Blog

Over at Amaranth Games, we're really close to finishing up A Gypsy's Tale.  It's so awesome to see everything coming together and to test the game. I'm really proud of all the people who worked on this.  It's been a long process, but I'm very grateful for the experience.  I'm looking forward to sharing some of the art here.  For starters, I thought I would post some promotional art I made for the game. I've posted some of the progress shots below. Apologies for the huge jump in progress in the middle.  I'm awful at remembering to take screenshots.

I also wanted to mention that the lovely people at Cat on the Wall did a three part interview series with Amaranth Games. It features the producer (and all-around superwoman) Amanda Fitch,  musician Aaron Walz, and little me. It's a good read, especially if you're curious about what goes into making indie games.  Also, there are images that I haven't posted anywhere else yet.  Go see! 

I’ve spent some time this weekend to polish up my first illustration for our Sara-Karen challenge.  I still have to run it by my counterpart for a final critique before I say that it is completely done, but it is certainly close!  I’ve included a close-up of the big guy with his tommy gun, because I’m happy with how his face turned out. It seems a shame he’s so small in the background when he’s my favorite character in the scene.  Sara is already onto her second challenge over on her blog, so I will really have to hustle this week to catch up to her.

My friend and designer/illustrator, Sara came up with a fun idea since my last post.  We’ve been challenging each other with little assignments, keeping one another on our toes.  We’ve been passing ideas, sketches, and progress shots back and forth near daily.  It’s been really helpful to trade inspirations and get honest critiques.  If we keep this up, I imagine it will be highly beneficial to both our portfolios.

Her first challenge for me was to draw manly men.  No Victorian gentlemen allowed.  She gave me a couple themes  and I quickly latched on to her idea of drawing prohibition era gangsters.  She also suggested that I try to include some interaction of some sort.  I threw in the weird perspective and car to make myself cry. 

Here’s the original line art and a progress shot  as of today. I’ve nailed down the basics. Now I need to go in, clean up and add detail to things I've been avoiding. I think I’m a little past 60% done on this one, woot!

Things have been busy here with work but fortunately I had some free time Sunday night and I felt like splashing color around in photoshop.  I liked the progress I made, so I think I'll turn this one into a completed illustration.  Usually I start with a rough color study like this, in which most of the color is blocked in under a line sketch.  The details aren't completely worked out, but the basic values and colors are present.   I might throw a few more saturated accents and bright highlights in, but it's pretty much ready to go to the polishing up stage. I really can't say enough good things about color studies folks.

 
In other news, Mr. Desmond Foxfoot has been promoted this month, from desk duster to cintiq wrist pad.  He has aspirations leaning towards art direction though.  Yesterday he sneezed on one of my sketches and I think he was right. It was bad.  As you can see, he also likes seagulls.  (No, Desmond, that's not a duck, it's supposed to be a seagull.  Come on, give me a break... I'm from the midwest and we have ducks there.)

For work, I don't have to wake up especially early.  My schedule is pretty much dictated by me.  However, I love those days when I have coffee made and Photoshop started before the sun rises.  I've especially grown fond of the pre-dawn here in Seattle.  There are a lot of mornings that are blessed with dense fog rolling off the water that has a powerful silencing quality.  It makes the morning seem as though it is holding its breath on the edge of something important. 

Today isn't one of those days though.  That's probably a good thing, because I don't have anything terribly important to do.  In fact, I'm planning on spending a few hours in Photoshop working on one of these 5 works-in-progress that I've been working on this week. Then I'm spending the rest of the day away from the computer, I promise!