Totally forgot to put up a picture of the 3d stuff I did. Nothing special really but here goes.

I think it turned out pretty well. I wanted to keep it pretty low-poly so it doesn't have as many doo-dads as the concept drawing but I think I managed to capture the spirit.

3d or not 3d

I've recently been working on creating a portfolio of 3d work due to a potential job. It's something I've mostly taught myself and I haven't done it in a while so I'm a little rusty. CG is a wierd thing, it's so very technical that you can sort of lose yourself in the process and work for hours and hours without really noticing. That's a good thing, particularly if you have alot of work to do. The problem, i think, is that you can also get lost in the technical detail and sort of let the artistic aspects slip a little. It's a wierd thing, negotiating with yourself over the merits of some artistic aspect versus some technial hurdle.

True Colors Shining Through

Apparently black and white comics don't sell nearly as well as Color comics. I guess it's the same thing with movies. I really don't see why it should matter, but it apparently does. With that in mind, I've been experimenting with duotone illustrations - black and something warm like an umber or something. It more or less ends up looking like a sepia toned image, which isn't really a look I want to use. I think more experimenting is in order. I don't think anyone is reading this blog, but if you are, leave me a comment and let me know about your preference for color or black and white.

Time Paradox

Okay, so I'm back after almost an entire month of being away. Apologies to anyone who had been reading this so far. I got stuck in a major deadline and it took almost every hour of my time.

Anyway, here I am again. I'm working on some pitches for a variety of publishers, so I'll probably put some preview art up here in a week or so. Hopefully something comes out of it, if it doesn't I'll show you the pages I'm working on. That'll be fun!

I Want To Ride My Bicycle I Want To Ride My Bike

So, for the first time in many many years I have access to a bike. It's a good bike too, brand new. After a little bit of awkwardness I managed to haul my carcass onto the seat and start pedalling down the road.

Wow.

Riding a bike is hard work. I mean, not that actual mechanics of it, but going up a hill or getting some decent speed. It's amazing, I don't remember ever really being tired when I was a kid. Riding a bike seemed like something you could essentially do forever. Not so, my friends, not so.

Even riding up a small hill is pretty damned hard. It's shocking. But, it has motivated me to try and get into shape. A grown man should be able to ride a bike without choking.

Still have my massive headache, so I didn't get around to doing a coloring tutorial tonight. But I did do this quick drawing and coloring test for a project I'm working on. So, prepare to be shocked and thrilled.

Old man on an airplane!

My Head, She Hurts!

Feel like crap. Head is pounding.

Made me think about freelancing. It's a wierd game, there are alot of advantages to working on your own. I like being able to schedule things however I like. If I feel bad in the morning, I can work at night. If I want to go on a trip during the week, I can just work on the weekend to make up the time. You're really in control of you life when you freelance, at least to a point. Then there's deadlines, which you have no control over. Once you're hired to do something, you kind of have to do whatever it takes to get it done on time. I don't believe in deadline extensions unless it's absolutely necesssary - I think it paints a bad picture of you in the eyes of your employer.

That said, being a colorist puts you near the bottom of the totem pole and your work schedule is sometimes rediculously compressed. I've had to turn around a complete issue of a comic in two days. That's 11 pages a day. Generally you're looking at 3 hours a page if it's reasonably detailed work. So, corners were cut. I don't like that doing that but that's how it goes I guess.

I think maybe later I'll try capturing a color tutorial, something simple. That might be fun.

Nike Had It Right

I don't really know much about how to get your big break in comics or your big break in anything for that matter. The only thing I've learned during my brief time in the industry is that people respond to work and not much else. I guess what I mean is that people want to see what you can do, not that you WANT to do it. So, if you're interested in making comics, well, make a comic. Want to make a movie? Make a movie. If your work is good, people will respond to it. That doesn't necessarily mean you'll get published or your movie will hit the big time, but it does mean that people will see that you're serious about what you do. It's actually alot of work to draw or write a comic or film a movie or paint a picture or whatever. Once you've completed it, you're already way ahead of most people who want to "Break In."

So, on that note, here's a matte painting I've been working on. It's sort of for a competition over at www.cgtalk.com but it's also just something I'm interested in. What better way to find out if it's something I'd like to do for a living than just doing it? This isn't really finished yet, but it's getting there.

Here I am - Rock me like a something...

So, I finally decided to make my own blog. I wasn't sure what kind of content I'd put up here, since I'm not really a diary-type person. What I've settled on is sort of a journal of my creative process. Basically, I'll post things that interest me creatively along with what types of things I do once I have an idea. I'll definately be putting up some tutorials as well since I do a few things professionally that folks might be interested in ( Comic coloring, illustration, etc ).

So, just to start off, here's a quick sketch I did tonight that was really meant as an exploration of style. I'm thinking of a graphic novel and I want to present different aspects of the story in different art-styles. This would be for the 'adventure' aspect, sort of a story within the story.