I’m the sort of person that can’t sit still for too long, creatively speaking. I’m consistently restless, (most creatives are I guess), the momentary satisfaction of completing a piece is quickly killed off by the need to take on that next challenge.

A big part of my style to this point has been developed purely out of the love of putting that pen line down and getting lost in the ebb and flow of whatever I’m drawing. Most of the drawings have no direct meaning or message, just surreal documentation.

The current challenge for me is to evolve my drawings to that next level – taking elements of what I’ve been doing, mould it with something fresh and bring in a little more meaning, or story, to the work.

So for a bit of fun I’m using the current ACCLAIM mag covers as reference and reinterpreting the images as a test piece for exploring some new techniques and styles. I’ve started to explore a looser line and rendering that is more in line with the inking of a comic book. The clouds and odd shapes of flow and movement that I use a lot are still there, but the goal was to mix a little more realism (shown within the faces/figures) with those surreal elements. In essence I wanted to add a little more technique into my work that can allow for different textures, shading and overall flexibility in creating an image.

This is pretty much the first test, so it’ll be interesting to see where this all takes me… if anywhere! You can see a bit of the process involved, from sketch to finished art. I’d be interested to know people’s thoughts, so add your comments if you’re so inclined.

Finally, as I’ve used someone else’s work as reference, credit of course has to go to Michelle Tran and Aaron Richter for their great photography on both of the original covers. Thanks Michelle and Aaron.

Click on the images above to view full-size.