Hatching an Egg

I noticed a lack of landscape and fantasy work in the latest incarnation of my portfolio, so I've decided to hit a couple of birds with one stone, and start a fantasy landscape.
Went with a fairly simple idea: The broken shell of a dragon, already departed to do it's own thing, and what might go on around it.

Once again, I find that I have to force myself to work despite the distractions of the modern age. Setting some time aside at night and playing a podcast helps.

Started with the typical process. Value studies come first. (There is a second set, which I'm not sure is interesting enough to show, but I used it as well)

Next I loaded up photos I took with interesting colors, Googled some inspiration, and did color studies of a few of my favorite monochrome sketches, redrawing each rather than overlaying color so that it won't affect my choices and so that I might stumble on some happen accidents:

 Next I've taken an additional step I usually don't, and enlarged a few of my color studies, cleaning them up and adding more details, looking to tell more of a story.

I'm also trying to see if juggling multiple, unrelated projects helps me keep my momentum, so I've done some sci-fi gun silhouettes, with some quick shading thrown on top to give it more form. (need props in my portfolio, too)

Speed paint dump:

Captain Comic: Planet Nrober

I'm redesigning Captain Comic (using the sequel as my primary source of inspiration.) If you aren't familiar with it, it is a classic 90's PC platformer. I started with gun silhouettes, trying to solve the problem of why Blasto Cola make the good captain shoot fireballs, and trying out some comical proportions (pun intended.) Rendered out some of my favorites, and I intend to get back to it with a final design. Next I worked on the Captain himself, drawing inspiration from different sources (from left:) the cover art for Captain Comic II: Fractured Reality, astronaut suits and motorcycle body armor.

BlastoGuns

Weapons powered by Cola can't help but turned out comical right? I feel like these took way too long, a clear indication I should do more of them. There's always so much that needs improving, but so many games that distract me from doing so ;_;

Chibi Vector SMG

This interesting SMG design by KRISS USA gets the cute treatment. It would be an unlocked weapon, once a soldier specializes. It's an idea I'm still toying around with. I may base it on weapon experience: Use the pistol long enough, and the new class will unlock. Another path would be to lock at a set of requirements a solider would have to perform, such as a certain number of kills, hit percentage, or damage taken.

Chibi M4 Carbine

Another in the series. This and the Beretta are the weapons you would start with in my game.

Productively procrastinating.

Alien thumbnails

Jumping ahead of myself and into a new project I've been thinking about (art to which I posted somewhere, possibly on Sketchaton) It's a social version of X-Com, where you can fight TBS battles with your friends, trade soldiers and play mini-games to increase attributes, game cash and collect cool items, all on facebook. I'll get back to the forge thing when I get back to Austin, but in the mean time I'm constructively procrastinating ;)

Anti-Air Battalion

Hidden from enemy eyes and radar amidst the foliage thick valley of a river, this Anti-Aircraft Battalion (supply carrier out of view) defends a vital location.

Time to call it done, despite some funky perspective.
Going to slap it on the back of my new business card design, and have them delivered before Armadillocon, update the website, open a portfolio on filter foundry, update my paper portfolio... did I forget anything? :D

Stahl März final

Time to let it go and move on to other things.

Stahl März thumbs round 5

Moving on to thumbnails of possible compositions for the final in round 5.
It's interesting to see the different colors "black and white" photos have.

Stahl März thumbs round 4

Took my favorite design, fixed the legs and some of the other details, and tried some color combinations out.

Stahl März thumbs round 3

Picked out my 5 favorite silhouettes from round 2, and made a few variations of details for each.
This was the most time consuming phase yet, by far.
I think I know why ANJ changed his technique. ;)

Monday was a good day. I don't like to stick around when housekeeping comes in, so I had to find something to do. Ended up going to AIA Austin to ask for some advice on breaking into the architecture business. I met Kristina, who was super nice and gave me some great advice, totally worth the trip, even though I may be barking up the wrong tree without any Revit knowledge.
I then visited the Austin Capital and Visitor center, learned a few new things about the city I'm in, and took the tour. Coming back to a clean room was also nice.

Unfortunately, waking up from a nap, I found that my weekly wi-fi code had expired, with no way to connect until I woke up and went to the office for a new code. Guess it's going to happen every Monday while I'm here.

Stahl März thumbs round 2

Round 2 of thumbs. These reflect my decision to go with a six-legged hexapod design, and using what I saw on the armored cars which started appearing at the time.

Stahl März thumbs

Thumbnails for Ianfodder's Stahl März WWI walker "commission" (I just don't think it's the right word, since there's no exchange of currency.)

Marine PIV + bonus

Marine PIV is inspired by ProgV and that guy who told me high school kids with no schooling have better work than I.

First I felt kind of shitty, cause he hit a sore spot, but I've received enough comments and critique that I have a pretty clear idea of where I stand, and it's not rock bottom.
Then I felt inspired, and I had been meaning to do a study anyway. I should do more, that was kind of fun. Maybe some Star Wars concept art.

As I was looking at the post I made for this image on Sketchaton, I noticed the image I did a couple of days ago, how similar it is in certain aspects, and how I like some of it's quirks, like the weird feet, so here it is, skull helmet.

Two working weeks left. Why am I blogging

It's because there are two weeks left. When it goes down to one, that's when the all nighters come and beating myself over the head over how I should have been working. Or maybe it will be better this semester? Last Spring was alright. It might be a cycle I'm developing.

Inkwash from figure drawing class, after the first session, and the final.

The Keakeumm, an alien species I have developed for Electronic illustration. Still some work needed on it. There's another alien in the works, which I should address in the next few days.

And some Bunn guns for advanced structural. These fire magnetically accelerated nano-ammunition, custom built inside the rifle from atmospheric gasses.
These are connected to the other alien race of my game idea for Electronic illustration :)

Where was I?

I've got a sinus infection going on. At first I thought it was a toothache, then TMJ, went to the doctor's who thought the headache was the significant thing, and gave me antibiotics.
I hope it clears soon, because I don't have time to be sick.

Got John Henry back, with a 95 attached to it, which makes me very happy, I was getting tired of B's.

Erika, my teacher, told me she would put it in the show if I gave John higher contrast, I'll see what I can do.

I also got the seduction piece back,  got a C on it. Apparently no one will buy it because I didn't define the characters or space well enough.

In the future, Bunn will expand it's business from coffee machines into magnetically-accelerated nano-ammunition sniper rifles.
Why Bunn? Not because it rhymes with Gun, that's for sure.
It came out of a suggestion to work using an established visual identity as a guide. The teacher suggested I use Colt. I thought it was a good idea, but gun companies seem pretty bland, as guns are less designed and more engineered towards a practical application.
With that in mind, I searched for something that had an orange handle, because I have a marker in that color ;)

In other news. Work from free model session:

And from figure drawing class: