
Hi, Grotesque Moi! fans! For the second February update here’s a couple of sneak peeks from the next creature illustration commission WIP. It’s coming along well and should be finished soon. What do you think this one might be?
#Grotesque_Moi #Grotesque #xtillos #XT_Illos #Illustration #FantasyArt #Freelance #DigitalArt #TraditionalArt #Commissions #Prints #GrotesqueMoi
Hi, Grotesque Moi! fans! For the second February update here’s a couple of sneak peeks from the next creature illustration commission WIP. It’s coming along well and should be finished soon. What do you think this one might be?
I’m working on the pricing for the different media for this project. In the meantime, I thought I would give you more information on this project.
I chose the word grotesque because of the mixing of human and different creatures. These hybrids are not necessarily hideous in nature. Quite the contrary in most cases. There are mermaids, harpies, gorgons, faeries, draconians and many other.
I have pieces that I will start posting after the first of the year so that you will have examples of the type of work you can expect.
Fingers crossed for the pricing and where the project sales will be posted. I’m very excited about the potential of this work! Broadcasting news of this it is critical to bring it to life. Please help by sharing my posts throughout your social media. Every little bit helps. Thank you in advance!
I’ve been working on some rough sketches for a project. I hope to start it the first quarter of next year. It will have many creatures classified as grotesques! It will be an interactive project where you can be part of the creation of this work! If you’ve ever wanted to be in a piece of fantasy art, this project is what you’ve been waiting for.
You get to decide the creature that you would like to become. Also, you will choose how much the creature resembles you. I will take your characteristics and blend them with your creature choice! The level of the transformation will be up to you. The range is from your likeness to total creature, or somewhere in between. The choices are totally yours.
I can help you choose if you’re not sure what creature you like. I can also help with the level of the transformation. With some other details we can bring your creature to life! Well, at least the image of your creature. The scene, illustration technique and color options are also open choices.
Line drawings of some of the creatures will be posted in the next up date. These will be For reference and to start things off. Also, in the next posting, I will provide a rate chart so you can decide what level of illustration you will choose.
As examples I’ve used myself to show how this will work.
Happy New Year to everyone! I hope you’re enjoying your holidays! Hopefully you have plans for something great this year!
I’ve got a new project that will need your help! More about how that will work in the upcoming posts! I hope to roll parts of it out in stages this year. I’ve been sneaking out images of the plan, recently. It’s focused around the fantasy self-portraits I posted before and some creature drawings. Like this Lupine-Naga:
For now, here’s to many great things for you in this New Year!
I’m trying a different direction with the posts I will be putting here. This and the following posts under this title will share parts of my world. What helped to create the artist in me? Why am I driven to create? What has influenced and inspired me to do these things? What do I like to create?
As an artist, it’s important that my work find you guys and others like you. I want to share the things I imagine with everyone. There are so many people, places and things to show you.
But before that I should do a better job of introducing myself and sharing why this is such an important thing. My name is Richard Thaxton. In my Bio I explain about the reason why I chose the name XT Illos. The oldest being that an “X” was the way most people who couldn’t read or write would mark their signature.
Due to differing processes in training kids to read early on in school, many of my classmates and myself did not learn how to read properly. The new pilot program was not continued when we were transferred back to our original group the next year. This is where my choice to express myself visually took roots and grew. Even though I took an advance placement test in middle school and scored 11th to College level, I struggled with reading a lot all the way through high school. In the first quarter of college I taught myself to read.
I’ve been drawing for a long time. As a kid, I would try to reproduce small images of art that came in catalogs into larger pencil and colored pencil drawings. I got pretty good at catching the details. My favorites were the old tall sailing ships, pirate ships and different animals.
I was and still am a avid cartoon junkie which of course includes anime! Those and the live action dramas would keep me glued to the TV on Saturday mornings or the theater, when we could go. Many films about great works really mesmerized me. Some of my early favorites were Kimba the White Lion, Ultraman, Speed Racer, King Kong, Godzilla, Star Trek, Tarzan, the Seven Voyages of Sinbad, the Land That Time Forgot, Dracula, Frankenstein, the Mummy and the Wolfman.
There was lots of influences all around. there was lots of primers for the creativity to start flowing in my imagination. One day in high school a friend shared a book with me that really set things into motion. It was by Edgar Rice Burroughs, the John Carter series A Princess of Mars. This story and the artworks by Boris Vallejo and Frank Frazetta was the final push. I was enchanted and felt driven to learn how to tell stories with my art.
It’s been a long road from then until I could properly relate what I was seeing in my imagination. Lots of frustrating attempts in the beginning. As I would practice and study the things I was attempting to create I began to pick up more details. I took art in middle and high school. I also took classes in college for art both fine and commercial. One day I decided to give story illustration a try but that’s a story next time.
I don’t have any examples of my old work because of them being lost in a storage fire. I will drop in older pencil sketches, design processes and finished art that has not been seen since most of them were published.
“Wack” 16in x 20in Oil on Illo Board 1995
Dragon Con was as huge and great as ever this year! My daughter and I have been attending for about six years now. We were able to go late on Friday and caught a panel after getting our badges. Then to a photo shoot.
On Saturday we missed the entire parade, this time. Well except for the last ambulance. This was due to getting a late start and arriving after the streets were blocked off for the parade. Usually we get there an hour to an hour and a half before so that we can get into our favorite parking lot and get breakfast.
We did keep things simpler this time. We did the one panel, a couple of photo shoots, visiting and supporting artists at the Art Show, Artist Alley and the Vendor Halls. On Sunday we had breakfast at Metro Cafe Diner our go to place every year.
Over all things seemed easier to find and access for the most part. The only major setback was the traffic into and throughout the vendor halls. This was due to the expansion of vendors into the same footprint as last year and the increase of attendees over last year. The volunteers did a good job reacting to the traffic outside the vendor halls coming into the building.
I’ve finally got a chance to restart this project. there are a couple of elements that appear to be working, in general. With a little alteration they will stay.
The snow is going to need some work, update next time.
Last day for MomoCon. It’s been a great con. Were getting some autographs and checking out the Artists’ Alley. Teh rest of the day will be just casually enjoying the con.
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This weekend has been busy! There’s still one more day left for MomoCon 2017 but I thought that I would share some shots, so far:
My daughter and I have attended for the last few years. My artistic drive has carried over to her. I am both directly and indirectly responsible for awakening her creative spirit. Here she is playing Yoosang from Mystic Messenger, a phone game.
She loves to cosplay. Sh usually dresses up at school so much that most people don’t really react to her inventions. Mostly she cosplays characters from her favorite books, shows and games.
These to images are from the modern version of Voltron. Pidge is the character she is playing.
Here’s a side project that I’m working on called “Relative Perspective”. It’s an older sketch that is a bit washed out but I’ll be building a digital color version. I’ll post updates as I finish each step.
Just to let everyone know, in case you missed the previous Etsy post. I have some of my color and pen & ink work available as digital prints On Etsy. here’s the link https://www.etsy.com/shop/xtillos. Prints are going for $15.00 each. I will add new prints as they come available. As always, thanks for your support!
Approach things creatively!