I'm trying to make it a kind of tradition for myself to contribute some new piece of art to the Child's Play charity every year. Unfortunately, that tradition is also developing to include poor planning and waiting until the last minute to decide and giving myself so little time to execute that it winds up consuming my very existence. I wind up barricading myself in my art lab like a mad scientist, finally emerging days later with crazed hair (if indeed I had hair to craze) and beard, sullen and pale from days with neither food nor rest, maniacal with the lust of discovery and blood coursing with caffeine.

Ah, you know, figuratively speaking.

I always attempt something that has at least a degree of epic scope to it, or is at least associated with something that has epic scope. It helps if I have a love of or direct familiarity with the subject. Last time it was ilovebees and Halo, this time it's inspired by World of Warcraft. So, you know, big stuff to us gaming types (even us casual ones).

Just to be clear, this will not be produced as an open edition. It's a single edition, unique to Child's Play, produced as a pair of 24x48 inch archival prints. I may, however, produce a different version for general sale. We shall see, we shall see.

The images above are previews, and subject to minor tweaks by the time they see printing.

Of course the weather here is perfect.

I am, as I type this, on a plane bound for Los Angeles. The plan is to be there for a little more than a couple of weeks, and return to Atlanta on the 19th. Anyone who has been paying much attention to my travels over the last year might be expected to greet that statement with a degree or more of incredulity. And who could blame them? Returning on the 19th? I'll believe it when I see it. But, as it stands, that's the plan, for what it's worth.

Originally planned as a means to renew acquaintances and placate the friends that miss me, it looks like it may be turning into a full work schedule as well. Wish me some luck - I may wind up needing some to get everything done. Make no mistake, this is a good thing (I do get paid for work, after all, usually), but it could turn into a bit of a game. Good thing I'm a bit of a gamer. :)

I recently wrapped up a fun, challenging freelance assignment and can finally post something about it. In spite of appearance to the contrary, you are looking at pure Photoshop, mostly hand painted and drawn on my tablet directly into the computer. A freelance assignment, its the illustration for a Christmas card for Sterling Management. Click the image for a larger view.

This is turning into a pretty eventful week.

Over the last couple of years, I worked on a number of illustrations for a book by one Dr. Eric Berg, called The 7 Principles of Fat Burning (some samples are my own gallery here). I just got my copy of the finished hardback today, and it looks pretty smart! I'm used to my graphic design seeing print as I've worked on a good number of book covers and magazines and such over the years, but it's a unique thrill seeing my illustration in print.

The first time was way back in '96 or so for an Atlanta role-playing company called Imagine, but it's been too long between recent projects. The brilliant thing is I have a bunch more in the wings that I'm already working on. In fact I have at this point almost completely transitioned my career from entirely design work to entirely illustration work, which was exactly my goal for the year. Nice, huh?

So, remember that bit of guest art I did for Danielle a couple of months ago? Well, I've gotten permission to develop them into a set of prints and the first one is up right now! Now I just have four more to finish up and post :)

Wish me luck with that, as I've been pretty well buried with freelance work lately. Which, of course, is a terribly good thing indeed.

Oh, and for those interested parties I'm currently in Atlanta, but planning on zipping back to LA for a couple of weeks in December — partly for work, but mostly to visit with those lovely souls who actually miss me when I'm not there. Soon, soon...

Yes! Finally! The print store, she is up again! And with several new prints, too! What? New art? Impossible! A fully-functional site? Absurdity! And yet, I appear before you to bear witness to the veracity of these very events!

Want proof? Here:

What? It's only been, like, two months. So here's some artwork already.

That was the best headline I could come up with, and considering this site's lightning theme, I'm hard-pressed to work up something more appropriate (for those of you that get the reference). New art, new galleries, new lots of things. So, have a browse. Let me know what you think or if you find anything broken, won't you?

-Allen

Having finally caught up on my sleep from last weekend's festivities, I am getting around to posting some pics of the con. Sorry for the limited selection, but my ancient relic of a camera just wouldn't cooperate reliably.

Click here for the gallery.

In case it's not clear, just to state for the record, pirate babes are hot.

Just a quick note to let you know things are going well.

Also, even though I didn't mention it at the time, I quit drinking coffee a couple of weeks ago. I wasn't drinking that much, really — 2-3 cups a day — but the feeling that I needed that coffee everyday has been bothersome for a while, and I just decided that I needed to regain control of it.

So, I went cold for a week, including three days of headaches and various other body somatics. But on the fourth day I felt fine, and it's been good ever since. The thing I miss the most actually is not the coffee itself so much as just having something in a mug that was warm and tasted like morning, so I've taken to drinking tea (including a nice English Breakfast Tea, green tea, and a great ginger tea in the evening). I have not forsworn coffee altogether, I will occasionally have a bit, but I'm otherwise done with it as an addiction.

Feels good, this additional little bit of freedom. :)

A few things this week just to catch you up.

So, yes, Scruffi (the aforementioned tauren hunter) did hit 60. I believe a "woot" is certainly in order, and perhaps a "grats" or three. Considering I have always considered myself a rather casual gamer, in spite of how much of a fan I become of the few games I do play, there were times I thought I might never make 60. Once I got hit 40, though, I just really wanted to keep going. Plus, my guild, the Pod People, has been tearing up the high-level instances lately and I really wanted to be a part of that.

Also, I'm in Florida right now. Let me explain. A few months ago, I had started a business venture with a friend, David. He's in the mortgage refinancing business and needed a web campaign to generate leads and promote his business, so we partnered up and I've been the creative while he's handled the hard business part. Through a series of convolutions I'm not going to invest the column inches necessary to detail, he's wound up in Jacksonville. So, I'm here to help get things on the rails and build on the momentum we've had to this point. I expect it will take a month or three, so cry for me being stuck in Jacksonville on the St. Johns River. I'll post pictures later to illustrate the depths of my suffering.

The net result will be that I will not be moving to Orange County like I had thought. But I will be returning to LA, perhaps as late as October, but I will be coming back.

And...I think that covers it for now.

Oh, except for the fact that I should be cranking up the prints again soon. Watch this space for details.

Well, not only did I survive the week without Comic-Con, but I took the opportunity to give some love to my much-neglected hobbies: comics and Warcraft. On the Warcraft front, my Tauren hunter on Whisperwind server hit level 59 last night and is about 15% of the way toward 60 already. And the yetis in Winterspring are paying for it, let me tell you.

Comics-wise, despite a botched scheduling, my art appeared on Girls With Slingshots today, and I've already spotted two minor corrections I should have made. /sigh. Ah well, to make up for it, I made a foray into color and worked up a nice, warm tribute to GWS's Jamie.

The bad news first: I will not, as it turns out, be able to make it to San Diego Comic-Con this year. I flew into Atlanta a few weeks ago to retrieve a few critical things (like, say, my car) with the intention of driving back to LA. But then my father landed himself in the hospital, in a state about as close to death as you're likely to find a conscious person. The good news is he did get better and he's out and back home now. So, happy ending, really, but it doesn't leave me with enough time (or money at this point) to get to the Con.

Also, just as an itinerary update, I won't be making it back to LA probably until the end of August or September. This mostly has to do with other business evolutions that this isn't really the forum to air (non-art stuff, you see). So, that sucks but should turn out for the best in the longer run.

Also good? Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and Superman Returns. FINALLY got around to seeing both of those this week. I'm amazed at how much of a continuation of the first movies Superman is - down to the John Williams score, dialog lifted from the originals, specific sly references, etc. If it wasn't so lovingly crafted, I'd accuse Bryan Singer of theft. This is not an original take on the character, this is a resurrection of the best of the movies from the '80s. And nary a giant spider monster in sight...

Apparently arting up other people's characters is what I'm good for these days. My pal, Danielle, emailed me a couple of weeks ago asking — nay, demanding — a piece of guest art for her strip while she's on her European Tour (read: vacation) for the next week or so. Mind I wasn't the only one she asked, but judging by the other names on the CC list (an Internet etiquette slap on the wrist for not BCCing, my dear) I'm in pretty good company. The guest art is supposed to start today, and I have no idea what day anyone's supposed to appear on, so you'll just have to go there every day like me.

I'm not going to spoil her reveal by showing too much of this, but here's a bit of a teaser:

The image links to Girls with Slingshots, so click through a bunch and drop her a line. Tell her Allen sent ya.

I've not only mentioned Danielle Corsetto and her comic before, I have kept a spotlighted link to it in my sidebar for the last seven months or so. If you're visiting from her site, then you already know what a great artist she is (and damned if she doesn't just keep getting better). If not, go there now and be charmed.

I don't do a lot of fan art (I'm one of those hyper-picky artist types — I really have to be inspired by someone else's work to bother), but I've had it in mind to do something for her for a long time now, and I finally got the bug and the time this past weekend.

I have defied gods and demons.
I am your shield, I am your sword.
I know you, your past, your future.
This is the way the world ends.

Just to mention it, the design section is undergoing some overhauling. I'm paring it down to just the things I've designed, art directed and produced or illustrated (in other words, removing things that I merely did production on). This will result in some good older work being removed, but I think it'll do a better job of showing current work. Stay tuned :)

This firebrand was sketched up for the nearly infamous Redhead Thread over at the Drawing Board. Seriously, if you like this kind of thing, check out this thread. It kind of took on a life of its own and in a very good way.

This image is all Adobe Illustrator.

This one was an offering as a logo for a gathering of fellow Pod People (a World of Warcraft guild) in Chicago. The gathering seems to have been postponed, but I thought it might be worth posting, regardless.

Also Illustrator. The font is Bradley Gratis (somewhat modified).

Also WoW-related: a very popular podcast called Taverncast (essentially four friends who sit around and talk about their experiences in WoW while drinking beer - very informative, in spite of it's informal nature, it's taught me more about playing the game (and consequently having fun in it) than just about any other single source of information. Anyway, they had a contest a few weeks ago to design some screen backgrounds for them. I didn't win the grand prize, but I did get a Technical Achievement award. This was fun because I got to just let loose and really render the hell out of something. This image is one out of six; click on the image for the full gallery.

All Photoshop, baby.

To be, or not to be: that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them?

—W. Shakespeare, Hamlet

It should be noted that Hamlet ends up deciding to fight.
We'll check in a hundred years and see who's still standing.

Two quick updates today, just to show that I have indeed been up to something. The first is a contribution to a "girls in the rain" thread over here.

The second is a happy piece of nonsense inspired by the recent snowball shenanigans in World of Warcraft. It's a pretty serviceable portrait of my Tauren Hunter, in fact, complete with crazed look and holiday garb. A whole new kind of Concussive Shot...

And, while I'm at it, I'm leaving up the previously-posted commission piece for the pure hell of it. :)

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