People have been asking me how the Praxis project is going. The answer is: constantly. The work required to design this thing is huge, but tremendously fun. Below is some of the concept art for one of the player character races: the hindari.

All thorughout my college career at The Acedamy of Art I used goauche. When I left I swore I’d never use it again. Now I use it constantly. The good things about it are that the paint can always be reconstituted with water. Another good thing is that it dries matte so it reproduces on a scanner very effectively. Finally, because it’s opaque, you can avoid the muddied colors that you will often get with normal watercolors. 

However, there are some things that people say about using goauche that drive me crazy. Among my favorites is the idea that you have to use distilled water, because normal tap water won’t do at all. 

Unless you get your water from a well, and not a municipal source (ie, running “tap” water) there’s no reason to do this. None. Nada. Do not bother, you’re wasting time and money. You live in a town with pipes? That’s good enough. Another thing is the idea of using Ox Gall…which is suppossed to do…something. Some people swear by it, but I’ve never noticed a difference between painting that used it and those that don’t. Avoid it, it’s complete snake oil. All you need is clean water.

Finally…people talk about painting surfaces: clayboards, watercolor papers, and special gessoes. STOP THAT! I am going to introduce you to the ONE type of surface you’ll EVER need. Strathmore series 500 bristol paper. This stuff is available in any art supply shop worth spit. No need to gesso it, paint right on the fucker! The paper can withstand huge amounts of punishment and if you tape it down to a rigid surface (say, your artschool binder board or one of those cheap wooden drawing boards) it will dry flat everytime.

Finally, I should address brushes. I’ve been asked many times what kind of brush I use. My stock answer is “The ones that work.” Now, that’s slightly disingenuous of me to say, but it illustrates a point. The type of brushes you use don’t really matter, you’re going to accumulate a huge collection of brushes, just to find the 3-4 brushes you use constantly. The rest will pretty much sit in that old coffee mug you put them all in. Brand will not matter because you will give them names like: Betty, Samantha, Bobby, and “The Tickler.”

Now honestly, I prefer the Winsor Newton sieres 7 sable. But if you don’t know anything alse about that brush, avoid it. You are not man enough to handle such a brush. If you are a girl, you are not woman enough. It’s like the hot love object you have in high school. Unless you’ve already wet your hairs with someone else, you’ve got no chance. Any attempt will be clumbsy, and you’ll just bend it the wrong way. It will be painful…horendously painful.

So what you’ll need:

• Tap Water
• Strathmore sieres 500 bristol paper
• 1.5″ or 2″ Drafting Tape (don’t use your expensive artist tape, idiot!)
• Rigid, flat surface (like your giant clipboard)
• Brushes that work 

Now I get the feeling there’s something else… OH YES! 

• Hairdryer

Laugh all you want, but sooner or later you’re going to be staring at a surface thinking “Dry you fucker!” A hairdryer solves that. Just make sure it doesn’t spark and you’ll be fine.

Somehow, I never saw this before

This weekend I drove down to San Jose and checked out Super-Con. I’d had an opportunity so present there, but paying work got in the way. Turns out it might have been serendipitous that I did. Even as I neared the convention center, it was obvious that SuperCon was already being over shadowed by Fanime ‘09. There were large colorful banners all around the center, indicating that Fanime was BIG MONEY for the convention center. Had Super Con been on another date, it could have easily had five times the attendence it did. But with Fanime the following weekend, it didn’t stand much of a chance.

As always, however, the real fun of the con is had with the people you hang out with. Naturally, my boys from Sacramento who do the comic “Brains,” were there. I’m taking to referring to the entire group of comics and horror genre guys (like Anthony, Paul, & Mr. Lobo) up there as “The Unholy Sac-Crew.”

Also hung out with Rebacca and James Hicks, who are currently workign the “Little Vampires” concept way harder than I am…But my revenge will be sweet.

Last but not least Raphael Navarro of Sonambulo fame was there. What can I say about that guy that I haven’t already? I really beleive that he may be the nicest guy on the face of planet Earth.

The other major highlight was that I picked up the Lackadaisy trade paperback. It’s a gorgeous book and I recommend it. I wish I could explain it’s richness and beauty in words. But words wouldn’t do it justice, just check it out.

Largely I’ve been working on a number of personal commisions and working heavily on a long term project called, “Praxis.”

Some of you are well familiar with the work I’ve been doing for Praxis. I don’t want to go into too much detail, because the official announcement will probably come at the end of this summer (but definitely by Steamcon). Those that already know, well you already know! But since it represents the current bulk of my work, it was decided that I should share some of the early concept art with everyone. It’s the first project I’ve done which will feature my art at it’s core, so I’m very excited.