Throwback Thursday - almost

Digging through some old art and thought I'd pull a few pieces to showcase here. Behold, the awe! The wonder! (The horror!)

This stuff dates back from about 2005-2008. From the top left, moving clockwise:

-When Conan meets Greek mythology, you may get something like this. The original concept sketch for my wacky race, the Gan-Do-Gan.

-SPIKES! Original sketch of the character Cenme.

-Someone is being pouty. This was the concept for the villain Maratur. ....... he didn't look nearly mean enough. Bleh.

-A half-decent half-sketch of Widow, mostly to show his mask and head.

-The original sketch of Aeka, Kuma's father. Alas, for all of my dragon men had woefully thin features. Don't let them hide behind a sheet of paper turned sideways - you'll lose them.

Maybe I'll have to retry drawing some of these at some point. I know the Gan-do-Gan are freaking hard to draw. Ugh! All of my attempts thus far just look awkward. It's frustrating to see something so clearly in your head and not be able to translate it into a visible medium to show others.

Anyway, enjoy the terrible art. I have been having a lot of trouble focusing on anything for more than part of a day lately. I feel so icky right now with depression.

Old Art: Wyvern Lantern

Some years ago, I posted this over on DeviantArt. I later deleted my account there, and it's been a long time since I've seen this picture. I ran across it the other day while backing up files from my external drive.

Readers familiar with the events in Taloner: Reima 2 may recognize this concept. It was for an object in the fantasy world called a Wyvern Lantern, which was a large statue that marked the borders of imperial territory.

I feel like I've improved a lot with my art since creating this piece, but this marked one of my first paintings done with a tablet. We've all gotta start somewhere.

Old Art - Launch

Here's an old piece of art I dug up the other day while checking the files I have backed up. I think this one was done in 2009, but it could have been 2010. I can't remember. It was when I first got my tablet and was learning how to draw on the computer.

The image is of the three main characters in one of my short books, Taloner: Reima. I remember leaving it looking sketchy and spotty because I liked it at the time. Now I think I'd like it better clean, but oh well.

Old book covers

Heya! Long story short, I'll be moving in less than two weeks. This means packing. Ohhh so much packing..........

While boxing up my personal library, I ran across the original printed format of my trilogy. I'd forgotten how much I loved the images that I hand-drew for these binders, which I loaned to a few friends to help me with proofreading and constructive criticism. This was all prior to any self publishing, and I also wanted the binders for my own personal reading, since I didn't have another hard copy version. I am amazed that I was able to finish these by hand, as backgrounds were a very difficult feat for me at this time. I can see where I've improved, but I still love the artwork. These were done between 2005 and 2008, I believe.

Here are a few of the covers:

This first one was the front cover of my second book, Path of a Hero. This was created before I changed the title from "The Path of a Hero", due to title length limitations. This featured Terezom, one of the book's protagonists, riding his wyvern, Gryphon. The city Doomherald can be seen in the background, as can a small silhouette of Illiya, the protector of the city.

This second image was the back of Path of a Hero. It showed Lotus, another protagonist, riding on Illiya as they launch into the dawn to fight an invading army.

This last image was the back cover of Eternity's Edge, my third book. It depicted the hands of Kuma, a protagonist in the book, as he reached out to take a very special relic glowing with magic. This image was tied heavily to a key part of the book and the first line of script on the cover, which read, "Your will determines everything", a direct quote from the trilogy.

Images are copyright me, W. A. Johnson.

Timewarp: Hawk

Since I'm taking a break from drawing for a while, I figured I would put up some old art lovin's. This is a traditional piece I did back in 2008 that was very fun, but oh so detailed. I love drawing machines - at least, when I don't run out of energy before I'm even halfway through with them.

Done in micron pen, watercolor pencil, and silver colored pencil.