PARIS

Just a Reminder to friends in the France area, I'll be there this friday, here is my wicked busy schedule!

• Saturday 30th
We leave to Vichy / Cusset  for the Star Wars Festival
• Sunday 1rst
Star Wars Festival
• Tuesday 3rd
Signing session @ Album Comics or ApoKlips in Paris
• Wednesday 4th
Signing session @ Album Comics or ApoKlips in Paris
• Friday 6th to Sunday 8th
Comics festival in Toulouse

looking forward to seeing you there!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL!!

May your holidays be memorable and safe!

Wizard World and Paris

I'm very excited to announce that I have been invited to be a Special Guest at Wizard World Chicago in August of 2011 and Wizard World Winnipeg in October of 2011. These guys are one of the best in the Convention business and I'm sure it's going to be a show to remember! For more information hit the link at the bottom of this post or at that the top of my page!

I'm equally excited to announce that I have been invited to the Paris Star Wars Convention in May. That show is one of the best in the world and I hope to see you there! I'll have links and info as they become available!

http://www.wizardworld.com/dougwheatley.html

See you soon!!

The Walt Stanchfield Lectures: Volumes One and Two

DRAWN TO LIFE

20 GOLDEN YEARS OF DISNEY MASTER CLASSES...

if your an illustrator or Comic artist, you might read this sub title and think to yourself that although this might be an interesting book, it's not for you, after all your not an animator. In my opinion, it's worth a closer look. I highly recommend these books to all story tellers in the visual arts. Walt Stanchfield's lectures are not only a treasure chest of information on the thinking that goes into drawing, visualizing, and preparation but a bible on the Psychology and the philosophy of drawing, seeing, and being, in relationship to the task of creating. I wasn't prepared for the in depth lectures on attitude, ego, and disappointment, which most of the artists I've met, in any field, seem to deal with quite a bit. Both volumes are pure gold, If I were to sum up these books in one sentence it would be; Finely tuned storytelling for the visual artist! do not let these books slip through your fingers, they'll cost a lot more when they're out of print...and right now, given the content, they are practically free.

Check the link,

http://www.amazon.ca/Drawn-Life-Classes-Stanchfield-Lectures/dp/0240810961

Conan: Road of Kings Cover#3

This is the finished cover for Conan: Road of Kings#3 and some of the layouts I did for this piece. Just a side note: An obvious criticism of this piece would be that the figure's color appear unaffected by the environment. I made a this choice on purpose, as an experiment for my own purposes, it was a conscious decision.

DARTH VADER and the Lost Command

This is one of twelve covers destined to celebrate one of the pioneers of the American comic book and sequential art, not to mention a terrific place to grow as an artist working with the best in the industry. DARK HORSE COMICS 25 years!

Road to Kings layout and the mistakes that came with it

This is the layout for the second cover. I made the worst mistakes you can make when designing a cover.

The 1st. I fell in love with the composition (at the time I did it. you could call it infatuation, it goes away later)

The 2nd. I didn't take the copy into account, so the composition would not work as the cover because there would be no room for the title of the book.

Which brings us back to mistake number 1. I should have re-visualised and redrew the idea, fixing the composition with a new idea based on the space I had. Instead, because I was infatuated with my first comp, I tried to save it...which I guess would be mistake number 3.

Conan: Road to Kings

I've been doing Conan covers for the last little while. Here are two of them.

Star Wars"BLUE HARVEST"

Pencil on Illustration board 10x15

The is the pencils to cover 14 of the Star Wars DarkTimes "Blue Harvest" story arc.

DARK HORSE PRESENTS PREVIEW

The kind people over at DarkHorse comics have published a 2 part, 8 page comic prelude to our next story arc in Star Wars Darktimes. Here is the link---

http://myspace.com/darkhorsepresents?issuenum=18&storynum=1

So, to do my part, here is the cover in pencil and paint, to Star Wars DarkTimes #13 coming soon, as well as some of the pencils for the preview, unlettered and not colored.

Legacy#21-Cover Process

Blue pencil on bond 8 1/2 x 12 inches

The thumbnail for this cover was approved with one change, that I move General Stazi's hand away from his mouth. So I did, and the change proved to be significant to the way the cover and Stazi would be read.

Graphite on Bristol board 8 1/2 x 12 inches

When I finished the pencils and sent them in, my editor, Randy Stradley informed me that the drawing really didn't look like Stazi. I followed the original design of the alien species known as the Duro and forgot that, just like humans, they could come in all shapes and sizes. This project was a reminder to me to keep loose, and that sticking too close to the standard designs of any license could result in change requests.

Graphite on bristol board 5 x 7 1/2 inches

Here is the head remodeled after artist Colin Wilson's design of Stazi in Legacy, which is what I should have done from the start. Oh well :) I pasted the new head on the body in Photoshop, and then it was ready to paint!

Photoshop 8 1/2 x 12 inches

The cover was painted and finished in Photoshop.

STAR WARS: DARKTIMES ISSUE#12-COVER

ACRYLIC ON GESSO BOARD 11 x 16 6/16 inches

The Louvre

The Louvre

Marie Leszcynska as Junon by Guillaume Coustou: Sketchbook, Blue Pencil

This last June, I traveled to Paris to study. I began at the Louvre then the Musee d'Orsay. I absolutely love Paris, the people, the city, the galleries. This is a sketch I did at the Louvre. . I saw my first Bouguereau at the Orsay, unbelievable! I really need to spend about one life time there!

Conan


Graphite and pencil crayon on Grey illustration paper APPROX. 3 X 4 inches
Dan Benger collection

I've been wanting to draw Conan for some time. I had a brief 2 issue run at Marvel Comics, not nearly enough time if you ask me, so, every now and then, I'll do a sketch. Here is one of my early sketches of the black maned, blue eyed Barbarian from Hyboria.

STAR WARS: DARKTIMES ISSUE#12-COLOR GUIDE

Graphite on Bond paper 2.1 x 3.1 inches
Private collectionGraphite on Bond 11 x 17 inches
Private collection
Graphite,pencil crayon,chalk on mat board 11 x 17 inches
Private collection

Acrylic on watercolor paper 6.5 x 9.5 inches
Private collection

This is the very first traditional painting I've done in 15 years. I was so excited to finally attempt a traditional painting. It felt great to "brush" the cobwebs away and pick up my palette. I can't wait to do more! The tone drawing and color guide took awhile to do and proved invaluable to the outcome of the finished painting.

STARWARS DARKTIMES ISSUE#3 COVER PENCILS

Graphite on Bristol Board 8.5 x 11 inches

Jennir, a Jedi on the run, gets a little more than he bargained for down an exotic back alley in a galaxy far far away. They ought to make a law- all dogs are to be kept on a leash!