Justin Gerard posts
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A Hydra Heron and a Rare Pupper!
Today I have a portrait of "Lilly" done for a recent commission! I had a lot of fun with this one, and it actually had a bit of watercolor underpainting in it, which was fun to get back to for a bit. (It will be on a playmat in the near future, and I will post more about that when it releases!)I also have the final hi-res for the #LETSDRAWMONSTERS for April, The Hydra Heron.The Hydra Heron is #24 in the series, and while it won't be the last monster we will do in the series, it will likely be the final one that we will be packing in...
May Roadmap
Welcome to May! This month will be a bit of a whirlwind. First, the Monster of the Month series makes a return with a new monster this month, along with your regularly scheduled aliens, (this month of the cosmic terror variety.) Along with the Hydra Heron hi-res, and a bonus watercolor and digital painting all dropping tomorrow. Throughout the month I will be streaming on Twitch to wrap up PART ONE of the #LETSDRAWMONSTERS series. With 2 years of creatures and content behind us, Annie and I are calling a halt for a couple months, to put togethe...
The Faerie Queene Hi-Res Images
Today I am pleased to be sharing a few more new hi-res images from The Faerie Queene, including the cover of Book Four!The cover features an undersea procession scene featuring an array of sea gods, (Triton, Neptune, and co.) I always love working with undersea scenes so I have been looking forward to working on this one for quite some time. The scene offered a lot of wonderful challenges and opportunities to play with light and murky rendering effects.The architecture was a challenge, as it offers the sole bit of rigid geometry to wrestle with...
April Martian of the Month Double Feature!
This month I have been busy at work on more martians! Some humorous, some terrifying, all very strange. I am also experimenting with different layouts for presentation of these alien creatures. Let me know what you think of this current layout. These characters are in-game assets, so this layout format shows them in a setting that is closer to what they would appear like in game. (I do still plan to do a more formal print field guide, but I wonder if this is a more interesting way to show them as concept art?)The Jupireen Smuggler is a sentient...
#LETSDRAWMONSTERS24 Prompt
The Heron Hydra, Bane of the swamplands.*We are running behind today, so the prompt will be read live at the beginning of the stream! Anyone can join in, and the show starts at 10AM EST on Twitch at: https://twitch.tv/justingerardillustrationYour job today will be to design the Heron Hydra, a creature that is dreaded above all other monsters by the creatures of the swamp. Many flee before it, few can stand against it. I will be designing my version live until 12:00 Noon, after which we will be checking out the community entries!*Remember you ca...
The Feline FireDrake Hi-Res
Today I have a hi-res for you of the Feline Firedrake from last month's #LETSDRAWMONSTERS event. This is one of only ones we have ever taken to a fall finished illustration, thanks largely I part to all the encouragement (and verbal abuse from the chat) on Twitch. I really enjoyed working on this one even though the process was largely just chaos.I will be posting an extended step-by-step guide on the creation of the image in the tutorials tier. So if you are interested in seeing it in stage, check that out....And for fun:Some alternate sug...
April Roadmap
Today I am very excited to announce that we are starting a new series!: #LETSDRAWJUSTINGERARDEach month will feature a new Justin Gerard! What will be first? Safari Justin! Next month is Ice Explorer Justin. And just wait until we get until we get to Combat Princess Justin! Each month is sure to be packed with fun and I’m sure you’re as excited as I am to dive in to this!*Ahem*Soooo.... Happy April 1st! Here's what you can actually expect this month:Last month we revealed the new Martian of the Month project, and this month we will be s...
New Ice Dragon Battle Illustration and a Centaur!
Today I am very pleased to be able to share a new illustration from the secret "Project Dino-Riders" series I've been working on. It features viking warriors, frost dragons, witches, and wintery mountain landscape. What's not to love???I had a lot of fun with the narrative elements in this one. In the illustration, I wanted to show what happened before, what is happening now, and what is likely to happen in the moments to follow. Most of this narrative work is taken care of by the vikings frozen in ice, from whom we get some for...
Martian of the Month: The Leviath Invader
Today I have a new (and very small) sinister martian to share with you. Though quite small, the Leviath have an oversized sense of self-importance. They are given to piracy and the use of unlicensed electrical weaponry. Quite recently discovered, not much is known about them. Here is a shot of some of the development stages this character went through on their way to their current form:Next: I have 3 other items to share with you!#1. Our Project Reveal announcement for what the Martian of the Month actually is, just went up here on Patreon! So ...
PROJECT REVEAL!!!
Today, I am very pleased to announce, that:We are NOT doing scented candles.We are NOT making a theme park. WE ARE MAKING A GAME.What kind of game? One with CARDS. (And lasers!)Go on... We are making a rogue-like game, with turn-based strategy and RPG mechanics. Right now, it's working title is "Interstellar Pest Control".What format? Digital. When? We plan to have an alpha build by the end of the year, launch a beta in 2023, and a full release in 2024. But we aren't in a hurry. (I've got 200 monsters to paint after all...)W...
Sneak Preview Post for the "Martian of the Month" Reveal Tomorrow
Many of you have been asking questions like, "When will you announce what the Martian project is?" and "'what even IS a space opera?", and "do you ever sleep? ...or bathe?"Well tomorrow you will find out the answer to those questions, and to the big one that has been following us since we started making monsters here on Patreon. What is this project ultimately for?...WHAT WILL IT BE???Well, the time is finally upon us. Tomorrow, we lay our *cards* on the table and reveal the diabolical purpose and plan for the Martia...
The Faerie Queen Book 4: Part 1
Today I have some drawings to share with you from Book 4 of the Faerie Queene! Most of these are brand new, except for the last one of Florimel in her undersea prison, which you may recall from some of our livestreams.From Book Four : Canto 1 featuring Britomart and Amoret riding at the beginning of the adventure.From Book Four: Canto 4 Featuring the Savage Knight, all decked out in leaves about to enter to the tournament.From Book Four: Canto 7, featuring the huntress Belphoebe, and a giant who is about to have a very bad day...And finally, fr...
#LETSDRAWMONSTERS for MARCH!
THE PROMPT:"The Feline Fire Drake"Very little is written of these mythical creatures in the historical texts. Yet, while the written records are largely silent, there are however, many curious visual depictions appearing amidst the pages of illuminated manuscripts. From these illustrations we are left with more questions than answers about these mysterious winged, and fire-breathing cats. In the surviving depictions, it is unclear wether they were regarded as a beloved household pet, or a terrifying menace, the cause of much grief to ma...
March Roadmap
I have another abbreviated roadmap post this month! This month we will continue work on the Faerie Queene (will Florimel escape her watery dungeon?) as well as begin production on a new full-color battle scene from the secret Dino Riders project. You can expect hi-res imagery from both projects this month, and for our Twitch streams to be focused on them as well. Our main goal this month though, is the reveal of the Martian of the Month project. Is it a new scented candle line? Another interactive theme park? I hope to share all that and more i...
Martian of the Month plus Process Guide!
Today I have a new creature for the forthcoming Martian of the Month project, the "Woolly Cave Spider" as well as a Process Guide!For the past 2 months I have been refining the process for these new space opera themed monsters and characters, and I am still trying out a few different approaches!In the process guide above you can see one of the new methods of work that I am experimenting with (in my mad quest to get below 3.5 hours per character design). It isn't quite working yet, but I am very much enjoying the chaos! I began this ...
"The End of the Line" Hi-Res Color Final
Today I have a final for our Dungeon Master Series image "The End of the Line"!We spent several weeks on this and streamed most of the process on Twitch. Thank you to everyone who came along to hang out with us on stream. As usual we began with a detailed drawing of the image. I still consider this to be one of, if not the, most important elements in a successful image. If the drawing doesn't work, the painting probably won't either, so I tend to go a bit overboard making sure I understand everything at this stage.For the colors...
#LETSDRAWMONSTERS February Prompt!
THE PROMPT:"The Griffopatomus"We are told that the Hippogriff is a legendary creature with the front half of an eagle and the hind half of a horse. But this a creature of pure fiction. When tellers of tales and travelers from far off places shared accounts of this mythical winged creature, something was lost in translation. The legends got it all wrong. Today we are setting the record straight about these magnificent creatures. What they actually looked like, their enormous bulk and shocking teeth, how they travelled in their great seas...
"LOTR Rise To War" Commission Process
Recently, I did some commission work for a Lord of the Rings mobile game (any excuse to paint Middle Earth is a good one IMO!), and today I'd like to share the final from the first image in the series, now that the NDA has officially lifted. The commission: Dwarves in a mountain fortress as an orc army masses below!The schedule I was given was somewhat tight for this, so I began with a very simple, scrappy drawing before moving on to a tighter clean drawing. (I cannot overstate the importance of a nice clean drawing somewhere in the process...
February Roadmap
Welcome to February! I will keep it brief today as I am diving in to Book Four of the Faerie Queene and have my work cut out for me. In the coming days you can expect hi-res artwork and behind-the-scenes work from the recent Lord of the Rings commission, (going up right after this post!) as well as from the Dungeon Master Series image, "The End of the Line" (going up Friday) and more from the Faerie Queene. The Monster of the Month will have quite a few development monsters and possibly even landscapes as we gear up for our March reveal...
The Faerie Queene BOOK THREE Hi-Res Art
We have been hard at work on BOOK THREE and today I have a massive image drop for you with a ton of art!The above one in particular with the Naiads and Mermaids is one that I'd love to do a color version of! This is the next on my list of bonus art for the series, followed closely by the next one...This one, of evil cupid and Britomart was a lot of fun! (And yes, I got very carried away with the smoke...) I actually posed as evil cupid for this one, and my wife Annie posed for Britomart. I can't look at the scene and not crack up when I...
"End of the Line" Drawing + Croxolotl Twitch hi-res files!
Today I have the hi-res for our new Dungeon Master Series image "The End of the Line" from our Twitch stream earlier today!We are just now beginning the color work as well. Here is where we left it today:We spent the stream focused on basic light and shadow before moving on to washes of transparent color. Next will be opaque rendering. Lots more to go! Expect a few more random streams throughout the month...Next I have a Croxolotl Process Guide and hi-res for you as well:Here is a Process Guide on how the development went during our #LE...
#LETSDRAWMONSTERS21 Prompt! "The Croxolotl"
2022 just started and I am already behind schedule! I will share the prompt on stream today!The SHOW starts today at 10AM EST on Twitch at https://twitch.tv/justingerardillustration I will be designing my version live until 12:00 Noon, after which we will be checking out the community entries!AWARDS: We are going to be keeping this event very casual, so we are not doing any awards this month. We will still be going through and sharing everyone's entries at the end of the show!*Remember you can upload yours to the community !discord or you c...
ROADMAP 2022 Project Reveal!
Welcome to 2022! 2021 was a crazy, chaotic year. I didn’t finish half the things I meant to but we survived! We got a new studio, painted some apolocyptic scenes for the Faerie Queene, created a ton of monsters, made some fancy new brushes, put out a new book, and had a great time hanging out with everyone here and on the livestreams! It was a wild ride.But I have to say, 2021 was brutal. And as fun as it was, I think I need a break. Or maybe, just a change-up... I've spent the last 3 years of making tons of slimy, nefarious little monste...
Snakes, Dino-Riders, and Hot Sauce Goblins! Hi-Res Monsters for December
Today I have an assortment of monstrous Holiday delights in hi-res for you! First, from last night's Twitch stream: A "Snakish Brigand" for FANSTRATICS!I really enjoyed this one. It was drawn on Strathmore Bristol using Kimberly's and Staedtler 925 pencils, and I very much hope to add color to this one at some point.Next, I have a Habanero Goblin for you! This was a commissioned monster for Habgoblin Hot Sauce. They were kind enough to send me some of the hot sauces from their line-up and I have to say, they are spectacular! Rea...
"The Frog Necromancer's Tower" Final Colors!
It's finally finished! WE DEFEATED THE FROG! Thank you all for sticking with me through this slog. It took us about a month longer than we had hoped, but we made it there in the end. The slice at the top here is one of my favorite moments. I really just had a ton of fun painting this trio of heroes here.In this slice you can see where I went mad with the magic and the power and got lost in the chaos. But it's not all wild anarchy in paint. I will leave you with what actually turned out to be one of my favorite moments in the scene:Somet...
DECEMBER ROADMAP & #LETSDRAWMONSTERS Prompt!
CHRISTMAS IS ALMOST UPON US! RUN! RUUUUUUUN!!!!Okay, wait. Before we start the panic and madness of the Holidays, let's take a breath and do some nice, relaxing drawing. To help, #LETSDRAWMONSTERS starts in 1 hour! The Prompt:The Abominable Snow Serpent:I saw this creature once in my travels, while hiking along a glacier. The glaciers have melted back dramatically in recent centuries, and as they've gone, they have left things behind, uncovered. Things which were perhaps meant to remain locked away within their icy catacombs. The creatu...
November Hi-Res Art 3-pack ...and Dino-Riders???
This month, we are all over the map and today, I have 3 new hi-res images to share with you. First, from our Fanstratics stream, the Cyclops Siege Breaker!:This was one of the most fun monsters we have tackled for Fanstratics thus far. (Reeeeally hoping they will let me add color at some point!) If you missed the stream, here is the general development that we went through for this one:NEXT! We have the Pigasus, from our #LETSDRAWMONSTERS event:This was done 100% digital in Photoshop (due to the maddening lack of a traditional studio setup we f...
DARK SOULS Illustration hi-res artwork
Today I am happy to share with you the final artwork from our journey into the world of Dark Souls! The image was commissioned by VaatiVidya and is available as a print from Displate. Vaati introduces at the end of his Elden Ring reveal video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fciP89-aDqE&ab_channel=VaatiVidya As with all of my work, I began with several sketches to explore the scene and work out the composition for the image. I primarily do this traditionally, in ink, before scanning it all into the computer and doing a value comp to nail d...
#LETSDRAWMONSTERS19 Prompt!
THE PROMPT:By all the laws of science, The Pigasus should not be able to fly. It is a heavy and cumbersome creature, much like a common hog in almost every way, in size, shape, diet, disposition; except for the fact that it reportedly has a pair of wings upon its back. These wings are not large, perhaps the size of those found on a duck, and do not appear to be able to lift such a creature. And yet, as impossible as it seems for these peculiar wings to carry a beast of such proportions, there are many recorded instances by reputable sources of ...
The Faerie Queene: BOOK TWO Hi-Res Art
FINALLY! I return with the promised Book Two illustrations from the Faerie Queene! The cover color image from this book is of the Sea Monster Battle, which we painted a bit of on stream this past month. I spent entirely too long on it, but I just really love seascapes and this one was an absolute pleasure to work on.Book 2 of the Faerie Queene deals with temperance, and the end of the book has some of the best and most interesting visual interpretations of the concept. This one from the same chapter and was *almost* the color one for the book:O...
