Just a couple of miscellaneous dude doodles. This top guy was "Employee of the Month" at work not too long ago. When someone's mug is featured in a company wide e-mail that includes game development, it practically warrants a drawing. Looking forward to these monthly opportunities.
In other news, Udon studio is putting together another tribute book like they did for Street Fighter last year. A collection of artists from around the world and their interpretations of Capcom's characters. This time around, they're celebrating Capcom's Darkstalkers license. I felt like a heel for missing the Street Fighter deadline, so I couldn't let this one slip away.
It's been a while folks. I'm speaking to the 2 loyal followers out there...
But I haven't been dawdling. San Diego is fast approaching and Dave and I will be doing another collaborative book. Table F5 I believe. More on that as it develops...
In the meantime, here's a recent post from me on Thought Faucet. Below are the idea scribbles leading up to the colored image:
Here's a string of sketches where ya can kinda see some of the thought process I was having with these Link redesigns.
I had the idea cookin' to draw up something in very limited 3D fashion - like Link stepped right out of the 1984 Dire Straits music video "Money for Nothing". But as soon as I started drawing, the geometry, the facets, the horrible look - just wasn't any fun.
Then I turned to some rubber hose style animation of the 1930s. That could be cool for Link. Along the way, I came across a UPA-ish looking Dennis the Menace type character and thought that would be a neat contrast to the spaz I was dreaming up in the other style.
And here's where the two paths ended up
A big THANKS to all for leaving comments last post and for stopping by at the table this year! It was a blast. Met a lotta great artists and people. I'll be updating my links soon. We sold out of our supply of books and prints and the buttons were nearly gone too. We shut down Saturday night and took the day Sunday to walk the con ourselves. I get the most enjoyment talking to the people buying our book so it's hard to leave the table even for a few minutes. I always feel flattered when someone buys my art and I want to know where it's going and who will see it. Some are gifts, others are students soaking it all up, collectors, other professinals, scouts looking for new talent, all types of folks. The first woman who bought our book was a real friendly teacher who plans on sharing our work with her students. It was the best way to start the convention with the hopes of directly inspiring some future artists perhaps. I think Dave snapped her picture. Maybe he'll post it. But overall it was a great time. We got to meet up with Steve and Sue, Robin, and a slew of awesome artists I only get to see at this annual gathering of nerds. You know who you are... :)
Here's the panel of button sets we rigged up. 5 different sets of 8 buttons each based off our art from the book. A deal if you ask me. I lost feeling in one of my fingers cutting out these buttons!
And here's a clean image of the Deathproof prints I was selling. Some of the best compliments I got were that they didn't even know the movie, they just thought the art was sharp. And people who did know of the movie were fans and so it felt good just to share similar interests.
Thanks again to all our visitors and surrounding table-mates. It's always been a positive experience that I hope we can continue next year!
In closing, I'll leave you with this menagerie of costumed Jokers:
...and this is what it looks like just days before the con:
You guessed it - it's that time of year again! Look for Dave and myself at table F-5 this year with a few goodies in store.
Inner Workings should be in full swing this year. Hope you like orange and green.
Over the weekend I was able to sink some time into some concepts for my buddy Sean. He's working on an indie film project and he asked me to draw up some of the characters. I love his whole concept and I was drawn to these 4 out of a list of characters he sent me. But what I really enjoyed is that the visuals inspired him. Sometimes the best gigs are free ones.
It's Sean's story so I won't ramble on about the premise. Besides, it's more fun trying to figure out how all these goons might relate!
Somethin' about the colors in these Gas Masked Ninjas really works for me. They're dark and still colorful but not anyone I'd particularly like to meet.
And here's the development of "Lizard Man Sam" in a handful of horrible doodles.
The lizard head I circled in blue was inspiration from Justin Parpan. He used to have an avatar of a talking dino head like this. Got me thinking about openin' Sam's mouth here.
Alright - so here's a "6-sheet" of all the color combinations I was messing with. My favorites are the first one and last one. This page is the order in which I created them which is a bit odd: my gut instinct for the first one is one I like, and the last one after several attempts, I'm keeping as well. The blue one (second to last) is pretty close to my original colors and one of my least favorites now.
Lemme know whatchya think, but I'm pretty set on these two as prints for ComiCon!
Sorry they're on the small side - you'll just hafta see 'em full size in San Diego!
Thanks for the nice comments everyone! My posting has been very sporadic so I appreciate anyone taking the time to stop by and say a few words - thanks!
I have a good excuse though - a little game called GTA came out not too long ago and basically jammed up my whole creative flow. It's a welcome jam up though. And by "jam up" I do mean "jam up". Like cars turned into 2 ton coffins-on-wheels type jam ups :)
But I found some time over a long weekend to tighten up my Deathproof image and test out the printer. Maybe a little later I'll break down and post a few of the color choices I'm trying to decide on.
Here's a little "evolution" of Lee's mug:
She was the second hardest for me with Zoe taking the crown. I'll tell ya, putting this little image together didn't actually make me feel good. I'm happy with the final version, but looking back I feel like I can't draw at all. It takes a lot of re-working and decision making. My brain almost thinks exclusively in 2D. I'm not thinking about the form or volume of her head, I'm thinking about lines and how a farther eye should look like this and slide the mouth around on her face til it feels right. It's all just pieces and lines and weird shapes I hum and haw about until I'm happy. Ah, I guess I can't be too hard on myself - Abernathy came out great on the first go. It's all about process baby. Just weird to see horrible drawings lined up that don't seem to get any better. I wonder if I rely on the computer to a fault...
In general, I wanted something clean with some style and as I got closer I started to second guess myself. I just felt like it's too simple. There's not enough shading or texture or I should rough it up some how. Would anyone besides me appreciate the colors? Interesting mental conflict. Then I printed it out at 13" x 19" and wow it was clean and sharp. Kinda neat to see it bigger and bold. Makes more of a statement in some way. Like "I ain't afraid that this is completely flat fool!"
Jeez I talk a lot... I know, I know - shut up and make with the art right? :)
