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!