Firebrand Comics Updated: Christopher Beck

Ignore the Muses

2010-02-14T00:20:00.000-08:00

This illo was inspired by a late night conversation I had with a couple of cousins about my fears of technology isolating people. In my head this is the future of all who spend too much time in front of the SCREENS. Ironically I spent 15 plus hours in front of my computer coloring this. Where's my gas mask? Must keep the nature out!

Greetings in 2010 some more!

2010-02-12T11:02:00.000-08:00

Here is some more art. I made these pieces as part of a character design contest (I wasn't able to enter due to time constraints) and they represent some personal advancement in my digital coloring techniques.

Greetings in 2010

2010-02-04T11:16:00.001-08:00

Its been a year and two days since I last posted. That's a long time, but much has happened in that time; I lost my job and moved to Missouri with my wife when she was transferred and have remained gainfully (un) employed for nearly the entire time. While this kind of thing happens to many people all the time, it was the first major challenge in my married life, and it wrecked havoc on my creativity. But I fought through it, and have been able to create some artwork that helped me grow better. So here is a new start:

Kid Rangers Meet Space Snails

Digital Mixed Media

Sea Dogs of Mars: Beyond Zudacomics.com

2009-02-02T18:25:00.000-08:00

Greetings family, friends, and fans.

Sea Dogs of Mars placed 6th in the January competition on zudacomics.com. To all of you who supported SDofM with your vote and comments, thank you. Just because it didn't win the competition, it doesn't mean there isn't any more story to tell. In fact, there are 2 additional pages at the bottom of this post that weren't part of the competition, and 2 more pages are on the way. I plan on continuing this story, not because Im stubborn, but because I think there is more story to tell, and I want to share it with you. While it may take some time to get the updates up, and new pages illustrated, Sea Dogs of Mars will continue. For now, enjoy. Also, stay tuned for more concept work that will be added for a couple of new projects I'll be working on for my next Zuda submission.

Thanks for stopping by.

-Miticis (Chris)

(click on the image to enlarge it)

Sea Dogs of Mars on Zudacomics.com

2009-01-05T14:58:00.000-08:00

Greetings Friends and Family.

Click on the image below to link to my comic hosted by Zuda.

In order to kick start my career as a comic artist, I need your help and support!

Join,Vote, Give a star rating, make it your favorite, and leave a comment, its pretty easy!

For additional content, like avatars and wallpapers, check out Adrianne Mc Cowan's Facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Adrianne-Mc-Cowan/42686047748

Sea Dogs of Mars: development updates!

2008-12-05T11:51:00.000-08:00

Greetings! Here is some character development out of my sketchbook for characters you will see in my impending project Sea Dogs of Mars. I haven't made it into the December competition at Zudacomics.com, but my hopes are high that I will make it in the January competition just in time for my birthday. We shall see. Otherwise, enjoy!

Sea Dogs of Mars updates...

2008-11-20T19:54:00.000-08:00

Yeah, its been a couple weeks since my last post, but I've been away for a good reason; I just recently finished and submitted my 8 page intro for Sea Dogs of Mars. Though I can't post the artwork for those pages just yet, I can show you some promo material I've been working on.

Go ahead... take a look.

Presented in 1280 x 800 high definition, 2 Sea Dogs of Mars Wallpapers! They are the Adrianne variants, Gorkin's are coming soon. Enjoy.

Daily Illustration: Sick Car

2008-11-07T09:23:00.000-08:00

It has been a while since I've done one of these dailies; I've been very busy working on my Sea Dogs of Mars submission, but I look forward to doing them more often when I have the time.

So one day after work, my wife noticed a puddle of liquid under my car as she was getting ready to pick me up. I was concerned when she told me this, and upon my own investigation I noticed it also smelled vaguely like pizza after parking the car. I took the car to the mechanic a couple weeks after letting it sit and got the very unpleasant news that my car was leaking coolant out of a malfunctioning head gasket. It was also advised that while they fix this problem, seeing as how the engine would need to be somewhat taken apart that they also spend the time replacing the timing belt and a few other things. I gave my consent to let them fix all the issues, and my car has been in the shop almost a week so far. I imagine my car lifted up, under an I.V. being operated on by a team of E.R. car techs. So I decided to draw that.

Disciples of the Red Horizon

2008-11-04T11:20:00.000-08:00

Here is some process for another design to be found within the pages of my new project Sea Dogs of Mars. It is a logo design for a cult named The Disciples of the Red Horizon, a group that will antagonize the main characters and become important in the future of the larger story.

Sea Dogs of Mars: Jade Lotus Delivery badge

2008-10-27T13:30:00.000-07:00

This is a design I worked up for the Jade Lotus Delivery service that Adrianne Mc Cowan operates as a front for her clandestine smuggling and treasure hunting activities. Im thinking about how Im going to incorporate it in the comic page art, pictured on the back of her vest in pages to come. Below is a process sheet showing how I ideated the design.

Daily Illustration

2008-10-22T14:11:00.000-07:00

Sometimes you just gotta stomp around RWARRR-ing at things, ya' know?

Daily Illustration

2008-10-17T14:09:00.001-07:00

Here is another batch of tertiary character designs for my new project, Sea Dogs of Mars. The left is a concept I have for a female version of the Martian Merchant Marines, a paramilitary law enforcement agency charged with enforcing trade laws over the sea and sky of Mars. Every adventure story needs to have a menacing law element right?

The right is a character design for the bar tender of the Boars Tooth Tavern, Cord Baxter. The Boars Tooth will be a regular hang out of Adrianne and Gorkin's in the stories to come, and Cord has some history with Adrianne, which will be revealed later.

Daily Illustration

2008-10-14T12:09:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning feeling groggy, as if my brain was rattling around in a big jar, my body moving around all sluggish and slow. I told my wife it felt like I was a hermit crab with a shell that was too big, she said I should draw that for my daily illustration, so I did.

Daily Illustrations

2008-10-13T13:16:00.000-07:00

For today's daily illustration, some concept art/process for my current project Sea Dogs of Mars.

Some of the most important characters in a given story are the ones that are only given a panel or two of time within; supporting characters, or extras give the story a sense of place and supply substance for the world the main characters live and adventure in. They may be in the background, but their design helps to define the rest of the environment.

Problem: The main characters will be traveling the high seas of Mars, but what do martian ships look like? I want to maintain an aesthetic of used/futuristic while also conveying a spirit of swashbuckling adventure. So here is some of my process in trying to develop a design for the Jade Lotus, the simple but trusty scow that Adrianne and Gorkin adventure in.

The ships will have sails that capture wind for locomotion, but also collect solar energy to power the antiquated engines below deck.

Daily Illustration: Gorkin Courbear

2008-10-10T08:36:00.000-07:00

This is a sketch portrait of Gorkin Courbear, the side-kick adventurer of Adrianne Mc Cowan. He's helping Adrianne search for her treasure and a bit of intrigue by searching for the origins of his people. He's also got a secret he's keeping from Adrianne that could destroy their friendship, or bring them fantastic fortune and glory.

Daily Illustration: Adrianne Mc Cowan

2008-10-09T12:41:00.000-07:00

This is a sketch portrait of the main character of my next project Sea Dogs of Mars. Her name is Adrianne Mc Cowan; a plucky swashbuckler, she is hunting for the buried treasure of her father lost many years ago.

Daily Illustration: Holy Diver

2008-10-08T12:11:00.000-07:00

First a song by Dio, than a cover by Killswitch Engage, Holy Diver mesmerized my wife and I when we first heard it. So I did a little research on the term, and found that the Holy Diver was supposedly a man accused of being a witch and sentenced to be drowned. A couple of days after his execution (they tied a bag of rocks to his feet and bound his arms, and dunked him in the sea), he was seen walking through town, and it was determined that he was protected by God for how else could he have survived?

Anyways, we loved the lyrics to the songs, full of fantasy overtones, so much, that both Deb and I decided to make art about the Holy Diver character. So here it is.

Daily Illustration

2008-10-07T14:30:00.000-07:00

This is my second daily illustration to make up for the first, which I felt was a bit of a cop out.

Its called Deralict.

Daily Illustration: The Cheese Cake Fairy

2008-10-07T12:03:00.000-07:00

The curse of every comic illustrator, concept artist, or character designer is the appearance of cheesecake art in their portfolio. We've all created it, male or female, it doesn't matter. Its part of our imagination, part of our drive to create imagery that is pleasant to look at. Whenever that particular muse strikes me, I try to tilt it into another direction so as to not completely be taken over by it. For this daily illustration, Im going to call it what it is, The Cheese Cake Fairy.

Daily Illustration: Inspiration

2008-10-06T10:01:00.000-07:00

For me, being artistic is like floating on an island through space; it can be full of adventure and excitement. But sometimes it can feel like black desolation, like floating through a void when I can't think of anything to draw or when my ideas just flop. Every once in a while though, an idea will spring up, like a wily dragon, begging me to grab on and take it for a ride.

Daily Illustration

2008-10-03T11:31:00.000-07:00

My pet tortoise Winston's heat lamp stopped working the other day, and he started acting like it was time to hibernate without it. When Deb and I got him another one, with infrared, he perked up and started eating lettuce like crazy. Sometimes I imagine what he would be like if he were huge, big enough to put a town on top of his shell. So I decided to draw that.

Daily Illustration 2

2008-10-02T13:37:00.000-07:00

I was in a weird mood today, and decided to do another illustration. Ever since my last trip to Scotland I've been intrigued by ancient stones, the runes inscribed on them, and the people who carved them long ago. So, here is an illustration of the day to celebrate that.

Daily Illustration 1

2008-10-02T08:31:00.001-07:00

Here is my next daily illustration. A new project I have in development is about flying ships and futuristic cities on Mars, so I thought I'd take a tangent, and create a standalone illustration.

Daily Illustration

2008-10-01T11:49:00.000-07:00

This is my second daily illustration, The Wrestler attacks Japan! Its inspired by my friend who is thinking about going to Japan to become a professional wrestler.

Daily Illustration

2008-10-01T07:24:00.000-07:00

Here is the daily illustration for yesterday. It was inspired by the song Love Shack by the B-52s which I heard on the way home from work yesterday.

Sea Dogs Of Mars: Rough Character Designs

2008-09-30T19:21:00.000-07:00

It has been too long since my last blog post (5 months, 10 days) but I aim to improve my rate of updates with this, the first of many regarding my new project Sea Dogs of Mars. It is a story a long time in the making, one I will tell gradually as the development of my concept art progresses. These are the main characters, Adrianne Mc Cowan and Gorkin Courbear, adventures of the high seas of Mars.

I will also be posting a new daily illustration, something random, something for fun, and I'll catch you up with today's illustration tomorrow. Stay tuned.

Welcome to Firebrand Comics Updated

2008-01-17T20:12:00.000-08:00

Thank you for visiting my blog site. I will be using this site to tell narratives, share artwork, and geek out about science fiction, fantasy, and role-playing stuff. I might even mix in some commentary here and there. Enjoy, but don't take me too seriously.

This illustration was a flight of fancy with a few characters of mine that have spent so much time in the sketchbook, they needed to bust out and become a finished illustration. It had been a little while since I'd stretched my coloring muscles; I feel happy with it, though I can see where I would change things as well.

Untitled
Pencil and Digital
8x12, about 30 hours