Sketchbook Project

It's finally been scanned after 6 months!! I was looking forward to it being "professionally scanned" however I am quite disappointed as you can hardly see the colours and they clearly haven't changed the setting to suit different mediums. Here is the link anyway:
http://www.arthousecoop.com/library/296#page-slide_2


In preparation for my Final Year Project I have been refreshing my memory on Maya and I've nearly finished the model I've been working on (which will then have to be animated/textured etc) so I may post that when it's done. 

The Art of Video Games

I'm mega tired but before I go to bed I have to share this - I discovered earlier that next year the Smithsonian American Art Museum is holding a six month exhibition called The Art of video Games, which will "explore the 40-year evolution of video games as an artistic medium, with a focus on striking visual effects, the creative use of new technologies, and the most influential artists and designers. I would love a big scale exhibition like this in England! 


I'm a bit of a gaming nerd and beautiful games such as Okami really inspire me (which I'm happy to see has been put in the exhibition.) When I was younger I spent lots of time drawing Pokémon cartoons as well as detailed drawings of them, and there are still tons of fan art ideas I'd like to try out for several different games.


Here's the link to the exhibition details: http://www.artofvideogames.org/

As I was watching the video on that website, a game called Shadow of the Colossus took my interest. Being a young girl at the time who already had a Gamecube and Game Boy and who's mother disliked video games anyway, I really don't know much about PS2 games. But the emotion described in the discussion of this game sounded mesmerizing and checking out some artwork and videos didn't disappoint. It really is a stunning game, hopefully I will be able to get my hands on it one day.  


The graphic style of the game is totally unique, with the whole world oozing a lonely atmosphere and the contrast of light and dark emphasizing his choice between good and evil. Even the menacing characters show innocence with their bright eyes as the hero, Wander, tries to kill them.  I was surprised to find out how popular the game was yet how little fan art seemed to be around,  but being someone who's interested in gaming, concept art and fantasy creatures, this is definitely something I want to explore further.

Lynx

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFuUFeQIdpk


I found out about this innovative way of advertising on the BBC website and I've read a few articles about how the television adverts were made, too. 'Augmented reality' has never been used for advertising like this in the UK as far as I'm aware, it was so clever and the public reaction so good that I'm sure many other big brands will be considering new ways to advertise and try to outdo them. As a Multimedia student it shows me the kind of things I need to be aiming for, as the wings used modelling and animation, and the interactive ad needed programming with a user interface and compositing, all of which I have learnt how to do (not to mention coming up with such an inventive idea). Though I have a long way to go of course.

Free Reign Again

I know, it's been too long! I'm very excited about blogging again and recording my journey to recognition. I've been working hard at university with lots of projects including the two largest: directing a documentary and creating a 3D set in Maya of a war zone (achieving Firsts in both I'm proud to add). Now all I have left are two exams, then I will be free for the Summer to work on my portfolio and my Final Year Project (which is a HUGE task I will write about soon!). Although I have loved making my university projects and learning new things, putting in 12 hours a day means I haven't had a chance at all to paint. I have thought about it a lot and have had lots of ideas bouncing around as always, especially with all the creativity going on around me, and it really does sadden me that I haven't had time. I'm greatly looking forward to starting again after my exams, and particularly working on my FYP, which is right up my street and something I'd very much like to do as a job, but I'm not revealing it yet ;)


I've seen some inspiring things that I've wanted to share lately so I'll keep blogging and try keep motivated for all this revision (Software Engineering really doesn't excite me...)


Also as a quick update, my little book was successfully sent around America in The Sketchbook Project, but I can't post the digitalized copy as the website is undergoing maintenance. Hopefully I'll be able to soon :)

Rest of my little sparrows :)

Here they are finally!

More stuff coming soon :) I've been doing a couple of watercolours to make an animation for my art portfolio which I probably won't put up, but it's something useful I've done today.

I actually finished a project!

I have a problem: too many ideas, too little patience- something I need to learn to control! So, I've decided to finish all my half-finished projects before I start any more. Hopefully this will teach me that a little concentration pays off! 

Here's the ugly old dragon I posted an outline drawing of a while ago, but all scaly and shaded now. I'm still not thrilled by the persepctive/proportions but I don't think it's bad for a first go.

1 project down, 2 to go before I can get going on that awesome creature design I've been thinking about.

Home Time

Hi everyone,
I've been doing uni work for a change and went home for reading week so I haven't had time to do any art lately :( I'm itching to finish my sparrows and finish my first drawing for the Sketchbook Project so I should have some things to post soon! Having a well earned night out tonight, then I'll have the weekend to chill at my computer and start drawing. I've peen playing a MMORPG in the last couple of days called Perfect World which has given me some great ideas for some fantasy creature designs too!

Another little one

I'll upload the rest all in one go, seeing as I seem to be getting quicker :) I'm so glad I'm getting into the swing of things!

First Successful Painting!

I've finally created something on Photoshop that I'm happy with :D I'll definitely be finishing my other sketches now! Maybe another one or two tonight, but I need a break from the computer for a bit.

Sparrow Sketches

I've been feeling a bit down with the stresses of uni and the pressure I've been putting myself under to get better with Photoshop, so I decided to have some fun and concentrate on what I enjoy and am best at. I drew a little drawing of a sparrow in lectures a couple of weeks ago and fell in love with my own creation haha - I love little birds! I've started to sketch out some poses for it:

As I drew it straight in instead of scanning it on paper, hopefully it will be much easier to develop further and colour.

Quick Sunset

I had a little play around with layers and custom paint brushes. I put a photo I took underneath, picked out the basic colours and messed around with lots of mixing, layers and brushes on top. I also used the magic wand tool to cut out the foreground and pasted it on top. It's all helping me get to know Photoshop a bit more when it's hard to know where to start.

It's nice having a bit of time to experiment, I've really been in need of a break from uni to focus on my hobbies!

It's love

I got my tablet!! It's wonderful - much easier to get used to than I imagined, though I've only been sketching so far. It's now my reading week so I'm going to give myself a break from uni work for the weekend to concentrate on a personal website. I'd love to make a Flash website but I haven't finished the one for my module yet so plain old HTML will have to do. I've hardly had time to play with my tablet yet, I'm gutted- I need to stop saying no to last minute things that never lead me home. Hopefully I will finish the website tomorrow because I want to design some concept art and start my career!

The Sketchbook Project

About a month ago a signed up to an exciting little idea called The Sketchbook Project as something do in my spare time, to improve my art skill and as something really interesting to put on my CV.

You pay for a little sketchbook and it gets posted to you, then you fill it up with ideas from your chosen theme (you have to choose from a list), and send it back by the deadline in January. Here's the great part- it goes round a tour of America, then ends up permanently in the Brooklyn Art Library! You get a bar code with your book and you get notifications every time someone looks in it, which is pretty cool. There's still time to sign up so here's the link: http://arthousecoop.com/projects/sketchbookproject/

I was going to save filling it in for over Christmas when I don't have any work to do, but as I have the morning off and I'm still waiting for my tablet I'm going to give it a start. The theme I've chosen is 'Help', which I'm extending to 'Help save our species'. I'm planning to draw and write about beautiful and unusual endangered and critically endangered species because I am a huge animal lover, and I hope it will inspire and be thought provoking to whoever opens it.

Waiting...

So, turns out because I drew out my dragon in a hefty sketchbook, I'm having all sorts of weird problems with the textures in the background for painting...I'll either sketch over the top with my tablet in a new layer, or finish it as a pencil drawing and start fresh on a new design I thought up in lectures- who wants to listen about ActionScript when there's a tablet to think about! Right now I'm just waiting, waiting, waiting. It's been dispatched so hopefully it'll come tomorrow. I'm mega excited!

First Attempt

After looking at several different sketches and paintings I had a go at drawing my own line art. I wanted to create an ugly old dragon with teeth and horns sticking out at odd angles and I'm not too happy with it as it was the first thing I drew, but it will do for now as I want to test out this tutorial:

http://www.cgarena.com/freestuff/tutorials/photoshop/dragon/index.html

Here's my design:

Like I said, its a bit crappy and out of proportion but I'm too eager to try out this tutorial for now to bother. One of my flatmates spotted it and thought it was the dragon from Eragon, which I've never seen, so unfortunately it doesn't seem to be very original! I did some other smaller sketches and came up with a couple of nice designs- one based on a frilled dragon and another water dwelling dragon/monster, which I'd love to put into a photo I took of a swampy river in Florida when I get my tablet. It still hasn't shipped so I just have to be patient- which everyone who knows me says I'm rubbish at!

Feng Zhu Tutorials

I've been browsing the internet on my day off today (could get used to this!) and I found an amazing tutorial by concept artist Feng Zhu, posted on a website here: http://www.itsartmag.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=4559

He has designed for Star Wars, The Sims, Transformers and more and you can visit his portfolio here: http://www.fengzhudesign.com, which also had a link to his design school with videos and examples of students art. He has a great deal of awe-inspiring work in his personal portfolio, I thoroughly recommend taking a look as I find him truly inspirational. I hope one day I will be able to create art this beautiful, he makes it look so easy! I will definitely be coming back to his site.

Eugene Arenhaus

I came across this artist when looking for some drawings on dragon anatomy. After reading about how well known his dragon art was I had a peek around the site, and he had several very pretty, unusual fantasy pieces.

These character exploration stetches are so simple, yet so well rounded and show so much character:

I thought this acrylic painting was very unusual, but being able to create such a strong sense of calm and peacefulness instead of feeling surprise at the strange image make it very beautiful.

I absolutely love underwater fantasy images, I would love to become a master at this! Again, this is a very serene piece of digital art, with beautiful colours and a great sense of depth.

See more of this artist's work at http://chiseledrocks.com/

My work so far...

Hi everyone,

My name's Gem and I'm a very enthusiastic, creative Multimedia student :) I'm hoping recording all my inspirations on this blog will help my style and talent to bloom, as I wish to be a concept artist or have another fantastic arty job one day and although I think I have the basic "eye", my work needs a LOT of improvement!

Here is some of my work so far: http://o00gem00o.deviantart.com/

As you can see, there's not any concept art at the moment but I'm working on it - I've just bought a Wacom Intuos4 tablet and I've been sketching and Photoshopping like crazy the past couple of days. Today I'm working on how to design a really good dragon, I'll be posting some sketches and stuff later.

Love,

Gem