.HARDSHELLart [Blog].

.:) Yggy (:.

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley McLaughlin) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 02:49:00 +0000

Starting Friday night and going until Sunday night I was at the Global Game Jam 2012 at the Nerdery. There were about 20ish people participating in our chapter. We were presented with the global theme of the Ouroburos

We were able to take from it whatever we wanted whether it be the circle, the snake, the life/death/rebirth meaning, or a cycle of some sort. Whatever direction we wanted to take our game in. We all then brainstormed as a giant group and went on to form small teams, pick an idea, and make a game. It was amazing being apart of such a giant creative collective.

My partners were the amazing Andy Korth and Scott Lembcke of Howling Moon Software (developers of the Chipmunk Physics engine).
Our GGJ12 game, "Yggy" is about a young Yggdrasil who's goal is to replenish the land with vegetation. Gameplay consists of shooting seeds into the mudmen converting them into plants n' such.
It's still missing a few things (health drops, full level transitions, smooth animations of mudmen turning into vegetation, etc.) but for 48 hrs this is what we were able to get done. Our idea ended up being life/death/rebirth. When a level ends Yggy grows into a tree and sprouts a new seed that becomes the player in the next level ^_^

Next IGDA meeting is a play party.
There were supposedly 2000 made worldwide, so why not play'em!
Groups from the IGDATC chapter will also be presenting. I think ours is one of them.

Yggy can be downloaded and played from our game page here:
(for Mac)
YGGY

IGDA Twin Cities GGJ site:
IGDATC

.Yggy.sprites.

(Sorry for the blinkin'... seems to be a Vimeo thang.)

-:.inter-dimensional.loitering.:-

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley McLaughlin) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 02:17:00 +0000

Still pluggin' on projects

More of the graphic novel lately, so nothing I can put up yet.
Prolly bounce back to the music vid soon. Need to do some style sheets.

Signed up for IGDATC Global Game Jam this upcoming weekend.
Looking forward to being thrown on a team and kickin' out a game! :D

I also had the best birthday ever! ^-^
The hubs' bday is early Feb.
I'll put up pix of his present when I'm done with it :P

.prickle.pudger.
(i love fat critters >___> )

.inter-dimensional.loitering.
goober goo's wreck shoes

.Bizzy.Bits. (pt.1)

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley McLaughlin) — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 16:26:00 +0000

I decided to bounce around between personal projects rather than force myself onto one at a time. I get more variety that way and don't burn myself out.
(Somehow coming to that conclusion wasn't a 'duh' for me :P )
My big projects at the moment are the
graphic novel, music video, and early work on an indie game Bizzy will be in.
Other than that I'm doing some more tat designs for a couple friends
which is always really exciting. ^-^
It's flattering to know someone wants your art on their body forever.

I figured I'd start chipping away at Bizzy's different sprite states for the game. I just did flat colors on her for now. Once I figure out the style for the game I'll shade her accordingly and swap out images. BOOM!

.Bizzy.Run.
She'll have her BeeBot with her.
I'll get to him a bit later as he's involved in some of her actions.

.Bizzy.Bits. (pt.1) from Ashley McLaughlin on Vimeo.

A dayjob related note:
Aces Bubble Popper came out today on iOS.
Here's the vid again.
Tap dat app!

.o).plumpers.(o.

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley McLaughlin) — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 02:35:00 +0000

I said I'd put up progress as I go - SO I AM! :D
Here's a giant mish-mosh concept sheet of my two characters
for the new project at various stages.
I'm over halfway done with the animatic but I'm not sure if it's worth putting up yet.
It's really rough and I don't wanna give away all of the story :P
I might put up a snip it or bits of the video with before/after
comparisons as I start fleshing out shots.

Attended an IGDA meeting yesterday. It was awesome!
I don't know why I haven't been going to those. SO much great info for indie devs. Definitely gonna start going now. Meet some peeps, nom some brains - network. ^-^

Wrote up a design doc a couple days ago for a fun/simple game.
Jason said he'd code me a prototype. I'll update more if it gets rolling.

Decided to go gaslight London on a new game at work.
Sneaking in some steampunk here n' there.
And yes >___> there's a robot.
Should be out around the holidays.

Time to make some banana bread and play MW3. BOOM!
/diji:out

ol.made.of.this.lo

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley McLaughlin) — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 02:47:00 +0000

She blew my mind when I was growing up.
This song is the 80s to me.
Done in MSpaint for a contest. Had to pick a moment from an 80s video.
Was a REALLY fun exercise.
Definitely have to do again.

I wonder if Shirley Manson was inspired by Annie Lennox much.
I wouldn't be surprised if she was.
The edge, the makeup, the love of androgyny.
Makes sense to me.

.lennox.

([.with.Bullets.in.His.Hair.])

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley McLaughlin) — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 03:22:00 +0000

It's been a LONG time since I did any ink/inkwash.
I've missed it.
I enjoy working in grayscale.
I did some ink work a couple nights ago, this was one of my better ones.
I'm quite out of practice...

Decided to get my Halloween on this year by doing a Crow tribute. I've always loved the graphic novel and movie. James O'Barr is so absolutely raw in the graphic novel. It's fantastic. I honestly think that it translated from comic to movie better - if not the best - than others that have tried.
RiP Brandon Lee.

Here were the sketches I ended up liking the best.
(Style is based off the graphic novel.)
I wanted to give Eric crow wings ^-^
I think I'll go with finishing the right one.
More angsty :P

Still trucking on the new music video and graphic novel.
I have some concepts I can throw up of the video soon.
Almost done with the 4min animatic.
Slow process, but great fun. :P

8m.Hubbles.m8

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley McLaughlin) — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 03:25:00 +0000

The hub tolerating my shenanigans.
Shiny stylz.

0oi.abnorminals.io0

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley McLaughlin) — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 02:48:00 +0000

Drew up a bunch of these lil fall/winter monsters the other night.
Thought I'd pick a few n' color'em. ^-^
Was torn between doing b&w tones or drab colors.
Went with the colors.

Busy with some 3d freelance for an old client and staying late at work for a sweet game. Did particles and character animations this week. Gonna get back on track with some personal projects soon (Hopefully).
Fall this year has been absolutely GORGEOUS!
Gotta admit I'm dreading the cold a bit.
I like crunchy, warm leaves :D

)) r.i.p. and thank you ((

lln Lamia nll

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley McLaughlin) — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 03:23:00 +0000

Demon chicks came up as the topic during an art jam with buddies last night.
Might hafta do a b&w version so she can be part of the fiends group.

.Lamia.
(If you click once, then click the link at the bottom left it'll zoom in to full size)

The netherwear apron is my lame attempt at censoring lol.
For the original (uncensored) version, visit my DA page: [.DiJiT3L.]
(Requires a DA account. Good to have if you're an artist anyway.)

Looks silly sitting next to a still of Pop n' Gum in the gallery lol...

.nl.cold.determination.ln.

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley McLaughlin) — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 17:44:00 +0000

Some people don't consider fan art to be a good thing to have in portfolios and whatnot. So once and awhile if I really like one I'll try to do a different version that's an original take. I redid my Dragon's Crown piece. I really like how her outfit turned out.
Fur is rad XD

.cozy.

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley McLaughlin) — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 14:33:00 +0000

Studio is at a point where it's not polished but I can start working in it! :D I'm excited. I've got a place for traditional work, digital, and a jewelry/sculpting center. It's not fully cleared up yet but it's the most cozy place I've ever had to be creative.
I'm very lucky. ^_^
When it's fully finished I'll post a pic or two of it. Hopefully I'll be able to add a space for my music in there at some point too. I miss playing piano.

I've decided to add another iron in the fire. Here's a quick concept for it:

Not sure where it'll get placed in the list of things I'm workin' on lol but I will get to it!
I... wanna brush up on my 3d too. lol
Mayhaps I'm a bit too ambitious at times... but it makes me happy. ^-^

I also want to dive into the graphic novel again, but it proves to be a bit of a seasonally inspired project. The palette is primarily dominated by autumn tones. The cold is setting in here soon though, so we'll see what happens. :)

The video I made for the brick breaker game we did has almost 6,000 views now! Woo! I'm hoping people are liking it. It's a nice change of perspective (literally) on the classic. I did the 3d and art assets for it. Grant, the dev on the game, is a code wizard. He did an awesome job!

().ThunderBunnies.()

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley McLaughlin) — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 18:54:00 +0000

Still fixing house stuff at the moment. Not much time for anything. We redid a wall and Jason ended up reflooring/retrimming my office. He's a very sweet hubby ^-^ It's almost ready for stuff to be moved into it. Then! WE DRAW!

Decided I'd play fantasy football at work for fun. My team name - Thunder Bunnies. I really liked it until I learned it was a 1980s comic book and a band. Poopoo.

I took a moment at work and doodled what I envisioned them to be, at least in a football sense. Team slogan, "Making hares stand on end(zones)". LoL. Makes me chuckle to think of a whole team of these...

.:].Dragon's.Crown.[:.

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley McLaughlin) — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 21:55:00 +0000

Got some time this weekend and was able to do this. I'm a big George Kamitani fan. Odin Sphere and Muramasa are easily some of the most beautiful games I've ever played. Vanillaware is coming out with Dragon's Crown next year and it looks sweet.
I thought I'd do some fanart of the elf lady :P
.elf.

I also was asked to be part of a panel at the Art Institute on June 6th to talk to college students about working in the REAL WORLD. It was a ton of fun!
(...we got pizza too. >_> ) I was surprised I was the only girl out of 6 people. I talked about my position as an Interactive Game Artist and what it's like doing art and animation on games. Talking about my passions always gets me fired up. Everyone else seemed to work at an actual studio. It was really interesting to hear everyone's story. I kinda felt like I was representing the lil guy. The company I work for is less than 20 people and not as well-known as the other companies that were present. We're small, but we have so much fun. A lot of people came up afterward and asked me questions. It was really sweet, I feel like I made a difference. :)
I also got interviewed by Jesse from Gattacast that same week for an episode of his show. It was pretty interesting, I've never really been interviewed before those two times. Audio sucked in some instances but that was totally my fault. My computer had connected to a random router in our building with a craptastic signal and I didn't realize until afterward. Blah, that part bummed me out a bit. But overall, I had a wonderful time with both. Great experiences! ^-^

oO0.pufferLuffer.0Oo

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley McLaughlin) — Thu, 19 May 2011 23:39:00 +0000

Blog posts might trickle in for awhile. I've been in the beginning stages of a graphic novel in my free time. Feels great to stretch out my skills. I'm really excited to get it out there. :D

Superbus tweeted Pop'n'Gum on April 28th!
Link: Superbus Twitter
It was awesome! I thought I should send it to them considering I made it with their song. I'm so glad they liked it! (Had to translate the French, but that's what I got out of it! lol!) I had so much fun making it. ^-^ It would make a sweet game...

Bubble Popper came out on the Nook Color and Android. It's cute, I had fun making it. I'm currently working on the iOS port. 3D Brick Breaker will be coming out on the Nook Color, Android, and iOS soon as well. It's also quite fun. ^-^ The iOS and tablet ports always look so snazzy. :P

.bubble.popper.

I've been working on mechanics, concepts, characters, and story for the next title. I have a lot of confidence in it. It's cute, silly, and has solid mechanics. :D

I submitted a sketch for Sketcholic's recent contest. I plan on submitting every chance I get. I like how they're small contests that don't require polished work. (And you can win neat lil prizes off it. :P )

This contest's subject was Water Fairy. I didn't get to spend much time with it. But I like the puffer ^-^ He's special.

.pufferLuffer.

":.urban.fae.:"

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley McLaughlin) — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 02:04:00 +0000

Sketch while rendering the other day. Thought it could use some color.

]|i.BATTLE.HAMS.i|[

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley McLaughlin) — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 02:21:00 +0000

I. Have. Been. Busy. Wow.

I have two games at work coming out soon that I did all the art and animation assets for. As well as helping design some of the mechanics and gameplay. One is an exclusive release for a certain device that will be one of the first on their mobile marketplace. So I'm pretty excited for that. The other is a 3d game, it'll be interesting to see how it does. We started developing a new game at work where I get to do character design and story. I'm pumped for it, it's gonna be super fun. I'm also working on two games as a personal project with some friends. One for XBL and one for iPhone/iPod. We want to take our time with them though, so it might be a lil bit. I also started playing Rift. I needed a different MMO than WoW and Tera doesn't have a US release date other than 2011. I can't wait for Portal either. Preorders don't ship soon enough.

We're also planning our wedding and buying a house. So yeah, good busy overall lol. :P

I've also been making jewelry like a madwoman lately. Not sure exactly what started that bug, but it bit hard. I've been putting up my designs on another blog. I didn't wanna clutter this one.
Link: Snapdangle!

I haven't been drawing much at home lately. And I can't put up any of the preliminary concept work for any of the games which is a tiny bit of a bummer. However, I did want to sketch battle hamsters from around the world the other night. :P

.plains.

.arctic.

.jungle.

.orient.

o|'Cherubic.Reverie'|o

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley McLaughlin) — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 02:58:00 +0000

.Cherubic.Reverie.
I started this one out knowing I wanted a wise, child-like character with a dreamy expression and some funky attire. Along the lines of maybe a religious figure.

I apologize for the video jumping around sometimes. I had to edit together a few sessions. This one ended up a bit long because of it. The jittering at some parts is because I select the layers to find them...makes for a bit of a seizurific experience. :P Heat of the moment! Sometimes there's no time to name things! :D

.cherubic.reverie. from Ashley Erickson on Vimeo.

I'm really excited for summer and moving into a house. I almost bought a 6ft tall canvas the other day. I want to paint something huge so badly, but I don't have the room at the moment. Bah!

li:.Vicar.:il

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley McLaughlin) — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 06:00:00 +0000

.Vicar.

.vicar. from Ashley Erickson on Vimeo.

|=.Autonomous.=|

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley McLaughlin) — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 04:53:00 +0000

.Autonomous.

Another one of my fiends. I've got these guys on the brain lately. I knew I wanted a big, sharp toothed, long-headed one this time. Other than that - wasn't sure where it was going to go.

The video ends up being pretty long... you've been warned. :D Had some trouble with my pen nib in a couple parts. It got a bit ragged. (Shading was difficult.) I have since remedied the situation and bought new ones. *geek glee*

These videos are proving to be fun and educational. (For me at least.) :P

.autonomous. from Ashley Erickson on Vimeo.

-|]:Ubit'roga:[|-

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley McLaughlin) — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 02:58:00 +0000

.Ubit'roga.

I recorded a sketch session the other night for fun. I went into this one without any solid vision of what I wanted, I just felt like drawing what came to mind. It was relaxing. ^-^ I'll probably record a painting in the near future. It's really interesting to watch your own process.

.Ubit'roga. from Ashley Erickson on Vimeo.

loO:.Vitiator.:Ool

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley McLaughlin) — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 01:48:00 +0000

.Vitiator.

It's been awhile since I got on a dark art kick, but it's definitely necessary. It seems to be more of a challenge to be able to adequately portray the spectrum from adorable to horrific things, rather than focusing entirely on a particular style or feel. I enjoy being versatile, it keeps me on my toes. I can always apply the things I've learned to something at a later time. Nothing's ever wasted. :)

[:]-Proselyte-[:]

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley McLaughlin) — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 18:55:00 +0000

.Proselyte.
(I really wanted to make an octopus 'hat' >_>)

Original Ink
[no pun intended]

Also, I decided on a smaller project with Bizzy for the time being. Her original story is going to be a longer endeavor, but I thought to do something smaller to explore her character for right now. Sort of a "Pepper Project" (like Artgerm). However, it'll be a short animation rather than a series of 2d illustrations. It'll be a nice break and an easier project than the other two I have in progress currently.

.Bizzy.

.:|.i.fight.for.the.users.|:.

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley McLaughlin) — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 02:49:00 +0000

I seriously could not help myself. Tron was an optical delicacy.

.:((Pop.'n'.Gum)):.

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley McLaughlin) — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 15:37:00 +0000

Pop'n'Gum from Ashley Erickson on Vimeo.

A love story... kinda.

Pop'n'Gum was inspired by the song "Pop'N'Gum" by Superbus. The French lyrics translate to be about popping bubbles when chewing gum. However, it sounded like it was more about Bonnie & Clyde type characters to me.

It developed into a dark comedy after adapting the sweets theme to the weaponry and visual style. 'Bomb-pops', C4 ice cream cones, a napalm/whip cream-thrower, and a gumball minigun disguised as a giddy desert helped fuel grim undertones.

Music: Pop'n'Gum by Superbus
SFX: Sounddogs.com

[:.Randoms.:]

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley McLaughlin) — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 04:45:00 +0000

Been crazy busy yet again. I'm in charge of all the art direction and animation for a mobile game at work. I get to do all the 2d/3d/animation assets... everything. It's awesome, I love my job! I also just finished up an animation for the Minnesota Electronic Theater. Pulled some long nights/days with that one, but I'm really happy with the outcome. I've got some additional freelance coming in for those flash games I did awhile back too. That should be fun. :P

I did some sketches today while I rendered out a video for a product at work. This style is super fun and quick to pump out. I have a project on the backburner done this way that I'd love to get to at some point.

Also, I've included a screenshot from the animation I did for MET. I was originally going to post the video before the festival, but a couple people suggested I wait - so I will. Here's a sneak peek though. A still from the first shot! :D