Of Demons and Dragons

It’s been a an incredibly busy last few months, and while at face-value I believed them to be less than productive compared to the productivity standards I hold myself to, in retrospect, I actually accomplished quite a lot on a wide range of fun and compelling projects! Some of these related to my full-time work, and some are personal projects, and I'll be updating this blog over the next few weeks with what I've been up to over the last few months!

‘Season’s Wishes” Original/Unused Illustration

‘Season’s Wishes” Original/Unused Illustration - Digital Painting - Completed on December 22, 2013

First up is the original/unused concept for a holiday piece celebrating Diablo III! I liked the idea of the present, but the Fallen child was a bit older and more bestial in this version. This one is a piece of fan art based on the Fallen Grunt and Fallen Hound from Diablo III. The final/approved piece can be found below and on the holiday blog on the Diablo III website.

‘Season’s Wishes” Final Illustration

‘Season’s Wishes” Final Illustration - Digital Painting - Completed on December 23, 2013 - Copyright Blizzard Entertainment

This year I had the honored to have one of my illustrations included in the Diablo III holiday blog! "Season's Wishes"

For those of you unfamiliar with the game Diablo, these are younger versions of two types of monsters you encounter in the game. I figured it would be a fun challenge to try to make a sweet moment out of the young Fallen (Grunt) boy receiving a Fallen Hound puppy as a holiday gift.

Lewt, the Papercraft Treasure Goblin

Lewt, The Papercraft Treasure Goblin – Completed on December 20, 2014 - Copyright Blizzard Entertainment

 

Another fun and festive project that was going on around that same time for work was one that a number of folks, including myself, had a hand in! If I recall correctly, the concept/project was initiated by Stephanie Johnson, and then the actual papercraft was designed by Dana Pull, Matt Worcester, and myself.

I was responsible for doing some final polish work on the goblin figure for printing (who was lovingly illustrated by Dana Pull), and then I also illustrated the bag to match the style of Dana’s goblin. From there I refined the layouts for both the figure and bag, printed and built him, and then had a jolly time photographing him around the Blizzard campus and editing photos for use in our blog and social media postings. It was a really fun project, and it was SUCH a blast seeing so many players create and share their own “Lewts”! If you’re interested in finding out more about it, check out this blog here all about Lewt, the Papercraft Treasure Goblin.

Piranha Bear Sketch

Piranha Bear Sketch – Completed on January 2, 2014

The mighty Piranha Bear. Because a friend requested a visual aid, and I aim to deliver. #IDontEven

I’m fairly certain this silly little sketch started out from conversations on Twitter surrounding what would happen if piranhas and zombie bears (from the Witch Doctor in Diablo III) were merged into one terrifying whole.

I tell you this: the world is not prepared.

Buzzfeed - Proof That You Should Never Give Up On Your Dreams (Featuring Deathwing)

Buzzfeed - Proof That You Should Never Give Up On Your Dreams (Featuring Deathwing) –

Posted on January 29, 2014 by finch093

Someone made a Buzzfeed of a story I posted concerning my Deathwing fan art sculpture on my Community Manager Twitter account in late January morning! This made my heart melt, and I really do hope the story inspires other artists and dreamers out there!

Never give up (on your dreams)! Never surrender! My tweets are below:

#StorytimeWithVae - Before #D3, before #SC2 & before #Cataclysm, I started work on a fan art sculpture of Deathwing in my spare time. (1/13)

It was soothing & fun to work on art during my lunch breaks, & a challenge to try to sculpt a character that was only yet a concept. (2/13)

I hadn’t really ever done much sculpture, but I was excited at the prospect of trying to do justice to such a great character design!  (3/13)

Soon after I started, however, someone whose opinion I valued suggested that perhaps I should reconsider working on it at my desk. (4/13)

“It doesn’t look very good…” & “It makes you seem unskilled” were cited as reasons I should work on it away from the view of others. (5/13)

But, true to my gut, I just kept working on it off & on over the course of three months. It grew into something I was proud of! (6/13)

It also exceeded any and all expectations I had of myself & my abilities. And even if it hadn’t: I knew I gave it my all. (7/13)

I spoke with my friend to show them the finished piece, & told them that their previous words had stung a bit, but that it was okay. (8/13)

Because sometimes you’ve just got to follow your dreams & see where they lead you, even if there are naysayers in your way. :) (9/13)

So my wish to all you out there is to give it your all. You’ll never know what you’re capable of until you do! (10/13)

And if you know someone who is putting the heart into something, remember that encouragement & support go a long way! (11/13)

Just like this lump of a dragon: Never give up (on your dreams)! Never surrender! (#Warcraft fan art) (12/13)

And a huge THANK YOU to you guys for supporting me on my own wild-ride of a journey! <3 Here’s to the adventures ahead! (13/13)

Deathwing Sculpture – Completed on December 4, 2009

 

Steinir Dragon Sculpture

Steinir Dragon Sculpture (with Base) - Completed on January 26th, 2014

Total size (including base): 7 x 7 x 12.5 inches.

Sculpture size: 5 x 3 x 7 inches, made with wood, a steel and aluminum core, and sculpted in 1/2 Super Sculpey Firm, 1/4 Super Sculpey, and 1/4 Sculpey III Black with amazonite eyes. Sealed with a satin coating and hand-painted glossy highlights.

I was sad to pack this fella up and ship him off across country, but I was downright thrilled to surprise a dear friend of mine with this handsome gent, and even MORE thrilled he arrived intact!

This is the first of a few photos I intend to upload of Steinir, but he is a dragon of my own creation, and isn't intended to be fan art or based off of any existing dragons out there. As such, sculpting him was actually quite a freeing experience! I really had a blast trying to infuse some personality into him, and it makes me want to sculpt more scaled beasties. :)

Photography by Ivyerimenta

Steinir Dragon Sculpture (Collage View)

Above is a collage of some of my favorite photos of Steinir. I took a series of photographs for the entire process creating him, which I intend to share at some point as well.

Upcoming Sculpting Walkthrough of Steinir

I'm working on a walkthrough of my Steinir dragon sculpture. You can check out a few of the photos below which document some of the steps along the way of creating Steinir.

  

  

  

I’d love to know what questions you might have for me regarding this particular sculpture, or how I approach sculptures in general, so I can be sure to answer them in my walkthrough! No question is too silly! Have at me!

Updates in Growing Harmony

Some years ago, someone offered me a pearl of wisdom that I've carried with me ever since. Unfortunately, I don't know who exactly it was that passed it along to me, but it went something like this:

In our lives, we're always juggling a variety of responsibilities.

There are matters of work, of friends, and family. There are dreams and goals we strive for, and passions we crave. There are pets, bills, and mundane responsibilities, through to concerns for the health and well-being of both yourself and those you love.

Human as we are, we can only juggle so many of these responsibilities at once, and as we grow, we must learn to differentiate which are made of rubber, and that we can let falter and bounce, and which are like fragile glass that we ought to focus on, because they are at risk of cracking wide and shattering if they chance to drop.

At the time, the metaphor seemed a bit convoluted to me, the ultimate multitasker. I wanted to keep everything in play at all times, but truth to be told, it can get to be exhausting, especially when certain things truly do and should require more attention than others.

Health and family are two of these things that I've tried to make sure I maintain a steady focus on, as well as making sure that I make time for the wonderful people in my life, rather than giving away time to people who are prone to unnecessary or self-inflicted drama or insist on pulling others down. Life is too short to get caught up in those sorts of things, and you only have so many hours in the day, so I've founds it's important to make them count.

Health Stuff

Part of my way of doing this is to make sure that I'm doing what I can to stay healthy and make changes to improve things in that regard. This has meant a better diet overall (including more juicing), and trying to make sure my sleep schedule is a bit more regular (and earlier). I can safely say that both of these changes have made a lot of positive impact overall, and I'm eager to keep on trucking, and see how far I can take things. Health truly is important to me, so it's been sort of refreshing giving it the attention it deserves in recent years. :)  I can't recommend highly enough that others consider prioritizing it as well.

My Iced Tea Maker, Juicer, and Infuser

Moving

The last few weeks (and even the upcoming ones) really seem like there's too much to cram in at once!

Between my usual work and my full-time job, I also spent a sizable amount of time hunting for a larger place to live, which for anyone that's done a lot of moving, knows it's a job all unto itself. ;) A sizable reason for the lack of updates from me was actually because I felt that I needed to make sure that I was able to secure a great new place to live, and thankfully by the time I'm writing this, all the boxes have been moved and it's time to start unpacking! While it will still be a little while yet until things are all unpacked and sorted out, it's nice to feel like things are starting to settle into a pleasant routine once again, with some great new beats along the way (such as the addition of a lawn and the beginnings of a garden all my own!).

Conventions and Festivals

A couple months ago I had the pleasure of again attending Lightning in a Bottle, followed-up by San Diego Comic Con the following week! These two events couldn't be more different than one another, but both felt really good on the soul, not to mention Monsterpalooza some weeks before!

Monsterpalooza... please never change.

Lightning in a Bottle

For those of you unfamiliar with Lightning in a Bottle, it's sort of a mix of a music festival, art and performance festival, and a bunch of sort of healthy-living "hippie" stuff mixed in. It's a fantastic festival, and it has a really wholesome and approachable vibe to it. You can listen to music, dance, learn about healthy living, buy handmade clothing, eat exotic and ultra-healthy natural foods, listen to lectures, or even just lay out in a big tarp and just.. be. I get an incredible amount of peace from attending this event, so I was really thrilled to be able to make time for it this year and just breathe in all the good vibes from it.

So very peaceful and enlightening!

Giant Connect 4, thrumming beats, and huge sprinklers to dance around in? Don't mind if I do!

Relaxing and letting my mind drift on a downright GORGEOUS day.

San Diego Comic Con

San Diego Comic Con the following week was a very different beast.  It remains one of my favorite conventions, and the sheer variety of things to do, panels to see, and folks to geek out with is just awesome. Movies, books, comics, games, TV, cards, collectables, art: it's all here in all sorts of wonderful and inspiring forms, and the panels were just a rush of passion and inspiration. I left the con inspired and touched by just how awesome my group of friends is, but unfortunately I also left the con with a push to find a new place to live, so my creativity has sort of been treading water for the last two months or so waiting to be unleashed. It's not forgotten in the least, it's just nestled in a corner waiting for its chance to get back out.

If you didn't already, you now know someone who is one of those
"crazies" that gets up in the crazy morning hours for exclusive panels.
This is the line for Hall H about 8 hours in.

Here be dragons!

This photo... sort of defines that which is Comic Con.

Such sweet loot!

Of Writing and Art ... and Monarchs

If you hadn't already guessed, the last two months haven't been very productive for me in a creative sense. I could talk your ear off about all the boxes I packed and art supplies I've sorted-out and how I've been able to turn the dead shambles of a lawn lush to the point that we had 12 monarch caterpillars munching on some fresh milkweed, but in terms of art and writing... not so much.  I've worked on a few things under NDA I can't yet show here, but as far as my own stuff, I hope to get rolling on that in short order.  Where writing is concerned: there's been a bit of that to be sure, but I have a certain story point I'm still trying to work my way through, so even that's been delayed a bit (not having a computer hooked-up for about two weeks didn't help though, I tell you what).

I counted 12 caterpillars in all at one point!

 

So beautiful!

I'm also trying to figure out what I want to tackle next artistically. I have about a dozen "unfinished" or "WIP" pieces I want to finish eventually, but I also have some ideas for some new things, so we'll have to see!

In the meantime, here's a minor update on my gryphon model from late June (oh how time flies!):

Me at dinnertime - "Man, I can't wait to get home and do some writing."

Me at midnight - ".....well, that wasn't writing."

It's coming along, but it's tricky making those front paws look something between avian, feline, and dexterous/human. I'm still trying to figure out how much of each is mixed in there.

I'm still not altogether sure what I want to do about the wings and all those feathers. Talk about intimidating!

It was also a treat to see this huge older piece of mine all masterpiece-framed above my mother's piano. It brings back a lot of memories for me, and was one of my more "unique" self-portraits.

40 x 30 inches (which is HUGE for me).

Dream Spirit - Old Art - Completed on February 3, 2006 [More Info]

In Conclusion

That said, I hope you're all doing well, and I look forward to getting back in the groove with these updates. :)

Of Hummingbirds and Memories: The Art and Legacy of Caroline Muchmore

I actually had another blog planned for this week, but after doing some thinking, I realize that writing all this out and sharing it with you all is infinitely much more important to me.

"The Lightbearer" - Completed on July 7th, 2012

I lost a few people that were dear to me last year or so in succession, and one of them was a fellow artist, and nature and bird enthusiast named Caroline Muchmore, who passed away from Cystic Fibrosis last July. She was 26 years young.

We all have people that touch our lives and leave a lasting impression, and Caroline was certainly one of those people for me. She was dear friend and inspiration to me, and was actually the first person I told about the surreal hummingbird experience I had shortly before my maternal grandmother's passing.

The Hummingbird Experience

My mother and I are incredibly close, and this closeness carried over into our longstanding love for my maternal grandmother. My grandmother and I share the same birthday, and truly she and I were in so many ways cut from the same stone. Over the years, her health began to fail her, but her spirit stayed strong, and even up to her last month with us, a simple tune or familiar melody could send her “booping,” singing, and smiling as she stood with her walker. Her smile and love could light up a room.

A Photo of My Maternal Grandmother, Gertrude Taylor

As my grandmother’s health worsened, I went from visiting with she and my mother on an almost-weekly basis to staying with them at length and using up every drop of my stored vacation time to support them. To this day, I would not have done it differently, and my time could not have been better spent.

In any case, on the days leading up to her passing, I, as many people in my position probably have done, continued to look for signs that would tell us how much time she had left. To reassure my mother and I and let us know it was okay, much as we spent countless hours at her bed-side talking with her, reassuring her, reading books to her, singing to her, listening to music with her, we still were not sure how much longer she would be with us. At one point, she had a burst of incredible clarity and alertness that she’d seemed to save up for me that I will keep with me the rest of my life, and which utterly, truly made me believe that even if those close to passing seem unresponsive, they can still hear us, but I digress.

On the morning before my grandmother’s passing, my mother and I took a quick break to have some breakfast while someone from hospice watched over my grandmother in her room at home. The last few days had been utterly stormy, rainy, and miserable, and it was my mother that pointed out that the storm had broken and it was warm and clear outside. She suggested we step outside into the garden for a quick breather, and I agreed that the fresh air could do us some good.

When we stepped out, however, my mother motioned for me to be still, and pointed to a hummingbird some five feet away or so that was behaving quite peculiarly. Now, in Southern California hummingbirds aren’t exceptionally rare, but they also aren’t very common in that area, and there really weren’t any flowers around, so it was strange it was there to begin with.

The hummingbird was hovering an inch or two from the ground, and it was moving back and forth in odd patterns that seemed to form a line along the screen door inside which my grandmother was resting. It would pause, fly along it, come near to my mom and I, then go back, over and over, sometimes coming within inches of us, and we watched on with awe.

This went on for over four breathtaking minutes.

Had I not thought to record some of it on my iPhone (which I realized midway through was in my hand), I wouldn’t have believed it. But it went on and on. The little hummingbird hovering, then zooming just over the grass, parallel to the screen door, then over or around my mom and I, higher-up and eye-level, and then back again.

It was an incredibly surreal experience.

I have shown the video I took to a number of avid bird-watching friends including Caroline, and none of them could explain it either. It just… was. And I’m sure there are a lot of possible explanations out there: might it have been my grandfather in spirit? An angel? Simply a sign meant only for my mother and I? I know in some Native American mythologies they are symbols of resurrection or messengers of the dead, but I don’t pretend to know what it was or how it came to be there, other than to know it was powerful. And even as my uncle unknowingly hollered to us from inside and the hummingbird flew off, I just knew it was going to be okay. That my grandmother was going to be okay, and my mother and I were going to be okay.

Hummingbird Memory Mug

A couple weeks after my grandmother’s passing, my mother and I went to a pottery-painting studio called Color Me Mine to relax from everything (including all the funeral arrangements) and paint some ceramics together. It was the first time we’d done this in probably 15+ years. But I already knew what I wanted to paint.

"Hummingbird Memory Mug" - Completed on April 1st, 2012

I ended up later giving this mug to my mother for Mother’s Day, and though it didn't turn out quite as I intended, it really means a lot to me. I tried to paint the colors similar to how I remembered them, and opted to also put the blades of around the bottom to try and recapture the moment I’ll forever have in my mind, and heart.

Memories of Caroline

In some ways, this is one of the hardest things I've ever had to write, simply for the fact that I want so desperately to share Caroline’s legacy with the world, but attempting to do so feels like an incredibly intimidating prospect. It's impossible to capture someone adequately in a few paragraphs and choice words, but I'll try my best.

The Late Caroline Muchmore's DA ID Photo

This piece was done as a gift to me by the late Caroline Muchmore on April 27, 2004, and on this evening, I want to help keep her legacy alive by telling you a bit about her impact on me and sharing some of her art and beautiful galleries with you.

"Heart of the Redtail" - by Caroline Muchmore - Completed on April 27th, 2004

So much of what we do touches others. Whether it is through our words, art, smiles, or kind gestures -- the possibility and potential is all there, but it's up to each of us to rise to the occasion and try to realize it in our own lives. I had the pleasure of knowing Caroline for around fifteen years, and it was amazing growing beside her as an artist. When some people would implore for me to draw the latest popular trends and tropes, she was one of those people who continued to encourage and inspire me to draw and create pieces that meant something to me. And her work inspired me SO much too.

Here’s a small selection of some of her art which spans way back to 2002. You can find her galleries on DeviantART and the Yerf Archives. I've also uploaded about eighty pieces of her art to this Google+ Gallery to make sure they have yet another location to reside for posterity, and aren't lost to the sometimes fickle winds of the internet.

  

 

  

   

 

In addition to supporting me and giving me heartfelt and much-needed advice during some incredibly hard times (such as when my grandmother was approaching her time to pass on), she was an authentic person during her own rough times, and she weathered the storms with grace and strength, and kept her humor all the while. 

"The Birth of Hummingbirds" - by Caroline Muchmore - 2008 

While Caroline and I never played World of Warcraft together on the same server or guild, I'd frequently hear stories of her exploits in Azeroth. Even after her identical sister, Grace (also a WoW player), passed away in October of 2010 from the same disease, Caroline enjoyed stepping foot back into Azeroth on as regular a basis as her hospital visits and internet connection could support. Like so many people out there with disabilities, WoW was a place where she could find relief. Though she eventually had to give up raiding due to the onset of the later stages of the disease, she continued to enjoy playing the game when she could, chatting with friends and trying for achievements and mounts such as the Raven Lord and Timeless Proto-Drake up to the very end (she managed to get both). Despite being in and out of the hospital, her awesome guild-mates also helped her finish her legendary weapon questline: Dragonwrath, Tarecgosa's Rest.

Caroline on her Raven Lord Mount

I am so incredibly thankful for the time we had, even if it didn't feel like nearly long enough. While it brings sadness to think that I won't get to babble with her more in this life, or see new art updates from her, but I am also so, so happy that she can finally breathe easy. I think after one-too-many episodes of Star Trek I always thought there might be some blessed cure to save she and her sister from Cystic Fibrosis at the last minute. But that was simply not to be.

The Lightbearer

When I found out Caroline's health had started to fail her at last, I began work on this piece, but only completed it after her passing. As such, it was a strangely haunting sort of mourning and art therapy for me. As is the case with most art, the scan of this piece truly does not do this piece justice, especially since there are a lot of iridescent inks mixed in there that make parts of it truly shimmer.

"The Lightbearer" - Wip _ ACEO Sketch - June 30th, 2012

"The Lightbearer" - WIP - Linework - July 2nd, 2012

"The Lightbearer" - WIP - First Paint - July 6th, 2012

I completed this piece on July 7th of 2012. It is a small ACEO-sized (2.5 x 3.5 inches) gift for the late Caroline Muchmore and her husband.

"The Lightbearer" - Completed on July 7th, 2012

Our Living Legacy

But like anyone else, living or dead: Caroline’s legacy doesn't really end there.

Her passing actually made me rethink and reevaluate quite a lot in my own life. While it makes me very sad that I will never again be treated to see new art done by her hand, in a way, part of her legacy and art lives on through everyone she touched. While I can't point to how deep that influence lays between some of her art and my own, I know it's there, and in a way when I do certain things in my art (ornate, jeweled birds high among them), I'd like to think that, in a way, it perpetuates some of this unique vision and artistry, and that whoever sees her art might be similarly touched. So in a way: her legacy lives on with all of us. And by proxy, everything we create and the people we inspire, well, in a way we live on through them too.

So, what will your legacy be?


Fly free with your sister, Caroline. And thank you, for everything.


If you feel so inclined, please share this blog and consider becoming an organ donor, or donating to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation to help the many other "Carolines" and "Graces" out there.