Anthony McKeown Illustration

Childs Bedroom

2012-01-20T19:57:00.001-08:00

Concept art for a scene my friend and i are working on. Its a creepy childs bedroom. Playing around with ideas for mood, lighting and potential props.

And this is how my initial ideas are born - Ugly scribbles on cartridge paper!

Kings Quest 3

2011-12-11T14:15:00.000-08:00

Something for fun. I really like the style of the old point and click adventure games like Kings Quest and Quest for Glory - so i decided to do my version of a screenshot from Kings Quest 3.

The original screen grab from the game

New concepts

2011-11-24T14:35:00.000-08:00

Working on some concepts for a larger project

3D/2D Warehouse

2011-11-08T22:03:00.001-08:00

Starting to try and get into the habbit of incorporating 3d modelling into my 2d concept work. Saves time and and shows more accurately how the final 3d model should look.

Speed Paint

2011-11-05T06:37:00.000-07:00

Been playing too much Arkham City and was really inspired by the sense of scale in the game - so decided to take some of those elements.

Chicago Street - Update

2011-10-31T18:03:00.001-07:00

Worked some more on this piece. Really pushing the colour and contrast to give it a nice appropriate mood. Once set, i can go about tuning the in the details.

Can you drive stick?

2011-10-28T01:46:00.000-07:00

Tumbler Study. Drawn in greyscale, coloured using multipy, overlay and normal layers.

City and Bike Study

2011-10-26T03:45:00.001-07:00

A couple of studies I was working on the last couple of days.
I went to Chicago a few months ago and was really inspired by the layout and achitecture.

A bike study based on a reference photo. No colour picking, used multiply, overlay and color dodge layers. Really good video tutorials are available from the website http://www.ctrlpaint.com/

Arctic Nazi Base

2011-10-21T06:15:00.000-07:00

Concept piece for an old frozen over actric base from WW2. Started with about 30 really fast, sloppy thumbnails and gradually refined them down to six most interesting layouts. I went with the second row left thumbnail because of its interesting composition and the sense that the viewer is exploring this base which was abandoned a long time ago.

Final Agents

2011-10-20T05:06:00.001-07:00

Final Character designs for this latest concept.

FBI agent

2011-10-10T21:41:00.000-07:00

Character concept for a character in a story concept im currently working on. He is an FBI agent who has been sent to a small town to investigate a series of crimes. The backstory for the character is a work in progress. Really enthusiastic about the idea.

New Pics

2011-10-06T23:46:00.001-07:00

Yakuza member

Gunslinger

Although they look similar, they are different characters. Have to work on creating more facial variations.

Bugs World

2011-08-30T07:42:00.002-07:00

Latest little concept.

Island concepts

2011-08-26T03:56:00.000-07:00

Something of a different style to what i normally do. I've been really interested in old styled platformer games recently (like Crash Bandicoot, Banjo Kazooie, Jak and Daxter etc) and decided to try my hand at that visual style - giving enough information to make it a strong concept, while still leaving room for interpretation by the viewer.

New concept and studies!

2011-08-16T06:00:00.000-07:00

Recent environment concept piece. This idea has been in my head for a while - like my ancient castle image a few posts back. While the outcome is not entirely how i see it in my head, i just felt i needed to get the main idea down in some visual form. "The concept is that it's an old village which is uninhabited. Travellers who pass through the village stay there for a short time but are freightened off by stange events which occur. It is said that the land is cursed and haunted by the dead"

Some head studies based off the Loomis text books.

Steampunk Robot Girl

2011-07-12T06:59:00.001-07:00

Character concept I did today of a steampunk themed robot girl.

Final Piece...

2011-07-11T22:40:00.001-07:00

...for now

Castle Ruins - WIP

2011-07-06T21:15:00.000-07:00

Scene i'm currently working on. Really a detailed study for understanding and applying lighting theory. Ive worked to try and create a good balance in lighting between the forground and background information. The colour palette is inspired by Stone Tower temple from Majoras Mask.

Market town - take two

2011-07-02T00:51:00.000-07:00

The last few weeks i've been looking over old portfolio work. I've chosen some pieces which i feel are still quite strong but are missing something in terms of the concept or technique. I chose one of my more successful environment paintings and decided to re-work it into more of a narrative concept piece. The end result is much stronger. Its good to be cautious when re visiting old work. Most of the time its much better to scrap it and start a fresh piece.

Blackbeard

2011-06-25T04:50:00.000-07:00

Added the final touchups on my Blackbeard character concept. The overall style is very much inspired by Blizzards character proportions and over the top weapons and accessories.

Environment concept pieces

2011-06-13T05:50:00.000-07:00

Some environment concept art pieces i've completed recently.

Beware of the Four Horsemen

2011-06-02T05:34:00.000-07:00

Final Four Horsemen designs rendered up using Illustrator and Inkscape.

Four Horsemen of the Apocolypse

2011-04-13T06:51:00.001-07:00

Some concept designs from my Incubator project. Its to design the four horsemen in a cutesy chibi kind of style. Really challenging project, but heaps of fun!
Hopefully will finalise the details and start rendering in illustrator soon!

Also below is an abandoned concept as the shape was getting too complicated, but i reckon i'll finish it up anyway for fun.

Blackbeard the Pirate King

2011-03-19T03:41:00.000-07:00

Character design concept piece as part of a project i'm doing at my internship.
This is a real push for me in regards to style and concept and research.

Izera

2011-02-17T14:29:00.000-08:00

Drawing of Izera - the guy who plays the keyboard in Rundle Mall. He's pretty awesome so I bought his CD's 'Krackout'.

Pencil coloured in photoshop - probably could have handled the shadows better.

Skull Island speed-paint

2011-02-12T05:42:00.000-08:00

Speed painting done in Photoshop.

Blacksmith WIP

2011-02-06T00:08:00.001-08:00

WIP illustration. Done in HB pencil, but would love to do a version using oils.

Random drawings

2011-01-24T01:56:00.000-08:00

Some random work that i never got around to progressing with. I decided i may as well post it up here.

Roller derby characters: These where for a project for an online shop, but the project never went ahead.

Pen & Ink

2010-12-27T04:15:00.000-08:00

Played around with Ink today and decided to draw a WW2 scene. Ink seemed like the appropriate medium to use for this kind of piece for its really messy and crude results (for those new to it anyway).

Afterwards i threw it into Corel Painter to add a little colour to give more mood to the piece. Not sure how i feel about the overall finish.

New studies

2010-11-06T22:39:00.000-07:00

I felt like I have been in a drawing rut the last 6 weeks. I've felt like everything i've done is of the quality of where i was in the middle of last year. The last week has been a solid improvement though deciding to do some fun studies.

Marty... um Eastwood... CLINT - EASTWOOD.

2010-09-17T08:29:00.000-07:00

Acrylic on Masonite board

Rocky and Johnny Ramone

2010-09-08T02:54:00.000-07:00

Also, an update of my oil painting. slowely getting there

Gundam Heavyarms

2010-08-21T05:13:00.001-07:00

I used to be a huge Gundam Wing fan when i was in primary school. Good memories. Though if i watched the show now, i'd probably think it sucks :)

WIP Oil Painting

2010-08-17T21:27:00.000-07:00

Hi folks, I started rendering that sketch i did for the Dark Tower cover in oils. Heres a WIP shot. Although i enjoy working in photoshop, it's somewhat more satisfying working traditionally than on a computer screen. Im finding the process to be a lot of fun.

2010-07-25T01:22:00.000-07:00

Comic book cover illustration i did. Oil paint on masonite. Trying different styles and techniques.

2010-07-17T02:59:00.000-07:00

A cover illustration I did based on the Dark Tower book 'The Drawing of the Three'. Doing it as a fun project to practice my composition and storytelling skills.
May do an oil painting version of this, or maybe digital. undecided still.

Audrey Hepburn - compressed graphite

2010-06-28T21:57:00.000-07:00

My work printed in Hyper 201

2010-06-22T18:05:00.001-07:00

Recently some of my work was printed in Australian gaming magazine Hyper (issue 201). I was pretty happy to see my work printed.

Finished Illustrations

2010-06-16T03:28:00.000-07:00

Finally got around to finishing off these illustrations. There where only really a few more tweaks, but everything helps. I'm pretty satisfied.

Fantasy Novel Cover

2010-05-30T21:53:00.000-07:00

Hi folks, this is a new piece I just finished. The idea was to illustrate an image that would be suitable for a fantasy novel cover. I started with a pencil sketch, detailing the composition, light source and general mood of the piece, then i scanned and coloured and rendered it digitally in photoshop. A real fun project. A huge leap forward for me i think.

Also, another concept piece im cureently working on. Its done in a style of a childrens novel illustration. The kids look kinda creepyish at the moment.

Cheers for looking!

Study colour piece - WIP

2010-05-19T04:57:00.000-07:00

Hi folks,

heres a colour study piece i'm working on. Its a rather flawed composition. The horizon line is centre, the guy in the foreground and the background are competing for attention, and the lightsource is becoming a bit confusing. BUT, the aim of this piece is to push it as far as i can, in terms of my colour mixing and lighting. Sometimes i find i'll probably learn more from proceeding with a flawed image, rather than scrapping it completely.

I've been keeping all of my sketchbooks since May 2008 (when i began learning to draw) and i decided to look through them for giggles. I'ts really encouraging looking back on old work and seeing how far you've come. Below are some images of all of my sketchbooks i've kept - 24 books ranging from A5-A3. And a pile of studies i've been doing since feb (about 150 A3 sheets worth). I'd post scans of how bad my work is, but it's embarrassing to look at :)

Ink Spread - Graphic Novel

2010-04-26T01:51:00.000-07:00

As mentioned in the previous posts, im currently writing a graphic novel. I finally got around to scanning and piecing this spread together. I'm thinking the black and white ink look is much more successful than the coloured spread. It has a more 'hands-on' look. Im thinking of going in this direction when i'm ready to start illustrating the real thing.

Graphic Novel half Spread

2010-04-12T16:43:00.000-07:00

Hi folks,

This is a snip of a spread for my graphic novel. It's done using pens, sharpies, inks and whiteout pens. Im not sure if i'll be colouring it at the moment. I think the best thing wouldbe to get the final drawings done and then if needed, add some colour to establish mood. this has been really good practice for my stroytelling through images.

My only beef with it at the moment is that my scanner picked up the bubbling of the paper. It adds a cool element to the pages, but i think i may need to spend some $$$ buying good quality watercolour paper.
Cheers for looking

Comic spread - finished art

2010-03-28T21:29:00.001-07:00

Finished the art for this spread. It was a good practice piece. I learnt a lot about colour theory and defining shape with ink. I think the real major issues are the actual drawings themselves. things are a little off like the perspective and anatomy, but that will get better with time.

Graphic Novel cells - pen and ink

2010-03-20T18:35:00.000-07:00

Here are two cells from a 2 page spread graphic novel i'm working on. These where drawn in pencil and toned in felt pen and ink. This is really putting my understanding of shape, perspective and lighting to the test, as i have to convey information in only blakc and white. Im really liking the process, and im finding it much more reqarding than my usual work i've been posting. Just 10 more to go then i have one spread finished! Cheers for looking.

Landscape scene

2010-03-16T03:25:00.000-07:00

Decided to call this image finished. It isn't as successful as i'd hoped, and my initial idea has been lost. Was a good study for practicing colours and painting rock/water.

Acrylic/Ink paintings

2010-03-14T19:24:00.000-07:00

Hi folks,

I'm doing a series of little loose paintings based on NYC during the era of 1920's/30's. This one is done in acrylic and ink on illustration board. Really fun working traditionally. I need a good break from digital.

Here is a WIP sketch which im thinking of eventually painting in oils. Not really concerned with whether the end picture is successful or not, im just mainly doing it for the practice.

Peter Dribens pin-up - oil study

2010-03-10T01:39:00.000-08:00

Heya, did this painting i did last week for one of my mates 21st b'day. I didn't know what to paint for him, so i did him a pin-up girl. I decided to re-create one of Peter Dribens works, trying to replicate it as best as i could using oils on masonite. I changed some of the elements, mainly because time was against me. Not as successful as i'd hoped, but definately a learning curve. I think i'm going to be doing more oil work from now on. Poor photo quality. Way too big to scan :)

Heres the original 'real' version of the painting

Landscape study W.I.P

2010-03-04T05:39:00.000-08:00

Landscape study i started yesterday. I've been getting into the Clint Eastwood western films (particularly The Good, The Bad & The Ugly) and really like the wide landscape compositions used in the films. I have attempted to apply those visual ideas to my illustration.

Editorial Illustration

2010-02-24T03:26:00.001-08:00

Spent today coming up with concepts aimed at editorial illustration. This one i based on the recent issues concerning Peter Garrett.

Mountain cliff base

2010-02-22T03:11:00.000-08:00

Hi folks. A concept I completed tonight. It's a futuristic base built inside some mountain cliffs.
Thanks for looking.

Quick concept doodle

2010-02-17T20:51:00.000-08:00

Doodle paint. Spent about an hour.

Work in progress illustration

2010-02-14T23:29:00.000-08:00

A WIP i'm doing at the moment. Doing this baby in pencil. I've started it on really dodgy paper, so i'm kind of angry at myself :). Referenced an old 1860s photograph for the dude.

Picture of a woman watching the Tonight Show with Jay Leno :)

Science fiction magazine cover

2010-02-09T06:54:00.000-08:00

I've been going through some of my old Uni work from last year. I chose one of my best concepts and decided to re-touch it a little with techniques and skills i've learnt since completing it back in April. I adjusted the colours and contrasts, brought the character closer to the foreground and i added some more interesting texture.
Once i did this, i decided that i should turn it into a cover illustration for a science fiction space opera magazines. The design was inspired by old 1950's science fiction magazines.
Cheers for looking

Concept sketch - Futuristic female aviator

2010-01-19T06:43:00.000-08:00

Heya folks. Some concept sketches i've been working on the last day. The idea is to design a futuristic female aviator and fighter, while including elements from the 1930s. Still exploring ideas as i don't feel i've come up with the best result yet. Also, working almost entirely in pencil for this one becuase photoshop has decided to stop working. Not a bad thing as i'm enjoying working traditionally. Still have access to my bros computer where i can do some digital work, so thats better than nothing i guess :). Cheers for looking!

New Environment

2010-01-14T21:51:00.000-08:00

Environment i've just finished. Based on Chinese architecture with elements of Middle Eastern themes.

Character design details

2010-01-02T02:53:00.000-08:00

Working on a front view design of my character i posted below. I'm treating this as though it will actually be going to a 3D modeller. Because of this, i'm making sure that i spend the time working out the exact details of the design, so that there is not too much left for interpretation for the viewer. I've started designing the back and side view. I think this is a real leap forward for me, in terms of quality of my drawing and design skills.

Greek Warrior

2009-12-18T22:59:00.000-08:00

Character concept i've been working on the last two days. Having been doing loads of anatomy and still life studies, I have a better understanding of structure and weight balance.

WIP fantasy scene

2009-12-08T19:03:00.001-08:00

WIP of a new scene im working on. Going for a fantasy theme.

Country paint

2009-12-05T14:13:00.000-08:00

Spent a day developing this from a thumbnail. I began with a series of quick thumbnails, and then developed the best composition. I worked in colour from the start, as im trying to practice my colour mixing in photoshop. It feels like i have more control over the mood and atmosphere, rather than if i was working mainly in greyscale (as ive been doing with a lot of my environment pieces). Cheers for looking.

Eerie Castle

2009-12-03T21:40:00.000-08:00

Working on this envrionment piece. It started as a pencil sketch a few weeks back, and today i decided to colour it in Photoshop.

Tony Abbott - speed paint

2009-12-03T04:55:00.000-08:00

Photoshop paint study of Liberal leader Tony Abbott. Ive been practicing my colour mixing in photoshop a lot lately, trying to come up with a technique which may be similar to traditional acrylics.

Character & Environment studies

2009-12-01T03:38:00.000-08:00

Been working on some character design concepts for a story i'm writing. At the moment these are loose and exploring shape and small details.

Some environment concept studies.

Michael Jackson - JAM!

2009-11-27T20:52:00.000-08:00

Painitng i did for my mates 21st bday. Its based on MJ's Dangerous Tour opening with Jam. Only Michael Jackson could get away with a costume like that.

Acrylics on masonite board (60cm/90cm)

Poor quality photo. Cheers for looking!

Sketchbook pages

2009-11-14T04:41:00.001-08:00

Been very busy the last week doing lots of drawing studies to improve my overall fundamental skills. mixture of sketch studies from George Bridgman books as well as a few experimentations with acrylic and gouache. :) Cheers for looking!

Russian Gangster Dude: Finished

2009-11-02T04:47:00.000-08:00

Heya folks,

Finished off this dude last night. I'm quite pleased with how he turned out, considering where i originally stated with the work. Cheers for looking :)

Russian gangster girl - Finished

2009-10-24T18:37:00.001-07:00

Heres my final concept for the Russian gangster girl. Though there is still loads of room for improvement, i think it's a big step up from my other character development studies. Now to finish off the dude!

1930s restaurant

2009-09-14T08:15:00.000-07:00

Final composition pencil sketch for my restaurant scene. it was done as 5 seperate drawings, cut and composited together in photoshop.

Pencil Sketch - Poster composition

2009-09-05T19:13:00.000-07:00

A pencil tone study of a poster i'll be painting as part of a university assignment. im still tossing up whether to do it digital or acrylic. i havnt touched acrylic for many months and this would be a good excuse to get in some more practice, but digital is faster. hmmm...

My tablet is dying... :(

2009-08-26T04:42:00.000-07:00

Ok. So, my tablet is dying. Its been through a lot. Have to call this quits for now. I think im pretty happy with the colour palette. Gonna use this as a basis for some future work i'll be developing for a story of mine ive come up with (in preparation for sending out portfolios :)) Cheers for looking.

Don't worry about your home...

2009-08-13T02:12:00.000-07:00

It's in good hands.

Bill Murray - Groundhog Day

2009-07-31T21:57:00.001-07:00

Just a picture of Bill Murray from Groundhog Day. i drew this (using reference of course) while listening to Harold Ramis' commentary on the DVD. Great Movie!

Mix of recent work

2009-07-31T06:57:00.000-07:00

Just some recent things i've been working on.

Post-apocalyptic Adelaide concept

Some doodles done this afternoon. Trying to be loose with details and perspective

Final Michael jackson Oil Painting - Low quality photo though...

Poster at Avcon

2009-07-29T16:19:00.000-07:00

Just a couple of photos of how my final illustration printed for display at Avcon on the weekend. It was on display in the indie games room. Final print size was around 3 meters x 1 meters.

Final 'New Horizon' Avcon poster

2009-07-24T00:16:00.003-07:00

Heya. The final poster which is sent off for print (apparently over 2 meters wide :)) for display at their booth this weekend.

Thumbnails

2009-07-10T19:39:00.000-07:00

Some thumbnail doodles for promotional poster im working on

Holiday work

2009-07-08T18:13:00.000-07:00

Gen Room

Chasm shot - It looks pretty cool in-game

Speed paint for outside city - Perspectives a little wacky :)

Some thumbnails of promotional posters which will be printed for Avcon

Heya people,

I've been working on a Unreal Tournament mod with a TafeSA group doing concept art for their game, I've been helping develop a theme, decide on texture and lighting to help create an overall mood for their game. Their game will be shown at this years Avcon (Anime Convention in Adelaide) and my work will be printed on posters surrounding their booth. Which is pretty cool. Cheers for stopping by.

Design sketches

2009-06-23T07:16:00.000-07:00

Initial pencil

Digital colour

Quick watercolour sketch

Hey people, i'm currently helping out a group of 3D artists with their their video game mod. Their game is looking pretty rad, and they've asked if i can help them out by experiment with different ideas to help make a consistant theme for their game. Anyway, above are some design sketches from today.

Holiday work

2009-06-22T07:15:00.000-07:00

On uni holidays so i'm going to be practicing loads!

Finished Space Opera scene

2009-06-14T23:44:00.000-07:00

I decided to call this one quits. Im getting waaaaay too caught up in the fine details when really, i shouldnt. Im happy with the colour palette, and the perspective is pretty spot on. I think its a real step forward for me.

Finished Greyscale... on to colour!!!

2009-06-12T22:24:00.001-07:00

Hey dudes, finshed off the greyscale study and am now onto colour. I figure the rest of the details can be applied to the colour paintover. I am having trouble painting people and objects into 3d space. So i need to practice that over the uni break with pencil and paper. Cheers for looking

WIP Space Opera scene

2009-06-05T01:19:00.000-07:00

Stages

Current Stage

Hey people, this is a scene im working on for uni. Its supposed to be sci fi with a sort of space opera theme. Its not showing at the moment, but once i add vehicles and characters it should look much better. Check out the current shot plus the process shots!!!

Cheers for looking

Pulp Tea

2009-04-29T06:04:00.000-07:00

Just a picture i did of John Travolta making some Chinese Tea for Uma Thurman.

Narrative Uni project: Character development

2009-04-16T05:23:00.001-07:00

Hey people. Some character concept art for a university assignment. Its for the short story 'Death Dines Out'. Its set in early 1900's so ive referenced a few actors and actresses from that particular era, plus a few modern day actors. Guess who they are ;). Cheers for looking.

Finito!!!

2009-04-08T03:42:00.000-07:00

Finished. All done. Handed up. Get the HELL OUT OF HERE!!!
Finished my studio project last night and handed it in today. Pretty happy with how it turned out. Some of it was a rush job, but i guess thats what concept art is all about. Getting the ideas down fast!
Cheers for looking.

Uni assignment update

2009-03-31T02:50:00.000-07:00

Update of my backalley scene. Almost finished the greyscale pic, and on to colour soon!

And a WIP shot of the apartment scene...

Environment final

2009-03-01T01:29:00.000-08:00

My final environment concept. Decided to call it quits when i realised i was adding way too much texture.

Majoras Mask sketch

2009-02-12T04:15:00.000-08:00

A rough sketch of what i'll be doing for my next painting. Experiment with doing a gothic themed painting with dark colours, loads of texture and metalic paints. Similar to the style of Ayami Kojima's stlye for the Castlevania games.

Scarlett finished

2009-02-01T02:36:00.000-08:00

Finished this off today. the colours look a little washed out, but my main focus was to produce a detailed (enough) tonal study that would be appropriate to use when applying colour. I'd spend more time with the colour, but really need to preactice nailing the greyscale right, at the moment.
Cheers for looking!

Scarlett 80's style

2009-01-30T07:40:00.000-08:00

Just a WIP pic based on actress Scarlett Johansson. Referenced from a photo so not my original layout/pose. This is more so just to practice digital tonal techniques. Face looks a little flat, and light source is a little confusing...

Chamone!

2008-12-20T19:28:00.000-08:00

Painting of Michael Jackson i did for one of my mates for his birthday. My best acrylic painting so far.

You've been hit by, you've been stuck by...

2008-11-16T19:47:00.000-08:00

An illustration i did for one of the weekly challenges on an art forum i post on regularly. The challenge was to take one song, and interperate it with an illustration. I chose Michael Jacksons 'Smooth Criminal'.

Iron Maiden CD cover Illustration

2008-11-12T17:22:00.000-08:00

My latest University assignment. It was an independent choice topic, i chose to illustrate the Iron Maiden CD Single '2 Minutes to Midnight'. I brainstormed ideas, developing my own interpretation of the song and cover. It is very different to the original, but i feel i stayed true to the Iron Maiden spirit! Cheers for looking!

Storybook Cover

2008-10-25T23:11:00.001-07:00

Story book cover i did for a university assignment. The story was Little Red Riding Hood.

Italian Spiderman

2008-09-23T07:09:00.000-07:00

A quick speed paint of one of the characters from the hit youtube series 'Italian Spiderman'. Took me about a solid 1.5 - 2 hours. I think i learn't some valuable techniques for colour mixing in photoshop.

2008-06-17T05:20:00.000-07:00

Hey fellas. A portrait i did for Uni. We where each given a random letter of the alphabet and had to choose a celebrity whos either first or last name started with that letter. I ended up with 'C' so i chose to do Conan O'Brien (i'm probably his biggest Australian fan!). We where given the choice of whatever medium we wished to use. I decided to give my photoshop techniques a test run. I think it turned out pretty well.

So you want to be an Illustrator? Yes i do!

2008-04-14T05:57:00.000-07:00

Hey guys. Thanks for stopping by. I have created this blog in the hope that i can score some handy advice in developing my work so that i can become a better Illustrator. I found last year that a lot of my style was too much related on manga and this has proven to be a weakness in much of my work. Thanks for taking the time to stop by. Catchas arounds!