The last week I have been working on some initial marketing stuff for Armored Empire, our next app project at Thor media. If you want to learn more about the game, and take a look at the wordpress site I put together for it, check out the official website.
This is another Blender and Gimp project, with audio done in Audacity. The one thing of any real note it the imitation of an old CRT monitor. This was the challenging part of this little project. I wanted to simulate a zoomed in shot, so using things like the scan-lines and dust on the glass seemed to pull off the effect well. The flickering of the text and the diagonal line that passes by make it feel old and worn a bit.
Overall I think that everything about this small teaser fits well with each other, thanks to some initial story boarding. The visuals and audio fit really well and help make the view curious. The doors closing are a good surprise, and just about everyone that has viewed the teaser liked the feeling that it makes.
My brothers and I really like video games, and we are trying to get to the point where we can bring our creative visions to life. The process of learning, building, and refining has been great for us, and it’s not as easy as some may think.
The project “Josh the Whale” started soon after trying to land another app project for another children’s story book and not getting it. We thought that kids books might be the way to get the attention of local children’s book illustrators and writers, and so we began the search for a story. We wanted a project that we could use, not only to attract clients, but to also use as a template for future projects. We also wanted it to be something that we really cared about in order to motivate ourselves to create a good finished product.
This is really the reason that we chose Josh the Whale. Originally a short illustrated story that our older brother, Aaron Thorup, wrote when he was in the third grade, we thought that it wasn’t just a good story about self-worth and perseverance, but it also had a good selling point. Whales and underwater stuff seem to go well with children, so, not only were we planning on entering the kids entertainment market, but we also had an attractive theme that should sell.
So we started. The first step was to get a solid script, based on the original story, written to base all the programming and visual aspects of the game on. The rewritten story, and the script, came together pretty fast, and with Aaron’s approval, I was able to begin on visual concept, and Bryce was able to start working with Shiva 3D (our 3D engine).
Mainly because of a lack of experience on my part, we planned to have a finished product by December. Basically, we did not take into account the learning curve Bryce would have with Shiva 3D. Bryce was picking up the new API, which was quite a bit different from what we were using for our live wallpapers. So, it turned into 6 months instead. We also had other video projects mixed into that schedule, but overall it was just the amount of learning needed that extended the schedule.
Concept work began, assets were being built, and Bryce began building code to use those assets with. Some specifics of that work can be viewed in previous posts HERE and HERE. Though progress was slow, it was steady, and from the beginning to the end of the project, there were no real stressful moments in the production. Just allot of trial and error in figuring out workflows in relation to the programming and asset creation.
Only minor changes were made to script and the original sequence of the game during production. In fact, only one scene was taken out of the game for programming reasons. Here is a really basic concept image of that scene. It had to do with the whales jumping out of the water at night, and the player helps Josh jump high enough to touch the moon.
Recording the narration was fun. Bryce and I decided that we wanted to have Aaron do the voice acting for the narration. This was a great choice because Aaron’s voice seemed to fit right inside Josh’s world, and complements the whole feeling of the book very well. This also made the project feel allot more personal to me, turning it into a family project. Jacob helped us out with the recording in a quite room over at my Grandma’s and Grandpa’s home. We used Audacity for the audio, and it all came out beautifully.
A little side note about the audio recording, most of the interactive moments of the game were conceptualized when I was preparing a script for lines that needed to be rerecorded or new lines, our second recording session. I felt that the game wasn’t quite balanced enough between the strictly narrative moments and the interactive moments of the game.
The music was done by April Thorup. She is not a professional composer, but she did a wonderful job on the music. Her playful styling fit into Josh’s world so well, and keeps the app interesting for kids. When we first started to drop the music into the app itself, the feeling of Josh’s world completely changed. Suddenly this small lonely whale had a story to tell, not only by the narrator, but by the music as well.
When it came to testing the app during the project, we usually just had one of our nieces or nephews take a peek at what we had, and payed attention to their reactions. Because of this “bug testing” we knew from the start that children responded well to the visual style and game play. And, towards the end of the project, we had an official bug testing session, that also brought back good results from children, and assured that we had a solid app structurally.
The app icon and other graphics were interesting to put together. The original thought was to stick to the same icon template and banner styles that we had used for our previous live wallpapers. As you can see from the images below, they weren’t the most impressive images to look at. But, after sifting through Google’s and Apple’s quality guide lines, we decided to redo all of the graphics for the app, creating a simpler style for the icon and banners.
For the final steps of the project, like marketing, I was put in charge. Gathering information on review websites that tailor to the audience we wanted to reach was important, and putting together a trailer and other material to show the app in action was done as well. This moment was probably the most educational for us as a company, mainly because I had never really done any marketing before, and because we have learned that hiring someone to handle the marketing is probably the best way to make sure that it is executed effectively.
One of the huge pluses to this whole project though, was the cost. I believe that the cost for a Shiva 3D license was $200, which covered porting the game to bother Android and iOS. Marketing was about $1000, but besides that there was no additional cost to the project besides our time. We used open source software for all asset creation and editing. This includes Blender, Gimp, Audacity, and Inkscape. Software that we have allot of experience with, and are all great programs.
We have only just released this app, and we have had a really good responses from reviewers, family, friends, and strangers, so far. We are proud of Josh the Whale, and so thankful for everyone that helped make it a reality. It represents our commitment to making products that we can be proud off and that others can enjoy. It represents our first step into the game development realm. And most of all, it shows that even a small whale can do great things, our goal for the future.
I have been able to do some casual sketching here and there, and I would like to just share a few sketches that I have done over the last few weeks. No real focus, but I am sure you will enjoy them anyways. These where all done through Sketchbook Pro on my Lenovo Thinkpad tablet.
The portrait sketch above isn’t completely mine. At Draw Night, Michael, Ethan and I began talking about how difficult it is to draw the eye, furthest from the viewer, in a 3/4 portrait. I handed my tablet over to Mike, so he could adjust my handiwork. Thanks Mike!
I am going to brag a little bit, only because this is such an awesome device. But before that, I apologize for the lack of posting. We have officially started our next project, so, I have been doing allot of writing, organizing, and discussions, to make sure we give this project a good start.
This Cintiq 13HD has been very fun to work on. Having worked on an Intuos for such a long time, it takes a bit to adjust to working on a display, but it comes with some advantages.
The first thing that I noticed was how much easier it is to do line work. It is more accurate. The reason for the increase in accuracy is because the disconnect created by drawing on one surface while looking at a different surface, is gone. This makes it more like a traditional medium, which, for some artists, can be very attractive.
Pro number two, is how portable this thing is. It is the same width and height as my 15.6 HP ENVY 15, and they easily fit side by side in my bag. I take it between work, Draw Night, parent’s house, and my house with out worrying about it at all. It does add a few extra cable to my bag, and is slightly heavier than my medium Intuos 4 tablet.
Which brings me to my next point. This device is deceivingly light. And, even thought I don’t do this often, I can easily draw with it sitting on my lap. This is the big plus to this device, light and portable.
Now some down sides. The screen is a bit dim. Most of the time I don’t mind it, just because it is still brighter than most LCD’s. I heard somewhere there is a way to adjust this, but I haven’t been able to find a service manual to adjust brightness. There isn’t anyway to change the brightness with Wacom software unfortunately.
This one isn’t really a con, seeing it will be resolved soon. Getting it to work in Linux was a bit of a chore. Because of how new the device is, native support won’t be around for a little while. I was able to build the latest driver from source, and then I have had to trouble shoot the Settings GUI so I could map the buttons. A bit frustration at first, but I eventually got everything working right, and it works great in Kubuntu 13.04. It also works great in programs like the Gimp, MyPaint, and Krita.
The one big downside to this device is the connector for the proprietary cable, and how it connects to the device. It is a bit flimsy, and one good bump would definitely render it useless. With some extra care though, this can be avoided, and shouldn’t be a problem for most people.
Overall, it has been a joy to use, and for the price point it is a very good device. Great color, great portability, and a great price. I would definitely suggest it to anyone interested in getting a Cintiq, and not wanting to spend more than $1000.
This one might count as a weekly sketch review, since it was really just a study in lighting. This face was actually from a sketch session of many faces I started a couple weeks ago. I decided to go back and pick one of those faces and push it a bit further.
I think that I have been using Krita a bit too much. The shortcuts, like the shift+drag to adjust brush size, have spoiled me. I keep thinking that they should include the option in the Gimp. But I also understand that Krita is more geared for an artist like me, while Gimp is more built for photography. Both programs have their good and bad qualities, and I still enjoy using both programs.
A little about this painting though. I have been studying a bit about photography and lighting for portraits, and I wanted to try my hand at a Rembrandt lighting. Using this kind of light seems to create allot of depth in the subjects face. I wanted her to feel more ominous by dropping the bounced light, creating a starker contrast between the right and left sides of the face.
I like her somewhat “I’m better than you.” expression, adds to the character. The background says things like “Science” and “Progress”. Her character kind of reminded me of something that you might see in a Final Fantasy game. Overall, I believe the portrait does it job. Enjoy the video!
Sorry about no weekly sketch reviews. I have been doing allot of sketching, just haven’t taken the time to put some posts together. Maybe Friday or Saturday perhaps.
Been busy with things, looking to get Josh the Whale released, other video production projects, etc. In my free time though, I have been doing written and visual concept for mine and Bryce’s Jag game. The visual stuff is easy, it’s the writing part that is kicking me in the butt.
I would never confess to having any real skill in writing. I am hoping that these side projects, along with company projects, will give me the practice I need to change that.
So to give you a bit of an introduction to this piece, without diving into undeveloped ideas. This character is one of 6 gods that govern the world and it’s time. She is the very essence of the absence of time. The opposite of existence.
That is the idea that drove this painting, and that is all that I have so far. Maybe I will post more about these characters in future paintings. Yet again, maybe not. This is just a side project, so we will see how far it goes.
My brother Bryce and I are putting together a game for the Atari Jaguar, and I have been working on character design, game assets, and getting a story together for the project.
This piece was spontaneous, coming out a sketch session. It was also very fun to work on. I want to thank my a few of my friends, Ethan, Micheal, and April for the critique. Your help is needed and always appreciated.
One part a really enjoyed was additional programs, on top of the Gimp, to get to the final piece. You will notice that in the video, I just out to Krita and Blender. I used Krita’s mirror functions to come up with a concept for the weapons spinning around the character, and I used Blender to model, place, and light the weapon. I have used similar processes in the past, although this time felt like it was really good decision making on my part. It sped up the overall process of the painting, and I think I achieved a better result than if I had done it all in the Gimp.
There will definitely be more of about this game in the future. I have already put together some turn based battle mock-ups with sprites, and Bryce has been putting some of these assets to use with actual programs on the Jaguar. It’s awesome to see this stuff actually turn into a playable form.
I don’t do allot of fan art, in fact, this piece originally didn’t start out as fan art. I was watching an episode of from the first season of Robotech, and sketching at the same time on my Lenovo tablet, when I did the initial sketch. (The costume is somewhat Robotech inspired). The one you see at the beginning of the time lapse video. It wasn’t until after I started refining the sketch in Krita, did I decide to turn it into fan art.
Don’t get me wrong, I think fan art is awesome, and an awesome way to express you appreciation for something (Isn’t that what art is kind of about?). And I wish I would take more time to do some fan art. But I tend to avoid it, because I have the feeling that I won’t be able to do it justice. So, I put off most of the fan art I would like to do for a later day and time.
This time around, though, I feel I did a fairly good job, and feel comfortable in posting and receive feedback for this piece of fan art.
But enough of that, lets go over some stuff that I think is worth talking about, and might be a bit educational. I am just going to start at the beginning of the video and mention a few interesting things I noticed in my process.
First, a bit of an explanation on content and style. This is a re-imagining of the character Princess Zelda, from the Legend of Zelda video game series. When I decided that this was going to be a fan art piece, I wanted to stick to the poofy hair and a somewhat military uniform as seen with many of the characters in the first season of Robotech, but with a bit of Zelda seasoning. There are actually only a handful of things that tie this piece into the Zelda universe.
The most obvious things are probably the colors. The blue rupee, green hood and shoulders, and the golden triforce all point to the Legend of Zelda. But there is also the character herself. Zelda is often portrayed as someone beautiful, with a sense of innocence, which is something I stuck to here. But the costume was chosen to depict the strong side of her character as well. A less obvious sign of her character is that her mouth is open, as if she were speaking to you. Zelda is often used in the Zelda series as a mentor character, and if she lived in a more futuristic or sci-fi world, I see her playing more of the mentor character than royalty.
There are a few other things I could mention, content wise, but for the sake of keeping things short, I will let you jump on the Zelda Wiki to figure some of the other imagery out.
As for my processes. Most of my planning was done in the line art. At this point I didn’t have a really good sense of the lighting, until I sat back and thought about it later, but I had a good idea of what I wanted the subject to look like.
I decided to skip doing a value painting, and go straight into color and value. I try to avoid this nowadays, and stick to a value painting before I ever jump into color, but in this case, I wanted to try something new.
I wanted to try to create a simple color palette to lay the foundation for my colors and values. I don’t include this step in the video, but it is something that I learned from a post by Nasan Hardcastle. A great digital artist, that I suggest that you all follow. But having a simple palette like this can help keep your colors and values organized in the foundation of the painting.
Something unique in this painting, that I have never done before, is the light setup. If you include ambient light, I have a total of 4 different light sources in this painting. This was one of my stretch goals for this painting, to use that many light sources without loosing the form of the subject, and adding appeal to the painting overall.
But not all was fine with this painting. I messed up on the proportion of the nose, and had to readjust that half way through. Not too difficult, but I feel it’s something that I shouldn’t have to deal with and definitely need to practice more on. Also, another proportion problem was the width of the head, which I eventually had to fix.
But with the good and bad of this painting aside, there is one tip I would like to share. Color Grading. One of the huge advantages to digital art.
I have never been good with color, this is probably because I don’t have a solid base in traditional painting. But, “color curves” an “levels” make up with this shortcoming with ease. Using some reference images that I wanted to match color with, I did several stages of color correction, as depicted above, using both “color curves” and “levels“, and selection the specific color channel I wanted to modify.
These two options can also be used to quickly change the feel of a painting. A good way to explain this is how a sepia toned image and a black and white image create very different feelings, even though content may be the same. This is pretty basic stuff, especially if your into photography, but it is fun to take an image you created from scratch and see how it transfers to these different color schemes.
I have a few more paintings coming down the line, we should be starting a new app project soon, and a Weekly Sketch Review is just around the corner. Stay tuned.
The last few weeks I have been trying to reach outside of my box a little. Been reading allot about visual style, and developing a visual style as an artist.
The 16-bit portrait I did earlier, and this piece have been practice in what I am reading. and it has been fun so far.
I was just sketching when this one came out to me. I liked the pose, and the silhouette that it makes was really strong. I decided to carry it to a finished piece. The outfit she is wearing is really random, and for me, kind of weird. Feels a bit western. But, in the end, I think it feels good with the rest of the image, and it definitely helps the silhouette as well. I stuck with a split-complementary color scheme to keep things simple. and wanted to focus on basic skin tones to present a warm feeling in the painting overall.
As for what I struggled with in this painting. The background was killing me. At first I was leaning towards a style that fit the character. Something that fits the perspective and shaded similar the woman. Going over this in my head, I couldn’t really think of an environment that would work with the subject to create a stronger piece. So, in the end, I decided to do something abstract, and focus on composition and color. Something that would strengthen the main subject, but at the same time wouldn’t be distracting.
Again, overall, it was and interesting piece to work on. Definitely not in my usually ball field, but it was good to stretch a little. Its also good to feel like shading is becoming second nature. I am doing better with drawing hands, but still have a long way to go. I struggled with the face a bit, so we’ll seem more faces in my Weekly Sketch Reviews for sure. Speaking of, one of those should pop up soon.
Got thinking about the Atari Jaguar again, 8/16-bit stuff, and nostalgia hit. So, to help feed the hunger for the good-old-days, I thought I would do a some 16-bit graphics myself.
I didn’t want to come up with a character concept, or anything, so a self portrait seemed like a good choice. As for style, I was thinking of King of Fighters, or Samurai Showdown. Great fighting games, in the same realm as Street Fighter. Sticking closer to the cel shaded style over the smoother more realistic styles that come from some of those games.
Doing 16-bit art changes the way I think about things. I started out with a sketch, just like any other piece, but when I began moving into the line art, things began to change. Similar to paying attention to the shapes of your lines when inking, when doing low-resolution outlining you have to pay special attention to your lines. The limited resolution forces you to figure out how to make lines go from thick, thin, then to nothing.
Also, another problem that is introduced lines that curve, don’t curve very well. Because pixels are generally square, it gets harder and harder the smaller resolution you have to make a decent circle or curve.
But there are pros as well. With the limited resolution, there is less detail to worry about. This is one of the reasons why games have gotten shorter over the years. The more resolution you have, the more detail you need to fill that empty space, and the more the costs go up to fill that space. Therefore a shorter game. But, my point is, less detail to worry about.
This piece was originally done at 256 x 512 pixels, with a palette of about 30 colors. I did it at that resolution to test out larger graphics on the Jaguar for the future. My brother and I have been playing around with coding our own Jaguar stuff, and would like to move into a game eventually.
But that is way in the future, and I consider this more about practice than actually putting together a game. I have enjoyed doing this small piece. Simple, stylized, and looking forward to doing more in the future. And I wish my hair actually looked like that sometimes.
