Here is a link to a nice reminder by Adam Savage of Tested/Mythbusters fame, on the problem of recasting. I've posted about this issue before and Adam hits all the points perfectly. Thanks to Adam for picking up another kit! Here is the link!
CYRUS LONGBONES AND THE YETI KINGDOM
Cover art for book 2 in Jeremy Mathiesen's swashbuckling Cyrus Longbones trilogy! A full wrap illustration was created for the paperback print edition and the front cover was re-puposed for the ebook and audio book versions.
Published by Viking House Publishing. Thanks to Jeremy!
EK COSMONAUT SERIES BACK IN STOCK
The 3 kits of the EK Cosmonaut Series are back in stock at Industria Mechanika! Expertly sculpted by Gene Campbell these 1/8th scale kits feature cast resin parts, metal wires and decals. The perfect addition to the more adventurous modeller's display case!
As I mentioned in a previous post, the 1/6th scale Dystopic kits are also back in stock.
Get them at the IMech shop here!
THE ROOKIES
I'm going to be on the judging panel again for The Rookies, a yearly international awards competition for student artists, designers, animators, creators, etc. Every year they hand out a bunch of great prizes and paid internships.
Entries for the 2018 competition are now closed, by you can check out some of the amazing entries at: therookies.co
Given the large amount of interest and applications to the competition this year judging has been pushed back a couple weeks, but winners should be announced in mid July.
DUCHESS UPDATE
A few shots of the Duchess sculpt....highlighting Gene Cambell's great work on the modelling. We had a few delays during the the production of this one but the sculpt is finished and the kit is in printing/production with Industria Mechanika.
This kit will be a companion to the Dystopic kit......sharing the same, large 1/6th scale.
Will post updates, release dates, etc. in the near future!
DYSTOPIC
The Dystopic model kit is back in stock at Industria Mechanika! 1/6 scale resin with etched metal parts, metal wires, decals, and high quality casting. The real thing....not that bootlegged garbage!
Sculpted by Gene Campbell.
Get one at the IMech shop here.
TUF VOYAGING
My illustration of Haviland Tuf, George R. R. Martin's cat loving space adventurer, has been licensed for the cover of the new Spanish language edition of "Tuf Voyaging"! I did this illustration a few years ago for Wired Magazine (for an article regarding the publication of a new edition of Tuf Voyaging for the English market), so it is cool to see it used again. The book is available now and published by Nova/Penguin Random House.
Thanks to Joana Lopez at Penguin Random House.
Book display at the Libreria Gigimesh in Barcelona, Spain.
GRAFFICA INTERVIEW
Life has been pretty chaotic for me so far this year, so I'm catching up on some older news...but here is an interview I did a few months back with Spanish design/illustration magazine Gràffica.
We discuss how I got into art, my career path, working with Nintendo and Microsoft and the EK Series.
Anyways, check it out here. I hope you can read Spanish!
Thanks to Alicia Juan and Graffica!
UNHOLINESS ARRIVES BY SATELLITE
I recently became involved in a project that requires/affords me the opportunity to dive back into my Entartete Kunst work to create a few pieces that, for various reasons, I had omitted from the first series. This is the first one that i have finished...and I won't get into any details regarding the project here, but there are a few more new EK images coming down the pipe in the near future.
Enjoy!
FURIOUS....no not really...
Over the past couple years I've helped out on Anki Overdrive with character design and illustration. Earlier this year I was asked to work on their Fast & Furious cross over...again with character design and illustration. Working on film related projects can be bit tricky...as you have to jump through many levels of approval: internal developer approval, production studio approval, the I.P. holder approval and then the actors themselves. But I've worked on other film related projects in the past, so I know the drill. Things went fairly smoothly, but there were a few hick ups along the way, with the scope of the work being cut back, the Anki art director being replaced half way through the project and a few scheduling issues. But in the end, the work was finished and was given over to Anki. Fast forward a few months to release and I see that the characters that I had done have been changed - painted over and modified with body parts skewed and scaled. It was disappointing to see. But you can't get too upset as these things. At the end of the day it is their property so they do as they wish and the new versions must have been approved by Universal and the actors.....so I guess everyone else is happy with it. That is the way it goes....
Anyways, here are my originals.....
VIKING HOUSE PUBLISHING
Here is a logo design I did recently for small independent publisher Viking House. I usually shy away from straight up graphic design gigs....as I am much more of an illustrator than a graphic designer, but this one seemed that it would be pretty fun. It definitely helped that they had fairly good idea of what they wanted, a design blending a dragon and a viking longship, so that made the task easier. We went through a few different design iterations and we eventually settled on this.
After the primary logo was finalized, different logo display options were created.
Thanks to Jeremy!
HAPPY (HONK) HOLIDAYS
This one is a holiday card graphic designed for Toronto based marketing and design firm G.L. Smith Planning & Design. They wanted something fun, that spoke to tech, design and Canada, but given current sensibilities, couldn't have any overt Christmas imagery or motifs. After a few iterations and options we settled on "The Greeting Machine", a bold graphic design of a contraption that displays well wishes and incorporates cute robotic interpretations of iconic Canadian animals.
The final design was printed as a greeting card to be sent out to clients, colleagues, friends, etc., and it was also printed as a large format poster for use within the G.L. Smith office.
Thanks to Matthew at G.L.Smith Planning & Design.
MR. BODHI
Years ago I designed a group of mascots for Vancouver based game developer Next Level Games. These simple, graphic characters, known as the NLG Family, were created to represent different aspects of the company's culture and were used in internal branding situations. As the company celebrated it's 15th year, they asked if I would design a new "family member", one that would encompass some new traits that the company has picked up along the way: wisdom/experience, awareness and consideration.
After several design rounds Mr. Bodhi was born. He is meant to be jolly and wise so visually he is somewhat reminiscent of Budai, the Laughing Buddha, and his silhouette is meant to be similar to the Mandelbrot Set. His long flexible arms enable him to hug any sized frame and his colours are warm and inviting.
It was a little challenging designing a character to fit in with a group of designs I did so many years ago...but in the end I think he turned out pretty well.
EK COSMONAUT 02 BACK IN STOCK
The 1/8th scale EK Cosmonaut 02 is back in stock over at Industria Mechanika. Order now if you want to get one of these shipped out before Christmas!
Get one at: industriamechanika.com/shop/derek-stenning
The inventory of the 1/6th Dystopic kit is also getting low, and my not be re-printed until late 2018, so if you are interested in that kit, now may be the time to pick one up!
TWINS
Here are a few pics of a personal commission done for a client out in Toronto.:
The piece was created to celebrate the birth of the client's twins, a boy and a girl. The composition is similar to the Taijitu, the Chinese yin and yang symbol, and encompasses the idea of individual forces that are seemingly opposed are also complementary and interconnected.
As with other personal commissions I've done in this series, the final image was printed as an archival quality giclee on fine art paper.
Thanks to Matthew and Terry!
BOOTLEGGER....AGAIN......
They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery…but this isn’t cool! It looks like those clowns at “Dream Cast” are at it again...bootlegging my EK model kits! Last fall they had released copies of the three figures in the 1/8th scale EK Cosmonaut Series, and now they have managed to produce a knock off of the popular 1/6 scale Dystopic kit. These bootlegged kits are recast from an original kit, often using cheap materials and parts, so they are of an inferior quality. But more importantly, they are produced without consent, and completely cut the creators, Gene, myself and Industria Mechanika, out of the loop. So if you are interested in purchasing a kit, please order directly from Industria Mechanika at: industriamechinka.com
DYSTOPIC BACK FOR PRE-ORDER
1/6th scale Dystopic resin kits are back for pre-orders! Sculpted by Gene Campbell and produced by Industria Mechanika, this popular kit hasn't been in stock since January.....
EK COSMONAUT KITS
All three 1/8th scale EK Cosmonaut kits are back in stock over at Industria Mechanika (I think this is the first time all 3 kits are available at the same time). Expertly sculpted by Gene Campbell, and produced by Industria Mechanika, these are great, high quality garage kits.
As I mentioned in a couple previous posts, bootlegged versions of these kits appeared last fall, but you can be sure that these are the real thing!
So if you need a kit or 2 to complete the series, or if you are looking for a full set, now is the time to pick them up!
CRYUS LONGBONES
Here is a cover I did for Cyrus Longbones and the Curse of the Sea Zombie, the first book in a young readers series by Jeremy Mathiesen. This one was fun to illustrate, as there was a lot to pull from Jeremy's story.....an action packed adventure with an interesting setting.....think Pirates of the Caribbean meets Keepers of the Maser. Jeremy wanted a murky-like feeling...which worked well with my desaturated, hazy style. I also had the opportunity to create the logo and tag-line wordmark.
Cyrus Longbones and the Curse of the Sea Zombie will be available later in the year from Viking House Publishing.
MORE PRINTS IN THE SHOP!
Some more prints have been added to the shop! All are high quality limited edition giclees printed on fine art paper. Signed and numbered with a certificate of authenticity. Various sizes, shapes, etc. Check them out in the shop!
