OLYMPIANS POSTER! A complete walkthrough

The upcoming Olympians poster is as finished as it's gonna get. I thought you might like to see this step-by-step process of how it was made, from the finish all the way back to the sketch.

finished color

finished inks

pencils

sketch

A-Sketch-a-Day-Until-Hera #5

Olympians Book 3, Hera: The Goddess and Her Glory is finally coming out July 19th. To commemorate this momentous occasion I will be posting a drawing from my enormous cache of sketchbooks each weekday until Hera hits the shelves. I'll be going through them chronologically, and today's piece is from 2006.

 As you can see, today's drawing is a very early version of Persephone. If you've been following this blog at all, you're well aware how very, very different this design is from the Persephone that will eventually make her appearance in Olympians Book 4, Hades: Lord of the Dead. I would have to say of all the principle characters in Olympians that Persephone was the last one for me to get a handle on, and obviously at this stage of the game I had not gotten that handle yet. At this stage, she's all Dread Queen, no Young Maiden.

Persephone pin up, final colors

Here's the final colors on a piece that readers of this blog have seen a few times. I originally posted it in black and white, and then reader Jakob Dailes tried his hand at coloring it, and now, finally, here's mine. This is the final of three distinct looks that Persephone goes through in Olympians Book 4, Hades: Lord of the Dead. How do you like it?

Progress Report: Yet another finished colored page from Hades: Lord of the Dead

It's been a whirlwind of posted finished colored pages 'round here lately! Here's one from the book's central action scene, where the Lord of the Dead himself carries off young Kore to the Underworld. This page is part of the same sequence that these two almost finished pages I posted awhile ago belong to, and I also had previously posted the black and white artwork for it as well. And now it's done!

Fan Art Forum! Persephone in living color, with update

It's been awhile since I ran one of these, but that's because it's been awhile since somebody sent me something ;)

Jakob Dailes has previously been featured on this site in a mythophile profile, and runs his own site the Classical Club. Recently, on the BRAND SPANKING NEW OLYMPIANS RULE FORUM Jakob posted the below image of Persephone, drawn by yours truly for Olympians Book 4, Hades, that he had colored in.

So what do you think? To the best of my knowledge, I haven't posted any color versions of what Persephone will look like yet (with the exception of the cover, which has changed A LOT). UPDATED: Here's a link to my finished colors So how close did he come to my version? Some things are the same, a few things are different, but all in all-- pretty darn cool.

Hades: Persephone in the Land of the Dead

Another sneak peek of a page from the upcoming Olympians Book 4, Hades. The Lord of the Dead is giving his bride-to-be a tour of what will be her kingdom. They're wandering through the Fields of Asphodel, where the anonymous shades dwell, when Persephone encounters the Fates (in their aspect as the Furies). They deliver a warning unto her" Whoever eats the food of the dead must remain in the Land of the Dead."

Trying out Hair, Brushes

These are a few drawings of Persephone that were hanging around my drawing table. Me trying out different hairstyles for her, while breaking in some new pen nibs and brushes.

Persephone Pin-Up

Work has begun in earnest on the finished artwork for Book 4 of Olympians, Hades: The Wealthy One. In a few days I hope to have finished inks for the pages I've been slowly revealing from thummbnails through rough draft, but until then, I hope you enjoy this pin up page of the Dread Queen herself, as she'll appear in the back of the book and in the online family tree.

Sketchbook Sneak Peek: The Dread Queen Persephone, and Hekate

A few more character sketches for all of you from Olympians Book 4, Hades: The Wealthy One. First up is this sketch of Demeter's lovely daughter Kore, after her transformation into the Dread Queen of Hades, Persephone.


And nextly, someone who has ended up being one of my favorite characters in the book, Hekate, goddess of the Crossroads. She becomes Demeter's loyal companion as she searches for her daughter after Kore's abduction. It's a subtle little craziness in her face that is the thing I like about her so much.

Sketchbook Sneak Peek: The Gloomy Lord and Dread Queen of Hades

Today's Sketchbook Sneak Peek is a profile of Hades himself, and a portrait of Demeter's daughter Kore, after her transformation into Persephone, Queen of the Underworld. Hope you all likey.