Justin Gerard posts
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November Roadmap
Happy Morning-After-Halloween! I hope you had a chance to burn all of the art that failed you this year. I did and I feel renewed and can't wait to start painting again. It feels good to have the failures wiped off the slate. It BURNS so new art can grow in its place! BURN! BURN THE BAD ART!...*ahem* Sorry... Let's get back to our post...It's November and we are still knee-deep in Skelefrogs as we continue to battle our way through "The Frog Necromancer's Tower". (No... we didn't get it done in time for Halloween, bu...
October Monster Reward Bag!
Tonight, (as promised!) I have a double-feature reward bag for you! The Cyclopian Cichlid and "Peanut the Bone Collector". They each come with their own brush sets. These brushes were the same ones used to paint the Faerie Queene Sea Monster Battle. And will be the ones used on the upcoming Necromancer's Tower Halloween illustration. If you'd like to check out how I use them, I did a demo of them on my October 23rd Twitch Livestream. BRUSH SET DOWNLOAD LINKAnd finally, here is the step-by-step guide for the Cyclopian Cichlid:Now...
Halloween Hi-Res Drawings
Today I have some halloween drawings for you from some of our recent Twitch streams!First: The Frog Necromancer's Tower!I drew this over top of my original sketches, using the value comp below as a bit of a lighting guide:I am very excited about this one. We will be diving into color on it this weekend on Twitch! Hopefully Saturday at 5PM EST, but if not, then Sunday night instead. (I am scheduled to take part in a live interview with Iain McCaig for the Norman Rockwell Gallery Saturday morning, and this may bump our regular stream schedule...
#LETSDRAWMONSTERS18 Prompt!
THE PROMPT:For all of recorded history, mice have lived around and amongst people. Sneaking into our homes, stealing food, and silently making tunnels, burrows, and holes everywhere. And who could blame them? We tend have nice warm houses and drop a lot of food. Some of us also lack cats. But mice can also bring disease and destroy our homes, which has caused much hostility towards these little creatures. In my old country there was a legend of the nocturnal infernal. Farmers would often find mice living in their homes during this time of year....
October Roadmap
Welcome to October and the annual Halloween Battle!Last year, we battled a field full of Scorpkins. This year, we take on an army of Skelefrogs in… “The Frog Necromancer’s Tower!” Throughout the month we will be streaming the development, drawing, and painting of this scene, all live on Twitch. With over 40 figures engaged in full-color-hi-res-fantasy-magic-and-mayhem, ...we have our work cut out for us. Join us as we take this image start to finish on Twitch and share the progress here on the Patreon. We will kick this thing off Saturd...
#LETSDRAWMONSTERS17 Prompt
Today, we are doing #LETSDRAWMONSTERS LIVE from DragonCon in Atlanta! We will attempt to livestream this from my phone starting at 5:30 EST. (Hence the very abbreviated reference page!)THE PROMPT:Welcome to Georgia, where we've been overrun by many an invasive species. Kudzu, gypsy moths and feral hogs are just a few of the creatures that have sought to take us over. But there is a new terror to add to the list: The Marshland Owligator; a mysterious creature out of prehistory which has been said to have reappeared here in the swamps of Geor...
September Roadmap
Welcome to September!Today, we gear up for an onslaught of orcs, mandalorians, wizards and jokers in the mayhem, madness and excitement of Dragoncon in Atlanta September 2-5! Come see Annie Stegg and I at booth 108 in the Art Show. (Air hugs and fist bumps only, and make sure you’ve got your shots.) Annie and I will be doing demos and talks during the show and with any luck we will do some livestreams as well. If you missed it, check out the VOD from our last Twitch stream, where we went over our Convention Survival Guide.The main event for t...
"The Librarian" Monster of the Month Rewards Box!
Those of you who've watched our Twitch streams will know how I feel about libraries. Well let me introduce you to "The Librarian", our Monster of the Month for August 2021. Now, some of you will think this is about me processing my past guilt, from "not returning" certain items from libraries in years past. Nothing could be further from the truth, I just like to draw people as toads!But the heist didn't go precisely according to plan. My original take on the character involved a blindfold, as this character was someone w...
August Faerie Queene Hi-Res Drawings
Today I have 3 new hi-res drawings for you from The Faerie Queene!The first is of Una and the Savage Nation, where the satyrs and nymphs and wild creatures are trying to crown her queen of the forest. She is in mourning during this scene though, so there was a lot of great emotional contrast to play with in the art.Next we have Prince Arthur, who is once again showing up just in time to save our hapless heroes, and wrecking the knights Somiclese and Periclese after he finds them robbing the unconscious knight Guyon.And finally, we have Phaedria...
BONUS Hi-Res Monsters!
Today I have a giant bag of extra drawings and illustrations for you! Most of these were worked on during our Twitch streams over the past few weeks, and I am finally getting around to scanning them all in to share with everyone.First is our Garlic Vinegaroon from last month (finally cleaned up and ready for the party).Next is the Mammoth Bonecrusher for Fanstratics. I have dropped him into our old process layout to give a sense of the development.Next is our Rhinomander from August's #LETSDRAWMONSTERS challenge! It was one of our best ever...
#LETSDRAWMONSTERS16 Prompt
PROMPT:The Rhinomander, one of the lesser known and often forgotten titans of Ragnarok. It's absence in the legendary epics is understandable, for while the rhinomander can grow to the size of a mountain, they start life in an egg no larger than a melon, often buried deep in some long-forgotten volcano for millennia before hatching into the small plodding, bleary-eyed little lumps that they remain for most of their lives. Even after hatching, this legendary creature will continue to spend most of its life sleeping. When it does briefly wake...
August Roadmap
Welcome to Smaugust! This month we've got a lot of monsters and a lot of Faerie Queene work to share, so let's dive right in!:Classic Fantasy Illustration: We continue our adventures in Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene. You can expect a lot of behind-the-scenes work as we begin work on BOOK TWO. We will be sharing a lot of finished drawing work this month!Monster of the Month: This month, the Monsters are changing. We have had a nice, peaceful time here in the summer painting friendly little monsters like "The Disgruntled Pear...
Monster of the Month JULY Rewards Box!
This month was AWESOME. We launched a sketchbook and painted 2 monsters, "the Fern Ent" and "the Disgruntled Pear", both of which were based on sketches from our 2020 Sketchbook Collector's Editions. The Pear, apart from being just a joy to paint, was a new record as well!: 3 hours and 50 minutes, from start to finish. It was absolutely the fastest monster yet, by a long shot. Now I have to admit, it is a fairly simple shape, being a pear and all, so perhaps it is an unfair comparison when stacking it up against something li...
The Faerie Queene Hi-Res Color Work!
Today I have the long awaited Faerie Queene Book One Color Finals! The Red Cross Knight & The Dragon", And "Duessa on Her Seven-Headed Beast".These were two of the most fun images I've worked on in years. I absolutely LOVED painting them and am very much looking forward to what other moments await us in the next book.I am beginning sketches for the next book this weekend and will hopefully start having new drawings going, and more behind-the-scenes development material to share with you starting next month.Also today, there is a...
TROVE of 50 Sketchbook Sketches and Monster-of-theMonth POLL!
Today, I've got 50 sketches in 50 sketchbooks for you! I had an absolute blast drawing these, and especially the last stream with the Cupcake Crusader and Broccoli Goblin. If you look closely, you may see quite a few of the other ideas suggested in the chat. THE POLL: One of these is going to be our monster of the month for July, will get the full color treatment, and will be added into the full monster line-up. I have narrowed it down to 10 contestants, and I want you to choose the one that needs to be in there the most. Which of these fee...
#LETSDRAWMONSTERS Community Choice Golden Sluglord AWARDS!
Thank you everyone who joined us for this month's #LETSDRAWMONSTERS Creature Design Challenge: The HarbearHere are the submissions for this month's vaunted Golden Sluglord Award:I HIGHLY recommend you view these out on the Discord in the #lets-draw-monsters channel or on Instagram at #letsdrawmonsters15 to see them in greater detail. They need to be seen in hi-res to truly appreciate them!Select the one that best captures the idea of "The Harbear" for you! The Golden Sluglord Community Choice award will receive a "Monster of...
#LETSDRAWMONSTERS Prompt for July 2021
This month, we have a guest artist contributor for our prompt. A young artist and naturalist named Nikolas, whose prompt this month is "The Harbear".It appears to have the wings and talons of a hawk, the face of a bear, and the long prehensile tail of an opossum, though all of this is subject to visual interpretation.Our guest artist described to me, in great detail, that this semi-mythical Harpy-Bear creature, "lives in a bad guy forests, eats monkeys, snakes and boats. It sleeps in rocks and some are good, some are bad. It is afra...
SKETCHBOOK LAUNCH! Early Access Link for Patrons
The Monster of the Month : Volume One sketchbook is finally LIVE!CLICK HERE FOR THE SECRET STORE LISTING! This year the sketchbook comes in 3 different editions, Standard, Limited Collector's Edition, and Extra Fine.The Standard is signed and arrives with a bonus 6"x8' mini-print of the Scorpkin for every order made in July. You can also Upgrade your order to come with a sticker set, and a set of 5 full color monster mini-prints which are sized to fit neatly within the book.The Limited Collector's Edition comes with everything i...
July Roadmap ...and the NEW SKETCHBOOK!
Welcome to July! BIG NEWS FIRST: Our Sketchbooks are FINALLY here!They will be going live Tuesday July 6th, at 10AM EST. However, all Patrons will get early access to the link at 9AM EST! These are not pre-orders, we are shipping them out right away.This year's bonus items for everyone who orders in July will be mini-prints of the color versions of the monsters. There is also a set of 6"x8" color plates that will accompany the book. As is tradition we will offer 50 Limited Editions with sketches in them ...and then a little somethin...
Monster of the Month REWARDS for June 2021!
This month's monster and minion was the Cave Gypsum Giant and the Excavator Kobold Minion. I ended up separating them out because they ended up looking SO different. The reason for this, I suspect, is because I did ALL of the color work for the Gypsum Giant in the 5 hours right after I got my second COVID shot. I had been drinking electrolytes like it was my job that day, and maybe that was part of it. I ended up finishing it all in just one sitting. (I felt like the shot had made me superhuman, ... and then the next day I felt like a ton o...
#LETSDRAWMONSTERS Community Choice Golden Sluglord AWARDS!
Thank you everyone who joined us for this month's #LETSDRAWMONSTERS Creature Design Challenge: The FlortoiseHere are the submissions for this month's vaunted Golden Sluglord Award:Select the one that best captures the idea of "The Flortoise" for you! The Golden Sluglord Community Choice award will receive a free print and some fancy pencils from Gallery Gerard!Everyone is eligible for this one, even those who won category awards on stream! We will announce the final winner on our upcoming Wednesday Twitch stream at 5PM EST!*Note...
#LETSDRAWMONSTERS14 Prompt
PROMPT:Supposedly now extinct, flortoises were rare land reptiles that were known for their long lives, enormous size, and incredibly slow metabolism. Thanks in part to this curious combination of traits, they were often described as having entire ecosystems growing on their shells. Moss, ferns, flowers, and even trees could grow on their backs supporting a wealth of butterflies, birds, and toads. Hatching at only the size of an apple, these mythical reptiles could grow to the size of house and reportedly lived for thousands of years. As they a...
The Little Tuskarr Illustration
Recently I finished a commission for Folk and Fairytales of Azeroth, a World of Warcraft short story book from Blizzard. Today I'd like to share some of the behind-the-scenes work I did on it with you. For this image, I began with a value comp that I turned in to the client:I kept this color comp very basic, with only 3 major tones. This helps simplify the composition, helping it read faster and more clearly. It also helps give a better sense of the space in the environment.These little comps also help me know what kinds of reference I will...
The Faerie Queene Project: Work from May
To kick off June, I have 4 images from the Faerie Queene to share with you! Most of these were drawn live on our Twitch streams this past month. The first is Lucifera and her dragon atop a pile of bones:After which, we tackled King Arthur and his squire journeying to confront the giant Orgoglio:And speaking of the Giant Orgoglio, we also tackled his epic battle with the Red Cross Knight, (Spoiler: it ends badly for the Red Cross Knight.) This was one of the best drawing streams too, it just progressed really well. So much of this I chalk up to ...
JUNE Roadmap
Welcome to June! This month is going to ROCK. We've got tons of community events, hi-res images from the Faerie Queene, new monsters and a lot of incoming bonus content.FIRST! Let's start with the main focus of June: The TWITCH Community Event Calendar:June 2, Wednesday at 3PM EST (new time!) : Dual Twitch Stream with DAVE GRECOJune 9, Wednesday at 5PM EST : #LETSDRAWMONSTERSWe moved #LETSDRAWMONSTERS to second Wednesday of the month to make room for the Dave Greco stream! (We will be back to the normal first Wednesday schedule in July....
"The Abominable Rabbit" Brush Set, Hi-Res, and Process Guide
Today I have a hideous Monster and diabolical little minion for you!We had a great time painting and designing this one and the brushes for it on Twitch this past week! (And if you missed it, the VODs will be up for a few more weeks!) We ended up adding some really fun effects at the last minute thanks to some great ideas from the chat. The sticks and leaves feel like an excellent bit of narrative. Overall, this one was a ton of fun to paint. I didn't progress as fast as my target goal of 5 hours (it was probably more like 8 or 9) but I was...
Behind the Scenes: The Faerie Queene - Book One
Today I have a preview post for you about our upcoming book project, THE FAERIE QUEENE. This project is a commission for Oasis Family Media and will feature 72 illustrations, all of which will be rendered in pencil, but many of which will likely be taken to full color as well. Along the way I will be sharing the development work from the project along with the finished work as it is completed.So far we concepted out the first 12 cantos of the book and begun to make our way through all of the drawings.When I begin a large project like this, I li...
#LETSDRAWMONSTERS Community Choice Golden Sluglord AWARDS!
Thank you everyone who joined us for this month's #LETSDRAWMONSTERS Creature Design Challenge: The MermunkHere are the submissions for this month's vaunted Golden Sluglord Award:Select the one that best captures the idea of "The Mermunk" for you! The winner will received a STAEDTLER 925 Mechanical Pencil, (the very finest in the world) and some goodies from Gallery Gerard. Everyone is eligible for this one, even those who won category awards on stream! We will announce the final winner on our upcoming Wednesday Twitch stream at ...
MONSTER ROYALE! Choose The Monster of the Month for May
This month it was too hard for me to pick which monsters to do next, so I am kicking it over to you! Which pair of monsters here is your favorite and ought to be added to the series first?? As with our lasts Monster Royale, I will be tackling the ones that get the most votes!
#LETSDRAWMONSTERS13 PROMPT!
In keeping with our #Mermay tradition, this month's Monster is... "The Mermunk!"PROMPT:In the ancient world, there was once a civilization whose art and science rivaled that of Ancient Greece, whose math and architecture was more advanced than Egypt, and whose warriors were more fierce than even the Assyrians. They were gifted in strategy, metallurgy, and organization, and were said to have been wealthy beyond compare. They would have doubtless conquered the entirety of the classical world, if but for their one weakness: They were o...
