Space Art by Christopher Doll

Tag: space art

  • Arrakis and the Seven Sisters

    Arrakis and the Seven Sisters

    Today’s painting with my good friend, Justin from The Drunken Easel. Neither of us were feeling the muse, but we pressed on anyway.

    I finished off a painting I started earlier of the Pleiades, aka The Seven Sisters. It’s a brilliant gem of a star cluster that’s prominent from Fall to Winter here in the northern latitudes.

    The Pleiades, on the wall

    My second painting was a bit of a struggle. I was trying out a primed board that was way too smooth for my acrylic paint. But I pressed on and ended up with a reasonably decent depiction of a sandworm from DUNE, my favorite book of all time. The color tones match those used by Vincent DiFate for his book cover illustrations in the late 1970’s.

    Justin turned out a really great abstract piece:

    It’s important to press on, even if you’re not in the mood.

  • MUSE Magazine Cover Art

    MUSE Magazine Cover Art

    Keep an eye out for the April 2014 issue of MUSE Magazine, which features articles about Space Elevators. My Space Elevator piece is to be featured on the front cover!

    Muse_April2014

    A Space Elevator is literally an enormous elevator from the ground on Earth to a fixed location in space. People and hardware are delivered to space with a train-like elevator car, eliminating the need for expensive and dangerous rockets. The idea goes back to famed Science Fiction author Arthur C. Clarke, and more recently Robert L. Forward who worked on building some of the first real investigations on such a technology before his death in 2002.

    We are decades away from building such a device, but the idea is being pursued in spite of the fact that no material known to science is strong enough to be used as a 600 mile cable from the ground to space. Yet.

    It’s possible that a space elevator will be built on our moon, which would be a far simpler engineering task. Time will tell, in the meantime I hope you enjoy my Space Elevator piece and be sure to check out MUSE magazine when it hits the shelves.

    Cheers!

    Space Elevator 2013-01-04 (02.13.20-229 PM)

  • Digital Sketches

    Digital Sketches

    While clearing off some space on my iPad, I found a bunch of sketches that I’ve never posted. When I sit down to paint, I always warm up with some sketches. Doesn’t matter if I’m working in a digital format or traditional media. The warm up helps me get into the groove.

    Sometimes these sketches take on a life of their own and become finished pieces. Other times I just lost interest or the idea didn’t quite gel the way I wanted. And some of these were merely an exercise to try out a style or trick. As I look back over the last year, I’ve probably spent too much time in the quick sketch stage but it’s helped me knock off the rough corners here and there.

    So here’s a gallery of quick studies to enjoy:

    Sketch Gallery

  • Book Cover Art

    Book Cover Art

    In conjunction with my good friend Andrew McDonald, a talented photographer and all-around creative individual, I’ve put together a few samples of cover art for books. These could be used for printed or electronic books, and can be formatted to fit a variety of sizes. Enjoy, and check out more of Andrew’s photography on his site!

    Cover Art with Photos by Andrew McDonald

     

    Cover Art – Christopher Doll

    And here are a few using my own Space & Science Fiction art:

  • Spaceship Speed Sketch

    Spaceship Speed Sketch

    SpeedSketech_Spacecraft

    Felt like a spacecraft sketch tonight.

    Drawn with Photoshop CC and a Wacom Intuos 3 tablet

  • Featured on Amazing Stories Magazine

    Featured on Amazing Stories Magazine

    This week I was featured on the Amazing Stories website in a series that profiles Space Artists, members of the IAAA (International Association of Astronomical Artists). I’m honored and privileged to have been selected for this article alongside artists that I’ve looked up to over the years. If you get a chance, check it out:

    IAAA Gallery: Christopher Doll – Experience Designer

  • Open House – Thursday, June 6th at Trabant Coffee in Seattle

    Open House – Thursday, June 6th at Trabant Coffee in Seattle

    If you happen to be in the Seattle area next Thursday, June 6th, drop on in at Trabant Coffee on 2nd Avenue and James Street. I’ll be hosting an open house for my first gallery showing there. We’ll have wine, beer, snacks, and of course Trabant’s amazing coffee. My work will be on display at Trabant for the month of June.

    Trabant Coffee & Chai

    Trabant Coffee

    602 2nd Avenue
    Seattle, Washington

     

  • My First Artist Credit

    My First Artist Credit

    One of my pieces was used in an online Russian article about Asteroid Mining and Planetary Resources. This is my first credit as a space artist, and I’m thrilled to check off another “to-do” off the list.

    I began the year with the intention of bootstrapping my artwork into a business of its own. Using the best suggestions and plans I’ve accumulated over the years on how to start any business out of pocket and with the tools at my fingertips. As I said before, this is a marathon not a sprint. I have no illusions of becoming fabulously wealthy by painting space scenes. It’s simply something I enjoy and feel compelled to create. The only trick really is to just do it.

    By putting my foot to the floor I’ve managed to check off a few other milestones on the journey:

    In the meantime I am still an active User Experience Designer for software with a number of fascinating projects in progress.