So far 2010 has been a return to reading...

Here's my list thus far:

Fade to Blonde by Max Phillips

Boneshaker by Cherie Priest

Starship: Rebel by Mike Resnick

The Archer Files by Ross Macdonald (curently reading)

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (audio)

Dracula by Bram Stoker (audio)

Sandman Slim by Richard Kadrey (audio)

The Windup Girl by Paolo Baciqalupi (audio)(currently listening to)

I'm sad to report that I won't be attending the Baltimore Comic-con this year as I had previously announced.

Appologies to anyone who was looking forward to meeting me at the show.

I'm just a little road weary, having done a good bit of travel this summer, and I seem to have fallen behind on a few projects that need my attention.

So, anyone who was hoping to catch up with me at Baltimore, sorry! But I'll be back again next year.

Speaking of next year, I'm already planing to mix up my schedule and go to some places I haven't visited before. I'm definitely going to Dragon Con, and possibly Heroes Con. Money and scheduling permitting, I'd like to do the Seattle show too.

I'll miss seeing some familiar faces at the usual haunts, (we'll meet up again soon!) but I'm looking forward to meeting even more of you as I travel to parts unkown.

Until next time,
-Timothy

Best laid blog plans and all, eh?

I had a fairly slow Spring, completed an illustration for BLAM! which will apear in their Planet of the Apes book next year, finished the cover for the Gaslight Grotesque anthology from Edge Books, wrote a tutorial for a magazine and spent the rest of the time working on my own project.

The Summer however has been a non-stop whirlwind of activity.

First, there was the Wizard World Philly show. Smaller than previous years, but a good time was had and I saw many old friends.

Then, I moved in to a new house, spent eight days in London and went to the Chicago comicon all within a three week span, whew!

Now, I'm working on the cover for Jes Battis' third OSI novel, from ACE, another cover for Five Star, a Victoria Gordon novel, and yet another cover which I can't mention by name just yet. I'm also finishing up some art for Bucephalus Games, which I've sadly dragged my heals on for far too long. (Sorry Dan!)

Meanwhile, I'm slowly ramping up for the Pittsburgh Comic-Con next month and still trying to get my house in order.

Hopefully once the dust settles a bit, I'll be back to regular updates.

Until then, best wishes!
-Timothy

Awakening!

Can you feel it? The New Year is just a few days old and already things are beginning to happen. The magic of renewal has come at last and although we have a few dark wintery nights to enjoy before spring. The Seelie court has begun to stir.

For the first time in a long while, I’m feeling recharged and ready - alive with a new sense of energy and purpose. Creativity, imagination… a deep desire for expression, the likes of which I’ve not felt in some time, has caught fire within me.

It’s time!

The seeds of the first quarter have been planted – amazons, apes and a certain Victorian detective. There’s also the big “not so secret” project and something I haven’t told anyone about.

There will be travel!

This week I’ll begin finalizing my travel schedule and deciding which shows/conventions I’ll be attending this year. I absolutely can’t wait to get out there meet everyone. I even promise to have some new things to show you.

Recognition!

To all the family, friends, fellow artists, models, muses and fans who have encouraged me, shared their hearts and minds and helped me this past year, I’d just like to say thanks and I wish all of you the best in 2009!

-Timothy Lantz

Welcome to the NEW Stygian Darkness.com!

After about a month of planning and late night coding sessions, I'm excited to finally show the finished result of my efforts.

Why the redesign?
The old design was in place for nearly two years and while I was quite happy with it, it was starting to strain at the edges of functionality. The gallery was in desperate need of an overhaul, and there were many useful web technologies that I wanted to take advantage of. (This blog, for example!)

Two of the new sections deserving of special attention are the Gallery and the Online Store.

The Gallery is now using Imagevue technology, which makes viewing the gallery much easier. The images are much bigger and I think you can really see a lot of the detail now. There's also an option for viewing the galleries in a slide show, and if there's one thing that you really need to see it's full screen mode. The new gallery does require the flash browser plugin, but most people seem to have that with all the needs of web 2.0 sites out there these days.

The Online Store is the other major addition to the site. While I've offered prints in the past, I'm now able to offer even more items, plus improved customer service and support for a much better shopping experience. (Integrated shipping options, secure checkout and more!) It's built on the oScommerce engine, one of the most widely used e-commerce solutions available, so you can shop secure in the knowledge that your information is safe.

What's next?
The launch of the new site is only the beginning for Stygian Darkness.com. It was important for me to have a site that was able to grow and expand as I continue to evolve as an artist. Now that I have the proper tools, it's time to use them to help further my ideas and broaden my vision.

The site will still serve as a place to keep up with all of the latest goings on and current projects, but I also hope to offer a new level of content that I haven't been able to make available in the past. Some of my future plans include, more downloadable content, tutorials, and essays on digital art and other topics.

If this is your first visit to my site, or even if you're a frequent visitor, I hope you'll find something to spark your imagination and inspire you to follow your own creative vision.

Best wishes,
-Timothy Lantz