My new project

To show you, how I´m tackling new challenges I´m going to show you my new project step by step.

Okay, here we go.
Background: I have a pen and paper rpg that I have been working on since my teenager days. It´s always been with me and underwent multiple overhauls. And finally Idecided to give the damn thing some nice pictures. The background is roughly laid out and needs some optical lovin´.

But anyway here comes Step 1.
I need a trooper wearing a powerarmor. It is an imperial soldier from a special forces unit carrying a rapid fire gauss-rifle. Later versions will sport a heavy man-portable gauss-canon but I´ll stick to the rifle for now. The picture is intended to be a still you probably know from the various games out there. Like from a equipment catalogue. The soldier himself will be highly detailed and the background rather wishy-washy.

Step 2. This doodle will give you a feeling what I´m looking for.

This will be our hardhitting man-at-arms in his fullbody battlearmor. In my gamesetting limbs can be regrown, but the head and the torso are something completely different.

And here you see the peashooter. Its a rapid fire gauss-rifle. The handguard houses the powerpack and the mag holds the pea sized, teardrop, ferromagnetic projectiles. There is no shoulderstock, because the weapon is mainly used by soldiers wearing powerarmor or high performance cyborgs.










So anyway, these are the basics. I just haven´t decide on what medium to use. 2d drawings or 3d scenes. Maybe next time I will show you some test with both variants.

Coloring what you created

Like so many other hobby-artists, I´m suffering from problems coloring the stuff I created.
I bet there many others out there that share the same problem. How do I tackle this problem? Check out this video on Vimeo. Link
Another usefull link I found was the one leading to the forum of Gutterzombie. Here you can find everything you need to know about coloring your beautifull artwork.
Having quite a hard time at work I´m currently trying to escape my hardship by drawing and coloring. It´s giving me a degree of peace of mind.
If I get something presentable done in the next few days, my next post will most likely be about a project I´m currently working on.

So, until we meet again I wish you all a beautifull life.

Cheers,

Chris

Problem solved

I finally found a way around my artist-block. As funny as it may sound and as unartistic as it may be, be structured. Use productionsteps. Write everything down and refer to your notes as often as possible and nescessary. My structure is as follows, but aries from project to project.

1. Write down the rough idea

2. Refine the idea and start making first very rough sketches and doodles.

3. Further refine the theme of your project and make first arrangement-sketches, like setup drawings for movies. Use geometric objects until it fit your liking. At this stage do reference drawings for the various parts of the scene. Characters take up the most time for me, I´m better at drawing mechanics.

4. Try to bring it together. Still a very rough stage, but I´m still trying to get a good fit. So there is no reason to waste good effort on an drawing that will eventually get rejected. Okay the drawing will have more detail, but that is just for getting a better feel for the atmosphere.

5. You like the feel of your scene? Start adding detail and even more details. I´m mainly working with computers. With little kids in the house leaving your drawing stuff attended can be quite a hassle. So at this stage I´m usually getting my linearts and finals.

6. Now you can do final changes and touchups. Make sure to save a copy of your work at a place with little chance of loosing it. Usually I start doing the first colorsketches using the work-copies.
Again very rough stuff, but it is only for getting a feel for the atmosphere. Remember those references from Step 2 and 3? Read them again.

7. Finally we are getting near the end. We have gotten the color in all the right places and achieved the desired results.

That´s whats working for me. Change the steps, add new ones or modify the ones I´m using.
Other minds need other structures in their work or other stimuli for good ideas. While working I try to listen to matching music, read comics, watch movies with a similar themes. Everything that helps is welcome.

Hope that helped.

Cheers and good lovin´ to you all.

Chris

Artists block

Help.

I'm currently experiencing something I like to call artist-block.
I have thousands of ideas floating around in my head, but as soon as I try to get them down to paper, be it written or drawn, they just vanish. Gone. No matter how hard I try to hold on to them, they just keep slipping away. Taking a break and thinking about something else usually brings it all back again. But trying to work again proves almost impossible. I also tried using voice-notes to memorize my ideas, but to no avail. The recorder starts and my mind goes blank.
Help me. Send me ideas, hints or anything that could get me out of this misery.
It can be pretty frustrating having an imagination gone wild and no chance to visualize the stuff. Most of the stuff is sick shit, but fun none the less :). But with enough ideas in your brain and no way to get it out, sometimes it feels like your head is going to explode.

Cheers and good lovin' to you all,

Chris

Webcomcis rule!

After a very long time I decided to post something again. Usually giving good thought about what I write I decided to do some promotion for a really good webcomic. Click the banner above and you´ll be taken on a journey to the twin cities. Paul Taylor has composed a story that has a little bit of everything. Psychology, humor, love and best of all great arts. All characters are well defined and have their own quirks, making them all unique. Each of the episodes keeps you going further, waiting for the next update.

Go ahed and give it a try, you will not be disappointed. I´m quite picky with comics and I definitely like Wapsisqare.

Cheers and love to you all,

Chris

Check this out. I bought this bracelett and the matching ring for my wife. The price is absolutely justified and the shipping costs are included. If I should need anything else as a present, this will be the my first address to look. As a bonus, you get a very friendly person to answer you mails and conversations. Give it a try. You will not be disappointed . To water your mouth, here is the link to his blog.