PIXELHERDER

For the emperor! Again!

noreply@blogger.com (Aidan) — Fri, 18 Jul 2014 15:26:00 +0000

Another warhammer spacemarine pic for practice and stuff

for the emperor!

noreply@blogger.com (Aidan) — Thu, 10 Jul 2014 11:19:00 +0000

some random warhammer (fan) art innit!

also available, along with the rest of my portfolio, on my artstation page >

http://www.artstation.com/artwork/warhammer-40k-assault

NEW PORTFOLIO

noreply@blogger.com (Aidan) — Fri, 04 Jul 2014 12:19:00 +0000

Well i said there'd be an update, and this is it.

Ta-da - i've moved my work from the sadly defunct CGhub, to the brand-spanking-new ARTSTATION

http://www.artstation.com/artist/pixelherder

So check it and see what you think...

...as for future blog updates - that entirely depends whether anyone is even reading this.
Isn't everyone on facebook/twitter/tumblr etc. these days?

I know i'll try and build more of a presence on some of these newfangled social networks and see which ones come out on top

ToodlePip

*EDIT* As for what i've been up to since i last properly updated this blog, why not see for yourself on my steam workshop page...you can even buy some of them!

http://steamcommunity.com/id/pixelherder/myworkshopfiles/

UPDATE COMING SOON!

noreply@blogger.com (Aidan) — Mon, 30 Jun 2014 20:49:00 +0000

stay tuned!

school's (almost) out

noreply@blogger.com (Aidan) — Sat, 09 Mar 2013 23:39:00 +0000

Been busy since the last update with my CGMA anatomy course - just one week to go,
so here's some of what i've been up to.

And a few random other sketches.

So nothing to shout from the rooftops about, but i would highly recommend the course. Its Great!

Maximum Resolution

noreply@blogger.com (Aidan) — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 17:32:00 +0000

After a bit of a hiatus towards the end of last year, i decided to roll my sleeves up and and get back on the art horse for 2013. There's a lot of room for improvement across the board, so to get things started i warmed up with some quick studies of some pics by various more talented artists...

After that a few more general studies were in order...(some more finished than others)

There were a few lunchtime speedpaints, which led to some crocodile related fun, and a quick session of zbrush - something i hadnt gone near in far too long!

And some more lunchtime Zbrushing...

A couple of lunchtime speedpaints - "Africa"

And figuring there's no harm in tackling a bit of anatomy i started from the ground up...

...and once i'd done that, i figured it'd be even better to do even more, so i registered for another course - and last week i started an 8 week CGMW course in Analytical Figure Drawing. First assignment was a truckload of gesture drawings...

And thats it for this month. For the sake of completion i'll add this final pic i did at the end of last year, another study from the excellent "Excalibur"

Space Cadet

noreply@blogger.com (Aidan) — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 17:45:00 +0000

not much to show at the moment, been working on some other things non-photoshop related for a bit

there is this though - a lunchtime sketch i've been noodling at on and off for a bit...

...And we're done!

Blogocalypse!

noreply@blogger.com (Aidan) — Sat, 08 Sep 2012 15:58:00 +0000

Been BIZZAY the last few weeks, mainly to do with the CGMW classes, so going to dump all that in this update...

The last few weeks mainly involved taking some quick thumbnails and bringing them to a higher level finish...which is what i did. Look!

Giant Robot...

...Giant Spaceship..

...~~Giant~~ MAHOOSIVE Robot

Also had an older pic published in Fantasy Flight Games Warhammer book (no, not the cover)

DeathWatch - Honor The Chapter

Heres the actual illustration - A space marine stepping through a hole cut into a blast door.
Like i said, its from a bit earlier in the year, so definitely might do a few things differently now. Had a few problems resolving things compositionally - the central figure was straightforward enough, but the figures towards the extremeties were problematic for all sorts of reasons...

Here's some of the initial sketches/progress

As far as process goes, i thought it'd useful to block out some lighting reference in 3d > important to note that it was *just* reference, i didnt use it as a base for a paintover. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but, that wasnt the case in this example.

Anyway not sure if it was worth the time setting things up (modeling and rigging the block in character from scratch for example!) but a useful exercise all the same...

...as for other developments, i was pleasantly suprised to see (a slightly misspelled version of ) myself popping up in VERTEX - a 300 page downloadable pdf filled with gameindustry art tutorials.

And for the sake of Google searches, best mention this here > ALDAN WILSON is Aidan Wilson

There, thats settled then.

CGMW - Week 2

noreply@blogger.com (Aidan) — Sat, 04 Aug 2012 13:24:00 +0000

So this week was all about how to draw using 2 point perspective, maintaining an initial 3 value structure to the image and THEN adding more specific lighting on top

A lot to cram in, i sort of managed but obviously theres only so much you can get done in a couple of hours...anyway this is what i did!

And if anyone's interested here's another process gif - like i said before fairly simple
1) initial drawing and blocking in main values (foreground, mid-ground and background
2) Detailing
3) Lighting pass + Atmospherics and Effects (smoke, glows etc.)

Next week is supposed to be spent on just one piece, so it's either going to be *GREAT* or a total trainwreck...eek!

mind expanding

noreply@blogger.com (Aidan) — Sat, 28 Jul 2012 16:19:00 +0000

Finally got a bit of time to blow off some of the cobwebs round here, so best get cracking

I've just started an online course with CGMW
http://www.cgmwmasterclasses.com/environment-design-for-games.html

1st week assignment was to pic some movie stills/photos (saving private ryan and lawrence of arabia in this case) and break them down into simple values - foreground, middleground and background.

Fairly straightforward and about 90 minutes each.

And for good measure, I'll even throw in a couple of animated gifs breaking down the process i used.

And if anyones interested, it can be really useful to take a picture into photoshop and use the "cutout" filter to show the value patterns in your image. I used it on some film stills, but its just as applicable to your own work.

The next assignment is similar, only this time we get to draw anything we like...so er, what could that be?

right now i have NO IDEA. Lets hope that doesnt last too long...

*edit* oh, i was also interviewed for a german games website! Skip to 10.45 for POWERFUL ART INSIGHTS...http://www.gameswelt.tv/29326/crytek-uk/studio-tour-aus-nottingham.html

Drive-By Posting

noreply@blogger.com (Aidan) — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 11:51:00 +0000

So carrying on with the vehicular theme i spend some time doing tutorials i'd discovered by this Miles Waterhouse chap. Very nicely done, its probably the best introduction to the basics of vehicle design and drawing around. So if you have a few quid to spare, it's well worth it.

Miles Waterhouse - Concise Car Sketching

one of the exercises is to trace (i know, cheating!) a picture of a car,

and try to just concentrate on simple reflections to describe its form. V. useful!

And as well as that, there was a study of another random internet photo (not traced!). I was again trying for a more painterly style, much like my last helicopter attempt, but possibly may have slightly over-egged the pudding.

Well, its all about learning and i guess the most important thing i've (re)learnt recently is the importance of the initial drawing. It can take a while to sort it out, and it doesnt look showy or impressive, but once thats done everything else is so much easier. And it means i could potentially redo the same drawing in any number of different styles. In this case it was painterly scribbles, but it could have just have easily been a slick monochrome airbrush affair.

Undoubtedly theres going to be more of this learning to draw cars malarky, but in the meantime its Dr.Sketchy tomorrow - a very welcome break indeed!

Technicalities

noreply@blogger.com (Aidan) — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 15:41:00 +0000

So in between everything else, last month i thought i'd try and do something different, and also tackle some things that i've been putting off for a while! Also its good to veer off on a tangent every now and again and see where you end up.

The demands of my job mean i've been tackling a lot of technical drawing - things that involve all the tricky bits like perspective and design - so i started going through a few books and trying to get to grips with things.

Here are some of the books in case you're interested

Perspective For Comic Book Artists

Carl Dobsky Perspective (video download)

How to Draw Cars the Hot Wheels Way

Learning Curves

Some miscellaneous perspective exercises, just to get warmed up!

I looked into car design , not specifically to learn how to design cars, because its a subject that covers a lot of important areas - good drawing fundamentals, design principles and application and presentation/drawing techniques that help to make things look great but also communicate what it is youre trying to convey.

And heres what i ended up with - some fairly ropey looking stuff to start off with, but wasnt long before i got the hang of some of it. Still a long way off on being able to design a car from scratch this way, but definitely got a better understanding of whats going on!

I also decided it'd be useful AND fun to put everything into practive, and apply some of the principles i'd been learning to a wacky-races style cartoon car.

And here was a quick lunchtime study to finish everything off

After all that i did this random helicopter pic, just to unwind and mess around a bit

Next month, i may try and carry on developing this side of things, or i might do something completely different. Guess we'll have to wait and see...

p.s. process

noreply@blogger.com (Aidan) — Sun, 06 May 2012 14:46:00 +0000

Like i said in my previous post, once i had a bit more time i'd put up a bit of a process shot for my zombie pic

So here it is! Nothing especially ground breaking, just a quick sketch in photoshop that was then developed into a more detailed greyscale picture, before a final wash of colour.

And heres a closeup of the finished piece - i didnt worry about keeping it super polished, as you can see its still pretty loose, but thats sort of the way i wanted it.

Having posted this on polycount, i was rather chuffed to see it highlighted in this weeks news on there...nice!

I've done a couple of other pieces recently, but they'll have to remain under wraps for a while yet - so the updates may seem a little sparse till then!

Love at First Bite

noreply@blogger.com (Aidan) — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 18:02:00 +0000

in a bit of a rush at the moment, so not much time for anything other than a drive-by blog-post

So there's zombie romance in the air, when i've got a bit more time i'll post of some process shots and hopefully go a bit more into what's going on...er, right, must dash!

April Fool

noreply@blogger.com (Aidan) — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 15:47:00 +0000

A few modest wee knick-knacks to show for meself this month - bit sparse due to having a few other plates spinning at the moment. Also likely to be a bit like that for the next few weeks, but as soon as i have stuff to show, up it'll go! Wouldnt hold my breath mind, could be a while...

Luncharted Speedpaints this month included

A top secret INFILTRATOR

St Patrick's day Leprechaun themed punnery

And a scorching hot HEATWAVE

There were a few others but they were pants, so i'll leave it there for now.

Adios!

UNICORN POWER! (+space marines)

noreply@blogger.com (Aidan) — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 17:48:00 +0000

Been a bit lax on the blog front lately, but got a bit to show at least - so here goes

Right, been doing a bit of work for Fantasy Flight Games, and the first results are now on sale.

So check it out, Warhammer + Space Marines!

http://store.fantasyflightgames.com/productdetails.cfm?SKU=oSL14

Woo Hoo! Thats me on the cover too - which is nice

Theres plenty of info on the net so i reckon i can give a rundown/some process shots

http://boardgamegeek.com/images/boardgameexpansion/120965/space-hulk-death-angel-the-card-game-deathwing

First up is a Terminator Space Marine, doing his thing with a very large gun...

Next up, some more Terminator Space Marine (DeathWing Chapter!) giving it LOADS.

As these were my first freelance pieces of this sort, there's things i'd do differently now, but it was a lot of fun and hopefully i'll get to do a lot more of this sort of thing. And get better while i'm at it.

As well as that, theres been some more lunch time sketch stuff, again mostly fairly fast and unpolished, so here's some of that...

LUNCHARTED - SUBZERO

LUNCHARTED - HEARTBREAKER

LUNCHARTED - THE PRISONER

LUNCHARTED - THUNDER

LUNCHARTED - PROTOTYPE

And i did say there would be a unicorn (done as a gift for a youngling) - VOILA!

JANUARY RECAP

noreply@blogger.com (Aidan) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 20:58:00 +0000

Almost the end of January, so thought it was time for a recap

While the day job is filled with mostly blundering away in my new-ish position as a concept artist, i thought it'd be useful to do some quick studies in any freetime that was available. So these are some of em. Mostly 30 - 45 minutes ish

Also have another bit of TOP SECRET sauce cooking on the back burner. Cant say much, but if youre one of the chaps from one of the timesplitters forums that recently caused a big spike in my hits, then all i can say then this blog is mainly focussed on my personal work. Not generally much to do with Crytek. Soz!

Also, in the spirit of new year resolution induced delerium, thought it'd be a good idea to get lunchtime speedpainting up and going again. Or "LUNCHARTED" as its know in these parts. So thanks to the efforts of a few other excellent art types, thats been going great guns, so heres whats happened. Again, mostly really quick - just want to focus on churning out as many ideas as possible rather than concentrate on finished pieces. I've got enough of those sort of things to do as it is.

Think I might take a bit of a break in February.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

noreply@blogger.com (Aidan) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 13:52:00 +0000

Its been a while since i updated on here, for many varied reasons, but the important thing is i've finally got something to show for myself.

So here's a pic bursting at the seams with seasonal cheer. Or something like it.

And for the curious here's the initial sketches and a bit of a process/wip breakdown

*EDIT* Being happy enough with the direction i was headed in, i made a quick zbrush maquette to help with lighting reference. As the image wasnt terribly complicated it wasnt essential, but it certainly didnt hurt.

And then it was onto rendering everything up.

As is usual these days, i try to worry about only one thing at a time, so it was greyscale first then colour

I also knocked up an alternative card design too, for those of a slightly more sensitive disposition - everyone likes turkey right?

And as well as that, there was a couple of illustrations that i am not at liberty to divulge for another couple of months. Exciting eh? EH?

Finally, been trying to set friday lunchtimes aside at work (informally known as LUNCHARTed!) for a bit of zbrush speed sculpting. So far random internet memes seem to be the topic of choice. Cant go wrong with a bit of lolphin.

Theres been some other bits and bobs too - dr.sketchy and lifedrawing doodles mainly - but time and flagging motivation means they're not going to end up here today. Or ever.

Now to hang up my wacom for a couple of weeks or so, and begin eating my way through as many mince pies as possible

HO HO HO!

aint nuffin but a speedpaint

noreply@blogger.com (Aidan) — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 21:26:00 +0000

and thats it for today.

Teen Satan

noreply@blogger.com (Aidan) — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 17:34:00 +0000

SaTeen? Er, maybe not. Anyway.

Theyre so moody at that age - anyway still playing around with colour and thought i'd sketch something a bit different for good ol fashioned pen danglin fun

you guessed it

noreply@blogger.com (Aidan) — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 15:59:00 +0000

more studies and stuff

still trying to figure out what exactly it is that takes a piece to THE NEXT LEVEL. I know theres plently of artists out there who seem to manage it, seemingly effortlessly, so trying to figure out how and what theyre upto seems like it might pay off. Even if i'm not actually going to emulate their particular style

So heres a few studies of pieces by "bumskee" - i really love how suggestive his work can be, and that whole "Implied detail" thing he's up to all the time. Most impressive!

Then based on the stuff i've been doing over the past few weeks i tried to apply it to a pic of my own. Nothing fancy, just a stock image, but useful.

And speaking of useful, or not, heres a process pic.
Nailing a process of some sort is what this is all about after all, and it feels like i'm getting closer to...something. I think.

Off on holiday for a bit now, so will be even quieter round these parts than before. When i get back i think i'll carry on in a similar vein for a while - possibly till the end of the year? After that, then hopefully i can start tackling my own stuff again, better, stronger, FASTER than before!

Adieu!

flying visit

noreply@blogger.com (Aidan) — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 18:41:00 +0000

In a bit of a rush right now, so a brief, and not terribly exciting update

Just carrying on with some studies - Mullins, Maciej and Paperblue - trying to figure out processes and the like.
Would like to carry on doing more of this sort of thing for a while, theres still a lot to learn

Back to School

noreply@blogger.com (Aidan) — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 12:51:00 +0000

While trying to sort out what to do next art-wise, i thought it was time for a bit of a breather and time to brush up on some of the old fundamentals. Colour in particular

So some lunchtime studies of work by people who know what theyre doing - and a few exercises from James Gurneys Color and Light: A Guide for the Realist Painter

And finally, a bit of a process exercise - i really like the work of FlapTraps, so had a look at some specific pieces and tried to reverse engineer his process. Turns out its all about the negative space! So quite useful, and time/motivation permitting, its something i want to try a bit more of. Its a great way of getting out of your comfort zone and seeing how other people go about making an image.

I'm Ron... Burgundy?

noreply@blogger.com (Aidan) — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 12:04:00 +0000

Just a study, trying to work on my colour stuff - i'll keep to the greyscales + colourise for some subjects, but definitely want to get a bit better at eyeballing these things. Going back over some James Gurney stuff too as a refresher.

You stay classy, San Diego.

Mario and the Red Mushroom

noreply@blogger.com (Aidan) — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 07:59:00 +0000

Just a bit of a doodle sort-of inspired by the Dr. Sketchy event at GameCityNights

Roid-Rage Mario!