Promises

I guess two weeks is the most often that I can get myself to update this thing. Can't really compete with real artists this way, heh. This is more of a braindump anyway. Next time I'm uploading Riven concept art though, so tell your friends.

I've been focusing on my interpersonal skills rather than art lately, and a lot of what I have written down is more personal and irrelevant for this blog. In the meantime, though:

Don't waste time. Going on the internet is not being spontaneous. Cut that out of the equation. Limit social networks to once a day. After work? Find and identify distractions.

Every time you're heading in a new artistic direction and actually growing, you need to make sure you spend more time refining your work, because exploring takes more brainpower, and processes that you take for granted (like brush work or something) will take away your concentration.

You have an idea, you try it and it looks bad. Doesn't mean it can't work.

You're 7. You have a frame. Then you break it down when you grow up so that you can fit in. Then you have to rebuild it in order to be different. It probably doesn't apply to everyone, though. Only the sexy people.

You become a better person by practicing and failing until the things you want to learn become part of the subconscious.

I like how American capitalism is based on convincing people to make irrational decisions with their money. The airlines split the demand for reasonable seats with plenty of leg room and a decently expensive price into two tickets that nobody wants: overpriced business class and cheap but shitty coach. Similarly, instead of having a high school system that actually educates kids, we have them waste their time in classrooms that teach the equivalent of European 4th grade material, then need to collect student loans to get real knowledge.

Nothing beats a positive, self-aware attitude.

Focus on knowing what you want, and being able to communicate it. That comes from self-esteem.

·        In order to figure out the value for any plane in ambient lighting, look at the environment from the point of view of the plane and figure out what’s around it. The closer things are to it, the darker the value will be.

Just get it done. Be passionate. If it's not in the game, then make it. Care about the product.

·        Step back and evaluate where you are often. Shift between views. Make sure you know your high-level goals.

Almost everyone in the industry wants to meet you. You're a cool person, and you're interested in them. That's flattering. The only thing you can do is fuck it up by thinking about it.

And now for some Crimson Elite Riven Splash:

Felt like Selfing

Haven't updated in way too long. Gotta compile my notes and upload some Riot art. Will do on weekend.

It's really hard to hold your head still for an hour while trying to be precise, so the drawing is off. I was focusing on form though. The value range could have been better.

Are you ready for the ruff-neck bass?

Man it's been a while, eh? I started extrastilllife to force myself to do personal work on the side, and so far the only sketch that didn't have to do with Riot is this.

Not to worry. This is the beginning of a new era. I've got a ton of Riot work backed up and ready to show, some of which I'll be uploading on DA and cghub. Don't have too much written down these days, because most of it is short enough to fit in a tweet!

Anything you want is just a matter of time. Be patient and opportunities will present themselves.

Everyone loves to be sincerely flattered.

You know your own flaws, but you're afraid to admit them.

Stop yourself from ruminating. Recognize when you're having negative thoughts and get rid of them. The more you think the less you do.

Don't introduce new values into your painting unless you know that all the present ones are in the right place.

It should be more about shapes of value than strokes.

There are things that will fall in your lap, and there are things that you're too young for. Doesn't mean you won't get them ever. Be patient.

Massive Black Post-Mortem

I came back from the Massive Black Workshop San Francisco about two weeks ago, and at this point it would be offensive to put off writing about it any longer.

Met a ton of awesome artists, learned a lot, grew as an artist and a human being. Thank you everyone for sharing the experience with me.

 Instructors, first day

These notes are mostly for myself so that I don't forget. If you get something out of them, great!

The goal of a concept artist is to save producers' money. They should explore places and characters and visualize them. They create emotions and please people. Give choices.

Don't invest yourself into your work. It's a service for a client.

Be faster and you won't be attached to anything you draw.

Get proficient first, then express yourself.

We're not robots. If you develop the shape language in your head, create custom brushes for it so that you don't have to repeat the shapes by hand.

HRDI gradients give you mood, value range and establish your environment.

Go away from technical art, focus on your shapes and emotions.

Perspective should be second nature. So should form.

Inversion, symmetry, repetition, similarity: Ingredients of a good image.

Creation is taking two ideas and merging them.

Think about all the things your shape could possibly say ahead of time, so that you won't run into the problems with your art director.

You have to awaken inspiration. Do something you're afraid of. When working in a studio, trust one another. Share.

Hard edges give more weight and detail.

Build up colour one at a time. Remember when you have a grayscale image, and you put that first saturated green on, you know have two hues on your canvas, not one.

Leave definition for later. Get the idea across first. Make it read.

Have as many tools as you can to modify and refine elements in your image without changing the structure of the whole.

Don't keep all your eggs in one work basket (idea)

Be genuinely interested in the subject matter.

Work smarter, not harder.

Start with a framework.

Think about when to move up or move to the side when concepting. Side meaning iteration. Up meaning refinement.

Form harmony, detail distribution, readability and silhouette.

Amass a library of reference material.

Put in spaces, holes. Positive/negative space.

Fuzzy to sharp.

Angles of the drawing suggest character.

Matthias's Awesome Presentation, Final Piece

Cast shadows, reflected light etc. are actually all properties of the materials, not light.

A sphere made of tiny chrome spheres.

Z-depth value pass.

Start with a sky.

As you refine the piece change major colours/values that were in your thumbnail to get a fresh eye.

Paint patterns in a separate file, then paste it in.

Paint simple forms (like cubes) for clouds and foliage.

CBB = could be better. Get there asap.

Spend 40 hours on a piece without using 3D. You learn a lot more.

Use something everyone knows as a jumping off point for your concept. Then extrapolate.

The spectrum of iconic/fun vs. realistic.

Very few artists are nice, fast and good. Usually two of those will land you a job.

Make your design smart.

Don't be prejudiced against anything.

Don't have pre-conceived notions about the industry.

Colour dynamics --> hue jitter. Lock that shit.

Use bevel for a layer with chainmail shapes.

Don't go for a character because your execution was good. He/she needs to fit the story.

Always think ahead. Keep moving forward and don't attach yourself to anything you do.

Ultimately, check your gut feeling.

Keep the hierarchy of light sources at the back of your mind while painting.

Teamwork is biting the bullet.

You will never get every idea out of your head in the short span of life.

The more you do it, the more you are it.

Personal work is masturbation.

Do whatever the fuck you want.

Coro still hurts.

Last Vegas Special

I wanna take my blog back to its roots for this one. I recently had the opportunity to join my family in a trip to Last Vegas, so I'm gonna sum up the things I learned and the things I saw the same way I did on my Eurotrip two years ago.

Everyone has something interesting to offer you, whether it's material benefit, insight, or experience so learn how to quickly establish a connection with them.

Breakfast buffet at the Wynn: every kind of your favorite food is here. You don't even want to beat the system by eating more than you paid for. You just want to try everything. A meal is measured in trips instead of courses. Two is the standard, the first being everything you can fit on one plate.

Better genes get you more money, but if you managed to get some without blonde hair and blue eyes, you're in luck. In clubs, money is the the thing most critical to success. Then genes. Doesn't matter how you move or what you say.

Rocks in the sun are all about interesting shadow patterns, and local colour in the lit side.

Nature has similar patterns and detail distribution at all scales. The thing that makes you aware of the scale is most often the curvature of the earth on the horizon.

Rocky environment never just have rocks. In the grand canyon, there's powdery sediment and plants.

Remember transitions. Water = more plants.

Nature always variates, so should you.

When doing environments, always add some sort of wildlife, unless you want it to be completely man-made and dead. Then add dust, wear and tear etc.

The analytical mind cannot be a performer. In order to act, one must turn off analysis.

Thank God some dudes are shy, otherwise women in clubs would always be swarmed.

It's gonna take me a flight or two back to LA to get used to calling it my home.

Damn I Need to Blog

I got a whole bunch of work backed up now, which means I'm going to start posting more frequently. Maybe I'll get some of my street cred back.

Find a process for isolating elements of reality that leaves the prettiest artifacts. As in, the areas that aren't finished should look finished as quickly as possible. Constant time pressure helps you get better faster, because you begin to get rid of inefficiencies and you prioritize visual information so that the important stuff goes in first.

It's all about the bear necessities. Don't ask how many strokes it will take you, but ask how few. How few colours/values will it take to render a human body? What's important for you? Form? Pigment variation? Gesture? There are many ways to portray reality and none of them are "realistic" so choose to focus on a combination of visual elements that fits your brain.

Analyze the structure of  what you're drawing. That way your drawings will instinctively have more power, and you will learn more about your subject.

In entertainment design you can't stray too far from the zeitgeist. Your audience has to know and get what you're drawing right away.

When taking crits, always say "yes, and ..." If you don't understand, ask why.

Always keep in mind what the most important element in your design/painting is. ALWAYS. Before making any stroke, ask what is the important element.  I can't stress this enough.

Gradients give you more information that flat colours, however it's a lot harder to manage them to describe form.

Concept artists are basically prostitutes. You are hired to draw things without getting attached to any of them. I will probably return to this parallel.

The tighter the gradient, the harder edges you can use on your brush.

I repeat myself a lot, but that's only because these things are important. The easiest way to resist temptation is to give yourself no choice.

Life drawings from last night. 10s, 15, and 20s.

The Math of Design

Didn't get into the Marquee club because I didn't bring a dress shirt to vegas, so decided to blog instead. Fuck that shit anyway, the wait was getting up to an hour.

Yet another tutorial that I will need to do. For now, just analyze the wikipedia page for the Golden Ratio. If you want to learn the rules of design fast, make your distribution of detail, value, saturation and colour should adhere to the golden ratio. Essentially, if the information in your image were to be measured in bytes, as your eye travels around the picture the flow of information should increase and decrease according to the fibonacci sequence. At least at first.

Do what you love, but be careful. If a bunch of other people love doing it too, you'll need to work harder than them to succeed.

If you're not starving, share your food.

Break down value the same way you break down shape. Put down the big value changes, then take it down to less significant ones.

Use each brush stroke as a piece of clay that you add or chisel away to sculpt your form.

As you increase the values of your sliders, remember that your distance between them needs to increase too, because you have a lot more of a range of saturation.

When working in colour, you need to think 2-3 steps ahead, because it is relative.

Money gives you access to things that are desired by people.

By the time success or acclaim reaches a person or a group of people, they have already changed, for better or for worse. Those zen people had some good ideas, man.

If you think you're ahead on a project, you will almost certainly fall behind.