Dave Swartz Art

Rex & Zarate

2010-02-21T18:38:00.001-08:00

Evolution of Process

2010-01-16T09:37:00.001-08:00

Recently I've been working on a new approach to a project I've been working on for sometime now. I've been looking at some inking techniques that other comic book artists are doing, Sean Gordan Murphy and Francis Manapul just to name a few. So I've decided to start working with ink for the Shovelface project. I hope that soon I can start putting out some more information about this book soon. Stay tuned!

Coming Soon...

2009-12-14T09:36:00.001-08:00

Coming Soon...

2009-11-22T14:34:00.001-08:00

Blue Sparrow

2009-11-04T18:42:00.000-08:00

I recently did a commission piece for a movie that's being film locally in Ann Arbor. I figured I would post something since everything I've been doing lately is to be kept under wraps. Enjoy!

the Adventures of Ace & Spade

2009-08-08T18:44:00.000-07:00

So for the past few months I've been working on a comic book. I wanted to wait till the end to post any of the images so here are a few...

2009-03-21T14:08:00.000-07:00

I just realized the other day I haven't posted this yet. So here it is, a concept for a series where batman kills joker. I know sorry everyone about the gun, I know he would never, but I thought it looked cool.

Zeus & Hera

2009-02-10T21:18:00.000-08:00

I've been working on some side projects including this piece. It's for a project I'm doing where I'm redesigning some Gods and Goddess. This is the first and hopefully not the last.

Another Brit

2009-01-15T14:05:00.000-08:00

So my friend Brit told me to draw her this superhero that she had come up with all by herself. So naturally I obliged and this is the product. The concept is she is the Goddess of Archery and she also happened to be Mother Nature. She protects the forests and all creature that inhabit them. She can create a cloak and a bow and arrow out of the leaves and roots of the trees around her.

Tiger and the Lady

2008-12-16T13:30:00.000-08:00

One of the many christmas presents I did for somebody.

Updates & Tags

2008-12-04T14:29:00.000-08:00

So I revisited the last piece i posted and thought it could use something. So here is what I came up with, does anyone prefer the new one?

Father & Mother

2008-11-14T11:26:00.000-08:00

And here is the final! (Sorry Lee I had more people like these colors.) The concept is a confrontation between Father Time and Mother Nature. A while back I wanted to do a series of paintings involving mother nature and the many faces she can have. Then I thought maybe I should do more than just one character, maybe two? So then I thought, Father Time is sort of the arch enemy of Mother Nature, right? So this is what I came up with. Enjoy.

2008-11-12T18:47:00.000-08:00

So I've been working on a new piece and I thought I would post the color comps first. If anyone has a preference for one please comment and let me know why.

Super Brit

2008-11-08T17:38:00.000-08:00

So I did some work for a former classmate of mine a few weeks ago. After I finished the project she asked if I could draw her as a superhero. My first thought was,"oh crap I don't know how to do this"! I did anyway and I think it turned out pretty well. She gave me no direction, told me to go nuts so this is the concept...She's a cross between Blade and say Batgirl or Huntress. She is super strong and heals easy. I'm getting better at drawing women and I think this is a step in the right direction.

Werewolf

2008-10-20T08:28:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted in while so I figured I put up something i did a while ago. Right now I'm working on a series of paintings based on mother nature (updates soon). This one is my final design for my main character the Werewolf. I really wanted to push this design, like I did with the Frankenstein, and I think it works really well. Let me know what you think.

New Idea

2008-08-18T15:51:00.000-07:00

So this is one of the things I've been working on after I got back from San Diego. It's not quite finished yet so if anyone has any comments please feel free to speak up.

2008-07-19T15:44:00.001-07:00

So here are some finished pages, I have another four to do still but i figured I'd update this thing with some of my own work, enjoy!

2008-07-01T13:46:00.000-07:00

So I haven't posted anything since graduating so I figured I would tell everyone what I've been up to. I started working on a comic book project involving this image of a world's finest comic book from the late 1960's. I didn't want to write my own story I just wanted draw, so I thought wouldn't it be cool if i just took an old comic book, kept all the campy dialogue, and redo all the art. So I picked one of my favorites where four crooks get one of Superman's powers due to some organ transplant surgery after his death. Batman and Robin have to stop them in Superman's absences and also have to stop Lex Luthor from getting his hands on Superman's heart! I know it's really campy, but it's not as easy as it sounds. I'll try to scan in some of the pages I have done later this week.

2008-04-28T18:41:00.000-07:00

This is one of the spreads for my final comics project. The story is about a superhero that recovers a purse for a red-headed beauty. The final scene is twenty five years later, our hero is fat and poor dreaming of his former exploits as a proud crime fighter.

Dracula's Castle

2008-04-23T07:17:00.001-07:00

New concept for Dracula's Castle. The idea is that Dracula desecrated a church in Transylvania and had it transported to London. When is arrived a group of demons reconstruct it upside down into a rock face. This would be the final scene for my video game.

New Characters

2008-04-10T13:15:00.000-07:00

My main character, Lance Talbot a.k.a. the Werewolf. The first is his party look, next is his casual wear, lastly his after wolf-out phase.

2008-04-10T13:11:00.000-07:00

This is my final Frankenstein design. I know he looks a lot like the one I did months ago, but I wanted to draw him more exaggerated so here it is. Let me know what you think.

2008-03-10T15:11:00.000-07:00

I did this one a while back, but it was really unfinished and needed more texture. I'm on spring break and have finally found the time to finish this one up. Let me know what you think.

2008-03-09T14:00:00.000-07:00

So I thought I would put together a full process image that illustrates all the stages of my process. The first two are thumbnails , the third is a rough drawing, the four the final; drawing, fifth is the chosen color comp, and the last two are both different versions of the final image. I sort of like elements of both. Please, let me know what you think.

My First Comic (Believe it or Not)

2008-03-03T21:14:00.000-08:00

This is one of my spreads for my Sequential Class. The story is about this woman who is trying to escape an unknown man. As she climbs these stairs her hair becomes longer. With this project I was trying to practice drawing women and hair because those are my two things I'm the weakest at drawing.

The Final Party

2008-02-27T21:06:00.000-08:00

So this is the final piece for the party scene. I played around with different color combinations on this one. I'd really like some feedback if anyone wants to comment.

2008-02-20T14:22:00.000-08:00

I thought I would post some process work instead of more finished projects. These are color studies for my next project, yes I know I can actually draw something other than a monster or a werewolf. Anyway let me know what you think.

2008-02-16T13:32:00.000-08:00

So here is the latest. It's a transitional scene for my werewolf character. I still want to improve upon it, add some torn shirt pieces, textures, maybe some different colors in the background. Anyway let me know what you think, Always interested to get feedback.

2008-02-11T19:05:00.000-08:00

Well i was instructed to update my blog and it just so happens I have some time. So I don't know who, if any of you, have been following the new Ultimates 3 series by Jeph Loeb and Joe Mad, but I thought I'd take a second to talk about it. I've read the blogs and about 99% of people hate the writing, yeah i tend to agree, but I'll make a final judgment when it's all said and done. I really just want to say to all the ignorant comic book fans out there that hate Joe Mad's art, the man is a god! Yeah I don't agree with everything he's done, but this book is great, a perfect example of the utilization of traditional comics and new digital painting technology. Sorry if this sounds like a huge rant but it's been bothering me how everyone is getting down on the guy because he doesn't ink his stuff. Come on people figure out something else to complain about.

2007-12-19T16:51:00.000-08:00

I can't freakin' wait!

2007-12-19T16:45:00.000-08:00

These are the first two paintings I've done were I found out how to paint directly on the pencil. It's really easy to do and you can get some cool effects.

2007-12-19T16:42:00.000-08:00

So this was one of my final pieces for this term. I really enjoyed painting it. In this concept painting I wanted to illustrate the Werewolf's final battle with Dracula (he's the demon dude to the right).

2007-11-29T15:26:00.000-08:00

Ship concept for the Illustration Calendar.

2007-11-29T14:24:00.000-08:00

This is a environment concept for the interior of Dracula's Throne room. It's an upside down cathedral built into the underside of a cliff. Hopefully if I can get my butt in gear I might actually draw the outside of it.

2007-11-29T14:13:00.000-08:00

This is a concept for a fight scene between my main character and Frankenstein. This is the second time I painted it because the first turned out to be a huge waste of time. I'm really only starting to learn how to work digitally and I recently turned to photoshop instead of Painter. Photoshop is so much more versatile. I'm really glad d I jump ship.

New Concept Stuff

2007-11-08T18:23:00.001-08:00

These are the latest things I've been working on. I'm working in Photoshop primarily which is such a better program than Corel. Anyway the concept for the dark ugly environment is Dracula's Castle. It's a old gothic style church that has been rebuilt upside-down under a cliff. The creature is a viking demon who whould be a low level obstacle character within the game. I enjoy any feed back I can get. Thanks

My Monsters

2007-09-19T05:50:00.001-07:00

So after being held at gun point and told I must start a blog I figured I should probably add something. So these are my monsters. I'm constantly improving them so there will be new ones soon (with any luck). Right now I'm working on an environment sketch for Dracula's Castle which is turning out to be really cool. I just started really working on this project so I don't have much to share, but I will post more when I have the time.