Prints anyone ?!

[Eng] I've been asked several times now if I could sell prints of my latest traditional illos. That's why I tried to find an easy (for me) and cheapest way (for you) as possible to do this. The InPRNT website has the best quality / prices I've seen on the net so far, so I decided to give it a try.
If you want a nice giclee print of one of those images, then it's now or never because I may not leave them here forever (depends on how they sell) ;)

BUY A PRINT !

[FR] J'ai reçu beaucoup de demandes de prints de mes dernières pièces en tradi récemment. Du coup je me suis mis en quète d'un endroit où il serait facile (pour moi) d'en vendre, et où les prix seraient suffisamment attractifs (pour vous). Mon choix s'est arrêté sur le site InPRNT car c'est chez eux que j'ai vu le meilleur rapport qualité/prix jusqu'à maintenant.
Je précise de suite que c'est un site américain, les frais d'envois vers la France sont donc assez élevés. Ils cassent néanmoins les frais si on achète au dessus de 80$ de prints, et surtout les prix sont tout de même nettement moins chers que si je les faisais faire moi-même dans un studio parisien. Du coup, on s'y retrouve malgré tout. Je cherche encore un deal français avec un bon rapport qualité / prix à vous proposer. Dès que j'ai trouvé on en reparle, mais pour l'instant InPRNT reste une bonne solution.

C'est ICI !

SPECTRUM 17 : Christmas before Christmas

I received my copy of Spectrum 17 yesterday and you can imagine my surprise to see my image "Belisama" on the back cover of this beautiful compendium ! I think this year couldn't finish in a better manner, after 3 awards in Exposé and a ton of pics in the latest CfSl artbook.
I'm not the kind of guy that never says thank you to people, and I feel privileged to be featured on the jacket alongside Greg Manchess whose art I admire deeply. So a big thank you to Arnie and Cathy Fenner for this significant honor. Thanks also for the nice words about Merlin, hopefuly the US publishers hear you ;)

•l\lμM3r◊£◊9¥•

number six is the sword on your neck
number seven is surreality
number nine is where the cycle ends
number ten here we start again



«l\lμM3r◊£◊9¥» watercolor + mixed medias on Arches paper, 55cm x 40cm.

new painting

[ENG] here's a new one that I painted for the fun this WE. The tentacles are under "moebiusian" influence (I went to see his marvelous exhibition last week), though it's been long since I'm waiting for a pretext to paint a rainbow piece.

[FR] Voici une nouvelle pièce que j'ai peinte ce WE pour le plaisir. Les tentacules sont sous influence moebiusienne (j'ai encore en tête sa magnifique expo), néanmoins cela fait un moment que je cherche un prétexte graphique pour pour peindre une pièce "arc-en-ciel" et faire péter les couleurs !

Guts - watercolor & color pencils on Fabriano paper - 52 cm x 35.5 cm

du Spirituel dans l'Art

dans le RER de retour du workshop CaféSalé, j'ai réouvert le bouquin de Kandinsky "du Spirituel dans l'Art" qui m'avait servi de point d'appui pour le cours que j'avais donné une heure auparavant, et dont les leçons m'inspirent depuis plusieurs années maintenant. J'ai pris une page au hasard qui tombait pile-poil:

"La nécessité intérieure naît de trois raisons mystiques. Elle est formée de trois nécessités mystiques:

1. chaque artiste, en tant que créateur, doit exprimer ce qui lui est propre (élément de la personnalité),

2. chaque artiste, en tant qu'enfant de son époque, doit exprimer ce qui est propre à cette époque (élément du style dans sa valeur intérieure, composé du langage de l'époque et du langage de la nation, aussi longtemps que la nation existera en tant que telle),

3. chaque artiste, en tant que serviteur de l'art, doit exprimer ce qui est propre à l'art en général (élément de l'art pur et éternel que l'on retrouve chez tous les hommes, chez tous les peuples, dans toutes les époques, dans l'oeuvre de chaque artiste, de toutes nations et qui, en tant qu'élément principal de l'art ne connaît ni espace ni temps.

Nous devons seulement traverser avec l'oeil spirituel les deux premiers éléments pour apercevoir ce troisième élément mis à nu. Et l'on s'aperçoit alors qu'une colonne "grossièrement" sculptée d'un temple indien est animée de la même âme qu'une oeuvre vivante, si "moderne" soit-elle. "

Vente aux enchères Tajan

[FR] Le samedi 16 Octobre aura lieu une vente aux enchères organisée par la galerie Daniel Maghen et l'étude Tajan. Deux de mes illustrations à l'aquarelle figureront parmi un catalogue exceptionnel d'oeuvres issues de la BD et du monde de l'illustration. Seront réunis une pléthore d'artistes allant des légendes vivantes comme Moebius, Bilal ou Druillet, aux légendes de demain (mais là je mettrai pas de noms car je veux pas faire de jaloux ;p ). Anyway, je ne peux que vous conseiller de jeter un oeil au catalogue de la vente, dispo sur le site de Daniel Maghen.

[Eng] this saturday october 16 will be held an auction in Paris, organized by the Daniel Maghen gallery and the Tajan house. Two of my watercolors are featured into an exceptional catalogue of Comics and Illustration art. A gathering of artists among which are the legendary Moebius, Bilal, Druillet, but also a lot of other very reknown illustrators and comic artists from around the world. The best you can do is to have a look at the catalogue HERE.

here are the pieces that I'll be selling:

"White Heat" - watercolor + color pencils on Arches paper - 39 x 29 cm - signed


"Pallas" - watercolor + gouache on Arches paper - 41 x 31 cm - signed

Worlds & Wonders : Aleksi's artbook

[FR] bon, je ne pense pas avoir à vous présenter mon vieux pote Aleksi. Son artbook n'est pas encore sorti qu'il fait déjà le buzz sur les réseaux communautaires. Si vous n'en avez pas encore entendu parler, je ne peux que vous conseiller d'aller faire un tour sur cette page pour pré-commander la bête. A paraitre le 28 Octobre 2010. La bête rassemble plus de dix années de travail dans une édition luxe cartonnée et argentée de 276 pages contenant 5 carnets de croquis dépliables. Mondes et Merveilles, le bougre n'a pas menti ! ;)

[Eng] I think I don't have to introduce you to my old buddy Aleksi. His artbook isn't out yet, but it already makes the buzz on the social networks. If you still haven't heard of it, you'll definitely need to have a look at this page if you want to pre-order the Beast ! Release on October 28. It showcases more than 10 years of work in the industry, deluxe hardcover and silver edition, 276 pages + 5 foldeable sketchbooks. Worlds and Wonders, the dude doesn't lie ! ;)

Witchblade 144 cover

The fine people at Top Cow have begun to show the cover I did recently for Witchblade on blogs. So I think it's ok to share it here too. I like this cover very much because Witchblade is a comic I used to read when I was in my 20's. And also because I took the time to paint a first grey version traditionally. Then I switched to PS to add colors and FX. Hopefully I will do it more in the future.

Free Andrew Loomis Art Instruction Downloads

As you might know, I'm a self-taught artist, and in my quest to find knowledge on how to draw the most efficient way, the best educational books I've learnt from were the Loomis books.
By clicking the image below you'll be directed to a page that gather 7 illustration books in .pdf format by Loomis that you definitely need to read.



thanks to the excellent Escape From Illustration Island blog for putting this page together.

Draw or Die: contest !

Draw or Die is a movie directed by Lennart Brede documenting the Berlin workshop I was part of a few months ago.
SixMoreVodka is organising a huge "DRAW OR DIE" CONTEST starting today! Check out their blog www.sixmorevodkastudio.blogspot.com for more information. Huge chunk of Prices waiting for the Winners. Hope to see a lot of you guys participate!
Cheers

Tradi frenzy

[ENG] I didn't touch Photoshop too much these days, prefering the easel and the brushes to the Wacom. Sometimes when you get too many assignments, and specific commissions by clients, it's good to find some spare time to draw something for yourself. Without taking care of what the client or the others will think about it.
On those images I didn't want to think about what I wanted to do too much. I just had an urge to get back to my roots and went to something designey and abstract.

[FR] je n'ai quasiment pas touché Photoshop de la semaine. J'y ai préféré le chevalet et les pinceaux, avec bonheur. Il y a des moments parfois, à force de bosser pour de la commande, on se vide et et il faut trouver un moyen de recharger les batteries. Quoi de mieux que de travailler pour soi, pour retrouver le plaisir de faire ?
Sur les pièces ci-dessous, je suis parti un peu sans filet, avec juste l'envie de retourner à mes basiques, vers plus de design et d'abstraction.




"White Light". watercolor on Arches paper.


"Pallas II". watercolor on Fabriano paper

(ps: tout ça c'est brut de scan, scanné à la cowboy d'ailleurs, mais je ne suis pas en mode posé en ce moment ;) )

ImagineFX video workshop

I did a video tutorial in the latest issue 61 of ImagineFX. They asked me to paint a Conan piece, and it was also a nice occasion to pay my tribute to Frank Frazetta for all the inspiration his art gave me all along my journey as an artist.
This is the first video documented painting that I push to the finish. There you can see my technique from the very first rough to the very end.
Maybe I will make a teaser if I have time.

the finished image:

Portfolio updated

I put some of my latest art on my portfolio, and erased some old ones.
Added a few spare sketchbook scans into the sketches section also.




THIS WAY TO SEE THE ART !!

Valkyrie

[ENG] a small update just to share something I found amusing while browsing among my latest images. Those two were done during the same month. The sword placement is obviously similar, and I swear I wasn't conscient of it while doing the second one (a cover for Robin Hobb's Royal Assassin).
The first one has a nasty story. It begun as a sketch for a cover that the client finally refused the ugliest way possible. but I really liked what I had done so far so I decided to change a few things here and there and make a Valkyrie fan-art. You guys tell me if I did right or not ;)


[FR] une petite update viteuf pour partager quelque chose que j'ai trouvé amusant en matant dans mes dernières productions. Ces deux images ont été faites le même mois, le placement de l'épée est tout à fait similaire, et je n'avais absolument pas conscient de refaire quasiment la même compo pendant l'élaboration de la deuxième (une couv' pour l'Assassin Royal de Robin Hobb) !
la première a une histoire assez sale. Elle a commencé comme un croquis poussé pour un client, mais elle a été finalement refusée de la façon la plus odieuse qui soit. Mais j'amais vraiment ce que j'avais fait jusqu'alors et j'ai donc décidé de la terminer en changeant des trucs ici et là. ça a fini en fan-art de Valkyrie (le personnage de Marvel). Vous me direz si j'ai bien fait de la terminer ou non ;)

Lanval

Je serai en dédicaces ce week-end au château de Comper en Brocéliande à l'occasion de l'exposition Lanval, et de la sortie du catalogue qui l'accompagne. Un projet ambitieux qui créé un pont entre les artistes (au sens large) anglais et français.
Toutes les infos concernant cette manifestation sont réunies sur cette page.
L'illustration ci-dessous est ma contribution au projet. J'ai joint l'esquisse crayonnée.




mon amie Laure Dareau qui tient le blog L'Autre Côté du Miroir a fait un joli article sur le livre notamment. à lire ici.

retour sur Phantasms

sur NRV-tv: un petit retour en video sur l'expo Phantasms qui s'est déroulée au Cabinet des Curieux récemment:

CLICK ME !

AVENGERS ACADEMY #5 Vampire variant

[ENG] Marvel already showed it on their website so I think I can put it here :)
[FR] L'image est déjà sur le site de Marvel donc je pense que je peux la mettre ici ;)


the link to the page on the Marvel site

MADE workshop report

I'm back from the MADE workshop in Berlin where I've been an instructor alongside with a band of killers from Marvel Entertainment, Massive Black and Sixmorevodka, and a few mercenaries like me. The event was organized by my old pal Marko Djurdjevic who did an absolutely amazing job putting this event together.

25 instructors | 200 attendees | live painting demos, digital & traditional | lectures | art everywhere | portfolio reviews | Comics | concept art | illustrations | fun | vodka ...

I did a live digital demo and gave lectures talking about illustration & graphic design, and another one with my buddy Aleksi concerning our book Merlin. And even though I was an instructor there, I just learned a lot from the other guys too.

Here are some photos that I took myself or shamelessly stole on FB:












talking about Merlin with Aleksi.


the instructors:


illustration & graphic design lecture:


portfolio reviews:




I don't actually remember who I stole the images from (apologies my friends !), so here are all the links that I browsed so far, where you can find tons more images from the event:
http://www.sixmorevodka.com/made/
Ncinbox
Dominus

on FB:
Nele Klumpe
Tomppa
Fraser Mc Taggart
Jon Mc Coy
Massimo Davoli
Milijana Kevic

sorry if I forgot someone :/

CFSL.NET | Artbook 04

Pallas

Here's a piece I did with absolutely no idea of what I'd do, just letting things happen. I called it pallas because when I finished it, it reminded me of the Pallas Athena painting by Klimt because of the face orientation and the golden color.
It was a good way to try and pour a bit more of my love for abstract painting into my more illustrative art than I usually do.

Pallas - watercolor + gouache + photoshop tweeks

the MADE symposium

Wanna learn how to draw comics and concept arts with the best ?
The Made Symposium is coming ! An Art and Conceptdesign event in Berlin in cooperation with Marvel Entertainment, the artists from Massive Black and SIXMOREVODKA.Featuring top instructors from across the planet, workshops, seminars, digital art demos, fine art presentations, live painting, illustration, comics, conceptdesign and performance by creative leaders of the videogame, conceptdesign, and comic industries. Stay tuned as we announce more instructors over the next few weeks.A website about the Made Symposium will launch soon with additional information concerning hostels, hotels, f.a.q., curriculum along with the events around the Symposium itself.Please stay tuned for this one time summer event and if you have questions please address them to: antjetaiga@sixmorevodka.com

Conan+Angoulême+SIXMOREVODKA+CfSl=news !

At last I can find some spare time in order to post a news or two on my blog. I came back from Berlin to find my mailbox stuffed with piles of assignments and propositions for covers. And I only can breathe a little now. First I want to share a couple of Conan fanarts I did while reading Robert E. Howard. I've always been a Conan afficionado ;) and the first movie is on my all times top 5.





that one is not Conan related, it's a cover I just finished for Bragelonne, that has a nice Conan vibe though:


Before Berlin I was in Angoulême for the festival. I did a LOT of doodles for the people who bought Merlin there. Merci les amis !



I had also the opportunity to meet a very talented chinese artist named Ma Yi. I can only recommend that you buy Ma Yi's artbook @ Editions Drakosia and his BD Yuna @ Soleil. There he is on the photo with my good friend Thim Montaigne.


After Angoulême I went straight to Berlin for the opening of mein bruder Marko Djurdjevic galllery SIXMOREVODKA. And I really had a blast there. Now, that was the place to be for the beginning of 2010. The place was crowded with talented Marvel artists and videogame concept artists. I've never seen so many huge talents in one (not so) tiny place.

Merlin was in good place between Marko's artbook and the Massive Black one:





a quote on the wall.


Anne Pogoda was there with her students from the Berliner academy of art. Great people.


C.B. Cebulski and Nic Klein were also there. Do I need to introduce these talented guys ?!


great concept artist Kan Muftic was also in da place. A real nice dude I need to see more.


My hero Esad Ribic was also there.


Modern Talking ! (Giuseppe Camuncoli and Marko D.)


read Viking, the raw comic by Nic Klein.


and last but not least, the Massive Black crue.


and this is all ;)
... well, actually no ! I forgot to mention that I was just chosen by the people at Café Salé for the back cover of their Artbook #4 ! I'm so proud !!The picture is taken from my Merlin book.The beautiful front cover is a collab by Clément Lefèvre and Gate:


ok, now this is really all ! Cheers !!