Wednesday, January 12, 2011

This is it

Ladies and gents, I decided to pursue my long-time high school dream. This is my last post until six weeks from now, at which point I will have hopefully achieved it. I'm gonna join the race for that most coveted of the gaming holy grails: concept art job at Blizzard. You can keep up with my progress on DailyDuels.com as I will be pouring my heart and soul into every illustration, catering to the Blizzard aesthetic and, eventually, quality. The best of these will be submitted to their Fan Art Program, aiming to get posted for 5 weeks in a row. Basically, I'm going to paint until it wouldn't make sense for them not to hire me. Hopefully, six weeks will be enough for that.

Why six weeks? GDC.

In the meantime, let me share some parting thoughts with you. Drawing, like any art, is just another magic trick. If the mind of the beholder cannot bridge the gap between his ability and the picture (or art work) he sees before him, he finds it impressive and amusing. The wider the gap is, the more impressed the viewer is (another obvious factor affecting the effect of the work is the viewer's prior experience with art works of the same kind). If the viewer has the ability to create a picture of comparable quality, he/she knows the secret to your magic trick, and no longer finds your work impressive.

The nature of drawing and painting makes us very susceptible to self-inflicted physical damage. Drawing requires a lot of focus in order to make something of merit. This kind of mental commitment often makes it difficult to be aware of your physical state, i.e. posture and possible pain you may experience. Since it requires a lot of time also, you may mess yourself up pretty bad without noticing it. Heed the warning, kids!



Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Resolutions

As Bobby Chiu put it, it's very important to figure out a strategy for 2011. In my efforts to do so, I've been trying to figure out a lot of introspective questions. Sort of like the influence map on DA, but broader.

Chasing that perfect studio is like chasing a perfect girl - if she actually wants you, you start to wonder if perhaps you can do better. The drama of uncertainty is what keeps the pursuit going.

I'm getting close to the point where my art will need more than just foundation to be good. Things I've been working on recently:
  • Values:
    • Making things read
    • Form rendering
  • Drawing:
    • Double foreshortening
    • Twisting forms
    • Big shape relationships
    • Flow
    • Grasping the air
Continuing with these themes, here are some duels, and prep sketches for upcoming personal illustrations.