Eightenate Character model Progress!

 So, over the past year, I've been working on Eightenate character model for a World of Relics style guide. The goal of the style guide is to help develop a consistent aesthetic, themes, style, and visual worldbuilding concepts for the overall look of the setting of World of Relics, and its sub universes, Rise of Relics and The Mundane Realm.

 The goal of the Eightenate model is to test out how my designs translate to 3D space, while keeping my 2D painterly/comic book style. This means months of learning NPR styled shading and modeling, from Anime-styled renders to Arcane and Spiderverse styled shading. I'm still learning most of this stuff, as a lot of this style of 3D art and design is still new and developing. But once Eightenate's model is complete with body and facial rigging, with a plan on how to keep Appeal of my 3D models intact for comics, the process of asset creation of my future comics will go by faster.

Currently, the status of Eightenate's character model is the following:

 

Original 2D design

There are a few corrections I need to do for this model before moving on to rigging:

•  Finalize Shaders and Textures
•  Fix right scar over eye taper shape
•  Once that's fix, repaint scar to be close to reference
• Reshape holdout geo over right eye and scar
• Fix tassels shading to be closer to reference 
• Complete cape with two holes from reference and improve shading (Look up Arcane Cloth shading)
• Make sword after learning hard surface modeling
  

Working on Sylvania the Elven Ground Staff!

 

Working on Sylvania the Elven Ground Staff #WIP!

I was inspired by a sponsorship ad in Lifering’s exit interview episode I have seen a while ago on Youtube.

Her war-object design is based on Sylvania of the Spirit Keep. I incorporated a few elements from her elven design, such as her chest plate, hip guards, and pauldrons, into her staff from the game.

I had some troubleshooting on her staff design. Polearms usually have a blade at the end for a long-range strike, like halberds, spears, or tridents. The blade-like protrusions on the head of Sylvania's staff don’t look like they are made for striking from the side.

 

 

For something that looks close to her staff weapon in Raid, I was able to find the Fangtian Ji, a Chinese spear from the Song dynasty (960–1279AD), designed for striking opponents directly or knocking them off their horses with the spear tip or side blade. (see also the Dagger Axe for a better context of her design).

Sylvania does not do this in the gameplay footage in the ad, she just strikes the ground with an AOE attack. So, I think it’s a staff weapon for casting powerful magic.

In this design, I exaggerated the blades and lengthened the spearhead. It made her look very intimidating in my style. A powerful and high-ranking war-staff!

Gwuenevere and her First Spell

 

A short mini-comic about Gwuenevere casting her first spell at 32. It did not go well. 

Ink and ink wash for the majority of this sketch. Acrylic paint and ink for the crystal.

 

And a special blurb that inspired this below! Warning, it's a bit rough, so mispellings and typos abound! CW for self-injury, body horror, and near-death.

Update on Pyroblast the War-Torch (Paintbrush II fanart)

I sketched out their facial and head anatomy. I like a naturalistic style with my object characters, so I added a slight curve on Pyroblast's head. I also gave them a fuller pompadour bristle style, too!

 

Wing anatomy was something I was stuck on for a bit, mostly because I was bouncing between robotic wings vs a more naturalistic bird-like wing. While designing this, I realized that polearm war-objects like Pyroblast would need some protection on their wing joints and shoulder. So I added a pauldron over the should joint that overlaps with the start of the wing and a segmented couter(?) at the elbow. I also added segmented bands over the metal primary feathers of Pyroblast's wing. 

 

As for the material makeup of a polearm's anatomy: Both flying and ground polearms are made of strong light metals and wood. The wings of a flying polearm are made up of aluminum/thin steel sheets (still researching this) enchanted with spells to strengthen them for combat, flight, and high temperatures. Pyroblast is a Heavy Class General Dread-torch, so their materials need to handle stress from high heat from their fire magic, extreme turbulence from the dynamic flight, and from any attacks from other Dread-torches.

Lower rank war-torches are mostly for aerial attacks on ground armies, while Dread-torches are castle destroyers. Castles would need defense against Dread-torches, either from using Dread-torches of their own (provided from their kingdom's capital, usually for heavily targeted castles) or using other means of anti-air defense.

I'm thinking about using this design for future flying polearms set in the Mundane Realm. For RFR, I might use a more simplified style to show how the first flying polearms still kept most of their original weapon shape before the Inversion Event.

Sketching Pyroblast the Dread-torch!

Been feeling better as of late, so I started drawing my favorite character from Inanimate Insanity, Paintbrush, as a war-torch in my style.

 

I also wanted to explore some designs for my war-torch characters. Their hair/wick shape, chest and fuel tank armor, and overall anatomy are what I have been waiting to explore for the longest time. The chest armor was inspired by this Shaffron Horse’s Head defense armor and the head design was inspired by the roman helmet with cheek guards. The overall design of all my winged polearm war-objects was based on dragonflies and the shoebill stork.

In the Mundane Realm, Paintbrush would be Pyroblast, a former Dread-torch general of Janthizera who self-librated themself from the tyranny of their own kingdom.

 

Old stomping grounds

 Well...

 

....it's been a while since I been here and I am surprised that a few posts are still getting views on here.

Anyway, since I left Twitter (for personal reasons I will not mention here), I also gave up a platform for posting my rough sketches. I like posting on Tumblr, but I like to spread out my content on different platforms. DA, Insta, and my portfolio are mostly for my finished completed work or polished sketches.

So, maybe a possible revival here??? Just for the sketches?

Anyway, here's something I have done recently. I'm writing an objectshow comic about living object people living in a fantasy world. Here's the carrd for one of my stories set within it: Rise of Relics! Also, if you are wondering what the "Not for the use of NFTs" watermark is for: it's to hopefully slow the scrapping of my art by nft art thieves.  

 I do not support nfts nor have any intention to create or profit off them. 

So yeah, enjoy my art! You can find me on other places, too! Check my about me page for more information!

People People People

Recently, I have taken to drawing people around the Marta Arts Center Station in Atlanta, Georgia.  The sketches are for a sketchbook assignment in my Animation class.  The assignment is to draw people from life and study their movements, mannerisms, faces, etc and it all should be centered around a theme. The sketches below are mostly loose quick drawings that show the basic form of people but should have some construction and form.

For the sketches below, my theme is people and their personality: from their movements, hands, shape, etc.

The lady on the top was wearing a beautiful bright red dress. She was so pretty.

I really need to work on the hands.

Sketch-a-day #5

Finished yesterday's background sketch:

The perspective in this drawing is kinda messed up.  I found it difficult to draw objects in perspective in the realm of fantasy where I have no reference to follow by.  It's easier with still life and life drawing...maybe if I used a still life and convert that into a fantasy setting...maybe that will be my reference. 

First assignments for the Winter quarter

I got my first assignments from the Winter quarter this week!  For Drawing II, I need to draw a self-portrait from a mirror on any paper with any medium and, for Design I, I need to look for visual examples of "visual analogy".  The first assignment is pretty straight forward.  The "visual analogy" assignment requires me to look for unrelated objects and compare them by their features, for example: an apple, a globe, and the human head.  All totally unrelated but all three have some sort of layers (apple crust, apple pulp, apple core with the seeds; earth's crust, mantle, and outer/inner core; the human skin, skull, and brain).  Right now I'm doing objects with "faces" (cars, electric socket, and a purse) and  that "spray" (spitting cobra, spray can, water hose).

Anyway, here's my self-portrait (wip):

I'm very proud of this drawing right now.  I used some sighting-and-measuring techniques I learned from the last quarter.  Shading was a little difficult but I'm getting there, I just need to go a little darker in some areas on the left side of my face and scarf.

Upcoming Class time and Sketches

Early Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

 After this Sunday, I  have only one week left before classes! For the 2012 winter quarter, my classes are Drawing 2, Survey of Western Art II, and Design 1.  So, for the remaining week I have left, I'll practice drawing and go back over my drawing notes from last quarter.

Also, I won't be updating on the 24th, Christmas Eve.  I need to spend time with family and friends, open presents, walk with God, make sure the cats won't destroy the house (I swear they do that for fun, seriously), and draw stuff!

Anywho, here's some very belated sketches:

New Character...not sure what to do with her...

Perhaps a human/angel version of Vistalgia?

Or a guardian with a heart of stone...

No update tonight?

No update tonight! But here's a pony thing instead. (My Little Pony belongs to Hasbro)

There might not be any updates next week as well, so my brief explanation of linear still life final project will have to wait.  Majority of my time will be dedicated to studying and finishing yet another final project.

All these ellipses...how do they work!?

I'm still alive (and drawing awesome stuff).  It's been a while since I last updated this blog (understatement I know) but attending FREAKING SCAD, doing my first projects, and studying for my first exam took a lot of time out of my hands.  Then that is to be expected when I get a job for animation....drawing forever.............{insert overused internet meme here}

Anyway, I had fun in my Drawing and Art History classes, my two classes for the fall quarter, and met some very interesting people (artists unite!).  Both my classes are foundation classes meaning that each freshmen and transfer student needs to take these classes if they haven't already.  Art History is the study of historical artworks (redundant is redundant) and understanding how such knowledge can help us understand art today and ourselves and our culture.  Drawing-100 deals with the basics of all art and design, how to organize a composition, understanding the elements of art and design (line, shape, texture, value, space, color), etc.  Some of this I learned from earlier experiences but it is incredibly helpful for me to go back to the basics of art.  Expect lots of sketches of still lives from this class because this is what each and every assignment is going to be based on.

There are two assignments each week, exercises and projects.  Exercises are short sketches (2-3 hours) and studies based on in-class lessons and projects are long (10- 15 hours) drawings and are complete versions of exercises and thumbnail sketches.   Drawings are done with direct observation, no photos whatsoever!

Here what projects I did so far (sadly the camera died on me so project one is not shown, exercises I'll show later):

Project two...linear still life.

Project three...ellipses are HARD TO DRAW.

Project four (wip)...ellipses are still HARD TO DRAW.

Updates might move to Saturdays only...I'm just having trouble managing time here so bare with me...derp.

I'm still here and I have WIPs

Sorry for the short hiatus.  I just got caught up in...Life.  I'm going to try to update on Mondays and Tuesdays for the rest of this summer until August.  

Anyway, I recently began watching a very odd show called Oddities on Science Channel.  It's based on the Obscura antiques and oddities shop in New York city and it's owned by Mike Zohn and Evan Michelson.  They sell and buy strange antiques including medical equipment, rare collectibles, and taxidermy.  I love this show for not just for stranger than strange objects but for the strange artists that come to the shop.  There was an artist who paint with his blood, another artist who create artworks from animal skulls, and one who explores different the different body part of the human body.  These artists are taking risks and taboos that others would have avoided and it's interesting to see how they take something grotesque like bones and blood into beautiful works of art.

And now WIPS:

I had a little trouble inking this in Photoshop.  I might try doing traditional inking with pen instead.

Here I'm trying to practice with color in Photoshop.

Character design for Vistalgia without wings.

Character desigh for Segieran (name pending...) I just got started studying his character by writing a short story about him. By doing that, I see how he reasons and interacts with the world around him.  I'll do the same with Vistalgia later on.