Fossforous

Have a Steampunking New Year!

2011-12-31T12:55:00.000+01:00

This is to wish all visitors to this blog lots of good luck, happiness and health for 2012.

Please come by again next year.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-21T11:49:00.000+01:00

Santa Mouse and his cat painted in Photoshop CS5

Sensimillia Slug

2011-11-17T11:32:00.001+01:00

Painted in Photoshop CS4

Sensimillia is knitting Christmas presents for her grandslugs
with a nice cup of tea and a scary story on the radio

Scary for Illustration Friday

2011-10-29T18:20:00.000+02:00

Happy Halloween! This is for Illustration Friday.

Helmet

2011-10-23T11:54:00.001+02:00

Surface Detail illustration

2011-03-04T11:12:00.004+01:00

painted in Photoshop CS3

This is an illustration of 'Surface Detail' by Iain M Banks for the View from here. This was an excellent book, one of his best Culture novels so far.

Chinese New Year: White Rabbit

2011-02-10T17:02:00.002+01:00

Angry Pigs: new PIG comic

2011-01-25T14:25:00.004+01:00

This game drives me crazy! PIG has never played angry birds before.
Maybe someone should warn him. See more Pig comics here

Happy 2011

2010-12-31T13:33:00.006+01:00

Madame Truffela looks into her crystal ball, shuffles her Tarot and predicts... a very happy new year for everyone who has visited this blog in 2010.
Thank you!

Fei Fei iPad sketch

2010-12-11T09:45:00.004+01:00

this is Fei Fei painted with Artstudio on my Ipad

Pages from my sketchbooks

2010-10-22T15:14:00.025+02:00

These are some pages from the past 2 years sketchbooks, mostly things that never got posted online, ideas, doodles and inking practice.

Thursday Creatures: Elephants

2010-10-21T17:16:00.005+02:00

Thursday Creatures: fantasy feline head in Scupltris

2010-10-07T10:58:00.007+02:00

version 2

version 1

Modelled in Sculptris. I'm having a blast with this app!

Cat sketches: Sirikit and FeiFei

2010-09-10T17:58:00.009+02:00

These are some sketches of my Siamese cats, Sirry and FeiFei having a cosy nap. Fei Fei is a tabby point, that's why you see some stripes on her face. Cats can be maddening to draw, I always feel I never seem to quite capture their grace and elegance. Most of my cat sketches end up in the bin so for once I was quite pleased with these.

Friday Scapes: Rocks from my sketchbook

2010-09-03T10:25:00.007+02:00

colour in photoshop CS3

Friday Scapes: park sketches

2010-08-13T16:49:00.006+02:00

a Photoshop speedpaint and some park sketches

Thursday Creatures: Mousey character sketch

2010-08-05T11:47:00.003+02:00

a quick Photoshop sketch

Thursday Creatures: Lunch!

2010-07-15T17:19:00.004+02:00

pencil and photoshop

Was I feeling hungry when I drew this? No, it was just an entry for Illustration Friday that didn't get done in time, I have quite a few of those.

Monday People: head sketches 2

2010-06-28T18:14:00.004+02:00

...oops, theres a coupla funny hats in there again

Book illustration for TheView from Here

2010-06-18T19:08:00.008+02:00

Watercolour, gouche and pencil on Schoelleshammer paper
Click on the image to see a larger version

This is a painting I did for the Hundred Foot Journey by Richard C. Morais. You can read the review at The View from Here.

Slither for Illustration Friday

2010-05-30T22:29:00.004+02:00

Some Slithery Slugs from my sketchbook for Illustration Friday!

PIG is on Twitter

2010-05-05T11:32:00.004+02:00

if you are on Twitter then you can follow him here
he's a bit lonely over there !

Tuesday Things: cat skull

2010-05-04T15:40:00.009+02:00

charcoal, pastel and Pentel brush pen on Schoelleshammer recycled paper

I've had this little cat skull since I was a student, it was given to me by a good friend who I lost touch with. I have no idea where it came from but it was probably a vet school. I also have a large dog skull, a ram skull we found in a wood in Devon and a decorated goat skull from Thailand. Bones are really fascinating to draw.

Friday Scapes: trees in ballpoint

2010-04-30T11:19:00.004+02:00

ballpoint pen on scrap paper

Friday Scapes: the Lookout

2010-04-23T22:15:00.005+02:00

A little Photoshop sketch just for fun

Tuesday Things: Guitar

2010-04-06T11:19:00.003+02:00

pencil and charcoal on paper

This guitar belongs to my husband, he loves to play.

Friday Scapes: rocks from my sketchbook

2010-03-26T11:31:00.003+01:00

col erase pencil on paper.

Rocks from reference and a strange beehive house from somewhere in my imagination

Thursday Creatures: Red

2010-03-18T10:50:00.005+01:00

painted on my Nintendo DS

Don't think this little fella needs any introduction ...

Monday People: expressions

2010-03-15T12:04:00.004+01:00

these were sketched from photo reference with a col erase pencil

Thursday Creatures: Grandad was an Orc

2010-03-11T10:35:00.005+01:00

painted in Photoshop

Well ... he might have been.
I never knew either of my grandfathers, so who knows?

Wednesday Words: new PIG comic

2010-03-03T14:46:00.006+01:00

Drawn on paper and inked in Manga Studio 3

It seems PIG has never read old HPL...
You can read more adventures of Patrick I. Grunt here

Monday People: head sketches

2010-03-01T11:57:00.005+01:00

some noses, hats and ...oops, a zombie slipped in there too, don't know why she was allowed in !

Friday Scapes: inking practice

2010-02-26T15:26:00.007+01:00

PITT markers on paper

Some inking practice on thumbnail ideas for backgrounds

Book illustration for TVFH: WE

2010-02-24T15:49:00.004+01:00

painted in Photoshop CS4

This is an illo for WE by John Dickinson. Read the review at TVFH magazine. I also posted a process for this piece on FossLab if you are interested in seeing how I painted it.

Tuesday Things: Micro Machine smash up

2010-02-23T14:55:00.001+01:00

watercolors and PITT markers on scrap paper

Friday Scapes: Roots WIP

2010-02-19T21:51:00.004+01:00

Painted with Photoshop

a little goblin hiding in the roots, still working on this one...

Tuesday Things: My little china horse

2010-02-16T14:49:00.005+01:00

col-erase pencil on paper

This is a little porcelain horse I got from a flea market a few years ago. I love the shape. The pose is realistic but also a bit cartoony as he has a big head and short legs .

Some changes for the Year of the Tiger

2010-02-15T12:50:00.011+01:00

New years resolutions have never been a strong point of mine, mainly because January often turns out to be such a depressing let-down month. On the other hand the Chinese new year always seems to me like a better time to start something new, because it means spring is on the way.
This blog has been going for more than 4 years and I think it's getting a bit stale so I've decided to shake things up a bit. I need more incentive to post things on here so I'm going to give myself some goals with various themes for days of the week.

Monday will be People: portraits, character design, poses, anatomy

Tuesday is Things: my stuff or any other objects and things I happen to draw, inspired by EDM

Wednesday will be for Words: puns, strange sayings or unusual words, lyrics or poems

Thursday is for Creatures: animals, beasties, critters, real or invention

Friday is Scapes: real or imagined places

It would be impossible for me to post work every weekday but at least there will be some structure here instead of the confusion I have now. I'll also post a lot more sketches, roughs and WIP. And inbetween all this there will still be my entries for Illustration Friday, Art Jumble and my book illustrations for The View from Here.

Happy New Year of the tiger to all my readers!

A week in December for The View From Here

2010-01-22T12:50:00.003+01:00

painted with Photoshop CS4

This is an illustration I did after reading 'a week in December' by Sebastian Faulks. You can read the review at TVFH.

Nintendo Ds sketches

2010-01-21T17:00:00.007+01:00

Totoro
Bunny Knight
a Stranger from Dark city
these were done on my trusty little DS lite

Bot painting in Art Rage 3

2010-01-11T17:01:00.005+01:00

Here's a little Retro-Bot for 2010.
Painted with the new Art Rage 3 which I love even more than the last version!

Star Wars illo for Art Jumble

2009-10-19T19:01:00.003+02:00

painted in Photoshop

This is for Art Jumble, the theme is 'create your own Jedi or Sith'
My Jedi is Master Porcine in a heroic battle against the evil, bloodsucking Skeetahs!

Flying for Illustration Friday: tiny dragons

2009-10-13T12:17:00.004+02:00

These tiny dragons are for a new t shirt design I'm making.
See if you can spot the odd one out

Tiny dragons by Fossfor
Browse other Dragons T-Shirts

New Halloween goodies

2009-10-08T18:20:00.002+02:00

I have made a whole bunch of Halloween goodies for my Zazzle shop
Don't be scared by old Jack, stop by and have a look!

This blog is 4 years old

2009-09-07T16:33:00.004+02:00

Fossforous was 4 years old in August. I baked a big gooey chocolate birthday cake and invited some of my characters along to demolish it: Faun, Mao, Jester, Patrick I. Grunt, and Fleaboxer. Flea is trying to punch a hole in the cake to get in and eat it from the inside!
To see more of them click on their names:
Faun
Mao
Jester
PIG
Fleaboxer

New Zazzle stuff

2009-08-27T16:34:00.004+02:00

I have some new goodies in my Zazzle store this week.

Magical mustache painting for Art jumble

2009-08-22T11:05:00.006+02:00

This is the Untameable Mac Tash painted on my trusty DS lite with Colors for Art Jumble

Impatience for Illustration Friday

2009-08-11T20:12:00.002+02:00

Hurry up Ripley! You've been in there for ages!!

The theme for IF this week is 'impatience'

My new Moji character

2009-07-28T20:34:00.004+02:00

This is the Jester, my latest character on Mojizu;
Please stop by and give him a vote. He will be eternally grateful and juggle some glowing bubbles for you!

My first post on Art Jumble: Kangasaurus

2009-07-24T11:01:00.004+02:00

Kangasaur painted in Art Rage and Photoshop
This is my entry for Art Jumble this week.
The topic is 'dinosaurs that should have existed'

Draco:painting on Nintendo DS

2009-07-17T12:39:00.004+02:00

This was painted using Colors on my nintendo DS lite.
You can read my post about Colors on Fossfor's Lab.

Paprika book illustration

2009-07-01T10:42:00.005+02:00

An illo I painted with Photoshop for the book Paprika by Yasutaka Tsutsui. You can read the review over at The view from here.

Creepies

2009-06-16T18:20:00.004+02:00

These little creepies popped up in my sketchbook so I painted them with my little wacom on my scary PC. I've probably been watching too many weird films lately.

Book cover for The View From Here

2009-05-26T22:21:00.005+02:00

I did this book cover for 'Songs of blue and gold' by Deborah Lawrenson. You can see it in an article on book jackets on the View from Here. It was painted in watercolours and then reworked digitally.

Pages from my sketchbook

2009-05-25T22:11:00.008+02:00

Witch painting

2009-05-18T15:36:00.002+02:00

painted in gouache

Intricate for Illustration Friday

2009-03-09T16:10:00.005+01:00

ink and Rotring pen

This was done when I was a student, more years ago than I want to remember! But I think it fits illustration Friday well this time.

More from my sketchbook

2009-02-17T12:09:00.005+01:00

These were done in ballpoint pen

The Book Thief illustration for the View from Here

2009-02-06T15:41:00.004+01:00

This is an illustration for The Book thief by Markus Zusak. You can read the review on the View from Here website.

New series at Zazzle

2009-01-01T15:59:00.005+01:00

I have a new series of tees in my Zazzle store. They are characters from my feline zodiac.

Pisces Cat by Fossfor
Shop for a shirt on zazzle.com

Merry Christmas

2008-12-22T15:09:00.004+01:00

Faun hangs up his stocking and sits by the fire with a nice jug of mead waiting for Father Claws to come, but he forgot that mead makes you very sleepy.

Merry Christmas everyone.

Similar for illustration Friday

2008-12-05T16:46:00.003+01:00

Watercolour and gouache.

Meet the family!
I just finished doing these little guys with big ears and thought they would be perfect for Illustration Friday.

Fossfor at Redbubble

2008-11-26T11:19:00.002+01:00

Some of my work is now available at Rebubble as prints and t-shirts. Click on the slideshow to visit my shop.

'A fraction of the whole' book illustration

2008-11-26T11:03:00.005+01:00

painted inPhotoshop

I painted this after reading 'A fraction of the whole' by Steve Toltz. You can read the review over at The view from here.

Pretend WIP

2008-11-21T11:47:00.004+01:00

Who shall I be today?

This is for Illustration Friday. I didn't manage to finish it in time, but posted it anyway as a ton of work went into it. It took loads more time than I had and only got started on Tuesday as I spent ages fiddling around with ideas.

Vacant for illustration Friday

2008-11-02T20:14:00.002+01:00

Painted in Photoshop CS2

Poor snail has to move out...
this is for Illustration Friday

The bridge

2008-10-21T13:57:00.003+02:00

painted with photoshop CS2

Cat's cradle for Illustration Friday

2008-10-13T18:22:00.002+02:00

This is for Illustration Friday, the theme this week is Strings

My work @ Imagekind online gallery

2008-10-12T14:25:00.009+02:00

Some of my work is now available from Imagekind, this is an online gallery where you can order all types of prints, cards and canvasses. Have a look at my gallery here

Merman

2008-10-06T14:42:00.004+02:00

Painted in Photoshop CS2

Book illustration for 'The view from here'

2008-09-30T11:12:00.003+02:00

Painted in Photoshop CS2

This is a picture I did for 'The view from here' which is a literary magazine online and in print.
It is an illustration from 'the snowing and greening of thomas passmore' by Paul Burman. An excellent book that I really enjoyed. Read the review here.

Samurai

2008-09-19T15:12:00.004+02:00

a quick sketch with Photoshop CS2

A game of Thud

2008-08-07T13:37:00.005+02:00

painted in Photoshop Elements

This is a scene from Thud, one of my favorite Terry Pratchett books. Thud is an ancient game played by the trolls and the dwarves and represents the Battle of Koom valley.
If you like Discworld have a look at this picture of Rincewind and the Luggage.

Faun in a storm

2008-07-11T11:17:00.004+02:00

painted with Photoshop elements

To see more Faun illustrations click here

To get a print of this picture click here

Character design process: Viking

2008-06-26T21:31:00.007+02:00

This was sketched on paper and painted in Photoshop Elements.
Click on the images to see a larger version.

Forgotten ?

2008-06-11T16:54:00.003+02:00

Painted in ArtRage 2

This is for Illustration Friday

Baby for Illustration Friday

2008-06-02T16:34:00.004+02:00

Painted in ArtRage 2 and Photoshop Elements.

Mrs Krok takes Baby for his first walk.
This is for Illustration friday.

Pocketful illustration magazine: Dinner for two

2008-05-22T11:22:00.005+02:00

This is my submission to Pocketful illustration magazine.
The theme is "Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be late!"

Painted with Photoshop Elements.
click on the image to see a larger version.

Pages from my sketchbook

2008-05-13T13:34:00.011+02:00

The weather here has been like summer so I've been out drawing a lot the last few days. It is so nice to get out and sketch. These were done with white pencil on a tinted gesso background that I prepared beforehand to get rid of the dreaded white page.

Place des Martyrs, Brussels

Wooden elephant sculpture in the Africa Museum at Tervuren

Picknick in the park

Angel statue

Snail Rider

2008-05-06T22:13:00.004+02:00

Painted with Art Rage 2

A flea riding a snail... well sometimes you have to draw something really silly!
This might lead to some flea circus pictures,
I like the idea of tiny creatures controlling the world.

Faun by the sea painting

2008-04-17T13:36:00.005+02:00

Painted in Photoshop Elements

Faun is sitting by the sea smoking a quiet pipe.
He is feeling very melancholy today.
If you like Faun can see more of him in Faun roasting Mushrooms and Visiting the Ancient stones

Heavy

2008-03-17T21:54:00.006+01:00

Monsters of Rock

This is for Illustration Friday
painted in ArtRage2 and Photoshop Elements

see more of my monster family here

Swordsman digital painting

2008-03-07T16:42:00.005+01:00

pencil drawing painted in Photoshop Elements

Choose

2008-02-12T20:48:00.001+01:00

Click on a door to go inside.
Fossfor is not responsible for
whatever may happen to you.

Scapes

2008-02-12T10:44:00.001+01:00

A couple of speed sketches in Photoshop Elements

Tales and Legends

2008-01-29T17:26:00.002+01:00

click on the image to see a larger version

this is for Illustration friday, it is a character from 'Legends of Zu' , a fantastic Chinese movie. This is the bird-man with metal wings made of blades that he can throw to defend himself. It is one of my favorite films, so full of imagination and beautiful scenes. Whenever I see it makes me want to paint .

Tabby boxer Mojizu character

2008-01-22T18:37:00.002+01:00

My little tabbycat is on Mojizu
if you like him, please vote for him.

Stitches

2008-01-14T13:51:00.001+01:00

Rocky's mother finds a gorgeous dress in the sales,but it seems that all that festive food was not a good idea ! Rocky is mortified and pretends he doesn't know her...
This is for Illustration Friday

Fossfor's lab Art blog

2008-01-11T10:16:00.001+01:00

my new blog is online. It is about painting and drawing. I shall write about techniques and advice, resources and and examples. My brass steampunk Wacom pen image is a mixture of trad and digital, and this blog will attempt to cover all sorts of materials. I shall also feature artist bloggers and sites as well, as there are so many out there I admire.

Harry Potter

2008-01-04T13:27:00.002+01:00

Painted with Photoshop Elements
click to see a larger version

This is my first post of 2008. I started this painting last year after reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, but I just couldn't get it right so I left it to stew for a few months and and came back to it.
The HP series always evoke really strong images for me, but this is the first HP illustration I've done. It's from the scene near the start where Harry is pursued by the Death Eaters and something awful happens... but no spoilers here!
The Deathly Hallows was really good but I thought the part about the wands wasn't very logical. What does everyone else think? I shall have to read it again to see if there was something I missed.

Merry Christmas

2007-12-20T12:54:00.002+01:00

Cindy

2007-11-25T17:02:00.002+01:00

Cindy hates the Zoo
she sits all day and plots
how to break the locks
if you try to touch her...
chomp! and she's gotcha!
that's the end of you

this is for Illustration Friday

Traveler

2007-11-19T12:36:00.001+01:00

Painted in Photoshop Elements

Free paper toy: Monkey King

2007-11-11T13:06:00.001+01:00

you can download this little monkey here. let me know if you like him

This work by Fossfor is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-No Derivative Works 2.0 Belgium License.

Mrs Trotter

2007-11-05T11:15:00.002+01:00

Let me introduce Mrs Trotter. She is a hat addict and has a large collection. Most of her hats have fruit on them, it's handy to have some snacks on your head when you get a bit peckish!
To see more of my Piggy characters visit PiggeryPokery.

Rincewind and the Luggage

2007-10-25T11:35:00.002+02:00

digital painting in Photoshop Elements
click to see a larger version

Two of my favorite characters from Terry Pratchett's Discworld series.
Rincewind the wizzard is really a bit scruffy and moth-eaten, but he thinks he looks like this so let's pretend he does... the Luggage on the other hand, doesn't care what anyone thinks. It is made of sapient pearwood and can fell a troll in the blink of an eye.

Crate-bot

2007-10-24T11:07:00.000+02:00

Hugo and the crate-bot

This is part of a series of animations made for the reopening of the Museum of natural sciences in Brussels. You can watch them online or download the whole set on the museum website

Grow

2007-10-20T11:40:00.001+02:00

He woke up one morning with a town growing
out of his head...This is for Illustration Friday

Extremes

2007-10-16T14:09:00.001+02:00

This is for Illustration Friday, the theme this week is 'extremes'. It's a page from my new comic Fleaboxer. To read the whole story click here. Let me know what you think.

Energy Vampires

2007-10-15T10:46:00.000+02:00

This is for the Blog Action Day on the enviroment. The idea came from ucsusa.org . There are some good practical tips for energy saving on on their site. I didn't know until quite recently how much electricity we waste just by leaving things plugged in, even when they are switched off !
So if you're not using an appliance, unplug it or use power strips with a switch.