Here're a few more things I've done in my free time. I'm still involved in some projects, so I can't post any of that, but these are things I've been working on on my own. The first is Greyfox the Wizard. The second is a map for a personal project for my AD&D Campaign, "Dragon Slayers." Both images of Greyfox are ideas I have been playing with. One was to see what kinds of positive lines and shapes I could make in contrast to the black shape of his cloak. My first idea was to use a large, flat black shape to describe his garments, letting his skin be pure white to contrast with the black. I also wanted to create an area of intense simplicity to make the character in the foreground stand out and compliment the busy quality of the background. So here are both solutions. Please give me your input on which works. I am fascinated with large areas of graphic shaping. I have been since I can remember. My struggle has been how to describe form with as few lines as possible and experimenting with how to define form with what "isn't" there rather than what is. Optical illusions are fascinating. I think artists are a lot like wizards/illusionists/magicians. Our job is to trick the eye into believing something that isn't real. Using colour and line and what is essentially just pigmented mud, we must convince the audience not to question what they are seeing. That is the trick of a true artist, I think. If the viewer can say, "Psshhh, I could do that!" then the result is seamless enough to trick them into thinking it was effortless in its creation.
