https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bn6q7D4q5gc

These are the "cover creatures" from the first three sets of the Monsters By Email-subscription, which includes print resolution creature art, rpg-adapted stats and descriptions, commented step-by-steps, publishing rights, and lots of advice on art and creature design.

For 10 more days you can sign up for the full contents of Subscription Period 1, which includes these three sets and one more to come.

Finally, there is an orc shaman, which I made for my portfolio.

Have a monstrously nice day!

/N Cloister

This was for Danny Luvisi's reprint of his book Last Man Standing (LMS). I was invited to contribute a piece based on one of his characters; Jawesome seemed like a perfect choice.Two variants for "Smaug" - as I had just seen the trailer and a quick glimpse of what he might look like in "The Desolation of Smaug" so this is fan art on my part. One design is closely geared toward the old book illustrations and animated film's feline concept and the other is a more original "Hippo" based concept.

 Thanks for lookingMike -                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

Hey everyone, I have been working on this for a while and I finally got bored of it enough to call it quits. This is admittedly inspired by the amazing Danny Luvisi's take on Yoshi, and I went and decided to do my own version of him. This is a take of Yoshi from Yoshi's Island, which includes Yoshi, Yoshi Eggs, Pirate Frog, Shy Guy, and Koopa. Now here is a little excerpt about the life of Yosh. Sorry for the block of text. 

--
Yoshi is a creature that is more cruel than kind. Their species is strong enough to conquer an entire island (an apex predator) and cause others flee in terror. For those who are caught off guard, the last thing they see is a giant pink tongue extending their way, and for those who challenge Yoshi, fall.

Unable to digest certain items worn by Yoshi’s victims, they instead use these items as utensils and tools for their own well-being. Their most coveted items are the shells that belong to Koopas for armor, and boots that belong to Shy Guys for Yoshi’s great migrations in search of food.

When food is caught, most of Yoshi’s prey items are too large for Yoshi to digest fast enough and the risk of decomposition and the release of deadly toxins in Yoshi’s stomach is high. A revolutionary adaption, however, allows Yoshi’s to take any excess food into their stomach and store it into an egg, which is almost immediately laid after entry into the stomach. With no further use, these infertile eggs are then used disposed across the island, or if necessary can be used as a weapon against enemies.

Only during certain times of the year will Yoshi’s eggs be fertile, and their species settle in order to bear their young. This is also their most vulnerable time of the year. Unable to stray far from their nest in order keep their unhatched eggs safe, they are unable to feed, and slowly weaken due to starvation. Other creatures sense Yoshi’s weakness, and believe they can take advantage of the situation by attempting to steal their nutrient rich eggs. They must watch their step however, because one slip-up gives Yoshi a free meal.

Only a few individuals have gained the respect of Yoshi’s, maybe because they perceive no threat to their species, they respect their intelligence, or maybe they seek out something more from these individuals, nobody knows what their motives are till this day.

--

Thanks for looking and I hope you all enjoy

That's it for now! Lots more from the Red Valley on the way this month.

It is hard to find the time lately to paint but this one was fun to do. I'm reading Andrew Loomis "Creative Illustration" which was very inspiring for this one. I'm talking about it on my blog, if some of you have read it and want give their point of view ...

Jeff it is pretty hard to post after you .

Here's a recent painting I created called "Dragon Dive". 24"x36" oil on gessoed masonite. I placed a lot of progress photos and descriptions over at my blog and also have a video on my YouTube channel showing how the painting was created. Enjoy!

- Jeff

Thank you all for looking and I hope you all enjoy!