Sorry for the silence. I have been swamped lately in both my work and private life. A quick thank-you to the folks that kept me company on ArtOrder chat earlier in the week while I was sitting in the airport on my trip down to Cryptic Studios (off to look at the latest vertical slice of Neverwinter. I'd like a take a few minutes to catch up on a few items. HP Lovecraft Creature Lab It was great fun being part of HP Lovecraft Creature Lab process. Everyone had some great concepts. I've received nothing but praise for all the artists that participated from my art director and editor friends in the industry. I'm sure a few of you have been, or will be, contacted for potential work (I know I've added a few folks to my list). I know that everyone has waited paitently for the announcement of the winner. I was hoping that Richard and Sarah would be able to dig out from their mountain of work, but both of them have expressed their utmost regret about not being able to participate. Since I've been in a similar position lately, I completely understand. After a little vote tallying, and some careful negotiation with a semi-sane Swiss accounting firm. The consensus is that Craig J Spearing's Shaggoth is the winner.
Dungeon Delve Challenge. I've been trying to spend a few minutes each day looking at all the sketches that are being posted in the Sketch forum. There are some great explorations in there, and it has become a great place to get some feedback on your sketches and thumbnails. Don't be afraid to post, even your very rough stuff. It's all about the process. Sketches by Jon Foster. Speaking of process and sketches, let me jump off on a tangent for a moment. Dan Dos Santos and Jon Foster both did a post on sketches and their importance in their process on Muddy Colors recently. They were a really great read, and are highly recommended. Read Jon's thoughts here, and Dan's thoughts here. For all the folks that tell me "they don't do thumbnails", I think Jon's insights might be especially useful. T-Shirt Challenge. I been working on my own t-shirt ideas for the T-Shirt Challenge. I got way outside my comfort zone and tried some new processes. They were failures in the sense that I didn't really end up with a final t-shirt, but they were a great success in the fact that I had great fun exploring some new techniques, and got the change to do some wacky tie dye t-shirts with my family. I'll try and put together a couple more ideas before this week-end, and post my photos in the T-Shirt challenge discussion.