Wolves and Saber-tooth cats

Thought I'd write a post about how art-life is going right now. The Big Project of the year is a graphic novel--which is basically a comic book that doesn't end on a cliffhanger; it stands by itself as a complete story. They're commonly published as web-comics first, and this one will be no exception. It's a long-term payoff plan project: I think it'll eventually be something I can sell at conventions and such, as web-comics tend to generate a following and attention over time. So, it's part boot-camp for me (600-700 drawings will make anyone get better at something) and part marketing ploy to stand out a little more. (Hey, look over here, I made something!) I'm 25% done with the pencil pages, out of a planned 112 total.

The second thing going on right now is an attempt to get my work in front of the art director of a company called Wizards of the Coast. Hokey name, but they're kind of a big player in the world of fantasy art, which is where I want to end up in the long term. They've seen a few pieces of my work and basically asked 'Can you do it again, but more painterly? Oh, and by the way: people.' so I'm taking a few weeks to bang out two or three fresh pieces to see if my style will work for them--they like more realistic work, and right now my portfolio has a lot of children's book style stuff in it. This is the current one, which is slated for color this week:

I'm thinking of doing a pirate one next, since I already have some reference shots of piratey poses from a while ago that I never used. Any suggestions, what kind of pirate would you like to see? What's the coolest pirate thing you can think of?