Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo - Gaming Event

So, a friend of mine asked if I wanted to do some art to help him promote the traditional gaming event at the Calgary Expo this year (http://www.calgaryexpo.com/gaming/). Sounded like fun and being part of the expo, even in a small way, gives me the warm fuzzies so I agreed. The pieces ended up being rushed, honestly, as everything* that could possibly go wrong during the time period, did... But, I think they turned out pretty decently. Hoping those at the expo enjoy it, as that's the important part.

Finished just this morning after another all nighter, you should be able to see this as a giant poster at the gaming area itself, a dragon who may be hoarding the myriad of prizes up for grabs at the event:

And created for posters/handbills which you may have already seen around the city, a Warhammer 40K: Grey Knight Terminator, firing wildly at something larger than himself that appears to be breathing fire *cough*:

If you're at the Expo, it'll be worth checking out, the event will be in the main convention hall (it's marked on their map). Whether you're into competing in the events(as they have all sorts of ones and for every genre and universe I've ever heard of), or just because you'd like to be a spectator and watch the gladiatorial bloodsport of the mighty geeks. (Link again: http://www.calgaryexpo.com/gaming/)
See you there, I'll be the one fussing about everything I could have done better with the art ;)

* Everything is hopefully taking a break from adding additional things for now, but included: dog dying, sudden deadline changes and doubling of workload, grandmother dying, car breaking down, girlfriend having mysterious illness which led to multiple emergency room visits, sudden pre-emptive concerns of legal issues which required a complete change of concept, my having an entirely unrelated mysterious illness, computer crashes, and, as always, terminal insomnia ;)

Mech Monday: RobotJox

RobotJox by Robert Simons
http://falarsimons.deviantart.com/art/Viscom-Final-RobotJox-154485417

And to catch up fully, here's RobotJox by Robert Simons (Falarsimons). Interesting design here, a nice mix between more organic forms and the traditional synthetic ones. I also have a tendency to enjoy reverse jointed legs, they seem to give a much more preadtory feel. Not sure about the overall balance of the design, but nice colouring and forms.

The rest of his gallery has a lot of interesting little twists like this, worth checking out.

Please note: The image in this post is used in accordance with the doctrine of fair use/fair dealing, under the consideration of commentary and criticism. I ensure all images are credited to the creator, link to one or more of their sites and include metadata (when possible) to the same effect. If you are the creator or copyright holder and for whatever reason desire the removal of this image, contact me and I will remove it as soon as I am able. Thank you.

Space Sunday: Rawkets

Ended up busy with work and half-dead with illness yesterday, so only posting now, but hopefully that's made up by how excellent this piece is!

Rawkets by Reid Southen
http://rahll.deviantart.com/art/Rawkets-209713749

This is Rawkets by Reid Southen (Rahll). I've been following Reid for a number of years now, and his pieces constantly continue to increase in quality. This piece is one of my favorites from him. The composition is good, the designs are excellent and the level of detail, especially in the smoke and explosions is incredible. I also love all the little additions Reid puts into his piecies, like all the falling debris/guy, etc, since it lets my eye roam around exploring and finding interesting things.

Looking forward to see what he produces in the coming year. 

Please note: The image in this post is used in accordance with the doctrine of fair use/fair dealing, under the consideration of commentary and criticism. I ensure all images are credited to the creator, link to one or more of their sites and include metadata (when possible) to the same effect. If you are the creator or copyright holder and for whatever reason desire the removal of this image, contact me and I will remove it as soon as I am able. Thank you.

Mech Monday: Hobgoblin

Hobgoblin by Alexander Iglesias
http://flyingdebris.deviantart.com/art/Hobgoblin-259907579

It's Mech Monday (almost Tuesday, oops) again and time for another giant robot, this time from Alexander Iglesias (flyingdebris). This one is interesting for a lot of reasons. First off, I love the design, it seems both hulking and agile at the same time, very predatory. The amount of detail is impressive and I have a fondness for 3 barrel weapons, one of which features prominently in this design. It's a bit hard to read in parts, but still, great overall impression. Interesting as well, is that it's a departure from the style usually seen with Battletech designs, seems to be a move to modernise, perhaps?

Anyway, here's hoping your week started off well.


Please note: The image in this post is used in accordance with the doctrine of fair use/fair dealing, under the consideration of commentary and criticism. I ensure all images are credited to the creator, link to one or more of their sites and include metadata (when possible) to the same effect. If you are the creator or copyright holder and for whatever reason desire the removal of this image, contact me and I will remove it as soon as I am able. Thank you.

Space Sunday: Front Lines

Front Lines by Adam Burn

http://phoenix-06.deviantart.com/art/Front-Lines-246157737

Another (hopefully) weekly feature now, Space Sundays. And what better way to start, than an epic space battle filled with missiles, plasma bolts and explosions.

The above piece is by Adam Burn (a.k.a. Phoenix-06), not a lot to say on it, other than it tickles particular parts of my brain and reminds me to a degree of one of my favorite games of all time, Homeworld. Interestingly enough, this piece is one of a number that are being posted on his account in relation to a new MMO space RTS called Novus Aeterno by Taitale Studios. I'm enjoying their ship designs a fair amount already and sounds like there's going to be a lot of customization possible. Something to keep an eye on, certainly.

Check out his dA page here: http://phoenix-06.deviantart.com/

And you can follow along with the game developments on their twitter, here: http://twitter.com/novusaeterno

Please note: The image in this post is used in accordance with the doctrine of fair use/fair dealing, under the consideration of commentary and criticism. I ensure all images are credited to the creator, link to one or more of their sites and include metadata (when possible) to the same effect. If you are the creator or copyright holder and for whatever reason desire the removal of this image, contact me and I will remove it as soon as I am able. Thank you.

The CGHub Production Challenge 2012

Just a pretty quick post to mention the contest for CGHub this year. I actually love CGHub as a platform for artists, it's one of the best out there, especially for displaying yourself in the hopes of getting paid work. I'm currently not very active there, though that's for the simple reason that it's incredibly intimidating, not because the people are unfriendly (they're more friendly than most places I've experienced), but because the standard of art on display is so high across the board.

With that said, if you're looking to challenge yourself, their contest is a great place to do so. Just take a look at last year's results to see what I mean:
http://cghub.com/blog/view/production-challenge-1-roundup-adrian-smith/

The concept for this year, is just as spectacular:

CGHub Production Challenge 2012 Concept

And in additional, this year they've added a 2D category, so (I assume) there's going to be a lot more diversity and challengers. For myself I'm going to primarily use this as a means to cut my teeth on/teach myself ZBrush. Here's hoping I manage to produce something respectable. You can find all the details for the challenge here: http://cghub.com/forum/showthread.php?t=8942

In the meantime, I thought I'd share some of the WIP threads that caught me eye so far.

First up, Ricardo Luiz Mariano's thread: http://cghub.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9085

Quite a lot done in a short amount of time. I like where the anatomy is going with the demon, it gives a nice impression of strength, the only thing I wonder about is the feet. In their current form/size they seem to take away from that sense of power and seem a bit clumsy. The greatest thing though is the amount of detail already put into the head and neck, the little nodules and textures definitely give it that born from sulfur feel.

Next is Renderluz: http://cghub.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9056

Different approach with the demon in this one, far more slick and goblin-like. Just shows how varied the expression of the feel of the demon can be. Again I like where the anatomy of the demon is going, though the facial features on the woman seem a bit doll like to me. The part I like most is the use of such distinct hands for each pair of arms, delicate versus heavy. You can see the common anatomy, but can easily imagine their different purposes/uses/feel.

And now a 2D one from tiong1: http://cghub.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9031

Not a lot to say here, but some great initial sketches. Good amount of variety, but you definitely get the common theme of how the two characters are close companions. Nice use of pose and composition to distinguish the nuance of that relationship, from one side of the spectrum to the other, from protective and child-like as in #7, to more equal and aggressive as in 4 and 5.

Back to 3D with Alex S: http://cghub.com/forum/showthread.php?t=8982

Nice degree of detail on some of the smaller objects for the concept, like the skulls and a very impressive blade hilt. What really stands out for me though is the gesture and anatomy in the woman so far. Great living feel from her (even at this early stage), which I think is going to be one of the most important things for the final piece, especially in regards to being able to draw in the viewer.

And here we have Sinzalot: http://cghub.com/forum/showthread.php?t=8959

I'm honestly not sure how I feel on some aspects of the anatomy, especially on the hands and stomach area, but it's still early days. What I found interesting and well done though, was the build up from a skull into the facial anatomy for his demon. Definitely adds to the realistic feel of it and ends up giving a nice balance between the sort of slick feel and gnarled feel seen in the other entries above. Emphasizes again how this concept can be interpreted all along that scale.

And finally, another 2D, this time from zigi: http://cghub.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9091

Wondering if this piece may actually take the interpretation a bit too far from the concept, but at the same time, it's the reason it caught my eye. Very sort of old classic, almost barbarian-and-damsel-esque posing and feel to it. Nice impression of movement even at the sketch stage.

And that's it for now, I'll post my own work in a WIP thread and here at some point, but I'm taking my time so it'll likely be a while before that. Will also mention other threads to keep an eye on as I see them.

Again, if you're looking for a good challenge and a bit of fun, definitely join in. Good luck to everyone participating or thinking of doing so!

Mech Monday: Mechs Advance

Starting to revive my online presence. And to set that off, I'm starting with a new feature, hopefully ever week, called "Mech Mondays". I've been a fan of the giant robots in one form or another since the first computer game I ever played, back when they came on 7-inch floppies. It was called "Battletech: The Crescent Hawks Revenge" and I loved it.

In the spirit of the epic battles I enjoyed as a kid, I present to you, this epic scene created by Jim Hatama entitled "Mechs Advance".

Mechs Advance by Jim Hatama
http://jimhatama.deviantart.com/art/mechs-advance-275018700

A nice uniform palette that feels gritty and really makes the small bursts of colour stand out. I like that it's not only mechs, but a mixed force, similar to how armor gets used in current battlefields. The level of detail being varied and some atmospheric effects give a good sense of depth as well. There are some parts in the sky and ground that feel a bit too loose or scratchy to me, but it doesn't take away from the overall image. I really do enjoy how it feels like we're at the edge of the front line as it slowly lumbers forward, chaos all around as it does.

If you enjoy this piece, definitely check out the rest of his work at: http://jimhatama.deviantart.com/


Please note: The image in this post is used in accordance with the doctrine of fair use/fair dealing, under the consideration of commentary and criticism. I ensure all images are credited to the creator, link to one or more of their sites and include metadata (when possible) to the same effect. If you are the creator or copyright holder and for whatever reason desire the removal of this image, contact me and I will remove it as soon as I am able. Thank you.