Altered Magic the Gathering Cards

Hey guys, so I love the card game Magic the Gathering, and lately I have been getting into doing some alterations on cards.  I have not yet got up the nerve to try my hand on something like my Thassa, God of the Sea yet, but I did just recently do a couple of really cool ones and I thought I would share them with you!

 Cloudfin Raptor… Did you guys know there were buildings in the background of this?  I didnt until I got started but overall im pleased with them.  I did two, I actually run four in the deck their from but I though two was enough, on i think the building on the right was done better and the other i like my clouds and waterfall better.  But Im not telling which, you guys can decide for yourself!

 Geralf’s Messenger was probably the easiest to do, but i think it came out to be the best looking of these couple.

 Triton Fortune Hunter I think looks really sweet, it was pretty difficult to do and the end result makes the card look way more epic than it really is.

 Supreme Verdict is definitely one of the coolest ones I have done, alas i covered the name up so i guess its not tournament legal, but I dont mind, its just for me anyways.

Warleader's Helix was done as a demo for someone who wanted to know how i do them!

Hope to post more soon thanks guys for checking this out!

Some Works Coming!

Alright so I have like 4 or so projects in the works. (really they have been in the works for awhile I just keep starting new ones) So my plan is to get them up here for you all to see soon. One is a dragon slayer, another is a good old figure work, a new piece of paleoart, and maybe some dancers. Hopefully a lot of finished work coming in the future along with some other new ones.
Here is a little peek at some stuff,

Until then I am hoping to do more Paleoart and some figure work in the future.  I may even try and venture outside of my comfort zone a little bit so we shall see.

Triple Goddess, Serpent's Stare

 Would you like a little insight into the making of one of my favorite pieces I have done??? Well your in luck because I just so happen to have a little bit of a in progress viewing of one of my Triple Goddesses!

Serpent's Stare was actually the first one of the three painted, and is by far the youngest looking one of them all.  When I first started it was all about the skin.  I felt her skin should by my first step since it was the lightest and furthest back part of her body.  I really feel this was one of my first big breaks in eye painting and delicate skin tones.  After that it was all about the fabric, and weather or not I could get the look I wanted. To be honest the lace did not come out quite as well as I had hoped but it was alright
 

 

 Then it was onto the snake and the hair.  Now I had a really good time painting the hair and had little to no issues with it.  But the snake was a different story.  Scales are hard!  I learned that they are not random but are arranged in a very geometric style and if I didnt do that they looked really cheep and clumsy.  Also the overall shape of the snake with the diamonds and the lay of it over here was a challenge and I feel i succeeded in some parts more than other but I was happy with it at the time.

After the snake I added the back ground colors and elements to really make the orange pop and give the whole piece its complimentary color scheme.  I have to say that while painting this piece it was my favorite thing to do and I was SUPER excited to see the end project.  I felt it was by far my best piece up to that date and was ecstatic to have such a nice painting.  Overall the around 40 hours of work was well worth it. 

Serpent's Stare  15"X22" Watercolor

 

What!? Who is this James Skinner?

Hello and welcome to my little neck of the internet.  If this is your first time seeing my work then GREAT/Awesome, here is a link to my gallery website Link, and my facebook page link.  On my blog here I will be talking about artsy type stuff that I find cool, new things that are happening in my world of art, and general posts of things that I have done with some WIP involved. 

As my lady in the woods beckons you deeper into the unknown mist please follow me here on my little adventure that is the life of an art teacher and artist in the great state of North Dakota!