The Austin Bantel|Tale

Thor: Ragnarök by Austin Bantel

Old Man in the Sea: by Austin Bantel

Belle- by Austin Bantel

A Part of your World - by Austin Bantel

This picture was created to express my appreciate for strong powerful women, and how a fictional character influence my view about black girls. I grew up in a very rural town in Louisiana where the population was, without a doubt, 100 percent white. I went to school with no one of color. I grew up reading and loving the X-Men comics. Storm was my first exposure to an African woman, and she was my favorite character. She was smart, and kind, and honorable, and beautiful and free. I grew up in a town were, without a doubt, racism was very prevalent. I grew up in a home with a mother who knew better. She never thought it was strange that my favorite character was this black woman throwing lighting bolts and calling down the rain. Whenever I would draw Storm in my sketch books and show them to my mother she would just say “WOW!! I wish I looked like that!”  I never thought my mother wanted to look like she was black... I just thought she meant she wanted to look and be powerful. She was.

A little Sketch before bed. What is his secret? Why is he unworthy? I want to know!!! #Marvel your killing me over here. 

The other Wizard named Harry. I listen to the Dresden Files on autio book when I travel. James Marsters aka Spike  from Buffy does a great job narrating those. I have wanted to do a Dresden fan art for some time now. I purchased a new wacom tablet and this is the first piece of illustration work to come from it. Hopefully the first of many. Check out the Dresden Files. You will not be disappointed. FUEGO!!!!. 

I never decided If I was going to do this project digitally or traditionally. I think both sketches came out well in their own ways. I really need to get this project going.

Sailor Twain haunted my dreams after I spend the entire evening devouring it. It has been a while since I put it down, and I can not wait to pick it back up and read it all over again. I had to do some fan art after reading this beautiful book. I have always had a thing for mermaids. The sea lady in this book is one of the most beautiful and terrifying. I wanted to capture the dark smokey richness of the charcoal drawings with inks and watercolors.

This is a painting I did to accompany an article in the magazine Bayou Life. The article was about discovering the joys of the serene bayou on an impromptu canoe outing. This painting ended up becoming the cover of that magazine during the month of its publication. 

Water color pin up of Jean Grey/Phoenix. Fire is fun to paint.

Title: Grimm's Fairy Tales: Little Red Riding Hood and The Big Bad Huntsman

Title: Grimm's Fairy Tales: The Seven Crow Brothers

Tile: Grimm's Fairy Tales: The White Snake

Title: Spoilers

Title: Woke Up Like This

Title: No one was Talking, So There was No Warning for the Monsters