Daily Character Sketches

I haven't been blogging much in the last year. Mostly that is due to making a lot more art. Strangely, I haven't been doing much to share that art on here, the blog I originally designed for such a purpose. For those who follow my twitter, @tentaclenews, have probably seen my newest personal challenge.
I had a friend help me build a random name generator, that draws from a list of nearly 300 characters. Every morning I pull up a randomly chosen name and do a quick drawing of that character. It has helped me loosen up, warm up for my daily work, and break out of my usual style. And, unlike my attempted group drawing project, this is quick. I draw the name and give myself 30-45 minutes to make something. No days of planning, no hours of opportunity to refine a finished work.

These are characters and properties I do not own. They are not intended for sale or promotion, but merely as an artistic exercise and a chance to draw and work with the characters I have come to love and be inspired by.

The Graphite Coalition

A few months back, I began a new project. Yes, I know, I often have far too many projects on the go. Well, I wanted to start a group related project to get other people involved. The core idea was to create a system of weekly themes, centered around popular culture and media. This would make for a light hearted, low pressure project to get people making art on a weekly basis. There were no limits. Submissions could be from a simple doodle done at work, to a week-long painting. Even CG and sculptural works were acceptable.
The project is entering its ninth week, and we have touched on some interesting and fun themes (which are all drawn randomly). Though turn out hasn't always been spectacular, I have kept the project going, ensuring there is an open opportunity for those interested.
I wanted to take a moment, on my lately neglected blog, to showcase some of the drawings I have made for this project. These are not for sale or done as promotion, and I do not own the rights to the characters or properties shown. These are merely done as artistic exercise and for fun.

I hope you enjoy the work, and for more on the Graphite Coalition, you can visit the group's page: The Graphite Coalition Project. If you are interested in joining the group, you can drop me an email request and I can set you up on our weekly mailing list.

USS Enterprise NC1701 - C

Korrasami

Saturday Sketchbook - 3/7/2014

Nothing too exciting going on these days. I have too many projects on the go and too little time to actually chip away at them. If you have been following my twitter feed (which can be seen on the left side of this page), I have been trying to find the time to share some of my warmup sketches and exercises. This week has been far more work and far less motivation so I had little time to work in my figure studies or usual screenshot paintings. So, I thought I would make up for it by sharing some of these fun little concepts for potential upcoming sculptures. I am currently working on a miniatures skirmish game, and though the rule book is still long from being done, I have been chugging away at a multitude of ideas for little miniatures for my custom made army. It has been a long time since I have tried sculpting anything, but I am willing to dive back in head first. If nothing else, it is a lot of fun to make these fast little concept drawings.

Of that means lots of Lovecraftian monsters. But I also wanted to try my hand at something more light-hearted and I managed to be quite pleased with these fun little critters I created. I introduce the minute shamanistic culture of the Witherlings.

All images are the copyright of Jeff Powers 2014

Saturday Sketchbook - 2/15/14

Figure study - 1/29/14

Saturday Sketchbook - Perdido Street Station

My fiance and I have been reading China Mieville's Bas-Lag books, starting with Perdido Street Station. They are a great example of the fusion of fantasy and weird fiction. We have really enjoyed them. And, as is often the case when I read, I doodle and draw the characters or interesting elements from the book. Here is a look at some of my sketches for the various races of New Crobuzon.
Lots more after the jump.

All sketches are the copyright of the artist.

Canadian Monsters - Mahaha

The Mahaha is a strange creature of Inuit legend often used as means to scare children into not wandering off alone. I went for as weird and creepy of an ice creature I could think of. The recurring image is a man-like creature with long claws that he uses to capture and tickle people to death. Like Lovecraft's Nightgaunts, there can be something utterly unsettling about a demonic creature hell-bent on tickling you.

Canadian Monsters - Lox

The Lox (which should rhyme with "blokes" when said aloud), is an evil wolverine spirit said to hunt men in the dark wilderness. He is the embodiment of evil, gluttony and impatience. After the introduction of Christianity to the area, the Lox became a typical stand in for Satan, and as French-Indian stories began to fuse, the stories would take on an even more sinister tone as Lox would steal men's souls when he devoured them.

Canadian Monsters - Pomola

This week in my Canadian Monsters series is the Pomola. Many native persons across the Americas have legends of a giant bird, often in association with the chaotic weather. The tribes of the northern climates have various creatures depicted as a massive bird, whose icy beating wings cause the snow and the frost in the air.
The Abenaki people of the Northeastern US and Eastern Canada, have some of the coolest monsters in their myths.

Canadian Monsters - The Wendigo

Perhaps one of the most famous, yet unique creatures of the Canadian wilderness is the mysterious Wendigo.

Canadian Monsters - The Gougou

This week in Canadian monsters is a strange beast from native and European folklore. This creature bridges the gap between the Old and New World as its stories were shared both by the people of Canada and its new French explorers.

Canadian Monsters - The Waheela

Soon I will be returning to my beloved adopted home up north. As I have been waiting with great anticipation to return, I have been boning up on my Canadian facts and folklore. I have always had a deep fascination with the various creatures of lore from all corners of the world. So I started doing some sketches of the indigenous monsters of Canada. I thought I would share of a few of them over the next few weekends as I may be a bit delayed with the next Lovecraft 101 post. I hope you enjoy.
First up is the strange tale of the Waheela and the Valley of Headless Men, check out the full story after the jump.

Saturday Sketchbook - 09/28/13

It's been a while since I have posted any sketches or anything. And after my recent copyright troubles, I have been hesitant to post any of my work. But I decided that I still wanted to share my work. These are some unfinished sketches for a commissioned project. Anytime I am asked to design a character or do a up a sketch, there are often numerous iterations that get done up and reworked. So I thought I would post a few random sketches that were passed over for better designs. Enjoy.

Saturday Sketchbook - ADoB Mystery!?

Artwork by Jeff Powers © 2013

Who is this mysterious being that has emerged from the mists? Keep reading the final issue of A Drop of Blood to find out!

Saturday Sketchbook - ADoB Characters III

Artwork by Jeff Powers © 2013

Artwork by Jeff Powers © 2013

Saturday Sketchbook - ADoB Characters II

Artwork by Jeff Powers © 2013

Artwork by Jeff Powers © 2013

Saturday Sketchbook - ADoB Charaters I

It's the return of Saturday Sketchbook! Here are some character pinups I did for A Drop of Blood, a graphic novel I have been illustrating for almost 3 years.

Artwork by Jeff Powers © 2013

Artwork by Jeff Powers © 2013

Saturday Sketchbook - Byrthen

The Polymodal Children #4 - Byrthen Jeff Powers © 2012

Saturday Sketchbook - Perambulans

The Polymodal Children #3 - Perambulans Jeff Powers © 2012

Saturday Sketchbook - Savia

The Polymodal Children #2 - Savia - Jeff Powers © 2012