Thoughts on the Inferno, and getting trapped in hell (a.k.a. the motivational seminar)

I've been drawing a lot of imps and hellish critters lately when I'm not grinding away at the Steamvolt comic. I'll admit, a lot of my inspiration comes from Barlowe's Guide to the Inferno, which is a pretty incredible piece of work.

Now, I'm not the least bit religious, and I don't believe in any of this stuff, but the concept of it I find fascinating. The whole notion of damnation and eternal torment and that there's a place for sinners and such to go once they die. It's just interesting stuff. The imagery such ideas conjure up, along with the emotional impact they can have are pretty intense. So chances are, I'm going to keep sketching stuff like this for a while now.

This one started out as a pencil sketch back in 2007 or maybe early 2008. I finally got around to slapping some color onto it. I was thinking of this critter as sort of a scavenger and hunter, with a jaw for crushing bones and a rasping tongue to extract marrow. Sort of like Hell's version of a Hyena. Yes, these are the things I actually daydream about. Fun stuff!

And speaking of Hell and damnation, I was stuck in a three hour long motivational seminar yesterday at work. Now, I'll admit, this one wasn't as painful as some of the one's I've been forced to go to in the past, but it was still pretty mind numbing. The best thing I got out of it was a goofy sketch I whipped up on a notepad while I was trying to stay focused.