Steam Crow Gallery

[steamcrow]

Hi there!

My name is Daniel, but I've been making art under the Steam Crow brand since 2005. I'm new here.

Since I'm really excited to find a monster community (finally) I thought that it might be nice to share some of my stuff here with you.



I grew up loving the Monster Cereals. My ma would only buy me Wheaties, so my hunger for them was never quite sated. It's probably one of the bigger reasons that I'm a cartoon-artist.



These are from this year, when I finally got off of my duff to make them. I grew up wanting to be a fantasy artist, but Frazetta never came out of my pencil quite right.



I love monsters, including Universal Monsters, but since I can't legally sell art of their characters (I'm not licensed), I tend to stick to Public Domain characters or things that I made up. Here, it's Shelley's book that I'm referring to.



I was a vampire for Halloween 6 years in a row. I LOVED Dracula as a kid.



I'm really fond of Nosferatu; he's crazy iconic for me.



Bad guys in big hats are always excellent.



Sometimes I like to make up my own movie posters. This one "Dark Unicorn" could be about a frankenstein unicorn, that haunts a little French town. (If it were really a movie, that is.)



I also grew up on Dungeons and Dragons, which was hugely influential in my life. I SO wanted to be a TSR artist (and writer) when I grew up. Instead, I started Steam Crow, and I'm making my own game based on the FUDGE system. It's called "Monster Commute."



Another for the gamers out there; this one makes fun of that first Dungeons and Dragons movie, and is designed after some of the first module designs.



As a kid, I LOVED plastic fangs. I finally made a tribute to them here this year.



I love folklore. Baba Yaga is a tale from my Czech ancestry. (Well, Russian... she was all over.)



A Halloween Countdown piece from last year. I started my own Halloween Event in Phoenix called "Keen Halloween."



Since I now live in the Southwest, I've been trying to learn more about local monsters.



"Ditch Witch" isn't the nicest name for Llorona.



A straight up parody of the similarities of "The Mummy" and "The Invisible Man." Fez, Bandages, goggles, robe.



In case you were wondering, a "Steam Crow" is a steam-powered scarecrow. Or whatever I decide it should be that day.



That's probably enough for post #1.

Thanks for the kind welcome that I've received here so far. I'm really glad to have found UMA.

[Dr. Madd]

A neat sort of style, to say the least. Unique, even.\

[Scatter]

Dan, Loving your style brother!

[Flower]

Enjoyed your art and post.

[Unknown Primate]

You've really got a groovy style, Daniel!

[RedKing]

excellent! I love your style!

[ChrisW]

Bravo! Shag with more style and bite (hope you aren't offended by the comparison)! Really like the weathered textures. Nice color schemes, imaginative imagery.  I like them all but I'm really grabbed by the Dracula cover - the eyes (mirrored by the stars) are arresting, to say the least.
Are any of these commercial projects?

[steamcrow]

Thanks for looking and commenting guys.

ChrisW - Not offended by the Shag comparison. He was a vector artist, too... so that moves us into the same general design area. Our influences are pretty different, though.

>Commercial projects?

Yeah, I'm an independent illustrator. (These are a few of my prints.)

Basically, I design art (in the forms of prints, books, t-shirts - basic merch) and sell them at lots of events like SDCC, Phoenix Comicon, Denver Comic-con, etc. (I don't really do Services work for other folks... I thrive building my own personal brand of stuff.)

[ChrisW]

I understand - you ARE your client - the toughest client an artist can have.
The reason I ask is I'm an illustrator as well, but am usually working on commissions. I also have a full time gig doing animation and video for the Army.
Thanks again for posting your work - great stuff!

[steamcrow]

Here are some little 5x7/postcard images:



A steampunk poisoner/plague doctor type of character.



Every day, I require morning coffee. I like this, I cannot lie.



On this one, you can write a custom image for the little Dracula to say.



Our take on a birthday card. I always thought that birthday cards with Hot Air Balloons were cheesy... so here's a Mummy version.



Since these images are much smaller than those first prints in the first post, they purposely have a lot less detail.

More later... I'm prepping for another 2 back-to-back conventions. So. Behind.

[steamcrow]

Awesome, it's nice to meet you Chris!

I've been a graphic designer, doing what other folks tell me to do, for coming up on 20 years. So, with Steam Crow, I decided to work on my ultimate dream job - illustrating what I wanted to make.

So, I don't make as much money (not doing commissions or services work) but I'm so much happier. Of course, the solution is different for everyone.

[markchro]

Daniel! Many thanks for posting your charming selection from the steamcrow portfolio!

[steamcrow]

Thanks, Mark!

Your work is really superb. Much great talent here.

I'm glad that folks are so cool at UMA.

[steamcrow]

This WALL MONSTERS Kickstarter project is something I'm currently working on - basically articulated paper Halloween monsters. Hand painted, they'll be about 36 inches tall. I'm probably going to hand silkscreen them myself. (They'll be printed on dark brown cardstock.)

Designs include a Zombie, Bat Witch, Scarecrow, Skeleton, and Frankenstein Monster.

[long live kong]

Beautiful, inspiring  work steamcrow! My personal faves are Dr. Caligari, Dracula and 'The Invisible Mummy'!! ... Now how about a Der Golem? That guy's hairstyle is made for you!!