New Website & Blog

Head on over to the new Swashbuckle Studio!  Its been a long time coming but 'Ive finally gotten around to giving my website a much needed update.

In the process I've also transferred this blog over to the new site as well.  Going forward, all future content will be posted at the new address below and this blogger site will no longer be updated.  Head on over and check out the fancy new digs!

 https://www.swashbucklestudio.com/blog 

3X3 Illustration Annual and Award

Here are some shots from the latest 3X3 Illustration annual.  I'm very happy to announce that my covers for Taylor Anderson's Destroyermen series were accepted to be part of this years show and publication.  I'm especially thrilled to have the whole series selected for inclusion and honored to have received an award of merit as well.

3X3 is one of the best leading contemporary illustration annuals around and I look forward to its release every year.  From their website's about page...

"3x3 is the first publication devoted entirely to the art of contemporary illustration. Published in the United States and distributed worldwide, our sole interest is in sharing what’s shaping international illustration."

Grab your copy (Print or digital) here!

ArmadilloCon Recap

ArmadilloCon 38 Programing booklet with a nice feature on both Christina & myself.

Top Left:  Christina's artist interview panel with John Picacio  Top Right:  Christina's retrospective panel.  Bottom:  My retrospective and image creation process lecture.

Top:  My work on display in the art show.  Middle:  My guest artist interview panel hosted by the awesome John Picacio.  Bottom:  Talking with my hands and being very animated about my work!

Late night book cover illustration panel.  Left to Right:  Brad Foster, Willie Siros, Jacob Weisman, Joe Monti, & Dominick Saponaro.

Here's a few shots from our recent trip to ArmadilloCon in Austin, Texas. Christina and I were invited to be this year's artist guest of honor and special guest artist respectively. You can read more about it in the previous blog post right here.

Needless to say it was a weekend packed full of great conversation, panels, artwork, lectures, late night socializing, and of course BBQ. Lots and lots of BBQ! This particular convention was a bit different for us being as we were invited guests and didn't have to man a booth the entire weekend. It made for a wonderfully relaxed fun time where we could interact with attendees and fans alike in a very friendly casual atmosphere. Below is a list of people I'd like to thank for making the weekend so great.

Joe McKinney
Chuck Siros

Willie Siros

Joe Monti

Sara Felix

Jennifer Juday

Scott Zrubek

Rondinella Olsen

Karen Meschke
John Picacio

Such awesome people and an outstanding show.  Thanks for making us feel so welcome!  We had a lot of fun and hope to make it back to Texas again real soon.

ArmadilloCon

Christina and I have been invited to be this year's artist guest of honor and special guest artist respectively for the upcoming ArmadilloCon literary & arts convention. The show runs from July 29th - 31st in Austin Texas and will be host to several great programing events and workshops.

"ArmadilloCon is a science fiction convention held annually in Austin, TX. The primary focus of the con is literary science fiction, but we also pay attention to art, media sf, and gaming. Every year dozens of professional writers, artists and editors attend the convention. Sometimes they come to make deals but more often they come to have fun.”

I'll be participating on several panels, lecturing, discussing book covers & image creation, and even giving a demo of my painting process. I'll also have several works for sale in the art show and many exclusively priced prints in the print shop. Below is a rundown of my schedule for what's sure to be a fun filled weekend.

Opening Ceremonies
Fri 7:00 PM-7:30 PM Ballroom D
Chu, Duarte, Hess, Keller, McKinney*, Monti, Saponaro, C. Siros
This session will introduce all of the convention's major guests. Be sure to stay for the Meet the Pros party afterwards.

Artist Guests Interview
Sat Noon-1:00 PM Ballroom D
Hess, Picacio*, Saponaro, Zrubek*
How did our Artist Guests break into the field and make a career? What have they learned along the way?

Saponaro's Image Creation Process
Sat 2:00 PM-3:00 PM Ballroom F
Saponaro*
Our Artist Special Guest Dominick Saponaro will give a step-by-step slideshow lecture and walkthrough of his illustration process from beginning to end.

Book Cover Illustration
Sat 8:00 PM-9:00 PM Ballroom F
Monti, Foster, Saponaro, W. Siros*, Weisman
What is the impact of a good cover? What makes a good cover? What do artists need to do to create covers that are beautiful and effective?

Digital Art Demo and Discussion

Sun 2:00 PM-3:00 PM Ballroom F

Saponaro, Hess

Our Artist Guests demonstrate digital and hybrid art techniques and discuss ways they use them.

In addition, here is a link to the full detailed schedule and you can check out the programing grid right here as well.

Be sure to stop by and say hello if you'll be in attendance. I hope to see a few of you there!

Digital Painting Process Webinar

The fine folks over at Corel will be hosting a free online webinar where I will discuss my process and how I integrate Corel Painter into my workflow.

I will be showing a slideshow of my painting process from beginning to end, in depth video of my overpainting technique using Corel Painter, and a live demo of how I bring my work to full color by painting directly on top of a previously finished black and white book cover illustration.  In addition I'll also be discussing a little color theory, my thought process behind picking color, and gamut masking too!

While I've had a process section on my website and videos on Youtube for sometime, this will allow me to explain and narrate my technique in much more depth.  Feel free to stop on by and hit me up with any questions.  I hope to see some of you there!

Thursday April 28th, 2016 12:00PM-1:00PM EST

Click Here to Sign Up and Register

(After you sign up you'll receive an email with direct link to join the webinar on Thursday.)

Art Unleashed 2016

I'll have several works on display at the upcoming 7th annual Art Unleashed show over at the University of the Arts. The show runs from April 7th to April 11th and supports the University's Promising Young Artists Scholarship Fund. Be sure to check it out and consider attending the opening on the 7th. Its always a great time and the collective of artwork from the various disciplines is very impressive!  From the events website:

"This extraordinary event helps raise money to support scholarships for young artists at the University of the Arts with an exhibition and sale of artwork from talented students, faculty and alumni."

More information can be found here and tickets can be purchased here.  The work that will be on display and for sale can be previewed in the gallery right here as well.

Its always a fun AND swanky event with proceeds from sales and tickets going towards future student scholarships.  I hope to see some of you there!

Corel Painter Master

The fine folks over at Corel were nice enough to bestow upon me the official title of 2016 Corel Painter Master!  From Corel's website:

"Masters are Talented illustrators, fine artists and photo artists who have excelled in their craft and risen to the top. This exclusive group of artists will inspire, motivate and educate other Painter enthusiasts of all levels."

My featured month will be April so be on the look out for more posts, videos, tips, interviews, and even a webinar on all things Painter.  Here are some relevant links to keep an eye on:

Corel's Painter Master Page
Corel Painter's Facebook Page
Corel Painter's Twitter Page
Corel Painter's Instagram page

I've been using Painter for roughly 15 years now so this is certainly an honor to say the least.  It really is an awesome program that has no comparison when it comes to replicating traditional media.  I wouldn't be creating the work I do today without it.

If you haven't already you can check out Corel Painter Here.  It really is an awesome program!