QIN, MERLIN, recents works, PRAGUE soon ! Update COPS cover

[Aleksi]

Hello

I haven't posted anything since a while.
Here are some recent pictures I can show (too early for my Splinter Cell concept arts, Magic cards, White Wolf covers...;)
and a lot of blabla...

I'll go to the next CA workshop at Prague next month with the freakin' CA crew. That sounds like another awesome art meeting (no need to talk about the alcohol meeting).
More than glad to be part of the adventure !
More news here :
http://conceptart.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=73
I'm too busy (and lazy) at this time to post some tutorials, as I planned to do some months ago, but this time at Prague, I'll be part of the instructors and the demos for this workshop.
-Sorry in advance for my exotic accent :)-

Some other samples of archetypal templates for another RPG book called QIN and published by "le 7ème Cercle".
It's about Chinese antique world :
http://www.aneyeoni.com/ART/Illustrations/QIN/Aleksi_QIN_Arch01.424_750.jpg
http://www.aneyeoni.com/ART/Illustrations/QIN/Aleksi_QIN_Arch02.424_750.jpg
http://www.aneyeoni.com/ART/Illustrations/QIN/Aleksi_QIN_Arch05.424_750.jpg


A cover for a book "Phénix" written by Bernard Simonay and published by Gallimard :
the first version which was Ok :
http://www.aneyeoni.com/ART/Illustrations/Aleksi_PhenixT1_v01.439_700.jpg
but I wasn't happy with it and then I've done another version, in my opinion better for this kind of book. It's the printed one :
http://www.aneyeoni.com/ART/Illustrations/Aleksi_PhenixT1.438_700.jpg

I've worked on a less anecdotic scene and something more symbolic, with more graphic design elements.
I've also used it to make some experimentations with a 3d software, to "expand my visual arsenal".
I could talk about this at the Prague's workshop, just proposing new ideas of visual developpment.

And one of my biggest and more ambitious ongoing project : a 130 fully illustrated pages artbook done visually 50/50 with my friend Jean-Sébastien "LivingRope" Rossbach !
A big book about Merlin, and of course the Arthurian and celtic mythology, written by Jean-luc Istin and published by Soleil.
We're working on it with an epic, raw, fresh vision of the character and hoping to rise our visual standards.
A lot of classical influences for this project.
Here's the temporary cover:
http://www.aneyeoni.com/ART/Illustrations/Merlin/Merlin_PreviewCover.jpg
The released date is May 2006.
and some pic preview :
http://www.aneyeoni.com/ART/Illustrations/Merlin/Aleksi_Merlin_MorganeII.401_750.jpg

And a photograph of George Romero, THE Zombies Master, with the boardgame called Zombies, on which I've worked with my friend Benjamin "Ornicar" Carré.
The game will be soon released in an US version and the box illustration will also appear in an ongoing Zombies book by Steve Niles and Nat Jones.
(ZOMBIES pics (http://conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=45350))
http://www.aneyeoni.com/TEMP/Aleksi_Zombies_Romero.jpg
"Stay Scared !!!!!"

---------------------------

And a new cover still for the RPG books called C.O.P.S :
http://www.aneyeoni.com/ART/Illustrations/COPS/Aleksi_COPS_Ext13_chara.527_794.jpg
http://www.aneyeoni.com/ART/Illustrations/COPS/Aleksi_COPS_Ext13.630_449.jpg

Prague -6 days ;)

[Odds]

awesome aleksi, as usual.. but i especially like the one with the two children gazing into the distance. keep it up and take pictures at prague! ;)

[Matt Smith]

great work as always, i really like the first one alot. I am not really down with the one with the kids faces and the tiger in the back, something about hte faces bug me. I dont know if you have ever done one, but it would be cool to see a step by step tutorial, I love the texutes in your work.

[Lusvell]

amazing work! I love them all. But I wish I could see a better version of that illustration of the board game, that one actually got my attention the most. :[

And George Romero looks like a zombie himself, that's why he's so awsome. :wink:

[p4b10]

Great work as always, i've been enjoying so much your latest charactes. These are awesome, specially the mood and pose of the first one.
Nice layout for the merlin's book cover.

Hope i can make it to Prague, thanks for sharing!

pablo

[wheezy]

Can you draw a jaw so I can see how to put mine back together. It busted up when it hit the floor.

[Tentacle Eye]

Ha ! Finally, we can see this project, famous.
Viv'ment que ça sorte pour voir la gueule de la bête, and it's designed by JSR, no?

[Living Rope]

Ha ! Finally, we can see this project, famous.
Viv'ment que ça sorte pour voir la gueule de la bête, and it's designed by JSR, no?

Hola compadre. How have you been these days ?
the book is 50/50 by Aleksi and I, illustration and design. I feel so humbled and proud at the same time. :^^;: 8)

[Matt Dixon]

Beautiful work, Aleksi - always a pleasure.

I hope Nat doesn't put your zombie pic anywhere near mine... :wink:

[Art_Addict]

Great as usual . looking forward meeting you again in Prague :)

[tgfx]

the first one kicks ass... Very nice work

[willpaxton]

Wow i love it all esapecially the first one and the merlin cover these are just great!!!!!

[Elwell]

And one of my biggest and more ambitious ongoing project : a 130 fully illustrated pages artbook done visually 50/50 with my friend Jean-Sébastien "LivingRope" Rossbach !
:jawdrop: :drool: :hatsoff: :cheerleader:

[Sim]

Yum yum! One little comment, I kinda wish the bandit's mustache would show up a little more prominently.

[Jason Manley]

the top pic is stellar! another "I wish I painted that" moment.


j

[light]

Will the collaboration book be available in englsh? Great work, of course. I love your style! Im gonna try and buy that game :D

[Lone Wolf]

Great stuff Aleksi. Always inspirational. :teeth:

[nicolas]

DAMN!!!!! Aleksi you've been busy....i've been waiting for your next post. and you didnt disappoint!
I disagree on the cover though. the first cover version is definetly the better one IMO

oh ya, I WANT that book!!!!! signed by both of you :blah: is there a printing date yet?? man, aleksi & JSR in one art book...sweet mama..... :$


beautiful works!!!!!!

[Atmospheria]

Awesome work Aleksi. Very inspirational.

[Bowlin]

Really nice work, especially that merlin cover. I just wanna know where i can get a pair of George Romero's glasses! Holy Cow!

[Aleksi]

Odds : I'll take some work in progress stuff.

Matt Smith : I've done some tutorials, 2 or three that you can find on this board.
Maybe the faces of the children are looking too synthetic, don't know.
I've taken this cover as an exercise to try something new, avoiding too much painting effect but focusing on a more photomanipulated rendering.

Lusvell : just take a look at this link to see the ZOMBIES pics :
http://conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=45350

TE : For this book, we're working both on the illustrations and the graphic design.

Livingrope : :heart:

Matt Dixon : Thanks :)
This book seems to be really cool, can't wait to have a look at it.
It's also cool to be in a book with artists with whom I've already talked and shared.

Jason : Thanks man ! The first one was certainly the character with the coolest brief.

Lightkirtar : This book will be hugely distributed in France. If it's enough successful, we'll certainly look for US translation and distribution.
But with 130 fully illustrated pages, I think even without understanding the words, the images will worth it.

MikeCorriero : Jean-Sebastien and I will talk more about it as it is growing.
In the beginning of next year will show some pages and illustrations.

Nicolas : thanks ! Your last works were really really great !
The release date of this book is May 2006.
No problem for a dedication for you, you'll give me one of yours in exchange ;)
Give me news from time to time of what you're doing.

Bowlin : It's just the temporary cover because we hadn't the time to finish it before the printing of our publisher's next catalog.

George had given me one of his glasses, here's a picture, so you'll recognize me easily at Prague :
http://www.aneyeoni.com/TEMP/Aleksi_Romeroglasses.jpg

[bwkeough]

wow, very fresh work! I often find myself thinking about the spellcaster image you posted a couple months back, where he's pulling fire from the pages of the book chained to his belt. I really like that idea.

there are some obvious Klimt inspirations in the Merlin book, but I think you're using them well. You'll have to let us know when it completed and for sale, whether or not it's been translated to English. the horse pattern behind the warrior for the QIN project makes me assume he's Mongol -- well done, if my assumption is correct.

I also like the second version of the Phenix cover better. my only crit on this one is that the pattern at the top jumps out too much and it isn't as integrated into the painting as the one at the bottom. But since that's probably where they ran the text it might look different in print.

[4rt-r41d]

daaaa,,,,,,mmm,,,nnn,nn,n,n,
you know painting this good would be illegal :D nah just kidding,
but this is truly amazing, i love it
do you have a tutorial somewhere so i can learn your painting teq? :D

[bengal]

top notch stuff amigos. congrats to you two, you rule hard on this one!!

much respect.

[Aleksi]

bwkeough : thanks. Yeah I've developped a kind of technique to emulate a traditionnal painting rendering, the same used for the picture you were talking about.

The Klimt, Waterhouse, art-déco references for the Merlin book are a choice.
There's also Bocklin and some other great old masters.
Mixing their influences with a modern graphic layout made Jean-Sebastien and I thrilled. Let's see how far we can go.

And for the cover, you're right, the top part wasn't even necessary to paint because it will be completely hidden by the title.

wakazou : I've done some short tutos that you can find on some of my oldest post but it was about completely different techniques.
This one was funny to do
http://www.aneyeoni.com/MISC/Aleksi_Tessa_tutorial.jpg

Bengal : Thanks for your kind words ! I've just bought the second issue of your comic-book Meka : Congrats too !!!

[look]

They are awesome. I love the first three.
CA needs to put up videos from workshops. I'll buy it if anyone tapes it.

[vigostar]

Man Aleksi- you pump out so much amazing artwork... piece after piece its just steller.. your probably one of the most consistant artists I've seen and the fact that you strive to come up with new and inventive ways to continue to not only please yourself artistically but, give your client and the prospective audience something to look foward to.. Congrats on the works..

[Blue]

I absolutely love your use of color in the very 1st picture. The red looks so incredible. Well done. :yayca:

[DV8]

nice paintings! well done. I like them all... stongest is definitly the first one of the bunch. moody, expressive, scary,

thanks for sharing.

Mike Phillips

[strych9ine]

Absolutely killer... love that first piece and the book cover for that Merlin project you two talented bastards are doing. Can't wait for that to come out, that's something I'll definitely buy. Thanks for posting all this man!

[Carnifex]

yeah the merlin is my fav too. so inspiring. (partly) thanx to this i've overwon the artblock i've had for days.
thanx for posting,keep on rocking. if it's published outside france i shall be sure to buy it.

[el coro]

love you. cant wait to see you. and the work is stellar as usual :). im real excited to see you do a tutorial...cant wait to see how you do that marvelous brushwork! cant wait to see you guys!-c36

[Aleksi]

Vigostar : thanks ! Except the Merlin big book, all my pictures heree are commissionned works, so I'm obliged to deal with constraints and please the client.
I would have love adding more fantasy and Magic on the chinese character but the goal was to illustrate an already written universe.

DV8 : For the same reasons, I know why this character is the most attractive.

Strych9ine: Thanks !

Carnifex : It will be on Amazon or this kind of thing, for sure and widely distributed in France, we got a really strong and big publisher behind us for this project.

El Coro : Hey !! Really happy to meet you again ! Just thinking about your incredible sketchbooks, looking at then again will kick me the ass ! I need it ! :wink:

[VirusArtist]

Been waiting to see new works by you for months now and I can say... it was worth the wait... GREAT work (as always)! Love your Qin art!

Etienne

[Oblio]

Less then a month guys.

Aleksi - we'll finaly get to meet. Each time i get to Paris and hang with Nox and HPX we go.. "Man, we should call Aleksi. " But i'm ussualy between two planes or trains and... we always think you sleep at night :) :)

Coro, frate - turn that time wheel... make the pargue get closer!

[AgAtA]

And one of my biggest and more ambitious ongoing project : a 130 fully illustrated pages artbook done visually 50/50 with my friend Jean-Sébastien "LivingRope" Rossbach !

It's going to be a blast, my little darlings ! :P :cheerleader:

I'm so happy of this collaboration, which is as talented as fraternal...
I wish you the best, boys. You deserve.

Kisses,
Aga.

[P E N Ricklund]

Hey, this is great, nice to see an update from you.
I'll promise to stalk you good in prauge :P
No, seriously, I'm looking forward to learn from you.


Hugs!

[Bomba]

Aleksi, I have been curious to see what you and JS have been up to. WOW! Sounds like a fun project. I cannot wait to see it completed! Great work. Love your postings..
-Jason-

[Aleksi]

Virusartist : thanks !!

Oblio : You should have try. Not calling me at the middle of the night but it should have been fun.

AgA : thanks ;)
This book is becoming a wonderful adventure.
First step to another level.

Pencilator : I'm sometimes a really shy guy, until I'm warmed enough and then I can't stop talking blabla. Give me some beers and you'll have the show :p
Seriously, don't hesitate to come talk with me.

Bomba : Thanks man ! Your book with Jean-Sebastien is also awesome. That's truely the kind of book that if I discover it in a bookstore, I CAN'T get out without buying it.
Total kick ass and inspirationnal !
Our book with JS is different, more classical but we're hoping the best with it.
A look to some others work in progress stuff still for this book :
http://www.aneyeoni.com/ART/Illustrations/Merlin/Aleksi_Merlin_PreviewSketch.jpg
I'll show some of this stuff at Prague.
Jean-Sebastien's got also some first awesome images.
More soon...

[Art_Addict]

Looks great. Really am anxious to see you do a painting or tutorial at the workshop.

[nicolas]

hey thanks for that little extra preview Aleksi. Im fucking stoked for this book!!!!! Ill just come to Paris once its out to pick mine up personally... ;)

JSR did a book with Bomba?!?! when did this happen? and whats it called?

[Dozzie]

Oh my, that is incredible Aleksi!!!

I basicly dont have any coments on this awsome work, but one thing that would be something is to give a thought is on the first picture. If maybe some red light could be reflected in his hair... But im not sure on this, since it can be his hair that is dirty, or maybe it just dont look so good with the relfection. But to make it mroe "realistic" I think that could be good...


Keep this awsome work up man!
I must say im totaly LOVE your style. Gives that extra feeling a kick :D

Noble Thanks
Dozzie

[Living Rope]

hey thanks for that little extra preview Aleksi. Im fucking stoked for this book!!!!! Ill just come to Paris once its out to pick mine up personally... ;)

JSR did a book with Bomba?!?! when did this happen? and whats it called?

HAHAHA ! Hey my man. It's not exactly like this, better say I've been hired by sir BOMBA to do the graphic design for his forthcoming artbook named Salvaged. But I have to say I'm just so proud of it because it's been so much fun to do and Jason "Bomba" Felix is a great artist, a great person, I've learnt so fuckin' much simply by looking closely at his art and understanding his way. But Jason will tell you more in time, this book is gonna be heard of, you can trust me ;)

oh and btw if you pass by Paris, don't you forget to say it to me you crazy fool !

[Marko Djurdjevic]

Hey Aleksi,

kickass stuff, your improvement is amazing, I'll be in Paris soon. Can't wait to go out with you and JS. So much great art in here.

Crazyness

[bwkeough]

oh what a tease you are with the screen shot of itty-bitty windows!

:)

[P E N Ricklund]

bwkeough: I can't agree more, I need some more info on that book.

Aleksi, I'll say hello as soon I know who you are :P So, you're safe as long as you haven't had your demo ;)

Hugs!

[Carnifex]

ohhh hey do you think you could bring some copies to the workshop? i'm sure you'd get loooots of money.

[ArtbyWard]

Aleksi, I'm really glad that you're coming to prague, I think I can learn allot from you. I'm still a bit noob but im working hard to get there. I really like to know how you get these awesome textures.

[Swarm]

Nice work aleksi!
...and a book with JSR <3

[Aleksi]

Update. I've just added a recent cover for the C.O.P.S. RPG books.