Won Best of Show. :)

Art Opening

Do you like to watch socially inept people make fools of themselves in public?
You do!? Then come on down to the Old Orchard Gallery in Webster Groves tomorrow night and watch in awe as I make an attempt at awkward conversation with complete strangers about how my art is digital, but I still painted it. Sweaty handshakes for all! I'll be there from 5:30 til 9 or 10. Hope to see your faces there!

It'sa-me, Link?

Little link as Luigi. Yup.

Time For a Break MIss Tron (Mega Man Tribute)

Here's my piece for the Mega Man tribute book coming out this month from Udon entertainment. =)))))

MEGA MAN TRIBUTE LIMITED EDITION HARDCOVER
-the book is premiering at the San Diego Comic-con at the UDON booth (#5037), July 20-24
-for fans not attending the show, you can preorder the book at UDONstore.com http://www.udonstore.com/Mega-Man-Tribute-HC-Udon-Store-Ex​clusive-p/mega-man-tribute-exc​lusive-hc.htm

MEGA MAN TRIBUTE SOFTCOVER
- The standard softcover edition is also available for preorder on amazon.com http://www.amazon.com/dp/19267​78308?tag=udoent-20&camp=14573​&creative=327641&linkCode=as1&​creativeASIN=1926778308&adid=0​DS0GBZB0YWZK4H62YZM&

Toy Design

I made some designs for a really cool site called, Patchtogether.com. It's kind of like those t-shirt sites like teefury and threadless,

but patchtogether is unique in that they also make vinyl toys from your design if they are voted high enough.

You can vote for both Fynn (the boy) and brimly (the fluffball) here, and here.

Please help me make a toy!

Choose a Cat, Draw a Girl

Here's a little something I did for the Harvey James, Choose a Cat, Draw a Girl, thingy.

November Releases

I have a few things coming this month I thought worth sharing.

First off, I was lucky enough to be asked to color some pages for Tim Seeley's, Hack/Slash Trailers 2. A bunch of great artists and writer's are involved so you should definitely pick this one up. Here is a link to a 9 page preview,

9 page preview of Hack/Slash Trailers part 2

I believe it goes on sale this Wednesday.

In other news, some of my art will be featured in issue 64 of Imagine FX magazine on sale tomorrow in England. You'll have to wait a few months to get it if you plan to pick it up in the states.

I also did some interior illustrations for Pavis Rises, due out this month by Mongoose Publishing. You can order here.

So go out there and buy, buy, buy! Or not.

I'll Keep fighting.

-Ben

...and they made me their king

Happy international self portrait day everyone!

I have this problem where I get bored of painting in one style for too long. Lately I've been on a cartoony style kick. I should really pick a style and stick to it. I mean, how am I supposed t get known without a style?, but I say, screw style, I draw what I want! XD And right now I feel like experimenting with this style! It's been a while since I've drawn anything just for the fun of it. When you paint for a living it can suck the fun right out of it sometimes. Anyway, this here is: myself, my best pal Salami the dog, and the guy using my head as his nest is my good friend Oscar Doodle Vanderbeak.

California Dreamin'

*Sigh*... I really dislike Autumn weather. It always reminds me of people and things I've lost that I really miss. I was really hoping to skip it this year. I recently applied for a job in San Francisco, California, and was very pleased to hear back from them. After a few emails and some spec work, I guess they decided that I didn't fit the part. It was honestly a bit of a let down. I was really looking forward to starting over in a new city. This is one of the sketches they asked for.

Looking back I would have done a few things differently. Live and learn I guess.

I'll keep fighting.

I need a haircut

I need a sandwich.

I need music.

I need a haircut.

June Releases

It's been a strange couple of months. Things are happening, and not happening. Projects are falling through and halfway happening. My first cover for Mongoose publishing arrives this month. the book is the multiplayer RPG game book, 'Terror of the Darklords'. http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/home/detail.php?qsID=1802&qsSeries=

Also coming out this month on iphone for digital download is the comic I colored for Devil's Due. A crossover from the popular comics, Hack/Slash, and Mercy Sparx. It's called, Hack/Slash and Mercy Sparx: A slice of Hell. http://www.comixology.com/digital/2275/

Drawn by artist, Joe Song. Originally supposed to be in print, due to some complications it might only be for digital download. I'm just excited that it's being released at all.

Not everything turns out exactly the way you want. I'll keep fighting.

Sketch colored

Haven't put anything up in a while so I thought I might post this colored version of the sketch I did a few months back. A friend of mine is actually modeling it for me in 3D. I can't wait to see that.

Cheshire Cat

My Cheshire Cat for Sketchoholic/Imaginism, Kei Acedera contest to design your own Cheshire Cat.

:edit
I won! I can't believe it! I am so grateful. Thank you Kei Acedera!

Fate and Junk

So last month I had an interview to teach a Fall class to little kids on how to draw anime. It was a good interview, but I didn't get the job. However I was offered a class teaching a storybook illustration class in the spring. Even though I got offered the other class, I was pretty bummed.

A few weeks later, the very week the Fall class was supposed to start, I got an email from Mongoose publishing about doing some interior illustrations for an upcoming RPG expansion book.

I spent three solid weeks illustrating for that. They liked my material so much that they offered me the cover illustration for their next book after. So I guess things worked out, because I would have never had the time to do those illustrations otherwise.

I can't post anything from those projects yet since they are as of yet, unpublished. Since this is a sketch blog, here are some random anime concept sketches I did back when I was getting back into the anime mood.

Something quick and sloppy. XD

Did a quick color study of a hummingbird today.

Broken Sword

I painted a mock up fantasy book cover, featuring a version of a friend's character for his birthday.

Monsters on my brain!

After that monster project, I have monster fever. I started this one a couple nights ago, just for fun. Hopefully I can finish it for the ol' portfolio

Monsters!

Just finished up the last of the monster concepts. Here are a few of them.