A Day Off

Well, today I started the final version of the new website artwork. No, not every page is getting new art just yet, but the main page certainly is. I've been working on this piece on and off again for some weeks now, and I finally got what I wanted today thanks to my new scanner, some old markers, and a sense of purpose. Also, several hours of movies.

So here's a taste of today's process:

The project was simple; for the main page of my website, I want a picture of all my characters. Obviously, this is impossible. So I boiled it down to just the main ones. Sort of a collage of sorts. Whatever -you know what I mean. You've seen them before. This project isn't about originality, it's about showing off my different styles...STOP STARING AT ME!

Anyway, I'm not gonna show you all the rejected nearly-finished pieces because scanning them would be a tremendous waste of my time, so here's the concept sketch for this current one.


This was the one I finally went with. If you can't tell who all the characters are at this point, that's fine because I can. This is just a thumbnail and I know whats what.

In case you were wondering, and are unfamiliar with all my stuff, I'll tell you who they all are on the next piece.

So yeah, this is the concept. It finally crammed everyone I wanted in there and showed them all off pretty well. This is the first time I've successfully pulled this off.

So yeah, I spent all day working on the final one, and I forgot to scan it before I started inking it, so here it is partially inked:


I think it came out pretty good, and when I finish coloring it, I think it's gonna be a nice addition to my current and future web page.

This one is done with pencil -mechanical of course- and surprisingly, no non-photo pencil this time. I have reason to believe some of the ingredients in them were causing my markers to smear. Since I wanted to do this today instead of experimenting, I just removed it from the equation.

Now, as promised, a who's who of this picture. Who they are, what series they hail from etc.

(from top to bottom, left to right by series)
Lady Nightheart (Nightheart)
Dromar Evincar and Eolande Saillune (Eternal Sun)
Sean and Jake (The High Life)
Nienna Orntier, T.B. Ryerson, Kioko (Newscast)
KC Connor, Aiko, Raye McKeever (Tales From the Satellite)
Jimmy (T3: Time Traveling Toaster) Kat (Untitled 2D project)
Kaikoura (Newscast Expanded Universe)
Pickles T., Guid-O-Lizer, and Spit (The Adventures of Guid-O-Lizer and Spit)

I started coloring it tonight, but I remembered I have work in the morning so I had to stop. Hopefully, it'll be done by Sunday. If it's not up on the main page, I'll post pictures of it here first.

Oh, and I decided to learn Na'vi. So yeah. Eat it.

"I know it's her. We were......partners..."
-Chris Redfield

New Arts

I have had Avatar on the brain lately, and because of that I have been working on the Rai'ku race as featured in the Newscast Expanded Universe RPG (NCEXURPG). Specifically, I have been reworking their history a bit, and also their former culture. You can of course, read all there is to date right now here, but you know, it's purposely pretty vague.

Anyway, like most of the characters I design, I usually revert to Asian cultural influences because, well, I like them. I love Chinese clothing and I think it works especially well for Kaikoura when she's in slave attire though in the future, I will be reworking them a bit to look a little more space-ish. However, I have become entranced with Indian culture -no, not Native American, but like...Indian. From India. Yeah...

So I began working on this:

This is Kaikoura, the slave girl from the above link and my character for the NCEXURPG. In this picture, she is older and much braver and also you see a lot more of that Indian influence.

This is only a quick concept piece I did for fun but I think I am gonna turn it into a finished piece when I get some time.

To be continued...

And now, the exciting conclusion of this post...

Now, what was I saying? I probably should have checked before I started writing...hmmm, hold on a moment... okay, I think I've got it now. Ahem, so what I was getting at is you can expect to see a cleaned up and colored version of this in the not-too-distant future. And with the rate I've been working lately, I would expect it to be sooner rather than later. Nothing like a new scanner (pics on Saturday after I get paid) to revitalize the urge to post artworks on the interwebs for all to criticize.

Oh, by the by, if you haven't seen James Cameron's Avatar yet, stop what you're doing, find a show time, and go see it as soon as possible. No, this is not a friendly suggestion or simple recommendation, this is a direct order. Go on, I'll still be here when you get back, and then we can giggle about it together.

Seriously though, this is the first movie where I have not been disappointed by the CG effects. In every movie I've seen to date, I can pick out what is real and what isn't with a very small degree of....incorrectitude? Incorrectness? Whatever. However, this movie...I just, I mean, I know the Na'vi aren't real (weep) but they look real, and more importantly are the ships and robots. I've always felt that CG models lack a certain weight that practical special effects (i.e. miniature models) bring to a shot. However, this time, I must admit that it can be done in 3D.

This is a huge blow to my ego as a proponent of practical special effects. I have to go lie down.

"Kìyevame ulte Eywa ngahu."
-The Na'vi