Brett Davis Illustration and Fine Art

02/07/2026

So, if you're following a long. Here's an update on my Brak character sketch. Started working on the final piece this week. He's turning out a little bluer than I want. But, then again, it could just be me not being patient with the process. I always think I'm making mistakes that are messing stuff up when I first start working on something. Then as I the piece takes shape, what I had envisioned comes out. The thing about colored pencil is that I'm building up layers and I still have quite a bit of layers to go.

Also included is a sketch of Mer-Man that I drew. It's based off of the Masters of the Universe, Masterverse action figure. I did some embellishing and adding of detail that wasn't on the toy, such as his shoulders looking like he has some exoskeletal plates on them. Also giving him an "earring," plus a dagger and a pouch. I also made his "skirt" look kind of like kelp. Let me know what you think!

Edit: Sorry put the wrong pic of Brak up. Still not to happy with the lighting on it.

02/07/2026

Pencil sketch of Mer-Man, based off of the Masterverse action figure.

01/28/2026

01/27/2026

Here's some new artwork if you've been following my admittedly sparse posting.

First off, I have my color study or color key if you will for a D&D character portrait I'm doing for a friend. The character's name is Brak and he's a goliath, with a pet grasshopper. I'll include my original sketch that I'll translate to the final painting.

Next, I have a character sketch I did during times that I could do some sketching. Mostly during church. Shhh! ... Lol, it's how I retain the information Pastor Jeremy is teaching. If I just took notes, then I'd be the one sleeping in our church's hand gestures of the 5th commandment. ;) ... I have a ton of these character ideas. So, I'm always jotting the ideas down for future sketches when they come to me.

I'm not usually one to do New Years resolutions, but I've actually made one this year, and that is to sit down and work on art for at least on hour a day. Life has gotten so busy with one kiddo in the 10th grade and the other in 7th, that only working on art when I can do so for 2 or more hours is just going to delay how much artwork I can get done. I haven't done it perfectly, but it has resulted in me completing the color key much faster.

If you're following along and you like what you see. Leave a comment or give me a thumbs up. Also, if you're a D&D player and would like a character portrait, get in touch with me. I haven't decided on the pricing yet that I would do for them, but I don't know if they'll be as much as other pieces. Thanks for following, and look forward to future posts!

11/05/2025

Finally done! ....

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I've finally completed this piece, that has taken me far too long to complete. I'll have both my first pass and my final pass up so you can see them side by side and see the difference. I have also included the original artwork by Allen Anderson that I used as reference. ... Remember I basically copied his work as an exercise for myself. It helps me learn, well all kinds of things really. From basics like good composition and color choices, to more complex stuff like kind of getting into the mind of the artists and why did he possibly choose these colors? Was it what the client wanted? His choices in compositional placement and subject matter.

It's a fun learning experience to, and a great way to hone skills when copying artists whose work you like and admire. Like I said this was just for me. And some of those questions I asked above I can't fully answer, because the artist has long since passed and I'm only guessing at those answers. Some of them, such as the subject was most likely a request by the client (probably the art editor for the magazine) that fit in with the featured story.

Like I said, I've included my art references. When you compare you can see the differences. I left out some of the text elements, simply because of clutter, after all it was a pulp magazine and the info on the cover, along with the artwork, was intended to draw in the reader. Some pictorial elements I left out because I was redrawing the painting freehand. Mistakes and misjudgement of placement is bound to happen. So, you'll see some background stuff that got left out as a result.

So the image order is this, study drawing, first pass, final pass and references. If you have been following along, please do comment and let me know what you think! Thanks!

11/05/2025

Finally completed!

10/07/2025

Is it done yet?? ... Not quite. I've completed my first pass of my piece here. I'm happy with what I have, but I just need to punch up some of the colors. Make it a little richer looking.

After I took this pic, I then gave it three coats of workable fixative. This will allow me to add more pigment to the paper. I don't know if you can tell on the left side of the piece how it looks kind of shiny. That's the light reflecting off of the pigment that's already been laid down in several layers. Enough so, that I've started flattening the tooth of the paper to the point that it won't take much more. Hence, using workable fixative, which "adds" some more tooth to the paper.

If you've been following along. Let me know what you think in the comments. I would love to hear them. And thanks!

But that's not all, here's a sketch I've been working on in the in between. It's inspired by the cover of Sorcery #10 (scary stories comic book... I love those!) ... Anyway, I kind of had this idea pop up as I was looking at the cover, and here's the resulting drawing. At some point I think I'll do it in colored pencil as well.

Thanks again for following along and please share with your friends!

10/07/2025

09/13/2025

Oooof! ... I just saw that it's been since May, MAY!! ... since I last posted. If you've been following my work, first off thank you! Second, here's what I've been working, albeit very slowly over the summer. ... I didn't really want to take a year to work on this particular project, but well, with one kid in high school, the second in middle school, and travel and working a part time job. ... You know how it goes. Never gets slower. ... So I have to make time! MAKE TIME!!

Anyway, here are some pics of the progress I've made on my piece over the summer. In the final piece you can see I'm alllllmost there. ... But really, I haven't even hit the Death Star trench yet. ... I still need to work the sky colors some more and then coat it with some workable fixative and then make another pass. And I hope to have it completed by the end of October.

Needless to say, this is what I love about art and how I learn in the process. I thought that I had really worked the colors on the "Gun Queen" where I wanted them. But upon working the horse to it's nice dark colors, I realized I needed to get her colors a little richer as well. So I added another pass on the dark colors (Indigo, and Peyne's Grey). In my second pass I'll work them a little more.

Overall I like how it's turning out. What do you think? Feel free to comment below.

Also, I have some sketching I've been doing as well. Now that I've been playing DnD with some friends, I've been sketching out characters. I've decided to redo the character of Brak, with a little bit more of an action pose. (He's the Goliath with the axe and the pet grasshopper.) This is for my friend. I tried experimenting with colored pencil over graphite, (well erased graphite mind you), but it didn't quite turn out like I thought, the colors became quite muddy. And the verdict is out on the Master's Touch colored pencils that I was using. Not sure how I feel about them yet. This one is being done for a friend.

Second is a character of mine from the current campaign our group is playing. His name is Octo, and he's very much inspired by Orko from Masters of the Universe. In fact, as a wizard he often gets his spells wrong, and this sketch shows Octo summoning a not-so-helpful ally. He's misspelling. (Har har).

The final sketch is of the next personal project I want to work on, which might be pushed out a little. Because I'll be working on a color version of Brak next. I know I had some people say they preferred my thumbnails that had more action in them for this piece. However, this particular composition is what has been sticking in my mind for quite a while. So, I've sketched it out in more detail.

As always, thanks for following and let me know what you think in the comments below if you feel so inclined.

05/29/2025

WIP of my Allen Anderson cover copy in colored pencil.