Medu5a by Chris Sumption, 19" x 15" Digital using GIMP

I showed this at the Norwescon 35 Art show. It was originally a sixteen by twenty inch acrylic on canvas painting which was in turn based off of a sketch I created at the Norwescon 33 Artist Alley.

The Acrylic part is the foreground mechanical looking monster that I think sort of looks like the head of Medusa, circa the 1981 Clash of the Titans. Thus the name Medu5a. It sort of looked robotic, the 5 instead of the S made sense. I scanned in the canvas and then cut the Medu5a head out and color corrected. A background was created using a Hubble photo reference of the M16, Eagle Nebula. I tied it all together by giving the Medu5a head red glowing eyes. This worked on a couple of levels. First it payed homage to the 1981 movie reference. I think in that movie, Medusa's eyes glowed when she would turn intruders to stone. Second it links the foreground to the background. The glowing red eyes are very similar to the glowing pink stars. A happy accident or side affect from this choice is the depth of field feels flat. The three balls of light in a row, one of them a star, the other two eyes, look like they all exist in the foreground. The flatness is sold even further by the Medu5a head. It looks two dimensional. This is actually a style choice for this image. It's my interpretation of a Charles Wysocki painting.

Burlesque by Chris Sumption - 16" x 20" - Digital (using Painter)

This was a piece that I did in 2006. It's one of my robotic / construct beings as a burlesque dancer. I was trying to create a sense of awkwardness on the part of the robot. Like it only had four programmed moves and it didn't really understand what it was doing there.
What seemed to work was how the organic flowing cloth elements of the curtain and torn cape contrasted with the sharp mechanical features of the robot. Also, I liked how the robots legs are very static. It sort of looks like the torso and appendages are moving, but the legs are set. I think that's what makes the robot look awkward. Looking at this image again I noticed some messaging I did with the robot. It kind of looks like the robot might have wings or the skeletal parts of wings, or it might be holding its robotic equivalent of a wing or feather. I think I did this on purpose. My first memory of a burlesque dancer was from the movie "The Right Stuff" (1983). This kind of reminds me of the Sally Rand fan dance scene.
Of course there are ten and half million things that didn't work for me on this one, but that's art.
Other examples of my work can be found at:

Ziggurat Five by Chris Sumption - 10" x 12" Digital (Using Painter) - Copyright Dragondyne Productions

This image was created in 2005. It was used in a role playing game called Neverwhen made by Dragondyne Publishing. It was one in a series if illustrations depicting different viewpoints within the setting city.
Other examples of my work can be found at:

Alien Costume Concept by Chris Sumption, 16" x 20" Digital using Painter

Final Version

Intermediate Sketch (dolls for hands)

Initial Sketch

This was a purely digital piece I did in 2006 using Corel or actually it might have been the last Procreate version of Painter. It was originally a costume design concept that that didn't go anywhere with the customer. I then decided to illustrate it. What I thought was interesting about this one was what happened in the intermediate versions.
The initial sketch was done in one of my sketch pads with ink. The alien was supposed to be humanoid in shape with pincer like appendages. When I looked at the pincers with the forearm sleeves, I saw dolls. What if this alien had doll hands? I experimented with different looks, each one more and more demented. I finally had to make a good taste decision. Even though I thought they looked like dolls, what if someone else thought they looked like something more...
Other examples of my work can be found at:

Construct Mesh One by Chris Sumption - 16" x 20" - Digital using Painter

Construct Mesh Two by Chris Sumption - 16" x 20" - Digital using Painter

Equus Jester by Chris Sumption - 20" x 16" - Acrylic on Canvas

Low Battery by Chris Sumption - 16" x 20" - Digital using Painter

Ziggurat Two by Chris Sumption - 10" x 12" Digital using Painter - Copyright Dragondyne Productions

The Race by Chris Sumption - 19" x 15" - Digital Illustration using GIMP