Now The Fun Begins.

My first ever Black Friday/Cyber-Monday sale is officially over, and I would like to thank everyone who bought a print and requested a commission. The next month is going to be one busy pain in my ass...and I wouldn't have it any other way.

So because of my schedule, nothing major today, just some new art. Meet Apofis Set (Uh-Poh-Fis Set), a villain I created for the Street Team story who will be a major thorn in the side of my hero Black Aizan and in the future, his protege Aizan.

More on the character will be revealed in a month or 2, but here's a little origin on the name.
Apofis -- 1) taken from the word Apophis, the name given to a near-Earth asteroid that caused a brief period of concern in December 2004 because initial observations indicated a small probability that it would strike the Earth in 2029.
2) taken from the Greek word Apophis, the variation of the Egyptian name Apep, who was the great adversary of the sun god, Re and was the very embodiment of the powers of dissolution, darkness and non-being. He was known by many epithets, ranging from evil lizard, opponent and enemy to world encircler and serpent of rebirth.
http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/apep.htm
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apep
3) Apophis was a ruler of Lower Egypt during the fifteenth dynasty and the end of the Second Intermediate Period that was dominated by this foreign dynasty of rulers called the Hyksos.

 Set (also spelled Seth) was in Ancient Egyptian religion a god of the desert, storms, and foreigners but in later myths, was shown as the god of darkness, and chaos.

Now this is where things get interesting and the two names form a cohesive meaning. Set was at first benevolent and was even depicted as a protector of Ra, standing on the prow of his night barque spearing Apep(Apophis).During the Second Intermediate Period, a group of Asiatic foreign chiefs known as the Hyksos (literally, "rulers of foreign lands") gained the rulership of Egypt. Set was the god they found most similar to their own chief god, and became to be worshiped as the chief god.Set, who had traditionally been the god of foreigners, thus also became associated with foreign oppressors.The Hyksos King Apophis is recorded as worshiping Set in a monolithic way and so represented a manifestation of evil. Set was equated with his old enemy, Apep.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Set_%28mythology%29

Just to show you there's more to mine from than just stories of Thor and Brothers Grimm.

Peace

"I'm better than 99% of these heathens/Pick a region,
Demonstrated in a flow harder than asthmatics breathing.."- Geist

Saleroom Doors Are Now Open!

My special BLACK FRIDAY to CYBER MONDAY SALE has officially begun! Looking for some great art for you or someone you love? Why not skip the malls and craziness this year and indulge your inner geek as I offer a sale on all posters in my portfolio for 50% OFF!! 
Not only that, but you will receive A FREE GIFT WITH EVERY PURCHASE!!

Just check out the art on my facebook page and make your choice now!
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.206007222784611.64756.198162636902403&type=3

Now let's say you already purchased one of my posters but would love a piece of ORIGINAL art-- I'm offering a discount on ANY commission you name. How about a pin-up, character design or logo? How about a special holiday themed commission  for Christmas, New Years or other? You name it, it's yours for a REDUCED PRICE!

* In addition, I have black and white versions of almost all of my pieces available, and those are only $8 or 2 for 10!!
* Just $5 covers all shipping and handling on all prints.

And to celebrate the sale, I recently added 5 new prints to the black and white gallery on facebook.
While you're there, make sure to "Like" my page cause at the end of the year I'm doing a random drawing where someone can win a Pyroglyphics Prize Pack. You're welcome.
Here it is again in case you missed it (lol) http://www.facebook.com/PyroglyphicsStudio


I hope you all had an amazing Thanksgiving.

Peace,
Shawn

Ahhh what the hell....here's some new art for ya. Don't say I don't love you guys.

Black Friday Sale!

Yup, I may not love the name but that won't stop the sales. From this Friday all the way through the weekend to Cyber-Monday, I will be offering a sale on all posters in my portfolio for...wait for it......50% OFF!! 
Not only that, but you will receive A FREE GIFT WITH EVERY PURCHASE!!

And just in case you don't find what you're looking for but would love a piece of ORIGINAL art, I'm offering a discount on ANY commission you name. How about a pin-up, character design or logo? How about a special holiday themed commission  for Christmas, New Years or other? You name it, it's yours for a REDUCED PRICE!
So check out the art and make your choice now!
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.206007222784611.64756.198162636902403&type=3

*Also, there was a mistake on the price listings for the posters, and you'll be happy to know that the price of the 14x20 posters isn't $20, but ONLY $$15! So you'll be getting 50% off of $15.
* In addition, I have black and white versions of almost all of my pieces available, and those are only $8 or 2 for 10!!
* Just $5 covers all shipping and handling.

So to celebrate the sale, here are 5 new available additions to the black and white gallery:

Dodger- 11x17 $8 (2 for $10)

Dr. Doom - 11x17 $8 (2 for $10)

Heroes and Villains- 11x17 $8 (2 for $10)

Omega Red 11x17 $8 (2 for $10)

Sinestro 11x17 $8 (2 for $10)

Peace.

Best Laid Plans

So I'll just cut to the chase- I was supposed to drop my regular blogs over the last few days and and it never happened. The way I figure it I owe you guys 3 blogs worth of updates/art and I like to deliver. Yes, I'm sometimes late on my commissions or projects, but one thing I always try to do is be fair. If I'm late I always try to find some way to make it up to the person--whether that be a discount, a free poster, free art, whatever--I always try to make it right. And for anyone who sticks by me, please believe I'm going to stick by YOU!

So here now are some pieces of art that I wasn't planning on dropping just yet, but I feel you deserve the backstage access.

Character turn-around of Taken from A Crown of Horns

Chapter 15 art from A Crown of Horns

Street Team Universe entry of "Surge" from A Hero's Diary

Street Team Universe entry of "Aaron" from A Hero's Diary

Street Team Universe entry of "Black Aizan" from AIZAN, my creator owned project.

Commission for Ben Rosario III. Colors by K. Myles.

 
I hope you enjoyed this peek into the stash, next month I might drop one just for shits and giggles. Dropping these has raised a pretty big question for me though. People have been asking me to put together a solo artbook for a while now, and while I've released some sketchbooks in the past, the benifit of hindsight has shown me how piss-poor they were. I feel time is right to put together an official Art of Shawn Alleyne tome. To do it right though, I would love to launch a kickstarter to aid in the presentation. I was thinking of doing it in December, but I'm scared that that would be too tough of a month for people to donate, with all the holidays and stuff. Which brings me back to that question I mentioned: Do you think I should wait till next year to launch a kickstarter? I appreciate all advise.

Peace. 

"This is under-waterfall training/Lightening shock, hail raining
Last Protector, Ong Bok, big war elephant maiming." - Geist

Wizards and Flying Things

Happy Monday Peoples!

How were your weekends? Creative I hope.
As promised on Friday I have some more info regarding A Crown Of Horns that will allow you to finally breathe again.

CONVENTION!
This Friday, Saturday and Sunday(Nov. 11-13th) I will be in Austin, Texas for the Wizard Comic Con. I'll have the usual assortment of goodies: namely Street Team comics, posters and video games; give-aways; prints of some of your favorite characters; and some fancy-dancy paper ready to be made into commissions. (No, seriously! I just got some engraved, personalized sheets I'm dying to try out.)
And making his first convention appearance behind a table will be John Cullins, author of A Crown of Horns.We'll be holding it down with some cool stuff and will be taking all your Crown related questions. Check the Wizard site for more details on the show: http://www.wizardworldcomiccon.com/home-tx.html

This will be my first time in Texas and only my second time flying this year. Got-DAMN I'm nervous! Pray for me people.

KICK-ASS COVER!
 

Oohhhhhhhh yeah!!
Shoutout to Blair 'Bad-mamma-jamma' Smith for the sick color work. As you can see the cover is a wrap-around illustration sporting all the major characters in the book. From the top clockwise we have the baddy Demonra, Serenity the Royal guard, Taken the thief, Gerrick the wizard, Draylen the Damned, Temple Priest, and...a kid praying by a well. (Don't worry, he's there for a reason).

HOW DO I RESERVE MY COPY OF THE BOOK?
Easy..
1) go to the facebook site: http://www.facebook.com/Broken1Publishing 
2) inbox your message saying you want to reserve a copy
3) provide your email and any contact info
Done

Right now the book is at the printers and we're still getting all the last minute trimmings situated, with the biggest detail being the final cost of the book, but we're looking at something within the $15-$20 range. As soon as we have more info we'll let you guys know.
And don't forget, on the Crown FB site we'll be doing 2 contests. One will be for all the people who've liked us so far, and another (with even more awesome prizes) will be for all the people who pre-order a copy of the book.

Since I'll be in Texas on Friday I'll be posting a special Thursday blog, with my weekend wrap-up next Monday. Thanks for viewing peeps.

Peace.

"I'm earthly born but heaven sent/ This is water-walking movement
I cross seas and turn oceans to streams/
Cross streams, and turn liquid to steam
My presence pristine/touch bitches and turn the wicked to Queens."- Geist

A Crown Of Horns

And not what I called it for a while, "A Crown of Thorns." Don't know why, just something that was stuck in my head like the lyrics to a favorite song till you really stop and listen to the words only to be like, "..wait, they said what?!" In this case the writer, John Cullins, one day said "by the way Shawn, it's A Crown Of HORNS". Opps.

Well, John isn't only a forgiving guy, he's a giving guy, and he was kind enough to offer me the position of Art Director for his company Broken 1 Publishing. But let me back up, and let you know a little about what is this Crown thing.
A Crown of Horns is a fantasy novel set in a mythical world of wizards, evil priests, demons, sword-fights and nightmarish creatures. We follow the main protagonist Draylen(also known as The Damned to his enemies..and he has plenty), as he seeks to avenge all the pain that was thrust upon him as a child, only to be caught up in an ancient prophecy. Along the way, as with any good fantasy story, Draylen meets an assortment of colorful individuals who will play pivotal roles in his journey and personal growth. There's the wise wizard who's guarding a personal tragedy and dark secret. The thief who may be more than he seems. And the warrior princess who's not Xena.

  Now here's where I come in. Crown is an illustrated novel featuring 15 pieces of chapter art (one for every chapter..convenient, right) as well as some spot illustrations. But before I could sit down and draw these chapters there was a ton of design work that went into capturing the characters of this world. Adding to the pressure was the fact that I'm not the most comfortable in a fantasy setting, so it was definitely a challenge.

Once everything was approved I breathed a huge sigh of relief. Then came the really hard part, just finishing the damn thing. The whole purpose of the chapter art was to give the reader a more immersed experience as well as bridge the gap between the literal medium and the visual medium. The art for all the chapters was penciled by me and inked(all but chapter 8) by artist extraordinaire Will Jamison.
(Check out Will's work here: http://afromation9.blogspot.com/  ;  http://afromation.deviantart.com/ )

But finally the work is over and the book is off to the printers. All in all, it's been a rewarding experience so far and I learned alot on this project. I'm happy to say there will be many more exciting things to come from me and Broken 1 in the future, so make sure you follow the in-and-outs on the Broken 1 facebook site and like us. http://www.facebook.com/Broken1Publishing

That's it for now but tune in next time when we let you know about the next convention we'll be at, reveal the kick-ass cover to the book, as well as info on how you can reserve your copy.

Boo-ya-kah.