Finishing Touch

"Finishing Touch"

Here is the 2011 holiday card we painted for a pair of friends, marking this the sixth year we've had the pleasure! :]

You can see the cards from previous years here!

Holiday Tags

"Holiday Tags"

I like to paint little to/from tags to stick on gifts for the holidays. Here's a few I made this season, most are for family, but a couple are for friends. :]

Prelude

"Prelude"

A painting for my post-apocalyptic zombie hunting brother, of himself and his half-tailed cat, Iggy.


(Acrylic on wood.)

Wizard

"Wizard"
(8.5x11 acrylic on wood)

This was a holiday gift for a pair of friends, a painting of their husky Wizard. Since they've now shredded it's papery exoskeleton, I figure it's safe to post!

Happy Holidays everyone! May your day be merry, your drinks be spiked, and the new year treat you well!

Here's Looking At You

"Here's Looking At You"

"Too much of a good thing is wonderful."
~Mae West

Salute!

"Salute!"

"Avere la Botte Piena e la Moglie Ubriaca!"

Dragonborn

Okay, I admit it. Between a lot of sketching and a lot of painting, there's been a lot of Skyrim. ;]

Murderous

"Murderous"

Gaily I lived as ease and nature taught,
And spent my little life without a thought,
And am amazed that Death, that tyrant grim,
Should think of me, who never thought of him.
~René Francois Regnier

Juniper

"Juniper"

I painted this as a surprise gift for two friends, as a thanks for having me over last week, and also to help replace some of the art they lost in the Binghamton floods last September!


8x10 Acrylic on Wood

Werewolf Calendar - Salmon Run

Here is my finished image for the 2012 Werewolf Calendar!
The calendar itself goes on sale Sept. 1st, and is full of really awesome art from a bunch of people! You can find out more information on www.werewolfcalendar.com!


The caption I was assigned to illustrate was:
Depending on the geographic region in which a werewolf or werewolf pack may reside, fishing may play an important role in the hunting and social life of the solitary wolf or family unit. In the pacific Northwest the annual salmon run provides the wild werewolf with an abundance of fresh food and easy meals. The wealth of fish is shared with other species including the grizzly and brown bear whom also visit the streams of migrating fish. Due to the sudden overabundance of food, competition is temporarily suspended among species whom are typically competing predatory rivals. Sightings of both werewolf families and other wild predators sharing a stream peacefully in close proximity of one another have been documented. Fish is also often dried by family groups and saved as a reserve for bitter winter months when food is scarce.


(And here's the sketch for the image!)

Redwing/Saw-Whet/Fetch

"Redwing" 7.5x15-ish, acrylic on wood

Back from an unexpected sojourn, bearing good tidings and birds (and tennis ball with a dog wrapped around it.) For the most part, all I had with me was beer, paint and some scraps of wood, so I made do!


"Northern Saw-Whet Owl"
8x11 acrylic on wood


"Fetch!"
10x11.5, acrylic on wood

Two Things, In Relation

"Avian Postal Strike"
Dozens of owls are deafened by Howlers every year!
Support your local Avian Postal Strike!




Hogwarts Badges

These are the free Hogwarts badges I painted before AnthroCon, for the six folks who's names I drew randomly from the contest's submissions! :]
And oddly enough, yet again no Gryffindors were chosen. Entries were largely either Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw!

(More information on the free badge give-a-way [which has now long since ended,] can be found here.)

One out of Five

"One out of Five"

All God's children are not beautiful. Most of God's children are, in fact, barely presentable.
~Fran Lebowitz

Sofawolf 2011 Shirt Design

This year, I was happy to be asked to design the 2011 Sofawolf Press shirt! I finished it earlier this month, but with AnthroCon creeping up, I figure now's a good time to post it. :]

You'll be able to get the shirts from the Sofawolf Press dealer's table at AnthroCon in June, or online from their website starting July 1st (here's a link, which also has the two previous shirt designs from 2010 and 2009!)


And here's the original thumbnail sketch I did, and a few color variations I made for the fellows at Sofawolf to pick and choose from. I'm glad they went with the aurora one, as that was my favorite of the bunch. :]

Across Thin Ice, Hardcover Pre-Orders Today!

www.NORDGUARD.com | | Nordguard on Blogspot || @nordguard on Twitter
So, in case you missed it, that comic I've been working on for the last two years has finally been wrapped up, off to the publishers, and subsequently, off to the printers (and I am happy)!
The whole Official Announcement can be found over this a-way, but here's the cliff-notes:

-Across Thin Ice, first of the three Nordguard books, is finished. Hurray! :]

-The book will be available in both hardcover and softcover editions. Both will have all 75 full color pages of the comic, and the softcover is 9x11.5" in size. The hardcover is a bit larger, and also has a snazzy map in the front unique to that edition.

-The softcover copies are $19.95, and the hardcovers are $39

-It will initially be released at AnthroCon, June 23rd 2011, and softcover editions will be available online from the Sofawolf Press website starting July 1st 2011.

-Afterward it's for sale online July 1st, the softcover will be available in person at most major comic and fandom conventions Sofawolf Press either distributes to or attends, such as Comic Con in San Diego and EuroFurence in Germany. (The hardcover may or may not be available, depending on if they have sold out of the copies. If the demand warrants it for the hardcovers, Sofawolf will consider running a second edition printing of the hardcover. There will be plenty of softcovers to go around, however.)

-This and all further Nordguard books will be rated for young adults and older due to some violence and language and dead bodies. I'm not sure when the next one will hit the shelves, but I plan to start working on it again at the end of the summer. The good news there is that some of it is already finished! ;]

-Pre-orders for the signed Hardcover Edition have started TODAY! Click here!

The pre-orders will run until either next Saturday, or all the copies have been sold. You can either have your copy mailed to you (which will go out July 1st) or pick it up at AnthroCon with a valid ID.

Yesterday, Sofawolf Press made a short announcement about the pre-orders, with more information on how to get them, including their international shipping information!


I had said it in the official announcement, but I'd like to say it again--thank you to everyone for your patience and interest in the comic, for the moral support, buying Nordguard patches, checking out the LiveStreams, and for all the kind comments and encouragements!


And now, I am off to enjoy this new thing called "spare time," as well as spring, which has finally come after a very long winter! ;]

Acrylic on Wood

"Intent" (11.5"x24")
Lioness, based on a couple photos I took of her at the Denver Zoo.

I am home again after a week and some days absence, and a few thousand miles more on the odometer. I spent some time on top of a mountain, some time in a valley, and most of the time painting and sketching. I did a few acrylic paintings on wooden boards salvaged from a dumpster.

Here's a few photos of painting "Intent"




These two, "Lemmikki Paws" (9"x13") and "Trondheim" (11.5"x24") are based on a some photos I took while learning to drive a dogsled and wrangle the dogs a few years ago.


"Cazador" (13"x14.5")
Jaguar, based on a couple photos I took of him at the Denver Zoo last fall.

Anyhow, I am back again and have a few things in mind to work on for AnthroCon, some emails to get back to, a couple loose ends to tie up, and the time (and stable Internet) to start digging into a few of those Hogwarts badges. Later today, I'll be posting the official Across Thin Ice release announcement! Stay tuned!

Free Hogwarts Badges

Across Thin Ice, the first of the Nordguard books, is officially finished. While I wrapped up my part a week ago, the publisher has finished their end, of layout and final checks. They’ve sent it off to the printers and I can breathe easy again. I’ve been getting more than four hours a sleep a night for the first time in months, which feels amazing. Waking up with a clean slate, no deadlines and absolute artistic freedom again is pretty fantastic as well. No more sled dogs, no more snow, no more comic pages—for a least a couple months. It’s just the first book of three, after all. ;]

Anyway. In a few days, I’ll post more, with all of the official Across Thin Ice information, like the cover, the release date, the online sale date, and prices for the soft and hard cover editions.



But now, it’s time for something completely different. Free badges.

Earlier this year, while working on Across Thin Ice, I listened to the entire Harry Potter series on audiobook, narrated by Stephen Fry. I had read them before when they were coming out, but I loved listening to them again. I realized there was so much I had missed in my reading frenzy to figure out what happens. If you like Harry Potter and haven’t listened to the Stephen Fry versions, you are really doing yourself a disservice. No offense to the other guy who did the American audiobooks, but Stephen Fry is wholly awesome. And he does a great Ron. But, moving on…
I was already excited about AnthroCon’s theme this year when they announced it-- Anthropomorphic Institute of Magic. By the time I’d finished the 100+ hours of Harry Potter, I really wanted to do some Hogwarts themed badges, and the more the merrier. So, I figured I’d offer free badges. However, here’s the tricky part:

This is just for people who are attending AnthroCon, and it is only for Harry Potter/Hogwarts themed badges. I ask that people fill out the little questionnaire below and email it to AC.HP.Badge[at]gmail.com
I will pick email entries out at random, and do badges as I have the time between other paintings, before AnthroCon. You can pick up your badge at my table (where it will be delivered by owl) at AnthroCon—I won’t be mailing any, I’m sorry. I’m not sure how many I’ll be able to do, but more than six and less than could fit in a breadbox is probably a good estimation. ;]

Here’s a few samples I made. If your email is one that I pick, your badge will look akin to these, be 3x4 inches, with your character in appropriate house robes, the house title below your name, etc.

So, if you’re interested and attending AnthroCon in June…
Email your answers for the questions below, to: AC.HP.Badge[at]gmail.com

1. Name displayed on badge:

2. A link to your character’s reference image (2 max, please.)

3. Which one of the four Hogwarts Houses you’d be in:
OR, if you’d rather be from Beauxbatons or Durmstrang.
OR, if you’d rather be disguised as a muggle…which means I get to dress your character in heinously mismatching outfits, as a wizard would wear who is pretending to be “normal.”

4. (Optional) Your favorite subject in school (ie Potions, Transfiguration, Quidditch, etc.):

5. (Optional) If you want to have an owl in your badge, let me know what kind! Same goes with small animals like snakes, rats or cats.

The cutoff date for entries is May 10th. Don’t submit more than once, please—if I see the same email or same characters, it’ll disqualify your entry. If I finish yours, I’ll let you know via email if you have a badge waiting for you at AnthroCon.
And if you can’t attend AnthroCon or hate Harry Potter, I apologize, and perhaps someday I’ll be able to offer something more up your alley. ;]

Timark Wine Label

Here are some of the rough sketches and the final image for a wine label from Timark Wines, which I did last year. The wine is now up for sale off their website (www.timarkwines.com), and it's also available at the Michelin Star winning Dio Deka in Los Gatos, CA.

Having done my best to thoroughly test this wine before endorsing it--I must say, it is quite delicious! ;D

I have also been authorized to offer the 10% "friends" discount to me and my closest billion e-friends across the globe (just add the word 'friends' into the discount code box, lower case, no punctuation!)

Nordguard on Livestream

A few people have asked me over the last couple years, so I figured I'd give this whole Livestream thing a go!
Check it out, here: http://www.livestream.com/blotch

I'll be working pretty steadily on Across Thin Ice, and streaming off and on when I'm not working on pages rife with spoilers.

And, to play a little catch up on pages that I've posted up on the Nordguard website and development blog...

Page 11 & 26 from Across Thin Ice.



Pages 30 & 47 of Across Thin Ice

You can see a whole lot more, including in-progress photos of these pages, concept art and studies from the comic either on www.nordguard.com or here on Blogspot.

Half Dome

I started painting this back in 2009 and it gave me weeks worth of trouble trying to make it look halfway decent. Frustrated, and contemplating burning it in the desert, I stuffed it into the dark recesses of a closet for a year.
It would resurface every four or five months, and with much gnashing of teeth and words to make a sailor blush, I would attempt to throw a few more paint strokes at it--until I'd again get frustrated and hide it somewhere new. Today, I found it again (under the air conditioner) and figured I'd do the two or three or twelve things to at least make it "whole," though it is not exactly what "I was going for."

It's nice to consider it finished and have it off my mind for 2011! ;]

Wizard and Gypsy

This was a Christmas gift I made for two of the Sofawolf Press fellows earlier in December, which has their two huskies, Wizard and Gypsy, doing Sofawolfy things. :]