying to install Corel Painter 9.5.  I was able to do so by temporarily turning off the "User Account Controls" under the control panel. 

Abandoned Work

Here are a few of my favorite "abandoned" work.  I have found that a lot of the work that I put on a hiatus has some sort of intrinsic issue that I haven't solved yet.  Some of them, I just know I am capable of coming up with something better, and they are just not worth the time it would take to finish them up.  However, that doesn't mean they are simply forgotten.  I have occasionally been able to cannibalize old abandoned work and give it a second life. 

I've also been working on updating the look of this blog.  Hopefully it will be more visually appealing and easier to read through.  I am going to try to post more consistently (once a week). 

Some things are worth falling for...

A fun little sketch for Valentines Day that is a play on words.  :)

Practice

Another artist gave me the idea for practicing this way.  I've been wanting to explore more brushes, colors, and techniques, and this gave me the opportunity to do that.

A Grim Christmas

Even the Grim Reaper enjoys Christmas....
In fact, he is very festive and takes part in many holiday traditions and seasonal activities.  He is also, obviously a very big fan of Santa and looks forward to Christmas every year.  So don't be worried or frightened if he shows up at your door during the month of December, he is simply out caroling.

I've been doing Christmas differently this year with a "black" theme, and these are two sketches based on that theme.  These were immensely fun to draw.  I think I was giggling the entire time. 
Merry Christmas to all!

Creature design sketching

Above are two new creature sketches combined on a single page with an older creature sketch.  I thought my old creature was lonely and needed some friends since it's just a sketch.  The two additions were created simultaneously and I tried to design each one for different environments, but keeping to possibly the same world.  Creature design is one of my favorite things to do as it combines my love of animals with imagination and art.

Another Illustration

Just another illustration for Lamp light media.

I've been reading and learning a lot lately which gets me excited about the future.  I've scrapped some projects, set out some goals for new work, as well as learning some new techniques.  I'm happiest when I'm learning something new and improving my skills.  It seems to spark my creative energy more.

I hope everyone is enjoying the holidays.