Kennon's Art Blog

Cthulhu on a Bicycle

2012-01-11T07:54:00.003-06:00

I will be doing shirts of this one. Stay tuned.

Medusa Con-sketchin'

2011-03-31T23:27:00.002-05:00

Rumors of my demise have been greatly exaggerated. In my blog-posting absence I have been drawing topless medusa.
See?

Ackbar print

2010-07-12T08:00:00.003-05:00

This is my exclusive Admiral Ackbar lithograph for San Diego Comic Con coming up next week. I will only be printing 25 of these.

Original Art and Prints for sale!!

2010-07-01T02:43:00.003-05:00

In attempt to generate some extra cash for San Diego Comic Con I have posted lots of original art and prints on my Etsy site. Check it out here.

Frost Giant sketch

2010-04-23T08:24:00.004-05:00

Here's a sketch I did for someone at Comicpalooza last year. He was nice enough to see me at this year's Comicpalooza and give me a CD with the scans of it. Thanks dude!

Ackbar sketch

2010-04-20T08:37:00.004-05:00

I have an idea for a series of prints and this is some of the pre-lim work as I start putting some mental notes on paper.

Phrenk - the first 8

2010-04-15T12:46:00.004-05:00

Here's a preview of one of the characters I've been working on - Phrenk the troll alchemist - from Slugfest Games' Red Dragon Inn 3, the newest installment of that game due out this Spring/Summer. (click to see it biggie sized)

Shape Challenge #1

2010-02-10T20:39:00.005-06:00

I did this as warm up today. It's a weekly exercise for a group I joined on DeviantArt called Design-A-Character. Each month there will be a different challenge that goes throughout the month, with variants every week. This month's is "Shape Challenge"- every Monday a new set of shapes are put up and the exercise is to create characters with them.
This is very similar to a game I played with my friends as a kid. It's pretty fun to get back to it.

O/RB Character Design

2010-01-29T18:03:00.002-06:00

A character sheet for a personal project I'm working on.

Trolling - part 2

2010-01-27T12:42:00.004-06:00

So here's the troll Phrenk in his final revised version. Blue, not green and laden with various potions to prey upon unsuspecting imbibers.

Trolling

2010-01-18T20:26:00.006-06:00

So one of the first things I've been working on this year is a new character for Slugfest Games' Red Dragon Inn 3. His name is Phrenk, a troll alchemist. These are the first two waves of roughs, the first being quick pencil roughs to wrap my head around the character, the second being a tighter concept based on the art director's suggestions (basically B with D's nose) and a little color to show the AD what I was thinking as far as color-scheme. Originally being green in my rough, Phrenk is now a light blue. Stay tuned for more.

Happy New Year from the guys.

2009-12-28T21:09:00.001-06:00

As always you can check out all the Mohagen strips here.

Merry Xmas everyone.

2009-12-25T07:37:00.005-06:00

Scuz

2009-12-13T03:02:00.002-06:00

Here's an illustration I recently completed for Rage of the Stage theater production company.

Happy Thanksgiving

2009-11-25T08:54:00.001-06:00

Have a good Turkey Day everyone.

Skinny

2009-10-30T11:00:00.004-05:00

Although abnormally skinny and frail in atmosphere,
Cobbler Franklin was surprisingly strong and earnest
in his resurrection work.

Another resurrection man for Illustration Friday's topic: Skinny. Resurrection men was another name for grave robbers, which was a lucrative career at one time. Pretty creepy...

Happy Halloween everyone.

Mohagen - 020 The Haunted Fishbowl

2009-10-27T03:47:00.003-05:00

Just in time for Halloween, Grady and Mo get into the act. As usual, you can see all the strips here. Happy Halloween everyone.

Freeze

2009-10-21T13:05:00.003-05:00

While going about his nightly resurrection work,
Lycurgus heard ghastly voices upon the air,
and his blood turned to freeze...

I haven't done an illustration for Illustration Friday for a LONG time and was inspired to do one today. Just something for fun.

Mohagen 016 - Shining Again

2009-09-28T09:37:00.002-05:00

Mo enjoys scary movies.

As always, you can read the rest here.

Mohagen - 015 Physics of Revenge

2009-09-21T08:09:00.002-05:00

Mo started something he didn't want to see finished.

You may have to read the previous few weeks to see how the guys got to this point HERE.

Mohagen - 011 Destiny

2009-08-25T07:11:00.003-05:00

The first double-sized, full color, "Sunday" edition strip. I really think Loren and I are catching out stride. We're discussing speeding the frequency of the strips up. Maybe two a week, we shall see.

And, as always, you can see all the Mohagen strips HERE.

Softball logo

2009-08-18T08:33:00.002-05:00

Sometime I whipped up for a buddy of mine's daughter's little league softball team.

Dragons & Corporate Superheroes

2009-07-24T10:10:00.003-05:00

So here are the final inks for the dragon image I finished up this week along with some superhero illustrations I have been doing for Solarwinds, a network management software company. Just some random stuff that pays the bills.

Dragon sketchin'

2009-07-15T11:56:00.002-05:00

So now for something completely different (I see this a lot it seems).
Dragons and fantasy shit are what got me into this whole art thing in the first place and it's refreshing to actually get a gig where I get to draw actual DRAGONS.

This is the second round of pencil roughs for the "dragon" card for a card game now in development for Slugfest Games.

Fun stuff.

Mohagen Begins

2009-07-07T11:12:00.005-05:00

What a week huh? Besides all the drama and death, this week will also be marked by the launch of a personal project of mine and my good buddy, Loren Hoskins.
Long story short, it's a cartoon about a goldfish and you can check it out here. We'll be updating it every Monday for now with plans to increase the frequency of updates as we catch our stride. Check it out, tell us what you think, and if you like it, tell your friends. You can add Mohagen as a friend on Facebook here or follow him on Twitter here.
Mohagen (and Loren and myself) thank you very, very much for your support.

Live Art - Warrior Chick

2009-06-25T23:46:00.004-05:00

I found this file while cleaning up my hard drive and realized I had forgotten to post it after the show. I drew this at the Staple! after party/liveart jam. I had just drawn a warrior in the same armor and the same pose earlier that same week so I just cheated and re-drew it big. And with a woman. While drawing it Stan Sakai (!) came up and gave me props ("That's really good!") which made my night (year).
Thanks again Mr. Sakai.

Brain Bass

2009-06-22T09:57:00.003-05:00

Handsome, ain't he?

Mohagen

2009-06-17T07:04:00.003-05:00

Okay, here he is. The main character for a webstrip my buddy Loren and I have been cooking up. His name is Mohagen and he's a goldfish. More details will be revealed soon.

The launch date for the strip is July. Stay tuned!

Palindrome 1 - QB BBQ

2009-06-17T06:57:00.002-05:00

One of the freelance jobs I have worked on recently was a set of palindromes (A word, phrase, verse, or sentence that reads the same backward or forward.). This was the first - QB BBQ. Fun stuff.

Card art characters

2009-06-17T06:47:00.004-05:00

Here are three card-art character illustrations I completed recently for Slugfest Games. These are my three favorites. Bard, warrior, & merchant respectably.

First page in my new sketchbook.

2009-06-02T22:59:00.005-05:00

So this is how most of my fish start off. As tiny thumbnails, almost just silhouettes just get a general outline and shape. Then I scan the page, blow them up individually, drop the opacity in photoshop, print them out and do the originals right on top of the print out.

Like I said, I am making a concerted effort to start posting regularly here again. I thank those of you who are still with me.

Triceratops Fish

2009-06-02T08:52:00.002-05:00

A little known prehistoric fish.

Sunday Lookout Fish

2009-05-31T21:58:00.002-05:00

When technology sucks...

2009-04-27T20:30:00.001-05:00

One of the many negative experiences I had at a show Friday night inspired me.
(click for bigger view)

Heavy-scaled Stubble Salmon

2009-04-24T06:04:00.002-05:00

Dali Fish

2009-04-22T16:42:00.002-05:00

So I'm back to fish. We'll see how long it lasts.

For those few that I have left watching my blog I apologize for the slow and seldom posts here. I will rectify that. I have a couple of projects in the works right now and I'm stoked to get them started. A couple of teasers: one's a spooky tale of a traveling "salesman", one's a horror comic in the vein of Lovecraft, and one's the daily life of a goldfish.

Stay tuned.

Football Head

2009-03-31T12:33:00.001-05:00

Just something for fun. While I was watching 24 last night I was doing some sketching and this guy came out. I realized his head looked like a football (unintentionally) so I colored him accordingly.

I was playing with a different palette and used different brushes than I normally use. A little outside-of-the-box thinking.

Splinter Pin-up

2009-03-18T08:56:00.004-05:00

Here's another TMNT pinup I did, due out this month I believe, in Tales of the TMNT #56. My first piece in 2009 although the date says 2008.

Some sketching...

2009-03-17T17:47:00.003-05:00

Some of the sketching I've been doing over the past few weeks.

Staple! and LiveArt

2009-03-03T02:58:00.006-06:00

This is where I shall be this Saturday, getting my sketch on and peddling my wares. For more info, click HERE.

And this is where I'll be Saturday night, getting my drink and draw on.

My groovy new banner.

2009-02-27T10:21:00.003-06:00

My spiffy new banner with Gantry providing scale reference.

Upcoming shows!

2009-02-24T16:22:00.002-06:00

Just a quick shout out to let everyone know of a couple of upcoming shows I'll be at. The first one is Staple! here in Austin March the 7th and the following weekend I'll be in Dallas for All-Con. (click the links for more info)

I'll have plenty of The Funky Fishbooks on hand and lots of new prints along with tons of original art for sale. So if you're in the area for either show come on over and say howdy.

All-Con Chick

2009-02-24T10:15:00.002-06:00

So I hardly ever get a chance to draw hot chicks. It always seems I'm drawing creepy stuff and/or cartoony stuff so when I saw that All-Con (a show I'll be tabling at in Dallas next month) was asking contributing artists to submit designs for the 2010 All-Con Girl I jumped at the chance to come up with something.

I wanted to use the red, white and blue for her uniform in a way to not make her look like Supergirl as much as I could (ie: stay away from a red cape) Also All-Con takes place in my home state of Texas so I wanted to incorporate the Texas flag elements in her uni, thus the single star. Not a very creative costume I know but whatever.

You can see the linework here.

C is for Carnage

2009-02-13T06:42:00.004-06:00

Here's a piece I've been working on for a couple of years now and finally (finally) finished. I did the lineart in a buddy's sketchbook a few years back and my plan was to add color later in Photoshop. I started dedicating an hour here and there working on it and then forgot about it. I have some conventions coming up and decided I really needed to finish this to have something new for the shows. I've already run some prints and they came out pretty cool.

Cookie was always one of my all time favorite muppets. I was really disappointed (pissed) to hear that a while back they were making Cookie more politically correct and that cookies were a "sometime snack". Give me a break. They have to start jacking with the muppets because parents can't assert their authority over their fat little kids and tell them to go outside once in awhile? Political correctness sucks.

So yeah, this piece is my response to that.

The Funky Fishbook 2nd printing is here (finally)!!

2009-02-03T15:14:00.003-06:00

So The Funky Fishbook 2nd printing is finally here! They came out great. Whoo hoo! And just in time for con season. Pre-orders will go out this week. If you're interested in purchasing one you can get it by clicking here.

Those of you who pre-ordered, thanks so much for your patience.

The Funky Fish Book update

2009-01-14T06:23:00.000-06:00

So The Funky Fish Book 2nd printing has finally(!) been approved, approved again, double checked, approved again and is now in the final stages of production. Hopefully I'll have them in my hands and ready to mail out in the next week or two. The holidays really slowed the whole process down and for that I apologize.

For those that pre-ordered I appreciate your patience and thank you again. Sorry again for the delay.

Billy Bob - Slingblade

2008-12-10T19:49:00.002-06:00

Someone over at Deviantart suggested I draw Billy Bob from Slingblade so I gave it a shot. I love that movie.

20 minute sketch, brown col-erase pencil on sketch paper.

*Funky Fish Book update: For those of you who have ordered books, they're still at the printers. I am currently waiting for my proof to arrive. Hopefully I'll get them out by Christmas.

The Funky Fish Book - 2nd Printing!

2008-11-07T10:30:00.004-06:00

So The Funky Fish Book is back!

210 pages of fishy love, mostly black & white with 6 color plates. Super cool.

And to jump start pre-sales while it's at the printers I will, once again, be giving away 10 ORIGINAL, FREE fish drawings that actually appear in the book itself to the first 10 sold. What a deal!

The first print run flew off the shelves and I hope the 2nd run does as well.

The books are $15 + $5 S&H ($25 total). I can do overseas orders but please email me to discuss.

Octopus Sculpture - WIP 1

2008-10-08T09:52:00.003-05:00

So I have a spot above the TV in the living room about 5' x 3' that needs filling and have had an idea to do an octopus sculpture for awhile now to fill it. I have a propensity towards octopi so it makes perfect sense. So after much mental deliberation I actually got down to working on it. This is my rough sketch to get my basic shapes down. I didn't do much work on the tentacles in the rough as I'll just let them take their shape as I sculpt. I had an old sculpture in the garage that I was doing nothing with and had a pretty good form already so I sawed it in half and recycled it to get the form I have now. This sculpture should go relatively fast, as unlike my other sculptures, isn't covered in 1000+ scales.

Splinter Pinup - Rough

2008-10-06T17:47:00.002-05:00

So I'm working on another TMNT pinup. This time I chose to do Splinter. At first I was leaning towards the typical "zen" pose for Splinter but after numerous roughs I realized I wanted to show him kicking some ass and what better bad guys for Splinter to be fighting than some Mousers.

Knights of the Dinner Table - cover

2008-09-24T07:05:00.003-05:00

A fun job I did a month or two ago, a cover for the Knights of the Dinner table RPG magazine.

One of my fish has found a good home.

2008-09-17T07:45:00.002-05:00

It seems one of my fish has found a good, safe home. This makes me happy.

Thanks for sharing Kimberly.

TMNT short - "One's Shadow"

2008-09-16T09:04:00.005-05:00

So this came out last month I believe so I figure it's okay to post the final pages. Pencils by me, inks and letters by Eric Talbot.

Creepy Dude 2

2008-08-26T23:49:00.002-05:00

Wednesday sketching.

2008-08-21T08:33:00.002-05:00

Got together last night with a few pals to do some sketching. Here's the result.

I'll be doing a print of the cowboy, I really like how he came out. He fits perfectly in a 8x20 frame.

Creepy Dude

2008-08-20T15:33:00.003-05:00

30 minute warm-up sketch.

Gen Con was awesome, we had a great time. It was good to go and not have to worry about a table and just play all weekend. I'm still recovering. Pictures forthcoming.

Mermaid sketch

2008-08-12T11:09:00.001-05:00

Big Beautiful Wonder Woman

2008-08-11T20:36:00.005-05:00

Here's a collaborative effort between myself and Jeremy Mohler. I did the linework and he threw down some awesome colors. It was for the BBWW Wonder Woman blog and thanks go out to Jamar, who runs the blog, for the kind words.

Also we've started sketching again and have tried to get a somewhat weekly thing going with some of the artists around town. We met at Flightpath last Thursday night and I doodled this page. It was cool to get out and do some drawing.

So Gen Con is this weekend and I'm looking forward to some R&R. I don't have a table this year so some buddies and I are just going to play (Starcraft 2 here I come!). Should be a fun weekend.

TMNT & an extemely cute baby.

2008-08-08T09:08:00.006-05:00

Tales of the TMNT #48 is on stands now and it contains the short story I did the pencils for. Here's the first page of the story. Penciled by me, inked by lord of the ink, Eric Talbot. I'm really pleased with how it came out. Groovy to see the inks and lettering to finish it off. So go grab ya a copy or two.

And now for something completely different, a picture of my relatively new (almost two months old) niece Isabel. Is she freakin' cute or what?

Branching out.

2008-08-05T09:12:00.004-05:00

A little watercolor sketch I did last weekend that seemed to fit the post's title.

So I have been wanting to get a bit more exposure to some other communities and genres so I have gotten up a DeviantArt page here and also subscribed to Picture Book here (you can also click on the banner to the right). We'll see how those go. Thanks go out to Jeremy and Andi for the subtle and not-so-subtle nudges. Thanks guys.

On another note, it's been a month since my buddy Jeremy rented out my extra room and it's been going really well. It's really cool to have another artist around and we have been bouncing ideas and critiques off one another all month. Good times.

I'm back.

2008-08-01T12:31:00.012-05:00

Well theoretically, anyway.
My blog has been sadly neglected as of late and I am going to try and remedy that. I recently completed a huge slew of concept work which I can't post due to NDA's and have gotten back to doing some freelance illustration work of which (most) I can post.
Last weekend was the liveart show benefited KOOP and it was a lot of fun. Some cool artists and cool bands and hey, anyplace that sells PBR tallboys is an instant hit with me. I did four pieces total and I sold two so it was a success as far as I was concerned.
Lots of fun.

This one sold very quickly.

This is one sold before I was finished. It seems the nice lady that bought this one had bought another one from my last liveart show. I received a creepy question from a complete stranger while drawing this one.*

I knew this one was coming home with me (which it did) but it was fun.

I had an idea for this one before the show. Not exactly how I had pictured it but oh well. Maybe next time.

Thanks go out to Chris "Uncle Staple" Nicholas of Staple! fame and Kevin Peake for setting up the liveart stuff. Thanks guys.
So onto some more illustration. I was happy to FINALLY finish Captain Bogg & Salty's Frogg Island this week. I took way too long on this but honestly, it was a very intimidating job but I finally just put my head down and piled through it. It's for their new album entitled "Frogg Island" (I think). I was thrilled to hear the album pre-mixed and man, these guys have lifted their own bar. It's awesome. If you haven't heard any of their music, you really should. They kick much ass and if you're able to see them live, do yourself a favor and do it. You can see their badass video for their song "Pieces of 8ight" here.

If you really want to see a huge copy of the map click here.
Well I promise to post more art in the near future. I hope the five of you that check the blog are still with me.

*Creepy question when asked by a lady old enough to be your mom who you don't know while pointing to the naked lady you're currently drawing: "Does drawing this turn you on?"

Suh-weet! I won an award.

2008-07-24T09:19:00.005-05:00

What this means can be seen here. Thanks so much Andi!
So in other news I've been busy with a lot of work that I can't post, NDA's and all that. So not a lot of art to post unfortunately. I'm ready for this week to be behind me because I'm really bummed I'm not going to San Diego Comic Con this year and I'm sick of every artist but me it seems posting "I'm about to get on a plane to San Diego, see everyone there!" or "Man I'm stoked to get to San Diego this year!" etc... It really sucks for those of us not going. Next year!
So that being said, I'll be attending a "We're not going to San Diego, let's all hang out and commiserate together" party at Austin Books this Friday and will be doing a live art show on Sunday to benefit KOOP

So if you're in the Austin area this week, come on out and say howdy (and say how much fun you're having even though we're not in San Diego).

Only In Dreams

2008-07-10T11:52:00.002-05:00

For those in the Austin area, the group show "Only In Dreams" will be up all through July at the Flightpath Coffee House with the opening happening this Saturday from 7-9. So if you're in the area go check it out.

Fish Tank

2008-07-07T08:35:00.004-05:00

Hope everyone had a great 4th weekend! I had way too much fun and am still recovering.
I have been super busy with work and have been doing tons of concept work. Unfortunatley most is under NDA's so, consequently, nothing I can post. I felt like my blog has been sadly neglected. Lately I've been in a complete funk and haven't felt very artistic and not very inspired. I tried working on a new sculpture but lost my impetus quickly. I hoped the weekend off with friends would recharge the batteries. I just got some new art supplies I ordered in the mail so I'm excited to try those out. I have had a hankering to get away from the computer a bit and actually put paint to paper... I also REALLY miss reading (I have been reading a lot of historical stuff lately but no fiction) and after catching one of the movies in the hotel room over the weekend I decided to read all the Harry Potter books from beginning to end. I started the first one yesterday.

*Update: Those of you who ordered fish books, they're out the door and you should be getting those soon along with your original art. Because of a complete snafu with the printer, I was only able to fill pre-orders and I'm not sure if I'll be printing more. So those who got books may have gotten the only ones. The printer really dropped the ball and I am more than disappointed that the whole process didn't happen as I had hoped and expected. I have looked into other options to get them printed but right now it looks unlikely. Bummer.

WEGS : PIRATES!

2008-06-26T22:04:00.001-05:00

The linework for the cover to WEGS: Pirates.

The Sea Hags of Penzantium

2008-06-24T09:44:00.003-05:00

One of a group of illustrations I'm currently working on for the WEGS Pirate RPG. I really like the way they came out. I may have to color them up and put them on my business cards or something.

Wee Cowboy.

2008-06-20T12:11:00.002-05:00

What a weekend.

2008-06-16T10:38:00.005-05:00

I jumped out of a plane on Friday. I went and saw The Incredible Hulk that night. Saturday I went rafting down the Guadalupe. Went to Pluckers and had wings and beer that night. Became an uncle on my birthday (!). Sunday I recovered. All in all, a perfect weekend. Thanks go out to Matt, Mel and Steven for hanging and to Dwayne and Shawn for the invite for the skydive. And a big congrats to my brother Dylan for becoming a dad. You guys rock.

Jumper.

2008-06-13T08:30:00.001-05:00

I'm hours away from getting on a plane.

Going to 13,5oo feet.

And jumping out.

On Friday the 13th.

The day before my birthday.

Fuck yeah.

Effing busy.

2008-06-10T10:38:00.008-05:00

Well my blog has been sadly neglected these past few weeks so I'll try to remedy that a bit. The workload is full and I am officially not taking on any more work for awhile. I'm working on finishing up work for WEGS Pirate book, Captain Bogg and Salty's Frogg Island, a few more concepts for Dragonblood Miniatures and working fulltime on concepts for a super secret computer game project (of which I wish I could show work from as it's been a lot of fun). I'm also slated to be in a group gallery show here in Austin of which I'm going to try and do some new sculptures for and I was also asked if I'd be interested in doing a whole book (!) for TMNT next Fall/Winter. Whew. Just typing that wore me out.

*Also those of you that ordered Fish Books, I was told that they'd be in the mail this week. Thanks for your patience and the pre-orders. And I still haven't gotten 25 pre-orders so if you want some original art AND a book feel free to get your order on.

This Saturday's my birthday and I'm hitting the river. I'm pretty stoked. I'm also slated to jump out of a plane on Friday but I'm not sure if it will happen with my current workload.... We shall see....

In the meantime, have some random art.

This last image is for a personal project and I can't decide on her hair color. What color do you like?

Waffles, sweet, sweet, waffles.

2008-06-05T14:45:00.005-05:00

It seems our* Atland guest strip is up for the week over at www.realmofatland.com. Check it out.

*Written by John Kipling, drawn by me.

TMNT short page 1.

2008-06-03T20:26:00.005-05:00

So one of the things I have been working on is a TMNT short story I was asked to contribute to. Written by Tristan Jones, I'm doing the pencils and Eric Talbot(!) will be doing the inks. It's the first time I've worked with an inker and man I started at the top, I've been a fan of Eric's for a long time and his inks are mind-blowing.

I think I may have over-worked my pencils as I'm used to inking them myself (and I'm pretty anal when it comes to my work) so some things I just leave rough and finish them up myself. Should be pretty cool to see nonetheless.

This is the first page. Once the story comes out (it's slated to appear in The Tales of the TMNT #48) I'll post the rest. Stay tuned.

Bug Guy sculpt.

2008-06-03T10:10:00.003-05:00

Here's a pic of the final sculpt for the bug guy (name: "Clal-Chk") I designed for Dragonblood Miniatures a few months ago. I'm not sure who the actual sculptor is but it looks fantastic, the detail came out great. I can't wait to get one of these for my annual family monopoly game.

Random cephalopod sketch.

2008-06-02T09:15:00.005-05:00

What a great weekend. Thanks go out to everyone who came to the party. I am wiped.

And some more concept stuff.

2008-05-30T08:44:00.002-05:00

So the the last three posts were all part of the same job. The client wanted the same character (note the scar) in three different genres/time periods done in three different styles. I really had to push myself on this one.

Some more concept stuff.

2008-05-29T18:28:00.002-05:00

Well this Saturday is my buddy Steven and I's annual joint birthday houses (we live across the street from one another) party. Man I can not wait. Good fellowship, crawfish and ice cold keg beer. It doesn't get much better than that. That's right.

Nazi Hunter

2008-05-22T07:25:00.004-05:00

A little concept work. Just a little inspired by Mr. Jones. Yes, I'll be seeing it today. My fingers are crossed...

*edit: Saw the new Indy movie. One word: CRAP.

The Funky Fish Book!

2008-05-20T15:06:00.007-05:00

So I have received the prototype for The Funky Fish Book. I am super pleased with how it turned and while I am tweaking it and making a few changes I will be taking pre-orders.

210 pages of fishy love, mostly black & white with 6 color plates. *It measures 9" wide by 7" tall and is about 5/8" thick. You can see one of the page(s) here with a Sharpie for scale. Super cool.

And for the first 25 books sold (paid for) I will be giving away (FREE) 25 ORIGINAL fish drawings that appear in the book itself (one per order please). What a deal! The books will be $20 with $5 for shipping so $25 total. You can email me directly (mail(at)kennonjames.com) to order or you can use that spiffy new PayPal button over on the left.

Yeehaw.

Control + Z

2008-05-20T09:26:00.004-05:00

Ever use Photoshop so much that when you're actually doing things in real life you do something then think "Okay that sucks, I'll just "undo" it. Um...shit..."?

20K

2008-05-09T10:58:00.002-05:00

So my site meter told me that my blog visits hit 20K yesterday. Wow. I'd like to say thanks to everyone who has come to visit; new visitors and those of you who come back regularly.

Thanks.

Dwarf sketch

2008-05-09T09:51:00.002-05:00

Nasal Ed

2008-05-07T08:02:00.004-05:00

He runs through the woods
in his birthday suit,
He wears a bow in his hair
so you will call him cute,
He enjoys tea parties
and always says please,
He is on a magic quest
to cure his allergies.

Troglodyte - Concept work

2008-05-05T07:45:00.004-05:00

Some more of the concept work I'm doing for Dragonblood Miniatures.

Iron Man kicks ass. Go see it.

Betas

2008-05-02T15:17:00.004-05:00

A request for betas. One of the few times I've done an actual fish. I like how they came out, I may do prints of these...(click for a bigger view)

It's Friday, have some Ewok Gospel.

2008-05-02T07:30:00.001-05:00

Long Mandibled-Tusk Perch

2008-04-30T16:31:00.002-05:00

It's been awhile for sure but I was inspired to draw another fish today. I'm not sure if it will keep up but we'll see...

In other fish news, my first compiled fish book is off to the printers and I should have an advance copy soon. I'll then start taking pre-sales, so if you're interesting stay tuned. I will be offering original drawings from the book for the first 20 or so books sold.

"Draw Yourself as a Teen" Meme

2008-04-29T18:18:00.003-05:00

So I'm going to totally date myself with this one... There's a "draw yourself as a teen" meme that I stumbled upon and thought that would be fun for a break. This is me around 1988/89. Yes I was(am) a headbanger, here's proof.
Come on artists, join in and comment with a link.

Lincoln

2008-04-28T18:33:00.002-05:00

An opportunity to draw one of my favorite historical figures and post to IllustrationFriday, topic: Wrinkles.

TMNT pinup final

2008-04-28T09:57:00.002-05:00

So Tales of the TMNT #45 is now on stands and I have gotten permission to post the final. So go grab a copy or two. I received some copies in the mail and it's really, really cool (and not just a little surreal) to see my stuff in a TMNT book. Awesome.

Fishing For Terrorists - Cover

2008-04-24T16:55:00.004-05:00

The last piece of Fishing For Terrorists is out the door. I've heard rumors from a few playtesters that the game is hoot. I look forward to getting a copy.

Collaborative Sketchbook - pages 12 & 13

2008-04-23T09:13:00.003-05:00

Here are a couple of pages from some heavy hitters. Steve Prescott delivers arguably the funniest line yet with "Oh sweet Jesus on rye..." Friggin' hilarious. And Steve Ellis takes us into left field with the "Yogshug Megacarp" and the Judge Dredd-esque "Judge Corporate Lawyer". Sweet.
And if you haven't seen it yet, check out Steve Ellis' online comic High Noon over at Zuda. Beautiful stuff!

Collaborative Sketchbook - pages 10 & 11

2008-04-18T09:29:00.004-05:00

Well here are two great pages, awesome because they are so contrasting in style and awesome because... well they kick ass. Jeremy's super clean penciled page and Sarah's strong use of black and her signature spiral scary stuff.
Jeremy moves the story with a great cottage/forest setting and introduces a villian(?). We see that Curt and Frank have now been reunited with "the Girls".
And Sarah kills with "Operation: Holla-Back-Girls!" 'Nuff said.
Brilliant!

Do they make "Just For Men" in white?

2008-04-16T17:24:00.001-05:00

I may go back to playing music...

Collaborative Sketchbook - pages 8 & 9

2008-04-16T09:49:00.002-05:00

A beautiful page by Kevin Peake. I love the landscape shot and the frame layout. And then blam! in kick-ass-heavy-metal-pinup fashion Tess Fowler introduces us to "The Girls".

Red Dragon Inn 2 cover

2008-04-16T09:25:00.004-05:00

Yee haw! It's done. This one took WAY longer than I had anticipated but overall I'm pleased with the way it came out. It's a great game and I'm looking forward to trying out the new characters.
I've included images with and without the type. I made a conscious effort not to go crazy with the background details which just got covered up with the type elements like I did with the first cover but I did have fun with the background characters nonetheless. Notably the dwarf slayer guy with tattoos and green mohawk in the middle.

Collaborative Sketchbook - pages 6 & 7

2008-04-15T08:19:00.003-05:00

It opens Frank's wallet that's what it does! Brilliant! Dylan Edwards of Feeps fame delivers a great page and follow up to Christopher's set up.

And in super tight form Paul Adam continues the witty banter and character development between our two mysterious travelers and introduces "The Girls"...

*Notice Frank's development now. Brilliant!

Etsy shop update

2008-04-12T17:31:00.005-05:00

I have added a few more prints and originals to my Etsy shop which you can visit here or click on the newly added Etsy Mini-shop to the right (thanks Alicia!). I plan on adding more stuff in the upcoming weeks. I have a ton of artwork to unload so if there's something you may want or are interested in and don't see it feel free to leave a comment or suggestion. Thanks.

Collaborative Sketchbook - pages 4 & 5

2008-04-12T11:25:00.003-05:00

Melita "Miss Monster" Curphy did a great job following up Brad 's "What's that?!" line from the previous page. Enter: a big cat-headed guy named Magnus who wants his money.

Okay so after the last post I was requested by Christopher to "get to the good stuff". I think he means his stuff so here it is.

Christopher Jennings did a brilliant job continuing the action and setting up the " gotta reach... gotta get it... gotta... gotta... " all important "red shiny button". What will it do?? The suspense is killer...

Collaborative Sketchbook - pages 2 & 3

2008-04-11T12:59:00.004-05:00

Here are the next couple of pages. Page 2 was done by Thomas "Goatboy" Reidy III and page 3 was done by Brad W. Foster.
I especially like the way Brad changed Thomas use of an alien language explaining it with a "clearing my throat" comment. Brilliant.
Also Brad named our first two main characters, Frank and his dinosaur buddy/steed Curt. Originally when I drew him I had pictured a little bald guy in space gear. Thomas immediately saw a monkey with goggles and a ball cap. And over the next few pages you'll see Frank change even more than this. I think this is a great visual representation of how different artists see stuff and what makes this project so cool and dynamic.

Collaborative Sketchbook - page 1

2008-04-10T09:27:00.004-05:00

So I started this collaborative sketchbook at ArmadilloCon 2006. The premise was that a different artist would do each page in a sequential story. Well so far it's turning out awesome, there is some great work in there and many thanks go out to the artists who have contributed. Originally I had this posted on my website but I didn't think the small images did the work justice (plus some of the type was hard to read). I just got it back in the mail from Mark Smylie so I figured I'd start posting the images here. It's interesting to see how the story(?) has developed and how the different characters have evolved.

This is the first page done by me.