Infected By Art Illustration Competition

I was fortunate enough to have four pieces selected for inclusion in the upcoming Infected by Art Volume III Competition Art annual!  A list of all the winners can be viewed here and the grand prize awards here.  Very stiff competition to say the least!  Here are links to the full versions of my selected works...

The Dragons of Dorcastle (Audible)

Thief of War (Tor.com)

Time Roads (Tor Books)

American Craftsmen (Tor Books)

I was surprised to say the least when I found out that FOUR pieces were selected but was ecstatic when I found out which particular ones.  Some of my favorite projects of late... Three for the always awesome Irene Gallo at Tor and one was for Jack Campbell's Pillars of Reality series from Audible.

A big thank you to all of the judges Donato Giancola, Rebecca Guay, Greg Hildebrandt, & Jon Schindehette, and of course also Irene Gallo & John Henry for the opportunity to work on such cool projects.

Be sure to check out Infected By Art's site.  It has some really great galleries from top notch artists and is host to some awesome illustration competitions as well.

Science Fiction Book Club Interview

Since Destroyermen: Unknown Seas was showcased at the Society of Illustrator's Spectrum show recently I've been meaning to put together a post on the series that has been so rewarding.  Below is an interview I did with the art director of the series and Science Fiction Book Club, Matthew Kalamidas.  Be sure to check out my posts on the Society show here & opening reception here if you haven't already.  Enjoy!

The four final painted covers for Taylor Anderson's Destroyermen series published by the Science Fiction Book club.

Cover Story: The Art of Destroyermen and Dominick Saponaro

Dominick Saponaro is the artist behind the cover of our August SFBC member’s catalog. It is also the original SFBC exclusive art from the latest omnibus edition in the Destroyermen series by Taylor Anderson. Dominick has created the other three covers in this series for us and I had a chance to ask him a few questions about his influences and process.

MK:  At what point in your life did you decide to pursue art? Can you tell us about the moment you realized that art would be your career choice?

Throughout childhood and my high school years I was exposed to a wealth of illustration by way of comic books, paperback covers, illustrated classics, album art and Dungeons and Dragon’s publications. Marvel’s How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way and an old Molly Hatchet album cover by Frank Frazetta (Dark Kingdom) were probably the most influential in motivating me to draw at a young age. I also had a very encouraging high school art teacher who was an amazing artist by the name of Cheryl Hough. She was instrumental in steering me towards a degree in the arts.  It was at this time that it became evident to me that there were artists who made a living from painting and or drawing for publication. I thought that it would be great to draw all day AND be paid to do so! I then continued my education after high school in the Illustration department at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia.

Thumbnails sketches for the first book in the series.  Establishing shot showing all three major ships from the initial books.

MK:  Which artists inspire you?

Far too many to list them all, but here are some of the highlights…

• Jean Leon Gerome: Amazing orientalist academic painter. Such exotic figures and fantastical landscapes.
• Howard Pyle: Father of Illustration. His Grisaille’s are masterworks of design and value control.
• N.C.Wyeth: If I had to pick just one, this guy would be it. He was 28 when he painted the illustrations for Treasure Island! 28!
• Saul Tepper: Studied under Harvey Dunn. Amazing narrative.
• Mead Schaeffer: One painting… The Count of Monte Cristo.
• Dean Cornwell: Such drama in his brushwork. So bold.
• Frank Frazetta: Need I say more?
• James Gurney: The Dinotopia series was my bible in college. I only wish I had Imaginative Realism and Color & Light back then.
• Greg Manchess: The hardest working AND nicest guy in illustration today!  Tapped into the brandywine school with a modern sensibility. 
• Mike Mignola: Absolute master of design and storytelling through simplicity.

Destroyermen: Fire on the Water.  Sketches for volume II.  This time showing a little more of the human element and action from the americans POV.  The series is called DestroyerMEN after-all!   

MK:  Can you describe your artistic process?

Overall general process:


I start with many different thumbnails which explore mood, composition, design, and value.  All the while trying to tweak and perfect the overall design & composition of the image in a miniature little black and white painting as close to my final vision as possible.  I then move onto research & reference.  I photograph models, most often using friends or family for all my figurative work.  From there I move onto a quick line drawing which I will paint over.  After the drawing is put down I proceed to paint a fully realized black & white underpainting building up values, form, and texture along the way.  I then create a few very small color studies and continue onto the final stage which is final color glazing & overpainting.



Detailed painting technique:


I work in a very traditional way, starting with an initial line drawing and building up from a mid ground black and white underpainting by wiping out or erasing.  I then begin modeling the form with heavier more opaque brushwork.  Once I have a fully realized black and white painting I do quick little tiny color studies to  guide me with my palette choices.  I then proceed to color on the final, building up the painting with many different transparent color glazes while still retaining the value from the black and white painting.  After the painting is keyed in color wise to completion I then go in and refine the painting even further with opaque colors so as not to just have a colorized black and white image.  Finally I’ll go in and make any last minute hue, value, or saturation adjustments while pushing textures and refining some of the brushwork.



You can check out numerous step by steps and a video slideshow of my process at my website here:


www.swashbucklestudio.com/process.html

After the first two covers prominently highlighted the naval battles and warships, for the third cover Matthew wanted to amp up the Fantasy elements.  At first I was hesitant but am very happy we went this direction.  It really expanded the series quite a bit.  This is what makes Matthew such a great AD.  He challenges his artists to push the limits of their comfort zone and in this case resulted in a painting that far exceeded my initial idea.  

MK:  You’ve created three other amazing pieces of illustration for this series in the past. There must be some advantages in working within a series such as your familiarity with the characters and story as well as what design elements you are expecting. What are some of the challenges?

Yes, familiarity with the characters and story do help a great deal when it comes time to sit down and work on a new cover.



Often times the advantage can also be the challenge though.  For instance, the first cover for the Destroyermen dictated the basic jacket layout for the rest of the series going forward.  While this can be quite advantageous in that it gives me a starting point for each new painting, it is also quite challenging because the covers all have to posses their own identity while maintaining a cohesiveness throughout the series.  They have to all relate visually so the reader knows it is part of the series while also being distinct at the same time.  This is a very delicate balance which I start thinking about right at the initial thumbnail stage for each cover.

Some additional sketches, color studies, and the final palette used for book 3 Destroyermen:  Rising Storm.  As I often tell my students...  Prep work pays off tenfold!

MK:  Where else can we see your art?

The best place to see what I’m working on and stay up to date with upcoming shows/events is my website…


www.swashbucklestudio.com



Some recent clients, publications my work has been featured in, and events I’ve attended: The Spectrum Art Annuals (All 3 Destroyermen covers featured!), Expose art annual (Destroyermen 2 & 3 covers featured!), Imagine FX, SFBC, TOR, Simon & Schuster, Various gallery shows, & conventions such as Spectrum Live.



I also post recent works and news to Facebook and Twitter regularly so feel free to connect virtually.

For book 4 I really wanted the cover to be from the Japanese POV.  In addition we thought it might be a good idea to switch up the nautical theme with planes.  Keeping in mind the SFBC's target audience I also had to push the fantasy elements even further with this one so I took out the foreground soldier and replaced with several lizard warriors from the story. 

MK:  What do you do when you’re not painting?

I enjoy visiting museums that showcase narrative works such as The Brandywine River Museum (Im only a half hour away and try to visit every couple of months.), The Delaware Art Museum and The Philadelphia Museum of Art.  In addition, I also plein air paint, lecture at local colleges, follow the Phillies, eat great food, and have even been known to enjoy a fine wine with friends every now and then.

The final printed books with some nice words of encouragement from the AD.  Also, Matthew and I in front of my painting for book 3 at the Society of Illustrators.  Such an awesome collaboration!

Spectrum 21 Artist Copy

Thief of War.  My first piece for Irene Gallo and Tor.com.  It was so much fun to work on!  I'm very happy to see it get some recognition from the art community.

A nice spread of Tor.com illustrations/artists.  Left Page:  Richard Anderson.  Top Right:  Me!  Bottom Left Right Page:  Tran Nguyen.  Bottom Right Right Page:  Richie Pope.

My Princess of Mars piece and Swashbuckle Dom on the same page.  With the George Lucas Museum of Narrative Art and this, who knew my mug would be getting such recognition this year! :-)

In very good company!  Here again with two really awesome pieces by my friend Tyler Jacobson.  So thrilled to share the page with this guy!  One hell of a painter and definitely one of the nicest guys in the biz.

I just received my artist copy of Spectrum 21 in the mail and it is AWESOME!  Beutiful pages, large images, wonderful design, a great year in review,  and of course TOP NOTCH illustration.  While I was sad to see the annual passed down from Cathy and Arnie Fenner it looks to be in great hands with John Flesk from Flesk publishing.  Outstanding job John!  I am really looking forward to what you have in store for the future.

I am blown away every year by the sheer number of amazing entries that are included, so I am always grateful and consider myself extremely lucky if I get anything in at all.   Imagine my surprise when I found out that THREE of my works had been chosen this year.   I am honored to say the least!

For those of you that own a copy of the annual my work can be found on pages 181 & 212.  You can also check out the pieces that were selected for inclusion on my website at the links below...

Thief of War
A Princess of Mars
Swashbuckle Dom

Now... to start getting ready for next year's call for entries!

George Lucas Museum of Narrative Art

As I am sure is the case with many artists and genre illustrators of my generation the work of George Lucas such as Star Wars and Indiana Jones has had a profound impact on my life and a substantial influence on my art.

So, As you can imagine, when I received the following message…

"Mr. Lucas saw your piece 'Swashbuckle Dom' in the publication EXPOSÉ 10, and thought it would be an excellent example of digital illustration to showcase..."

I was stunned to say the least.

It was an email from the manager of the Lucas Research Library at Lucasfilm's Skywalker Ranch requesting to use my painting “Swashbuckle Dom” on the Lucas Museum of Narrative Arts website.

The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art is a non-profit organization for arts and cinema education founded by George Lucas. The Museum is currently in its planning stages, and is proposed to open in Chicago in 2018. They are using the website as a way to inform the public about the Museum and kinds of work that will be showcased there.

The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art will feature artwork from the Golden Age of Illustration, landmark achievements in filmmaking and cinematic design, and groundbreaking digital art.

I am thrilled to be a part. Not only because a childhood hero and major influence took notice of my work but because of the actual museum itself. I have been following its development from the initial press release and the vision of collected works looks to be downright amazing. I can not wait for its opening and am thrilled to be associated with such an awesome mecca of historical illustration, cinema, and art!

You can check out my work in the featured Digital Art section here.

Society of Illustrators Opening Reception

Here are some shots from the Society of Illustrators Spectrum exhibit opening reception in New York last month.  It was an honor to be included and most definitely a career highlight.  Hopefully one of many to come!  Be sure to check out this show.  It runs until October 18th and is downright incredible.

You can check out my previous post on it here or head on over to the Society's info page here.

Top Left:  Winona Nelson  Bottom Left:  Kali Ciesemier  Middle Top:  Me  Middle Bottom: Goni Montes Right: Kinuko Craft
In good company.  It was certainly an honor to hang next to such amazing artists.

Art director Matthew Kalamidas and me in front of my painting.  This is the guy that really deserves the credit.  An awesome art director that knows how to get the best out of his artists!

The lovely Christina Hess and Irene Gallo of Tor Books.  Another amazing art director and chair of the exhibition.   

Me and Greg Manchess. The hardest working AND nicest guy in illustration today!  Can't thank him enough.

Cathy Fenner of Spectrum & Kinuko Craft.  I've admired Kinuko's work since college so it was certainly an honor to have my painting hang next to hers. 

Angry Monkey.

A great night and definitely a highlight in my career.

Society of Illustrators Spectrum Exhibit

Im very excited to share the great news that I will have work in the upcoming Society of Illustrators Spectrum Exhibition this coming Fall.

Approximately only 100 works (spanning all categories and media) were selected from the last five years of published Spectrum annuals for inclusion.  The show runs from September 2, 2014 to October 18, 2014 with an opening reception on Friday September 12th at 6:30PM.

I am always thrilled and surprised if and when my work is chosen for inclusion in the published annual each year, but with this being a culmination of the last five I am honored to say the least.  A HUGE thank you to the curators Irene Gallo, Greg Manchess, and Arnie & Cathy Fenner.

For more info on the show head on over to the Society's info page here.

U-Penn PSFS Lecture

Last Friday, August 8th the fine folks over at the Philadelphia Science Fiction Society were kind enough to invite me for a lecture/panel on my work, process, and current state of illustration today as it relates to the science fiction & fantasy genre in popular culture.

The lecture took place at U-Penn's historic International House on the main campus in the heart of University City.  Some very cool history on the location...

For more than a century, International House Philadelphia has served the scholars of the world and the Greater Philadelphia community by providing engaging residential services and compelling arts and humanities programming, welcoming hundreds of thousands of people through its doors in the process. What began here more than 100 years ago as a belief that international understanding, cooperation, and friendship can develop one person at a time, has emerged as a celebrated world-wide movement.

 Moving from the past and into the present, IHP is a thriving hub of activity: a home to hundreds of students and interns throughout the year, a destination for world-class arts and cultural programming, a facility for large-scale events, and a partner with many regional organizations, foundations, institutions, and businesses.

It was quite an eventful night with plenty of great discussion, interesting conversations, and fun had by all. The best part... even a few of my students and recent graduates showed up to hear me speak... Thanks for stopping by guys!

A packed house... I swear the woman in the front is wide awake, just leaning back to get comfortable!

Some of my students that showed up.  And in the middle of the Summer too!  So awesome.

Opening slide.  My Time Roads cover for Tor Books.

I keep telling myself its lens distortion...  There is no way my melon is that big.  Also note the Awesome Manchess painting on my screen.  I believe I was discussing my modern influences here.  

And finally a shot from the back of the lecture hall.  To the far right... another dedicated student sacrificing their Friday night to show their support!