THE EK SERIES ARTBOOK - JAPANESE VERSION

The Japanese language edition of my book, Born In Concrete: The EK Series, has been published by Born Digital Inc. in conjunction with Design Studio Press.

The content of this edition is the same as the original English language version that was published by Design Studio Press back at the end of 2013, but the book has been reformatted down to a new size of 9"x 10.5" (as opposed to the 11"x 13"of the original), bound with a soft cover, and fully translated into Japanese . While the images maybe don't have the same impact at this new smaller size, the book looks great, with the Japanese text giving the book an exotic feel and the coated paper stock (both inside and on the cover) giving the images a softer more satin finish. It even has that little title/price card folded into the book like all Japanese books seem to have. So cool!

I'm a big fan of Japanese art books (mainly animation production books), and it was great to see my book interpreted in this fashion. The book is available from Born Digital here, of Amazon.jp here.

The original, English language version is available here.

As for the original version of the book, due to it being featured (along with my Dystopic model kit) on the online show "Tested", it has spent the last 5 days as the #1 top seller on Amazon in the digital art category. Thanks to those that picked up a copy of the book….it is much appreciated!

Thanks to Scott Robertson and Tinti Dey at Design Studio Press and the guys at Born Digital Inc.

TESTED - ADAM SAVAGE'S ONE DAY BUILDS

My Dystopic model kit is featured on the latest episode of "Tested - One Day Builds", hosted by Adam Savage (Myth Busters). Check it out on You Tube here.

The Dystopic kit is currently sold out, but I think Industria Mechanika is planning on bringing it back for a fourth run next fall. Until then, my other 1/8th scale EK Cosmonaut kit is available and the next two will be released in the coming months.

Props to Gene Campbell and Industria Mechanika!

CHARACTERS ART BOOK

An expanded version of a character design walkthrough I did for 2D Artist magazine is included in the upcoming book: Beginner's Guide to Digital Painting in Photoshop: CHARACTERS. 

Other contributors include Charlie Bowater, Benita Winckler and Bram "Boco" Sels to name a few. From the samples I've seen so far it looks like a great book, and would be the perfect resource for the inspiring digital artist.

Beginner's Guide to Digital Painting in Photoshop: CHARACTERS is published by 3D Total Publishing and will hit the shelves late next month, and t is available for pre-order on Amazon and at the 3D Total Shop. Cover art by the talented Charlie Bowater.

Thanks to Jess Serjent-Tipping.

EK COSMONAUT SERIES: FIGURE 02

The second figure in the 1/8th scale, three piece EK Cosmonaut Series is complete and off for printing, casting, etc. Masterfully modeled again by Gene Campbell, this kit will have the same level of detail and quality as the last two kits. The packaging artwork is also complete so hopefully it will be be ready for pre-order and release fairly soon. I'll post again once the dates have been firmed up by Industria Mechanika.

Until then enjoy this sneak peek and go check out the other great kits at Industria Mechanika.

 

 

AMAZING FIGURE MODELER

A great build of the Dystopic Model Kit is featured on the cover of the latest issue of Amazing Figure Modeler (issue #58). An article detailing the build is also included within the issue.If you are interested in such things you can look for this to come to your magazine stand soon, or order directly from Amazing Figure Modeler. Speaking of great builds, here are a few pics of the first figure from the next line of kits based on work from the Entartete Kunst series, the 3 figure, 1/8th scale EK Cosmonaut Series, built up by French illustrator extraordinaire Manchu:

Check out more pics on his blog here.

The Dystopic Kit is currently sold out, but hopefully it will return for a forth edition in the future. In the meantime check out the other great kits at Industria Mechanika.

EK COSMONAUT #3 SHIPPING

The kits of the first figure in the EK Cosmonaut Series are being shipped out this week by Industria Mechanika. Thanks to everyone that bought one. They still have some in stock, so if you are interested in picking one up, head over to the IMech shop here.

I've previously posted pics of the master sculpt, but here is a first look at the bases. Each figure has it's own unique, etched, clear acrylic base. A 4th, "title base" that the other 3 bases can be set around for display purposes will be available to those that purchase all 3 figures.

The next figure in the series will be available in Feb. 2015 I believe, with the third following sometime in the spring. If you think you are interested in getting all 3 kits, you better pick this one up now!

Thanks again to Gene and Industria Mechanika.

AIRHOLE AVIATOR REDUX

A few years back I created a line of flight mask graphics for leading ski/snowboard face mask producer Airhole. This line of masks, titled the "Aviator Series", was only released in the 2010/2011 season and quickly sold out. Over the last few years I have received numerous emails from people looking for these facemasks. Well I'm happy to say that a new edition of one of the masks from the Aviator Series has been reproduced for Airhole's 2015 collection. So if you missed them before, here is a chance to get your hands on one!

The graphic is an updated version of one the pieces the from the original Aviator Series, the American MBU-20 flight mask. The original versions (2 American and 1 Russian flight mask) were faithful recreations of the actual flight masks, using the the subdued colours of the rubber, plastic and metal construction found on the actual masks. But on this new version, to change things up and to give the graphic a little more "pop", the inner shell of the mask was painted a bold gold/yellow colour.

If you are interested, get one before they are gone again….I don't think that there will be a third run! Go to the Airhole site to find the dealer nearest to you. 

Thanks to Max and the guys at Airhole.

ADVANCED PHOTOSHOP INTERVIEW

I have a 5 page spread in the latest issue of Advanced Photoshop Magazine (#127). The article is a "Portfolio Interview" and features a mix of personal work from my Entartete Kunst Series and a handful of freelance illustration pieces. 

The accompanying interview covers topics from how I got into concept art to the publication of my art book, Born In Concrete: The EK Series. Unfortunately, even though my job as a concept artist is central to the interview/feature (titled "Masterful Concepts"), the article is almost completely devoid of my concept work. It is next to impossible to obtain image publishing permissions from big companies like Nintendo, Microsoft, Sega, etc., so only one character design concept illustration is included in the whole piece. That being said, the feature turned out well (even though for some reason they classify me as an animator, and say that I work in the film industry?), and hopefully gives insight into my work, inspirations, etc.

This issue also features great work by Paul Scott Canavan, Jedd Chevrier and a host of others. Check it out at Advanced Photoshop.uk

Big thanks to Anna-lisa Saywell and April Madden at Advanced Photoshop for the interest and the opportunity.

TINY REALMS RELEASE

Tiny Realms, a playful combat strategy game I did some illustration work for, has been officially released globally for IOS platforms, and is available on the Apple App Store.

As I mentioned in previous posts, Tiny Realms is a casual combat strategy game developed by local Victoria, B.C. developer Tiny Mob Games. I'm not much of a gamer, but I find this game to be pretty fun, and it has a couple unique features that set it apart from other casual combat strategy games out there. First, it has individual unit control, which allows the user to have a more involved role in combat, as opposed to the standard "place and pray" model of most other similar games. The game also features a mode called "Battlegrounds" which allows users to participate in large faction wide battles for control of larger sections of the world map.

Give a Tiny Realms a try here at the App Store……it's free!

In case you aren't an Apple user, I believe Android and Facebook versions of the game are coming in the near future. 

Thanks to Jamie and Paul over at Tiny Mobs Games, and check out the latest work from Tiny Mob's Mike Deas!

EK COSMONAUT #3 RESIN MODEL PREORDER

The first model in the three figure "EK Cosmonaut Series" is now available for preorder from Industria Mechanika.

Visit the Industria Mechanika shop here,  for more info. or if you want to order one up!

Modeled by the talented Gene Campbell, this figure is of the same quality and features the same attention to detail as the Dystopic kit, but is slightly smaller at 1/8th scale, so it will have a smaller footprint and a smaller price tag!

Here are a few shots of the master sculpt, printed from Gene's original by Des at Ownage:

The next two figures in this series will be released sequentially starting early next year.

Industria Mechanika is offering a small discount on preorders made in the next two weeks so if you are interested in picking one of these kits up now is the time.

Visit the IMech shop here.

Thanks to Gene, Des and Michael for creating another great kit!

EK COSMONAUT SERIES SNEEK PEEK 2

Here is a first look at the printed master sculpt for the first figure in the upcoming 3 figure EK Cosmonaut Series. Modeled by Gene Campbell, with printing and model breakout by Desmoda at Ownage, this 1/8th scale resin model kit will be released by Industria Mechanika in the fall.

This release will be followed by 2 more figures from the same original EK piece "Model".

I'll post again when the kit is available for pre-order.

Thanks to Gene, Des, and Michael for all their awesome work!

TINY REALMS pt. 3

Here are few more pieces I did for Tiny Realms, a casual, cartoony real time strategy game created by local Victoria, BC based Tiny Mob Games. These are some of the character class portrait images I did for promotional and in-game use.

Tiny Realms has had a soft launch in Canada on iPhone and iPad, and can be downloaded by users in that region here. After a summer of tweaking and gathering and integrating feedback, Tiny Realms will have a full release in the fall. 

More info at: tinyrealmsgame.com

Thanks to Jamie and Paul at Tiny Mob!

EK COSMONAUT SERIES SNEEK PEEK

Here is small look at the first release of several of upcoming model kits based on my work and produced by Industria Mechanika. The series, titled the "EK Cosmonaut Series", features 3 figures from an older piece of mine called "Model". The master sculpts were created by the talented Gene Campbell (the same modeller that sculpted the Dystopic kit) and they are amazingly accurate and detailed.

Production again is by Industria Mechanika, so the quality level will be high, and Gene's amazing sculpts will be faithfully recreated in resin. This time around the the models are going to produced at 1/8th scale, so the price point and shipping costs will be lower than the Dystopic kit. We are looking at a fall release for this first figure, then the next two kits will be released in sequence after that. 

And for those that are still looking for Dystopic kits, they are currently sold out, but a 3rd run is on the way. I'll keep you posted on dates and details.

Thanks to Michael, Des, and Gene for all their hard work!

ART STATION

I finally found some time to add some of my EK pieces to my Art Station account. You can check it out here:

artstation.com/artist/Derek_Stenning

Since the sudden demise of CGHUB earlier this year, Art Station seems to be shaping up as the premier social community/portfolio site for entertainment artists. It is well worth a browse, as it is full of amazing work by from a host of incredible artists from across the entertainment industry. Take a look at: 

artstation.com

TINY REALMS pt. 2

Here are a few character promotional images I created for Tiny Mob Games upcoming free-to-play mobile real time strategy game Tiny Realms:

As mentioned in the last post the visual style of Tiny Realms is quite playful, utilizing exaggerated proportions, a "cartoony"sensibility, and iconic fantasy design motifs. It can be a fun style to play around with. As promotional pieces I was painting these up using character designs created by Mike Deas and Paul Dowd over at Tiny Mob. 

Several character/unit types from three playable factions: Human, Dwarf and Tegu, which will be available in the initial release of the game, are featured in these promotional pieces. 

Tiny Mod are launching a limited release of Tiny Realms later this month. A wider release will follow sometime after that, probably in the fall. For more info. on Tiny Realms check out the site: tinyrealmsgame.com

Thanks to the guys at Tiny Mob!

TINY REALMS

Here are a few pieces I created for an up coming free-to-play mobile/tablet game called Tiny Realms. Produced by Tiny Mob Games, Tiny Realms is a fantasy based real time strategy game that is scheduled to be released later this spring.

Designed for the "mid-core" market, Tiny Realms is a casual game and the visual style is very playful. These images were done on a pretty tight schedule, but it was fun to have the chance to work on something this cartoony again. Besides the game logo, these images were created to be used in the intro sequence of Tiny Realms and had to be illustrated in layers so they could be animated. Pans, shifting layers to add parallax and depth, subtle effects, etc. were added to the images for the intro.

Thanks to Jamie Toghill, Paul Dowd and Mike Deas (who is handling most of the concept design for this project) at Tiny Mob for the direction, feedback, and for being a pleasure to work with.

Tiny Realms will be released later in Spring 2014, first on iPhone and iPad, but then I believe it will be coming out on Android, Facebook, etc. soon after that. For more info. check it out at: tinyrealmsgame.com