Caphca - Photo Shoot

Owe an apology to Caphca on this one too - she finished it for me about a month ago, but I've been trying to find just the right time to post it - and no time like the present.  Thanks for being patient ;p

It might surprise you, but Mistress Arianna actually handles a lot of advertising for La De Baucherie Magique in a fairly traditional format.  That is to say, aside from the e-store, she still takes catalog orders by mail - and in both cases...well, you gotta be able to show what you're selling...

So, periodically - a few times a year...it's time to shell out for a few local models (college students work cheap) to advertise the latest styles.

You gotta wonder though - Arianna's been around for a long time...easy to get stuck in a rut sometimes...sometimes takes a while to get up to the latest technologies....

The People Have Spoken - 6

And congratulations to Darkoshen with his little beauty:

Thanks for voting and for the comments on the different entries.  Thanks again to all the artists who participated with their incredible entries.  Not sure yet about the next contest...may have a small Halloween themed one, but haven't decided yet.

McFreelyDude - Poodle Punk

I owe McFreelyDude a big apology.  He completed his commission for me a while back and I kept telling him I was going to post it, but kept having to delay due to schedules and various shifts.

Finally a good break for a very unique piece.  If you check out the thread linked above, McFreelyDude offered a pretty cool commission rate - and I woulda been nuts not to take him up on it.

The results are pretty darn tight!  And I already dropped another project on his lap...looking forward to it too.

Definitely a very different style from a lot of other artists - but that's not a bad thing in the least!

Synthean - 2013: Year of the Snake (2)

It's been a much busier couple of posting weeks than normal, but finally got breathing room to finish the beautiful Chinese New Year sequence by Synthean.

Part 1.


Ssssssssexy!

Art Contest 6 - Luck Be A Lady Tonight - Results!

Well, unfortunately the last artist I was in contact with was unable to meet the adjusted deadline - but I certainly hope to feature more work from him in the future.

That leaves the 6 original entries to be judged.  Out of my 6 art contests so far, I've never received a more solid group of entries...which makes the selection of a winner for this contest far and away the most difficult choice so far.  I want to say up front that all of these entries were gorgeous pieces of work and I'm extremely grateful for the work put into them.  I sincerely thank you for your hard work and look forward to commissioning more pieces from each of you in the future.

With that in mind, moving to the selection - the winners are below the break:

Art Contest Update

Now that the contest has officially run it's course, I'd like to thank all the contestants for their beautiful entries - this is far and away the best selection of pieces since I began running my contests 2 1/2 years ago.

Now I have allowed one entrant a little more time since he notified me in advance of issues beyond his control delaying his entry - so the main judging will be delayed a little longer - but for the entries already received, I am going to go ahead and list the poll for the Viewers Choice Prize.

For the artists - I truly appreciate your patience in waiting just a little longer - and feel free to post on your respective sites to "get out the vote" for your entries ;p

Thanks again - and stay tuned!

Art Contest Entry - Wrenzephyr2

Another beautiful contest entry by Wrenzephyr2.

Threw in the title myself to match the color and the slot machine theme - although it's actually from a different musical than the contest title ;p

Art Contest Entry - AutumnNatural

In the last - and very lengthy contest entry for tonight, AutumnNatural demonstrates to us that there's more than one type of winning lottery ticket.  Between this one and that half-billion jackpot last year (anyone other than me buy a couple tickets just for the hell of it?) - it'd be a tough choice ;p

Art Contest Entry - zdemian

This little entry really took me off guard.

zdemian presents a game of black jack where the stakes are - to say the least - very high!

Art Contest Entry - Darkoshen

Another beautiful contest entry by a talented artist.

There's only enough cash for one guy to get in to the casino :(  But heads you win, tails she wins ;p

Artist: darkoshen

Title: "Free Admission"

Art Contest Entry - blackshirtboy

The rest of the art contest entries are starting to come in - looks like we'll have a pretty good showing this time around.

Here we have a very tight little sequence by blackshirtboy - very nice thematic designs and framing!

Looks like someone finally got lucky at the Texas Hold 'em table.

Artist: blackshirtboy

Medium: Digital

Scenario: "A man on a losing streak finds his luck."

Title: "Luck be a Lady Tonight"

Art Contest Update

Ok, just getting ready to post some more new entries.  This week wound up being a little more art-heavy than some weeks (but hopefully each post gets a fair look) - don't skip over anything if the art is below the break ;p

Still got more good stuff waiting, but didn't want to overdo it initially.

Anyhoo - just a quick heads up.  Due to unavoidable work schedule conflicts - I won't really be in a good position to close the contest at midnight the 15th - so I'm pushing it to midnight the 16th.  As long as entries are in my inbox by midnight Hawaii standard time Saturday night, I'll accept them.

Additionally - I've already been contacted by one artist who's been delayed by unavoidable power outages due to winter weather.  I'm willing to accept late entries on a case by case basis if the artist is able to contact me in one way or another in advance of the deadline. 

Thanks.  May the best artist win ;p

Happy Valentines Day!

Again...I'm not normally one for impromptu holiday commissions, but Synthean has really been on a roll for me recently...and today is no exception.

Valentine's Day (like most holidays) doesn't do a whole lot for me as a generally busy single person without any real relationships...but from time to time, the opportunities present themselves.

Soooo, hope you folks all have a great day with your special folks!

Synthean - 2013: Year of the Snake (1)

Well, I don't get the chance to work on too many holiday commissions - generally hard to wrap my schedule around them - and to get guaranteed deliveries....but every now and then the stars align perfectly.

Now...after the amazing work Synthean did on a simple piece of gift art for me last year - not to mention the amazing Christmas sequence - I figured it was only fair to give him a full commission for this one.  Chinese New Year coinciding with the Year of the Snake seemed like a perfect combination.

So without any further ado...I present: Dance of the Serpent (in 3 acts).

Art Contest Update

That's right folks - one week left for Art Contest #6.  All entries are due by midnight next Friday, the 15th.

We've already got one very tight entry.  Looking forward to seeing what all you other talented folks have whipped up.

As mentioned before, still have a number of projects in the works and others ready for posting in the next few weeks - although still having some minor delays for the "first commission of the year" TG project ;p  Don't worry - it'll be worth it.

Thanks for the support - as always, donations in support of more art are always appreciated - and even if you don't see a donation project at the moment that interests you, I am always more than happy to direct your donations towards the featured artist of your choice.

Solios - Denacian Recaller

Cross-posted to "Growing Up Gecko".

I've been working with several different artists on ongoing character designs for the "Growing Up Gecko" saga over the last few months...need to spend more time on writing too.  I get these amazing ideas - especially while out running - reams of dialogue/details/etc - but then I lose most of it once I sit down in front of the keyboard.  While all the artists I work with are extremely capable - when coming up with a very non-human look from scratch...I enjoy turning to Solios for the initial breakdowns

Anyhoo, more biological/personal data to follow on this character - combined an originally human character/role with this alien character I already had in mind.  For the moment, all you need to know is she's a Denacian Recaller (full species designation at this time) - serving as Dean of the School of Xeno-Archaeology at the Halicarnassus Institute of Scientific Development and Learning - let's call her Dean Herodotus XXXVIII for the moment. 

Nymic-Tf - Biting the Hand

I know, I know, this still isn't the promised "first commission of the year" previously advertised - just a few delays there - but this commission has been in the pipeline a little while, so didn't want to hold up content on the site any longer than necessary....

Well, as I've mentioned before - when I come across new artists advertising their craft on The Process or DA, I often try to give them a shot.  I've been following a number of folks over the years and it's really cool to see the progression over the years.

Nymic-Tf hasn't been around too long as far as I can tell and he's already shaping up with some quality work.

Now frankly, this is another one of my "standard" commissions with a new artist, but I'm still very happy with how it turned out ;p

I call it "Biting the Hand" - but frankly I'm not sure poochy even waited long enough to be fed.....