DEADFLEASH CULT - It is armor, It gives them life, it gives them a face.

DEADFLEASH CULT - It is armor, It gives them life, it gives them a face.


This is a concept idea and exercise I made for myself based on a few areas I have wanted to work on over the past 12 months. Linework, keeping my clean lines with the pencil crisp and no compromise and time not taken to be happy, but happy with the speed and process I have made to suit me. It was mainly critiquing myself with the skills I had obtained and trusting my judgment. After studying Animation, Illustration, Design, Concept designs, Character and Background design and some storyboarding. These are the things I am most passionate about. I love concept and design. All of it. Pre-production is my jams, I dig it. I get excited. So...
This was for, four years you have many concepts and ideas busting in your skull but cultivating and brewing just enough. The members of  the DEADFLEASH CULT  live wrapped in flesh and it breaths around them it resembles tentacles with a fire like ripple. It is armor, It gives them life, it gives them a face.

Here is a poster I put together all five members.
(left to right, top to bottom)

Malice the Executioner
Arrow of Abboherence
The Ninja of Vehemence
Shinobi Assassin

The Puppet Sorcerer
(in background)

I rough out the pencil work and pose 3-4 time before I am 100% happy with :

1) The pose - A pose must tell a story, I love a good story. Mystery. Even in my sweetest of drawings
2) Overall clothing - What are they wearing? How and where will items sit?
3) Extra details of items - This is deciding the final destination of where a lot of things will sit
4) Clean up - It is challenging, but once in the right mind set its fun.

I do all these steps together to keep my energy up, with this last three.

Get a rough skin tone down. Then work on the texture to give it a skin, comic book easy colour.

Erase all that you don't need and add some more pigments. 

I like to then duplicate the layers and adjust the huyes so they all come out the same colour. Then like with the skin I erase what I don't need. Adding the orbs (single layer to get the light source in place.

Adjust colours using RGB colours to suit.

I started on Shinobi Assassin to get the overall feel. 

Posed in action below:

Thank you for checking out my art. I like to keep my journal of how I progress and am also writing these notes for myself. I am not the master. I am forever the student. Always learning. Always sharing.

Mr Leon Taylor

THE MUNSTER MASH - 8 steps to making my idea feel more real.

8 steps to making my idea feel more real.

THE MUNSTER MASH - M2 Extreme sports of the not so distant future.

Tank + Bulldozer + racing = HIGH SPEED EXTREME JUMPING TANKS M2

 I know I am showing my age. I loved this car growing up, wanting to catch a glimpse in the intro or anytime used in the car. The early show was black and white and colour wasn't revealed until later series / when colour TV was invented. So, like most things I do, they have my influence in my concepts.. Now I don't totally feel like that now, but thought it was a cool idea to give them an identity.

Below are the colouring steps:

These were painted over 4 hours after a 45 min pencil rule out of the main design, bolts and details.

1)Scan the linework in and resize (crop) to suit what you imagined. I see no problem in resizing things to get your image working for you to get your concept 100%.

2) Get the basic colour for the associated areas on The Munster Mash (TMM). One of my favourite parts. This is when it becomes more real. Then motivates me to make it look badass.

I have only been using Photoshop for 2 years. It is an achievement for me to be using it. I read ImagineFX and have for a few years before I even picked up a pen and used a tablet. But it has motivated me to begin with. Top magazine. Always hours of tutorials, I still go back and use. Even from when I started reading in 2011.

3) Colour all the areas of the (TMM) add hazards and munster badges.

4) Add roughed brushes to (TMM) and give a variation.

5) Then I play with the hue, add a basic oily diesel look to (TMM) .

6) I like to add basic shadow to (TMM) .

 7) Then add some small shadows to give (TMM) more depth

8) Resize to fit the page final touch ups on shadow, and brush the background to give it more depth .

The final result (TMM) THE MUNSTER MASH.

DOZER OF HAZARDS - General Kill

I had this great idea of where extreme sports should go to next.

Tank + Bulldozer + racing = HIGH SPEED EXTREME JUMPING TANKS. I know I am showing my age. But I grew up on dukes of hazards and knight rider. These all involved using the vechile to save the day. I always thought as a young lad "how cool!". Now I don't totally feel like that now, but thought it was a cool idea to give them an identity. Through pop culture.
I have trained in animation for 4 years Feb 2010-Dec 2013 and 3 years was traditionally, making turn around model sheets apart of everyday life. Something I really enjoy doing is all pre-production processes. Not just for bringing out my best ideas. Bringing out the groups ideas. A small idea can turn in to something amazing. If you let it breath for a moment.

Here is my progression through the colour process.

1) First I like to get the general colour , doing the picture in my head first. To see if my idea looks like I imagine it. phew! it does. It usually does if you have taken the time to research. Research is so kickass. It can make anything become more authentic. 

2) Then I like to add a second tone to make it feel more three dimensional. Once I am happy with the hue and colour I move on to details LARGE. The overall feel.

3) Work on detail on the tracks. I wanted them to made out of a material that doesn't exist yet. Silicon tungsten .This makes them like a rubber but extremely durable /  unbreakable. The body would rust completely before this would show signs of decay.
Thinking about light source for the next step. To make it feel like it is the same vehicle.

4) Time to add overall wear and tear with some general shading. Getting more three dimensional shape. These are flat drawings that need to feel like it is jumping off the page 3D.

5) Add more varied shading across all three of the models. Add shadow underneath to give it some serious depth.

6) Shade and colour all minor details adding more wear and tear on specific parts/ well worn.
More shading in small areas. The engine needs to feel hot. Add engine and tracks shading.
Look at making the background a little lighter.

7) Add patches and labels to make it resemble "The Dukes of Hazards- General Lee"

8) Then add some specialized, personally made backgrounds and title. Some cool conceptual ideas can come to life.