In the past month we've lost two absolute legends of the Illustration community, Robert E. McGinnis [above left] at the age of 99 on March 10 and Brad Holland [above right] at the age of 81, following...

Over the years, I’ve chronicled my affection for and work within the worlds created by Jim Henson and Brian Froud here on Muddy Colors. From the official prequel novels for The Dark Crystal (which bec...

Unlike a painter, I work primarily in Line to separate shapes, as opposed to value. Unfortunately, lines don’t appear in the natural world that we see, but are an invention used to describe the separa...

A little over a year ago, I attempted to document every stage of the process in creating a painting for Magic the Gathering.  That painting has finally been publicly released: Bone-Cairn Butcher for t...

In 1980 young artists James Gurney and Thomas Kinkade climbed aboard a boxcar in Los Angeles and road the rails East seeking visual adventures. Drawing anything and everything all along the way, they ...

This time I’d like to talk about my concept art process which is a hybrid process that seems more complicated than it is. I lay that out below but I would like to say that, for the most part, concept ...

The Character In Context Show first opened in 2024 at the A. R. Mitchell Museum in Trinidad, Colorado, and becomes an annual show with it's return this coming May. The show is curated by fellow illust...

Periodically I make the choice to lean in heavily on a commission, dramatically increasing the amount of labor, focus, and intent I wish to bring to a painting.  This bar is raised by myself, never by...

Hey folks! This month I will take you through my latest for Magic the Gathering, Gonti: Night Minister for Magic: the Gathering- Aetherdrift. Pretty small piece for me at 12X16. We do a quick acrylic ...

I've been hard at work evenings and days off, getting Chapter 2 of my comic Cut Flowers finished. It's finally complete and off to the printers! One of the great side benefits of a big personal proje...

Hey everyone...Whew! It's been a surprisingly busy month, for which I’m incredibly grateful for.  I tend to be a happier Coro when I have too much on my plate, vs having nothing to do but obsess and f...

Here are a couple of lighting methods I use to help my outdoor concepts work better. These work well on interiors also but interiors will probably be a later post. I’m sure there might be a name for t...

In Comic-book culture, there’s been a long tradition of doing convention sketches for fans and collectors. Back in the 70’s and 80’s, these used to be quick and free, but thanks to the secondary marke...

Today I’m sharing my illustrations for Starling House by Alix E. Harrow! I’ve been a fan of Harrow’s work since illustrating a special edition of The Once and Future Witches a few years ago, so when I...

Well it’s officially The Year of The Snake, 2025, and I’m sharing my first painting of the year, titled Queen Cobra. This was painted for a group exhibition at Modern Eden Gallery with the Year of the...

Traditional and Digital tools together are being used in collaboration in  illustration today more than ever. I’m bringing Muddy Colors an artist and gifted teacher who rides the waves of technology ...

Earlier this month we all witnessed two horrific firestorms: the one that devastated the neighborhoods surrounding Los Angeles and the one that engulfed the career one of the most successful and impor...

It's a big part of my job as a Creative Director to be on top of bookcover trends. Actually, no, that's not accurate. It's a big part of my job to be ahead of trends before they hit bookcovers. Which ...

Working from photos comes up every semester I teach. The students are always concerned that it’s cheating. Ridiculous. If you know how to train yourself to draw, then photography is not an issue. It c...

Ahhh Ziggy... You know of all of Bowie's personas, he is perhaps the most iconic. The music, the hair, the outfits, that lightning bolt. Heh, my father saw this piece in process. Dad is 80 years old a...

Here's the full image of my Magic card illustration "Restoration Angel" for Innistrad Remastered, art directed by Jameela Wahlgren. It's 11 x 14 inches and done completely in acrylic, on a cradled Bli...

Happy 2025! Here are some paintings I started over Christmas week of my four kids. i hadn’t painted them in a while, and Im trying to get a round of them out at least evert couple years to document th...

Amazing Spider-Man #638, Cover. 2010 Watercolor and gouache on Illustration Board, 11 x 17". Part 1: Why do we need reference? — Refining searches through specificity — Today begins a 3-part post on...

For this, my first post of the new year, I’d considered delving into the collapsed and cratered landscape of social media. But there’s no sunny upside to that, is there? That particular ouroboros wou...

I am starting a new project: Garden Birds.  Its a fully illustrated book about the 50 most common birds in the garden in Scandinavia. There is a lot of those books out there, but whats different with...

A look at Kirbi Fagan's traditional/digital approach to making artwork. In this post, Kirbi details printing, scanning and creating rich textures.

Episode 5 of my Instagram curated recommendations. Throughout my digital travels on the internet, I stumble on some pretty amazing stuff. Finding new artwork opens up an opportunity to look at my own ...

As a long time fan of the writings of J.R.R. Tolkien and Middle-earth, my interpretations of the One Ring dive deep into my past as an artist.  Here are a few samples over the years, with recent examp...

Here's a brief timelapse of me painting Star-Lord for the newest Marvel Masterpieces set. Enjoy! https://youtu.be/4A4kpUIKbWQ

This is a piece I originally wrote back in 2015. Why am I posting it again? When I was considering my December article, for some reason, Wülfing's work kept coming back to me. And I think I know why....

Holy hell I got to paint Black Lotus for Magic the Gathering! I have been painting art for M:TG since the 90's, and if you know the game, you know what an honor it was for me to do this. I take you al...

Do you struggle to come up with composition ideas after one or two? Here’s a bunch of prompts that might inspire something unexpected. If you’ve got a D20 on hand, roll for a random idea! Low,...

This painting has always captured my imagination. It is simple but so elegant and beautiful. The surface is compelling and fascinating and the subject's expression is subtle and powerful. Abbot Hander...

Very hard to believe that this time last year I was at The Great Con-Junction, a 40th anniversary celebration of Jim Henson's foundational fantasy film, The Dark Crystal. Chronicling the experience ri...

Lost Caverns of Ixalan, the newest set for Magic the gathering, gave me the opportunity to paint an old favorite of mine: the Dreadmaw. This time bigger and better than ever before. The assignment ask...

Critique from the wrong person at the wrong time can send an artist off their trail and put cracks in their confidence. I’m fortunate to have a few artists in my life who push my work with experienc...

Welcome back to my intermittent series: Turning Points, where I investigate the illusions (and delusions) involved when looking back on the Greats of Art History. As one of my favorite quotes about so...

I’ve always been a little different than the other kids around me growing up. I was drawn to darker things, richer things. Black was my favorite color, even though I proclaimed to adore blue. I was ...

I draw from the figure almost daily.  I teach several classes during the week that allows me to stay close to the subject and the rest of my work time is spent doing illustrations, character designs ...

Without the slightest blush of apology I am very fond of  ghosts. As with most horror genre items, the vast majority of the stories do fall a bit short, but I will roll the dice each and every time b...

The smell of clay and the electricity of anticipation pervade my senses as I walk across the room. A small yet unmissable sign grabs my attention, “What are you thinking about?” Excellent question...