"...moments in time fueled by the drive to escape staring into the chaos of a blank sky..."

Newest Artworks

Chainsoul
Release From Pandera
Zbrush Tutorial Update
Light in the Wood
The Three Kings

Created this cover while working on a signature for a community friend. Take a look in the gallery and check out the final signature for Deadman.

I have added four new images to the space gallery, the latest one, Release from Pandera. Click on the image to see a larger version.

I have updated the Zbrush Asteroid Tutorial and created a new Space piece from it. I used some of the same resources from the original and added a few new ones. Find the Tutorial here and a larger version in the Gallery.

This image is another digital matte/painting image, done for a friends website background, Lee Diogeneia check her out on Facebook. She's a writer of dark magic and vampire stories and such and runs the writing club I mentioned in earlier posts. If your a writer and think you have something to contribute swing by and ask for an invite.

Hope you like this image it took quite a long time to finish and I'm pretty proud of how it came out. I'll be redoing the Zbrush Asteroid tutorial this weekend so look for it soon along with part two.

Just another mock book cover for you guys to enjoy. I know I haven't posted anything in quite a while. We were on vacation for like three weeks then we had to move out of our old place and find a new one. So I'm slowly get back into things.

I joined a writers group on Facebook a ways back and am working on writing a novel. Currently were following a book called Anatomy of a Story by John Truby. It's pretty interesting and is helping me with my writings.

Click on the image to see a larger version.

New Signature Gallery

Published on Thursday, 11 April 2013 02:54

So I haven't published much in the last few months since the Zbrush tutorial update, I still need to add a few more tutorials. I apologize for not getting them up sooner. I was kind of in a creative slump for a while there.

Do you like to play online video games? Well those of you who know me for a while now know that video games are a big part of my life and have art and computers around since a young child. Currently I belong to a gaming community know as The Sinister Swarm [SIN] who have been around for a little over 13 years now. I have been in the community for almost two years now and these guys really helped me through my slump. I have always created wall papers and art for each of the specific games I have played seriously. Sinister Swarm was no different. So I thought to myself what can I do that will get the community involved in a way that can help me solve the lock on my creativity...

How about forum signatures I thought, great idea, everyone needs one of those (or at least most like to use something, a picture an animation etc) but how to get them involved? Then it hit me, how about a sort of contest that would get people free signatures and give back to the community who has given me so much support these last two years. Here's the original post after I threw the idea out at some people and then requested a signature:

To make this official and for people who could not be at the meeting. I am the current vice signature master and if you haven’t had a signature done by me now is a great time to do it. If people request once a day for 30 days or a total of 30 people request a signature (atm a little less) then I will make one a day and for every one day that I have something to work on I will donate 1$ to the guild website. So that’s a total of $30 for the guild if my goal is met. That could be a month or 2 for the website or a free tee-shirt for one of the rl meetups!

Help me be creative for 30 days straight and get a new signature and help your guild get a nice donation! Already up to 15$! Check the sig shop thread to make your request!!!

Edit!: As an added incentive for each person who I have created a signature for will be entered into a drawing to win $20 worth of in game currency for either Tera(emp) or Guildwars 2(gems)!!! (entry is per person not per signature) So come-on keep me busy for 30 Days and get yourself some ingame cash!!!

Make your request here: http://www.sinisterswarm.com/forums/...ad.php?t=20858

-Mercwar

I have done almost 40 signatures now for people in the guild and each one unique per the request and I still have several more to work on as well as graphics for our twitch.tv Tera chapter of the community and the special official signature given out to some of our members (no pressure here right? lol). It's been a great experience and I have a lot of fun doing it and it has helped me improve my art too and the community has given me a great response, they helped me reach my goal of at least 30 days of creativity and have received my $30 dollar donation and congratulations to Spookykid who won the Grand Prize raffle of $20 in game currency to Tera.

Each signature was a challenge to take the requests and idea of each individual person and create something unique to them and they can relate to or enjoy. Each one was like doing a mini mural that incorporated members ideas and my own vision.

I thank all of the Sinister Swarm members that supported me in this endeavor and enjoy the work I do, with all the crits and comments and coming back to the thread to see each new creation.

Check out the running gallery or navigate the gallery menu on the top bar.

For more information about the Sinister Swarm and what games we play and to find out what keeps almost 1200+ active members coming back, swing by the Hive check out our public forums and be sure to watch the intro video on the homepage.

J.M.Martin a.k.a Mercwar

Tutorial Update

Published on Sunday, 06 January 2013 12:17

I have updated the Zbrush Tutorial for creating a realistic asteroid and created a new image. In the next tutorial I will show you how to create a Starfield Template to use and re-use in your space scenes and show you how to use a free Fractal Generator to create Nebulas and clusters to add some depth to your background. Look for it in a few days. I need to upload and edit some of my California photos from Andrew's wedding we went to over the holiday, look for those soon as well, some amazing sunsets and one of the best double rainbows I have ever seen.

- J.

Identity

Published on Monday, 27 August 2012 14:54

So I have been learning more about identity, logos, and brands and it got me thinking a bit. For years I always had a "studios" website. I have always wanted a studio to do my artwork (there's much more that I can do than just digital) I just haven't had time or money to make it happen. From Mercweb.net to Ion Image Studios, to this incantation Staplehead Studios, I almost feel like I'm misrepresenting myself in a way. I do not work for anyone professionally and this really isn't a studio. It's just a website of my personal artwork, there are no other artists here, no one really comments on my stuff although I see a lot of views which is okay, I used to do freelance a few years back but most of my connections have dried up or moved on.

Anyway I'm seriously thinking of dropping the "studios" type url and just go as myself. Jay Martin or something to the effect. I want people to look at me and my work as coming from a single person rather than it looking like there is more than just me. To most people this probably won't make much of a difference. Just a logo/name change but for me it is a more genuine way of thinking and being because it's just me and my computer, not a marketing firm or a studios or etc, at least for now, and there is still the possibility of going to Full Sail University for Digital Arts and Design. There's just somethings I missed out on not going to school for this and while at 35 it might be a harder thing to do, it might be my last chance to do it, we'll see how it goes.

Looking at identity and "my brand" I'm taking a good hard look at what I do and where I want it to go and how people see me and my artwork, so don't be surprised if in a few weeks everything has changed, from the web address to the look, the logo the fb pages and twitter etc. I really want what I do to turn into something more than it currently is and that all starts with me. I'm refocusing on my art, style and how I want to represent myself to anyone who comes here to see my work.

-J.Martin

Changes

Published on Wednesday, 15 August 2012 21:04

I have been getting back into working on the site and making some changes here and there. I've been thinking a lot about art and where I am with it. I have been studying and reading a lot more about what I like to do and researching about the people that do what I do professionally. It got me to thinking about identity and brands.

Which I will talk about in an article this week and will explain some possible upcoming changes to the sites name, logo and other trademarks. You may also see some of the galleries shrink a bit. There's just some stuff up there that really doesn't need to be. I have been slacking on my novel but we are going on vacation to Michigan next week so I'm going to make it up then (I promise Lee!ducks... lol).

I will also be updating the Zbrush Asteroid tutorial to include the second part with composing the backgrounds and the other programs I used to finish off the Quick Space image, so look for that and some new artworks soon.

Creative Habits

Published on Wednesday, 14 March 2012 17:32

Ever wonder what can I do to keep my creativity flowing? Head over to Creative Something and check out this article.

Seven creative habits you need to acquire. Also checkout Seven creative sins you need to avoid.

Capturing Heaven

Published on Thursday, 08 March 2012 11:57

This article is from Greg Martin, one of my favorite space artists. No were not related. I had been looking for this article for quite a while there's not a lot of places hosting it. It's in .pdf form. Give the site a second to load it, it's a large file. I like to go back to this article every once and a while and re-read it.

Read: Capturing Heaven

Composition

Published on Sunday, 04 March 2012 00:58

Master Artist Philip Straub explains composition and gives several different ways an artist can successfully pull you into an image and give it that extra eye appealing oomph. Here's an excerpt from the intro.

Composition is everything! No amount of detail in an illustration or Concept Painting will be successful without a strong composition foundation. Composition in Environment Concept painting can be quite difficult since your focal point usually isn’t as obvious as in a character piece.

Head over to the CG Society to read the full tutorial and check out more of Philip Straub's work at his website Utherworlds