7th Sea art

[Storn]

The cards are out. So I can put up this image.

If you guys & gals want to see some more, let me know. I'll post a couple.

This is for Tooth & Claw supplement for the Warlord CCG by AEG.

[Jon H]

Another really nice piece of work.

It made me think of a thing I have had floating around in my mind for years: At art school a lad I knew was really interested in the differences between modelling form with colour and modelling form with tone. Its a really complex issue one you give it some thought... tone vs chroma - some colours are "darker" even in their purest forms - despite having no darker colour added to make them a tonal variation...

The blue shadows on this piece brought that to mind. I don't really have any answers to his investigations, but I still think about them. And now maybe some other people can too.

Thanks for showing us your work, Storn.

[Eric Lofgren]

Uh...yah, Storn, we want to see more. Beautiful. Was this a rewarding job?

Jon, are you refering to "chiascuro" (sp?)? Me personally, I like to utilize form to it's utmost using tonal values, color weirds me out, but I'm getting a handle on it.

Eric
Ps. Storn, did I mention we want to see more?

[NPC David Hamilton]

Killer stuff, Storn. Let's see more, please!

I was just wondering:

How long did you have to wait around at the crossroads before the mysterious stranger showed up and taught you to paint like this?.....

David

[Jon H]

I don't want to hijack Storn's thread to talk about colour and chiascuro (hey, it looks right to me), so I've started a new one.... It would be cool to discuss this kind of thing further.;)

[Steve T. Laws]

Well, watching you flex all this artistic muscle makes me feel puny and weak in comparison. So I'm gonna go to the artists' Gym and take artists' steroids just soes I might be able to flex along side you.
'Course the side effects of Artists' steroids are Artists' breasts, Artists' violent mood swings, and Artists' Impotence. But if that's what I gotta do, that's what I gotta do.

[Storn]

Originally posted by Steve T. Laws
Well, watching you flex all this artistic muscle makes me feel puny and weak in comparison. So I'm gonna go to the artists' Gym and take artists' steroids just soes I might be able to flex along side you.
'Course the side effects of Artists' steroids are Artists' breasts, Artists' violent mood swings, and Artists' Impotence. But if that's what I gotta do, that's what I gotta do.

Oh shut up.

Steve, your stuff is amazing. You have absolutely nothing to complain about. Your color stuff is absolutely, did I mention, absolutely?, phenominal. Much better than my spelling of Phenominal..that's for sure.

> Uh...yah, Storn, we want to see more. Beautiful. Was this a rewarding job? <<

This is the job that really changed my life. Actually, it is the end result of a huge sea change. I've always really struggled with painting. I have been a Black & white illustrator for so long, even in art school, that my painting was just not up to snuff.

Anyway, I've been really working hard on getting better, because I LOVE painting. But with small increments. Well, August of last year, I worked myself to the bone and then went on a 12 day vacation to Colorado where Susanne (my S.O.)'s mom lives, Telluride.

Three things happened.
one: I grew up in ithaca, NY. I love the gorges, the woods, the hills. Finally I got to see mountains close up. Walk mountains.

two: I couldn't draw much for 12 days (actually I was going so nuts towards the end, that I started doing sketches for THIS card set, Tooth & Claw, which I recieved from AEG by e-mail)

three: I was perusing the bookshelf of the people's cabin I was staying at. One of my favorite artbooks that I don't own is Figure Drawing for All Its Worth by Andrew Loomis. I found an out of print, signed copy of an Andrew Loomis book that I hadn't even heard of called: Dynamic Illustration...the rare follow-up to DFAIW.

I read the book almost cover to cover. And was so gripped by the explanations of color that I've been in a painting frenzy ever since. "Rain" was sketched on the train ride home from Colorado. As I've joked with a few people, it is the mountain valleys of Colorado combined with the wet weather of Ithaca.

Now I'll jump over to Jon's thread about color and chiaroscuro.

[chriss2d]

I just got done looking at your website and all I can say is I'm jealous. I really admire your diversity. I'm not at all surprised that your'e having alot of success. You deserve it! And this piece is yet another example of your talent. I was instantly drawn to the fantastic water effects. You pull that off really convincingly and that's not easy.
Awesome stuff!

[Storn]

Originally posted by chriss2d
I just got done looking at your website and all I can say is I'm jealous. I really admire your diversity. I'm not at all surprised that your'e having alot of success. You deserve it! And this piece is yet another example of your talent. I was instantly drawn to the fantastic water effects. You pull that off really convincingly and that's not easy.
Awesome stuff!

What the hell do you have to be jealous about? Your stuff is amazing. For that matter, I don't think Steve, Jon, Eric (and if I'm forgetting someone, forgive me...my head is got the sinus headache of enormous pressured proportions) and you have any reason to be jealous.

You guys all do wonderful stuff. And the fact that we kinda all operate in the similar waters of genre art, the beautiful thing is how diverse everything is. I love seeing everyones style. I can't wait to see the next illos...which I predict, everyone is going to get stronger, better, more daring. This is just too much fun!

{Storn, who has suddenly found himself becoming a cheerleader for the first time in his life. "gooooo team!" <g>}

[Jon H]

I was thinking, this morning, along similar lines.

Everyone who regularly contributes here, new and old, are all doing remarkably different work I've always held that it's pointless to regard other artists as bitter rivals, or competiton - we all do what we do, and whether we get picked for jobs is kind of out of our control. Obviously there's factors that help - social skills, experience, speed, working for less than minimum wage (my tip - just don't do the maths) and so on. But fashion, and taste, well we can't do anything about those!

Ultimately its art directors who have the final say in making or breaking artists. And I don't think you can ever be really broken in that way, unless you choose to be.

You get knocked down nine times, you get up nine times... ( I think I have to thank Bruce Lee for that gem, and goodness knows its kept me going!)

Keep on postin'.....