Dude!

One of my Primary tasks for the Bug Company project is the creation of the concept art, which goes hand in hand with my second task of creating the art bible.

As I've already shown the progress of the art bible, I thought it was time to start showing off some of the concept art.

This piece is a male Imago character which I drew not only to practice the look of the male characters, but also for the document layouts.

Down to business

After a quick vote around the latter design of the logo won out and I added it to my business card design. This is what I have so far:

I scribbled out the number and email for privacy :P

Eventually I would like to have something a little different from just a generic business card, but for the time being this will do :)

Showing the world...

It's getting to the point now where I have to start thinking about where I want to work when I finish my university course which unfortunately means starting to get my artwork out there and into circulation. This means starting to post on forums and putting together an online portfolio.

Whilst I have no problem with the writing of the site, I am at a loss as to the design. I want it to look profession, but fun at the same time. I also want it to be possible to run on any computer/ browser.

This is my first concept, a very emo. pink, black and white theme.

Whilst the design would be quick and easy to setup and manage I would really like to have something a little more... showy.

I will update with more concepts as I complete them.

UPDATE: EmBear Studios Logo Design

Here we have a concept for a logo design for EmBear Studios. The green and white can be swaped out for any other colour.

The first one is the initial design and the second is inspired by the cover of the Cafe Sale art book.

I am serious and don't call me Shirley...

A term which seems to be thrown around a lot currently by people both in and out of the games industry is Serious Games. This term doesn't refer to a game that has no sense of humor, it is actually an entire genre of games which use the games technology for purposes other than just entertainment.

Serious Games can span from training simulations such as the tactical Language and Culture Training System by Alelo Inc (http://www.tacticallanguage.com) to awareness simulations such as Melting Point, an educational project about global warming by CogniToy.

So what does this have to do with me or my art?

Despite still being in my second year of university I have already begun work on my final year project which happens to fall into the serious game genre.

(Title screen from initial pitch presentation)

The game, entitled The Pathfinder Project, aims to expose adults and children to the wonders of the British outdoors whilst also developing skills such as map reading and navigation through a series of challenges without needing to step out of the front door. The Pathfinder Project hopes to spark the natural explorer in young and old alike, and encourage them to return to a pastime of enjoying the wonderful natural environments Britain has to offer.

The concept is of course still in its early stages and is going to go through many changes before the specific details are finalized.

Stay tuned for more updates as and when they happen.

Creating an Art Bible

Part of the brief for my Design 4 module is creating an Art Bible for all of the concepts and meshes in the team's mod: Bug Company.

An Art Bible for a game is a combination of a process of design, which shows the research and development of an idea and a concept art book, which shows the images created by the artists working on the project.

The first version of the Art Bible (presented to the module tutor last tuesday), was more along the lines of a process of design and had a word-count of 5000 words even though it wasn't even halfway to complete. The task for this week has been to revise the entire document, focusing on the images rather than the process. Below are two sample pages from the new document:

Not only has the content been updated but the overall layout has been drastically improved. These pages are taken from the research section for the characters and not only give example of images the art department researched, but also highlight the exact features that we looked at.

Update on Character Concepts

I now have the final line art for the bug vehicles, however my housemate, who is the only person with a scanner and printer, has gone home and so I am now unable to get them finished tonight. Hopefully the university will be open over the weekend and I can use the scanners in the open access suite.

Until then here is a quick snapshot of the line art:

Character Design

It's friday which means that I have two days left to complete the epic list of tasks I have to do by monday.

I thought I would take this opportunity not only to give a progress update, but also give a little taste of what my work looks like.

For the past few days my concentration has been primarily on my Art and Graphics review which was today. The review itself went very well and I'm pleased to say that I'm finally getting some confidence in my drawing ability.

As a break from Art and Graphics I have been working on my Design module

 which so far has meant getting the final character reference sheets finished so that the art team can continue work on the models.

Above are the concepts and character sheets for the two female character in the mod: The Imago (Top) and the Tagma (Bottom).

I'm currently working on the male sheets and should have them finished shortly.

My aim for tonight it to get all of the concept sheets drawn up, even if it is just line art.

Never Assume...

No matter how hard you try to avoid it, most posts on a blog tend to be nothing but a glorified rant about something that has annoyed the blogger in some way, even if it a trivial subject.

I am pleased to announce that the first post of Smudges of Ink is... no different. ^_^

My personal rant is about making plans, especially when if it concerns work. Regardless of how dedicated a student might be, they always get distracted from work, usually at the worst possible time. As a result work ends up being either late or not to the full standard that the student is truly capable of.

I am just as guilty as the next person when it comes to loosing track of time and no matter how hard I work during the week, I always get to Sunday and realize I actually have very little to show for it.

In an attempt to try and get out of this rut and start producing some proper, industry standard work, I decided to take a look at what work I needed for the week and arrange my time accordingly, allowing for time when I know I cannot work such as on Mother's Day. In the space of less than 24 hours my entire plan fell through.  What was originally a nicely balanced week of work has become a juggling act of work which would be difficult to complete in a month, let alone a week!

Whilst it may sound pessimistic, I fell that it is safe to say that it is never a good idea to assume that everything is sorted and finally going your way because as soon as you feel comfortable juggling with three balls life is just round the corner waiting to throw another two at you.