Dear Interweb,

I'll be out of office for two days (The 30th of april and 1st of May), as it's Queen's day in Holland and I intend to spend it lounging in the country. Three cheers for the Queen: Huzzah! Huzzah! Huzzah!

cheers,

Nick

all images in this blog are (c)2005-2009 Nick Egberts unless noted specifcally otherwise.

interweb haunts

Dear Interwebs,

Don't you just love those concept art challenges that seem to be all the rage these days? I certainly do. They really help you to gauge the comepetition, and help you deliver on time. If you are unpublished, like me, it is also a great way to raise your profile a bit.
Most famous are the ones on Coceptart.org and Imaginefx.com.

A while back the good people at rpg.net forums have pointed me in the direction of Jon Schindehette's excellent Artorder blog . Jon is an AD at Wizards of the coast, and he host a concept competition every Tuesday. This is what I made for the compo last time:

This weeks assignment comes with an extra incentive to apply your self: a comssion for Dragon magazine. The assignment is to turn the cute boll weevil (a bug of some esteem) in a 15 feet monster.... This is what I have so far(subject to change):

tons of enjoyment was had on this piece, painting gross bugs is always fun. Even more fun was had when I explained the critterd to my darling wife: "It sends its throbbing tentacles through the window. Grasping around until it feels a warm limb. It then yanks the screaming unfortunate out of its bead. If its hungry, it might at this point bite of a limp and devour it on the spot. Then it incapsulates the still living victim in glowing mucus to slowly suffocate. The victims share a dual role as tasty snack and ballast"..... Its usually just after these episodes, that my better half suggests a vase with flowers for my next painting....

until next time.

sincerely,

Nick

p.s. If you want better resolution on the images or just take a stroll through my digital galleries check out, well, my digital gallery...

all images in this blog are (c)2005-2009 Nick Egberts unless noted specifcally otherwise

the lure of the digital.

Hello and welcome back!

I like to paint. I really, really like to paint. I like measuring and cutting the artboard. I like to smother said artboard in gesso. Most of all, I like to take a huge brush and start blocking in color.

There is really quite something soothing and meditative about the process, especially so the first couple of hours you spent on a painting.

In stark contrast with this delightful zen state is the startup fase of digital painting, I dont find this relaxing one bit. Waiting for programs to boot. Checking your mail because your neurotic and since you are behind your pc anyway. Rearanging the keyboard, tablet and such, so they just right.


Before this is perceived as a rant, let me explain further.


Lately as my digital skill is catching up to my traditional, I keep finding reasons to paint digital instead of traditional. My subconcious will trow up hurdles like: "Lighting effects are much easier in phothjoshop" or "this concept needs to be finished on sunday, digital can get you there much faster". I think is the logical part of my brain, and it seem to be at war with the rest of me. And its actually winning (it must has huge tanks) ,a first I must say. Probably the result of me perceiving painting and drawing as a possible means of providing for the family. Scary isn't it?


What sparked all this reflection on brainwar was this picture:
Which I have since turned into this:

As you can see, the beginnings of colour on the first version is almost an excuse for paint. Like the dabs of pigment are imbaressed to be there, the whiteness of the paper mocking it for its unconvincing appearance. I really sped to go digital here, and I cant specifially explain why. The piece turned out the better for it as well. Dare I say it, I even enjoyed painting it. Maybe the oddness of painting digital does wear off...

have a verry nice weekend nice Interweb people, and until next time.

sincerly,

Nick

p.s. If you want better resolution on the images or just take a stroll through my digital galleries check out, well, my digital gallery...

all images in this blog are (c)2005-2009 Nick Egberts unless noted specifcally otherwise.

hybrid....woooo........scary..

Well hello and welcome back Audiance!

People often ask about my painting process, while certainly nothing special, it seems to phase some.

Like a lot of people I start my paintings with a pencil. After a couple of thumbnails, I start my final (really detailed) pencil on paper or artboard. On paper when I intend to take it quickly to digital, and artboard when doing backgrounds, or when I am just doing digital effects. After I either scan it in or have it photographed, I usually finish the piece in Photoshop.
The idea behind this is, that I start in my comfort zone; traditional paint (usually acrylic) and try to take advantage of the texture 'n life that is easily obtained in this way. I then finish up digitally so that the image that winds up on my screen is the image I intended. There is nothing quite as irritating as to spend hours painting some magical effect or subtle watercolor effect, only to have it anihilated by the digitising process. So i guess you can kinda describe me as a control freak....

an example:

The first image is exactly how it came out of my scanner, though i've cropped it and ajusted the levels. The second image is the finished version. I handled the subtle lighting colour balancing digitally because afore mentioned control issues. I also cut up the original and stuck it back together slighty different; the torso is pulled back a bit, I tilted the head a bit, and changed the legs a bit. Finally added foreground ellements and reworked the face, so it doesn't look like plastic. A bigger version of this piece can be found here.

sketches of the day:

Thats it for today.... If you have any questions tegarding this Blog or anything really, send 'em to
blog@nickegberts.nl

cheers,

Nick Egberts

all images in this blog are (c)2005-2009 Nick Egberts unless noted specifcally otherwise.

Ego Chippin'

Why welcome Audiance! Back for more eh?

Buisiness cards are really cheap these days. Hurray for the Interwebs I must say. Its like €20,- for 250 quality cards printed on decent stock. Conversely (and bizarely in my mind) stationary is really friggin expensive. The looong trek to freelance super (duper) stardom is filed with surprises apperantly. I mean its like paper with you adress n logo printed on it...

I also sent out a couple of enquiries to Paizo and Green Ronin, both companies that make awesome products. I have to admit though, starting things was never really my forté. Writing to people you never met, asking for a gig scary stuff.... I am also afraid this uncertainty shines through. There is no sense in shying away though, and the only way to de-sensitize my self is to keep at it!

I finished the piece I talked about last time:

and another from the folio:

all images in this blog are (c)2005-2009 Nick Egberts unless noted specifcally otherwise.