The Commission

I was never fond of doing commissions...mainly because I didn't like the fact that I was 'selling' art...things that I grew used to and attached to over the course of me making it. And also, I feel that some people just don't have the same appreciation for certain things like I do. I perceive my own artwork as thoughts and feelings drawn out on paper...and it means alot to me. And truthfully, its kind of heartbreaking and discouraging when someone begs and pleads for my art and I give it to them, only later to see that its balled up in a wad somewhere or folded in half on the floor collecting dust...but thats just me.

Also, I don't really like drawing things for people because I never really know what they want. It helps if they sketch out a thumbnail for me so I can see their idea, but most of the time they leave it up to me. And I don't like it when I give something my all, and they don't even like it or its not what they want.

Then I thought to myself that artists have to live and survive too, and eventually I would have to get over that commission thing...so thats what I did...sorta. I'm like one of the only artists that I know who does commissions and doesn't get paid for them. Right now, I view art as something that I love doing, and love getting better at. And as long as things are simple and reasonable, I don't mind doing freebies. But I'm gonna start doing more detailed and intricate ones that go beyond the definition of sketches, and those I will def. charge for.

So with that said, on to the commissions that I've recently done (for free!! yay!!). They've all been watermarked because I feel that I drew the picture for that person and that person only, so they're the ones that get the pristine versions.

1. This is a drawing that I did for someone who's writing a book. From what I've read so far its a very interesting read. The picture of the main character's other entity that she communicates with. She's made up of fire, and it was hard trying to find a mix of the different colors that she described her character was made out of, but I tried my best.

2. This one was done for a fellow blogger. I'm not going to put his name here right now because I know he probably wants to keep this under wraps until he's ready to post it on his blog. I'm not going to post the total image, just a brief snippet of it. This is part of a larger image.
3. This next picture was also done for a fellow blogger. She showed me some images of what she liked and asked for something similar. I wasn't familiar at all with that art style, but I gave it a shot and infused some of my own in there as well. I hope she liked it alot and its what she wanted.4. This is one that I drew for a special friend of mine and is loosely based on her. This was supposed to be a beach scene and very simple. Still don't know if she liked it or not...but I guess she got her money's worth (especially since it was free)
So as of right now, I'm willing to still do 'free' sketches, as long as they're for the most part simple...all I'm willing to ask for in return is that you are able to post them online to your respective blog and link back to this site, Illuminate Darkness. If you are looking for something a little more involved, email me at IlluminateDarknessComics@gmail.com, or twitter me at IllumDarkness and we can definitely work something out from there.

Zelda on the Open Seas

When I tell people that I have "artist's ADD", I don't think people really get me. Well...I have two pictures that I need to be working on for a competition that are due sometime this month. One, I'm like 45% done, and the other roughly like 15% done. But with deadlines looming like that, I still get easily distracted and start drawing other things. Take for instance this Zelda picture. Its based upon the game Wind Waker for GameCube (the MOST slept on Zelda game ever...if it weren't so short, this would be my favorite Zelda game). The whole point of the game is that you use this magical orchestrator's wand to change the winds for you to sail on. In this picture, someone obviously from the wrong game showed up...Blooper from Super Mario Bros. I just thought it would be funny...cause...I'm weird like that. This was drawn in my 5x8 sketchpad.


Also, if not many people know, I'm open for commissions. I've done a couple so far already, and as of right now, depending on the intricacy of the drawing or sketch, I'm willing to do it for cheap, and in some instances free...as long as you are able to post my work on your blog or website and have it linked to Illuminate Darkness. For other, bigger, more complex works, feel free to email me (email address located under the 'Contact Me' link above) or DM me on Twitta' and we can definitely work some things out from there. In some upcoming posts, I will post some recent commissions that I've done.

And like my main man always says: "Stay thirsty my friends"

Deluxe My Redux Please!!

Some of you know that I had a short stint as a webcomic artist for my own comic, Redux Deluxe!. Well, unfortunately, it ran into a little road block and had to be put on a hiatus, but I will return to it and make it better than what I had previously intended. If you're not familiar with the story (which frankly, no one is really) its about this 10 year old named CJ who has to up and move from his neighborhood and school to a new neighborhood because his dad got a new job. And basically it just chronicles his adjustment, the relationship he has with his parents, his crazy ass neighbors and people he goes to school with, and much much more (that end part sounded cheesy as hell...). This is a sketch I did for a rough of the cast that I wanted to create, and many of the characters are bound to change. This otherwise probably wouldn't have seen the light of day, so I decided to post it here.


Oh, and if you want to check out the comic site, please do so. Its located here:

Sketch Dump

I haven't really been posting artwork lately all that much, mostly because I've been working on some other things, art projects, and writing code for website layouts. Fun stuff, huh? Anyways, since I really haven't posted anything art-wise recently other than my MLK sketch, I thought I'd stop by with a quick art dump of the random stuff I've been sketching as of late. All the drawings were done with a normal Bic ball point pen...and most of them were done in my brand new sketch book which was so graciously supplied to me by the best girlfriend in the world. Hope you enjoy...and as always, clicking on the pictures makes them bigger.


And this is the full promo poster that I made for a project that I'm working on...thought I'd might as well post that too...



And here is another picture of characters from that project.

Coming Soon...

I've been slightly frustrated as of late with artwork...and I was going to take a brief hiatus from drawing, when something dawned on me. An idea jumped into my head, and it just 'clicked'. I can't say specifics as of yet, because its still a work in progress and in the planning and development stage, but I'll definitely let you know when things are up and running. But until then, you get the teaser for the promo...