New MTG work!

Arcanis the Omnipotent and Zurgo Helmsmasher, created for Magic: The Gathering’s 

Speed Vs. Cunning Duel Deck.

Spectra Ward

"Spectra Ward"  Painted last year for Magic: The Gathering's M15 set.  Hope you like it! :-)

More MTG: Journey Into Nyx!

This rounds out my contribution to the Journey Into Nyx set.  Stay tuned for what's next from WOTC and Magic: The Gathering! :D

Still Alive!!

Back in town with some new work!  2014 has been pretty intense so far, but at least I can finally share some work again!  Here are two unrelated paintings that conveniently compliment each other palette-wise.  Go figure. :P  The first one is called "Dawnbringer Charioteers" and was created for Magic: The Gathering's Journey Into Nyx set, releasing May 2.  The Mermaid avatar is one of the first works I created with Kabam Inc.

"Our Land"

First pass on this one.  Mostly just figuring out values and the relationships between shapes.  All the fancy details to come after that.

Second Pass.  Lots of "kit-bashing" and trying to compose a suit of armor that doesn't belong to any one specific time period.  Starting to render things out here and there, but still keeping many areas unfocused while I zoom around and hash things out.  I often feel like an archaeologist dusting off dinosaur bones when I paint like this.  This character is part of a larger world-building project which I will divulge more on later.  In the mean time, here some scenes to help start things off.  Really excited to share this project, I'm going as fast as time allows between commercial work.  Stay tuned!

*edit:  (the scenes below are not in any sort of narrative order.)

Pretty much at the finish with the character now! (higher-res on http://www.ryanleeart.com)  Time to get to the storyboards above!

Something Shiny

Tiny crop(s) of something I'm starting today.  More soon!

"Violent Skies"

Recent drawing created for the Salon Nuit show on Sunday near Alamo Square in San Francisco. (http://www.salonnuit.com/)  Had a great time exploring the Westerfield House (a.k.a. The Russian Embassy) and want to thank Layil Umbralux and Co. for hosting the event.

 I tell ya, sometimes nothing beats life drawing with some fancy hats and absinthe tinted walls. :)

Blog Update!

Haven't been an active blogger as of late--too many other things out there!  But, suffice it to say I am still here and thought I would make another post.  Just some quick sketches for now.  More fully fleshed out illustrations are en route. :)  See you soon!

-Ryan

Back Home and Re-calibrated

Spectrum Fantastic Art Live 2013 is over, and I am finally back home and able to process everything.  I want to extend my thanks again to Muddy Colors for setting everything up and providing me with such an amazing gift.  This weekend was truly unforgettable.  To all of the fantastic people I met this weekend and artists who will inspire me for years to come, I say thank you.  I also want to congratulate the winners of Saturday night's award ceremony--all of the nominees had absolutely stunning work on display.  What a crazy time to be involved in the world of Science Fiction and Fantasy Art.  It's actually getting harder to keep track of where the boundaries lie and just exactly where to classify it all.  Beautiful art goes well beyond genre I suppose, and SFAL '13 was chock full of nothing less.


I've already hit the ground running since getting back, and feel as though I've grown a lot and learned much in such a short amount of time.  I'm already looking forward to next year, and hunkering down to cover as much ground as I can.  Here are two pieces I finished for Applibot before flying down to Kansas City last week that I would like to share with you.  More to come soon!  Thanks again, everyone. :)

Spectrum Live!!!

The time has arrived!  Spectrum Fantastic Art Live is happening this weekend in Kansas City, MO--and chances are, if you've been following this blog you already know what it is and what its all about!  This is the Second year for the SFAL event and is sure to be even bigger and better than last time around.  I had a great time, met lots of amazing folk, and bought a ton of gorgeous artwork from some of my favorite talents.  Time to do it all again!  Anyway, I'm just about all packed and ready to head over there and plan to arrive Friday afternoon if the weather cooperates.  I'll be exhibiting at the Muddy Colors booth this year and will be bringing some goodies for sale.  Very limited custom prints will be available at ridiculously low prices, as well as cards and personalized sketches, aaand there are two other surprises that will be on display for a short time.  If you will be in attendance this year, drop by and say hello!

WHOA

http://muddycolors.blogspot.com/2013/04/rising-stars-2013.html

Humbled beyond belief at being chosen to exhibit with the Muddy Colors folks, whose work and wisdom I've been following since I first heard about their collective a few years ago. Still processing the whole thing at this point, and I think it's going to take a few days to wrap my head around it.  Humongous thanks to Dan Dos Santos and the other judges over at the Muddy Colors blog, as well as a big congratulations to Kim Kincaid, Liz Pulido, and Mia Arujo with whom I share this victory.  Can't wait until the Spectrum Live 2 event in Kansas City (May 17-19), where you'll likely find me giggling like a little girl by the posters and prints. Don't miss it, last year was an incredible time, and this one is sure to be even better!  Hope to see you all there!!

"The Guarded"

Okay--here's the result of the teaser I posted last time.  Tried something a little different style-wise.  Working on avoiding using the same brushes over and over again and trying to "say less with more" as far as brushwork goes in general.  Already playing around with something else and hope to post the progress on that soon enough.  Stay tuned! :P

The Guardian

"King Dynanon", Photoshop, March 2013.   Building a castle...one stone at a time. ;)

Oh!--and here's a little teaser of something on the way..  Thanks for stopping by!

Infected By Art!

Hey, I just learned about a really cool project/contest happening called Infected By Art!  I entered in one of my newest piece for the jury.  If you have a moment, please follow the link below and vote for "Until I Say"!  I will buy you flowers and send you a box of chocolates if I get enough votes from you! :B

LINK:  https://infectedbyart.com/entries/880#.UQmacSfAdFY

Best In Show!

Woohoo!!  "Until I Say" just won the Institutional category and Best In Show over on the Art Order Blog ( http://theartorder.com/the-artorder-nymp-challenge-judging/ ).  I want to extend a huge thanks to all of the judges: Chris Moeller, Daren Bader, Jeremy Cranford, Lauren Panepinto, Tony DiTerlizzi, and of course, Jon Schindette!--Also, thanks to everyone who managed to pass a vote over on the Facebook page.  I appreciate all the love and support from everyone--January's been a good one!

Daughters of Boreas

Here's my second entry for the Art Order Nymph Challenge coming up next week.  It is my sincerest hope that this painting gives the viewer the sense that these floating cloud women smell like the finest laundry detergent/dryer sheets in existence.  If not, I'll have to try harder next time.  But in all seriousness, thank you for stopping by--wish me luck for the Nymph Challenge and have a sweet weekend!! :P

Cetra

Fan Art.  Can you guess what game?  Circa 1997...  :)

Creeps

Quick little update with a new banner and some recent work.  More on the way~  Enjoy!

Sneak Peeks

A little sample of things on the way...

Not Today

Howdy!  Finally able to get some nice photos of this oil painting that was done for the Safehouse Studios Gallery Show last month.  Got more stuff coming down the pipes soon.  Thanks for stopping by!

Why Hello Again.

Been a little while, but I've got plenty of new stuff to toss up on this ol' blog of mine over the next few days.  I'll start with a self portrait. The glasses turned out to be a lot less challenging than painting the beard.  Hadn't expected that when I started.  Apologies too for the photo quality...this pic was taken on a mere powershot sx 200.  Once I get this painting professionally photographed or scanned in I'll add it to my official portfolio website.  Which, by the way is now located here:  http://secretsciencestudios.com

See ya soon!

Dark Ages Mega Man Redesigns: Dr. Wily

My entry for the CharacterFORGE Redesign challenge.  Artists were asked to combine characters from Capcom's Mega Man franchise with a Dark Ages/High Fantasy genre.

I recreated Dr. Wily as an insane Blacksmith King, responsible for forging all of the cruelly evil Robot Masters that Mega Man must destroy.

I smuggled in a few extra characters where I could. :)

To see other Dark Ages Mega Man redesigns, go here:

http://cghub.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3549

Figure Studies