Starship Troopers Fan Art

Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein was one of my favorite books to read when I was young. Not only was the premise of guys in flying armored suits cool but also the delivery. Heinlein was great at describing things like radio chatter and the burden of military command in a way that made the entire read feel tangible and engaging. This is how I always imagined the MI from book. This particular soldier is barbecuing a giant arachnid with the much described hand flamer from the novel.

Artwork by Patrick Wheeler 

Space Wolves Tattoo

A friend commissioned me to paint a massive Space Marine of the Space Wolves chapter from Warhammer 40,000 so that he could tattoo it on his thigh. Being that I had a Space Wolves army as a kid I was ecstatic to paint it, though I can't imagine how much it's going to hurt being put on his leg.

The quote was also one of my favorites back from the old days of tearing through the rule book as a kid.

~Patrick

Note that Space Marines, Space Wolves, Warhammer 40,000, and the quote are all property of Games Workshop. This is fan art.

A Frog in my Pocket

This cute little guy is a commission work for a book cover- the fittingly named: "A Frog in my Pocket. It's a digital painting done with a similar color palate as Monet's "Water Lilies" at the request of the client. I started with several rough sketches of green tree frogs to get the details right before I strayed from reality and ventured into capturing the jovial nature of the face.

~Patrick

©2015 Patrick Wheeler

Magnolia's; Street View

Lately I've been working on capturing more realism and observing light and color. I did this piece in less than two hours as a paint-sketch. I believe this is a location in Charleston, South Carolina; which I visited several years ago.  Simple shapes and a recognition of color temperature as it pertains to the light source are what helps this piece come across as realistic. The flat black of the sign in the foreground makes for a surprising focal point when contrasted against the rich colors of the background. Slightly overcast light made for soft shadows as a storm front was moving out of the area while the freshly shining sun bathes the background in warm colors.

~Patrick

©2015 Patrick Wheeler

The Wolverine

The Wolverine

I enjoyed painting Max quite a bit and was inspired by the fantastic Weapon X by Barry Windsor-Smith to do another iconic character: The Wolverine. I tried to capture the mood of the book and above all, the fantastic characterization of The Wolverine. I generally haven't done much comic book art, so it was fun to try out some elaborate talk-bubbles that also aid in the immersion of the piece.

 ~Patrick

©2015 Patrick Wheeler

Atlas Wars

Atlas Wars

So, I haven't posted here for quite a while and there's a very good reason- I decided to complete an entire board game! The game is called Atlas Wars, and here are some pictures:

 Here is a picture of the completed prototype, with the box art, full color rulebook, board, pieces, reference sheets, and dice.

All and all, this required a year and a half of work from conception to completion. I can't thank my friends and family enough for play testing it with me and helping with many of the small details go into such a large project. The game itself is intended for 2 players (3+ in team play) for ages 10 and up. Game play takes anywhere between 30 minutes and 3 hours depending on how large of a game players would like to play.

Detail of the box art. I went for a more generic type of character here- the type of guy who isn't old but isn't young- who didn't look like this was his first rodeo but didn't look like he was bitter. I hope this draws in a sense of fun rather than stress but made it with some action so as not to be boring. I used the Rwenaori mountains (try saying that 5 times fast) as inspiration for Atlas Vega, the planet the game takes place on.

Because I've never considered myself adept at playing super complex games, my first goal was to make Atlas Wars easy to play and mechanically simple to grasp. However, I did not want to sacrifice any depth or feeling of realism. My primary intent was to create an experience that was not only competitive and well balanced, but also extremely immersive and flexible. Each player not only gets to choose the scenario, but also the units they want to play with as well as their starting locations on the board. This allows players to set up the types of games they want to play as opposed to be locked into a preconceived scenario and set-up.

Dynamic movement and terrain factors mean that battles occur when one player thinks they have the tactical advantage. A player might have a great strategy in place, but to paraphrase Helmuth Von Moltke: "No plan survives first contact with the enemy." Players must adapt to the unit types they are up against as well as where each piece is positioned. 

A point selection system, coupled with a variable play-length mechanic, further ensures that no game is ever the same. And while the game is played using the same board, each section offers a different type of terrain configuration such as wooded, open, mountainous, marshy, and one section with two islands. Players can test different areas of the board to discover what units they are best at playing with and where those types of units excel.

Board detail with a few of the game pieces. Each unit has a distinct set of attacks and movement abilities.

Atlas Wars is currently in "open beta," and I'm looking into some different publishing options. If you'd like to see more on the development of the game you can head over to my Facebook page: www.facebook.com/atlaswars  I hope you all will get the chance to play it soon! 

~Patrick

©2015 Patrick Wheeler

Brutaliation: an old school project

In what feels now like ages ago I was working my fingers to the bone to obtain my art degree from the Illinois Institute of Art in Schaumburg. A large part of my efforts went to a video game of my own creation, (the somewhat comically named) Brutaliation. After all that work it would be a crime if I didn't post up some of the art. Here I have both final renderings and some quicker concept pieces.

Here is a quick sketch of the badguys (named Maglats cause it sounds nasty) I did for anatomical purposes.

This is a 3D model created with 3D Studio Max and Zbrush.

These are some nice environment concepts.

Though I'm pretty self-critical (because I'm an artist and that's how you're supposed to be as an artist) I am pretty surprised how much I still like these. I would also like to add that I will be putting up some new work soon :)

-Patrick

©2012 Patrick Wheeler

Ascend

Ascend is a space empire board game concept, that draws its inspiration from the ever popular Dune series (which pretty much invented to genre). Specifically, I was inspired mostly by an old computer game called Emperor of the Fading Suns (which also borrowed heavily from the Dune universe).

This is the cover to the rule book which would probably do nicely as box art as well.

Or a book based off of the game, but that is a different story....

These are paintings for the various units that the player can produce and use to subjugate their fellow players.

For this game I wanted a cleaner and more realistic looking approach to the art, to reflect an advanced and enlightened civilization. This is in contrast to some of my other work, which takes a more energetic and wild approach. However, I wanted to retain much of the energy for the Death Commando picture, so that players will get a less subtle and more "in your face" feel when deploying a powerful unit.

-Patrick

©2011 Patrick Wheeler

Unopposed: the game that likes to be revisited

I think that everyone has a project that is never finished (Star Wars anyone? Which needs to be finished might I add...) and mine is Unopposed. I believe I was inspired by a card from the Battletech CCG when I was younger, in addition to the wonderfully brutal war scenarios my cousin, Bo, would come up with when he babysat me. I think he had seen the opening sequence of Total Recall one too many times....

Here is some cover art...

...and some possible board game pieces.

I prefer cover art that has a great deal of energy and makes you feel like you're in the center of battle. Frank Frazetta was great at this, portraying characters with dynamic and heroic poses- often times outnumbered and in danger. I like how this piece makes you feel like you are in a totally alien and hostile world, where death is everywhere and even the people look like cold, merciless, machines.

-Patrick


©2011 Patrick Wheeler