I am inspired by all kinds of things. Sometimes I get something stuck in my head and it triggers a flow of ideas. It might be another writer’s work that sparks an idea for my stories, or it might be a piece of music…but often it’s art.
Art is something I’ve long dabbled in, but frankly…I’m crap at it. Recently, I bought a small, cheap digital tablet so I could have a crack at doing digital art. Mostly so I could put some character concept pictures up on this very website. It’s been a fun ride, but I have to HUGELY thank the people listed below for their help and support.
When I get published and make my millions…these are the people who will find their commission queues filling up! I suggest you try and get there before I do!
Lenamo Art
When I was looking for an artist to tackle my book covers, I needed a commercial artist with experience in creating that kind of thing. Sylessae recommended Marlena Mozgowa.
HOLY COW! What an amazing and inspired recommendation.
She’s a JOY to work with. From the first rough sketch, to the final product, giving her insight and feedback along the way. The results are beyond anything I could have dreamt possible. It’s like she plucked out the vision in my head and manifested it in art form.
By now you’ll have seen her art ALL OVER this website. She’s now my ‘go to’ artist for all my artistic needs! I don’t see that changing, I want her on board for all my projects! LOL Sorry Marlena!
In the meantime, check out the sample BELOW, and PLEASE go check out her Instagram…which is GORGEOUS!
Ashley McKenzie – TabGraphix
After Marlena’s sad departure from the Songbird covers project, I needed a new artist to come in and fill the breach. I’m happy to say that I found Ashley McKenzie from TabGraphix. She’s wonderful.
She’s done a ton of work for me, both small and large. If you’ve seen the Kasai book on here, she did me the logo for that, and also created an alphabet template for the letters (based on the design Marlena did). She’s also currently redesigning the Songbird cover logos for me to look slicker.
But the piece-de-resistance, is the cover she’s done for Songbird Book 5 – The Techmasters.
I WISH I could show it to you here, but I’m keeping it under wraps so you can all be blown away when I finally reveal it. It’s especially impressive as Ashley had to work within the template that had already been established by Marlena on the previous 4 covers. Well, suffice to say she did an amazing job, absolutely delivering on a cover that I think will blow you away, has some of her style in it, but also won’t look out of place alongside Hunters, Blood to Earth, Tooth & Claw, and the upcoming Dragonsong.
She’s absolutely getting the commissions for books 6 and 7, and then more beyond that! I really want to cut her loose and let her get her teeth into a project that she can have free reign on. Looking forward to seeing that!
She’s also working on covers for an author friend of mine, who’s first book should be coming out very soon, so I’ll DEFINITELY show you that when it’s out. For now you’ll just have to take a look at her sample art below (which alas is unrelated to my projects, but is awesome all the same!)
Personally, she’s fabulous to work with. Professional, flexible, trustworthy, super-friendly and accomodating to even the pickiest of clients (ME!). If you’re looking for art — and like her style — then please contact her for a commission.
[ARTWORK COMING SOON!]
Sarah Matthews – TabGraphix
So, I mentioned Ashley above, but equally amazing is Sarah Matthews.
She contacted me just after I’d commissioned Ashley, and I felt awful that I couldn’t jump onto a project with her straightaway (I’m not made of money!). I promised her we’d work together as soon as I had Ashley’s project done and dusted. I kept that promise, and boy was I glad I did!
I put her on a cover for my new Violet Chase novel, which is a sort of Cyberpunk Noir vibe. Boy, did she deliver.
She was a little more fortunate than Ashley, in that she didn’t have to stick to a set design template. The layout and aesthetic were totally hers to go with and express herself, and I think she did us both very proud. You can see her original design sketch her on the Violet Chase Series page, but but I’m keeping the cover under wraps for now till I’m ready to release the book. (Though you can get a sneak peek in the video below!)
Again, I’d absolutely urge you to throw her a commission if you like the look of her work. Just like Ashley, she’s an absolute joy to work with. Professional, trustworthy, accomodating, and flexible, there’s few other people I’d trust with my art needs.
Check out the video below for a sneak peek at the cover art she’s done for me…
Sylessae
Her paintings are STUNNING! Simply gorgeous.
And if that was all she had going for her, then that would be plenty… but she’s also one of the kindest, funniest, most supportive and positive people you will EVER meet. I bought the Rajni piece and it hangs proudly on my wall. (If you read my books when they come out, you’ll understand why!)
You will find SO MUCH AWESOMENESS there! Go find her on Twitter, and when you’ve done that, go find her Patreon and Twitch, too. (Twitch especially… her Twitch streams are things of pure joy! Watch long enough and the googly eyes usually make an appearance!)
Quick update! (Blog post found here!)
I got sent the most BEAUTIFUL painting of my main character Gayle as done by Syl.
It was a gift from her and the amazingly generous @Nikki_Twisted.
I love it soooooo much!
Cassydraws
Sometimes Twitter throws something at you that makes you do a serious double-take.
Meet Cassy.
And yes…this is her art. She does the most incredible animal art that looks basically almost photo-realistic.
Every time a new piece goes up, it BLOWS my mind. Her color art, her black and white art… WOW! Every piece is a masterwork the likes of which I have rarely seen!
And not only is she talented…but she’s a lovely person, too!
Check out her website on the link above for more of her amazing art!
* * * U P D A T E * * *
So, we’ve just had Christmas, and Wifey surprised me with the most amazing gift. Honestly folks…if you’re impressed by Cassy’s work above, then you REALLY NEED to check out this link (for as long as it’s up!) and see those Mad Skillz™ in action…
CHECK THIS OUT!
So, if you checked out the update above, you’ll have seen the work in progress…
…Well, now we have the final finished MASTERPIECE!!!
This is Cassy’s painting of our furbaby Vixen. It’s amazing!
Honestly, I can’t recommend her work enough. Thanks, Cassy! xxx
Balefyren
I’m proud to say that I’ve been personal friends with Balefyren for a number of years now, (we met through my wife!) and her art has NEVER failed to astonish me.
What’s more, every piece she creates and posts seems to just get better and better. A number of her paintings have been a direct inspiration to my writing, including this one to the right.
I LOVE her work. So, PLEASE, go and support her on Twitter and go buy her stuff from the websites above!
She also streams her art on Twitch, so go give her a look see on there. Tell her Jon sent you!
Emily Lawson
One of the newer artists in my little portfolio, Emily, has come on board and has been doing some character art for me for the Femme Fatale series. Here you can see her fantastic Starstorm art.
You’ll be seeing A LOT more of her art moving forward as the Femme Fatale series grows. I have many many characters, so she’ll be very busy! LOL
She’s a joy to work with, totally recommended! Every step of the way as we worked through these first commissions, she gave sketches that made me grin with excitement!
Check her out on Facebook (link above) and give her a follow and maybe commission her for a project.
Veparion
Veparion is a relatively new artist learning her craft and she is making STRIDES! In the short time I’ve been following her on Twitter, she’s come on in leaps and bounds. Not only that, she’s one of the sweetest, nicest people you’ll ever meet. Always excited to take on a project and super enthusiastic about art.
The world needs more Veparions in it!
I think she’s just started a Patreon account too, so go take a look and give her your support!
Zeiyth
Zei is another wonderful artist who is not only extremely talented, but also a lovely human being. Her Twitch streams are a lot of fun and not only does she make great art, but also sometimes hosts live game-streaming. Everything you need to know about her you can find below!
She’s recently finished some commission work for me. These two amazing portraits of Gayle and Allyson. You’ll find them on the profile pages for those two characters. I love these portraits!
Diana Garman
I met Dee online gaming in the classic City of Heroes, and we spent much time saving the city together. When I found out that Dee was an artist too…well, I had to check out her work! From there it was a given I would commission her. Dee is the O.G. artist for my fan art needs. She was on board with me from day 1, doing spectacular art for my Femme Fatales books.
The thing that staggers me the most about Dee is that she can turn her attention to any medium and she excels. From digital, to ink, to paint and brush. She has a Facebook page with LOADS of piccies on it called ‘Art by Dee’. Go check it out, her work is absolutely awesome!
The pièce de résistance, however, is the following…
To explain… Wifey and I got married in August 2015. To that wedding, we invited a whole bunch of our City of Heroes friends. To commemorate the occasion, we got the requisite photo…but also got the above ‘selfie’ picture of everyone’s characters from the game.
She’s a New York-based artist, so alas she couldn’t make the wedding herself, but we’ll always have this art, framed and signed by everyone who attended, hanging in our den.
And if you’re wondering…her character SupaDee is the one on the far right of the frame who’s seemingly taking the selfie!
Wilson Illustrations
Admittedly, I don’t know Tyler Wilson well. We found him at a convention and loved his art style so much we commissioned him. His art became a huge inspiration for Songbird.
Please check out his stuff on Facebook.
Kat Essen
Kat provided my excellent piccy of Gayle (look right!) and was kind enough to be a kind of beta-reader for Songbird.
I love her art style (and will be back for more!) and her feedback on my book has been utterly invaluable.
Give her a follow on Twitter and go check out her Etsy shop!
