Kick Starter!

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/visionsofzosimos/visions-of-zosimos-the-worlds-first-true-mmoccg Check out the kickStarter we are working on for our game. please check it out. Feel free to pledge! :) its a great project and a one of a kind game. Stay tuned for my upcoming Kickstarter GRAPHIC NOVEL with Author Steve Savile, http://www.stevensavile.com/wordpress/ It will be EPIC!

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/visionsofzosimos/visions-of-zosimos-the-worlds-first-true-mmoccg
Hey everyone check this video out. this is the teaser trailer for the video game that I have been doing a lot of concept art, and Card art for. We hope to have the game finished by the end of the year but Ill let you all know when it is launched and really going. go ahead and let me know what you think.

hey everyone,
I was contacted with a rush cover and spot illustration job early this week.
I had to paint a cover and 4 interior illustrations over-night which I feel was quite a feat! it was crazy and i didn't sleep from Monday morning (when I got the call) to Tuesday night (when I got the finished images to the magazine) ...but I got it done. check it out! this is Philadelphia weeklys digital version of the magazine. let me know what you think of my illustrations. (I did the cover and the illustrations for the cover story)
also check out

http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/archives/Issue-590-124343339.html
this is there web site for Philadelphia Weekly, they used a couple of the images I painted on the website that they didn't use in the magazine.

WOW! it has been a long time since I have posted anything. sorry about that. but... anyway..
I have been very busy lately. here is an image I have recently done for Reogrande Games, it is called Peddler- a traveling merchant. it is for the card game Dominion. I am also still working on the on-line card game by Foreverinteractive, that is due to launch by the summer.
also I am working on a new card game for Reogrande games called "A Fools Fortune" it has 77 card images a game box and rule book illustrations. they want it done quick too so I have been swamped... Ill post some images from that game when I get the ok from them.

Take it easy everyone.
-Josh

7deadlysins Gallery show.

I entered the 7 deadly sins art competition a while ago, while I didn't win the grand prize I was included in the gallery show with a bunch of other artist.
the competition included illustrators, fine-artist, graphic designers, and sculptors from around the word with artists entering the show from more than 70 countries
here is the address to the main page of the competition.

http://www.7sinscontest.com/news.php

Hundreds of artists submitted and not everyone could be included in the show, but I was on the 7 sins contest website and saw a photos of the first gallery show, and one of the photos on the home page had my image in the background being looked at by one of the gallery patrons.



This was very exiting for me to see my art in the gallery and on the photo page of the 7sins web site! this is very good exposure for an aspiring illustrator...like me :)
The first exhibition arising from the 7sins international contest has been a success, both critical and audience ways. For ten days the exhibition has been held in one of the best areas of the city of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, artists from more than 70 countries submitted art to the show, and the show will go to many cities and countries around the word..

This is the image the gallery patron was looking at in the photo on 7sins contest....



I had one more image entered in the show it is below


Each image had my name on it so hopefully I got some good exposure

Jonathan Fesmire MFA project

hey Everyone, the past month or so I have been working with my friend Jon Fesmire helping him with his MFA project, I have been doing concept images and sketches for the characters, environments and story Jon came up with.
this is a link to youtube where Jon is going to be posting his video logs and step by step progress of his Masters project. Jon's project is to render 3D models in a realistic way so he can eventually get hired on with a great movie studio doing the same thing for Movies! You know the kind, like Hellboy or Iron man, where you have a character in the movie that looks real but never existed, Half the monsters in Hellboy 2 are done in the same way Jon's project is.
Jon's Project is a fun one, with undead Zombie like gunslingers, a genius mechanical inventor/Saloon Madam with a giant robot, and a Steam punk Coyote. Real fun stuff for an artist like me to draw and paint.







here is the link to Jon's Master thesis blog where he tells more about his project

http://jf-mastersthesis.blogspot.com/


and here is the address to Jon's Diviant Art site where he puts all the drawings for his project.

http://jfesmire.deviantart.com/#/d2qw2z8


Please check it out, it would be worth it

Hey! I did this image for a competition, the Left Hand Of God, Poster contest,(at dontpanic.uk) the winner of the competition would get their image used with the promotion of Penguin's new Book the book Left Hand of God, and get some sweet money and books..ect... the contest was one of those contests where the public votes on their favorite, and I was the last person to upload. so I didn't get any votes (sad day) because I was too late. and the Voting didn't continue past the deadline. how stupid is that? well anyway I got a good image out of it. and I like to tell my self I would have won if the voting lasted longer.

hey everyone did this for a real small press magazine, the story I illustrated was called Pimpin it, very strange, about vampire alien things, but anyway the image was fun to paint.

HA! here is a card I did for Foreverinteractive, it is a hex card Homoricus-isus's???
something like that. the character can be changed into anything in the game, so its supposed to be playable like clay but not clay?... i was kinda confused with what the creature was when they described it to me, but they loved the image so I guess it was close. the creature had some strange phisical traits like Pop-eye arms and bulgy hip bones but it was fun to paint.

squid attack

Hi, I did this image a while ago but I was looking at it and decided it was a lot cooler than I first thought is was... let me know if you agree?

Life is going good for me... getting married in less than a month, painting a ton with is always great! moving into a new apartment, life is good :)

Interview

Ha!! I found this while looking around youtube kinda funny! check it out and let me know what you think... oh by the way its a video of me :)

Foreverinteractive again!

another card for Foreverinteractive, this card is called Person Fodder, basically the card is a group of slave warriors, and the more Person Fodder cards you have the better they perform against your opponents kinda like strength in numbers :)

Foreverinteractive

here is the finished from the sketch I posted a while back... not bad for rushing on it I think :) Foreverinteractive is keeping me real busy doing about one image a week so far

Another personal project, I don't feel its my best work but it was fun

This one is a personal project, I was in the mood to draw some supper hero's

Hey Everyone, sorry I haven't published anything for a while. Ive been bizzy... I finished up a few paintings I did for Fantasy Flight Games It was a real fun Horror Project, the images were for a card game based on the writings of H.P. Lovecraft. Real fun to work on but I cant show you the images until they are done marketing the game, so you'll see them in a few months. I'm currently working on an image for the Sci-fi magazine Tails Of the Talisman.. its been a little more tricky but fun just the same. but sorry I cant show you that image nether until its published in February Sorry! but what I can show you is my personal projects and some sketches I have been working on for Forever Interactive Games... Hope you like them.....

what the?!?....

Hahaha this is crazy but right after I put the last post up I got a message from a role playing-gaming company. it wasn't about the post but it was saying they liked my stuff and would be willing to "give me a shot once and a while," (doing images for them) in the message he stated that gaming industry is a rough industry to work, they don't pay well and they don't send the checks owed to there free lancers in a timely manner!!!
what kind of a crazy introduction is that?!?!? "Hi,I'm so&so...we don't pay well and you have to keep bugging us to get the little bit of money owed you..."
he then went on to say that most people work out of passion for games and asked me "what reason do you have for working in the game industry?" I sent a message back and I don't think he is going to contact me again... In my Message back I stated that I like the Images assigned to me by the gaming industry, they are really cool concepts most of the time. I then went on to ask why they payed so little, and I stated that they should send there checks out to the artist in a more timely manner, and this would benefit all parties involved. The Illustrators would get there money, and the company would gain a good reputation with everyone for sending the money out on time. sending there checks out would also attract new and possibly better illustrators... So I think I lost a client...I'll let you know if he ever writes back

This is starting to Piss me off!!!

Artists, illustrators, graphic designers, web designers: what to tell people who keep thinking what you do isn't worth a penny:

Hey I found this site the other day and thought it was amazing, here is the link to the blog...I'm also going to copy it and put it below so you can reed it... or go to this link if you want to see the original


http://www.webcomicsinc.com/forum/topics/rules-for-engaging-an-artist

You have my permission to copy and use the "Don't work for free" logo in this post any damn way you want or please.

(Yeah, it's quick and dirty; you get what you pay for.)

RULES FOR ENGAGING AN ARTIST

If you are/considering becoming an artist/graphic designer, or if you're considering hiring some1 for their artistic abilities, you've gotta read...

"Every day, there are more and more Craigs List posts seeking "artists" for everything from auto graphics to comic books to corporate logo designs. More people are finding themselves in need of some form of illustrative service.

But what they're NOT doing, unfortunately, is realizing how rare someone with these particular talents can be.

To those who are "seeking artists", let me ask you; How many people do you know, personally, with the talent and skill to perform the services you need? A dozen? Five? One? …none?

More than likely, you don't know any. Otherwise, you wouldn't be posting on craigslist to find them.
And this is not really a surprise.

In this country, there are almost twice as many neurosurgeons as there are professional illustrators. There are eleven times as many certified mechanics. There are SEVENTY times as many people in the IT field.

So, given that they are less rare, and therefore less in demand, would it make sense to ask your mechanic to work on your car for free? Would you look him in the eye, with a straight face, and tell him that his compensation would be the ability to have his work shown to others as you drive down the street?

Would you offer a neurosurgeon the "opportunity" to add your name to his resume as payment for removing that pesky tumor? (Maybe you could offer him "a few bucks" for "materials". What a deal!)

Would you be able to seriously even CONSIDER offering your web hosting service the chance to have people see their work, by viewing your website, as their payment for hosting you?

If you answered "yes" to ANY of the above, you're obviously insane. If you answered "no", then kudos to you for living in the real world.

But then tell me… why would you think it is okay to live out the same, delusional, ridiculous fantasy when seeking someone whose abilities are even less in supply than these folks?

Graphic artists, illustrators, painters, etc., are skilled tradesmen. As such, to consider them as, or deal with them as, anything less than professionals fully deserving of your respect is both insulting and a bad reflection on you as a sane, reasonable person. In short, it makes you look like a twit.

A few things you need to know;

1. It is not a "great opportunity" for an artist to have his work seen on your car/'zine/website/bedroom wall, etc. It IS a "great opportunity" for YOU to have their work there.

2. It is not clever to seek a "student" or "beginner" in an attempt to get work for free. It's ignorant and insulting. They may be "students", but that does not mean they don't deserve to be paid for their hard work. You were a "student" once, too. Would you have taken that job at McDonalds with no pay, because you were learning essential job skills for the real world? Yes, your proposition it JUST as stupid.

3. The chance to have their name on something that is going to be seen by other people, whether it's one or one million, is NOT a valid enticement. Neither is the right to add that work to their "portfolio". They get to do those things ANYWAY, after being paid as they should. It's not compensation. It's their right, and it's a given.

4. Stop thinking that you're giving them some great chance to work. Once they skip over your silly ad, as they should, the next ad is usually for someone who lives in the real world, and as such, will pay them. There are far more jobs needing these skills than there are people who possess these skills.

5. Students DO need "experience". But they do NOT need to get it by giving their work away. In fact, this does not even offer them the experience they need. Anyone who will not/can not pay them is obviously the type of person or business they should be ashamed to have on their resume anyway. Do you think professional contractors list the "experience" they got while nailing down a loose step at their grandmother's house when they were seventeen?

If you your company or gig was worth listing as desired experience, it would be able to pay for the services it received. The only experience they will get doing free work for you is a lesson learned in what kinds of scrubs they should not lower themselves to deal with.

6. (This one is FOR the artists out there, please pay attention.) Some will ask you to "submit work for consideration". They may even be posing as some sort of "contest". These are almost always scams. They will take the work submitted by many artists seeking to win the "contest", or be "chosen" for the gig, and find what they like most. They will then usually have someone who works for them, or someone who works incredibly cheap because they have no originality or talent of their own, reproduce that same work, or even just make slight modifications to it, and claim it as their own. You will NOT be paid, you will NOT win the contest. The only people who win, here, are the underhanded folks who run these ads. This is speculative, or "spec", work. It's risky at best, and a complete scam at worst. I urge you to avoid it, completely. For more information on this subject, please visit [link].

So to artists/designers/illustrators looking for work, do everyone a favor, ESPECIALLY yourselves, and avoid people who do not intend to pay you. Whether they are "spec" gigs, or just some guy who wants a free mural on his living room walls. They need you. You do NOT need them.

And for those who are looking for someone to do work for free… please wake up and join the real world. The only thing you're accomplishing is to insult those with the skills you need. Get a clue.

If you do need portfolio padding, use your skills for a good cause - design a poster for a non-profit organization. Make a website for your local community theater. There are so many opportunities for pro bono work that will actually benefit someone.

Pass this on to every artistically-inclined person you know! Copy the text or just send them the link to the original post."

Writers of the future 25

hello everyone, so I went on an adventure the other week. I flew to hollywood stayed in a supper nice hotel, went to a sweet illustrator workshop with some of the most amazing illustrators in the science fiction field, met some amazing people, signed a bunch of books, and got an award to boot! sadly I didn't take a camera... but the photographer did!!..but she hasn't sent me the disk yet... BUT!... my sister had a camera and got some sweet pictures of the awards event and put them up on her blog so check her blog out (the link is below).. as soon as I get my pictures I will put some of them up and some videos probably, until then look at my sisters pics.

http://benannie05.blogspot.com

ok..the link isn't working..again... so click on the benannie link on my friends and family link part over on the left, or copy and past the address, sorry I'm not supper computer savvy ;)

oh! and also check out the blog of Galaxy press they have alot of cool things up there about the workshop last week
the address is

http://wotfblog.galaxypress.com/

you can also get there by clicking on my link to the left L. Ron Hubbard, then on there site click on the blog.

Writers of the Future Vol. 25

L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future Vol. 25... short stories from the yearly winners selected from around the world are published in the annual Writers of the Future anthology.
Each anthology contains the best new science fiction and fantasy short stories from up-and-coming writers... I was assigned to Illustrate the story,"After the final sunset again" I can't tell you about the story only that it involves a Phoenix, sorry... so check it out, should be hitting bookstores around September.

This image is for L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the future Vol. 25...The full color image is better i feel, I'll put it up when I get it shrunk down a little so it don't take so long to upload.

I just uploaded a bunch of sketches to my web site here are a few of them I thought were fun... I usually doodle in my sketch book when work is going slow during the day I doodle with a pen mostly and sometimes it is hard to get the pen to scan good.. so some of the detail is lost with the sketches but i think you can get the general idea.

I decided to paint another image with people wearing hoodies, there was a time when I was in school that in every assignment i painted a hooded figure, hoodies are sweet!....that class was media experimentation we could paint any subject we wanted and the only requirement was to use the specified painting technique... good times good times... now I paint 100% digitally..usually.. every once in a while I'll pull out the traditional paints just for fun.

Society of Illustrators link

well that didnt work try this link haha :)

Try the link to the Society of Illustrators over in the Cool Illustrators links on the side of my blog ->

hi everybody. I made it into the society of illustrators student compition again this year! its the third year in a row for me so I was very exited! this will also be the last year because I am now graduated and no longer a student.(I guess ill have to try to be a profesonal now).. the peice that made it into the show this year was one of the last peces i completed as a student, and was an experimental poster based on the idea of little red ridding hood, it didnt fit in with the rest of the posters I had been working on because it wasn't music inspired, but it was a fun little "side road" with the poster kick i was on for the last year of my schooling. here is the link so you can go to the Society web site and check it out along with the other sweet student work that made it into the show this year.

http://www.soicompetitions.org/?section=gallery&competition_id=30&entry_cat_id=31&eclid=96

I had an idea for this image quite a while ago.. and the other day when i was looking though my old sketchbooks and i found this thumbnail sketch, so i had to paint it.. the idea behind it was a zombie trying to get into a window and leaving a hand print...

moose moose

Its a Moose! I painted this one for my friend Nate so he could give it to his family for Christmas. I hope none of them read my blog, jk, I hope everyone looks at it :)

Harry Potter 4

Hey look! Its Harry Potter!....this ones for you Sushi. sorry i took out all the crosses they just didn't look right.

with wings?

Hey look a skull! and its brain is fried!....and it has wings... i don't know what this image is about...I just thought it would be sweet to paint a skull with wings like all those rock posters you see around...you know the ones, with the skulls and the wings?