Pictures of my picture book!

Ok, FINALLY I'm posting some photos of the book, courtesy of Brandstudio Press publisher Alberto Ruiz.

If you'd like to buy a copy, go to darenbader.com and drop me a note. I need to move these puppies!




Some stats: 9x12, Hard cover, full color, 72 pages with a gatefold. Nice heavy paper stock, too, if you're into that kind of thing!

Oros flies to NYC!

I recently found out that Oros (you know, the dragon painting on the cover of my book below) was chosen to be included in the second Spectrum Exhibit to be held at the Museum of American Illustration at the Society of Illustrators in New York City from September 1st thru October 17th. The painting is going to the show for sure, but I also hope to make it out there to attend the opening, as I heard the first exhibit was a blast. But first I gotta pull that puppy out from the stack of paintings he's hiding in and get him framed! (I'm very excited about this. Can you tell...?)

Art of me book!

Time for some shameless self promotion: I've finally put together my first art book with Brandstudio Press (www.processjunkie.blogspot.com). It's at the printers now and will be ready for the San Diego ComiCon. I'll be selling them from here, too, in case you don't find yourself at the con this year...

RED DEAD REDEMPTION

I've been VERY busy with the day job. We've finally announced the project:

http://www.rockstargames.com/reddeadredemption/

"Worlds of Their Own" cover...

....on a bookshelf near you!

Warhammer Cover Detail

Yeah, it's been a loooong time since I posted last. Sorry 'bout that. I need to make it more of a habit to post. Hey, at least it's not as bad as my website! I haven't updated that thing in THREE YEARS! (I know.. that's not something to be proud of...).

Anyway, here is a detail shot from the Warhammer cover.

Warhammer cover

Here's a piece I'd been working on now for quite a while that is finally coming out:



I'll post the full image and some details soon....

Chesley Awards

Hey, my painting Oros was nominated for a Chesley Award in the Gaming Related Illustration category by The Association of Science Fiction & Fantasy Artists! =)

Only problem is, I'm up against some very talented people. And they happen to be good friends, too, so I can't even talk bad about 'em! :(

Anyway, check out the full list of nominees for all of the categories here: http://www.asfa-art.org/admin/ches.php?chesyear=2008

D&D Monster Manual Pt. II

Here's another sketch and final from the Monster Manual. The final below is a little different from how it appears in the book. I prefer this version. Again, digital start to finish.

D&D Monster Manual

Here's a piece I did for the new Monster Manual that just came out.
Digital start to finish.

sketch:
final:

yet another WoW card...

I don't know if you've noticed, but I like the animals 'n stuff...
And green. I like green.
I just noticed that this bird and the bear below are pretty much in the same pose, too... hmmm... maybe I need to push my compositions a little more...

another World of Warcraft card

One of my favorite WoW cards of late.
It's digital, for those of you who care.

The Portent

This is a digital pin-up for a friend's comic, The Portent.
www.theportent.com

Typical barbarian-in-tomb fun.

Hey look! I'm posting something! Wheeeeee......!

(Sorry... it's been a while and I'm happy to get something new on my blog...)

Oros

Thought I'd post my Oros painting that made it into Spectrum recently, along with a couple in-progress shots. The colors are pretty off... these are just digital shots of it on my easel.

Mian Situ head study

Digital head study from a Mian Situ painting. I spent about an hour on it, if I remember correctly...

A sketch from the other day

Just some fun with pencil, paper, and the servants of Beelzebub...
Halloween IS on the way, you know....

And now for something completely different...

I was recently digging through some boxes of old lp records and cassette tapes (yes, I am that old) and ran across these puppies.

I used to tape all my lp's because I didn't want to have to buy copies to listen to them in the car or walkman (old old old...). But I missed having the art of the albums, so I started drawing the bands logos on the little piece of sticker paper you got with each cassette. Of course that lead to full-blown paintings of the album covers on the tiny 2"x3" surface. I remember enjoying the challenge of rearranging the square compositions into the horizontal ones. This was around high school. I've got more, but I don't know where they are.

Anyway... it was a blast from the past for me, but probably a "What the...?" for you.

Here's another WarCraft card...

Need to post more often. Yes. I know. I try...

: /

desert palms sketch

Acrylic on paper. Around 4x6.