Friday, November 01, 2013

User Interface Concept - Fake Game





A few months ago I took a stab at creating a simple, fake video game interface after an potential freelance client inquired about my abilities. I took an evening to quickly design it and then another evening to animate this brief video in order to show how it might work. I love illustrating the most but this is often the sort of stuff that helps to get the bills paid for me.

If you're struggling with making a living with your illustrative work alone then I always encourage you to branch out and try other areas of development as well. You can learn a lot and it can help make you a more valuable asset to others! Hope you like it!

- Ryan

Thursday, October 31, 2013

INKtober Monster # 22 - Mr. Abyssal

Name:
MR. ABYSSAL
Three Physical Characteristics:
- Giant Octopus
- With bat like wings
- Jewelry made from human skulls and bones

Bio:
"A monster from the deep that wishes he was Cthulhu. He has to satisfy himself with eating ships instead." - Josh Bouscher

Original Ink Drawing FOR SALE - $20 Shipped (Contact for Purchase)

*My apologies to Josh. I drew this guy and was away from my list and did this one from memory. So he's missing his bat wings. Or maybe they're hiding, folded behind his back. :D
_______________________________


Well, I'm nine days behind and INKtober is drawing to a close today. But that's alright! I'm quite proud of all of the monsters I've made with you guys so far! And I'm going to try my best to finish up my last drawings post October. They're too much fun to not finish off the set. Only I think I'll be designing the remaining monsters myself! I have a few ideas kicking around that I'd like to try!

Thanks a lot to everyone who contributed monster designs and helped me keep these going! It was a lot of work but worth every bit of effort. Visitors from out of town and my whole family getting sick really knocked me off my target. But I hope you'll be looking forward to seeing me finish these off over the next week or two.

Thanks for supporting my work and I hope you had a great Halloween! Take care!

- Ryan

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

INKtober Monster #21 - Shayoré


Name:
SHAYORE
Three Physical Characteristics:
- Part seahorse
- Water dweller
- Flowing fins

Bio:
"The Shayoré is a cross between a sea horse and the mythological Scottish ashray (nocturnal water dwelling creature). It is a graceful swimmer with multiple flowing fins. Pictures of this rare creature are more highly sought after than those of Nessie, but even more infrequently captured." - Diana Highley Anderson

Original Ink Drawing FOR SALE - $20 Shipped (Contact for Purchase)

*I'm a few days behind but I'll be catching up! So stay tuned! - Ryan

INKtober Monster #20 - Ol' Winky


Name:
OL' WINKY
Bio:
"After years of living under your bed Ol' Winky has found the that the tables have turned. No longer can he sleep at night without a trusty teddy bear that you'd give up for lost long ago." - Ryan Bowlin

Original Ink Drawing FOR SALE - $20 Shipped (Contact for Purchase)

* I have a few more entries from people that I'm still going to get through. But I thought I'd take a little break tonight and scribble something up of my own. It's kind of cheating, I guess. :D But I think the last week of October I'm going to treat myself to doing my own Monster designs. Here's the first a several to come. Those of you who are still waiting for your monsters, don't worry. They're coming! I'm a few days behind but I'll be catching up! So stay tuned! - Ryan

Monday, October 21, 2013

INKtober Monster #19 - Frankenberg's Monster


Name:
FRANKENBERG'S MONSTER
Three Physical Characteristics:
- Stitched together from old, dead body parts
- The body parts weren't as high quality as the classic Frankenstein's Monster
- Not symmetrical

Bio:
"Frankenberg was a scientist who was always in competition with Frankenstein. Unfortunately, Frankenstein had a monopoly on all the high-quality standard-sized corpse parts to make his monster with, so Frankenberg was reduced to building his monster with parts of questionable quality-- some were much more rotten, some of the parts came from fat people, some from skinny, different heights, some had physical deformities, injuries, etc. The result is that Frankenberg's poor monster is more mismatched and misshapen than that hotshot monster of Frankenstein's. The monster deals with it by drinking." - Tyler McCall

Original Ink Drawing FOR SALE - $20 Shipped (Contact for Purchase)

*I'm a few days behind but I'll be catching up! So stay tuned! - Ryan

Sunday, October 20, 2013

INKtober Monster #18 - Killer Polygon


Name:
KILLER POLYGON
Three Physical Characteristics:
- Low Res
- Triangle Monster
- Modeled after Godzilla

Bio:
"It's what happens when 3D beats you and corrupts your world." - Aron Zoellner

Original Ink Drawing FOR SALE - $20 Shipped (Contact for Purchase)

*I'm a few days behind but I'll be catching up! So stay tuned! - Ryan

INKtober Monster #17 - Slammin' Sam


Name:
SLAMMIN' SAM
Three Physical Characteristics:
- Huge oversized fists
- Big chin with a large underbite
- Fit but with a bit of  hunchback

Bio:
"Slammin Sam was nothing but an honest brick layer. Father was a brick layer. Mother was a brick layer. His entire family was a brick layer but you know what? Sam is tired of laying bricks... Instead, he now SLAMS bricks. If he's walking and sees some bricks, SLAM! Ain't no bricks there. Now Sam is really is a fun loving guy but ask him to lay some bricks and he might bury you in them!" - Brandon Alderman

Original Ink Drawing FOR SALE - $20 Shipped (Contact for Purchase)

*I'm a few days behind but I'll be catching up! So stay tuned! - Ryan

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

INKtober Monster #16 - Boudro


Name:
BOUDRO
Three Physical Characteristics:
- Hound dog
- Alligator
- Cajun

Bio:
"From Louisiana lives in the swamp, this reclusive character is talked about having voodoo powers, thought to have been created by a voodoo priest, as a punishment for not believing in Voodoo, merged a person, his dog and the nearby alligator!" - Ken Salinas

Original Ink Drawing FOR SALE - $20 Shipped (Contact for Purchase)

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

INKtober Monster #15 - Sugary Sneak


Name:
SUGARY SNEAK
Three Physical Characteristics:
- Slimy
- Tiny
- Bad teeth from all of the sugar

Bio:
"Sugary Sneaker lives with all of the other monsters in the closet, or under the bed. But it does its best to go unnoticed, because it doesn't really enjoy scaring kids. Instead he sneaks out night to eat sugary kids cereal and is the one responsible when little Jimmy gets accused of stealing all of the marshmallows from the box of Lucky Charms." - Kristen Cook

Original Ink Drawing FOR SALE - $20 Shipped (Contact for Purchase)

Monday, October 14, 2013

INKtober Monster #14 - Bearkin



Name:
BEARKIN
Three Physical Characteristics:
- Head and body of a bear
- Face and legs of a chicken
- Loves jelly beans

Bio:
"In an effort...Look, it's the unholy blend of a bear and a chicken. The creature is mad (crazy, not angry) and thinks it's the direct descendent of Little John and Maid Marion's lady in waiting. It probably watches too much TV." - Jeffery Johnson

Original Ink Drawing FOR SALE - $20 Shipped (Contact for Purchase)

Sunday, October 13, 2013

INKtober Monster #13 - Topher


Name:
TOPHER
Three Physical Characteristics:
- Gargoyle head
- Giraffe neck
- Troll body

Bio:
"It's neck is able to go from normal to ten feet! He's very strong and breathes fire." - Dan Conway

Original Ink Drawing FOR SALE - $20 Shipped (Contact for Purchase)

Saturday, October 12, 2013

INKtober Monster #12 - Hydra


Name:
HYDRA
Three Physical Characteristics:
- Multiple heads
- Dragon-like
- Lives in water (Somehow I missed this one in the illustration! Ha! Sorry, Jen!)

Bio:
"Because of multiple personalities, is difficult to predict, and is oftentimes the life of the party." - Jennifer Dutton

Original Ink Drawing FOR SALE - $20 Shipped (Contact for Purchase)

Friday, October 11, 2013

INKtober Monster #11 - Drake


Name:
DRAKE
Three Physical Characteristics:
- Muscular
- Spines down his back and tail
- Stand erect
- Secretes toxin through scales and saliva

Bio:
"An everyday lizard who was subjected to nuclear waste from a truck accident that leaked into a nearby marsh he called home. After undergoing rapid growth he now lurks in a nearby city feeding on any unfortunately passerby that crosses his path now that insects and small fish no longer satisfy his growing hunger for blood. " - Ryan Troske

Original Ink Drawing FOR SALE - $20 Shipped (Contact for Purchase)

Thursday, October 10, 2013

INKtober Monster #10 - Walrupino


Name:
WALRUPINO

Three Physical Characteristics:
- Has the tusks of a walrus, the horns of a rhinoceros, and the spines of a porcupine
- Horns and tusks are comically oversized for its body, causing a great deal of difficulty with balance and movement 
- Eyes are big, round and welcoming, juxtaposing the harshness of its other features

Bio:
"No one's quite sure how he came to be, but hunters tell that Walrupino has been spotted on more than one occasion stumbling awkwardly through the forest and causing commotion. A tortured hybridization of a Walrus, Rhinoceros and Porcupine, he finds himself constantly getting stuck between trees and wedged in tight spaces due to the extreme size and unwieldiness of his tusks and horns. Though he appears to be fiercely dangerous, he's really quite friendly. All he wants is that which his deadly defenses have long denied him: a simple hug. So if - as you're jaunting through the forest one night - you hear his questioning bleat and feel the ground quake beneath your feet, know as you run to safety that you flee not from a monster, but from a gentle creature too cursed and misunderstood to live in commune as we do." - Jay Miller

Original Ink Drawing FOR SALE - $20 Shipped (Contact for Purchase)

Wednesday, October 09, 2013

INKtober Monster #9 - Swingy the Beast


Name:
SWINGY the BEAST

Three Physical Characteristics:
- Tall
- Spotted
- Hairy

Bio:
"Swingny the Beast loves to wander around old jazz club and listen to swing music. He prefers nights over days, but you can still see him stroll in New Orleans streets when he wants to go and eat some ''Beignets'' at the ''Café du Monde''... you see, he loves music, and sugar!" - Katleen Rousseau

Original Ink Drawing FOR SALE - $20 Shipped (Contact for Purchase)

Tuesday, October 08, 2013

INKtober Monster #8 - Dustin the Duskdweller


Name:
DUSTIN the DUSKDWELLER

Three Physical Characteristics:
- Fairly rotund
- Claws
- Fur

Bio:
"He Lives in a cave in the mountains. Wishes he were a human, so at night he sneaks into the village in the valley to steal various human objects to wear or decorate its cave with. The rest of his kind actually like to eat human children (though thankfully they're very bad at catching them), so he doesn't care to interact with them much. He's somewhat ill-tempered, but it's really more because he's lonely rather than because he's mean." - Tyler McCall

Original Ink Drawing FOR SALE - $20 Shipped (Contact for Purchase)

Monday, October 07, 2013

INKtober Monster #7 - Doggler


Name:
DOGGLER

Three Physical Characteristics:
- Quadrupedal
- Mangy
- Slobbery

Bio:
"Doggler is the fierce yet loyal mount of the Goblins of Snakelandia. Though he looks a bit flea-bitten and stringy, he's clever and wily in a fight, serving his masters well. At night he dreams of the one true thing he longs for: a single, perfect hamburger." - Briana Westmoreland 

Original Ink Drawing FOR SALE - $20 Shipped (Contact for Purchase)

Sunday, October 06, 2013

INKtober Monster #6 - Stompy


Name:
STOMPY

Three Physical Characteristics:
- Big
- Thorny
- Strong

Bio:
"Stompy was our camp monster at Camp Pompeii when I was a kid.The story was he would come out of the forest at night. And leave his thorns behind as traces he had been there." - Kevin Barber

Original Ink Drawing FOR SALE - $20 Shipped (Contact for Purchase)

Saturday, October 05, 2013

INKtober Monster #5 - Snakehorse


Name:
SNAKEHORSE

Three Physical Characteristics:
- Upper body of horse
- Lower body of snake
- Fire from nostrils

Bio:
"Snakehorse is one of the world’s most horrifying miscreations. Burdened with not quite fitting in since he is half horse and half snake, he channels a fiery hatred for the world that can be seen by the flames in his nostrils. When confronted by anything beautiful he immolates it with the fire from within." - Christopher Mifsud

SOLD
Original Ink Drawing FOR SALE - $20 Shipped (Contact for Purchase)

Friday, October 04, 2013

INKtober Monster #4 - Soda Troll



Name:
SODA TROLL

Three Physical Characteristics:
- Big Nose
- Claws
- Hyper

Bio:
"The soda troll is addicted to all kinds of soda. He has a huge nose which he uses to smell soda from miles away. He digs holes under ground to get into convenience stores and peoples homes, and rid them of their soda. He is super hyper and gets cranky when he doesn't get his fill." - Enrique Rivera

Original Ink Drawing FOR SALE - $20 Shipped (Contact for Purchase)

Thursday, October 03, 2013

INKtober Monster #3 - Nigel


Name:
NIGEL

Three Physical Characteristics:
- Muddy and covered in moss
- Flat head withe thick body
- Legs look like old tree trunks

Bio:
"Nigel likes the peace and quiet of the bog.  He enjoys nice long mud baths.  Nigel catches his meals by looking like an old oak tree, he unhinges his jaw and waits patiently for smaller creatures to look for a dry safe place to sleep, and then snaps his mouth shut when they feel safe.  He loves eating birds because they are so noisy. He doesnt eat squirrels because they bring him nuts. But every once in a while he can't help himself, but he always feels bad afterwards.  His best friend is a chubby little tree fairy.  They play cards on Tuesdays." - Kevin Martin

Original Ink Drawing FOR SALE - $20 Shipped (Contact for Purchase)

Wednesday, October 02, 2013

INKtober Monster #2 - Sin-Perdon


Name:
SIN-PERDON

Three Physical Characteristics:
- Spikes/Horns coming off jointed areas
- Missing one arm below the elbow
- Reptillian

Bio:
"He's a hundreds year old creature that terrorized Mayan Villages. But one day a fearless Mayan Warrior cut off his arm. He now hides in the jungles in shame." - John Cook

Original Ink Drawing FOR SALE - $20 Shipped (Contact for Purchase)

Tuesday, October 01, 2013

INKtober Monster #1 - Sneezy Sneak


The season of ink is finally upon us! Welcome to INKtober! We have Jake Parker to thank for this illustrious holiday where we take on the challenge of completing one inked drawing per day for the month of October. I really enjoyed seeing all of the posts last year and even completing a few images of my own to mark the occasion. However, this year I've decided to jump into the deep end and really try creating one drawing per day. But I wanted to find a special way to put my own spin on it.

And thus INKtober Monsters was born! For the month of October I'll be creating a new Monster each day in ink. I figured something with a touch of Halloween might really be a fun topic. The really cool part is that I want you guys to be the ones to help me define what these things will look like. If you'd like to participate here is the few bits of information you must provide me.

1. Your name
2. The name of your creature
3. Three physical characteristics of your creature - No more, no less
4. A brief bio for your creature

It's that simple! Just post your creature suggestion in the comments below or on my Facebook page. I'll then randomly select Monsters to tackle as each day goes by in October. Sound fun? I'm hoping it will be! I can't wait to see what sort of stuff you guys will help me come up with! Lets dive in with our first creature of the Month!


Name:
SNEEZY SNEAK

Three Physical Characteristics:
- Covered in mushrooms/moss
- Has antlers
- Has bad allergies

Bio:
"This monster lives in the forest and preys on unsuspecting hunters. He fools them using his antlers and lures them deeper and deeper into the woods until they're all alone. Sadly his allergies make it pretty tough for him to sneak up on people. He's not a very good monster, he's the misfit of his herd." - Sarah Bowlin

SOLD
Original Ink Drawing FOR SALE - $20 Shipped (Contact for Purchase)

And that's our first Monster of the season! I really hope you guys enjoy this as much as I'm going to like breathing life into these guys. Stop back by tomorrow to see what new creature we'll be concocting together! Happy INKtober!

- Ryan

Friday, September 27, 2013

Piggies and Beer










Hey everyone! This update I wanted to show off some of the stuff I've been working on for work recently. If you've followed this blog at all you've probably noticed that I've been working for the few years at a slot game company. Well, recently some of the games I've worked on were shown to the public so I figured I'd post a few images from the projects.

The first set of images above is from the sequel to a game I did the art for a couple years ago, Bier Haus. I didn't get to work on the entire game this time but I was asked to rework some of the symbol and character art. It was a blast to try and inject a bit more personality and life into the characters. It's more stylized then before but I also felt it made it feel a little more fun. My wife isn't a fan of the Heidi symbol at all and I'm not sure why. Ha!

The next game is one of the first toony projects I've ever worked on to completion. Rich Little Piggies 2 was a labor of love for me and my buddy, Joe Feliciano. Joe helped me out with some of the initial preproduction/concept work, background painting and a bit of animation. The game really came together really nicely and we're both pretty stinkin' proud of it! If you find yourself on a casino floor you should seek it out and give it a spin!

Below is a sampling of some of the conceptual work I did for the project. There are a good deal of scraps but these were a few that I scanned or saved to show.











And that's all I have to show for this week! As always I love the feedback if you have it! I'll be back with another post next Friday. Till then you can catch me on Facebook and Twitter via the links at the top of the page. Have an awesome weekend! Keep scribblin'!

- Ryan