Aliens v. Predator... and Dave!!

(Oki Doke... Well, I guess I ruffled a few feathers with this post... So I made a few small edits to smooth the ruffles. And in no way meant to imply any wrong doing on anyone's part {that is why I explained the "Work for Hire" clause...}. Ah well. :)

So I'm having breakfast this morning (Friday Oct 26) and I open the USA Today and go right to the entertainment section... (Front page...Bleh!... Lets get to the real news!!). I pull out the section and unfold it and there jumping out at me is a photo of an Alien-ish creature. But wait... there's something different about it. I scan over to the headline and the article is about the new Aliens v. Predator film coming out this December. Cool. So I start to read the article, but my eye keeps going back to the photo. Why does this Predalien creature look so familiar? This is the first official posts of the creature...

Then my mind goes back... to the mid 1990's. I was hired by 20th Century Fox/Dark Horse Productions to develop some Predalien creature designs for the (then viable) first incarnation of Aliens v Predator. I did a number of designs, including the one shown here. Well much to my surprise here I am looking at my designs, in the flesh, so to speak! I have posted here my original designs and the photos showing the quite distinct similarity! (Click the art and it should enlarge... maybe...)



I have no hard feelings about this. As a freelance illustrator I am aware of contractual obligations and the "work for hire" clause that is in most of these. (For those who don't know, the "work for hire" clause means basically that the work done for any particular company is completely owned by them. I sign over all rights to them on completion of the work. So they can do anything they want with it without paying me any more above the original cost of the work). So I had produced these designs for Fox and then they scrapped the production. The art went into the vaults. And I thought they would never see the light of day...

Well it appears someone might have done some digging because the similarity is striking. It would have been nice to be acknowledged for the work. I doubt I will get any credit. But I wanted to post this to show my fans and the world that sometimes lost work isn’t lost after all and good designs will always work, no matter how old they are!!

San Diego Comic Con 2007 Appearance

Hey Everyone!

I will be attending the San Diego Comic Con (as usual!) this year. The show is from July 25-30. I will be bringing some prints and art (Magic, Highlander, Battlestar Galactica, etc) for sale, and have my Pencil art book Leadworks for sale as well. I will also be giving away the last of a series of 4 signature cards (see a previous blog) celebrating the 30th anniversary of the release of Star Wars in 1977. There will be other surprises as well!

We are in booth 4901/5000, right inside the entrance to HALL B. (see diagram)



I will be sharing the booth with fellow artists and friends Scott Hampton, Chris Moeller, John Van Fleet, and Durwin Talon. Also in the space will be WriteBrain Media, a creator's Public Relations firm represented by its owner, the beautiful and talented Denise Dorman.



That's it for now. More news as we get closer!



Dave

CE LONDON

Hi All!

Not a lot of time between CE London and San Diego Comic con so I can't write too much. But it was a fun show and GREAT to meet all the fans who came from UK and the Continent to meet me and have a good time at the show. The print sold very well and I signed a TON of autographs. It was also great to see so many families with kids at the show. That was something that was missed in LA.

After SDCC I will post pics and have more info fomr the show.

See ya!

Dave

INFO FOR STAR WARS CELEBRATION EUROPE!

Hi Everyone.

Well it is getting close to that time. Celebration Europe right around the corner! I am looking forward to meeting all my fans from across the sea and the continent! It has been almost 10 years since I made a trip to that part of the world so please pardon me if I don't recognize anyone right away.

I am going to be set up in 2 areas at the show. I will be in the retailers area most of the time. My booth is D46 and D45, and I will be sharing with Terese Nielsen. (Wow, you should see here print for sale!!) Along with selling my Exclusive print (see previous blogs), I will be selling some of my other, older Rolling Thunder prints, Dewback Patrol, Battle of Hoth, Jabba's Palace, Boba Fett and the Sarlacc, and a few others. Prices on these print will run about 40-50GBP each. I will have a VERY limited amount of these, so if you want to purchase don't wait too long into the show or you may go home disappointed. At the booth in the retailers area I WILL ONLY BE ABLE TO TAKE CASH, NO CREDIT CARDS OR CHECKS. I am sorry but I am not set up for anything else but cash.

HOWEVER... I will also have a display in the ART SHOW. I don't know my booth number at this time (You can find it in the directory when you get to the show). I will be at the art show booth at least an hour a day. In the art show they CAN TAKE CREDIT CARDS. So if you need to pay with credit you will have to wait until you can see me in the art show.

For general information, I do not charge for autographs. I have a signature card I will be giving away exclusive to this show (again see my previous posts), so be sure to ask for one at the booth. I don't mind doing small sketches for free as well (and I mean SMALL!) however I may ask for a few pounds for something I deem bigger than a small piece. And don't be shy if you want a photo, I am happy to oblige.

Looking forward to seeing everyone this weekend in London! Take care all! And may the force be with you!

Dave

HOLD LIST FOR CELEBRATION EUROPE PRINT!

Now that I can show the art it is time to get down to the details of the SW:CE Jundland Wastes print. See my previous Blog for a pic of the art!

The print will be exactly the same size and format as the C4 Lord Vader print. The size is 20"x36". The edition is limited to 250 copies, signed and numbered. The price on this print will be 75poundsUK (approx $150US). There is a slight raise in price as I need to balance the expense of this particular show (travel, shipping, exchange rate, various other factors). I feel this is still a fair price also given the fact that the buyers will also get a free sketch remarque on the print when they purchase.

As with the C4 print, this one has some restrictions. I can only sell the print at the show in London. For those of you who are interested I am taking a HOLDING list prior to the show. This list will only be for those interested in purchasing the print AT THE SHOW and want me to hold one for them until they can pick it up. (I CAN NOT SELL the print prior to show or after the show, it will only be available from me directly at the show itself! I know that might seem unfair to those not able to attend, however those are the contractual rules I must follow). If you would like me to hold a print for you (I will limit the hold to 2 prints per person) please email me directly, dormanart@yahoo.com, and put CELEBRATION EUROPE PRINT or CE PRINT in the header.

In addition to selling this print I will have a limited umber of my other Rolling Thunder prints for sale, including the Dewback Patrol and Battle of Hoth.

Plus as an extra bonus I will have a special signature card, given away only at CE, featuring art from "SW: A New Hope". (See information on this in an earlier blog here below).

See you in London in a few short weeks!!!

Dave

NEW Celebration Europe Art PREMIERE!!

Hi everyone!

It's Star Wars show and tell time again!!

I finally got approval on my Celeration Europe art print art and starwars.com put it up on their site this past weekend. So I feel it is time to spill all the beans on this particular piece. (The art here is a little bigger than the one on the SW site, so you can see a bit more detail).

It is titled "Incident on the Jundland Wastes, Tatooine". It depicts the aftermath of the attack on the Sandcrawler in "SW: A New Hope". I have taken a throw-away line in the film, where Ben Kenobi says "This wasn't sandpeople, these blastpoints are too accurate. Only Imperial Stormtroopers are this accurate" (Or something to that effect!) There is also a mention of Bantha tracks and marching in a straight line.

So I thought: would the Empire be so bold to attack the sandcrawler outright, and possibly leave witnesses to cause turmoil in the already politically tense areas of Tatooine? Probably not. So how do they attack the sandcrawler and get away with it? Disguise themselves AS Tusken raiders! Banthas and all! They wack the crawler as Sandpeople and any witnesses think it is a local's territorial fight.

My brothers and sister of the 501st are no dummies! Subterfuge and disguise work just as well to get what you need.

Hope you enjoy the piece, especially if it makes you look at that particular scene in the film a little bit differently!

I also want to add another link here. It is to a great article on the sandtroopers.com site and it has pics and info on the 501st Legion/Midwest Garrison helping me out with reference photos for both of my Celebration art prints. Check it out! It was very cool to have a house full of the Empire's finest for a weekend! (Here's a pic of my son Jack with Darth Vader).

Thanks to my brothers and sisters in the 501st for their help (on the prints), friendship and comeradirrie over the past few years. I look forward to seeing, and greeting, many new members of the Legion during my trip to London!

See you there!

Dave

Star Wars News! Appearences! And Much More!!

Hey Everyone!

Got a lot of news to tell you and not a lot of time to write this (as I'm trying my best to get ready for Star Wars Celebration 4 and the long trip ahead!)

First off I will be at the Celebration in two areas. I will have an art display in the Artist's area. I believe my booth number there is 36. While my art will hang the whole show, I will NOT be at that spot the whole time.

I WILL be at my booth on the main Retailer's floor most of the time. My booth number is 917 under my company name ROLLING THUNDER. At my booth I will be signing and sketching and of course selling my art prints including the new one for the show "Lord Vader's Persuasion...".

NEWS ALERT!!! During the move to Chicago, I had packed away all the Star Wars prints. While getting ready for the show I FOUND copies of BATTLE OF HOTH! The sold out print everyone has been asking about. Also found were a few more copies of DEWBACK PATROL. So if you have been looking for these prints look no further! I do only have a limited number of these so be sure to stop by early if you were looking for one.

Back to the news... I have made a free signature card (or I should say a set of cards) to have with me for the shows I am doing to promote the 30th Anniversary of Star Wars. This art is the piece I painted for the cover of Dark Horse's comics adaptation of SW: A New Hope. I have taken the full art (shown here) and divided it into four sections, one for each show. The shows I will be giving the cards out at are:

Star Wars Celebration 4 May 24-28 Los Angeles

Star Wars Weekend June 8 (Friday) only DisneyWorld

Star Wars Celebration Europe July 13-15 London

San Diego ComicCon July25-29 San Diego

Each show will have a different card given away, and the only way you will be able to get all 4 cards will be to come to all 4 appearances. There is no charge for the card at the shows, just ask for one if you don't see them on the table. My thanks to Lucasfilm Licensing for allowing me to do this.

I have been busy working on the NEW art for the Celebration Europe art print. I can't say too much about this except it is VERY cool and ties in with a specific scene in New Hope. It will make you look at that specific scene in a different way after seeing this art. Here is a VERY small preview of the art. I will give you more info when the piece is finished and I have final approval from Lucasfilm.

Please stop by if you are at the SWC4, especially if you are a member of the 501st. It is such a great feeling to be able to share my work with each and every one of you!

Take care and I'll be back soon!

Dave

I WILL be attending the STAR WARS Celebration 4 in LA!!!

Thanks to all who have emailed about my eye. It was a bacterial infection and the medicine I have been taking has been working well, though it may still be a bit red at the show. I did NOT have emergancy surgury as some have heard. It has all been treated non-invasively.

I will be adding more information about my apperance at the show in the next blog sometime this evening. It WILL be worth the wait!

See you then!

Dave

I have to CANCEL MotorCity Con Appearence

I was supposed to attend the Motor City Con this weekend (May 18-20). However I have, somehow attracted an infection in my eyelid (OUCH!). It has swollen my lid to the point of almost closing the eye. (Don't look at the pic if you get queasy easy!).

I am on medication for it and it is not contagious, which is good. But it makes me look like Quasimodo!

My apologies to all who are going to MotorCity. I hope to catch you all again sometime soon!

SWC4 Print HOLD List Closed!

I have closed the HOLD list for the SWC4 print. Thanks to all who contacted me and I look forward to seeing you all there ain LA. I ABSOLUTELY DO have more copies available for sale at the show. If you are interested please stop my my booth in the main dealers hall. And don't forget I will do a small Remarque (pencil drawing) for each customer on one print.

Next up... a sneak peek at the art for SW Celebration Europe!

SWC4 FULL ART! Wowza!

Hey Everyone!

Now that the Star Wars website has posted the final art I can also do it too! Here is a slightly bigger version of the art. I wish I could show it a the Celebration but unfortunately I will not have the original with me. I will be showing (and selling) other originals there so be sure to check out the art show.

I will be set up in the Dealers area. I will have a double booth endcap, and will be selling a lot of my older Rolling Thunder Star Wars prints that I have left. (Some I only have a few copies of so you might want to hit me first day of the show!) I will also be doing some drawings and , of course, autographing (I never charge for an autograph!) So when you come into the Dealers hall, look me up!

More news next time!

Dave

Star Wars Celebration 4 and New ART!!

Hi All!

Sorry for the long wait between blogs. Been pretty busy with life, art and stuff.

The big news most of you have been waiting for is here. I have done a BRAND NEW piece of Star Wars art. This piece is being done for the Star Wars Celebration 4 in LA on May 24-28. LucasFilm has granted a license to produce a print LIMITED to 250 copies to be sold only at the convention. These prints will be signed and numbered by me and when you purchase you may be able to get a small drawing (Remarque) on the piece at that time for free!

I had the opportunity to do a similar print for the Celebration 3 (see art below) and it sold out before the end of the show. The piece was called "Rise of the Sith" and was VERY popular with the fans.

The art I have done for this year's show is in a format similar to the trilogy I had done for the re-release of Episodes 4, 5 and 6 in 1997. The art is horizontal in the same format as the image of the film, i.e. widescreen format. The size of the print will be 20"x36", which matches the 20th anniversary prints, so those of you who want to match the previous prints: "Dewback Patrol", "Battle of Hoth", or "Jabba's Palace", this print matches those exactly in size.

The cost on this print edition will be $100.00. This is the same price as the Celebration 3 print even though this print is about TWICE the physical size. And when you see the print I think you will find it money well spent!! Here is a very small pencil preview of a very small part of the art! (Unfortunately I cannot show the full art until I get approval from Lucasfilm. As soon as that happens I will post it immediately!)

For those of you who are interested I am taking a HOLDING list prior to the show. This list will only be for those interested in purchasing the print AT THE SHOW and want me to hold one for them until they can pick it up. (I CAN NOT SELL the print prior to show or after the show, it will only be available from me directly at the show itself! I know that might seem unfair to those not able to attend, however those are the contractual rules I must follow). If you would like me to hold a print for you (I will limit the hold to 2 prints per person) please email me directly, dormanart@yahoo.com, and put CELEBRATION 4 PRINT in the header.

I will also be attending the STAR WARS CELEBRATION EUROPE In July. More on that in an upcoming blog. See ya next time!

Star Wars Art Copyright and TM 2007 Lucasfilm

"The Secret"...not so much

So I'm reading the USA Today this morning and I run across an article about the book The Secret being number one on a number of best seller lists. In reading the article a bit deeper it talks about it being publicised on Oprah, Ellen and other TV shows. It is being touted as the new (in my words) "New Age Fad", the thing that makes life easier and much more worth wile living.

I will spoil the ending and tell you "the secret" is what the "authors" call the "Power of Attraction" ( A sidebar here. I will be putting a lot of words in quotation marks because I think these are buzzwords that are only so much mumbo-jumbo and are pretty well meaningless.) Ok, back to the power of attraction. This is not the scientific version most of us learned in school. The "Power of Attraction" here is that if you think hard enough about wanting something it will come to you. And how that is done is that with this emanation of strong desire you will attract the people and events that will get you the thing that you wish for. That is IT! look at something and want it. Think of something and desire it. And poof! it is yours.

Ok I realise this is the simplified version of what they are saying, but I have seen the video, and it is so filled with phony "experts" and paid testimonials, it is almost laughable. The one thing they were saying, in an hour and half video, was set a goal. PERIOD. not just a goal in life or profession, but if you want a car, close your eyes and desire it. A necklace you see in a jewelry store window, wish yourself the necklace and it is yours! If you do this HARD ENOUGH EVERY WAKING MOMENT YOU WILL GET THESE THINGS! Ah, life is so wonderful!!

Oh, they forgot to tell you one thing. All the things you wish for and desire...it is on you to work hard to get them. You didn't think it was a free ride did you? Oh, they didn't tell you that in the video or the book. Just want and it will be yours. Sorry to burst your bubble but life is not like that. Life is about work and education, street smarts and intelligence, setting goals in life and working hard to achieve those goals. They are not dropped in your lap just because you "think hard about them". So it is fine to envision the things that you want, but it is you that will work hard to get those things. It is you that will find and enlist others to help you achieve the goal. It is you that will reach that goal, with hard enough work, and reap the benefits and joy of the goal you set. Just by wishing (desiring, wanting, praying for, obsessing, whatever) you will not get anywhere. If a body is not set in motion, it will not move from where it lay. That is science.

The kind of false hope these so called"self help" authors offers is just so harmful because it does not offer any real life solutions to the problems real people have. It feeds on their dreams and wishes, yet does not encourage them (you) to be self reliant and be your own challenge solver. They say: you "attract" others to you to do the work for you to help achieve your goal. Bleh. How selfish.

I will end this long winded blog with a short anecdote that will tie this in to me personally. When I made the decision to follow art as a profession when I was in high school I set my goals as to what kind of art I wanted to do (illustration) and what form that would take (comics and science fiction). I realised this was kind of specialized and would take a lot of work, but I found this is what I enjoyed and I wanted to make it my life. (As "The Secret" would have it that is all I would need and I would would "attract" all the people and things around me to achieve those goals and poof! I would be a professional illustrator!). I set out to work towards my goals. I went one year to college, and did not find (attract) the teachers that could direct me to where I wanted. I then went to a specialized illustration school, and again did not quite find (attract) the right "mojo" that would give me the professional art career I so much wanted.

However, during all this time I would spend my waking free moments working on my craft. Drawing, sketching, painting, WORKING BY MYSELF to make me better at my craft. And when I dropped out of school to pursue my art by myself the only people to help me were my parents, who were so encouraging to me to follow this path I set for myself, I found myself at my drawing board alone with pencil in hand and a dream of becoming an artist. And I worked...for years... to achieve that goal. And slowly I made professional sales, one after another, until one day I looked at my drawing table and all the work I was doing was for paying clients. I had achieved my goal. By my self. Hard work, patience, drive, persistence, desire and finally art that was of professional quality...all things that worked together to get me where I wanted to go.

It is all well and good to read these kind of books (like "The Secret") to boost your self esteem. But have faith in yourself. Set your own goals and WORK hard to achieve them, whether it is thru higher education or hard work moving upwards in a company or taking your free time and learning a craft that you always wanted to do. It is on YOU to get yourself where you want to go. Set yourself in motion!

(end of dave's raving. I promise more ART next time around! LOL! Thanks for listening!)

A little extra love...

A little extra love, this Valentine's day, to all my friends in the 501st. (If you don't know what that is feel free to Google or Wikipedia it). Here is a very (and I mean VERY) early look at a project I am just starting. I can not say anymore about it, other than it has been a long time in coming. Until next time...

Happy Valentine's Day!

Well it is that time of year when we show our appreciation to those we share our love with. I am blessed to have a lovely wife Denise, and a beautiful son, Jack. My love and admiration for her grows more every day. And I couldn't love my son anymore than I do already. He is quite the little character, and so full of joy and life! I hope everyone reading this has had a wonderful Valentine's Day with the ones they love.

I ran across a couple of websites I 'd like to turn you onto if you are into CGI (that's computer generated imagery, or in this case computer animation). I just found these cruising around film makers websites. So check them out, especially the free downloads!
http://www.shaneacker.com/
http://www.ruairirobinson.com/

Now for me and my art, here is a more recent cover for the Highlander comics. Another western themed/ character piece. Very happy with the likeness in this one. Done in mixed media, oil, acyrlic, marker, colored pencil, (LOL whatever it takes to get it finished!) on gessoed illustration board.

Arthur and the Invisibles

I had the opportunity to work with the Weinstein Co. to do an advertisement for Luc Besson's new film "Arthur and the Invisibles". The unfortunate thing is that they decided at the last minute to change their promoting tactics and not use my piece. It still may show up somewhere, possibly associated with the DVD release. We shall see. But none-the-less you folks get to see the piece here.
On a side note, The Office (on NBC Thursday nights) is back on the air after the holiday break. One of the most consistently well written, well acted shows on the TV. It is also one of the laugh-out-loud funniest shows I have ever seen. If you have not caught it yet, please do so tonight!

Hi and Welcome!

Hello and HAPPY NEW YEAR to all my friends and fans out in the real world. This is the first post for my newly established blog. I will try my best to keep this fairly relevant and current. I also have a website that contains current work I am involved in(www.davedorman.com). The difference between there and here is that my art website will pretty much be that, an art website, with info and pics of what I am currently working on and a catalogue of past projects. This blog will primarily be me talking about all sorts of things that interest me (including my art as well as other artists') and a forum for questions and comments to be answered. I will also be posting art here, so as not to be too boring! For the first piece of art, an upcoming cover from my current ongoing stint as cover artist for Dynamic Comics' HIGHLANDER.