Digital speed paint

A quick sketch in Photoshop focusing on using tonal values.

Back to UDK

I haven't touched UDK (Unreal Development Kit) in a while, and thought I'd get back to it with some basic stuff.  I need to get some environment art going in general, as my focus has been lacking a bit lately.  I started this out with the concept a completely closed interior hall, possibly with windows, however, I got the itch to do some exterior work (again, very basic), so I could play with some lighting.

It's a first pass on everything, and will need a lot more refinement.  I'd like to get some polish and detail work in, improving on textures, meshes, lighting, and what-not, but I figure it's best to post instead of hiding things away for no one to see.

I went a little crazy with lighting and color, but I've never taken the opportunity to play with extremes, and I had a lot of fun with it.

Below is a screen cap of the mesh in Max, viewport lighting and wireframe visible.

I may take this as an opportunity to play with more tools and settings in UDK to develop a more filled out scene.  I've really only scratched the surface of the engine, I'm sure there's far more to be done with it than I know.

WoW, a dungeon!

Last year I made some attempts to apply for Blizzard positions (ha, ha...ha), primarily with the World of Warcraft team.  Dungeon Artist at Blizzard, for WoW sounded like the most amazing job I could hope for.  Maybe it's not utilizing the most cutting edge tech in video game art, but it appealed to me both as a gamer and an artist.

In order to help my portfolio, I opted to create my very own WoW dungeon.  It was primarily an art project, but I also played with dungeon layout and lore ideas.  I had created a blog for it as well, The Gilnean Project, where I posted about the thought and work process behind creating the dungeon.

Although it's a separate blog/project, I thought I might go ahead and share some screens I added to my portfolio from the project (although, it's still an unfinished project I should return to).  Even though Blizzard never showed interest in hiring me, I'm fairly happy with what I made.  I've often been told my texture painting skills, as well as ability to create more stylized art is weak.  I may have been misinformed.

Coffee shop sketching

I recently returned to visiting coffee shops for sketching.  Coffee, music, and drawing, one of my favorite ways to relax, but  I find I have to do a lot of speed sketching in order to capture people as they get their coffee and go about their business.

Here are a few pieces from my little moleskin sketchbook as I get back into sketching regularly.

Time for artomancing!

This is my blog-o-art!  I hope for this to be something that encourage me to continue pursing my artistic endeavors, as well as improving my skills as an artist.  Perhaps "journeyman artomancer" would have been a more appropriate.

Enjoy the postings to follow...if anyone sees this.  Time to make art!