My website now doesn’t look so, let’s say, rustic. The theme I’m using is also fully responsive, it has been designed to look great on all types of mobile devices and browser. This should help me out in the eventuality of me going 100% Freelance. As things stands now, if I want to keep doing what I love, I’ll have to do it as self-employed. It is that or to change career path.

I am very frustrated to say the least, but hey, I’m still fighting.

If you want to leave any comment on my website, please just head to the blog and drop us a line. I don’t mind if you prefer to write in English, Spanish, Catalan, Lithuanian or any other tongue; all languages are welcome

Please update your blogrolls or subscribe to the new blog: http://manuelmesones.com/artblog/

I am keeping this blog on hold, I’m not going to delete it any time soon.

-Forjador.

2D Digital.

To see a bigger image please click on any picture.

Carrying on with the cyberpunk theme from my previous post (cherry blossoms and cyborgs included), I just created a scene while I was listening to the Yoshida Brothers.

I like how this cyberpunk background is presented with a hint of shadow puppetry (hence the title of this post), showing two warriors facing off following a timeless code. It is like marrying together past and future and it does make it for a believable scenario.

When I said “a timeless code” I’m referring to the Bushido, which is a code of moral principles that the Samurai followed in feudal Japan. It translates literally as the Way of the Warrior; the philosophy behind it has evolved, survived and is still observed by many people around the world, traditional martial artists in particular. But originally it was, among other things, an instrument of control and as a such a perfect match for a cyberpunk mega corporation.

-Forjador.

2D Digital + 2D Traditional (ball-point pen)

To see a bigger image please just click on any picture

Cherry blossoms, cherry blossoms,
In fields and villages
As far as you can see.
Is it a mist, or clouds?
Fragrant in the morning sun.
Cherry blossoms, cherry blossoms,
Flowers in full bloom.

Cherry blossoms, cherry blossoms,
Across the spring sky,
As far as you can see.
Is it a mist, or clouds?
Fragrant in the air.
Come now, come now,
Let’s look, at last!

-Traditional Japanese Folk Song

I have been having fun playing around with some Cyberpunk ideas. I started doodling with a pencil to finish shading with a pen. But that wasn’t enough so I scanned the drawing and created a background to give it some atmosphere. That led me to paint a close-up of the cyborg’s face… and I got carried away and made a little advert for the fictitious Sakura Corp (a la Deus Ex).

I’m thinking on creating an exoskeleton for the cyborg, I want to see more wires, more metal, more flesh and definitively more action. And hum, perhaps some mechanized units would be nice.

-Forjador.

Photo illustration. Wacom Intuos 5

Please click on the image to see a bigger picture.

Three years ago, in order to celebrate the blog’s first anniversary and as a way to thank all the readers for their support, I made a simple competition. I asked: what would you like me to illustrate and why I should choose you as the winner.

I chose to illustrate a cover art for Andrew Aston’s (a.k.a. Lord Lucan or LL) Flesh Trilogy, portraying Vash, who is a corporal from an Imperial Guard Regiment called the Lychen Guard. The character is quite complex, as described by the author:

“Vash is essentially a psychotically barbarian warlord figure, a failed neophyte who fled from his chapter when they turned renegade, fleeing to the world of Lychen. He is a mad butcher, with a cheerful streak to match his insanity. He is a seven foot giant, with a shaven skull, permanently bloodshot eyes, a skulll with a lower jaws which terminates in a bear trap-like bionic jaw and wields a great eviserator blade into battle.”

The Lychen Regiment itself is formed from a world bound to a death cult that worships the God Emperor as a god of war and butchery. Flesh Trilogy is a Warhammer 40k fanfic, if you want to know more about it check this post.

The illustration I did for LL was alright but retrospectively I don’t feel it worked well as a book cover, you can have a look here. You know, more often rather than not, when you see an old painting you start thinking about all the changes you’d do, destroying your own artwork to pieces. So rather than going back to the illustration I decided to make a completely new cover that I feel works a lot better than the original.

-Forjador.

Pencil sketch + Photoshop

Please click on the pictures if you want to see a bigger image

These are 3 quick sketches I did as an exercise to explore the Manga style. There are subtle differences between the drawings but they could get stylized even further if I wanted to. I didn’t want to lose my soul entirely so there is still a lot of my own style embedded on these characters (specially the 1st one). Saying that, I grew up watching a lot of Anime in the 80′s and I can’t deny the influence it has on my artwork.

I chose to do the sketches using different themes (Gritty Fantasy, Steampunk and Cyberpunk) to keep me more entertained. All the little notes next to the characters, I made them up as I went along. I like twisted takes on faery tales so I played with the idea of a warrior-like Little Red Riding Hood – very original, I know, indulge me

When it comes to illustration and design I like to keep an open mind. I always try to think on the best approach for what the client is requiring, I have no problem adapting my style to suit the job at hand.

-Forjador.

I meant to post about this a few weeks ago. The Black Wind’s Whispers is available now on Amazon.co.uk  and also on Amazon.com. At the moment there is only the Kindle Edition but remember you can read Kindle Books on smartphones, computers and tablets by downloading the Free Kindle Reading Apps.

I designed the book cover for this anthology which was good fun. What is the book about? Here is the description from Amazon:

“In generations past and, surely, generations to come, ancient tales of demons and monsters persist. Ghosts, vampires, werewolves, mummies, gargoyles and more. Some endure, familiar as they are terrifying. Others wear new faces and take new forms.”

From the twisted minds over at the Bolthole writing forums comes nine fantastic and dark tales of horror. Managed by James “He2etic” Fadeley. Edited by CS Barlow and Andrew Aston, it features tales by Andrew Aston, Alec McQuay, Simon Howers, Jeremy Daw, Johnathan Ward, Robbie McNiven and Keanu Ross-Cabrera, including a story by special guest author, veteran horror writer CL Werner, here is proof that you can teach an old monster new horrors…

I hope you all are having a good holiday and I wish for the next year to be a better one.

-Forjador.

Photoshop + Wacom Intuos 5

Please click on any image to see a bigger picture.

Writing, drawing and painting are great tools of meditation for me, besides being the best channels to express myself, they help me fighting my frustrations and inner demons. Sometimes I like to do dark, gritty fanstasy or sci-fi, some others I just do something totally different, lighthearted – like the illustration above.

This has been a very rough year for me so far. Perhaps the best positive was creating the book cover for the Black Wind’s Whispers, it was good fun. Anyway, I got myself a Wacom Intuos 5 (which is fantastic) and I decided to get in touch with my inner child. The little person in me that is still running on hills of clouds chasing dragons. For him the dreams are not yet shattered, he can listen to the tales of the mountains, he can sing the songs of the sea in a stormy night, he can dance with fiery valkyries to the tunes of the old gods. He can make me remember the whys and hows and show me the right path. I should listen to him more often. When I grow up I want to be like him.

-Forjador.

Front Cover for a Magazine, a personal project. Photoshop + Illustrator + Indesign.

Endings & Beginnings. Funny, that was the title of my first post on this blog back into 2009 and I couldn’t think on anything more appropriate for this entry. As you may noticed I’ve changed the blog’s theme and the main title from “Portraits of War” to “Forjador’s Sketchbook”.

Many changes are happening in my life right now. If you’re familiar with Judo, it is like being thrown by a stronger and more technical fighter. When you get caught you just need to keep your chin tucked in, go with the throw and breakfall. You’ll live to fight another round, and another, and another, because to surrender is not an option in life – you keep fighting.

I’ve been made redundant at work and my last week ends with the month. The company is outsourcing our jobs to India… in the spirit of the motto: Keep It Local. But there are not hard feelings, that was a business decision and we knew we were only a number. It is however a wake-up call for me. I can do better. So I’m taking a month off to get myself ready for my next step.

One of the things that I’m doing is expanding my horizons. I’ve been so focused the past few years showing the art I do for Warhammer as a fan but there is so much more I can do. Warhammer will always be a passion of mine and the reason I started blogging but I want to show on this blog the artwork I do regardless of the subject. That’s why I’m changing the blog’s title. Don’t get surprised if you start seeing me posting artwork about Guild Wars 2 (that I’m going to be playing as from tomorrow!), any other subject besides gaming or any of my personal projects. I want to push myself to the next level, I want to improve my technique and be more adventurous – I want to take more risks. I may be posting sketches or works in progress more often as I will be much more critical with my final pieces

I have also updated my website and I will continue doing so on a regular basis. I am as well open to commissions as an Illustrator/Graphic Designer.

-Forjador.

P.S. I hate Comic Sans

Photomontage, Photoshop + Wacom

To see a bigger picture please click on the image.

This is the book cover I’ve designed for the horror anthology: The Black Wind’s Whispers. I can’t disclose much about it at the moment, but it is a collection of stories created by a selection of talented writers from the Bolthole. The theme is nouveau classic monsters and they are looking at a release date later this year. The anthology will be available as an e-book on Amazon.

The master mind behind this project is James Fadeley (a.k.a. He2etic) and I’ve to say it’s been a pleasure to work with him. We’ll have to do it again

I know I normally stick to post my Warhammer fanart, but as the good folks at The Black Library Bolthole and myself share a passion for space opera and dark, gritty fantasy; I thought good idea to share this anthology with you all Warhammer fans.

-Forjador.

Ball-point pen on paper

To see a bigger image (and I mean bigger!) please click on any picture.

This is to date the biggest drawing I’ve done using a ball-point pen: A3, and now I really want to try drawing on larger dimensions. My problem is time and space but I’ll work a way around. Completing this illustration has taken me more time that I’d like to admit… just over 70 hours. I haven’t rushed and I have used a normal Bic, all the shading is done by the different pressure you apply to the pen, as simple as that.

Caligula Kaddon is a character created by Razhbad, one of the many talented writers at the Bolthole and this illustration pictures his warband. This particular group of Chaos Space Marines worship Chaos Undivided and I think are mostly renegades from the Black Legion.

Over the next few weeks I’ll be working on a colour illustration, it is for a project I’m very excited about. I’ll let you know more about it in time

-Forjador.