11/30/09: My Etsy shop is now open! Currently there are a number of prints, the first two editions of my sketchbooks, and some note cards available. When my new sketchbook is finished printing, it will be available for sale, too. I will also shortly be adding some original art to my shop. Please stop by and take a look!

10/16/09: Finally, an update! It's been a busy few months. Vinod and I had a great time at Gen Con. We enjoyed meeting with colleagues, friends, and fans old and new, and we experienced one of our best years ever at the Gen Con art show. Thanks to all who stopped by to say hello. The convention wouldn't be the same without you!

I've updated the gallery with some of my work for the recently released book "A Practical Guide to Vampires." There is more info on the book here. Fellow Castlevania geeks might recognize some familiar sounds when clicking on the "Vampires" link! I'm curious to know who the web designer was that snuck that in there. :)

I've also finally added some illustrations from the Texas Teens Read! '09 project to the gallery. There's a bunch more to update, including the poster. I hope to get to that soon.

And last, but certainly not least, sometime in the near future I will be releasing my third sketchbook. It will have a full color, glossy cover featuring new artwork, and 96 black and white pages of my sketches and drawings. I had hoped to have it ready for sale earlier in the summer, but have been having way too much back and forth with the printer to try to get the color correct on the proofs. I will have an announcement on this page when it's finally available. I'm also preparing an Etsy shop to make my sketchbooks, prints and original art available for sale online. Stay tuned for updates!

6/02/09: Some images from "The Star Shard" that were not previously available have been added to the "Star Shard" section of the gallery. Most come from the May/June '08 issue of Cricket.

I also wanted to announce that Vinod and I will be attending the art show at Gen Con Indy again this year from August 13-16. Hope to see you there!

4/22/09: Happy Earth Day!

Illustrations from the final parts of "The Star Shard" have been updated to the gallery. The April 2009 issue of Cricket Magazine contained the exciting conclusion to the ten part series that began exactly one year earlier. I can't even begin to express how grateful I am to have been a part of this project. The author, Frederic S. Durbin, and I had the wonderful opportunity to discuss the story and artwork with fans from across the country (and occasionally the world) via the Cricket website for kids. If you would like to read our correspondence with fans, see some of my concept art and sketches, or learn how to draw Cymbril and Loric, please visit the website. If there are any episodes of "The Star Shard" that you might have missed, you can catch up with the story here. While you're visiting, don't forget to check out some amazing artwork by "Star Shard" fans and read some of their beautifully written poems and stories in the contest winners section.

This has been a busy spring so far (what's new?) with work and travel to new places. At the beginning of the month, I traveled to Houston for the first time to attend the Texas Library Association annual conference. I was invited to speak about the materials I created for the Texas Teens Read! 2009 summer reading program. The theme was Time Twistin'!, and I did the artwork for a poster, certificate, bookmark and clip art to be used by libraries across the state. I loved working on the project, and was happy to have the opportunity to share my process and a little bit about my career as a freelance illustrator with those who attended the conference. I also had a great time walking around the exhibit floor and flipping through as many of the thousands of books available for display as I could. It was very inspirational and also a little scary to see how much competition is really out there for illustrators.

I hope to update my gallery with all of the Texas Teens Read! art in the near future. In the meantime, it can be viewed on the Texas Teens Read! '09 website.

Finally, I recently discovered a cool new website for the "Practical Guide" series of books I have been working on for Mirrorstone. Check it out!

3/05/09: A quick little update today of three illustrations for Part 8 of "The Star Shard."

I just realized that I never mentioned I was lucky to have some of my work showcased in two different issues of Imagine FX Magazine. The first appearance of my work was in the traditional gallery section of Issue 38. A couple of the illustrations I did for the Inuit Mythology Initiative appear in the news section of Issue 40 with a description of the project and samples from other artists who have participated.

Finally, a note about "A Practical Guide to Faeries", the book I mentioned in my previous update. There was a credit error in the back of the book for the cover artist. I painted the faerie for the cover, but Eva Widermann is listed mistakenly instead of me. Apologies to Eva if the misprint causes any confusion on her end. Eva's work has also appeared in all of the "Practical Guide" books, and she painted the cover for "A Practical Guide to Wizardry."

2/12/09: A Practical Guide to Faeries has been released! I did the cover illustration and the interior illustrations featuring the same character, Pip. Please take a look in the gallery! I will also continue to update illustrations for "The Star Shard," so stay tuned.

1/10/09: Happy New Year! Today's update includes new artwork from the 4ed Dungeons and Dragons book Draconomicon: Chromatic Dragons. I have also finally updated with a few more pieces from "The Star Shard." Please visit the gallery to see the work!

11/04/08: Finally, an update to the gallery! Art that was published earlier this summer in the books A Practical Guide to Dragon Riding and A Practical Guide to Wizardry has been added to the gallery.

08/29/08: We're back from Gen Con, and it's back to business as usual here at home. Thanks to all who stopped by the table! As always, I enjoyed chatting with fans and friends, and will be back next year to do the same.

It's an exciting month--the fourth installment of "The Star Shard" has been released in Cricket Magazine, and my artwork is on the cover! I'm so happy with how it turned out! The printing is always top notch. Coinciding with September's issue is my special "How to Draw" feature at the Cricket web site. Stop by to see how to draw Cymbril step by step!

Two books I have work in were also just released; A Practical Guide to Dragon Riding, which I had the wonderful opportunity to contribute a cover for, and A Practical Guide to Wizardry. These books were, as always, super fun to work on, and I hope the series continues going strong. Needless to say, there will be a lot of new work posted to the gallery as soon as I can get to it, which will hopefully be soon.

08/09/08: "The Star Shard" Part Three is out on shelves now! I'm finally beginning to update the gallery with some illustrations. Check them out here. I hope to add some of my sketches in the near future. For a taste of the intial sketches and design work I did for "The Star Shard", please visit the Author and Artist Corner at the Cricket web site. There you can view the preliminary drawings, catch up on parts of the story you may have missed, or chat with me or the author, Fred Durbin, on the comments board.

There has also been an update of eight new pieces to the Inuit Mythology Initiative section of the gallery.

04/28/08: It's out! The April 2008 issue of Cricket Magazine with my illustrations for the first installment of "The Star Shard", by Frederic S. Durbin, is available now! I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to both develop the look of the characters and create illustrations for the story, which will be serialized in Cricket for about a year. "The Star Shard" is a wonderful fantasy adventure story about a girl named Cymbril's journey of self-discovery. I am very excited and proud to be working on this project! I definitely recommend you check it out!

I just received my copies of the May/June issue of Cricket containing part two of "The Star Shard", so look for it on store shelves soon! I will be updating the gallery section with art from parts one and two in the near future. Please check back again soon.

I would also like to mention that Vinod and I will be at Gen Con Indy (August 14-17) again this year. Please feel free to stop by our table at the art show!

02/04/08: Small update for the new year: Added interior art done for the November 2007 issue of Cricket Magazine. Please visit the gallery to see it!

09/30/07: Updated with all of my remaining illustrations from A Practical Guide to Monsters, and images created for the Inuit Mythology Initiative. To see all the new illos and read more about the Initiative, please check out the gallery.

08/31/07: e-figart.com is finally revamped!
I had a great time at Gen Con Indy 2007! Thanks to all who stopped by our table. See you again next year!