How to paint a Black Alpha poster in 10 easy Steps!

Well maybe these steps weren't so easy lol :) Anyways, here it is. As you can tell it changed throughout the painting process, especially with a little tweaking in the composition in the end. I had originally thought that I would add all of this typography to make it look like a real movie poster but sadly it's just not my strength. I just could never get the type to look cohesive so I decided to drop it and not focus on it. Anyways, enjoy!

-Blake

Black Alpha is a trademark and copyright of Tom Rasch

Orc Mustering Ground

Hey everyone! Here's some more work from The Lord of The Rings Card Game. This one is called "Orc Mustering Ground". It was painted in November of 2011 and was for Fantasy Flight Games. Enjoy!

Assault

Hey everyone! Here's some more work that I did last year for the Lord of the Rings Card Game from Fantasy Flight Games. This one is called "Assault"

Troll Purse

Here's some more Lord of the Rings work that I did last year for Fantasy Flight Games. This time it's the Hobbit himself, Mr. Bilbo Baggins. Enjoy!

Dawndancer Maceman

Here's another illustration I did for Mystic Warlords of Ka'a [link]

Not one of my favorite ones as I'm looking at it again but alas I promised I'd show you everything, and there's alot I don't like lol!

As always I am available for commissions so if you are interested in commissions please private message me and we can discuss rates. Thanks!

Copyright Warner Bros.

Cat Mad king

Here's another illustration I did for Mystic Warlords of Ka'a Link. You know as I look back on them I always think, man this sucks! But it's a learning process. I do wish though that I would have had more than a day to work on this piece. Oh well! Enjoy!

As always I am available for commissions so if you are interested in commissions please private message me and we can discuss rates. Thanks!

Copyright Warner Bros.

Bera Blade of the East

Here's another illustration I did for Mystic Warlords of Ka'a Link.

As always I am available for commissions so if you are interested in commissions please private message me and we can discuss rates. Thanks!

Copyright Warner Bros.

Where in the world have I been?

Hey everybody!!! So I've been completely lazy and haven't updated in quite some time and I figured now would be just as good a time as any to update everyone on what I've been up to. That is if you're interested lol

Well back in January (2011) I started working as an in-house illustrator/concept artist for Dire Wolf Digital in Denver, CO [link]

I ended up getting to work with a lot of talented people on some very cool projects, which sadly I cannot speak about (NDA's) and what not. However the project that I can speak about (and the one that I spent the majority of my time on) was a fun facebook game named "Mystic Warlords of Ka'a" (based on the CBS series "The Big Bang Theory") [link]

I ended up getting to do all of the initial concept work on the look of the game and as we continued to refine the look I got to play a major role in that as well. I did a number of card illustrations (well over 50) and even had a hand in doing some of the Flash animations and other miscellaneous tasks. It was a great experience and I was able to really learn and grow in that environment, especially since we were tasked with doing a minimum of 4 card illustrations per week! Alas, it was not meant to be a permanent situation as a summer full of 60-65 hour work weeks with no end in sight was not going to work out for the well-being of my family life. So I decided to put in my two-week notice and by the beginning of October I had left the wonderful people at Dire Wolf Digital in order to pursue a career as a freelance illustrator and concept artist.

Since October I've had the chance to work on Star Wars X-Wing and Lord of the Rings for Fantasy Flight Games and I also finished a piece for the magazine Kobold Quarterly. I've also got a number of other projects coming up in the near future but what is most exciting for me is that I'm going to start branching out and attending comic conventions, selling prints, making contacts and working towards some of my goals such as doing freelance for Wizards of the Coast and illustrating covers for Marvel and DC. I've also got some personal creations that I would eventually like to see come to fruition either in the form of a comic or a novel. Lofty goals I know but none the less they are on my to-do list!

On a side note, I'll be trying to post an illustration or two each day from the work that I did for Mystic Warlords of Ka'a. You'll get to see the good the bad and the ugly and see how I had to bust my butt in order to make my weekly quota (since most pics from start to finish were 10-12 hours).

Also, for those that are interested I am always available for commissions. Just send me a message and we can talk prices. I'll try and put something up here on DA which will give my prices so you know my rates.

Well I think that's it! If you stuck through til the end of this I hope you enjoyed it! Take care and God Bless!

P.S. Here are some promo pics from Mystic Warlords of Ka'a that I illustrated!