Shadowcast Picture Show

Final

Truth be told, I'm not a huge Rocky Horror Picture Show fan. Hell, I haven't really seen it all the way through until recently AND I've NEVER seen it live. Maybe it's my disdain for musicals or performing in public. Despite all that, I found this painting oddly familiar. Alright, maybe it wasn't an overachieving painting like 'Creature Feature' with 60 some-odd figures, but the layout was familiar ground. The publisher, Post Mortem Press, gave me a 2 month deadline which meant that I wasn't going to go hog-wild and paint 60 characters. 16 was manageable.

Reference

They were looking for parody, more fan-centric, but I took the likeness route. I mean, why can't the cast ever be there dressed as their favorite part(s) from the film? I totally understand the publisher's stance... licensing rights, but I plowed ahead anyway.

Pencils

Process:

Rein[Forced]: Stab Wounds

Final

This was a project that I knew of for close to two years.  Jim Semonik, a long time friend and front-man to the band Rein[Forced], had always kept me in the loop as to what was happening with his band's latest album.  Anytime that I'd see him out at the clubs or at a show, he'd mention that he'd be needing my skills with the album art and layout.  No problem, I'd reply.  The when was never really addressed; he's a passionate guy who loves to promote and hype his endeavors.  I was already familiar with how he worked as I did the band's previous releases; Cherophobia and Futile Longings.

I had a general idea of what I was going to do after hearing the proposed album tile 'X Amount of Stab Wounds in the Back'.  Yeah, a little wordy, but not shy on filling my head full of imagery.  Taking the literal approach, I immediately saw a person's back with knives... a lot of knives.  I wanted to do this layering type of piece where the booklet would, when thumbed through, reveal different anatomical layers of the person's back in which the knives poked through.  Like those found in some encyclopedias.  However, costs prohibited and designing it would have taken me forever to realize.

As the day to actually begin came into view, a dinner date was scheduled to discuss the project.  My thinking cap was firmly adjusted and I stepped into the shower.  Okay, I didn't go into the shower specifically to think about the project.  It was more that I needed to shower and the ideas just happened to flow.  The shower has always helped me brainstorm.  Word associations also help.  For this assignment, words like; backstabbing, backbite, double-crossed,  and two-faced came to mine.

I envisioned a skeleton of sorts, shiny knives, grey tones, purple coloring, graphic looking circulatory system.  Now it was time to do some thumbnails and to gather some reference photos.

Thumbnail

I bought about 40 bucks worth of digitally modeled knives.  There must have been about 30 different types of knives.  I didn't have time to make each and every one.  You gotta pick your battles.

Digital Reference

I chose to layout this out in 3D Studio Max because I was having a difficult time putting pencil to paper exactly the vision I had mind.  This process is very helpful for me.  I get to move objects in realtime in a three dimensional space until I'm happy with what I see.  It's also perfect when clients want minuscule to drastic changes.

Jim and I sat down to discuss the album art and to enjoy our awesome Red Robin burgers.  Yummmm!  Surprisingly, we were on the same page... but not the same paragraph.  And that's okay.  I jumped the gun a little, as I do.  I didn't come empty-handed.  I presented him with some conceptual renderings after I heard his pitch.  I was very close.  So close, I even nailed the color palette.  However, my presentation lacked a few elements that he wanted to tie-in from the previous album's art.

Now it was time for me to digest and to percolate for a while.  Sometimes what the client specifically wants isn't always the right thing.  It's my job to convince them otherwise.  Sometimes, even I need to rethink my strategy and divorce myself from those early concepts.  It can be difficult, but I'll take their notes and intentions and integrate them into a happy middle ground.

Pencils

It was revealed that the booklet would be 8 total pages and in full color!  Exciting... yet intimidating.  I needed to think of related images and designs for the other pages.  Jim would not stand for blank or repurposed images for the interiors.  Nor would I, for that matter.  I knew that I needed to keep the theme consistant with the main cover image.  All I had to work with was knives and bones and the concept of betrayal.  I was kinda of at a loss for a few days as I searched for a solution.

Finally, I had my answer.  It was simple.  It had eluded me no more.  The veil of secrecy was no longer between me and the answer. This was where my artistic license, my BS in art, really payed off.  I took a giant leap and hoped I could verbalize the madness I was about to convey.

The betrayal concept was symbolically depicted as knives in the back.  It wasn't about betrayal by someone else.  The boney man can't face himself in the mirror.  He feels betrayed, betrayed by his own body.  It was as if his body acted without his knowledge, a conspiracy of the flesh.

And there it was, the pathway that would lead me deeper into the visual labyrinth.  Conspiracy of the Flesh.

But there was more than that being told with the cover piece.  Follow me.  There was a possibility of redemption as well, as shown by the knived wings.  Through the hardship, he will prevail and ascend.

Suddenly, there was a new batch of imagery I was able to incorporate.  I added the shroud and the thorny mirror frame to the cover image to help tie everything together.

In the end, this was a mentally challenging project.  Lots of little pieces.  Evolving concepts.  Several unused  ideas.  I'd do it again, given the chance.  I love the thought process that my mind endures.  It's like making a puzzle and solving it all the while finding more ways to complicate it.  Maddening!

Was it a stretch?  Was it easy for the viewer to identify with what was all being shown?  Did it matter at all?  I'm curious of what other people's interpretation are.

The Latin translations:
Pungo Vulnus = Stab Wounds
Traditio Pulpa = Conspiracy of the Flesh

Creature Feature

If you're looking to purchase prints, you can buy them through my site... www.byronwinton.com

Final

I was idle there for a moment.  A client put our project on hold and I was left with literally nothing to do.  With this client, I was booked for a half a year, 3-5 pieces and I needed to be focused.  I normally think about the next project(s) while I'm working on the current piece.  I couldn't take on any new assignments nor think about other projects.  I had just began the finished pencils to the first piece when it all came to a screeching halt.  Damn.

Reference Card

This pause didn't last for very long, thankfully.  I spent a couple days mentally resetting, spinning in circles, and then plotted my creative course.  I wanted to do some horror related paintings.  I had several ideas, but I needed to wait for models and props to become available.  However, I knew I always wanted to do a super-horror-fan type of painting and I didn't need props and models to do it.  So that's what I did.

A theater full of horror film icons.

Initially, I was going to have a young couple making out up front.  Ya know, kids being rude at the movies.  Then I saw the CD for Elvira Presents Haunted Hits and I had a new point-of-focus.  She is, after all, a horror host.  Now it's questionable that I threw my horror net too broad, including everything that her "B" persona didn't represent.  Whatever.  She's hot and applicable.

3D Model

I put together a 3D model of the theater filled with spectators to make sure I had the correct proportions, perspective, and depth-of-field.  I didn't want the further back figures to be too small, indifferent or hidden.  Fortunately, adjusting this in the 3D stage is simple and a time saver.

Reference Comp

Next, I comped all of the subjects after some extensive researching.  Thanks Google!  I came up with 50 some-odd figures... 50+ likenesses that this painting was going to entail.  I was drooling at all of the potential details.

Pencils

After that, I filled in all of the blanks that my reference material couldn't.  Some meant additional reference photos of me posing here and there.  Others meant clever uses of lighting/shadow.  In the end, my goal was to build a collection of figures that didn't look like a bunch of floating heads.  They all had to have a story in a sense... cohesion.  They had to look as though they belonged there.  Along the painting process, I ended up adding an additional 12 characters; some were suggestions from the peanut gallery.  I spent probably 100+ hours on this piece.

Cinema horror is an integral part of my life.  It was there for me when high-school was difficult.  It consoled me when friends and family were absorbed in their own lives.  Their films educated me in death, murder, mutilation, drugs, and premarital sex.  I'd love to give them each a giant hug to thank them for the fine moral compass I travel life with, but I'm afraid they would cut me down on sight.

Spectrum 2012

SAL Entrance

Wow!  What a weekend!  I'm not sure if I can properly convey how awesome it was.  I'll try.  It started out rough, but that had nothing to do with the event... it was the stress of getting there.  Everything else was magical... I'm talking rainbows and unicorns!


And as always, click the images for a larger view.

Badge and Frank

Spectrum Fantastic Art Live 2012

First of all, Spectrum is an annual art book that showcases juried pieces of artwork from the previous year; be it for editorial, book covers, comic books, 3-dimensional, and unpublished. This book has been around for 19 years and the organizers of the book, Cathy and Arnie Fenner, figured it was time to put together a live gathering of these fantastic artists.  You didn't need to be in the book to be in the show.  That's a good thing.  I haven't been in the book AT ALL!  I've only submitted once, I believe.  The book for this year though, I definitely plan to have few submissions.

Why Kansas City of all places?  Well, that's where the Fenners are based out of.  And after being in the city for a few days, it was a perfect location.  More on that later.

Luggage and the 131lb box

Getting There and Back

American Airlines is the worst airline I've ever had to deal with!  Not only did the ticket counter accept a 131lb piece of luggage that was 31lbs overweight, causing me to miss my flight, they then screwed up the tickets for the rescheduled flight 10 hours later.  Apparently they wanted me to catch the connecting flight BEFORE the initial departing flight.  There went the buffer of time I planned.  Thankfully, I had that to work with.  THEN after not flying with American Airlines, they failed to refund my checked baggage fee.  Now I have to fight tooth and nail to get those fees back and maybe some sort of compensation for all the idiocy THEY gave me.  Their customer support line also is less than adequate.  I haven't been able to get through to ANYONE!  It would state that they are overloaded and then hang up.  I'm livid!

I knew my one piece of luggage was going to be questionable.  It needed to come.  No doubt about it.  It had all of my gear, merchandise, and originals in it.  Not only was weight an issue, but size too as it turned out.  I paid out the nose to get it there and back on the plane.  I paid for the overweight, oversized, AND the regular checked fee.  Each airline had different rates and flexibility.  One waved a fee, while the others stuck it to me.  Robbery I tell you!  I intended to cargo ship it, but time didn't permit it.  Next time, ABSOFUCKINGLUTELY!  FedEx is NOT the way to go either.  I looked up a quote... close to $600 each way.  Fuuuuck that!

Dan strikes a Frazetta pose

My Assistant or VP of Talent Relations

I had the best booth helper ever!  My friend, Dan Hodge, assisted me all weekend.  He helped diffuse the airline stress.  He, artfully, was able to listen and offer engaging conversation.  He was charming and was able to entertain purveyors of my work.  I think the only way he could have been any better is if he had boobs.  He was a kid in a candy store at the show.  He knew more about the other artists than I did.  Every time he left the table he'd come back with another purchase or story to tell.  I don't know much about the fantasy market other than I haven't rolled a d20 in like forever.

The booth

Live or Memorex

There was plans to change up my booth for this event.  I had designed a new backdrop that was wider, taller... featured 8 images and was printed on matte material.  However, it was stuck at the printers.  I can't put the blame entirely on the printer, I didn't have the Creature Feature painting done in time anyway to submit the final piece.  It'll be used for some other show.  I know that for future art shows, not comic conventions, I need to have originals framed and in the show-goers face.  They're there to see the paintings, not prints.  How tacky of me.

Dan took the reigns of re-laying out my table.  He put the Creature Feature painting on the table and staggered a few other items.  He offered me some excellent suggestions for future shows.  Thanks buddy!

As it turned out, the monster painting was a huge success.  Anyone who walked by was halted in their tracks and had to play the "Name All the Monsters" game.  I just hope they remember to buy the print online.


Kansas City

Kansas City Missouri has it together.  It seemed everywhere you looked there's some impressive piece of architecture, Art Deco facade buildings, Modern Art, plenty of parking, several taxi services, a bustling metro area on the weekend, an open downtown grocery store, a unique airport layout.  Perhaps KC showed me what it wanted to show off... hiding the unsightly.  But you know what, KC couldn't hide the weather which was beautiful and free of the humidity that I'm use to in most places.

Kauffman Cntr for the Performing Arts	Convention Center - Bartle Hall	Convention Center - Grand Ballroom
Public Library - Parking Garage	Public Library - Parking Garage

Portfolio Reviews

About a month before the event, they opened up registration for portfolio reviews.  The must've had 10 different editors from various avenues of the industry.  Reps from Tor, Orbit, Rockstar, Disney, Blizzard, Wizards of the Coast, DC Comics to name a few.  I signed up for the 3 maximum; Tor, Orbit, and Wizards of the Coast.

Tor and WotC both told me the same thing; where do I want to go with my career?  Orbit gave me the impression that I was already there.  It was just a matter of the right job landing on their desk.  Each didn't necessarily have anything critical to say, which is a relief.  It was more about direction and insight of the industry; pay, turnaround times and rights.

It was a sweet opportunity to have one-on-one face time with them.  It got my name, work, and personality on their radar.


Masters of Their Craft

I knew going into the show that the collected amount of talent would be staggering.  Many of the artists I've envied for the past 25 years were going to be there.  Their art books line the shelves of my bookcases.  It was always neat to see an original painting from my idols at a gallery... here originals were in abundance PLUS the opportunity to have dialogue and possibly have them see their influence on me.

Michael Whelan always seemed to be in close proximity during the weekend.  We first chatted in the elevator at the hotel.  Later, I purchased the larger prints of Lovecraft's Nightmare (a,b) from him.  He and his wife briefly hung out with us at the bar... chatting about everything but art.  Then, as the show was ending, he gave me some great advice on the monster painting.  He's an all around really cool guy!

I could go on with each master, but honestly, it'd be much of the same.  I'd stare endlessly at their originals, I'd share my appreciation of their work and how it's influenced me over the years, then we'd end with talk about the Spectrum event and how beneficial it is for our industry.  I constantly wrestled to keep the inner fan boy in check all weekend.

Jeff Preston	Brom	Mike Mignola
Boris Vallejo	Julie Bell	Gary Gianni
Virginie Ropars	Michael Whelan

New Friends

As a budding professional, this was the perfect gathering to expand my network of professional artists.  Some I met as fellow Spectrum presenters and others came by my table incognito.  It's refreshing to be among like minds... this is my tribe, the people who truly get me.  We share the same worries, struggles, aspirations, and rewards.  I hope to connect more with these new acquaintances at future events. Some probably through the glorious Facebook.  It was a pleasure sharing this experience with you all.

At the Midland

End Thoughts

Saturday evening they held an awards show at the majestic Midland theater announcing the nominees and presenting the Silver and Gold awards to each of the 10 categories featured in the annual book.  It was really endearing hearing each of the acceptance speeches.  So much passion and praise.  I think I got a bit teary eyed on a couple of them.  Phadroid (Android Jones and his wife) provided enchanting performance pieces through out... dancers interacting with light.  You had to have been there.

So after all is said and done and artists are back in their studios toiling away, the thought of doing the Spectrum Live event again is high on everyones to do list.  I definitely plan on doing it again, but most importantly, I REALLY NEED to get into the Spectrum  book next year.