Ocean Dragon, 2023
Acrylic, Gold Leaf & Ink on Canvas
36x48" 

"Deep beneath the Earth's surface in a long-forgotten crystal infused grotto of the ancients, pure aquifers ebb and flow, creating an ideal realm for playful beings of myth and legend."  

This post has a been a while in the making! This new piece on canvas was about 75+ hours in the making. I've been working a lot for others, and finding 2, 3 or 6 hour sessions has been the main challenge wrapping this piece up. The custom frame took some damage at the gallery, and had to be rebuilt and replaced. Thankfully no one was hurt when it fell, and the frame took the brunt of it. I finally have a clear image to share with you with the frame now!

I worked on this piece under many lighting situations, from noon, mid-afternoon, sunset, studio lighting, and various levels of cloud cover and direct sunlight - giving the piece some interesting color and depth features when observed at various times of day. Layer after layer of color, shading and highlights were applied, changing things up and evolving over time. 

The fairy-mermaid is a fan fave for all ages, and the piece received a lot of great comments in the gallery in Malibu. The fairy-mermaid changed a lot over time (hair color, anatomy, facial features) yet remained clever in essence, seeming to toy with or pester the dragon itself. Some kids and adults asked if it was real, and sparked numerous conversations with all sorts of folks. The painting really shines when viewed up close, I like how it evolved.  

The painting was created in a large vaulted ceiling crystal sanctuary, and a crystal garden, as well as in open air balconies, surrounded by some of the world's largest and rarest crystals. It is assuredly infused with crystal essence, as it has been bombarded non-stop by negative ions and so forth, being released naturally from the large crystals surrounding it. The crystals pictured in the painting are painted from crystals that existed in the space surrounding the canvas across several months. 

The "eye has it." Numerous people have commented on the gaze of the dragon. It really draws the viewer in. I love the way it turned out. At one moment in time, I knew that the soft glassy orb needed no more work and it was best to stop - such moments of clarity are a gift in creative work. No visual reference was used for this element.

Prints are currently unavailable. Only the original exists at the time of this posting. 

This original can be yours, and is available with the frame in the greater Los Angeles area. Pickup or delivery is flexible. Shipping worldwide to your locale is available for the right collector. 

Contact my assistant for info and to acquire: moondragonstudios@gmail.com

New Font: Nor'Easter OG

 

Greetings and salutations! I am happy to announce the creation and release of my first font.

Based on a hand-lettered graffiti style I originated and maintained since I was drawing it on my notebooks in school, it's a freehand font ideal to accompany all sorts of graphics and imagery. I call it:

Nor'Easter OG

Available in .otf and .ttf formats. Contact me directly for a commercial license @ moondragonstudios@gmail.com. IG or TikTok more your style? Follow me and message there:

@moondragonstudios

 

World Peace!

Goregons: Onslaught Promo Poster

I have been working behind the scenes on an indie-game with 16-bit retro graphics, entitled Goregons: Onslaught. The game focuses on the sisters of Medusa who set out on an action-packed mission to restore their gorgon sibling. While there are many possible spin-offs, the concept from the outset is an arcade style beat-em up game (brawler). Check out goregons_lair on Twitter for some animated gifs and so forth. More to come here! 

Tendril Dragon Pencil Sketch

Character Design in Zbrush - Reptile Swordsman

Here is an update on a Zbrush character I had worked on previously. I have taken things a bit further beyond the rough first pass of this character, "Quetzelion, Sword of Volnoth", a borderland guardian of the kingdom of Volnoth. by adding a great deal of detail, and taking things off symmetry. He's a unique character, and could be readily animated, with some interesting gestures and behaviors.

I had procured a great deal of new textures from various geological and organic forms, with the help of my trusty Canon DSLR, which I bought for my birthday a couple years ago. (What a great investment.) I hope to incorporate more of these original textures I've taken close ups of in various areas and compiled.

#Zbrush #characterdesign #3D #Characterart #Fantasyart #fantasy #dragon #dragoon #sword #Highpoly #characterartist #art #digitalart

Dolphin - Children's Book Painting

Phoebe - Children's Book Painting

A bird painting from a children's book I painted for a client

Castleparts IndieGame Title Screen

The title screen I animated for Castleparts, a retro-style strategy game being released in 2017 on multiple platforms. The animation uses over 200 frames of animation for one loop.

Samus Aran - Metroid 30th Anniversary Art

A piece I created in December 2016 of Samus Aran, for the Metroid 30th Anniversary. Metroid was one of the first games I owned on NES, in the late 1980's. I have followed the Metroid franchise ever since.

Aldious - Yoshi ("The Women of J-Rock" Series)

Aldious Yoshi! This is the second painting in a continuing series entitled "The Women of J-Rock". I have drawn great inspiration from J-Rock and J-Metal during 2015 and 2016. Their musicianship, music videos and themes of romance, fantasy, plus positive, fiery, empowered energy have resonated with me. These bands are truly world class, among the best music in the galaxy. J-Rock is on another level altogether.

This series, beginning with Aldious (one of the bands whose music introduced me to J-Rock initially), is dedicated to the empowered, wildly talented and astounding, trailblazing female warriors of rock n' roll. As I work on commissions and other projects, I endeavor to find time to create images dedicated to more J-Rock bands/musicians, expanding on this series. I have some bands/artists in mind, yet who is next to appear in the series remains a mystery...

Detail image:

Castleparts Strategy Game - 16/24-Bit Pixel Art

This year, I have been working on an indie game entitled Castleparts, generating original 16 bit style pixel assets for Pixelpocalypse games. A procedurally generated strategy game, art I have produced includes 32x32 environment tiles, large retro character animations, etc. This is the first game with an emphasis on procedurally generated screens I have worked on.

Planning out the tiles to be fairly "standalone" has been an interesting departure from the interlocking tiles I have created in the past. Some tiles are interlocking, such as walls, and waterways, yet the overall theme is of tiles similar to overhead view of Dragon Quest (Dragon Warrior US), Rampart or retro RPG's. The game is in development, and will be released in the near future.

Some medieval architecture:

Manor home or sanctuary mega tile...

Interlocking wall parts

 Overworld tiles:

Cannon Ball

A few of the 42 interlocking water tiles I generated for rivers, lakes, etc, for water feature combos: 

Playable character profiles (for dialogue boxes), Noble, Goblin, Wizard) ...

"Skeleton Thief" NPC walk cycles and defeat animation:

Ogre NPC animations:

Spells and Effects: