Godzilla!

I got inspired after watching the new Godzilla movie trailer. Yeah, it's an already completed shot in a movie, but still, I thought it was epic enough to recreate so, here ya go.

P.S. - Much respect to the original concept artists who probably already conceptualized this epic shot and, I'm sure, did a much better job than I did. :)

R.I.P. Zina Nicole Lahr

I read an article today about a young woman named Zina Nicole Lahr who was an artist and was only 23, at one of the best times in her life. Sadly, she was tragically taken from this world recently. She had an amazing spirit, a zest for life and everything in it, and was a remarkable talent as well. She made things. Everything. She claimed to have a self-diagnosed disorder called CCD, or Creative Compulsive Disorder, in which she felt an incessant need to create things. She made a lot of things.

I never knew her. Never met her. Never new she existed until someone posted on my facebook page about her. Still, I couldn't help but feel saddened by the loss of this beautiful soul at such a young age. I thought it unfair that someone so young, so talented, so creative, was taken from this world while so many heartless, cruel, and undeserving souls remain behind. Sad... how that works.

But all that I read about her, all that was published online, the articles, the videos, her artwork... her accident. Nothing struck me as being so tragic as when I left a message in condolence for her to show my respects on one of her blogs. I posted anonymously. Nothing wordy or poetic. Simply saying goodbye to a sweet soul I never knew. But after I pressed the Enter key to forever lock my message into digital cyberspace, I noticed something that struck me as being the most heartbreaking thing I've ever seen. Above my post was a little message that read; "Your comment is awaiting moderation."

Your comment is awaiting moderation... Apparently she set her blog messages so that she could approve them before posting. She wanted to interact with every person that posted there and make the decision to either post it or not. She wanted to  interact with people she didn't even know whether they be there to admire her work or be the usual internet troll. It didn't matter to her, she wanted to see it, to read it, to be part of it. She wanted to connect with people from all over. She was a good soul.

Your comment is awaiting moderation. When I saw that I thought how sad it was that that message would never be moderated. It will forever hang in cyberspace, unread. It will go on for eternity, or until the server that her blog is on is shut down, but it will never be moderated. It's like shouting into a wide, empty space with no one else around. The falling of a tree in the woods when no one is there to hear it. Like space, where no one can hear you... well, you know.

Sad, I thought. So much so that it brought that heavy feeling to the center of my chest, a swelling in my sinuses behind my eyes, and then I felt a cold, lonely tear run down my cheek. I didn't even know this person and I felt as if I had lost my best friend. Even as I write this I'm fighting back tears. Just the thought of those words forever going unread. For you creationists, it's like if God made the Earth, so beautiful and amazing, and then never populated it with beings to enjoy it.
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Before the Internet we all lived our happy, little lives, same as we do now. But when things happened, they happened and then they were slowly forgotten. Memories that faded over time as we grew older and were replaced with newer ones. Now, in this digital age, things can live on forever. Her facebook page shows her final post just six days before her death. She posted about her grandmother, whom she loved very deeply. Her blog told the story of her life in her small Colorado town and the losses of friends and family she suffered during. Her life, her loves, her art, her spirit... these things will live on forever in cyberspace. But so will that one little message that nearly brought this man to tears.

Your comment is awaiting moderation.




Zina Nicole Lahr - February 13, 1990 - November 20, 2013

Worms

I got worms.... really big ones.

Heisenberg

Up late tonight reminiscing about the greatest show to ever air on television, so i put this together. Also, I've been trying to study how they color comic books and this is what I've been able to come up with so far. I think I need a little more practice.

Skull Pass

Just a quickie.

Radical Scion xB Custom

This was an assignment that I took my students through in Photoshop class. The objective was to create a customized version of this Scion xB. This version, however, is more radical than the class version (it's posted somewhere down the line in here). I did this version in the last 30 minutes of class to show my students how quickly you can do something once you know and understand the tools.

Shipwreck

So I follow this really amazing artist named Feng Zhu, and he puts out this series of vids on YouTube, right? Well, he's got this recent one where he challenges you to paint in a single layer with no undo's. So uhhhhh, yeah... there it is. One layer, same brush, no undo's.

Toad Face

Not sure what this guy is yet, but I know I sure wouldn't want to meet it in a dark alley... wearing leotards.

Head Sketches

Just some head sketches.

Skater Chick

Yeah, that's a girl.

Angel Dawn

Well, after a few weekends working on this in my free time, I think I can finally call it done.

Picked up ZBrush recently. This is my first attempt at it. (WIP)

Quick sketch.

The Thing?

Inspired while watching The Thing. Came out a little too cartoony though, imo... meh.

Feelin' red.

Veloci-Parrot

You can feed it peanuts... but I would watch your fingers.

Alisha

Quick speed paint, completed in two hours.

Thanks to Alisha Lovett for letting me use her photo as reference.

Post-Apocalyptic Building

This is from a tutorial that I run my Photoshop class through for their midterm. This is what the original photo looks like.

www.wirednewyork.com

The Mechanic

Click to enlarge.

TMS

Click to enlarge.

Giant Temples

Gesture Poses for the Animated Animator

I drew this up to help my students understand gesture poses and how to do them. Could they create a pose that said exactly what the character was feeling?

OMEGA PARADOX

Mark Sparacio, comic artist for Marvel and DC comics, has created a new comic series titled OMEGA PARADOX. He has cast me as one of the villains (but why? I'm such a nice guy! NO REALLY, I AM! DON'T ARGUE WITH ME!) Ummm... but anyway... Thanks Mark! You're really awesome for letting me do this! =)

Graff Canz

Something I put together for our school art show - faculty entry.

BACK TO MY ROOTS

These are sorta old but I wanted to post them up here anyway. For those of you that don't know, my roots in art stem back to my early days involved in graffiti.

This one I printed to a canvas. 

Weapon Sketches

Here are some quick sketch paints of some weapon designs. 

Axe of the Unholy

Axe of the Bewildered Blade (it's so confused it might kill you instead!)

Bone Blade of the Cloven Hoof

Wicked Scythe of Dissolution

WIP

This is the next vintage racer I'm working on. This one is based on cars from the 1920's and 1950's with very square body panels, long chrome, and sweeping tail fins.

Vintage Racer

This is a vintage racer I designed inspired from a video by Feng Zhu, one of my favorite concept artists.

Click to enlarge

Environmental Speed Paint

Just a quickie speed paint.

Click to enlarge

Misty River

This is something I did really quick as an idea for an environment for something I'm working on.

Click to enlarge

Yaaaaay! It finally works!

Okay! Finally got this thing up and running. Gonna be updating this regularly from now on so stay tuned, I should have some kewl stuff for you to enjoy! =)

Welcome to Art by Baer!

So this is my blog! I'm just testing things out right now. Stay tuned for some art! =)