More Shruman Cards and A Free Fungi Movie

Shruman Card Game Update

The game testing continues with the Shrumans card game and lucky for me, I have many with friends who are well-versed tabletop gamers! Here is a look at some of the new Shrumans being added as well as a first look at the Action Cards!

I am starting with line drawings with some simple color slapped on. This month I anticipate rendering the details for as many as I can manage!

The more Shrumans I draw, the harder it is to find unique poses and expressions. It's a fun challenge to have, but honestly some real-life mushrooms have fully-formed personalities.

This game has 3 Action cards so far with common card game moves that have a fungi flare. I am working on a 4th one that would add more strategical interest. I am open to feedback!

Other Fun-gi Things

There is a pay-what-you-can screening of Fungi: Web of Life at Iowa City's Film Scene this month, March 25. It will be playing at different movie theaters nationally and internationally. A list of showings can be found here, but not all cities are listed. See if they are playing at a city near you!

One great way to support Shrumans is through buying prints and stationery! Here are my store links! 

Forest Friends and Website Store Launch

One of my goals is to create more art that is part of my own creative vision, characters, and stories. Although I love working on book covers, there are some constraints with subject matter and designing for marketability. After doing some art with animals, I realized that they provide a certain freedom that I don't find with figurative human-based work and are a great jumping off point. Expect more forest friends in the near future!

 "The Messenger" has a silly origin story, but more depth materialized as I worked on it, both for the character and the environment. It started from the desire to visualize the word-play of chipmunk with chip-monk. From there I wanted to create a feeling of hope and the stories of saints being visited by heavenly beings found its way into the narrative.

"A Possum Mom" celebrates the amazing marsupial of North America, the opossum, and moms everywhere! I kept in mind the spring timing of Mother's Day and was generous with the blossoms.

I am taking an exciting step in my art business by opening an online store integrated directly into my website! It will launch in about a week on April 24 and will coincide with some deals! I will send out a special newsletter with the launch and a special discount code.

October: Arts in Galleries and Alleys

A quick recap: I had a reception with Artifactory earlier in September to kick off my "Cover Story" exhibit. It went well and was covered in a lovely little article by Lily Czechowicz from The Daily Iowan that you can read here! We talked about my process and the importance of human-crafted art. The following day was a good turnout for Lib Con that I tabled at, a mini comic con hosted by the Iowa City Library.

Coming up this Sunday, October 1 is Arts in the Alley with an array of outdoor dance performances. The Artifactory gallery is right next door to the alleyway and will be open for the special occasion, providing another opportunity to view the "Cover Story" exhibit. 

Next in October is the Iowa City Fall Downtown Gallery Walk on Friday, October 13 from 5pm-8pm. This is a fun gallery-exploring event with a prize involved for visiting a certain number of venues with your punch-card. The gallery at Artifactory will also be open at this time and I will be making a visit for an hour or two to provide some insight to visitors. The October Gallery Walk Map has not been released yet, but you can see the layout from the previous Summer Gallery Walk below.

Image for educational purposes and does not represent the official Iowa City Gallery Walk.

One of the new pieces I finished for the exhibit was a book cover illustration I did just for fun. It may be my one personal piece this year, but hopefully this will change as I learn how to manage my commission schedule. The piece is my take on Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, which can be viewed at the Artifactory exhibit in printed glory. It is also available for purchase on my print store.

How Reality Can Enhance Fantasy Book Covers

Fantasy novels set in different universes depend heavily on the art and culture of the real world, especially ancient civilizations. Princess Rouran relies even more so as it blends modern-day, mythology, and for this book, elements of the Rouran Khaganate who ruled over present Mongolia and northeast China. It takes some care to represent objects and mythical characters from a culture spanning thousands of years and putting in the effort makes artwork more effective and far more interesting.

Here are the preliminary concepts. My art direction for the covers was to choose elements that show something clearly modern and "real" alongside something fantastical. we decided to go with the dragon, who signals a shift in reality and is a guide for the protagonist. The doorway is perfect for this as both a literal and symbolic entryway to the "magical". 

You can see in the color concepts that most of the composition has come together. Instead of talking about the rendering process, I want to look at the indirect reference material that went into important design decisions. 

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The dragon's name in this story is Qiuniu, which comes from the Chinese legend of the 9 Sons of Dragon. Much like the book's approach to "myths are real", I went with a literal approach to the dragon's anatomy, basing it off of traditional representation. The Chinese dragon has a consistent and iconic design, so finding good reference material was straightforward. The color scheme is a little less typical, but I did find plenty of colorful dragons for inspiration. 

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I was excited about the motif elements on this book cover and found a few examples with the cloud-like shapes I was looking for. The artifacts on the right are Han dynasty.

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For the door knob element I was able to have a more direct Rouran influence. The author provided reference to an Iron Age exhibit of artifacts from the Great Steppe, which has a relationship to Rouran design. The horse was hugely important to the Rourans and nomadic peoples of the region, so when I found a horse-shaped motif, I sneakily turned it into a design for the door knob. 

It's always good practice to be intentional with every aspect of an illustration!

I am bringing up an album cover illustration I did in the past for musician/composer Myles Power Davis. His EP is out and it is absolute fire! Definitely give it a listen if you like to jam to jazzy instrumentals.  

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Lastly, I have been slowly adding my art show pieces to my Etsy store and there are so many more framed pieces now!

Art Reception This Thursday, March 23

My artwork has been hung and is ready for the eyeballs of the public. Come stop by this Thursday, March 23 from 6pm-8pm at Press Coffee and be privy to a rare sighting of my artwork in person. Press Coffee will be open after-hours so you will be able to order a delicious beverage while contemplating how one person can be so obsessed with drawing this many trees with faces.

On display will be a wide range of originals and prints from a span of about 8 years.

We will have the complete collection of my Uncanny Forest series originals on the walls and tables, in addition to prints and other take-home items for purchase. 

Here is a look at some of the stickers and greeting card packs that we will have at the Reception. You don't want to miss it!