2013: What a year.

Well life can certainly throw you challenges and make you question everything you know at times.
I'd say 2013 was a good year but I'd be lying.  Now that being said it wasn't all bad.  We were fortunate enough to find out we were expecting a new addition to the family arriving in 2014.  And eventually in the many months to follow that great but scary news, I found a full-time job working for and with the good folks at Bitstrips.  Well that about sums up the good.

I'd say the bad started when I watched EAH come to an end when the company closed its doors June after 6 months of declining work.  We did some great work there and I admit it was probably the funnest job yet in terms of creative freedom and the ability to add work to my portfolio.

After the companies doors closed, I was now unemployed and self-employed through necessity with no real plan in place.  It was at this very same time we discovered our new family member and a mix of joy and fear began to overcome me.  I had a shot at working with Disney in Kelowna as well and after many interviews I came in second place for the job.  I also lost my grandmother a couple months later, who I did not know very well but still meant a great deal to me.  A mentor of mine also departed in November at a young age and left behind his wife and son adding further bewilderment to an already crazy time.  I know I'm likely forgetting a lot of other downers but I'd rather move forward and hope for the better.

Life is short and you never know what lies ahead for good or for bad.  Hope that the course is steady, but never forget that bad things come to all of us and like the good they won't last.  I personally find it a real struggle and the level of difficulty to life seems to just increase with every year that passes.  I'm fortunate to have many good friends, colleagues and family who assisted me in finding work listening to my troubles and being there when I needed it most.  I owe a great deal of thanks to my wife too.  She suffered the same uncertainty I did, and watched me nervously scramble to solve my employment situation as I inhabited the basement.  I couldn't have got through this year without her.

I am very greatful for what I have, who I have and the life I live.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New year!

Witch's Lair

Here's a spooky isometric background that's depicting a witches lair, I created this for a test.  I added a few points of interest that tell a bit of story like Hansel and Gretel's clothes on the wall, a necronomicon, as well as mounted minotaur, cyclops and unicorn skulls.

I love isometric work!

Festive Tiles

This is a rough mock up of festive themed tiles done in photoshop for a personal project I'm working on with a former colleague and friend Javier Mora Cano.

http://moracano.com/javier/research.html

Hopefully we'll have this ready in time for the holidays!

the Ghosts of the Realm: Lazmuth

This is a concept illustration done in Flash of a character name Lazmuth in the Ghosts of the Realm storyline.  He's a sadistic individual who traded his mortality in exchange for demonic powers.  His sole purpose is to set his master free and destroy those who oppose him.

My Chloe Pony

Here's a post for my 2 year old daughter who's a fan and admirer of the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic cartoon series.  My wife and I will be painting her room and I thought it would be a good opportunity to paint or illustrate something she likes on the wall.  It didn't take long for me to make her into a pony using the same style as the show while incorporating some things about her into the image.  So this is my take of her as a pony in the My Little Pony style.  I'm not sure if I'll use acrylic or investigate making this into a wall decal.  Paint might be the cheaper option.

By the way google search becomes a scary place looking up My Little Pony images without a content filter.  Bronies draw some mind boggling stuff.

the Ghosts of the Realm: Arcadia

Here's another photoshop concept of a character from a story line I have.  I've tried to spend time getting a feel for rendering in photoshop which is proving to be an adjustment from my usual clean and colour in flash.  I'm definitely considering a multitude of process to get the results I'm after.  I'll be sure to post more work as I go.

Cheers!

Eric

Scarecrow

Here's a character design I came up for a potential tv series concept and an image that also helps kick off the first week of fall.

The Warlock

Here's a character I've been meaning to render and explore.  He was once a man cursed by circumstance and granted supernatural powers.  I did this image in photoshop with a much more loose approach than the last post for Ghosts of the Realm.

Barnacle Bart

Here's a recent commission I did for a friend who's doing a pirate themed magic show. He wanted a fun and playful logo that depict something magical and appeals to kids.  I had a lot of fun with this one and I hope it comes across.

the Ghosts of the Realm

Here's another concept piece depicting a character from a storyline I've had going on in sketchbooks and a few ongoing google docs.  Since I've had some "free" time lately I was able to draw this guy from line to render using photoshop, which is not my usual approach but I believe I managed to sum up the the idea here.  I'm strongly considering added other characters in a line up after having it suggested by a friend.

Heralds of the Deep

Here's a mock comic book cover I made up for a story idea I've had brewing for a while.  I have a few more I'd like to post when I get the chance.  The majority of the work was done in flash but the initial drawing was a based off a hand drawn sketch.

Gamehouse Casino: Captain Nemo Tiles

We've had the pleasure of creating a wide variety of art for Gamehouse Casino's slot machines.  With every project we do it seems that each theme presents it own set of challenges.  Every theme has been a tircky when trying to create a different feel when it relates to a popular story that's been made into a well known film, animation or storybook.  It can be tricky to wipe your mind clean of using any imagery from previously established versions of characters and places.  I think we've been able to create new art that is not only immediately recognizable to the story it belongs to, but also unique in it's take and presentation.

This tile set is for a Captain Nemo themed slot game.  This one may be one of my favorite dealing with the themes of sea life, steampunk, fantasy, adventure and mystery.  With the helpful direction from Dan Kristjanson and Brett Clarke, I think this machine and it's tiles stand out.  Please check out this awesome machine and it's amazing backgrounds painted by the very talented Justin Nieuwland and Min Zhou on facebook.

enjoy!

Drawn to the Sea: Rum Jetty 2013

Last week we went on vacation, and I don't think we have had a getaway vacation like this in quite a few years.  We were very fortunate to be invited to join our good friends (and their new family addition) to stay at Rum Jetty once again.  Having been there once before I have to admit not even my memories can seem to accurately portray just how beautiful this spot is.  With every turn of your head and blink of the eye lies a perfect post card photo for the mind.  From the smell of the sea, to the sights of wildlife, Jamaica possess endless beauty.  I managed to squeeze in this single pen and marker drawing in the time we were there.  I long for the chance of being able to do this for a much longer extended period of time someday.  I'd love to do oil paintings to capture the rich palette of colours you just don't see here in the north.  It's safe to say this place will always have a place in my mind as one of the most beautiful spots on the planet.

One day I hope that I'll be able to say I lived in this climate so I can scratch it off my bucket list.....and may be forget what winter is in the process.

Gamehouse Casino: Robin Hood Tiles

Here's another Gamehouse Casino tile set we created in a Robin Hood theme.  These were also done in Flash like the previous sets.  The tiles I enjoyed the most, involved the Nottingham soldiers.  The initial idea was generic soldiers in each specific location and it evolved into each group appearing to be bumbling dim-witted soldiers. We also decided to make them distinct in uniform face and body for the type of area they would be patrolling.


If you haven't visited the Gamehouse Casino on Facebook yet please do!

You can find more of our works here.
http://easyarthouse.com/

Gamehouse Casino: African Safari Tiles

Here's another set of tiles we did for Gamehouse Casino in a safari theme featuring some iconic animals from the savannah.  These were a lot of fun to work on, I only wish we were able to add more animals!  Like the rest of my work these were illustrated in flash.

If you haven't yet, play this game by going to the Gamehouse Casino on Facebook.

You can find more of our works here.
http://easyarthouse.com/

Bioshock Infinite: The Murder of a Crow

Here's a piece I created using Flash that's a variation of another image I submitted hosted by contest by Dark Horse and Irrational Games for Bioshock Infinite fan art.  I was inspired by the imagery in the trailers for the game and a particular mood setting moment experienced in Bioshock. Specifically, when you arrive at Neptune's Bounty.  If you've played the game you likely remember the treatment a resident of Rapture received for being a smuggler.

Gamehouse Sherlock Tiles

We've been pretty busy making graphics for Gamehouse Casino this past year and started doing their premium games at the end of last fall.  They've been a tonne of fun to work on, experience building and challenging given they're made entirely in flash.  This is one of those slot tile sets with the theme of Sherlock Holmes.  Above is the range of suspects and below a variety of weapons that the player goes through to solve the crime.  You can play the game today on facebook on Gamehouse Casino.

You can find more of our works here.
http://easyarthouse.com/

Bilbo Baggins

St. Patrick's day will be here soon and what better way to celebrate it than enjoying a nice mug of Black Orc Stout alongside a bit of Ol' Toby.

Here's my take on Bilbo Baggin's which will be assembled in a scene with the other 3 wizards posted below in the coming weeks.

Cheers!

Saruman The White

Here's my 3rd and final Wizard for this piece I'm working on.  I wanted to depict Saruman the White and his costume to be as miserable and tainted as he is in the films.  Using drab colors, dirty whites and a bit more grey in his hair.  Ive also added more straight lines and angular shapes to make him more serrated to contrast againts the organic curves of Gandalf and Radagast.

Next inline, will involve a Hobbit and his home.

Radagast The Brown

Here's my take on one of my favorite characters featured in the Hobbit, Radagast the Brown.  I think the costume design and playfulness of the character really caught my attention as a viewer.  Absurd, and crazy, his garb and use of wildlife for transportation just adds to the richness of Peter Jacksons films.  You may not like the films but the work involved is very inspiring to any artist who appreciates hard work and a vivid imagination.  The crew at WETA digital is very talented.

I'll be posting the last wizard in the trifecta soon.

Cheers!

Gandalf The Grey

Well instead of griping about not being able to create or post any personal work, I decided I'd just start somewhere and progressively finish an illustration.  In the past two years I've found new ways of getting what I want out of flash without ever really having to use Photoshop.  I'm compelled to use these techniques now on my spare time to fire out some of the many ideas that linger in my head from one day to the next.   A part of me is stubborn perhaps knowing that by using Flash's vector art I can eliminates the set boundaries in Photoshop when committing to specific sizes of documents.  Plus, Flash is clean and very precise and I can get pretty sloppy if I am presented the option.

On that note, this image is one of several to come this year.  I have illustrated several rough drawings I will likely post later (or you can find on my facebook) that together will complete a spot illustration.  As of late I've been re-inspired by the beautiful work and characterization presented in Peter Jackson's  Lord of the Rings films and of course his latest, the Hobbit. My idea involves a few familiar Wizards and a hypothetical scene that could explain the onset of certain perceived events in the films.

This post in particular, is my nearly finished vector art of Gandalf the Grey contently smoking some Ol'Toby.  I'm eager to reveal the rest and will do so as I complete one character and setting at a time.

Cheers!

Gamehouse Casino Work

Most people have probably been wondering what I've been up to at Easy Art House, and as of this week I can finally show you what our team and I has been up to for the better part of a year.  We've been creating artwork for the Gamehouse Casino on facebook, we've been making a lot of the artwork for there Casino games that range from Slots, poker and bingo.

I've posted two tiles sets I had the pleasure of working on from concept to finish done entirely in flash.  The framed tiles mean they're tiles that possess animation.  So if you play the game you'll also see the animations (if you're lucky enough to get 3 in a row).  Our goal with the tiles is to make artwork that could appear to be done in photoshop and work with the backgrounds, but in actuality be done in flash.  I think the end result has been pretty successful and with each new set the results seem to be getting better.  We have more in the works and a few more that are pending release which I'm quite excited to share.


If you enjoy casino games or just want to see what we've done you can play and see more of our work using this link.

http://apps.facebook.com/gamehousecasino/

If you'd like to see more work we've done at Easy Art House feel free to visit our site.

http://easyarthouse.com/