Simon Underwood
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lizardbrain-art.bsky.social
Simon Underwood
@lizardbrain-art.bsky.social
1.6K followers 130 following 210 posts
Portland illustrator and comic book crafter. Swords, sorcery, trees, skulls, doom.

For commissions, merch, and my graphic novel GARGANTUAN, check out www.lizardbrainart.com
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lizardbrain-art.bsky.social
Here's a little preview of my first comic in FULL COLOR which I have been working on for a little while now. It's a short one and should be out in a few weeks.
Five triangular comic panels depicting a fist-sized insect approaching a sitting man, a huge ruined temple with flying creatures nesting in its destroyed upper level, a salt-lake shoreline with a multilimbed creature visible behind a salt pillar, a red rock canyon filled with strange, broken statues, and a violently red sunset over a blasted desert landscape.
February 14, 2026 at 10:09 PM
lizardbrain-art.bsky.social
A knight called by the deep, now an eternal guardian of the sunken city...

This is from a few years ago and I don't think it ever made it on here.
Gouache painting depicting a knight rising out of a murky green ocean. Their armor is dripping with slime and embellished with coral-like growths. Their helmet resembles a cephalopod and many eyes are visible behind the tentacled visor. Eldritch monoliths protrude from the waves in the background.
February 12, 2026 at 8:50 PM
lizardbrain-art.bsky.social
Quote with your horn art!
Ink drawing depicting a dilapidated street lined with the crumbling shells of buildings. Plants grow over the ruins, and a line of tall spruce trees runs across the background. An elk crosses the street in the foreground, looking away from the viewer at the shape of a huge goat-headed man looming above the treeline. A crescent moon hangs behind his horns. Pen and ink illustration depicting a huge, goatlike demonic warrior against a black background. He holds a flaming sword in one hand and a small imp warrior in the other, kneeling in subservience. Other imps with a variety of appearances and armaments fly around him. Pen and ink illustration depicting a ragged specter clad in ancient chainmail and covered in vines that grow out of its skin. It holds an axe and a hunting sword. A ragged hood and jagged, chaotic antlers frame an obscured face with sinister glowing eyes.
January 20, 2026 at 9:48 PM
lizardbrain-art.bsky.social
It is #PortfolioDay once more. I'm a traditional illustrator specializing in pen and ink. I've contributed to a number of fiction publications and TTRPG projects, and I am currently looking for more work!
Pen and ink illustration depicting a crater in the middle of a sparse pine forest. A glowing meteor sits in the depression, and facing it, a woman kneels, head upturned towards the starry sky. Three large, eldritch beasts approach through the trees towards the meteor. The first has many tall, jointed legs and a bony head. The second is serpentine, with a loop-shaped head fronted by tendrils. The third is a dark, six-limbed figure with a featureless bullet-shaped head and glowing eyespots on its chest. Two adventurers, an elf and a dwarf, traverse the ruins of an ancient underground city while a shoggoth lurks on the cavern roof above. Pen-and-ink illustration depicting four monsters bursting 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. Pen and ink illustration depicting a huge, goatlike demonic warrior against a black background. He holds a flaming sword in one hand and a small imp warrior in the other, kneeling in subservience. Other imps with a variety of appearances and armaments fly around him.
January 13, 2026 at 11:41 PM
lizardbrain-art.bsky.social
Art vs artist 2025 edition. A year of creatures of all types and trying to remember how color works. We survived another one, y'all.
9-square grid with a photo of my morose-looking face in the center. It is surrounded by 8 detail shots of my artwork: (clockwise from top left) a werewolf, a warrior battling an undead monstrosity, a woman staring down a snake-haired leonine demon, a woman's head on a crab-like body with a mischievous expression, an eyeless lich on a firelit throne, a warrior battling a variety of skeletons and demons, an elk crossing a mossy log in the deep forest, and a huge spindly-legged monster amidst pine trees.
December 28, 2025 at 9:20 PM
lizardbrain-art.bsky.social
Sketch vs Final
Rough thumbnail sketch showing a warrior battling a variety of monsters and skeletons as he descends an underground staircase. Ink illustration showing a warrior battling a variety of monsters and undead as he descends an underground staircase. Light pours out of a door at the top of the stairs, presumably the way to the surface.
December 11, 2025 at 5:36 PM
lizardbrain-art.bsky.social
ADORATION OF THE METEOR

This one is straight from the dome. Felt very good to do a finished piece that wasn't a commission and wasn't for some personal comic or worldbuilding project, but just pure weird stuff from my brain. It's been a long time.
Pen and ink illustration depicting a crater in the middle of a sparse pine forest. A glowing meteor sits in the depression, and facing it, a woman kneels, head upturned towards the starry sky. Three large, eldritch beasts approach through the trees towards the meteor. The first has many tall, jointed legs and a bony head. The second is serpentine, with a loop-shaped head fronted by tendrils. The third is a dark, six-limbed figure with a featureless bullet-shaped head and glowing eyespots on its chest.
November 26, 2025 at 11:34 PM
lizardbrain-art.bsky.social
Working (slowly but steadily) on a big personal piece. Trying to remember how to make art that isn't "for" something.
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.
November 18, 2025 at 1:15 AM
lizardbrain-art.bsky.social
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
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.
November 18, 2025 at 1:08 AM
lizardbrain-art.bsky.social
Man I love drawing dead guys
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.
October 16, 2025 at 7:05 PM
lizardbrain-art.bsky.social
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
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.
October 11, 2025 at 6:29 AM
lizardbrain-art.bsky.social
"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
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.
October 10, 2025 at 10:22 PM
lizardbrain-art.bsky.social
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.
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"
September 15, 2025 at 7:34 PM
lizardbrain-art.bsky.social
Poster I did for Movie Madness here in Portland for their Creature Features block. One of the largest ink pieces I've ever done!
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.
September 11, 2025 at 8:24 PM
lizardbrain-art.bsky.social
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.
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.
August 22, 2025 at 8:03 PM
lizardbrain-art.bsky.social
Turned 32. Spent some time with @esque-arts.bsky.social and the local mountain.
Photograph of me. I am standing on a dock with a cup of coffee overlooking a large lake surrounded by firs. Mt. Hood is visible in the background. Photograph of Mt. Hood in the evening taken through a binocular lens. Photograph of an ink sketch of Mt. Hood being held up in front of the actual Mt. Hood, out of focus on the background.
July 25, 2025 at 5:47 PM
lizardbrain-art.bsky.social
Great minds...I literally proposed to my wife with these since neither of us like rings
Closeup of a rad silver skull earring
July 10, 2025 at 8:53 PM
lizardbrain-art.bsky.social
Our long-suffering protagonist wakes up to some new friends
Two comic panels showing an extreme close-up of a man's dirty, tired face as he wakes up. A large, pale insect is licking the dirt off his skin. They notice each other with alarm as the man comes to.
July 6, 2025 at 1:47 AM
lizardbrain-art.bsky.social
More painting practice. I have been reading the Earthsea books and they are just what I need right now. Here's Ged and his boat.
Gouache painting of Ged, the protagonist of A Wizard of Earthsea, sailing in his boat Lookfar. He holds onto the rigging, his staff leaned on his shoulder. A couple of craggy, forested islands are visible in the background over the foggy ocean, and a dragon flies through the overcast sky in the distance.
July 5, 2025 at 11:16 PM
lizardbrain-art.bsky.social
Cover for the debut album from the band SALTYR. I love when the brief is basically "make it as trad heavy metal as possible"
Album cover featuring a warrior descending a winding staircase in a huge cavern. Behind him, the stairs lead up to an open doorway surrounded by shattered remnants of the door and with light pouring through. Ahead of him, a horde of undead and demons advance up the stairs, and he fights them with an axe and shield. Small dragonlike creatures flap about overhead.
July 2, 2025 at 6:27 PM
lizardbrain-art.bsky.social
Vainamoinen in the pines for @elyvilon.bsky.social .
I really enjoyed this one. Tried to infuse it with some of that Scandinavian Golden Age of Illustration energy.
The Finnish mythological hero Vainamoinen sits under a pine tree in a mossy meadow, playing a kantele made of a large jawbone. His sword leans against the tree trunk. Various forest animals gather to listen to his music.
June 18, 2025 at 7:00 PM
lizardbrain-art.bsky.social
Painted a weird little guy. I still flounder every time I break out the paint, but this felt like I learned some things.
Gouache painting of a fully armored warrior standing in the desert with sunset clouds behind them. Their armor is brick red and resembles a carapace in places. They carry a falchion which also has an organic quality to it. Their eyes glow green from behind a full face mask.
June 12, 2025 at 4:24 AM
lizardbrain-art.bsky.social
Got the Wall of Skeletons back up and thus the new studio space is complete
Photo of my workspace with a drawing desk and art supplies. The wall behind it is covered in a variety of skeleton-based art
May 31, 2025 at 9:25 PM
lizardbrain-art.bsky.social
Show me how you draw armor.

Chain and scale gang here
Cover for Old Moon Quarterly--A female necromancer descends the steps of a castle keep, wearing black armor and a horned helmet, a falcata in one hand and a spell readied in the other. She is surrounded by skeleton warriors in a variety of gear. An undead warrior in ornate chainmail and a feather-crested helmet rises out of an open sarcophagus, wielding a huge two-handed leaf-bladed sword. A ragged tapestry is visible in the background. A hulking giant mercenary captain stands in front of her troop, wearing chain armor, a feathered helmet and a lion pelt over her shoulders. She holds a heavy six-sided shield and battleaxe. Her pet condor perches on her shoulder, and more are visible flying above the soldiers in the background. A black-armored warrior with glowing red eyes emerges from a portal in a sorcerer's workshop, pointing an accusing finger at the sorcerer, who is turned away from the viewer looking back at the warrior.
May 28, 2025 at 5:26 AM
lizardbrain-art.bsky.social
Poster I did for the upcoming Cascadian Midsummer festival! My first foray into digital color in five years; glad I haven't gotten too rusty.
Poster illustration featuring a Pacific Northwest forest scene framed between the trunks of two red cedars. The shape of a humanoid forest spirit is visible in the bark of both trees. A creek runs between them, bridged by a mossy fallen log, upon which stands an elk glancing toward the viewer. There is an altar of piled stones, sticks and animal bones on the bank. The words "CASCADIAN MIDSUMMER" in a jagged font are visible between the branches in the upper part of the image.
April 28, 2025 at 12:01 AM