"Rampage"

"Rampage" / 5.5 x 8.5" / acrylic & ink on paper

And, just like that, I'm back to drawing monsters! This one was a lot of fun to create. It's actually a rough sketch, seen through to completion (hence the smaller size of the drawing).

Once I realized how much movement & gesture I'd already captured in the loose sketch stage, I didn't want to waste time trying to redraw it on a whole new sheet of paper. Some days, you could draw for hours, and still never recapture the raw energy that you stumbled upon in a 30 second sketch.

- Dave C.

"Prostration"

"Prostration" / 8.5 x 11" / acrylic & ink on paper

Nothing says, "Monday," quite like a drawing of a lone warrior being attacked by a portal-hopping demon!

As bad as I feel for our frightfully exhausted (and now shield-less) hero, they may still make it out of this. Who knows what the scent of death-from-another-dimension will inspire them to do?

- Dave C.

"Liftoff"

"Liftoff" / 8.5 x 11" / acrylic & ink on paper

Today's drawing is another stream of consciousness piece. Something sprung to mind and brought with it images of children taking flight and transforming into strange birds.

But who is this horn-headed stranger, stepping out of the water. Is he dangerous? Or a benevolent creature, encouraging -- or even causing -- the children's metamorphosis. I suppose that remains to be seen....

- Dave C.

"Kindred"

"Kindred" / 11 x 17 / acrylic & ink on paper

Hope everyone had a swell weekend, and a peaceful start to this week. I'm kicking off this Monday through Friday run with some of my patented creepiness. It all spawned from a handful of questions that popped into my head -- don't monsters have relatives? If so, how do they keep in touch? What's a demon family reunion like?

And the image of this strange ritual came together from there.

- Dave C.

"Headless"

"Headless" / 9 x 12" / acrylic & ink on paper

Today's illustration features yet another Dangerous Woman. And much like the heroine of "Cestus," this deadly dame is dealing buckets full of pain to a much larger opponent. What can I say? I'm a sucker for an underdog. Even when said underdog is armed with razor-sharp blades capable of removing a man's noggin in one powerful slash!

- Dave C.

"Eclipsed"

"Eclipsed" / 12 x 17" / acrylic & ink on bristol board 

Today's piece includes several of my favorite subjects to draw -- strange travelers, wild nature & a harbinger of doom! And what says "doom" quite like a tentacled, smoke-spewing behemoth, that's big enough to block out the sun?!

At the start of this one, I was taken by the idea of two voyagers meeting on the coast. One, somewhat human. The other, monstrous & otherworldly. Something about this drawing harkens back to "Wayfarer" for me (from the previous series). But who knows? Maybe the human traveler in this illustration is here to stop this gigantic evil. I guess we'll just have to wait and see....

This marks the end of the first week of Series 4. I hope you've enjoyed the art I've posted so far. Have a fantastic weekend, wherever you are. And be sure to tune in Monday for the next installment of Alphabet Attack!

- Dave C.

"Alphabet Attack!" Returns on June 3rd!

I'm proud to announce the return of my daily illustration blitzkrieg, Alphabet Attack! on Monday, June 3rd! Once again, I'll be posting new images Monday through Friday, for your eager peepers to devour.

This will be the fourth series in my illustrated run from A to Z. And it promises to be ablaze with the raw imagination you enjoyed in previous installments of the blog.

In a new twist, this series will consist entirely of black & white artwork. So I'll be challenging myself to tell clear, single-image stories, without the benefit of color. Guess it's time to stock up on the ol' india ink!

Between now and the June 3rd launch, I'll be posting behind the scenes sketches, sneak peeks & insights on the art I'm developing. So stay tuned... there will be plenty to see, before the chum hits the rotor blade, in a few weeks.

Alphabet Attack! Series 4

Fresh Illustrations, Monday through Friday

Starting June 3, 2013

www.alphabetattack.blogspot.com

"We've come to far to give up who we are."
- Dave "King Gum" Crosland

"Wayfarer"

 "Wayfarer" / 14 x 17" / watercolor, acrylic & ink on paper

Perhaps it's the Holidays, but I've been thinking about traveling a lot, lately. Past trips, future journeys... hell, even other people's travels have been especially interesting to me. And I think that's where the inspiration for this piece came from.

As I began sketching out this weary wanderer, though, I started wondering what sort of effect they might have had on the people they met along the way... what spell they may have cast on the very landscape they traversed. And that's where the creepy elements slithered their way into the illustration.

"We mind-boggling, spine-tingling. Got the stroll of Galactus, now I'm planet-swallowing."
- David C.

"Sublime Spectacle"

"Sublime Spectacle" / 14 x 17" 

watercolors, acrylics, gouache & ink on paper

This piece started as a quick ink sketch. But once I began layering colors & mediums on it, things just went bonkers. Of course, bonkers is my speciality.

"Nothing's impossible, I have found. For when my chin is on the ground, I pick myself up, dust myself off & start over again."
- King Gum

"Rivals"

 

 

"Rivals" / 14x17" / watercolors, gouache, acrylics & ink on paper 

Eight more letters to go....

"And that's why they say I'm different... and that's why they say I'm strange."

- King Gum

"Questionable Quiche'

I'm not totally sure what the inspiration was for this one. But as soon as I got to the letter "Q," the title "Questionable Quiche" just popped in my head. So I ran with it! Perhaps this is all rooted in my deep-seeded fear of being eaten by my own food.


"Will you shoot the blue Earth down, in the space station, polishing the raygun? You say correlation is not causation."
- David C.

"Perilous Position"

This unfortunate scene -- well, unfortunate for the diminutive human in the image -- was created during C2E2, at the Nerd City booth. It was my first painting of the weekend, just meant to warm up the ol' painting arm. But when I got home, I realized it was the perfect scene for what I wanted to do with The Letter P.

"Perilous Position" / 9 x 12" / watercolors, gouache & ink on bristol

Who knows? The little guy might find a way out of this... somehow.


"What's growin' like grass with the mass appeal?"
- King Gum Crosland

"Necromancy"

"Necromancy" / 9x12" / acrylics & gouache on paper

I thought I'd wrap up this week's illustration run on a creepy note. Nothing says, "TGIF," quite like the gaping maw of an ungodly resurrection.


I hope you've all been getting as big a kick out of the new Alphabet Attack! as I have. Stay tuned, as there are about to be some developments with the series, beyond the digital constraints of The Interweb.


And, por supuesto, you can count on having your eyeballs rocked by a whole new run of pieces, next week.


"I'm cranky like nobody understands me. White tee, dagger in the back, nothing fancy."
- King Gum Crosland

"Mephistopheles"

"Mephistopheles" / 12x15" / gouache & ink on paper

I don't think there's a corner of mankind that doesn't recognize some form of The Devil... a creature of pure evil, who's aim is to pull the whole of humanity into the bowels of Perdition.


"So grab your eight-plus-one! Start flippin' and trippin'!
Niggas is jettin'! I'm lickin' off, son!"
- King Gum 

"Lunar Levitation"

"Lunar Levitation" / 12x18" / acrylics & collage on canvas board

Growing up in a PBS-positive household has given me a keen appreciation for shows on history, politics, global affairs and Muppets. But what's really been turning my nerd screw, lately, are programs about space! Hence, today's intergalactic-themed illustration.


"We're all gonna burn in hell! Because we do what we gotta do real well, and we've got the fever to tell!"
- King Gum

"Harbinger"

From watching The Terminator as a child, to seeing Akira as a teen, all the way up to my current obsession with Sons of Anarchy, I've developed a keen vehicle crush on motorcycles. While I may never actually ride one, they remain one of my favorite monstrous means of transportation to depict in drawings. All that speed and growling fury, all that power... it sinks it claws right into my imagination! How could I not get a kick out of loading these iconic iron horses with terrifying riders & letting them run loose on the page?!

"Harbinger" / 12x15" / watercolors & ink on paper

"You grabbed my hand and we fell into it, like a daydream or a fever."
- King Gum

"Coral Carnivore" Early Glazes

Here's a peek at the early stages of my opaque painting process. While these colors are still fairly transparent, they're thicker and more purposeful than what I did in the under painting.


I prefer to determine my darkest areas in a painting early on, so that's where I tend to start my attack. Once I'd gotten the base bright pink color placed in the sky, I started darkening up the stone archway around our evil siren.



While the arch will be pretty dark both above and below the water, I still want to maintain a difference in warmth and coolness between each side of the surface. To do this, I've used a dark brown for the stone above the water (warm) and a dark blue for the stone below it (cool).


Lastly for today, I've begun laying in the darkest parts of the hidden sea beastie. Along with the gaping maw of his hungry mouth and his eerie pupils, I've also started to darken the linework on him. I'll do this throughout the piece, in a manner that's similar to inking with a brush. This process helps me keep my drawing strong, while I build up layers of paint.


From here on out, I really just have to dive in and paint like a fiend. A lot of thought and consideration goes into taking the piece from this to its completion. But with the right music and mood, those conscious thoughts will fall into the background. When I'm really on a roll, I'll detach myself from the process... almost like I'm watching myself paint. And that's the Jedi trance action I'm aiming for.

That's all for this week! Tune in on Monday for more Alphabet Attack!

"What I do? I called up the Geto Boys crew, 'cause my mind's playing tricks on me too!"
- Dave

"Coral Carnivore" Step Two

As you can see, Step Two of "Coral Carnivore" involved going from the initial sketch to a finished drawing. At first, I was reluctant to do a complete redraw for this piece. Maybe it was a pang of laziness, but I was so in love with the sketch (see last Thursday's post), that I almost didn't see the point in recreating that image from scratch. But in the end, I harnessed my weekend work ethic and channeled it into this finalized drawing.


The core elements here are essentially the same as in the sketch. I've tweaked the devilish siren a bit, and added some extra details to her toothy lower half.


I also added a stone archway to the scene, further emphasizing the fact that this beastie is lurking in a shallow cove. I've actually been to places like this, along the California coast. They are truly gorgeous, awe-inspiring scenes. I highly recommend visiting the ocean, as often as possible. There's nothing like standing next to a force of nature that's loaded with mystery, unseen creatures and corpses. It's beautiful and frightening, all at the same time.


Lastly, I found a strange satisfaction in taking the time to redraw this piece. A lot of Classical painters and 20th Century illustrators whose work I admire would endure the rigorous task of creating preliminary drawings, before ever touching the canvas. Some would even create whole paintings, just to work out the kinks in their plan for what would be the real finished piece.

That's something I've always wanted to incorporate in my work. I know it doesn't really jive with our push-button, instant gratification society. But it felt amazing taking the extra time to push myself from an already satisfactory drawing, and on to something that reached for even higher ground.

Stay tuned this week for the next steps of "Coral Carnivore!"

"I'm in the cube & I'm deep in the toilet! Way down deep where no good shit gets started!"
- Dave