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OK... enough of life's sad losses. Let's take a look at those who are still with us and inspire anew each day! Caesar102 ( caesar120.deviantart.com/ ) , known to legal documents as Michael Vilardi, is an old friend and illustrator whose work constantly raises the bar for me… like a mean old bully who took my lunch and keeps it just outside of reach Mike's always had mad drawing skills and began to seriously pursue it by attending the Rhode Island School of Design… but life gave him a wedgie and the plan changed. But there's no putting a damper on skills like his.
I met Mike sometime in the 80's (insert wholly fabricated war story, here). When I became art director at Digest Group Publications I opened the door for him there where he produced some great art and proved himself to be the definitive artist for the Aslan alien race. I pulled Mike with me over to do work for West End Games on Paranoia and ultimately the Star Wars RPG.
Mike's Star Wars work left the rest of us in the dust. The opportunity to work on that license seemed to make his already considerable illustrative fires burn even brighter. We were there as the doors began to open on The Expanded Universe, allowing both of us to leave out fingerprints on the visual look of some key characters and hardware. Mike was one of the first artists to bring Mara Jade's image to life.
These days Mike's ( caesar120.deviantart.com/ ) still doing some sporadic gaming work, as well as taking on private commissions. And his work still embodies all those elements that make space operatic SF so much fun to dive into.
I met Mike sometime in the 80's (insert wholly fabricated war story, here). When I became art director at Digest Group Publications I opened the door for him there where he produced some great art and proved himself to be the definitive artist for the Aslan alien race. I pulled Mike with me over to do work for West End Games on Paranoia and ultimately the Star Wars RPG.
Mike's Star Wars work left the rest of us in the dust. The opportunity to work on that license seemed to make his already considerable illustrative fires burn even brighter. We were there as the doors began to open on The Expanded Universe, allowing both of us to leave out fingerprints on the visual look of some key characters and hardware. Mike was one of the first artists to bring Mara Jade's image to life.
These days Mike's ( caesar120.deviantart.com/ ) still doing some sporadic gaming work, as well as taking on private commissions. And his work still embodies all those elements that make space operatic SF so much fun to dive into.
Simmering
While I haven’t been leaving much of a visible art foot print, these last few weeks, I haven’t been slacking off. First, I’m working on both building up my digital resources and trying to get my 3D-skills updated after about a three-year absence. There’s quite a few image ideas swimming in my head, I’m just building to the point where I can tackle them in my “new ways”.
Second, I’m taking an online natural illustration course out of Australia so that’s not only going to be taking some of my art time, but also (hopefully) giving me a refresher with my old skills in physical art media. So l
2020: The Year I Make Recontact
Well it’s been only about a month (give or take) since my last blog update so maybe I’m having success in retraining myself back to the DA habit. I’ve made really good progress on migrating my old arting materials to my new machine and getting up to speed with DAZ Studio 4.12. I may have only pumped out three finished pieces, but behind each one is a number of experiments and trials. With each one my “render legs” have regained a bit more strength. It feels kinda nice being back at the digital drawing board… if only to provide some distraction from our nation’s dumpster fire du jour.
I’m also r
From the shadows shuffles the unspeakable horror..
Well hey there! Long time no chat. I’m still alive and kickin’… I’ve just been kickin’ it elsewhere: in my reading nook, on my modeling bench, and in my kayak. So I’ve very much NOT been here… due to the fact I didn’t have much new to show anyone. But that may change in the coming months.
The biggest thing that’d been keeping me away from making art was my aging machine (as I work mostly digital, these days). The ole box just could keep up with the state of the tech. Like a (too) old car, it can still get me from point A to point B – most of the time – but not without great ag
We here I am again… after another loooooooong absence. For whatever reason I just haven’t felt driven to create much art this year, and something in me feels guilty about coming to DA purely as a spectator. All I can say is that I sure hope this lull passes because I’m much happier when I’m creating!
I’d be lying if I said political anxiety here in the U.S. wasn’t part of the problem and with the outcome of the last election I find myself driven to become even more politically engaged to preserve the progress made over the last couple of decades. But I’ll attempt to minimize bringing my political bag
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My favorite Star Wars artist of all time. A self confessed Vilardi junkie.
No treatment for me, I love the addiction. I only wish I had a tenth of his talent!