Stomp-tacular

Shrim!

2012-01-31T00:56:00.000-05:00

Got some color on the Shrim.

More Shrim.

2012-01-30T02:50:00.000-05:00

I had to draw more...

Some new things.

2012-01-29T22:42:00.000-05:00

Here are some new things I've been working on. The 2nd and 3rd images are supposed to be side by side. Too lazy to stitch them together now. The last guy is the the Shrim.

The Shrim.

Been watching a lot of Godzilla movies...

2012-01-27T02:12:00.000-05:00

Here is some more pics for the pile. I'm happy with the giant monster at the end. It's Biollante from one of the best Godzilla movies ever.

Monsters and ladies.

2012-01-19T14:40:00.000-05:00

Here's my recent set of sketches. Been practicing the female form, water color, lighting, and some perspective stuff. My buddy Igor has been sharing some of his notes with me and I plan on getting much better. Check out Igor's blog if you're unfamiliar.

More sketch book and Comic Con!

2012-01-09T22:22:00.001-05:00

So to begin with there is a little calligraphy. I found an old Japanese ink kit I forgot I owned and played with it a bit. Secondly I came across this amazing cow and had to draw him out a bit. Lastly I have been listening to Sleigh Bells alot lately and they really get me pumped to draw.

Check out Lurch the huge horned Watusi bull....

And then there was Comic Con. It was incredible. To say the least.

Sticky Lips.

2012-01-06T01:07:00.001-05:00

So my roommate Jmo (aka Jon McGovern)and I were hired to do some mural work at the new Sticky Lips restaurant in Henrietta. We painted the pin-up girl behind their huge stage on some gnarly untreated barn wood. The hallway with the Legends of Blues tribute came out really well and was a lot of fun, but tons of work. The Sticky Lips logo is on the main hostess stand. If you're ever in Henrietta on jefferson check it out. All of this was done with latex house paint.

....and I made bacon

Bazinga.

And we're back.

2012-01-05T13:33:00.000-05:00

So after a little hiatus I have returned. Here's a quick image dump.

Fitness Works logo concepts.

2011-05-10T18:43:00.000-04:00

Quick H.A. post

2011-02-17T12:05:00.000-05:00

Just for Mike... ;)

2011-01-29T21:26:00.000-05:00

Progress has been made.

2011-01-24T21:11:00.000-05:00

So I am nearing completion of the robot designs. Only a few left. Here is the next batch for your viewing pleasure. I also started painting a few of the 5"x5"s. Feels real good to paint again...

Boar Bot (gonna do some revisions and variations on it's design I think)

Camera Bot

Final version of O.R.V.

Started the HonorBound themed Spire Bot.

Sea Horse again.

More to come stay tuned!

New H.A. bots!

2011-01-18T23:53:00.000-05:00

Hello! I've built up the idea behind my show. Here are the new standings. I'm going to do a 5"x5" painting of each bot and a larger 8"x20"(this is a tentative size) action shot accompanying each 5x5. So I'm looking at a grand total of 42 paintings right now. Thank Chuthulu I started now. I'm looking at having everything done and framed by the end of summer. It's gonna be a long awesome haul! Also here is a link to the original Hiver Arm Bots I did: Pugnaciaeous and Unoculus More on the way!
Dark Gable

The Brute

Volitan

O.R.V. (Off Road Vehicle)

O.R.V

Volitan

Hermit Crab Guy

-I pinch...

Angler

Chuthulu

Project Hover Arm: Continued...

2011-01-09T21:47:00.000-05:00

So I worked on some more Hover Arms. I think this is going to turn into a show. I am going to probably have some new sculptures to go along with it. More to come!
Wider Face

SeaHorse

More Chuthulu...

Throzen.

King Penguin

king Penguin and Dark Gable

New Project: Hover Arm

2011-01-03T22:33:00.000-05:00

So I was working on some Christmas paintings and decided to do a ton of them. Here are some WIPs. Hover Arm robots. I'm gonna build an army.

Drawing and doodling...

2010-10-29T21:56:00.001-04:00

Godzilla and Ghidorah

2010-10-27T23:16:00.003-04:00

Here are the pieces that were accepted in the Cinemonstrum show with 1975. The show was awesome and I wanted to thank everyone who came out. Thanks you cool cats!

Godzilla

King Ghidorah

On a side note I sold the King Ghidorah painting. SO HAPPY!

That was a great mauling.

2010-09-29T22:34:00.003-04:00

Doing a little concept work on Honorbound, this is based on the card "Great Maul". Was a little bored in class the other night...

My work space, work, and new friends....

2010-09-25T14:08:00.003-04:00

Hey everyone,
I've been real real busy. Grad school, Honorbound, and life and a tough thing to find balance between. Anyway I found some time and this is what I have been up to.

First off here is my studio space, aka. my bed room. I think many off us are in this position.

Some concept work for HonorBound. Truxartus the "terror limb"

I traded my sloth necklace to my friend Fawn for one of here awesome creations. Check out her blog!

I made out to Artist Alley last Sunday and met some really cool people. I bought my new lizard friend from one of the artist. I had to name him when I got him and subsequently he became "Thud". Apropos I feel.

Lastly this is an old pic of a group collage I was working on of my old Co-workers as Star Wars Characters. I'm the rancor.

Time for a plug!

2010-09-19T16:36:00.005-04:00

Hello Internet populace! Time for a plug about one of my projects. The card game Honorbound that I have been working on with an assortment of RIT graduates is ready for the next step. We have the game currently undergoing some selective beta testing and are raising money to fund the art. We have a kickstarter page all set up with a game synopsis, mechanics and soon video with game play and concept art! Check the link and see if you like what you find!

HONORBOUND @ KICKSTARTER

If you've never heard of Kickstarter give the site a once over. It's amazing. Their sole purpose is to help facilitate funding art projects.

Some cool info to know. The entire game is being built (so far) with only graduates from RIT. We've pulled people from multiple disciplines to get this game off the ground. We are close, at the cusp if you will, to making this game a reality.

Climbing the plateau...

2010-09-16T19:40:00.005-04:00

So on top of being in the second week of grad school I also made it into a show! I was invited to join the 1975 Gallery at the Surface Salon for their new show Cinemonstum! Images to come when I find a moment to breath.

Official Plug:
CINEMONSTRUM!
A Celebration of Movie Monster Mythology
1975 & Surface Salon Two-year Anniversary

Oct. 1 - Nov. 12, 2010

Opening reception
Friday, October 1, 2010
7-10PM

In honor of 1975's and Surface Salon's two year anniversary, we are teaming up with the Little theatre to put on CINEMONSTRUM!, A Celebration of Movie Monster Mythology. The opening will occur on October 1 at 1975's Surface Salon location. Then, the best works from CINEMONSTRUM! will move to the Little on October 30th for a special display during their 25 Hour Horror Fest.

Come join us for the celebration! Monster attire is completely welcome and acceptable!

Slap and run..

2010-09-05T15:46:00.003-04:00

Here are some tattoo like symbols I put together. One is for "nimble" the other "ferocious". Ferocious needs more ferocity.

We have lift off...

2010-09-03T22:36:00.002-04:00

Here is the potential final Honorbound logo design and the now dead Siege Wrym design. Changes to make to that yet...

Rabbit trail...OF BLOOD!!!!

2010-09-02T22:06:00.005-04:00

So I am working on some album art for my friend Beagle. He has a brutal as hell metal band in the rough Buff. I am playing with a few ideas... mere taste here. The band is called "Seige Wyrm".

So some quick updates...

2010-09-02T00:26:00.003-04:00

So some new intel and the low down. I got into grad school at RIT! I start next monday and I've known for a while. But it's finally here and feels real. I got accepted in the MST for Art Ed. I'm stoked. Also as some may have noticed I have been posting things related to a game I've been working on called Honorbound. Things are looking very good for the game. I'm also stoked for this because it's finally starting to feel real. And lastly I had a show last April but I have been caught up with moving and life so there are no pics posted yet but they will be here soon.

Here is the newest version of the Honorbound logo. Get familiar with it you and your kids are gonna be playing.

Clean shaven.

2010-08-31T23:16:00.001-04:00

Cleaned up Honorbound logo! Yeah!

Rough. How I like it...

2010-08-31T13:10:00.002-04:00

Here is a rough silhouette of th Honorbound logo. More to come....

Way too into D&D once..

2010-08-30T16:37:00.005-04:00

At one point in time I was WAY into D&D. So much so that I would draw up schematics of my characters attributes. At one point I had a created an epic level Dwarven brawler who was made entirely of stone. Then it all got crazy...

Here's a new concept for one of the buildings from Honorbound. Still in the works. Needs to go through some more iterations.

Honorbound!

2010-08-28T11:46:00.003-04:00

So here we have a potential logo design for the the card game I have been working on along with a huge beast that has as of yet to get named. Anyway enjoy.

Half gestated ideas...

2010-08-25T13:19:00.002-04:00

Image dump update!

2010-08-20T16:19:00.007-04:00

So I've been real busy lately. Moved, threw out my back, continued to move, worked. Little things. But I have been busy. Take a look...

I was given the opportunity to give some potential RIT illustration students an idea of what it is like to go to RIT. A group of 11th and 12th grade highschool students hung out with me for the day we talked art, college, and skulls... Everyone drew from human skulls for the first half of class and then we drew animal skulls and finally mashed them together in an unholy union. Some of those guys were dang good too.

Here we have some sketches that were for kicks and giggles...

Here are a handful of sketches from a project I have been working on. Can't explain them now but good things are a-coming!

Update from the thrid dimension.

2010-07-06T23:23:00.011-04:00

So here are some sculptures that I did in the past and some that are new. First up is the AFB (Amorphous Flesh Blob). Akira inspired and dry brushed with glee.

Close up shots.

Tadpoleon was getting a little to tacky with his out of the tube colors (pic). So I repainted him and my buddy Joeller Skates bought him from me. He's a solid dude.

Squill, Lump, and Chomp

Squill

Lump

Chomp

Few more things in the works.

2010-06-21T10:41:00.006-04:00

So over the past few weeks I've been working, painting, drawing, living life, and watching Les Claypool at Mountain Jam in Hunter NY with my sweet Gf. But in most recent events I painted the figure below for Dad's Day! I wonder how long I can get away with giving away robot paintings as gifts?

Here we have a new addition to the ranks: Unoculus. The stalwart defender.

A better picture of Pugnacieus. Cropped for your viewing pleasure.

My boss commissioned me to do a portrait of his chittlins'. So I did.

Thanks to all and a happy Mom's day!

2010-05-10T10:59:00.005-04:00

So I want to thank all of you who came out to my show! It went very well and I was thrilled at the turn out.

For Mother's Day I made this for fun little painting for my mom. Cause I love her. His name is Pugnaiceous.

Final Notice!

2010-04-16T22:23:00.003-04:00

Hey out there! Your fearless leader is here! With a last minute warning! The Show is one week away! And godless beasts are on the horizon! I can't stop yelling!

Preview Scene.

2010-03-28T23:00:00.002-04:00

Just so people know I haven't disappeared here is a quick preview to a piece. Can't go wrong with power suits.

Preview...

2010-03-14T12:57:00.004-04:00

So my show is officially going to be up at the Orange Glory on April 23rd! Mailers have been ordered and here is the image they will show! More to come.

Following suit...

2010-03-07T11:38:00.005-05:00

My good friend Bryan introduced me via the interweb to the website Patch Together. Like threadless they use user votes to pick which submissions get made. Unlike threadless they make TOYS out of the winning submission. Super stoked! Check it out, Bryan and I both have some submissions.

Sculpture possibilites...

2010-02-09T21:32:00.002-05:00

Here are some sculptures I am considering making...

A taste of what I'm doing....

2010-02-09T00:43:00.007-05:00

Here's an what I have been working on. Sorry for the low quality... keep it easy.

Done.

2010-01-06T10:56:00.004-05:00

My sweet godson Wyatt bending spoons with his mutant mind.

Beginning to meaningful ends.

2009-11-02T15:15:00.014-05:00

So here are some of the things I have been working on. Also consider this my official statement that I have a one man show coming up in April (no official date yet) at the Orange Glory next door to the Little.

This is my godson Wyatt and his mother Jennie. I'm pretty sure Wyatt is actually a mutant. A wonderful mutant.

This here is a robot I am working on for a painting.

The following drawings and respective sculptures are just me warming up for some serious work.

Drawing to fill time and occupy the mind...

2009-06-27T22:15:00.008-04:00

I am working on a portrait of a family friend named Papo. He has known my dad for 30+ years and me since I was born. Keeps me in practice and strengthens those bonds of friendship. Score.

Also I am working on a new "tankephant" idea. Still trying to figure out how I want to put the pieces together. But I like where it's going...

On a final note I am going to get some good sketches going and eventually a sculpture of this beastie. Look forward to making this one...

Sharko will punch you out!

2009-06-20T21:27:00.003-04:00

I have made some good progress on my dad's logo.

Shark Punch!

2009-05-19T20:36:00.003-04:00

I have been working on a logo for my dad. He is a kick-boxing instructor with his own star studded undefeated legacy. He finally decided that he needed a logo for his fighters. This is preliminary and will probably be going through a couple of changes.

Weggies!

2009-05-12T16:45:00.002-04:00

Here is a taste of something I cooked up for my buddy Ben.

Twice in one night, not bad...

2009-05-07T22:13:00.007-04:00

So to make up for my lack of posting here is some more stuff. I have been working on building D&D-esque monsters (as if I haven't been doing that for years). Now I want to do it at a higher and better caliber. So I was thinking about the Bulette from D&D, one of my favorites. So this is the progress of what I have got going.

I'm back, with some goodies.

2009-05-07T16:04:00.005-04:00

So I haven't blogged in over a month. Time flies when you have a job I guess. Also I want to say hello to my "followers". That little function sure is helping out the ol' ego.

Anyway here is a sample of what I have been working on. First up is a logo I am working on for an attorney in Phelps, NY, secondly there is a quick sketch I did while I was eating at a wedding in Georgia and then the parasite riddled dinosaur I doodled up while I was in Lux the other night.

Proposed Childrens Book.

2009-03-26T11:01:00.003-04:00

Hello Blog,
I have been in contact with a friend from Atlanta and she has written a story and asked me to do a sample illustration for it. This is what i have come up with and she was pretty pleased with it. Enjoy.

Water Colors..

2009-03-01T23:01:00.010-05:00

So Blog I did some water colors. Did these all in one night just to get some practice in for a class. I had some female friends of mine model for me and took some well lit references. These are posted in order of creation.

More spike frog!

2009-02-14T10:04:00.003-05:00

I scanned the frog in and will be adding the text later. More updates on the way!

Spike-backed Ice Frog, Painted Edition.

2009-02-12T23:32:00.003-05:00

So I am working on a leave behind. I decided to give a practice run through with my ol' stand by the spike-backed ice frog.

Here's the preliminary sketch. I dropped the text out of it. Didn't do a good enough job.

The first time. Bit-O-Failure....

The second time.

Air Brush Antics.

2009-01-31T15:58:00.010-05:00

So Blog I got an airbrush for Christmas. I nice Aztec from my folks, I was adequately surprised. I practiced a little bit to get a feel for the controls and then laid down some paint on my new sculpture. It's not done yet. There are some more things I want to lay in on the surface. But what do ya think? I am feeling pretty spiffy.

Here are some close ups.

New Maquette.

2009-01-20T23:15:00.006-05:00

Hello Blog! I got a real good go on my new maquette. Let me give you a little history, 'cause there is some. I have this idea to create a man/machine monster using construction equipment. So.. I bought Tonka Truck Back-hoes from the 50's and 60's off of ebay for dirt cheap. These son's a-guns are made of steel so they welded together nice. My buddy Ben helped me out there. So I changed up the original idea a bit after re-wathcing Akira and seeing the part where Tetsuo transforms. So now I have this mass of pulsating flesh that is growing out of the machine. Here's what I got so far.

I'm on fire?

2009-01-18T03:31:00.005-05:00

Hello Blog.
It's 3:32 AM. I feel pretty damn good. Just cranked out this little number (see below) and a second assignment for my digital 1 class. Both need touching up, p.s. you wont be seeing the second image until I change the dang formats. I'm currently a little too tired to muck around with them.

The Tentacle Beast

I don't think I can keep saying all those nasty things about digital under my breath anymore. That wasn't so bad. Sleep well. See you when I regain consciousness.

ciao Blog.

Two tid-bits to tide .. you over. Almost illiteration.

2009-01-17T16:19:00.006-05:00

Tentacle Beast

This new beastie may well be my new logo. I am liking him alot. Currently he is getting colored via photoshop. Wish me luck!

And secondly I have what could be considered an official portfolio site. Go give it a look-see. Portfolio
ciao Blog.

Been awhile..

2008-12-23T22:59:00.005-05:00

Hello there,
It's been a bit since I posted anything. Here is a taste of a Christmas card that I have in the works and will be sent out late. Enjoy

Stay on the edge of those seats. More monster maquettes to come. One new and one never seen before based on a previously posted monster... but which?

ciao Blog.

Trials & Trilobites...

2008-11-12T11:27:00.006-05:00

Here are I with some more work. Did both of these in one night. Around 4AM painting gets really, really hard. See you all later.

I feel like I've been slimed.

2008-11-03T00:51:00.004-05:00

Hello Blog. I am tired, but I feel accomplished. I think I can call this done. Also I think I can call this "Home Run Fowl".

Just so it is clear, I have been modeling this series on Phil Hale. Clearly the image below is property of Phil Hale and not me along with all the legal jazz. Seriously check out his link if you're unfamiliar with him.

I am going to flippin' bed.

One toe over the finish line.

2008-10-31T18:54:00.003-04:00

Hello Blog. I am so close to being done I am willing to ignore the cadmium poisoning. Just gotta nail that duck, then, terminado! But for now no. Halloween party time!!!!

So I've been playing with your skin.

2008-10-31T01:09:00.007-04:00

So Blog, here are some shots of what I did today...

Beginning of the day.

Full on shot.

Rippling.

Zee' hands.

In retrospect it feels much more impressive than it looks. Now it's time to flesh out the piece in it's entirety. But first comes sleep.

Also a shout out. HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE. Trick all those who dare ruin your festivities.

ciao Blog.

Twice in one day!

2008-10-29T22:43:00.004-04:00

So I am back. I was too excited about the painting I am working on to not put up a pic. All the people featured in the duck fighting paintings are close friends of mine. This is Rob. He's a machine, a sexy sassy machine. Give it a look.

Full on.

Detail close up.

Until later, ciao.

Practice, pushes you on.

2008-10-29T09:48:00.006-04:00

Hello Blog. I did a series of 3 paintings for my Illustration as a Journalist. I have been looking at Ashley Wood for inspiration. As is clear from his posts, his paintings are all about brush strokes and letting the paint do it's thing on the surface. I kind of love his work.

On a side note the hockey painting, from my previous post, is the first in the second series I have to do.

The following paintings are from references I took of a kid's karate class.

Demonstrating

Teaching

Success

I felt pretty good about these at the time of completion but now see some problems I have to address. First off working larger is helping me simply apply paint (the hockey painting is 2x2) and taking better photo reference by using a camera borrowed from RIT. Small things like that are making big differences. From there I know that I have some color issues to figure out.

ciao Blog.

A big horray!

2008-10-28T17:27:00.011-04:00

So I have added some more critters and such. Enjoy, I know I did.

Here are some more Tadpoleon shots. Stages of aggression.

Here are some other critters that I put together.

Bean Bag Beast

The Toothy Lump

Tusked Squeal Slug

These 3 are works in progress. I think I might use some of these for a future sculpture project.

Herbamore

Hamor

Grass Stalker

These may drool....

2008-10-27T22:23:00.006-04:00

Hello again Blog. I have some more beasties to see. Please enjoy them. A few more left to ink then the color comes, and it will be coming on very thick.

The Spotted Grump.

Another Ice Frog. Love these guys...

Gazer

ciao,
Matt

Another tidbit.

2008-10-26T13:18:00.004-04:00

Did a painting of subject matter I have never delved into before: Hockey. The painting is 2'x2'. Feel pretty good about it but still gotta get 2 more done for the series.

Work in progress...

Final product...

ciao.

Third Installment

2008-10-20T10:12:00.010-04:00

Hello Blog. Here are some WIPs of the third painting in my duck fighter series. The last image is probably 90-95% complete as a painting. I need to take a step back and not look at it for a day or two.

Talk to you later.

A mere tasting...

2008-10-16T21:17:00.004-04:00

Here are a couple of more things to add the stack.

This is the first painting in the series that includes the image of the girl knee dropping the duck from the previous post. Just gotta keep getting better.
I've decided to for now call this "Leffler's Terrorist Jab" and the other painting is "No Avian Flew". Eh, it's funny to me at least.

Turtle Shaman

BRB Blog.

More Monsters, Yeah!!

2008-10-14T22:49:00.007-04:00

Hello again Blog. I hope to make posting a much more regular habit. We shall see if that holds true or even possible. I inked up some more beasties for ya. In the future when I have all of these guys loaded up I am going to do some coloring! Enjoy.

Squimp

Swamp Lurker

Winged Won

Hedge Hog Podge

Oh I almost forgot.

2008-10-13T10:40:00.004-04:00

I'm doing a series of paintings in my Personal Focus class. I have been looking to Phil Hale to try and learn a thing or two. Here is one from my series of four, more to come.

The long hello.

2008-10-13T10:02:00.011-04:00

Why hello Blog. I have not faded off into the aether, been de-atomized, or any number of things. I have been sketching and painting like a mad man though. Check it out.

Tadpoleon

Parahnoid

Ice Frog

Decadence Frog

Crark

Crab Claw Shark

Sweetness

Whalephant

On a side note this here is a sketch book made for me by friend Sara Wick. She used the subway map from our New York trip to make the cover. It contains pure nostalgic value.

More to come as I ink them.

More late night toils.

2008-07-30T18:28:00.005-04:00

These are some things I have been working on...

More to come later.

ciao,
Matt

I Stroll With You.

2008-07-07T10:01:00.017-04:00

Hello again Blog. I have returned for real this time. In the time since we last got together things have gone on. I put my portfolio together, started my summer job, and have been working on more models. Enjoy..

I did another maquette. This is of my new character Herkimer. I am especially proud of his hand

I got a book by the sculpture Donato Giancolo. He is incredible and builds his models from their skeletons through the musculature then on to the skin. I tried to follow his technique. Here are some wips.

The following are the characters I made for my character design class. These are just the color comps.

This is Herkimer the platypus.

This is Velomoto the sloth.

This is Myra the Echidna.

This is Lox the tankephant

Here is a rough I did for a client for her hotsauce she patented recently.

That is all for now.

Ciao Blog!!

The return...

2008-04-29T01:15:00.002-04:00

Hey Blog. Sorry I haven't been around a lot lately. My camera is broken and as soon as I fix the bugger I will be posting more goodies.

Inspiration..

2008-03-07T11:09:00.016-05:00

If anyone out there actually reads the things I write then you have a fair idea of what goes on in my head. The things I like and what I am striving for. Well I love it when life mimics my thoughts and we come across real life monsters.

I know these two aren't really "huge" per se but they are still impressive. Also i do love amphibians.

The antlers say it all.

I kind of dis-like the fact that we only tend to see these monsters when they're dead. But they are still sweet.

Mega hog!!

Here are some crocodiles. These beasties have made their rounds on the web already and I'm sure you've seen them.

Catfish. These only help feed my fear of being eaten while swimming.

Bunny of gigantic proportions.

So huge gigantic animals make me feel all giddy inside and frankly I like being giddy. I'm gonna go draw!!

Week 10 fruit harvest.

2008-02-26T19:17:00.011-05:00

Good evening Blog. Here is a pretty big collection of my work from the quarter. Bbelow you'll see work from my Dimensional Illustration class and Illustrative Design. For Dimensional we had to do a series of three illustrations that were tied together by a common theme. My theme was: A futuristic dystopia where people have been mechanically augmented to clean the environment. Over all this have been looking good. Illustrative consists of 2 different assignments: one was a two page spread and the second was for a hot sauce bottle.

This was my favorite of all my sculpts. This was my Fat Guy. He was supposed to eat garbage an such. His figure was very very cool and a ton of fun to make. I am not to hot over the photo though. I am definitely getting better though.

Of all my dimension pictures this one probably turned out the best. The figure itself is ok. Her abdomen has a solid glass sphere in it I got a glass student (Rebecca Arday) to make. If you can't tell (which means I didn't do such a great job) she is supposed to be a water purifier.

In this pic we see Air Filter Guy. He's my least favorite. I lost something from his character during the transition between sketch and sculpt.

I did this image for my illustrative design class. We had to do a 2 page spread illustration for an article of out choice. I will post the text added version later.

Here was the original sketch for the polar bear. I may actually go back and prisma this one up a bit. I kind of like it.

This was made for my illustrative design class. I got to illustrate my own hot sauce label. I called it "Burns Ya' Twice"

Hope you enjoyed the upload Blog. I'll see ya around.

End of the quarter post, more to follow...

2008-02-24T22:34:00.005-05:00

Hello Blog,
Long time no see. I have some new work to show you.

I ended up using my Hexaped for an assignment. I had to Illustrate a cover for a book and the also the title page. I was very excited when I got to use the Hexaped, he's (it?) an awesome monster. Anyway hope you like it.

As I get more done I will post more. My sculptures, paintings, and sketch book work should be done by the end of the weeks. So more on the way soon.

Keep it real Blog.

Sketch Again.

2008-02-09T12:34:00.000-05:00

Check out this incredible Flickr set that my buddy Jason showed me.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/23063671@N02/

This sort of thing makes me want to sketch ten times harder than I already do. That is all for now Blog.

Success!

2008-02-06T00:51:00.000-05:00

Blog! Guess what?

-What?

I just got the tattoo final approved and the second half of my payment confirmed! Things are looking good.

On a totally random tangent. Here is a painting I did for my Book Illustration class. We had to illustrate a Guinness world record. I did "The most apples cut mid-air in a minute with a samurai sword" We where supposed to illustrate the record with out being to blunt and use some creativity. I did pretty well. This is probably one of my better instances of painting.

Not too shabby.

Sleep well Blog. I have been awake now for a little more than 18 hours and I need some sleep.

Ciao.

Tattoo finale & Fisher-Price.

2008-02-05T12:21:00.000-05:00

Guten Tag Blog! I have finished the pegesus tattoo for my client (man I like saying that). Take a gander.

Things have progressed really well between the client and I. I have never done any freelance work before and while this was really really small scale it still counts. So I am stoked to skate over my first job! Sweet.

Any who, moving on.

I also added Fisher-Price/Mattel to my list of places to apply to. We shall see how it goes.

Ciao Blog; and play nice with the other blogs in the blogoshpere.

Trying to put my skills to use...

2008-02-03T23:46:00.000-05:00

Hello Blog. I have spent the last two hours pouring over the internet gathering a list of companies I want to apply to for an internship or co-op. This is what I have so far:

Massive Black
Weta Workshops
The Jim Henson Company
IBC Digital
Bizarre Creation
Nihilistic Software, Inc.
Bungie
Digital Alchemy

Granted it doesn't look like a lot of companies, but it is a pretty great list so far. I have been rifling through Conceptart.org looking through their job listings. It has been very helpful. The RIT job website (which is where the school herds you) is too clunky to navigate easily, I will have to go back when I am more awake and give it another go.

On another topic. I finished my tattoo design. I am waiting for half of the payment from the client before they get the final product, as we agreed. I am very glad to finished with it. I will have to post a scan later. I am off to find another moment of partial employment Blog. Wish me luck!!

Getting jiggy with Prisma Colors...

2008-01-29T23:13:00.000-05:00

Ok so I laid out the gray scale Prisma color markers on Hexaped. He looks pretty good. I like the sensation of meat on his bones. Tangibility is a good thing.

Next will come the colored pencils but that will have to wait for another day. School had been bearing down on me and it is time I lay a little weight back into the ol' brick city. Computed statistical analysis says I can't win. Well those analyst need their eyes spooned out, mashed, and fed to them over rice. I'm not too stressed out Blog, don't worry about it.

On a side note I got a job off of Craigslist. A woman wanted me to come up with a tattoo design. A pegesus seen from a frontal position. This is what I came up with...

Taint too bad. This is only the rough but she approved so I am off to the final now. Wish me luck Blog.

p.s. Blog, I like the way "Cage Master" Caggiano addresses his blog so I am osmosis-ing his tendency.

Letting go of it.

2008-01-24T20:14:00.000-05:00

So I have realized that I was in absolute love with my maquette, the Key Keeper. Here is the break down. I took a class last quarter called "Dimensional Illustration" and twisted it into a class on building maquettes. I made two. The robot and the arm guy which you can see if you scroll down. I did well in the class and put a ton of time into the work. I loved it.

But I have realized that I was holding myself back to some extent. I didn't fully understand that I was hampering the process of my other classes. Which I also did ok in but not as well as I should have.

Anyway below is the final image that I sent in to my prof.

Now this is image is terrible. I am disappointed with the blurry quality and graininess. But that is the price I pay for trying to sculpt and paint down to the last minute.

This is not a personal bashing session, those are tuesday nights. No this is an honest critique of myself. Improvement has to happen or you suck forever...

Round two...

2008-01-15T00:22:00.000-05:00

Ok, so like I was saying in my last post I am going to try to get a better grip on this colored pencil process I am trying to develop.
Here is the new monster I am going to try it on.

I've named it Hexaped. "Hexa" being greek for "6" and it having six legs. My creativity astounds and abounds.

Anyway I've also decided to look towards the past and learn from those who came before me.

This is an example of Alan Gordon's sketch book work. Notice his link off in the right column. He was my first art teacher when I went to community college, he also graduated from RIT and was one of the major reasons I decided to go to RIT. He uses Prisma color grey scale markers, Prisma color pencils, acrylic, acrylic washes and various other mixed media in his work. He obviously knows how to use the media and I plan on learning what I can from him. I really love the solidity and depth his shadows have. They are part of his piece and I feel that I don't know how to achieve that yet. This also nails and establishes a wonderful sense of light in the image, something else I haven't quite gotten the hang of.

On a final note I based my concept for Hexaped on an old sketch I made from when I was fifteen or so. I am glad that I have the literal pounds and pounds worth of old sketches and things but sometimes I think I may be using them as a crutch for my creativity. I maybe wrong though.

So good night and good luck fellow toilers!

ciao,
Matt

What I am doing?

2008-01-14T09:51:00.000-05:00

I recently started working with colored pencils (Prisma color) on toned paper. It's great! I have seen it done before by other artists here and there and it was definitely a good move on my part. My understanding of color, form, and shape is much more solid. So here is what I have come up with...

This is the Sharkalo... and here is the finished colored version.

This us the final product. I need to pay better attention to areas like the shadow. I can see now that I rushed it. Some of the form of the head, shoulders, and arms is kind of sketchy. That's what I get for not getting good or any reference though. All in all not too bad. I have to noted improvements on the next one but I am quite please with how this turned out.

For the next round I have already started the character I will be posting. This time it will be more step by step, which I am doing so I can look back at my process and keep refining it.

'Til next time!

ciao,
Matt

That is right...

2008-01-14T00:17:00.000-05:00

For tonight all the changes I am going to make are done. Blog title, personal imformation, links I am going to add, and a small other snippet or two. So done!

On a side note I want to point out that yes I did link to JAMES GURNEY!!! I am such a fan boy. There is even a picture of me in his blog from when he visited RIT. Honored. Beyond. Description.

Also I got Carly, Doug, Bobby D, and Alan Gordon. Success!!!

That little light went on.

2008-01-13T23:39:00.000-05:00

So I surfed around the blogoshpere to learn what I could, as I said I would, and have come back better for the journey. I figured out how to link to other blogs which was something I have been struggling with. I feel like I may be one of the last few people from my generation who will never become fully integrated with technology. It feels like I am pulling my own teeth sometimes when I try to do what I think will be a simple task. For example I have NEVER sent a text message. I have tried but seems like a waste of time. Oh well. Next I want to get the format of my blog to be wider but that will take some more time. I have to go pick Greg's or Leffer's brains a bit and see if they can help.

Hopefully as my grasp of what I am doing improves I will be able to use my blog for it's newly realized potential: personal retrospective, art review, and networking.
'Tings are looking pretty good.

Learning...

2008-01-12T16:14:00.000-05:00

I am slowly learning how to post with greater skill and attention to layout. I am also trying to figure out how to link other blogs to my site. Since I can't post an image right now, blogspot said that there is currently some problem with posting, I will have to do it later.

I will be back.

Art Dump!!!

2008-01-06T22:59:00.000-05:00

Well I am going to post up some of the stuff I have been doing lately. Here goes nothing...

These are the dimensional pieces I did for the fall quarter. The robot guy kinda sucks. He was my first attempt at doing a maquette. The second guy, I call him the Key Keeper. He is a character I have been drawing for some time and I am pleased with his sculpture. The final image though came out kinda terrible. That's cool. the next will be better.

The Tap Flows....

2007-06-18T22:34:00.000-04:00

Ok I figured out how to save images for the web. This is what I have done thus far. I am starting to reach my limit of knowledge of Illustrator, which is pretty limited.

I am feeling OK with what I have done thus far. So now I am off to bed.

Self-Improvement...

2007-06-13T20:46:00.000-04:00

I am going to start posting my practice work from Illustrator and Photoshop. Feed back is so greatly appreciated, Joe I am looking for ya here. Well I am tired from working all day at my new job so I am going to get this posted....

The original sketch:

Here it is after I have put some time in on it in Illustrator... Which I will post as soon as I figure out how to change up the sizes and the file types.

I'll be back.....

ciao,
Matt

The big WHY....

2006-06-26T10:55:00.000-04:00

Truth be told I made this post to make crits on my buddies blog and may never return.