Space Ape!

Hope everyone had a good holiday!  Today, a Space Ape for your perusal.

Merry Christmas! (Or Life Day, for those that observe it...)

 

A Merry Christmas from here at the Curmudgeon!

Globbo the Gorz

From the Non-Threatening Creature Collection 

Boba Fetish

Somedays, you wake up wanting to draw Boba Fett.  Nuff said!

Lil Hubert

The U-BT 6300 Servo-Matic.  For all your household needs this season!

Blustery Day

Today was windy and cold cold cold!  Jenn had a great idea for a drawing and this is what I did with it.  Makes me want to bust out Chad Underkoffler's "Zorcerer of Zo".

Obey Doom!

 

 

The Legendary Liege of Latveria is not amused!  Sketchbook 6. 

Birdman in Spaaaace!

Combo of an Alaskan mask, an owlbear and sasquatch.  Had a lot of fun drawing fur here.

Jager Mark 6

Today's offering is a mecha out on patrol in the wastelands. This one did not take me as nearly long as I thought it might.

Dog Obsessed

Happy Thanksgiving from the Curmudgeon! 

Dum dum dum, dum deee dum, dum dee dum...

Trying to get work done, and so, of course, I end up doodling a Star Destroyer variant.  Oh well.  And, to our American readers, Happy Thanksgiving!

Olde Tyme Goblyn

 

 

Yesterday morning I woke up with the phrase "Bowler Hat Goblyn" in my head.  Today, this is what we get.  Sketchbook Pro 6 and Perfect Photo Suite.

  

Draco Horriblus

 

Today's effort.  Haven't used this style in a long time, but it seemed appropriate today.

Busy day...

I've been drawing a lot today, mostly to keep the ol noggin limber.  Hence, a hobbit in a spacesuit bearing a striking resemblance to Douglas Adams. That is all.

Grarr!

 

Watched a great documentary on Ray Harryhausen on Netflix last night.  Hence, a creature....

Wherin I give my impressions of the Cintiq Companion

When I told some of my artist friends that I had ordered the new Cintiq Companion from Wacom, they have wanted a review. After all, this new tablet promises to be an incredible tool for artists and designers of all stripes.  And it ain't cheap.  So, the more input you receive before you plunk down your hard earned cash, the better!  Keep in mind, my review is from the point of view of a person who has been using an iPad nearly exclusively for about three years now. 

 

First off, the Cintiq Companion is one solid piece of work.  Nothing feels cheap about this device.  The seams are all tight and the buttons feel springy and firm.  About the size of two iPads side by side, the Companion is a convenient size for drawing on.  I have gazed at the much larger Cintiq monitors for a long time, but getting this ultra portable model, I do not feel cheated for screen real estate.  The pen is the usual Wacom 2048 levels of sensitivity and supports a tilt function as well.  It works beautifully and is a pleasure to draw with.

 

The Cintiq Companion comes in two flavors;  Windows 8 or Android.  I am not familiar with Android products, so I chose the Windows version.  Plus, I wanted to be able to  use full fledged PC software and not just apps.  (As an iPad user, I am not looking down on apps!  The iPad is a powerful machine for doing art, even with it's limitations in memory.  It is definitely a very affordable and valuable tool.  If I hadn't needed to make larger files than it could accommodate, I would still be using it!)

 

I have used Windows 8 on a desktop once or twice, and did not enjoy it.  However, the tablet format makes it all make sense. I find it terribly easy to use and speedy as well, booting up in seconds.  Installing and uninstalling apps and software is easy and the setup fairly painless.  Battery power is very good, and the six hours it claims is pretty solid, even though I really doubt I will be operating away from an outlet a lot.  It does make it convenient for drawing on the couch whilst covered in small dogs, though!

 

Overall, I love this device.  I'm using Sketchbook Pro 6 on it and am just floored. The ease of drawing on a piece of paper and the ability to edit digitally make this a win on all levels.  The only thing I would change about it is the travel case it comes with:  it needs a strap!  It is not awkward to carry, but a strap would make it perfect.  I'm certain, however, a more luxurious version of this bag WITH said strap will be offered as an accessory in the near future.

 

Okay, nuff said!  Back to doodling!

Evolving

So, for the past year or so, I've been working on my images on an iPad using a pressure sensitive stylus.  This past week, I upgraded to Wacom's new Cintiq Companion tablet, which is a dedicated graphics tablet. And I must admit, it's pretty awesome. I am able to draw exactly like I do on paper, but can skip all the scanning and cleaning up of scans. 

So, this got done today during lunch and breaks at work.  This is Skippy the Crocolisk, done in Sketchbook Pro 6.  This was inspired by a Dead Milkmen record and this song from the Doubleclicks. 

Riffing on Bingham

I was yakking online with fellow OSR artist extraordinaire Johnathan Bingham this weekend, and it made me go back through stuff of his I really like, which is most all of it!  I was rereading Delve! #1, and it still strikes me as just an awesomely cool product.  If you don't have it, you need it!  I often tinker with the idea of doing something like this, but Johnathon is out there doing it!  This is why the OSR is still such an awesome thing.  And so, I rip off a Bingham with today's offering: a Contagion Guard from Delve!

Living with the Serpent

I've had some health issues come up recently, so I thought I'd just give everybody at the Curmudgeon an update.

As some of you are aware, I have stage 4 metastatic colon cancer residing in my lung.  Over the past eight years, I've had various surgeries, procedures and chemotherapies.  A few weeks ago, I had another scan after my wife and I had assumed we might be done with all this.  But, alas, the cancer was still there.

So, we will be starting a new set of treatments soon.  For a week or so, I was crushed and felt defeated.

But here's the thing:  Over the past year, my wife and I have felt great.  We've been doing kettlebell workouts five days a week and watching what we eat.  I've lost 30 pounds and am in the best shape of my life.  And, during all of this progress, I've been living with this cancer.  Sometimes, I have pictured it like a coiled serpent living in my rib cage.

Recently, I was challenged to what in life I want to focus on:  all the awesome progress and happiness in life my wife and I have or the serpent.  Everything in life versus one bad thing.  I chose to focus on life.

So, I'm going to continue to work out, eat right, take my meds, work, travel and live awesomely.  That includes making more art for cool game products that we all enjoy.  I'm not going anywhere, folks!  

My RPG Person Profile

This is a meme running around the bloggosphere that I like, so I'm hopping on board!

My RPG Person Profile


I'm currently running (at home): Sadly, nothing.

Tabletop RPGs I'm currently playing (at home) include: Also, sadly, nothing.

I'm currently running (online): See a pattern here?

Tabletop RPGs I'm currently playing (online) include: It's sad, I know

I would especially like to play/run: X-Plorers, Delving Deeper, B/X D&D/Labyrinth Lord, Risus and Savage Worlds.

...but would also try: Hackmaster, Fate Accelerated

I live in: Cedar Rapids, Iowa

2 or 3 well-known RPG products other people made that I like: Hackmaster, Delving Deeper and Risus.

2 or 3 novels I like: Lord of the Rings, Ringworld and Foundation.

2 or 3 movies I like: Star Wars, Captain America and The Incredibles

Best place to find me on-line: Facebook or G+

I will read almost anything on tabletop RPGs if it's: About supers

I really do not want to hear about: Zombies. Enough, already!

Banner Year

It's been a great year here at the Curmudgeon.  Been busy with projects, had great vacations and recently   I've lost a lot of weight and really started getting into shape.  All in all, good things!

I recently did a web banner for a customer, and the above was the pitch drawing for it.  He liked it, and the final ended up very similar.  Note the obligatory Cthulhu reference.

You Tube, the Final Frontier....

Did this little number over the weekend to use as my cover image on Facebook.  You can also watch my process with a time lapse video of the painting at:  http://youtu.be/HFE8IkTdv_c

In the Long Lost Valley...

So, I'm online today and see a blog ticker with my entry from February 11th, which was a looooong time ago!  So I thought I'd best let folks know that I'm still around!  

I've been busy doing lots of things here and there for lots of different folks.  Above is a draft for a future color piece that I'm monkeying with.  Also gearing up for some actual gaming via Google +!  Excitement!

Hope everyone's having a great day!

Back on Patrol

Finally getting back to getting some drawing and painting done.  Still about a month out from getting to go back to my day job,  so I'm making time to draw each day, which you think would be second nature.   This one is kind of a dress rehearsal for some upcoming sci fi work.  

Props to BFRPG

It seems like so long ago, but Chris Gonnerman was one of the first people to use my art in one of his products.  That project was his Basic Fantasy RPG, which was one of the first of the retro-clones.  One of BFRPG's big selling points, besides being just a darned good game, was that it and all ir's supporting materials, are free for the downloading.  So, thanks to Chris for my break in game illustration, and for continuing to release awesome material for all our enjoyment!

Still here..

Well, it's been awhile since my last post.  I've undergone procedures for a collapsed lung, and then I ended up with a post operative infection and a slow healing wound.  Ouch ouch ouch.  But, things are  on the upswing and I'm feeling more like myself everyday.  Now back to drawing critters and such.  Here's a BEM to brighten your Monday.  Unless, of course, he needs your women....

Rocketing into 2013

Longest hiatus from posting ever? Possibly! But, a lot has happened since September.

In September I started my hiatus from my full time job to concentrate on chemotherapy treatments, which were making me way to tired to get anything productive done. How did that go? Well, several rounds of chemo and two surgeries later, I am once again cancer free! Didn't see that one coming last year!

So, what now? Well, I'm still recovering from my last surgery adventure, but hopefully I will be more active again, art wise. I received a Pogo Connect pressure sensitive stylus for my iPad for Christmas, and I love it. Best digital art investment since the iPad and I highly recommend it.

Other than that, who can say? More cool projects await this year, and maybe I will finally get motivated to get some personal projects done that have been floating around.

Ok, enough babble! Happy 2013!