Guest artist Darren McCay!

Falconer

I love doing the guest artist spots so I can showcase independent talents from all over. Today we go to Northern Ireland and hear from artist Darren McCay. Just check out the recent work he did on my character, Falconer from my first novel.

Darren's work has a retro feel that can take you back to the golden age of comics but certainly is not limited in any way. Strong lines, colors and proportions tell a story with every pic he does. I sent him some interview questions and his answer was so concise that I don't want to break it up into the question segments. So here's Darren:




Cheers, Dave. I've been drawing superheroes since I was 5 and I'm 44 now. I'm a family man with two teenagers (the daughter, Brogan, is a world champion Irish dancer). 
I'm working on my own story called Icons which is a superhero epic spanning decades from the "birth" of the classic superhero to the near future. I've been reading comics all my life and I think I've come up with something original.

With this story I intend to do the opposite of say, Watchmen and construct the superhero from the ground up and make them relevant in the modern world. The emphasis of my story is on symbolism and iconography . Every hero must wear a unique symbol and keep their identity secret as it is integral to the survival of the heroes. I can't really say much more about the story but I will be doing a stand alone intro story which will lay the foundations and give an overall insight into the Icons universe. So far I've created about 60 heroes though many will just be peripheral characters. I need to fill each decade so there my be more before I'm done. My favourite character is Vanguard, my Superman analogue , although there is far more to him than you would think. My main problem is finding the time to draw as I have a day job but I should get something out in the near future.

I think it sounds like an amazing story line. I certainly wish him all the possible luck! Now check out these works of his.

Strong and expressive here. You can feel the action. Eye expression conveys powerful emotion and posing just makes the whole thing pop.










Be sure to add his Facebook fan page HERE! 

Nothing says cool like solid pencil work! Follow that link to his page and take a tour. Be on the look out for Icons! It looks to be a heck of a story.

Arting it up for the board game!

Watch out for the reality warp!

I admit, I've been dealing with writer's block for the last two weeks on what to even put here. I've also been super busy. So today, I want to share with you some of the artwork I've been doing for the first GZ board game, based on characters from my novel, Chessmen: Opening Moves. But hold on! There's a little secret you need to know first about this artwork.

It may not be the actual art for the published game. There is someone working in the background and if this works out, you will have your mind blown. So take the images you see with a grain of salt. They are basically what the art will look like, but only basically. Wink wink!

The game is all about completing your goal for you side of the balance (good or evil) and a whole lot of crazy stuff can happen on your way. You'll enlist the help of characters from your side of the balance and set off events that change game play several times over. I think I can show you what's in the game easiest by card types.

CHARACTERS: In a game for up to 6 players you will randomly be assigned a character type. Inventor, Speedster, Soldier, Wizard, Strongman, or Psychic will be who you are for the duration of your game play (or until your character gets killed because yes; that can happen.

GOALS: Also given at random, you will have a goal to complete in order to win the game. They all involve completing a series of tasks like defeating monsters or finding artifacts. I won't get into full detail on all of them, but you get the idea I think.







POWERS: Everyone gets a random power to boost their game play, but don't expect it to be permanent. There are 8 possibilities and they can change.

SPELLS: It's possible to be able to use powerful spells. But their use is also not permanent and they are easy come easy go! Use them while you have the chance!




Then we come to the main deck and I'm going to leave that for now. After all, this is just a sneak peek of what's to come! I will say it's where you find artifacts, items, and trigger amazing events that affect everyone. Now enjoy these artistic bits and click on images for larger view. You can also get the book this is based on by clicking on my Author's page in the links on the right. 99 cents for kindle or kindle app!!

Fire Scroll

Anti-magic grenede

Magic Sword

Laser rifle

New Year update 2015!

Plans are big for the new year! I have lots of work to get done and I've even put new deadlines in the works. In this blog you'll see some recently done artwork. Where it's used depends on "other things to come". So consider them mystery sneak peeks.

The novel, Chaos Rising is on delay. I'm hoping to have it available for February.

GZ the Boardgame: Chessmen Edition is in art stage as last reported. Deadline is set for April or early May so manufacturing has time to get it ready. Why? Because we'd like to take the game to Geekonomicon in December! We will likely have a kickstarter between now and then for the manufacturing. That means a chance to get your hands on a copy before it makes it's official debut! So stay tuned this year!

GZ Tales Volume 2 is still slated for this year. Hopefully by Summer!

Chessmen 2 is planned for late Summer or early Fall.

Lots of new artwork is coming as I update old pics and practice with new ones.

Guest Artists! Yep, I'll still do guest artists. Anyone who draws a GZ character will have it posted as the main illustration for the article and then more of their work will be showcased. I may even have the first of this year for next week!

Other books in planning are, The Arconian Chronicles and the yet untitled book that will follow Chaos Rising. So much story history, so little time!

I really am excited about the new year. It looks like there's going to be a lot happening and lots to build towards. With some effort and a bit of luck, we'll be set up for and explosive 2016! Always forward!