MUZ : sketchblog

Tiki Masks

2012-02-20T16:38:00.000Z

The Groat Gazette

2011-12-24T17:39:00.001Z

Before the year ends, I created a website on Wix.com called 'The Groat Gazette'. I ran it originally in 1997 on a different server, but I redesigned it recently on Wix.com. It is a genealogy website aimed at people with the surname of 'Groat'.

Check it out!

The Groat Gazette

A Happy Halloween to all you humans!

2011-10-31T10:11:00.000Z

All art by me. Have a great Halloween.

Premakes

2011-10-27T14:54:00.000+01:00

Will The Lytro Camera Change Photography?

2011-10-27T14:36:00.000+01:00

Found this post on RedBubble. Quite interesting...

The interweb has been abuzz with news of the release of the Lytro light field camera – a camera that allows you to ‘shoot now and refocus later’. It’s been hailed as the camera most likely to change the way we take and enjoy photographs. How do you think the Lytro will impact upon photography?

Image Credit: Lytro.com

Photoshop Painting

2011-10-22T00:46:00.001+01:00


Painting done in Ps CS3

Painting done in Ps CS3

French Classic Cinema

2011-10-13T02:12:00.001+01:00

I created these recently in Photoshop. Using vectors, I was aiming for the old/vintage style of poster design.

Recent scribblings

2011-10-12T00:08:00.000+01:00

Halloween

2011-10-11T23:57:00.001+01:00

Halloween
by Robert Burns (written 1785)

    Upon that night, when fairies light,
    On Cassilis Downans dance,
    Or owre the lays, in splendid blaze,
    On sprightly coursers prance;
    Or for Colean the rout is ta'en,
    Beneath the moon's pale beams;
    There, up the Cove,to stray an' rove,
    Amang the rocks and streams
    To sport that night;

    Amang the bonie winding banks,
    Where Doon rins, wimplin, clear;
    Where Bruce ance rul'd the martial ranks,
    An' shook his Carrick spear;
    Some merry, friendly, countra-folks
    Together did convene,
    To burn their nits, an' pou their stocks,
    An' haud their Halloween
    Fu' blythe that night.

    The lasses feat, an' cleanly neat,
    Mair braw than when they're fine;
    Their faces blythe, fu' sweetly kythe,
    Hearts leal, an' warm, an' kin':
    The lads sae trig, wi' wooer-babs
    Weel-knotted on their garten;
    Some unco blate, an' some wi' gabs
    Gar lasses' hearts gang startin
    Whiles fast at night.

    Then, first an' foremost, thro' the kail,
    Their stocks maun a' be sought ance;
    They steek their een, and grape an' wale
    For muckle anes, an' straught anes.
    Poor hav'rel Will fell aff the drift,
    An' wandered thro' the bow-kail,
    An' pou't for want o' better shift
    A runt was like a sow-tail
    Sae bow't that night.

    Then, straught or crooked, yird or nane,
    They roar an' cry a' throu'ther;
    The vera wee-things, toddlin, rin,
    Wi' stocks out owre their shouther:
    An' gif the custock's sweet or sour,
    Wi' joctelegs they taste them;
    Syne coziely, aboon the door,
    Wi' cannie care, they've plac'd them
    To lie that night.

    The lassies staw frae 'mang them a',
    To pou their stalks o' corn;
    But Rab slips out, an' jinks about,
    Behint the muckle thorn:
    He grippit Nelly hard and fast:
    Loud skirl'd a' the lasses;
    But her tap-pickle maist was lost,
    Whan kiutlin in the fause-house
    Wi' him that night.

    The auld guid-wife's weel-hoordit nits
    Are round an' round dividend,
    An' mony lads an' lasses' fates
    Are there that night decided:
    Some kindle couthie side by side,
    And burn thegither trimly;
    Some start awa wi' saucy pride,
    An' jump out owre the chimlie
    Fu' high that night.

    Jean slips in twa, wi' tentie e'e;
    Wha 'twas, she wadna tell;
    But this is Jock, an' this is me,
    She says in to hersel':
    He bleez'd owre her, an' she owre him,
    As they wad never mair part:
    Till fuff! he started up the lum,
    An' Jean had e'en a sair heart
    To see't that night.

    Poor Willie, wi' his bow-kail runt,
    Was brunt wi' primsie Mallie;
    An' Mary, nae doubt, took the drunt,
    To be compar'd to Willie:
    Mall's nit lap out, wi' pridefu' fling,
    An' her ain fit, it brunt it;
    While Willie lap, and swore by jing,
    'Twas just the way he wanted
    To be that night.

    Nell had the fause-house in her min',
    She pits hersel an' Rob in;
    In loving bleeze they sweetly join,
    Till white in ase they're sobbin:
    Nell's heart was dancin at the view;
    She whisper'd Rob to leuk for't:
    Rob, stownlins, prie'd her bonie mou',
    Fu' cozie in the neuk for't,
    Unseen that night.

    But Merran sat behint their backs,
    Her thoughts on Andrew Bell:
    She lea'es them gashin at their cracks,
    An' slips out-by hersel';
    She thro' the yard the nearest taks,
    An' for the kiln she goes then,
    An' darklins grapit for the bauks,
    And in the blue-clue throws then,
    Right fear't that night.

    An' ay she win't, an' ay she swat
    I wat she made nae jaukin;
    Till something held within the pat,
    Good Lord! but she was quaukin!
    But whether 'twas the deil himsel,
    Or whether 'twas a bauk-en',
    Or whether it was Andrew Bell,
    She did na wait on talkin
    To spier that night.

    Wee Jenny to her graunie says,
    "Will ye go wi' me, graunie?
    I'll eat the apple at the glass,
    I gat frae uncle Johnie:"
    She fuff't her pipe wi' sic a lunt,
    In wrath she was sae vap'rin,
    She notic't na an aizle brunt
    Her braw, new, worset apron
    Out thro' that night.

    "Ye little skelpie-limmer's face!
    I daur you try sic sportin,
    As seek the foul thief ony place,
    For him to spae your fortune:
    Nae doubt but ye may get a sight!
    Great cause ye hae to fear it;
    For mony a ane has gotten a fright,
    An' liv'd an' died deleerit,
    On sic a night.

    "Ae hairst afore the Sherra-moor,
    I mind't as weel's yestreen
    I was a gilpey then, I'm sure
    I was na past fyfteen:
    The simmer had been cauld an' wat,
    An' stuff was unco green;
    An' eye a rantin kirn we gat,
    An' just on Halloween
    It fell that night.

    "Our stibble-rig was Rab M'Graen,
    A clever, sturdy fallow;
    His sin gat Eppie Sim wi' wean,
    That lived in Achmacalla:
    He gat hemp-seed, I mind it weel,
    An'he made unco light o't;
    But mony a day was by himsel',
    He was sae sairly frighted
    That vera night."

    Then up gat fechtin Jamie Fleck,
    An' he swoor by his conscience,
    That he could saw hemp-seed a peck;
    For it was a' but nonsense:
    The auld guidman raught down the pock,
    An' out a handfu' gied him;
    Syne bad him slip frae' mang the folk,
    Sometime when nae ane see'd him,
    An' try't that night.

    He marches thro' amang the stacks,
    Tho' he was something sturtin;
    The graip he for a harrow taks,
    An' haurls at his curpin:
    And ev'ry now an' then, he says,
    "Hemp-seed I saw thee,
    An' her that is to be my lass
    Come after me, an' draw thee
    As fast this night."

    He wistl'd up Lord Lennox' March
    To keep his courage cherry;
    Altho' his hair began to arch,
    He was sae fley'd an' eerie:
    Till presently he hears a squeak,
    An' then a grane an' gruntle;
    He by his shouther gae a keek,
    An' tumbled wi' a wintle
    Out-owre that night.

    He roar'd a horrid murder-shout,
    In dreadfu' desperation!
    An' young an' auld come rinnin out,
    An' hear the sad narration:
    He swoor 'twas hilchin Jean M'Craw,
    Or crouchie Merran Humphie
    Till stop! she trotted thro' them a';
    And wha was it but grumphie
    Asteer that night!

    Meg fain wad to the barn gaen,
    To winn three wechts o' naething;
    But for to meet the deil her lane,
    She pat but little faith in:
    She gies the herd a pickle nits,
    An' twa red cheekit apples,
    To watch, while for the barn she sets,
    In hopes to see Tam Kipples
    That vera night.

    She turns the key wi' cannie thraw,
    An'owre the threshold ventures;
    But first on Sawnie gies a ca',
    Syne baudly in she enters:
    A ratton rattl'd up the wa',
    An' she cry'd Lord preserve her!
    An' ran thro' midden-hole an' a',
    An' pray'd wi' zeal and fervour,
    Fu' fast that night.

    They hoy't out Will, wi' sair advice;
    They hecht him some fine braw ane;
    It chanc'd the stack he faddom't thrice
    Was timmer-propt for thrawin:
    He taks a swirlie auld moss-oak
    For some black, grousome carlin;
    An' loot a winze, an' drew a stroke,
    Till skin in blypes cam haurlin
    Aff's nieves that night.

    A wanton widow Leezie was,
    As cantie as a kittlen;
    But och! that night, amang the shaws,
    She gat a fearfu' settlin!
    She thro' the whins, an' by the cairn,
    An' owre the hill gaed scrievin;
    Whare three lairds' lan's met at a burn,
    To dip her left sark-sleeve in,
    Was bent that night.

    Whiles owre a linn the burnie plays,
    As thro' the glen it wimpl't;
    Whiles round a rocky scar it strays,
    Whiles in a wiel it dimpl't;
    Whiles glitter'd to the nightly rays,
    Wi' bickerin', dancin' dazzle;
    Whiles cookit undeneath the braes,
    Below the spreading hazel
    Unseen that night.

    Amang the brachens, on the brae,
    Between her an' the moon,
    The deil, or else an outler quey,
    Gat up an' ga'e a croon:
    Poor Leezie's heart maist lap the hool;
    Near lav'rock-height she jumpit,
    But mist a fit, an' in the pool
    Out-owre the lugs she plumpit,
    Wi' a plunge that night.

    In order, on the clean hearth-stane,
    The luggies three are ranged;
    An' ev'ry time great care is ta'en
    To see them duly changed:
    Auld uncle John, wha wedlock's joys
    Sin' Mar's-year did desire,
    Because he gat the toom dish thrice,
    He heav'd them on the fire
    In wrath that night.

    Wi' merry sangs, an' friendly cracks,
    I wat they did na weary;
    And unco tales, an' funnie jokes
    Their sports were cheap an' cheery:
    Till butter'd sowens, wi' fragrant lunt,
    Set a' their gabs a-steerin;
    Syne, wi' a social glass o' strunt,
    They parted aff careerin
    Fu' blythe that night.

Famous Caricatures

2011-09-01T11:40:00.001+01:00

Mutant Bride

2011-09-01T11:37:00.002+01:00

Elsa Lancaster from 'Bride of Frankenstein' (1935)

Metaluna Mutant from 'This Island Earth' (1955)

Revised Digital Scratchboard

2011-09-01T11:32:00.000+01:00

I have been experimenting further with the scraperboard technique in Photoshop with my Wacom tablet. Let me know what you think.

Fame At Last!

2011-08-12T17:14:00.003+01:00

I will have my art displayed at the 2011 H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival®, USA!

Artists artwork will be projected onto movie screens before, inbetween, and after viewings of several HPL-themed short movies, and film director Guillermo del Toro will be judging the movies. Legendary movie icon Roger Corman will be in attendance to accept the "Howie" (Howard Phillips Lovecraft) award for contributions to Lovecraft cinema.

In case you do not know who Roger Corman is:
-Corman has been a mentor to young film directors including Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, Ron Howard, Peter Bogdanovich, Jonathan Demme, James Cameron, Curtis Hanson, John Sayles, and many others. He has also helped launch the careers of actors including Jack Nicholson, William Shatner, Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, Talia Shire and Robert De Niro.

The festival will be held on September 16th-17th, 2011, at the Warner Grand, San Pedro (LA), California. Sadly I will not be going myself, but I feel my artwork will be like my wee ambassador's. They will do me proud.

The H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival promotes the works of H.P. Lovecraft, literary horror, and weird tales through the cinematic adaptations by professional and amateur filmmakers. The festival was founded in 1995 by Andrew Migliore in the hope that H.P. Lovecraft would be rightly recognized as a master of gothic horror and his work more faithfully adapted to film and television.

Here is a link to the H.P. Lovecraft Film festival & Cthulhu Con website.

Ooooh! I am pretty excited!!! I need to have a lie down now.

Cthulhu Fhtagn

2011-07-15T21:06:00.003+01:00

Celtic Knotwork

2011-07-15T20:59:00.004+01:00

New Lovecraft series

2011-07-15T20:45:00.007+01:00

What's the Point?

2011-06-25T09:59:00.004+01:00

I must apologise to anyone following my blog, but I do not receive any comments or feedback. So you see, if nobody shows any interest I feel like I am wasting my time with this blog. I have lots of new artwork to post, but feel "WHAT'S THE POINT?"

Digital Scratchboard

2011-04-05T22:19:00.008+01:00

I have been experimenting with a new drawing technique in Photoshop. It is based on the traditional scratchboard-effect. All that was used was a Wacom tablet grip-pen and me. Hope you like. Please feel free to comment. :-)

Fotolia Contest

2011-03-18T22:33:00.011Z

On DeviantArt a contest is being held by a stock image group, Fotolia, which involves digital photo-manipulation, painting, drawing, etc. The contest holder has supplied 3 groups of 3 different themes of stock imagery. 3 cats, 3 fruit, and 3 clocks. We the contestants, have to create a unique piece of artwork using at least 1 of each themed stock within a single piece of artwork. Additional stock can be obtained from their stock image gallery. Entries are unlimited.

Here are my entries so far. By clicking each of my previews (below), you will be magically transported to a larger version on my DA pages, in the website DeviantArt. Check them out...

Happy New Year

2010-12-31T15:01:00.009Z

Here is a wee collection of my final pieces of art of 2010. My calendar is still up for sale. Buy them here. Enjoy, and have a Happy New Year with your loved ones!

2011 Calendar out now!

2010-12-13T14:27:00.004Z

Finally here is my calendar for 2011. I know it's a wee bit late, but I finally got round to putting it together.

Go here to BUY or VIEW -> 2011 CALENDAR here
DeviantArt who print/sell these, have a special offer on right now for FREE SHIPPING.
So snap these babies up now, before this offer ends, and be the first to have one.

Seasons Greetings,
Muz :)

Yog and Cthu-Loo

2010-10-15T17:21:00.007+01:00

Here are some more recent H.P. Lovecraft-themed creations. I drew, coloured, and textured them in Photoshop CS3 using my Wacom tablet. Stock textures supplied by DeviantArt members.

Yog

'Cthu-Loo'
(my wee joke on 'The Mighty One')

Blistering Barnacles!

2010-10-06T12:12:00.008+01:00

Many fellow artists have remarked kindly on my previous 'Tintin In Innsmouth' concept cover, that I eventually created another. This time our heroic friends travel the sea to find the lost city of R'Lyeh, and much more. Enjoy.

Tintin In R'Lyeh (removed)

Leaving Tintin for a moment, here is another recent creation of mine for a contest on DeviantArt. The brief was to create a new strange, terrifying villain for a possible movie. Methinks, I may have hit more on STRANGE, than over all TERRIFYING!

The Moon Calls

More of my art

2010-09-29T23:14:00.014+01:00

More of my recent artwork. Hope you like.

Treehouse

The Choice

Dragon Moon

Canine Trunk

Portrait of a Dalek

New Artwork

2010-09-06T00:46:00.012+01:00

Patient

At the Mountains of Madness

Colossal

Nyarlathotep

Giger Alien

Curious Walk

Abstract Vision

Weird Tales cover

2010-08-27T11:38:00.002+01:00

Sample of my latest creation, based on the classic WEIRD TALES magazine/comic. More to come.

The Shadow Over Innsmouth

2010-08-22T17:29:00.005+01:00

Created with my own stock photo's, my Photoshop digital art and my twisted mind.

The Shadow Over Innsmouth is a novella by H. P. Lovecraft (1931).

The story describes a strange hybrid race, half-human and half an unknown creature that resembles a cross between a fish and a frog, that dwells in the seaside village of Innsmouth (formerly a large town, but lately fallen into disrepair). The townspeople worship Cthulhu, Mother Hydra, and Father Dagon, a Philistine deity incorporated into the Cthulhu Mythos.

Orkney - Tilt/Shift

2010-08-15T10:22:00.003+01:00

Cthulhuesque 2

2010-08-15T10:09:00.005+01:00

'That is not dead which can eternal lie,
And with strange aeons even death may die'.

My Old Lighters

2010-07-09T23:47:00.005+01:00

Tutorial Island

2010-07-02T18:00:00.002+01:00

This was created initially in Terragen, then finished in Photoshop.
There is a group in DeviantArt called Tutorial Island. This was a wee thank you for their great help.

Tilt/Shift in Photography tutorial

2010-06-22T14:10:00.011+01:00

As a member of DeviantArt (largest global art community) I was asked to explain how I created the 'Tilt/Shift' manipulation effect on my photographs. It would have taken ages and too complicated to explain in a simple text message so I created a step-by-step guide of my process (ie. a tutorial).

In less than a few days it has had over two thousand views, not bad, and I have received alot of positive feedback by interested artists and photographers.

The tutorial can be found here .
Just click the 'DOWNLOAD IMAGE' button, at the top-right of the page, for the full-sized tutorial.

Here are some examples, below, of my Tilt/Shift creations in Photoshop.

Feel free to read my tutorials feedback here at DeviantArt. There are links to other artists using this process. If you wish to try this tutorial out for yourself, let me see what you create by leaving a link or message in my comment box in this blog. Good luck! :-)

Letter A vectored

2010-06-11T21:38:00.007+01:00

In the 1980's, as part of my art course, I had to choose a letter from the alphabet and create 8 new designs involving illustration and using different drawing styles. These were created the traditional way, pencil and rotring pen on cartridge paper (see below).

Recently a vector/type friend of mine saw this piece and suggested I vector one of the designs, just to see the effect. So eventually I had a go in Adobe Illustrator and came up with this (see below). I am very pleased with the final 2010 effect!

What-a-colour!

2010-05-23T15:08:00.002+01:00

Years ago I was still painting traditional watercolours. Since the use of digital technology I stopped painting traditionally. While looking through some of my old scanned in work I found this painting that I done for a friend. I like it, still, so much that it may kick my arse into gear to do some more. We shall see, eh!

Harmony by Ricardo Cabello

2010-05-20T09:32:00.004+01:00

Ricardo Cabello is a designer/developer that likes to play with the possibilities of the web. One of his creations is Harmony. With this simple interface you can sketch in a very free and relaxing way. Have a go.

Peter Blaskovic

2010-05-19T14:45:00.012+01:00

Peter Blaskovic is a 3D animator and designer, from Slovakia. Instead of me rabbitting on about how cool he is, just check his website out at escapemotions. If you go to his EXPERIMENTS section, you will find alot of art/design/physics java interfaces to play with. Peter calls them 'SANDBOXES'. I wonder why? ;-)

Ai and Logo Design

2010-05-18T22:23:00.008+01:00

From 1988 - 1992 I was on an art course. When I left, I worked for a creative consultant designing advertising for the Arts. I used Adobe Illustrator (Ai) and Photoshop (Ps). In 1994, I got a new job which used Ps, but not Ai. 15 years later, I was made redundant, and I trained myself up again with the current Ai. Hard going! As an incentive to learn Ai properly I began designing logo's online.

The Magician

2010-05-18T00:22:00.007+01:00

Years ago I drew by hand (pencil/Rotring) a complete Tarot Card set. It was my art student days so that was acceptable I suppose. Last week I scanned in the lineart for one of the Major Arcana and went Pshop crazy with it to see the final effect. I had a lorra fun.

Deduction

2010-05-17T21:32:00.007+01:00

I have finally deduced and created a blog-device. Hoorah! I will use this as a visual diary for my illustration artwork and graphic design. And if I have time, maybe also a few walkthroughs of my creation process, once every so often. But first things first....