Art and stuff

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 19:55:36 GMT

A question for any of you technically minded people...

I am re-designing and updating my web site and rather than just linking to this blog from it I would like the blog to appear as part of one of the pages. So the header and tool bar of my site will appear as normal on the top and left of the page, but the blog will be inserted within the rest of the page. Is this possible and if so how do I do it?

Any advice would be much appreciated! :)

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 20:49:36 GMT

This seem to have been the month of the fairy!

Here is a winter themed snowflake fairy that I have recently painted as part of a set of fantasy artworks that were commissioned for Yule cards. The cards will be available later in the year and I'll post some more of the artworks from the set when its a little nearer to the festive season. The cards have been a really fun project to work on, just a bit odd thinking about winter and Yule themes in June.

This next fairy has an Autumn (Fall) theme. It was commissioned as a female t-shirt design for Spiral and as such fades out to what will be the dark colour of the shirt.
I tried to make the fairy dance amongst the leaves and give a kind of magic look to the image. She was just going to be dancing in the forest but they requested a more fantasy look so I added the castle in the background. I think this also gives a little added interest to the design.

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 22:31:21 GMT

Woot! Dungeons and Dragons 4th edition has been released! I was really happy to have been hired to work on this project. Wizards of the Coast are a great company to work for and I have been a fan of the game for many years. I remember studying the artworks of Larry Elmore and Jeff Easley in the D&D editions that I had when I was a teenager and wishing that one day I could work as an artist like them. They are both true masters of fantasy art.
I am going to update my web site with loads of D&D art soon, but it needs a bit of a redesign to accomodate them. In the meantime I'll be show off some of my works on Deviant art in my gallery page there - you can see this at http://ironshod.deviantart.com/

Here is an illustration that I did for the Monster Manual of a drider - a sort of half dark elf, half giant spider. Wouldn't want to meet one of these!

Tue, 03 Jun 2008 15:03:10 GMT

Some definate progress on the pumpkin front. Lets hope they are enormous by October! :)

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 11:45:37 GMT

We had a great time at the UK Games Expo where Ralph and I were both guest artists. The event was very well run and there were loads of cool thing to see and do.
Here are a couple of photos. One of Ralph and I behind our stand and one of Ralph being interviewed by Martin Hulme from rpgmp3.com for a podcast about our work.

Tue, 27 May 2008 12:35:41 GMT

We had a very enjoyable holiday weekend larping. Here's Ralph and Leo. Awww ;)

Leo playing with a spear ( made from rubber! ). He really enjoyed all the new sights and of course lots of people telling him how cute he was. We bought an enormous new tent and it was nice to have the extra room for him to play in.

Here's one of me with a dragon! :)

Thu, 08 May 2008 13:57:28 GMT

As part of Wizard's 4th edition D&D promotion they have a film interviewing one of the game designers for the Adventurer’s Vault on You Tube, and one of my picture is in it ;) My image of some amulates is around 6min30secs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMoNuF28vng

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 08:59:00 GMT

Today I'm working on some ideas for the set of Yule cards I've been commissioned to paint. Looking at christmas imagery and snow scene reference photos is kind of weird in April.

In my spare time... (with a 9 month old baby to look after and a full time art schedule this is a rare commodity!) my web site redesign continues. It'll be cool when its done but alas html code makes my brain hurt. The format I have at present works ok but the images appear quite small and I think it is time for a new look. I have loads of 4th edition Dungeon and Dragons paintings that I will be able to show soon on my site as the product launch is begining of June :)

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 07:51:59 GMT

A short while ago I planted some pumpkin seeds (with help from Izzie and Lydia from next door :) which have just begun to show signs of life. I am very excited about this and I am hoping that this year we will have many home grown giant pumpkins for Halloween!

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 21:06:56 GMT

I've just been down to London with Leo to visit my parents and a very good time was had by all :) I went to see the company I am doing a range of dragon greeting cards for, and I am pleased to report that the response to my design was favorable. Most of the cards will feature reworks of my existing artworks, but below is one of the set that I have painted especially. I hope the design base and woodland theme will work well on the card.

I am pleased to have been also asked to do a set of 4 fantasy style Yule cards for the same company. Although Christmas is a long way off, pre-orders and print run time demands that the art is ready by July. I'm thinking winter dragon, snow fairy, angel, holly and mistletoe, snowflake six point design (obviously not all on the same card design!) If anyone has any cool ideas please let me know - they'd be much appreciated :)

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 21:43:48 GMT

Leo continue's to grow bigger every day! He now has 2 teeth and his favourite thing is standing up :) Awww bless 'im
I've been finishing some more Dungeons and Dragons illustration for Wizards of the Coast. These are always cool projects to work on. Alas I can't show anyone them yet. When 4th edition D&D is released in a couple of months I am going to have a lot of new art on display! I am planning to re-design my web site for then. I currently have the images quite small which saves on download time but doesn't really show them at their best. I think I need more sections also. One of my bright ideas.... as if I don't have enough to do! ;)

I have been commissioned to design a range of fantasy pendants based on mythological creatures. I have drawn out about 50 rough sketch ideas, of which these are a few. From these sketches the best will be selected and then I will refine the artwork so that the manufacturers have a good idea of how to make them. I did a lot of jewellery design in the past and it is nice to be working on this again. They will be made in silver and I hope will make a really nice set.

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 00:15:15 GMT

I really should be asleep! but after a 4 hour drive back from the Eastercon (British Science fiction and Fantasy convention) we have been attending I seem to be wide awake. I have however managed to make a slight dent in the mountain of emails awaiting me on my return ;)
The convention went really well. It was great to catch up with a lot of people and the art show was extremely well organised. I exhibited some of my work and sold quite a lot of prints and a couple of sketches which was great. This year I framed all my prints which I think was worth doing, and picking frames that complimented the images showed them off to best effect. I hadn't done this in the past as I was worried about breaking the glass on the way to the show, and buyers having trouble transporting them home for the same reason. The solution was to frame the prints without glass, which seemed to work fine.

Leo was a very good boy and seemed to really enjoy all the new sights and people. Here's him and his Dad having fun with a mirror in the bar. We also had a chance to spend some time with my parents in London which is always very nice.

The hotel where the convention was held was a really good venue for it. It did have some seemingly endless corridors, which were a bit of a maze. I did however find them very useful for sending Leo to sleep when I pushed him round and round them in his buggy!

Tue, 18 Mar 2008 18:10:02 GMT

We just spent a very enjoyable weekend visiting the Isle of Man. Our friends Emma and Jon have recently moved there and have a wonderful and enormous house that used to be a railway station! There was some great rugged scenery...

interesting wildlife....

plus 2 doggy friends for Obi....

Left to right - Jake, Barney and Obi - awwww :)

Wed, 12 Mar 2008 09:23:46 GMT

I took my dog Obi to the vets yesterday as he has obviously been in pain following exercise. They did some x-rays and he has been diagnosed with spondylosis, which is is spinal degeneration and deformity of the vertebrae. Unfortunately it is an ongoing condition, likely to worsen and there is no cure. He is now not allowed any kind of vigorous exercise and will be on pain killers for life. Not good news at all. The thing Obi (an indeed most springer spaniels) loves most to do is run around like a mad thing in pursuit of his ball, or indeed anything he can lay hands on. Keeping him from doing this will be quite a challenge as when excitement takes over he ignores all pain. The vets say it is very important that he not be over exercised or he will do himself some serious damage. So all I can do is take Obi on as many interesting but gentle walks as possible, get him the best veterinary treatment available and give lots of love and attention. The tragic irony is that what Obi has wanted for most his whole life is someone to play with all day, and now Leo has arrived and his wish looks like finally being answered he gets this condition. Life is just not fair. You could not find a more loyal and better friend than Obi. He is a very very good boy.

Wed, 12 Mar 2008 07:05:05 GMT

Some new Strangely Familiar characters are here!

Viola and Echo
Fairy princesses. Sugar-sweet, and pretty in pink? Not this one. Notoriously punky Princess Viola is drawn to strange and uncanny haunts. Places where toxic toadstools and hexing henbane grow. Places where not even one of her twelve older sisters would dare to visit.
The thirteenth princess (who prefers to be known as Vio X) never wanders alone on her eerie adventures. She is always escorted by Echo, fluttering and looping on dazzling amethyst wings. Echo may look delicate, but his courage is considerable for so small a creature. He accompanies Vio down dark and twisted paths, and then guides her safely home when their mischief is over.
Echo is spellbound by the skulls on Vio’s wings, and would follow her to the world’s end. He also knows a surprising secret; spirited Vio is actually sweeter than any princess in pink.

Text by the most excellent serarosa

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 00:07:13 GMT

Ralph and I have been invitied to be guest at the UK Games Expo 2008, taking place in Birmingham (UK), May 31st to June 1st 2008. The new 4th Edition of Dungeons and Dragons we have both worked on is being first released in the UK at this event and we'll have plenty of new art from this project on display.
http://www.ukgamesexpo.co.uk/

Tue, 19 Feb 2008 11:19:59 GMT

Ralph and I have signed up to exhibit in the art show at Orbital, the annual British National Science Fiction Convention, which is held this year from 21-24 March in London. We'll have some prints, originals and sketches on display that will also be for sale in the auction there on Sunday.
http://www.orbital2008.org/

Wed, 13 Feb 2008 11:28:52 GMT

It was very nice to catch up with loads of people that I haven't seen for ages at jamesb 's wedding reception on Saturday. We all had a nice time and Leo was a very good boy ;) That was a great venue and the lights on the water in the London docks looked really magical. Best wishes to James and Simone for a long and happy life together!

Art for 4th edition D&D continues. The baby bouncer is a marvellous invention and Leo just loves to bounce up and down in it, keeping himself happy allowing me to do some work!

Sat, 02 Feb 2008 12:03:37 GMT

Legendary dice manufacturers Q-Workshop are running a dice design contest and I am very pleased to have been asked to be one of the judges :)
The contest begins on 30. January 2008 and ends on 30. April 2008. The winners will be announced on 15. May 2008. There will be two contest winners, one in each category. Each winner will receive a prize of
- equivalency of 200 USD
- additional prizes as awarded by Judge Council
For all the info visit their forum here

Sat, 26 Jan 2008 11:06:10 GMT

A very happy Australia Day to all the folks down under!
My Mum is from Australia so our family always remembers this day :)

Sat, 19 Jan 2008 14:30:26 GMT

Newly arrived in my web site shop are some snazzy little button badges. Only £2 (approx.$4) for a set of 5 :)

http://www.annestokes.com/shop.htm

Tue, 15 Jan 2008 11:32:59 GMT

Fantasy art legend Frank Frazetta celebrates his 80th birthday on 9th February 2008. ImagineFX are doing a special article to celebrate and I was asked to contribute a Frazetta-like sketch to it.
Frazetta's heroic art is fantastic and he led the way where many others have followed, so I was very happy to be included in this tribute.
Here's my painted sketch.

It is a tall order for one artist to paint like another but I found it an interesting exercise. I tried to include the heroic feel, and bold colours that Frazetta is famous for.

Sat, 22 Dec 2007 11:53:35 GMT

We hope you have a very Happy Christmas :)

Sat, 15 Dec 2007 11:18:02 GMT

How can there be only 10 days left until Christmas?! I am not looking forward to going shopping next week. Christmas is a nice time of year for friends and family to get together but the whole commercialism and buying of "stuff" seems to have got a bit out of hand.

I've been working hard on my Dungeons and Dragons art commissions for Wizards of the Coast for the new 4th edition core rule books. The Players Hand Book is pretty much done so now I am moving on to monster art for the Monster Manual. Unfortunately I can't post what I have been doing until the books are published - this is fair enough as the publishers want a big launch of the products next year. D&D is a great game and the artworks of Larry Elmore and Jeff Easley, that it featured when I played it as a child, were an inspiration to me so it is cool to be working on these products.

Fri, 07 Dec 2007 11:39:50 GMT

Today my dog Obi is 10 years old. You could not wish for a more loving and faithful friend than him. Always there, always happy to see you, always enthuisatic about whatever is going on. He got several presents and will be going for an extra long walk this afternoon ;)
Happy birthday Obi and I hope you have a nice day!