Vampire Squid – My Interview

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advice, book cover, Bruce Pennington, Chris Achilleos, Chris Foss, Comic, Comic Art, Digital art, Fantasy, Humorous Science Fiction, illustration, Jim Burns, Keith Draws, KeithDraws, Peter A. Jones, Peter Elson, Roger Dean, Sci Fi, science fantasy, science Fiction, Science fiction art, superhero, superhero illustration, superhero woman, Todd Lockwood, Vampire Squid

I meant to post this when it came out, but I got very busy… I hope you enjoy it.

From the Interview:

“A doodler from an extremely young age, encouraged by the freedom to do as he pleased at school, Keith Draws has been an artist at heart for his entire life. Inspired by the sci-fi, fantasy and superheroes that amazed him as a child, he has gone on to create art for bands, books and games.

With a new sci-fi novel series proudly displaying his artwork on the covers and a crowdfunded superhero anthology in the works, Keith is more in demand today than ever before. He has mastered the art of telling a whole story in just a single frame, using shape and colour and detail to create intriguing and captivating pieces that draw you into everything his named is attached to.

We spoke to Keith to find out how he developed his skills and where they will take him next.

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Kirstie: How did you get into art?

Keith: Drawing and painting is something I always enjoyed but it became something more when I started school. At the time the school were running an experiment (it was in the ‘60’s). The whole infant block was open plan and the idea was that kids could enter and leave any lessons they wanted to at any time. So of course, I would wander off and draw pretty much all the time. It’s all I remember doing for those two years. More…”

OUTCAST, a Spaceman’s Story

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Chris Achilleos, Chris Foss, Guerin Zand, Humorous Science Fiction, Jim Burns, Keith Draws, KeithDraws, Peter A. Jones, Peter Elson, Roger Dean, Sci Fi, science fantasy, science Fiction, Science fiction art, Todd Lockwood

Solving the problems of the universe is nothing compared to keeping the family content.

After reading the hilarious yet thoughtful book, the cover became obvious to me.

The book is free right now  and  you can pick it up here: https://goo.gl/FbFGJA

Outcast cover art © Keith Draws

There is a very heavy Frazetta influence, and of course overtones from Jim Burns, Peter A. Jones, Chris Foss, Chris Archilleos, Peter Elson, Roger Dean and of course The Great Todd Lockwood.

Battlecruiser Alamo Tabletop RPG

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Battlecruiser Alamo, Chris Achilleos, Chris Foss, Frank Frazetta, Jim Burns, Keith Draws, Nebula, Peter A. Jones, Peter Elson, Richard Tongue, Roger Dean, RPG., science fantasy, science Fiction, Science fiction art, Space Battle, Space ship, starship, Todd Lockwood

This is a Tabletop RPG based on Battlecruiser Alamo with all of the artwork I’ve done for Richard Tongue’s books. It’s an artbook featuring my work and a game based on the incredible future universe and stories of Richard Tongue. Published by Shades Of Vengeance.

Go here to check it out

BCA primer cover art © Keith Draws

All the art has been inspired in one way or another by the following amazing and incredible artists (in no particular order )  and I have to thank them: Todd Lockwood, Jim Burns, Chris Foss, Chris Archilleos, Peter Elson, Roger Dean, Frank Frazetta, Peter A Jones and many more, without whom I would be painting landscapes.

Era: The Empowered art

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Comic Art, Digital art, Era:The Empowered, illustration, KeithDraws, RPG., Shades of Vengeance

I know I’ve been a bit quiet lately. That’s because I’ve been working on all the art for this:

You can visit the Kickstarter here to learn all about it.
https://goo.gl/q9f89E

We made Number 1 in Amazon’s “Humorous Science Fiction” Chart

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beautiful woman, Digital art, dog, E.M. Foner, Humorous Science Fiction, illustration, Keith Draws, robot, Science fiction art, space station, starship, Union Station

Just found out “Union Station 1, 2 and 3” bundle, hit number one on Amazon’s “Humorous Science Fiction” Chart! And “Union Station 1″ is number two! ” While Union Station 13″ is number Four on the chart. Just wow…
Well done E.M. Foner!

Union station 3 book bundle cover art © Keith Draws

“Punishment” by Guerin Zand

Tags

alien, Chris Foss, design, Digital art, Fantasy, fantasy woman, Frank Frazetta, Jim Burns, Keith Draws, Peter A. Jones, Peter Elson, Sci Fi, science fantasy, science Fiction, Science fiction art, science fiction illustration, sexy woman, superhero woman, Todd Lockwood

Following the theme of the first book “Child’s Play“, Guerin asked me to show how the main character (and possibly the whole of Earth) is punished for their bad behavior by the Alien Race, who guide human advancement in the background- Mainly through the actions of Guerin’s Nemesis, Julie of the Bree.  I decided to take the viewpoint of a child being told off by their mother:

Punishment cover art © Keith Draws

The book is on sale here and if you get there quick enough it’s free and it’s a great read.

Once again you can see many of my influences there. My buddy Jim Burns (alien tech and just pure astounding difference) , Chris Foss and Peter Elson (for the sheer massive scale and detail they can imbue in their work), Peter A. Jones ( for the dynamism and the colour), Todd Lockwood (whose painting technique and compositional sense astounding to me) and once again Frank Frazetta (who achieves sexy, and dynamic with sheer class).

Posters are available here: https://keithdraws.deviantart.com/art/Punishment-by-Guerin-Zand-706231250

Shadows in the Sky

Tags

Angus McKie, Chris Foss, Jim Burns, Keith Draws, Peter A. Jones, Peter Elson, Richard Tongue, shadows in the sky

Richard Tongues latest BattleCruiser Alamo cover

Shadows in the Sky cover art © Keith Draws

I really enjoy working on Richard’s Tongues Space opera covers. This time he asked me to do whatever I wanted and he’d use it as inspiration so I did a Dyson Sphere. It was something I tried to do 30 odd years ago but never finished so this gave me the chance finally produce this.

You can probably recognize some hefty influence from people such as Chris Foss, Jim Burns, Peter Elson, Angus McKie and Peter A. Jones to name but a few. Those people are like Gods to me.

Can you spot the Alamo?

I just read the book and wow!

Posters and prints available here: http://keithdraws.deviantart.com/

Child’s Play by Guerin Zand

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Child's Play, Chris Foss, Digital art, Fantasy, Frank Frazetta, Frazetta, Guerin Zand, illustration, Jim Burns, Keith Draws, Peter A. Jones, Sci Fi, science fantasy, science Fiction, Todd Lockwood

When Gurin got in touch with me he told me:

 “I’ve seen your work for E. M. Foner’s Union Station series and I think your style is exactly what I am looking for.
I have the concept for what I want, based on an event in the book, and it does include a beautiful woman which I want to be sexy, innocent, funny but not sexual. That is why I think your work on Union Station is spot on.”

I liked the sound of this and after reading the book the image almost created itself in my mind. It’s an unusual book that tells the tale of a very different alien abduction. The protagonist has a lot of extraordinary experiences to deal with and uses his razor-sharp, yet gentle wit, to carry himself (and the reader) through the journey of a lifetime.
Guerin’s original idea was to have one of the main characters posed as I’ve shown her in front of the shuttle and while I liked this I was afraid it wouldn’t indicate enough  of what the reader would experience so I decided to feature some of the more spectacular scenery from the book too and after I’d worked out a layout, we both agreed this was the way to go.

Child’s Play cover art © Keith Draws

I’m sure if you care to look you’ll see some of the influences there. My buddy Jim Burns (he’s so good at alien tech and aliens in general that I always have to look through his stuff  just try and get into that headspace) , Chris Foss (for the sheer massive scale he can imbue in his work), Peter A. Jones ( for the dynamism and the colour), Todd Lockwood (whose painting technique and compositional sense astounding to me) and I’m of course trying to channel a little Frank Frazetta there (and I feel like maybe I succeeded a little this time).
I have to admit to being very pleased with the end result.

You can pick the book up here:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B071K95PG5

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071K95PG5

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/729865

and posters are here: http://keithdraws.deviantart.com/

Meghan’s Dragon

Tags

book cover, Cover Art, Dragon, E.M. Foner, Fantasy Art, illustration, Keith Draws, Magic, medieval, medieval girl, Meghan's Dragon, Mort Drucker, Todd Lockwood

I’ve been working with E. M. Foner for a few years now.

He writes science fiction and Fantasy with a light comedic twist. In this case the cover for “Meghan’s Dragon” was to feature a young girl and her Dragon (who happens to also be extremely hungry all the time). And I have to indicate the humor found in the story.

Comedic illustration is never the easiest thing to do but when it’s done well it can be hilarious.

Mort Drucker

For me, there is nobody better at this than Mort Drucker (famous mainly for his work in Mad Magazine).

So when faced with this challenge I looked at what he does. And what he does is incredible, he sets up situations and then punctuates the joke using the characters facial expressions. I also looked at the Dragons created by Todd Lockwood, which are all pretty scary and used that as a direction to avoid!  So with that in mind, I set about working on ideas and after several roughs and some to and fro between the Author and I/we finally settled on this.

My indicator that it works is that my kids laugh at it and immediately make up stories about what’s going on… Mind you, They are both under 9 years old and they laugh at my jokes too, so maybe that’s not the best guide… Anyway…

It’s probably the first time ever that I’ve welcomed people laughing at my work! Maybe I’m dragoning this post out a bit so I’ll end it here.

Here’s where you can get this book: https://goo.gl/iuLvGb

And posters are available here: http://keithdraws.deviantart.com/gallery/

Swords Of The Imperium

Tags

book cover, Bryan Choi, Cover Art, Cover design, Erica Carson, Fantasy Art, Frank Frazetta, golden ratio, Horse, Horseback, illustration, Keith Draws, science Fiction, Science fiction art, Swords of the Imperium, Todd Lockwood, Warrior on horse back

The challenge of producing art for a series.

Working on a series of covers is always a challenge and it’s important to retain a strong identity and feel. So far so good I think.

Swords of the Imperium cover art © Keith Draws

This is the second cover for the new series of science fantasy/dark fantasy books by Brian Choi and Erica Carson.
If you want to buy the book or want to know more about the Authors :

Amazon/KDP sale site: https://goo.gl/M9bxyO

Author website: www.carsonchoi.com

Author facebook: www.facebook.com/Bryan-Choi-16…

Author twitter: @bchoiemdoc

Posters here: http://keithdraws.deviantart.com/gallery/