Landscapre for an MMO scene

This was my first landscape I created for an MMO scene. The programs I used were 3ds Max, Mudbox, World Machine, and Photoshop. This landscape including the warter was rendered with mental ray in Max.

Sci-Fi Submarine

This is a vehicle I worked on, a Sci-Fi based submarine. I made this in 3ds Max. This was also the first time I tried to work with Uv's. As you can see I wasn't very good at unwrapping at the time which resulted with he glowing writing looking smudged. I also played around with some lighting and glow effects within Max. Below is a mesh and textured version of it.

Mudbox Reptile

This was my first sculpture I did in Mudbox. I was really getting familiar with the tools. This was sculpted with one of the pre-made meshes within the program.

Horror Scene

Here is a horror scene I did a while back, of a killer voodoo doll in a hotel. This was one of the first project I've done where there were more than one assent in a scene. This game out pretty good and the poly limit was 15,000.

A few 3D Models

Here a few 3D Models, mostly assests. done in 3ds Max.

Tetris Game Manual

I created a Game Manual for a Sci-Fi tech  inspired Tetris. I wanted to keep this one simple and to the point. Below is the front and back cover, as well as the last page.

A concept art I did for my Final.

I took an art for games class and my Final was to do a character concept art. This piece is called "The Raven King". Originally the armor is supposed to be black and the wings are metal blades. Also the glow behind him is supposed to look more crystal. But, the week before finals I went away and forgot my tablet, and pretty much had to work with what I had in a few hours before the deadline. It came out ok, but I definitely can do a lot better than this.I will be working more on this concept during the break because I think this is a great character.

A few extra info about this character is that he is a ruthless king who is set in a 16th century fantasy world. He has the power to release smoke which turned into fire once it touches a surface.

What I have been up to..

I haven't updated this blog in a while due to me being busy during the semester but now I have some time to work on a few personal projects and a few updates on this blog.

So, I've completed another semester with with mostly A's. I got a C in character development but I expected that since I have never been a good writer, but I definitely tried my best. All in all I am satisfied with what I got. At the end of the semester my program has an events where the students can showcase some of there work and a have a few guest speakers that work in the game development industry. Towards the end the program chair and faculty handed out 14 awards to the best students in different courses. I was surprised I received one of those awards but definitely proud of myself. That moment showed me that I was heading in the right direction to my career. A few of the awards were also given to some of the most improved or dedicated students.

Now that I have some free time away from school. I am currently starting fresh with Maya. I haven't used that program since I took 3D Animation, so all of my modeling is done in 3ds Max. I now understand why so many artist work with Maya. Modeling in Maya seems easier and more flexible. Max is also a great program that is based heavily on modeling, but I feel like as far as organic modeling goes, Maya is better. Maya has better tools to work with curves and more "shortcuts" into achieving the some complex shapes that Max would take more time and skill to make. Besides Max and Maya are pretty standard in Animation, Game Design and Visual Effects.

I have also been looking more into what schools I would like to attend once I graduate. I'm glad that I have taken a drawing class, because most of the schools require a portfolio, so I already have a few pieces I can hand in.

I will be talking more on schools and I will also post some more of my work very soon.

Battling Robots

In graphic design, I was assigned to recolor two robots using a certain Theme, Good vs. Evil, Liberal vs. Conservative, and one of my choice (I chose Mac vs. PC), we were not allowed to add any shapes or lines, but we could use gradients and other effects. Of course I went the extra mile and added a background to help bring the theme out. So here it is.

Graphic Designs

So it's been a while since I last blogged on here. I've had a busy semester but I have finally gotten past midterm, so everything from now until December will only get either more challenging or easier.

So below is one of the first assignments  I did for Graphic Design, I had to create a box art of a game of my choice. So I've decided to do Halo 4, which wasn't released at the time. This honestly wasn't that much of a challenge since I've had a lot of experience with Photoshop prior to this class, but I got a little stuck at times. In short I got a case and disc template online, luckily the template already came with the logos and licensing so It looks legit, I grabbed some Halo psd's and got a Halo Font and played around with the fx, blending, and filters to see what worked, I some did lighting and color color correction, then I merged everything to one nice cover :).  Instead of just doing the box art, I also redid the disc and added a background and reflecting table effect. So here it is folks.

College Choices and Starting my Portfolio

I've recently been checking out some 4 year colleges to go to once I've graduated. Right now I'm between Full Sail University and Ringling College of Art and Design. Both school has its pros and cons, so its been tough figuring out which one is the best to go to. I want to study Computer Animation so I can get more into modeling. I could go for game art but Computer Animation will allow me to have the option of being in both the gaming and entertainment industry.

 So I have two options, I can get my bachelors degree from Full Sail in about 2.5 years, and maybe shorter since my general ed courses will transfer. I know full sail has a pretty good animation program, many of my current teachers went or are currently go there, and from what they tell me, they really push you. I like that, I really like a challenge because it pushes me be much better, and the class schedule is similar to the hours in the real world, so that's a plus. The downside is that the school does cost a lot of money, even with financial aid and scholarships I'll still have to take out a massive amount of loans and it will be forever to pay back. I know many people complain about how the school is a scam and they cost an arm and leg to go there, but honestly that's how all the art schools are. I've checked many other schools and see that they all cost just as much if not more. I believe it is a good school, and seems like i can get so so much from they're courses.

Ringling College is a traditional 4 year college, but its one of the best schools for Computer Animation, the curriculum looks great and many big companies come there every year to hire graduates students. Its a huge opportunity and if i do good enough it will help me get my foot in the door to my career.  One this is that I don't know much about that school so I may need to check out the school more if I plan on spending 4 years there. It seems worth the time and I would get a chance to get as much as I possibly can there.

So to get in Ringling I'll need to apply and submit a portfolio to be there for fall 2013. There's an event called National Portfilio Day where many colleges tour the country and students can show and get a critique on their portfolios before they submitt them. Its a good thing my classes will have us working on our portfilios this semester.

So I'll have an update mid semester and maybe plan a trip down to Florida to check out the schools. So until next time!                                                                    

Start of a new semester

So, I am currently in my last few semesters and I decided to take classes on the artistic side of game design. They revolve around digital and traditional art, creating concept art, maps, backgrounds, and even custom textures.

I started 4 new classes this semester which are, art for games which focuses on concept art for video games. Graphic design tools, which focuses on creating logos, textures, video game box covers, and user interfaces. Drawing 1 which any artist from traditional to 3d should take. We will be covering many basic forms of drawing, from shading and lighting, contours, tone and value, still life, as well as working with graphite, charcoal, and oil pastels. The last class is character development. That class isn't until tomorrow so I'm not too sure what the class is exactly about but my guess is developing characters and strong backgrounds. I'm sure that includes designing the characters appearance based off of their story line. Many of my school mates loved that class so much that they have stared a club for it so I am really eager to start tomorrow.

So I'm really excited about this semester. I've always been good at 3D Modeling but my art as far as concepts and design could use some work. So I am confident that my work will GREATLY improve, and I will be pushing my self to do my very best. I always do.

I will be posting my progress and work from now until December from these classes, and make improvements along the way. So here is to an exciting semester!!!! :D

A few useful websites to check out in cyber world!

I've learned many things in  my first day of my new classes. A few useful tools and links to check out that I know will be a great benefit to the fellow cg artist.

Lynda.com is a great student resource site, that shows lessons on a variety of programs. I wish I knew about this site before learning about some of these programs on my own, maybe I would have a better understanding of them. I have been using Photoshop before I even wanted to do cg art, which was many many years ago, and I have learned things I've never discovered in the first 30 minutes of the lesson. Unfortunately If you are not a student you have to pay for it, but it does seem like a great price for the well rounded lessons they give you. You can even purchase the entire lesson on DVD with the resources included. Very great site to learn from.

There a few great online storage systems, which are great for transferring files from one computer to the next. Some of them include Dropbox, Sky Drive, and Google Drive.

For the Concept Artist out there, I have followed a fantastic concept artist by the name of Feng Zhu. I found out about him through YouTube when I was looking for some great concept art tutorials about a year ago. He has a design school but he has been generous enough to give a vast amount of lessons and tutorials on being the best concept artist you can be. Even if you are not a concept artist it great for anyone who would like to work in the gaming industry. His website is fengzhudesign.com, and you can type in FZD School on YouTube to get to his channel full of great videos. Check him out!

So, these are a few places that are a great benefit to me, I always try to look for different tools, programs, and lessons to learn from. You can only learn so much from school, most of your skills come from research and practice so its good to look up tutorials and tools any chance you get. It will help you get better and even develop your own style and creations.

So until next time!!!

Other versions of the Enchanted Rose

These are some other versions of the rose I have made using some effects I experimented with. These roses were made before the finished photo in the last post. May favorite would have to be the third rose with the darker edges.

Enchanted Rose

So this was one of the first drawings I did with the Wacom Intuos4 pen tablet, and Photoshop CS5. I have had some experience with wacom and photoshop prior to this photo a few years ago. I do admit the rose is pretty blurry, it could use sharpness around the edges of the petals near the center of the rose. I do love the lighting and specks rising from the rose. The background was created with a gradient and the rose was drawn from scratch. The specks were used with a brush, there are tons of brushes for Photoshop that are great for painting and adding nice effects to your work.

Previous work I have done so far...

So I will also be posting some of my work and progression of current projects I am working on. I will post some of my previous work on different days to stretch out my blog. I will probably add some commentary and I would also love if I can get some critique on them as well.

We will see how this goes...

So I am attempting to start blogging about everything I learn or have learned around CG Art. This includes 3D Modeling, Digital Art, Animation(both traditional and computer), and even traditional art such as concepts, and layouts. I have never been much of a writer when it comes to blogging, or keeping a diary, but I believe this will be a great way to keep track of my progress and also provide some useful tips and and discoveries to anyone who stumbles here.

So this is marks the first entry to Journey of a CG Artist :), I am excited to see how I progress over time. No one is ever a master when it comes to art it is a never ending learning process.