Simon Underwood

More is coming! Still a few years off yet, but I have some things cooking up in the ol' bronze cauldron

Love that swirly linework!

All I want out of life is to be a humble skeleton farmer

Closeup of a work-in-progress ink drawing of a pine forest at night, lit from below by an unseen source. The shapes of large creatures can be seen among the trees.

Working (slowly but steadily) on a big personal piece. Trying to remember how to make art that isn't "for" something.

Lars Mikkelsen as Captain Anderson in Frankenstein (2025), a character who looks exactly like my dad. No comparison photo of my dad is necessary because you wouldn't be able to tell them apart.

Everyone's talking about how Del Toro's Frankenstein is about daddy issues but the main daddy issue is that Lars Mikkelsen's character looks EXACTLY like my dad to the point where I did multiple double takes to confirm it was not my actual father on screen

Most of the audience seemed to think it was fine at best. When we left the theater, they were handing out tablets where you could take a survey about whether you and your demographic would see a sequel to this movie (I said probably not) (3)

slope of darkness with mist over the ocean cliffs

huge antlers over low bushes, in the mist

the bull elk slowing appearing out of the mist

bull elk framed by mist, suddenly come clear to us, casually eating a plant, with plant stalks draped over part of his rack.

The mist-shrouded morning at Point Reyes National Seashore, hiking with @sallyfisherprice.bsky.social, felt not just haunted or ethereal, but otherworldly. The zenith of that sensation came when a huge bull elk appeared out of the landscape as if a ghost from another land entirely.

Caught sight of a bull elk through tunnel of trees not far from Astoria a few weeks ago. We probably watched each other for five minutes before he very calmly stalked off into the woods. Running into the coastal herds always feels like meeting the fey folk

Work-in-progress photo of a comic panel featuring a richly dressed, crowned corpse turning its head to ward the viewer. The clothing and jewelry suggest an ancient, mummified king or sorcerer. At the top of the panel, a shadowy form can be glimpsed clinging to the top of the corpse's crown.

Man I love drawing dead guys

One of the classics! Love his work, I'm honored to be compared to him

A green illustration on a black background, featuring the words "MOVIE MADNESS" in a font that suggests bad VHS tracking. In the center of the image, four monsters burst out of a vintage TV set--the werewolf from An American Werewolf in London, the creature from The Thing, half-human and half nightmarish alien, the dripping Tarman zombie from Return of the Living Dead, and the Creature from the Black Lagoon reaching toward the viewer.

I can finally show off probably my favorite piece I've done this year--the Halloween merch design for @moviemadness.org. Beyond stoked to do more work for the best movie rental/theater/museum/temple in the world. And those practical effects are sooo satisfying to replicate in ink

Thank you! Happy to help!

Pen and ink illustration depicting a darkened doorway in a stone wall. A robed scholar scrambles away from the doorway in a panic, having dropped his writing implements, as a monstrous, glowing apparition manifests in the darkness beyond. At first glance, it appears vaguely humanoid, but has the suggestion of three heads, many mouths, and an indeterminate number of limbs.

"The apparitions are getting worse. The air in the vaults feels like a thin curtain that could be ripped away at any moment. I do not know what door I opened in search of the afterlife, but I pray to all the gods it isn't the one our souls go to in the end."

A quick one for the spookiest of seasons

Block-printed image in green ink depicting an arm holding a short sword bursting from the undergrowth on a forest floor. Above it are the words "FIGHT FOR LIFE"

Made a little block print. It's hard to find inspiration for personal work in these fucked up times, but a new medium always helps me.

Spend time with the people, places and experiences that make life worth living, and return ready to take the heads of those who would steal those things from us.

Time to snap these nerds' glasses like an 80s movie bully

A black and white illustration by Linnea Sterte showing two Mongol women from the times of Genghis Khan. The taller is a bandit with short hair, dressed in a stolen coat with badges of authority visible. The shorter has a side buzz, otherwise longer hair, and is leaning into the shoulder of the taller one.

🖌️ ARTIST SPOTLIGHT🎨
Linnea Sterte, aka @decassette.bsky.social, made this beautiful interior illustration for WASTE FLOWERS by Bryn Hammond, and is returning to create a new full page illustration for WHAT ROUGH BEAST?

Learn more here 👉 www.backerkit.com/c/projects/b...

Thanks Trevor!

Our Movie Madness Presents Creature Features risograph print featuring artwork from Portland illustrator, Simon Underwood (@lizardbrain-art.bsky.social) is now available in the shop! Come on in and check it out!

Thanks for having me!

Thank you! I actually haven't gotten to see the printed posters yet; I'm glad they turned out.

Pen-and-ink poster illustration. A number of monstrous limbs reach out from behind a steel door, chained and padlocked. The words "CREATURE FEATURES" are drippily painted on the door. A creature that resembles a spidery crustacean with a human woman's head scuttles across the door, approaching the padlock with a key in one claw and a mischievous expression on her face.

Pen-and-ink poster illustration with digital color. The words "MOVIE MADNESS PRESENTS" cover the top portion of the image. A number of monstrous limbs reach out from behind a steel door, chained and padlocked. The words "CREATURE FEATURES" are drippily painted on the door. A creature that resembles a spidery crustacean with a human woman's head scuttles across the door, approaching the padlock with a key in one claw and a mischievous expression on her face.

Poster I did for Movie Madness here in Portland for their Creature Features block. One of the largest ink pieces I've ever done!

Ink drawing of a druid woman with tattoos, cloak, raven, and basket, in retro TTRPG manual style with detailed cross-hatching.

Inktober 52 - Virgo

A witch. Pens and white ink.

I'm open for commissions!

#art #inktober #inktober2025 #inktober52 #inktober52virgo #fantasy

Thank you! High praise indeed. I do have some more stuff inspired by his work coming down the pipe...

As an aside, the Seven Geases is probably my favorite CAS story and I want to adapt it into a short comic someday

Thanks! Was the creature in the basin supposed to be Abhoth? Getting my primordial ooze entities mixed up here

Brilliant!

Illustration from "The Tale of Satampra Zeiros" by Clark Ashton Smith. Two thieves stand in a dark room surrounded by the silhouettes of various reptilian creatures. One man holds a lockpick and is looking eagerly into the chest of glowing treasure he just opened, while the other, holding a dagger, glances nervously behind him.

Illustration from "The Tale of Satampra Zeiros" by Clark Ashton Smith. Two men explore a dense, vine-choked jungle.

Illustration from "The Tale of Satampra Zeiros" by Clark Ashton Smith. Two men approach a small, simply built temple in the middle of a starlit jungle clearing. One swigs from a wineskin as he walks towards the doors.

Illustration from "The Tale of Satampra Zeiros" by Clark Ashton Smith. Two men confront a strange, protoplasmic entity rising from a large basin in the center of a small temple. An idol of the god Tsathoggua perches on a dais behind them, looking like a humanoid cross between a toad and a bat.

Some pieces I did for an adaptation of Clark Ashton Smith's Tale of Satampra Zeiros a few years ago. Not sure if they were ever used but they were super fun to draw.

Yeah! If nothing else Earthsea feels like a very grounded culture and most real-world cultures have a neat aesthetic even for mundane things.

It does allow for a lot of creative freedom as to how the world is depicted and I think there's a lot of potential for different cool interpretations

I feel like part of Sparrowhawk's character is that he's an unremarkable looking guy, but that combined with Earthsea as a whole being pretty vague on visuals means it's pretty hard to do recognizable art of him. And yeah I love seeing New Sun art far more than I enjoy reading the books

I got one legit enquiry on Artstation back in 2017, and then nothing until 2022 when it was a different bot offering to buy NFTs from me every month until I deleted my account last year. So as of 2024 it still sucks!