Taking the Blog off the shelf

''Oh Dear'' This was what I said once I had remembered about my forgotten blog, dusting it off from the digital and creative shelf life. I hadn't given much time or thought to it yet it now seemed the perfect way to express imaginative thought, ideas and research, art work and critique as I didn't keep a journal and my poor friends ears had become weary of my informative onslaughts. Along with the neglected blog had been a dwindling productive art life and a failing pursuit of a creative career.

''No More!'' I then said to myself, knowing that a return to the blogging platform would not be a one shot answer to my creative woes, It was a start in the right direction or rather in finding the right direction. The Blog would serve as a particularly useful area in which to address research, articles, interviews and other information I had taken in, It would serve as a place to express the ideas and imagination of myself (or others) and of course as a gallery of my work depicting my overall progress and future course.

''Why Bother?'' Then crept into my mind. Doubt is a pain but it brings questions worth answering, I mean, blogging takes time, is it worth blabbing on, serving your own ego when time is a precious commodity. I argued with myself (sanely) that it was worth it, writing time could be restricted, posts could be planned, noted and time could be saved. Furthermore, it was a blog it wasn't like i was writing a book. Its primarily function was to serve myself as an online track record of what I had actually done towards what I wanted to do or learn  and if it helped others by sharing, all the better.

''Get to it!'' So that was then, this is the idea and its justification. What does this mean in practical terms? The blog was only one element of a larger action plan to actually get myself into an ideal career, that came with some practical steps to it. As mentioned, this blog not only serves as a digital log of my artwork but also  as a brainstorm for my ideas on a potential career/pursuit, gathering general insights towards the games industry in particular but also traditional and emerging forms of media, art and communication. Its serves not only myself as a melting pot for ideas, concepts, designs and insights but also as a tool for those possible employers (or general viewers) to gain a wider understanding of where my mind and passions lie and along with the processes and results of such. In short, the blog is back!

Show Reel

Quick Showreel here, Aiming to improve one on this for Feburary...so stay tuned

2012, the first of many

I need more practice...so heres a picture that encompasses what i need to work on such as using reference, lighting, enviroments, perspective, colour and saturation, I also wanted to tell more story in a piece.

Study time

As Part of a fresh portfolio set up, There will be some new bits flying up here. To begin with, i need to do some study work, esp because im out of practice. It always good to use reference, helps to train and hand with wacom. Just started today but will be trying to get some more traditonal based studies from 1st and second hand images, movie stills, portraits, landscapes etc. Some of these pieces may be more polished than others but its mainly to get warmed and ready to paint up some concept designs later.

(Lions rock)

Drawing from Inspiration

Ok with a lot of worked underway and plans being drawn up for a new portfolio its important to me to remember what inspires me, this will motivate me when i need it but also may help to convey my personality and generate ideas in my work. I recommend everybody put down  on paper or blog something like this to establish what they like, this can help in times when your stuck for inspiration or motivation but may also create new ideas and directions for your work and possibly career.

Comics and graphic Novels (Marvel, 2000AD, Dark Horse)

I have always loved comics from an early age, first it was the cool artwork that gripped me and as I matured I developed a hunger for the narrative, good lay out and action scenes even developing my own comics.

Movies (Horror, Sci-Fi, Fantasy)

There are a lot of cool movies out that l love and are a visual feast but i always remember those original cult movies that inspired me in my childhood and in some way led me to this point now.

Animation and Anime (He-man, Princess Monoke, Disney)

Somethings about animation that draws out the imagination more than film, possibly because there is no limit to what ideas you can realise through it, if it wasn't for games, i'd be going for the animation industry.

Mythology (Norse, Irish and Classic)

I have always loved history and cultures and the myths they have, drawing from the past is important to me but it also reminds me that artists and storytellers have been using their imagination since mankind began.

Getting Out! (Musuems, Parks, Galleries)

These are some pictures I took while in London, I always like to grab a camera and go out, capture nature, buildings and people. I also bring a sketchpad, I believe that this is where original ideas come from.

And Games...of course! (retro, favourites, recent releases)

Games have always been the biggest driving force in what inspires me, since my childhood they have captured my imagination with snes and mega drive releases along with pc titles from the 90s. I have always had firm favourites and series that I followed, games which led me on to newer polished next gen titles. The interactive experience in narrative, the gorgeous art, the cool ideas and the fun of playing cemented them into my ideas for my own career and what i wanted to do with my life. I believe that games have given me a lot by feeding my imagination and giving me inspiration, it is my goal to put into games what i have received from them and in turn inspire future generations. I will develop a lot more in my ideas for games and what makes me passionate about them, including my favourites old and new and whats ahead in future blogs.

Key Advice from the Creative Assembley

Not a lot was on offer career-wise at the eurogamer expo however I managed to get a sit down and portfolio discussion with creative assembley's lead artist Kevin Mc Dowell for some invaluable critique and advice. This face to face chat was something rare from a job-seeking games graduate perspective so I thought I would share it with the rest of you budding artists and it was a bit of a wake up, shake up call for me.

The creative assembly team were responsible for one of my favourite games series the 'Total War' franchise, and are currently hiring people to work on a new alien IP, so i was excited to get chatting with their lead artist and also pretty nervous.

He had looked through my portfolio as I had looked on anxiously, awaiting some sort of response.

However it was not the response I had wanted but more so one I needed to hear, Overall he did not like it.

There was too much contrast, over saturated, the quality of work was mixed and the presentation was messy.

The content was too weird he explained, too much emphasis on lovecraft type creatures and the attempt at graphic design was poor.

With the mining over now came the gems of invaluable advice.

He told me to use more reference, he could tell from some pieces that were excellent that reference was used and to keep doing that, avoid having too much going on and with graphics keep it simple.

With some pieces the advice was developed more...

This bit was described as 'f**ckn awesome' noted use of reference 'this is your goal, do this!'

These parts were pretty good, not too bad could use more reference material

These parts are not of high quality and bring the piece down as a whole, no visible evidence of reference

Bad Graphics, Always used Vector based software although i get what you were going for

Overall this experienced advice was very welcome it was a little bit hard to hear but I had to admit it was spot on, I had actual thought this about my work and yet didn't address these issues. I also took note that he had seen the effort and the ability in my work but that I was just working in the wrong areas.

So what now, well i kept those notes, scrutinised my portfolio later that evening and decided it was time to go back to the drawing board. Right now I am going over websites, artist videos, magazine tutorials and seeing just what kind of portfolio I really need and what kind of hard work needs to be done. I had questioned my goals and questioned the logic of my pursuit and have come out of that more organised and determined. I have also developed a great desire for game industry advice and guidance towards my beginnings in it and I would advice any students/graduates to pursue and use such information well.

My portfolio remains somewhat unchanged but since this wake up call too weeks ago, a better and improved portfolio is currently underway. Developments and the finished reel will be sent here first so watch this space.

I will also progress my findings toward industry advice an potential information interviews in the future to aid any other graduates and students, competition will only lift our work to new heights.

Eurogamer Expo Expedition

Last month i attended the Eurogamer Expo in Earls Court, London in an effort to improve my network and prospects of getting a career in the games industry....and for fun! My favorite games showcased were Skyrim, Uncharted 3, Star Wars The Old Republic and Modern Warfare 3. There were loads more i checked out and I enjoyed areas such as the retro-zone back on the snes and the indie zone where I spoke to indie developers about how they got started. The careers fair was not as promising as I had hoped, offering more post graduate options from universities and Train to Game. However I did manage to speak to representatives from sega, sumo digital and creative assembly yet the event was more publisher heavy with an emphasis on the games, which kept me too much in awe. Heres a preview of what I saw.