marcoferrignodesigns

Belkin.3

2012-02-02T00:38:00.000-08:00

Everyone enjoys doing thumbnails. my favorite part of the process.

Belkin.2

2012-02-01T09:56:00.000-08:00

I think this year im going to try and treat some of my own ideas with a bit more worth. When i have alot of time .. or not alot of time, well pretty much all the time i come up with my own ideas for things like the idea for a fictional nomadic race or alien civilisations, but normally i just get bored of them after the initial passion for the idea wares off and never return to them. but ive been returning to this nomad idea a fair bit in the 2 years since i first came up with it and i think each time the quality of the idea and the concepts improves so im going to give it a try and redo a few of my ideas.

Im going to a industry convention in Stuttgart, Germany in may. This event is quite an important date whilst on my course at stoke, so im going this year and the next with the idea that criticism that i get this may will help me to prepare a better portfolio for the next year. so i need to crack on with stuff to put into a portfolio for may.

http://www.fmx.de/

These beasties are for the Belkin idea i had a while back, a ficitional feral planet that has life.

Nomad People.

2012-02-01T01:53:00.000-08:00

Was sketching on the cintiq's again yesterday.

River Ment. Nomads.

2012-01-27T10:04:00.001-08:00

I shud have my uni head on now but i felt an urge yesterday to dabble about sketching huts for my nomad concept. It went on from there and i decided to do a little google sketch up progect and build an actual camp on the river ment so that i can use it for screen shots as reference for paintings.

Blue Tit.

2012-01-26T08:34:00.000-08:00

Did a painting of a Blue Tit as a card for Sarah's auntie's bday.

Didnt have access to a printer on the day so had to use that stuff called traditional media, need to paint more by hand.

Redundant Material.

2012-01-24T09:27:00.000-08:00

Last week we went into uni for briefing on what we'd be doing this semester. Eager to start as soon as I could I began doing some concepts whilst the brief was still unfinalised. Today we found out that we'd be skipping the conceptual stage and focusing on Maya production with the aim of moving into the Crisis engine.

These were concepts for a laboratory.

Cute.

2012-01-19T05:36:00.000-08:00

Went to my local art shop the other day for supplies and found some slightly cheaper mole skin type sketch books for sale, Ive been curious about Moleskin but spending more than a fiver on a sketch book has always been an 'alien concept' to me (what a terrible pun about concept art).

Anyway these were 3 quid for two very small sketchbooks so i gave them a try. Saw a sketchbook showcase in ImagineFX this month with Mike Corriero in it. He's one of my faviorite creature designers. Anyway he'd done this things were he asked for peeps on facebook to name an animal for him and he took the first three entries and blended them into one creature design.

I had a go at this and got Sarah to name three animals. American Beaver, Vampire Bat and Emperor Dragon Fly. I ended with something almost cute..

Warcraft 2

2012-01-08T09:12:00.001-08:00

War Craft 2 had the best generic Orcs ive ever seen. brilliant game full of character.

Over the holidays Ive been steadily working away in my little sketch book dedicated to the redesigning of Orcs, Trolls and goblins. At the moment id say that im heaviley influenced by Hayao miyazaki and Paul bonner, both are very unique individuals in their own seperate ways. miyazaki a master of asian culture and Bonner the nordic europe.

droid_2

2012-01-04T10:39:00.001-08:00

thought id have another go at the droid, just keeping things abstract, wanted to see how it would turn out.

Merry Christmas.

2011-12-21T13:01:00.001-08:00

A blue robot.

Digital painting

2011-12-07T07:55:00.000-08:00

My girlfriend has asked me to paint a sloth for her as a christmas present. This is a challenge for me given the limited time I have aswell as the huge workload with uni.

I have decided to work with pencil drawings ive produced three of them a portrait of the entire animal and two head shots, the two headshots ive painted digitally but im not sure if she'l appreciate these prints alongside an original drawing.

Ideas

2011-12-06T07:50:00.000-08:00

Im going to focus more on the actual sketch book work for this, moved off the nomad concept for the moment but thats the beauty of it, its an idea ive been working on for roughly three years now, each time i revisit the idea i feel i improve it a little more.

id like to think that the idea for the 'dunner' alien race i created will get a retouch at some point next year, for the moment im focusing on this idea that i thought about a couple of years ago. redesigning orcs, trolls and goblins as i desire. i never got round to putting pen to paper with this idea before so its pretty much a virgin concept.

ORCS

2011-12-05T08:33:00.000-08:00

Trying to redesign some stereotypical fantasy creatures, focusing on Orcs atm.

Forest Sprite

2011-11-25T02:38:00.000-08:00

I watched Princess Mononoke, the animation, designs and story line were brilliant. its a great film, not just for anime or animation but in general.

Nomad Beast

2011-11-14T23:53:00.001-08:00

A big loveable beast used as a mount in places like the river Ment where its natural agility in water is put to good use.

The River Ment.

2011-11-08T10:15:00.000-08:00

this is supposed to be three fishing huts along the bank of a peaceful river, my girlfriend says it looks like three cockroaches sticking their arses out of the ground. Is my new abstract approach to envrioments too abstract?

Nomads

2011-10-20T03:52:00.001-07:00

found an old character sketch and thought id turn it into a design sheet for nomad character thumb nails.

Keith Thompson

2011-10-14T10:57:00.000-07:00

This ones a homage to keith thompson, its my own take on an Anthropophagi, a mythical cannibal race that come from north africa.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R

2011-10-04T10:04:00.000-07:00

google Stalker, its a game based in chenoybl in the Ukraine where the neucleur station blew up. its set in a derelict iradiated city.

working on some concepts for it for a uni brief.

birdy

2011-10-03T00:31:00.001-07:00

started uni again so the personal ideas i was working on have taken a back seat for the moment. heres the last thing i did.

market

2011-09-29T03:23:00.000-07:00

Im pretty sure this is a failed painting attempt. the actual drawing was a good fundamental sketch but the painting process just didnt reflect the style or look that i had in mind.

Bug 2

2011-09-21T00:58:00.000-07:00

Still painting withoutn a pencil skeleton. It's quite strange having so much freedom of form.

Bug

2011-09-19T09:24:00.000-07:00

Just watched the film Monsters, ok film, wasnt what i was expecting which was a gud thing. low budget film though so only a few scenes with decent views of the alien creatures. still it helped to build up the atmosphere and the whole idea was really original and well thought out. really realistic.

Huts.

2011-09-19T01:17:00.000-07:00

Another enviro, did this all on the computer. feels like a souless process when theres no hand drawing involved.

Hunters.

2011-09-17T00:16:00.000-07:00

started messing around with a few brushes off the ImagineFX tutorial CD's.

city

2011-09-13T03:15:00.001-07:00

This image was quite a wierd one to do, for a start the thumbnail below is how it started out. and then the actual image its self is 80% collage, id say its more a digital collage than painting.

Feel a bit slimy using textures and photos to create it but as Picasso said:
Bad artists copy. Good artists steal.

the art of sparth

2011-09-12T06:31:00.000-07:00

got a new book of amazon by the artist Sparth, really amazing enviroments.

decided to have a crack at envrioments again after being inspired.

Another Nomad

2011-09-09T08:18:00.000-07:00

Quite happy with this, decided to do some experimenting cus i was bored. one thing led to another and then i started takin it seriously.

character

2011-09-09T04:26:00.000-07:00

Was routing through old sketch books in my cellar the other day and found a drawing i liked the look of so decided to give it a colour job. Just some wanna be gangster in a post apocalyptic world.

Poses.

2011-09-06T08:17:00.000-07:00

Sort of stopped drawing again, been painting little bits here and there since my last post. got a few concept art type books coming from amazon so lookin forwards to that. A friend suggested that i needed to be a bit more dynamic with my poses when it came to creature designs so i took that into consideration.

Nomad person.

2011-08-27T01:20:00.000-07:00

Heres a bash at the nomad concept, need to start workin with the tablet alot more, the time i spent not painting means im behind with my own ideals..

Tent Designs.

2011-08-16T16:45:00.000-07:00

Nomadic peoples 2

2011-08-09T03:30:00.000-07:00

Im using some one elses laptop at the moment and i cant figure out how to disable the sticky key preferences and other stuff that makes it seem impossible to move the above image into the right part of this blog...

ive decided to revisit my nomadic peoples design for a second time in an effort to ease back into concept design, spent the summer doing what i think is fine art / illustration.

lyme park, summer 11.

2011-06-28T15:39:00.000-07:00

im staving my drawing urges.. these days the best im managing is observational sketches in a sketch book which isnt too bad cus its good practice.

waka

2011-06-14T05:10:00.000-07:00

I have to admit ive almost completely neglected my art at the moment, all i can find time for is observational sketching whilst hiking.

This was going to be a sort of group image displaying differnt classes of military personel, but i cant find the time to finish it and the blog hasnt been posted on for a while so im going to call it WIP.

hairy

2011-05-28T01:43:00.000-07:00

This is just a little thumb nail type thing for atmosphere more than anything, in my head I figure these aliens to come from a rather bleak and superfically barren landscape to those not familiar with it. lots of rain, wind and cold and grey. Alot like england.

dress code.

2011-05-20T08:10:00.000-07:00

Just some more designs for clothing, I really shud start doing some enviromental and architecture based stuff..

bamboo.

2011-05-18T06:34:00.000-07:00

Went and got a new Bamboo the other day, 5 x 3 inch active area. Having a little trouble with getting the pen pressure setting to work in photoshop at the moment so not really been able to properly break in the new tablet yet.

Also got a new computer aswell which i need to get round to setting up but ive been a bit busy lately. Its a HP g5370.

intuso4

2011-05-13T15:43:00.000-07:00

at uni we use intuso4 graphics tablets, there a bit exspensive though so im going to have to save up. for the moment im going to buy a cheap bamboo as ive got no tablet to work with which is very frustrating.

at the moment im trying to mess about with textures so i had a go at doing a soldier design for my alien race.

AWOL.

2011-05-04T03:39:00.000-07:00

My laptop has gone AWOL and will not turn on so ive lost quite alot of work, saving up for a new computer so in future im going to back up the work i do. I watched Thor last night, I'm not a big fan of Marvel films but it was fun to watch, the sort of film your not supposed to take too seriously. The visuals were brilliant, really nice landscapes and architecture aswell as costume design.

Place Filler.

2011-04-24T10:25:00.000-07:00

Sunny weather has killed any interest in drawing, watching tv or sitting at a computer, must try to convince my self to do at least some work this summer..

12 Oclock

2011-04-20T02:56:00.001-07:00

Will post pictures of Paris as soon as I find the cameras USB cable.

Did some more work on the alien race design last week, just more costume designs.

Space Pope.

2011-04-12T11:53:00.001-07:00

still carrying on with the alien race design, trying to come up with some costume designs for them at the moment. Need to look at some real life inspiration for this sort of stuff really..

Process.

2011-04-08T04:55:00.000-07:00

Havent posted on the blog for a while, my computer keeps crashing on me at random, several times ive tried to paint on scrotoshop and its died without any warning. Projects for uni are still going well, struggling alot with maya but apart from that its all quite easy. I was working in the studio the other day and got talking to another student who showed me a technique where you work in black, white and grey, then duplicate the image and tint the colour balance on the lower layer. When youve done this you then erase parts of the top layer to reveal the coloured layer underneath. I think it helps quite alot when conveying shadow and depth. Ive been looking at a book called Concept Design 2, its a collection of works by a talented team of artists in the USA. init they show case many works that are often accompanied by small thumbnails or WIP shots, these breif insights into the techniques and processes they employ to create their works has got me thinking that perhaps every artists ability to design is also limited by techniques that he can employ in making the design come to life? This is soemthing I will give some thought into when I have the inspiaration to jump into the unknown again. Carrying on with my quest on design im trying to flesh out a generic type alien race that could easily be integrated into a sci fi type FPS. For the moment im just focusing on thumbnails for the outline and concentrating on anatomy.

Balaclavas again.

2011-03-21T14:18:00.000-07:00

Another character design. Going for a generic type of antagonist or protagonist. Not a great deal to say about it as i dont feel that I have put anything original into it, which I guess is what im trying to do, go back to designs that can be easily understood.

Last of an Ancient Breed.

2011-03-19T15:03:00.000-07:00

Has anyone seen the film the warriors? if so, have you listended to the soundtrack? Theres a song on the track, final one I think called Last of an ancient breed by Desmond Child. Great song. The whole album is really catchy in that 80's sort of way.

Carrying on with Character concepts I decided to delve into the great galaxy of far far away after seeing the advert for the new game Starwars: The Old Republic. Shame its one of those MMOPG things as I would have quite liked to buy the game if it was an xbox title. The advert for it is incredible, the only thing that really confused me was that the republicans were wearing clone trooper armor which technically isnt supposed to exist back then? (correct me if im wrong)

Anyway, I went with a sort of 'General Kota look' from the game Force Unleashed 2. Wearing old clone trooper armor salvaged from enemy kills. Not neccesarily going with a jedi as it feels too easy to simply create a new jedi, so Im gonna say he's a bounty hunter.

balaclavas, fashionable?

2011-03-17T05:59:00.002-07:00

Lately I've not been doing that much doodling in my spare time, I've pretty much just been working on this enviroment project for uni. so far so well but I've never done an enviroment before so it really is a difficult process in that I dont have a clear path set out for me. but at the same time i enjoy that, with the host of unexpected faliures i also hit a bit of unexpected success.

Its also opended my eyes to envrioment design aswell, as with most things that I cant easily comprehend I stray away from them, hiding in the dark drawing what im comfortable drawing. but I feel like with a lot of practice I could do this for fun.

My only problem with this breif is time keeping, though I try to do at least an hour of work a day (sometimes more than that) for uni (excluding actual study time) ive found that im still in some sort of initial stage after nearly 3 months. but maybe this is just because im feeling for the thread with this new area of design.

ATTENTION! pls read...

2011-03-09T15:19:00.000-08:00

Lately Ive been looking at my self with a critics eye which is soemthing i normally do when im working, butat the moment im looking not at individual peices but my work on the whole over say the last two years. i find itdifficult to judge my self because artistically so much has happend to me and my process in the last few years, tostart i made the jump from traditional to semi digital. i also started university which impacted upon my professionalpractice and also my ability to recognise more subliminal flaws within my work.

On the specifics of my concept art, ive found my self falling into the 'specialisation rut' too much of one thing (creatures) is no good for an aspiring artist in the field of concept design, it will narrow my options and ultimately render me useless like a plucked chicken with a tooth pick sword on the front line of a war. i also feel and know that im falling way too short of my desired style with is photorealism, like wayne barlowe or todd marshall.i know these guys didnt wake up one day creating god like art work, they spent years practicing traditionally both intechnique and subject matter. but i cant seem to dicipline my self to do this. perhaps i should e realistic, im notgoing to be able to stop my addiction for designing creatures but i can set my self small targets. once a week i cando a few sketches from photo reference or life, and i can also try doing concepts for things i dont normally approach.

I've been looking at Marko (he he same name almost) Djurdjevic lately. Anyone whos been on conceptart.org or likes theircomics will know this guy. hes an insanely good artist, talented in a wide variety of things but for me its his basic drawingskills that keeps me so intrigued. in a world where everything is becoming more advanced and techy by the second,this trend setter is still bashing out works of art with a mechanical pencil like hes not even breaking a sweat.i ask my self can i ever reach this standard? or is every one born with a certain amount of talent which ultimately defines their ability if not their capability? if this is the case then i cant see how ill ever reach industry standard,competition is high in any industry, but i feel with so many players on the field that the visual industry is thetoughest competition to win.

I recently recieved feedback for my work on the last semester and though overall it was very good feedback, i feel like imnot reaching my own personal standard in my head. it didnt help that my feedback was numbered grades without written commentsas i feel i can only improve with criticism, so i might contact my tutor and see why i didnt get a higher mark.

I'm pretty sure that concept art is more than just drawing what ever you see in your head. im positive theres an unwrittendoctrine to it, a theory that must be applied to distinguish a concept above others. when i look through my concept art booksi see patterns emerge that i wouldnt have considered by my self. i wonder, must i learn to be all this by the time im outlooking for a job in the industry or do these artists learn these valuable lessons as they progress from one job to another,like experience?

I was contacted a while ago on deviant art by some guy, cant remember his name, about working on a non profit game project.they had their heads screwed the right way round and seemed to be pretty co-herent, but i found that i didnt have the time and even now between university, socialising and working upon my own visual projects i dont know if i could dedicate my selfto that project. but im wondering, do i have to do these projects to gain that experience and understand how the mechanics work?or should i put my faith in my education and hope that it steers me well and leads me out the other side confident, capableand facing the right way? to be honest, i have my doubts about the course im on, as everyone does, but what makes me worryis that its a lack of confidence the teaching programme its self. not sure, would love it if some one from the top came to my humble little blog and gave me a little answer at least, but the reality is im going to have to find the answers my self i think.

Divum

2011-03-07T10:22:00.001-08:00

Still carrying on with uni work, and thats about it for the moment, might be going to france in april to have a look round the galleries for the week end.

Divum Carnero is a large arial herbivore from the planet Dwarf Blue, neighbouring Belkin. Dwarf Blue's low gravity has allowed life forms to develope bizzare means of locomotion, with many creatures taking to the skies permenantly.

My Fellow Artist.

2011-03-03T14:40:00.001-08:00

One of my best freind's has now started his own blog after I've been hounding him to do so for about a year. Anyway hes got it running and its brilliant to see some of his work, most of which Ive only glimpsed in crappy mobile phone shots.

For anyone whos interested in the 'fine art' side of life or just appreciates good expressionism I recommend taking a look at his blog, beautiful yet sublimely disturbing paintings.

I did a colouring of a sketch from his book, the pose and the look on the figures face just drew me in.

Anyway visit his blog, http://thethoughtsoffelixsmith.blogspot.com/

Arboreal Floravore.

2011-02-23T07:21:00.000-08:00

I did absailing at university in the week, they'd set up shop for the day and it was £1.50 to go down the side of a 5 storey building on the campus, at that price I couldnt really say no. It was scary waiting around at the top (didnt help that I could see for miles around) but as I lent backwards I found it was a very differnt experiance than what I was expecting, it was good fun. Deffinitely reccomend it if you get the chance.

This critter is an arboreal floravore, whereas species such as Deloricatus and Hippasuchus are strictly terrestrial animals, Brontus Brontus tends to lead a more vertical existence as it feeds from the parasitic flowers that grow upon larger flora, these parasitic flowers tend to be much more nutritous than the normal terrestrial flora, which is an added benefit considering the much more active life style of B. Brontus.

B. Brontus is also a notable fauna for its symbiotic relationship with its flora diet, B. Brontus is equipped with a pair of trendils that are specially adapted to carry the pollen of parasitic flowers from host to host. Although all floravores do to some extent carry out this pollination indirectly, B. Brontus is the only known species with a anatomical conscience towards the preservation and reproduction of its diet.

In return for this specialised job, B. Brontus recieves certain toxins from its symbiotic partners which are utilised as a glandular secretion which is produced when B. Brontus is distressed, this form of toxic defence is quite common amongst many amphibians on earth, how ever on Belkin the use of Toxins as a defence mechanism is quite rare.

New House.

2011-02-17T05:04:00.000-08:00

Moved house a few weeks ago and had no internet, that modern gateway to the world of the secluded and technologically dependant western people. Anyway Ive got it back now. Our latest project at uni is to re-design our campus as a campaign or multiplayer map for a game, Ive decided to go with a modernised building similar to the style of Mass Effect but I also want to incorporate areas of the map that have been taken over by shanty sort of slums. I like maps with contrasting scenery, the possibilities of ambush and changing enviroment tend to keep me on my guard as opposed to a map like 'Valhalla' in the halo 3 multiplayer.

Anyway heres another beast from the lush and tropical world of belkin. Like Hipasuchus, Loricatus Nutritor feeds on an exclusive flora based diet, more specifically nectar which has a higher energy content.

Tyranous Undatus

2011-01-31T11:53:00.000-08:00

Used a Wacom Cintiq tablet for the first time today and I have to say Im really impressed, took bout half hour getting used to it (kept trying to use a non existent tablet on the desk) but its a great peice of hardware, unfortunately they dont come cheap so its going to be a case of using the tablets at uni for the moment.

This design is for the Tyranous Undatus that i referenced in the post called Belkins Scorfus. Its a well built liquivore predator thats built for long distance pursuits, not the fastest animal but it can keep up the chase for a good ten minuites.

On a river bed in Belkin.

2011-01-30T09:25:00.000-08:00

I feel like things are alot easier to paint in scrotoshop when I'm at uni, is it possible that one graphic tablet can be better than another? Has any one noticed a differnce of quality between differnt models?

Anyway these are the 'speed' paintings i tried to do, although the first one took about 45 mins, the rest took about 20 mins which is good timeing for me.

Their all based on life on the river bed or even staionary water beds, some burrow whereas others are adept at filtering detritus from the substrate for nourishment. (The middle one is an almost complete rip-off of the Surinam toad Pipa Pipa)

Liquivore

2011-01-24T04:37:00.000-08:00

Did a bit of scanning from my sketch book today, aiming to do some quick speed paintings instead of the usual thing I do where it takes hours.

Generic creature that feeds like a liquivore, impales prey and then drains the carcass of fluids for nourishment. I imagine this creature would take a place in the food chain at a similar level to a large predatory cat.

Direction

2011-01-13T15:25:00.000-08:00

These 'pods' of Zooflora as they have been temporarily named, seem to move (or travel depending on their flora/fauna classification) in erratic yet syncronised group movement with no particular leading organism. The pod does however seek out light, which seems to energise the organisms as after sustained exsposure to UV the colouration of the organisms change dramatically, depending on the species these colours range from dull russets and browns such as the example below, to more spectacular shades of electric blue or green for reasons which as of yet are unknown.

Their place within the food chain can definitely be compared to that of vegetation in that they are bottom place holders forming the staple diet of a wide variety of other organisms that also feed on flora, and do not prey on any other organism them selves. Although they have been observed obtaining nutrition from carcasses in the very later stages of decomposition, this how ever is not an uncommon habit amongst many Terran plants and so can not be regarded as a hostile or predatory instinct.

Fauna or Flora

2011-01-11T07:37:00.000-08:00

Neither flora nor fauna, these strange life forms form a similar role to the recycling of vitamins and minerals in Belkins upper planetary crust like earths plants. How ever these life forms are able to move, albeit at a very slow rate. Average speeds of up to a meter per day have been observed, how ever increased speed seems to be linked to warmer temperatures, indicating that they may perhaps be more closley considered fauna that flora.

Hipasuchus

2011-01-05T10:00:00.001-08:00

Belkins enormouse flora lended an opportunity for some early herbivores to branch down a more specialised yet ultimately more stable evolutionary route. Hipasuchus is a modern species of florivore, a family of diverse specialist herbivores that exists within the tropical belt of belkins continents and island chains.

Belkins Scorfus

2011-01-03T06:52:00.000-08:00

Competition between native fauna of the Columbus continent and newly arrived species from the Polo Island chain via a newly ermerged land bridge has caused aggresive adaptations over time. This is most easily seen in the now extinct species Scorfus Graphus, its ancestors were for the most part lightly built solitary foliage feeders. How ever in response to the threat of the newly emerged Tyranous Undatus a light built active predator that specialised in the hunting of animals with a similar build as Scorfus, Scorfus emerged as a well built and slightly larger herd grazer.

How ever these adaptations still resulted in a high mortality rate especially amongst young individuals. Eventually the Species Scorfus Graphus took on a new course of evolution that resulted in the creation of Scorfus Comaus an aggresive scavenger. To compensate for the greater and more active exsposure to predators such as Tyranous Undatus Scorfus began to develope armoured plating along the head, neck and sides.

Desert Primate.

2010-12-28T06:07:00.000-08:00

Im trying to get a COW going between the class mates at uni, choose the wrong time though as everyone was quite busy finishing their work. Anyway I did start it but never got round ton finishing it, I found my WIP of it the other day when showing a freind some of my work and decided to finish it.

Basically I imagine it as a primate of gorilla ancestry that prowls up and down beaches looking for carcasses of sea turtles or other meals of the moment.

Ive also been looking at two sites which focus on personal world building projects;
http://www.themoraeriver.com/
http://members.casema.nl/gertvandijk/

These are two excellent sites that focus on the creation of imaginary worlds with a particular interest in Speculative Biology. The morae river is a beautiful project that focuses on more earth like biology, theres some really nice art work there. The second site Planet Furaha also has some very nice works but puts alot more effort into the science behind the scenes, going in depth to explain things such as weather patterns, cartography and a whole host of other aspects of world building.

Uni Concepts

2010-12-22T18:13:00.000-08:00

Heres the final concepts that Ive done for the first semester, was quite good fun to do these concepts, the breif wasnt something that I'd come up with given my own choice so to adapt to visualising another description was a nice change.

Belkin

2010-12-07T13:39:00.001-08:00

Still very busy with uni work at the moment so with the bit of free time between sleep and uni I have train doodling. So I decided to have a go at colouring thumbnail drawings.

Chav Frogs.

2010-11-28T09:07:00.000-08:00

Just some more Chav frogs, submitting work for uni projects soon.

Crits welcome as always.

New stuff

2010-11-10T10:07:00.000-08:00

Not new ideas (still alien fauna and... Alien people) but new images non the less.

During the week I was sketching on the train trying to add some 3 D definition to my drawings after my girl freinds critique about it all being too flat which shes very right about unfortunately, so I started sketching and ended up drawing this which Ive dubbed 'Fisher Beast' after an old concept I did which might be on this blog somewhere. critics are welcome as always.

Heres a finalised version of the Trader, going with an amphibian anatomy to explain the 'long fingers' in the breif.

And I've also started doing some drawings of alien frogs which im going to paint with dart frog colour schemes, in particular the species Tinctorious and its many hundreds of sub species (the one below is based on tinctorious citronella, google it, they are amazing frogs to look at) , these are all predominantly blue, black and yellow frogs which can be quite difficult to paint as they are not contrasting colours to me, there also quite shiny so its going to be an exercise in lighting for me aswell, expect lots of terrible attempts with the 'chav' frogs in the next few posts.

Resurgence of the Traders.

2010-11-04T09:47:00.000-07:00

After getting over losing something I'd spent two hours working on I decided to start from scratch with the Trader, I think it turned out well so far but I've still got to work on the hands and feet, im going with an amphibian type anatomy so I want to give them a nice colour pattern, though I'm not sure if a dendrobate colour scheme would just look like too much and detract the attention away from the figure.

anyway heres a line up so far.

Ive also started on a concept called 'Cyber Droid' how ever I might abandon this as I'm not so sure I like it.

Trader.

2010-10-25T08:18:00.000-07:00

Just using the blog to upload images until I can sort my self out a memory stick so that I can carry files from one computer to another.

The description for these aliens was 'long fingered aliens with armoured suits.'

WIP so far..

The Colourful Trogs..

2010-10-21T08:29:00.000-07:00

Ive done some more colour attempts with the Trog warrior, Its the first time I've tried to alter a colour palette on a scrotoshop concept before, usually once completed I can't be botherd doing anything more with them.

Im also going to start using my blog as a means to upload work for uni untili sort out something more suitable.

Colour Attempt.

2010-10-19T13:35:00.000-07:00

Recently (or is it recentley?) bought two films I havent seen for ages, Sky Blue and Blade Runner, looking forwards to a quiet night when I can watch them.

I tried a colour attempt in Scrotoshop, not sure at all about the shading but I think the colours are on track. Was a bit of a warm up in Scrotoshop as its been like.. since I posted that Ferrignoli creature that I last used Scrotoshop.

Crits would be very much appreciated aswell as ideas for colours.

Uni

2010-10-13T08:17:00.000-07:00

Hey folks. This blog has been a little neglected these past couple of months, so I'm gonna get back into it.

I started uni about a month ago and its going really well, the tutors are great and the stuff I'm learning is brilliant too, favorite lessons so far have been the workshops that we've been through with the artist jonny duddle.

http://www.arenaworks.com/Artists/thumbsJonnyDuddle.html

This guy is an insanely good artist, and its been great to see how a professional go's about their work both on and off the computer.

At the moment were designing concepts for three differnt aliens of which we choose from a list of about ten differnt discriptions. really good fun.

I scanned aload of work specifically for this blog post but as usual the computer hates me, heres a couple of thumb nails and a quick sketch of a creature described as being 'an alien around caveman level.

Sicily, Uni & Work

2010-07-27T12:04:00.000-07:00

Wow its been a while since I've posted on here. I recently returned from Sicily where I stayed with family for a couple of weeks, a brilliant holiday and a great time spent with family both Sicilian and the family that came with me.

Whilst there I did a little drawing but at 33C inside the house it was just too hot to do anything worth while, I have a new found respect for artists that are actually able to flourish in countries as hot as there, its not easy.

September is inching closer and closer and I'm getting more excited about it, not only the thought of taking concept art seriously but also to a certain extent getting back into being a student, this past year has been very easy, I have to admit I have an easy job which I love (except for the customer interaction bit, Im a little anti social when it comes to that part) (Also I dont love the job because its easy, I love it because its relevant to me) but I also feel quite isolated, for the most part Ive spent my time in the company of people many generations ahead of me and although Ive learnt alot about people in this time, I also feel detatched from my own generation. Theres also the absence of working in a practicing enviroment around other artistic individuals, I think I work better around other people for some reason. Maybe its the challenge of seeing people who out do me in skill or ideas that pushes me to try harder and keeps me focused to a point.

Heres a concept I did a few weeks ago, after so much typing I really can not be botherd adding any annotation to it so for the moment its a bit micellanious except for the teeth part, Im hoping that bits self explanatory.

Dwarrow.

2010-06-08T10:40:00.000-07:00

Ive been so busy lately I've had barely any time for anything. Still concentrating on RoR but I'm even neglecting that for the moment.

These are some more finalised concepts for dwarrow miners, Im trying to give them an ingenious twist with unusal apparatus that isnt often accociated with that sort of time period (pre electricity).

beasts and a wier

2010-05-24T13:00:00.000-07:00

Just been concentrating on the creature concepts again, nothing new to report really. Here in england were having some amazing weather so it's been BBQ's pretty much all the time.

Went swimming in the local park the other day and jumped off a wier, bashed my foot of a rock and had to go A'n'E..

Veloxicus

2010-05-20T13:06:00.000-07:00

Had a few days off work so I've been drawing quite alot lately. Found out during the week that these concepts I'm doing are in a genre called Speculative Biology, so there we have it, there Speculative Biological representations.

I think I prefer my own coin 'Fictional Natural History'.

Anyway, to quit rambling Im also steadily working away on Realms of Renth, and calling some old project hero's to arms aswell. The latest concepts can be found Here.

The genus Veloxicus is characterised by a powerfully built body crowned by a rather small head for the creatures size, this how ever is an adaptation rather than an evolutionary throwback. V.Magnus is a predator designed for high speed chases and precision strikes to vital areas of a preys body.

V.Magnus is a solitary animal, unlike its cousin V.Letum it prefers to stalk the nutrient plains where it is an adept at prying up the plates of animals belonging to the Loricatus genus, this highly specialised diet has lead to an almost exclusive diet, and consequently this sub species is able to grow to larger lengths of up to 9 inches.breeding co-incides with the anual flush of zoo plankton that appears on the nurtient plains, the protein rich plankton are absorbed by both nutrient feeders and V.Magnus alike as hungry females bulk up in preperation for breeding.Males typically gather harems of two to three individuals and will defend these mates viciously, with rival male encounters often resulting in extra feed for the victorious males harem.

V.Letum are social animals that bond for life, and also display limited parental tendancies, primarily in the form of guarding the chosen nursery pool from any outside predation.For the most part these creatures are active animals, often sticking to higher ground and rocky out croppings that allow cover from prey to preform more complicated ambush attacks. A major predator of Flumenicus Equus, V.Letum reaches typical lengths up to 7 inches.

Hell's Occupants.

2010-05-19T04:43:00.000-07:00

In response to the post by danny on his blog here about the artist Mark Powell I felt inspired to get back into the mood of drawing deamons and helly type peeps. Which is slightly annoying as I wanted to concentrate on my speculative biology concepts, now my mind is split between visiting my own depiction of hell and documenting the fauna of an alien planet.

Seriously check it out, that Mark Powell guy has created something beautiful.

Realms of Renth.

2010-05-18T06:18:00.001-07:00

Just an update of what I've been working on for RoR lately, the concepts here are for Miners. Im going with heavy clothing that offers protecton from all the hazards of working in mines, in particular I'm trying to work on facial gear, although the time period is set to 1700's ish sort of technology, I want to introduce some form of technology be it through the use of steam punk or what ever.

its just coming up with things that seem feasible when compared to the already established house style.

Scavenger and RoR

2010-05-14T01:01:00.000-07:00

Just another fauna concept. Theres been some recent changes with the team at Realms of Renth, though it meant a sad departure of a senior member it also means Im now in charge of the games conceptual design, a blessing and a curse, extra work, but also I can now imprint a greater sense of my own direction than I could before.

I'm probably going to be dedicating alot of my 'arty' time to RoR now, I've been working on the project in my own eratic manner for 4 years now. Though I've never been too fond of the projects capabilities for imaginative scope, Im going to change that.

Deloricatus, convergent cousins of the Loricatus genus, this beast is for the most part a gentle feeder of the nutrient plains. often sparesly dotted across rich plains in pods of up to 20 individuals. Though primarily evolved for absorbing the nutritious bounty that dominates the subtrate of the plains, D.Validus is also a scavenger, putting its feeding apparatus to good use by absorbing available fluids from any carcass encountered.

Fauna Concepts

2010-05-11T11:10:00.000-07:00

A few creature concepts that I've been working on in the past month or so.

Absconditus, An aquatic predator of average size, with males reaching a little over 12 inches in length. Though a good swimmer, Absconditus prefer ambush attacks. Often patiently waiting with their heads lowered from banks to just above the water level, when prey is detected the creature lunges forwards elegantly, its head entering the water whilst causing minimal disturbance to catch the prey.

A noticeable feature is the Absconditus jaw structure, the jaws fold into the mouth when not in use, but a rapid surge of blood to the jaws erects them into position for use, similar to the erection of the penis.

Loricatus, a small yet heaviley armoured nutrient feeder covered in chitinous plates, growing to around 3 inches in length. These beast's are often encountered singly, how ever where nutrient grounds are found increased numbers of the solitary creatures can be found taking advantage of the same natural bounty.

Flumenicus Equus, a primarily aquatic inhabitant that filter feeds through the waters removing any nutrients in the form of detritus or microscopic life. These animals are flighty in nature and are often encountered on wet lands or along the vast banks of mega rivers where they can be found feeding in there hundreds of thousands when algae blooms reach their peak, the large numbers also allow added security for females to birth larval off spring in relative safety. typically attaining 10 inches in length.

Magnus, solitary omnivorous creatures with unpredictable temperments, they are often found around stands of tree's where they can put their highly adaptable beaks to good use cutting through the hard shells of seed pods. females attain up to 5 inches in length, males reaching 10 inches.

Fossils and Leeds.

2010-05-07T12:31:00.000-07:00

Went to visit a freind studying at Leeds university for a couple of days during the week, whilst there I took a look in the Museum. It was quite an interesting place, they had some lovely rennasiance style sculptures and roman/greek busts aswell as ancient chinese clothing which I found quite inspirational. (please note these photos are scans of post cards, I do not have such skills with a camera...)

And to top that off, they were selling Fossils in the gift shop! (i dont care if their fakes they still look the part)

Low Grav

2010-05-03T15:25:00.000-07:00

Just finished a rather long work shift thats lasted since the day after i got back from newcastle so besides a couple of receipt drawings I've not done much else.

Decided to colour a concept on scrotoshop. It's a deer like creature thats evolved on a planet with a much lower level of gravity than our own. Most of my fauna concepts lately have almost strictly adhered to the anatomy and proportions of african mega mammals, usually quadruped and bulky in there most fundamental state.

So now I will try doing some things that are even more alien, Helium propelled life forms and giant primative invertebrates that exist on planets with a much more oxygen saturated atmosphere... so many ideas too lazy to jot them all down..

More Receipts

2010-04-29T12:49:00.000-07:00

Some more receipt drawings, I could talk for days about the philosophy and nature of fictional natural history, I cant think of anything else that lends such a wide scope to the creative process of design. Theres almost no rules, if you know your chemistry and your physics... and of course biology all you need to do is come up with the plausible exscuse to back it.

Receipts and Birds.

2010-04-26T13:16:00.000-07:00

Whilst at work on quiet days I enjoy scribbling on spare receipt paper from the till, often working in constricted dimensions with limited tools (basically just a biro) helps me to easily begin sketching, perhaps its the absence of the great white exspanse on the usual A4 paper I use.

Ive also done some drawings from a post by Glendon Mellow ( http://glendonmellow.blogspot.com/ ) containing some wonderful images taken at the Metro Toronto zoo.

Newcastle visit.

2010-04-23T14:39:00.000-07:00

This week I went up to chilly Newcastle to visit mara at uni. Whilst there I had a little free time while she worked in the studio so I decided to pay a visit with my sketch book in hand to the museum opposite the university campus.

The museum was very nice, although the natural history department could have been displayed much more professionally. All the modern fauna exhibits were contained within glass display cases and were literally piled up on top of each other forming some sort of sky scraper type structure made from animals which made it all but impossible to draw as everything was obscured with the height and angle factors... A smart form of space management, but not very useful for artists, I'd much more appreciate just a few exhibits at eye level.

Coupled with that I was having one of those days were my hand simply can not draw well, as seen below.

I'd like to think that I redeemed my self whilst sketching a sculpture titled Pankratiast's. Essentially its the ancient greek version of wrestling, only naked.

Bufo Chickens.

2010-04-18T09:19:00.000-07:00

The Bufo tribesmen are incredibly illusive at best, this lucky photographer managed to snap this shot just as the patrol leader picked up his sent. The photo was recovered from the camera at the site of his tribal execution.

In the week I went to lyme park for a walk around the hills, whilst walking I encounterd hordes of sheep, a few chickens, two viking bow stones, and the occasional raven.

Blacksmiths.

2010-04-12T15:10:00.000-07:00

I went and saw Clash of the Titans with Mark the other day (mrmarkmottershead). Overall the story wasnt that good (but its to be expected with high class B movies) but the creature designs were fantastic, literally. The Kraken was brilliant, a real primal peice of work.

We watched it in 3D which was a bit of a problem for two reasons No.1 - we got ripped off, even though we already had 3D glasses which we presented they still charged us for a new pair. No.2 most of the scenes involving creatures were quite fast paced so at times it was a bit difficult trying to make out details such as the facial features on the harpies.

I've been doing a few more concepts for RoR again, the project seems to be picking up a lively pace and things are looking more oriented towards producing a promo game.

These are just a few concepts for a race called the dwarrow (needs a name change) both on and off the battle field respectively.

http://www.realmsofrenth.com/

Prop concepts.

2010-04-03T10:14:00.001-07:00

It's been a while since I've done a few concepts for Realms of Renth, so I decided to look up the master list for props that would be easy to complete conceptually with out too much thinking.

I managed to do a few props on scrotoshop just before my graphics tablet yet again broke down, muting the brush sensitivity on the pen.

During the week I was in waterstones doing my regular MOI hunt (Magazines of interest) ;), I picked up two zines about vehichles. The first being 'The glory days of heavy haulage' a zine filled to the brink with brilliant photos of old fashion 19th century wagons, lorries and military vehichles. The second zine was 'Military Modelcraft International' I bought it just for the reference at first but after reading through it I saw an article on one of Da Vincis more deadly concepts, nicknamed the toritoise, its possily the ancestor of all modern tanks. Ive found that some one has made a model kit for it so I might have a bash at constructing and painting one.

(its the design on the bottom half of the sketch)

Cinema.

2010-03-28T09:35:00.000-07:00

Well I finally went and saw Burtons Alice, a good film, lovely visuals and very good acting. How ever I think the plot got a little too lord of the rings towards the end, with the mad hatter becoming a swordsman and alice slaying the jabber wocky..

Good film though, another Burton success. It had a unique charm too it aswell. The caterpiller and the cheshire cat are lovely characters, great voice acting aswell.

Was scribbling the other day so I thought it'd be good to get something on the blog this month. It's meant to be a curious swords man inspecting a blade. Bit of Kieth Thompson influence there.

I've also been looking at the skillful Huntsman which has been giving me quite a bit of inspiaration, i love the little black and white thumb nail sketches, they've got so much character about them.

http://www.designstudiopress.com/books/skillfulhuntsman/

Marco.

Asian peoples and Nomadic peoples.

2010-03-24T04:16:00.000-07:00

Well its been a while since my last post, I think its due to being so busy in the studio. Im in their almost everyday when I have spare time. Lately I've been doing quite a bit of painting trying to explore colours that I dont often use.

Going on with the title of the post, I saw a link to a photo journal video on msn of some european guy who had been touring asia studying the effects of the alps because its the largest source of fresh water for all of asia.

Some of the images were really interesting from a conceptual point of view, and when I'm done with the projects I'm working on at the moment, I might take a shot at doing some concepts influenced by the images.

Id also like to ask, if anyone has details (name,author,ISBN) of any books that focus on nomadic cultures I'd greatly appreciate the information.

Thanks.

Marco.

Erm.. copyright thingy, these images are not mine and the credit goes to Nat Geo blah blah..

Today is the Day!

2010-03-10T10:57:00.000-08:00

I didnt get in....

Joking, I got in. It was quite a good interview, talked for quite a while about the dynamics of it all and the correspondance between real world development and how it effects modern games.

Anyway he liked the portfolio and all went very well, so for the moment I can sit back and relax.

Thanks for all the supporting emails and text messages guys, your support has been very much appreciated. Its celebrations of some sort at the week end.

Tomorrow is the Day!

2010-03-09T11:51:00.000-08:00

At this time tomorrow I shall be posting on this blog either in triumphant glory or cursing the educational system for labelling me as not good enough.

I've got an interview with staffordshire university tomorrow at 2pm, Im hoping to enrol on the VFX visual effects and concept design course.

http://www.staffs.ac.uk/study_here/courses/vfx-visual-effects-and-concept-design-tcm428258.jsp

The other year I was studying at stockport college for Illustration, all the way through I struggled to grasp with many of the course's philosophies (excellent course just not for me). At the beginning of the second year this september I decided to drop out and take a GAP year, in the hopes that I will be able to get onto the course mentioned above.

Back in college I convinced my self that after many years of wanting to be a conceptual artist it just was'nt a realistic career option and so decided I would try my hand at illustration, there was certain things about it I liked but the cons for me out weighed the pro's in a way that just wouldnt work. It's deffinitely a mind frame thing, you either are an illustrator or your not, you can't fake it in my opinion. So learning that I realised that if I wanted to make a career out of my art then I needed to pursue the thing that truly appeals to me, which is the conceptualisation (?) of fictional worlds.

Theres soemthing that draws me in with such a strong passion when it comes to concept design, the ability to draw the best of the worlds natural history, human cultures and events and throw them into the blender that is the design process is facinating. You can take something that appears to be so rooted in tradition and fling it into the wastes of an entirely differnt world and see what happens, sometimes it doesnt work, but sometimes you get soemthing that seems right for soem reason.

Games and films reflect not only the conflict of the past but more and more so the conflicts of the present, and in some ways they even become political tools, promoting certain beliefs or viewing situations in entirely differnt angles that really do allow for some incredible gaming oppotunities.

I just hope I get the opportunity to contribute to all of this.

(wish me luck or I'll find out where you live and leave a flaming bag of dog sh-

HELP ME!

2010-02-26T15:51:00.000-08:00

I cant get the pressure sensitivty back on my graphics tablet when I'm using Scrotoshop (still works in the tutorial and the little writing aplication thing), its really annoying because I've now got a taste for using the tablet again... Can anyone help me?

In Manchester Picadilly yesterday I saw a bus advert for Burtons new take on Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. I have to say after seeing the TV ad for it I'm not too impressed. Just seems like a CGI fest (the poor kind) with jhonny depp stuck some where in the middle (this is just speculation, I dont know for sure but I'll bet he's playing the Mad Hatter').

Then again, with Burtons unique style there might be some light at the end of the tunnel, so contrary to my first impressions I might like it. But for now I'm skeptical.

It reminded me of a breif I did last year at Stockport. There was a few differnt choices for the breif but I chose Alice, it was pretty much an almost direct rip off of Arthur Rackhams illustration of alice. I'd just discovered the pen called LYRA Aqua Brush and also the work of illustrator Marlene Dumas. (I actually applied water to my drawings before I saw Dumas's work, it was my tutor who referenced the similarities)

and this is what I came up with.

This image by Arthur Rackham is what I used as the primary influence, a brilliant artist.

And tonight I just tought why not tackle it again so I'm posting this.

political and humanitarian(?spelling) issues

2010-02-24T13:57:00.000-08:00

Touchy subject I know but this video hit me, wether or not the images are actually from the war(s) in the middle east is irrelevant, the main point is that all of these atrocities were comitted by man kind.

Perhaps the thing that is hurting me most is the images that are shown at 6:29.

please do not watch this video if you are sensitive to scenes of graphic violence.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1MazfmZYxw

ti tnseod ekam yna esnes!!!!!

2010-02-23T06:38:00.000-08:00

I used to hate computers quite alot, and now I remember why. The problem with technology is that it can be great when its functioning properly, but it can be very frustrating when your a backwards person with little knowledge of how to correct problems on the computer.

I recently went on scrotoshop in an attempt to see if my graphics pen was working (for some reason half the time the pressure sensitivity doesnt work on the pen) and fortunately I found a brush set that allowed me to paint with brush pressure sensitivty (the thing that controls the thickness of the line). So taking advantage of the situation I decided to colour my latest concept.

Ive also been carrying on with the drawing from real life thing, this time I've been focusing on my speciality, amphibians. The first one is a tiger leg, very colourful aboreal frogs from south america I think but im not too clued up on them.

The second is perhaps one of my most favorite of all terrestrial frogs, its Megophrys Montana, a cryptic patterned asian frog that occurs in java, the genus Megophryids how ever is spread over most of the indonesian islands, with the largest sub species being Megophrys Nasuta, resembling Montana in all but size and a slightly more gray colour pallete. A characterful frog with an unforgettable crest of horns that adorn its eyebrows and snout, they always appear to be rather pissed off. There main form of defense is camoflauge, if it isnt pointed out clearly they just look like any other dead leaf on the forest floor.

We decided that doing fish at work just wasnt worth the bother any more as the reptile section is so much more succesful (and easier), so at the week end we took all the remaining fish to a local aquarium where we are freinds with the owner. whilst there I picked up a book called 'Armoured Knights of the Sea' by Helmut Debelius. It's only a small paper back but its filled to the brim with fantastic photos aswell as valuable information on captive husbandary and detailed field encounters of many different isopods around the world.

In it I discovered a genus of shrimps called Lymasta. All of them are predominantly red and white in colouration and also very pretty. Unfortunately whilst trying to capture the spirit of these crazy little creatures my cat decided to suddenly walk over my sketches after going for a jog in the rain outside.

Fishies, Birdies and Spider..ies

2010-02-17T05:31:00.000-08:00

Its been a busy couple of weeks or so outside of work the lovely mara came home breifly (and now i have heart ache again), I've been looking at alot of really great concept artists lately and as always i get those mixed feelings of awe, inspiration and then that sense of doom which makes me feel I'll never be able to compete. Which would be fine IF I wasnt so dedicated to this particular art. My initial reaction to combating these feelings of in adequacy is to create more concepts in a frenzied attempt to redeem my self, how ever this time I tried to be mature about it and realise that one of the primary reasons that these artist are so talented and skilful is because of one very important thing...

THEY DRAW

And not just monsters and robots, they draw from referance and life, they study real world fauna, flora and cultures. So I decided to go back to drawing, no concepts for now (ok maybe just one but its a WIP.. and to justify it its been inspired by the drawing... ok I know thats a crap exscuse but your on the other end of a computer screen and I dont truly have to explain my self to you ;) )so I've been sketching away looking through the increasingly vast library of natural history books that I've been collecting sinse I was born. Im finally doing what I said i would do with these books, use them for drawing.

At the same time I've also been trying to break away from my traditional style of drawing which seems to involve far too many horendously straight lines. Wether or not I've succeded in doing that is up for you to decide.

Heres some DA pages of artists I've been looking at.

http://ukitakumuki.deviantart.com/

http://abiogenisis.deviantart.com/

http://iririv.deviantart.com/

All are incredible artists in their own right. Theres also my two biggest inspirations aswell, Wayne Barlowe and Kieth thompson, both are professional concept artists/illustrators and their work is unbeliviable, not only do they have the skills but they have unique imaginations. They represent everything I like about concept art in that they can create truly original worlds that we can still relate to in some form or other.

http://www.waynebarlowe.com/

http://www.keiththompsonart.com/

And danny I didnt forget bout the address, just got it off Ash now. It's Bennett St. SK14 4TQ (inside the uppercut Barbers)

Heres one of the tattoo designs I've done, I've never coloured one of these designs before so I'm not entirely sure that I've done it right, crits would be much appreciated on this and the drawings above aswell.

ONE MORE THING!

Can anyone reccomend me a good quality scanner? Im tierd of messing around with crap scanners, need to invest in soemthing worth while. Oh and reccomendations on a camera too!

In the Studio.

2010-02-02T09:27:00.001-08:00

Heres some pictures I took in the studio, to be honest most of it has no integral value. I'm just trying to experiment with differnt mediums and formats in an attempt to create new things. But looking at it I can see that its just my comfort zones with differnt faces, perhaps the answer lies in moving away from my favoured material entirely and approaching new subjects with these new techniques.

I've been giving some thought about sculpture aswell but seeing as though ive not had an real education concerning sculpture I'd have to approach it from the view of an outsider artist as I dont really have a clue what I'm doing.

As far as getting my foot in the door I was speaking to a freind at the week end about doing some tattoo designs for him as he's opening his own Tat parlour. No gurantee that I will get anywhere yet but I'm giving it a shot.

And a concept for one of my own little ideas that I've been working on and off for the past few months, basically working on concepts for nomadic tribal people that inhabit cold wastes on a differnt planet.

I am the Toad in the hole.

2010-01-28T10:18:00.000-08:00

Whilst thinking about the advice of Bob Howker I decided I would crawl out of the comfortable hole that I've created for my self that is far away from prying eyes and the judgement of my peers. Upon emerging from the hole I was hit with the age old saying of 'Oh shit..' as I realised that if I want to get my foot stuck in the door (and the rest of my body through it) I am going to need to start being alot more proactive with my approach to making my self commerically viable aswell as getting involved in more art related communities.

In relation to these thoughts I then withdrew to the even older advice from Mr Mark MOTORhead 'You should start up a Blog' . I did this, but I havent really updated it as often as I ought to. So I'm dedicating this post to Blogger, as a serious advertising and community tool.

One thing I can thank blogger for is that it allows me to stay in touch with freinds aswell as researching new artists in a relevant context. Another is the discovery of Brett Booth's blog 'Carnosauria' a blog by a comic book artist with a talent for Paleo illustration. Though I've never seriously pursued or approached dino drawing since I was young, the prehistoric world has always been a major influence in my work with Todd Marshall being one of my biggest influences.

Another thing I would like to do whilst writing this post is, if there are any artists out there that would like to tell stories of how they got their foot in the door, please do tell me. (not expecting too much feed back on this with only three followers but I can dream.)

Rant over I've been working on some non RoR related work but havent had chance to scan or take pictures of any of it.

As for the RoR related stuff, in my post ITS SNOWING!!!! the first concept was of a soldier dressed for a rather dreary weather beaten landscape.

when submitted the concept didnt go down too well, the desired look was for a babylonian influenced warrior with finely crafted armor and a slightly stout physique. So heres a development sequence to show its evolution in the past two weeks or so.

the initial concept.

a rough sketch..(theres was loads of these but i cant be botherd uploading them all)

A more detailed take on the concept focusing on the 'bulky' aspect. Trying to throw in more babylonian motifs as well as defining the helmet design.

The art director of sorts then pointed out several aspects of concepts by the design team that he wished to have incorporated into a new concept, so being lazy I decided to use scrotoshop to place the peices around, I call this new technique... Bashing! The result to me was spectacular, a combination of three differnt drawing styles helped to create soemthing I thought was quite unique.

And now im up to this concept, with a general idea in place for their look, I decided to play around with lighter armor rather than the full shabang.

www.realmsofrenth.com

Avatar.

2010-01-26T11:14:00.000-08:00

Ive seen the film twice now, and although the film its self does not make me feel sad, the principals of the film do leave me feeling depressed about the nature of our own world. Each time I walked out of the cinema I was left with the same thoughts of 'why cant we learn to co-exist with nature a little more gracefully?'.

So when i saw this topic I thought it was quite co-incidential, minus the suicidal desires and lack of will to live.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/SHOWBIZ/Movies/01/11/avatar.movie.blues/index.html

Over all though the film was fantastic, an inspiration for me to immerse my self deeper within the world of conceptual design. such amazing designs and colours... must go looking for the concept art book im sure they will release.

ITS SNOWING!!!!!!

2010-01-06T14:18:00.001-08:00

I love it, first white christmas in ages.

Lately I've been a bit down, things are quite solitary so I've had more time
to think about things, which inevitably leads to thinking about problems, how
ever, trying to be constructive im always on the look out for solutions. I guess im greatful for the life ive got.

update time..

2009-11-25T03:59:00.000-08:00

It's been a few weeks now and new material has built up ever so slightly, work isnt leaving a great deal of time for anything else. But despite that, in the morning hours before work I've managed to break open the paints and start doing some personal work of my own which is non concept related.

Unfortunately the paintings are both far too large to scan and I dont have access to a camera at the moment.

For the moment though heres some more concepts for ROR.

http://www.realmsofrenth.com/

2009-11-18T12:08:00.000-08:00

I guess its about time for a new update..

The lovely Mara and shifting into a new reptile room/studio has taken up alot of time recently, but in the long run I'm hoping its going to be quite advantagious.

More concepts really, I've got some figurative surreal stuff in the wings but I havent got a good enough camera to take pictures yet so when I do get round to scanning things in it will just be ideas and designs.

as always http://www.realmsofrenth.com/

2009-11-04T07:20:00.000-08:00

Another concept for www.realmsofrenth.com