Scratchboards

Creating the Angel of Death Fan Art

There are a number of significant characters designed in any ‘fan boy’ universe. The Angel of Death character is a personal favorite. The textures and features are so complex. From feathers to bone, the rough and delicate spectrum work so well together. Attempting to bring out those features was challenging and rewarding. Scratchboard as a media, allows the artist to look at the negative spacial planes and manipulate a surface that appears to have dimension.

Medusa with Snakes

Mythology has a variety of important characters that drive a story. Medusa will always be a favorite. Tales of vanity and self importance swell within the pages and make the visual aspects incredibly vivid to me. Using scratchboard allows me to realize the importance of the negative spaces within the scales of the snake and the spiraling significance between each body, including Medusa herself.

Scylla triton study

Nothing promotes a vivid imagination like the incredible works of Ray Harryhausen. A man of vision and a true mentor to the success of a lot of my monster work. I wanted to capture his vision with my own artistic style and bring something special to the dark surfaces of an ink block like scratchboard. As I scratch away the surface and reveal the white clay beneath, I am humbled by the effective use of tentacles and teeth. Sea serpents are always challenging, because they are gigantic, fierce and surviving within an environment that needs to be just as dramatic.