Some More Refined Sketches

      My postings lately have been more intermittent that I would like, but then so has been my ability to do personal artwork.  As such, I've only got a couple of sketches this time around, though they are more refined than many of the past works I've posted here.

      The above sketches are largely the result of finding a fluorescent pink highlighter in my desk, and wanting to put it to use.  I'm no stranger to designing feminine mecha, but this is far more "conventionally feminine" then what I'm used to doing.  This got me thinking: wouldn't it be cool if Cartoon Network or a similar channel got someone like Genndy Tartakovsky to create a mecha show aimed at girls?

      This second sketch is the result of having played through Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance.  Who could've guessed that a game about a gray-armored cyborg ninja would inspire me to get back to work on my own gray-armored cyborg ninja?  At any rate, the game's given me a lot of brain-food to mull over, artistically and conceptually.

Cheers,
Geoff

Settling Back Into Productivity

      It seems I keep missing posts here on the blog, in no small part thanks to my continued enjoyment of Digital Extremes' Warframe.  In light of that, I've done a few pieces of work based on the game.

      The first is a response to the "Suspicious Shipments" event, which occurred last weekend.  To give a bit of context for those unfamiliar with Warframe, the items being held (or dropped, as it were) by my Ember frame are rare items which were awarded with remarkable frequency during the event.

      Related to that, I really do love my Ember frame.  I've been playing as the more ornate Ember Prime recently, but I find that I ultimately prefer the less fancy look of the standard Ember.  In my own color scheme, of course.  As a reference artist, I usually don't do action poses, but I'm happy with how this one turned out.  I'm debating whether or not to further refine/ink the original lines and do a somewhat more developed version of this:

      Additionally, I've continued the long tradition among Warframe fans by doing a quick reference for how the "Vasto" revolver sidearm might look as a Prime weapon.  The original Vasto can be seen on the wiki for reference.

      Beyond that, and in completely predictable fashion, I'm still doing work on Novus Imperium.  First up is yet another iteration of Reina:

      Perhaps more interesting is that I've finally started doing work on figuring out the engineering of Reina's prosthetic limbs.  None of the below sketches show the prosthetics with their outer casing; this is all internal stuff.  You might need to click for a larger resolution to get all the little details.

1-  The anchor-points for her prosthetics are synthetically grown bone-like components which have been grafted to her truncated humerus' (in the case of her arms) and femurs (in the case of her legs).  The core frame components of her arms are articulated by ball-and-socket joints.  In addition to standard rotation, this allows the forearms to twist in a manner similar to natural arms.

2-  This simply demonstrates the series of myomer bundles layered over the frame which mimic not only the function, but also the positions, of organic muscles.

3-  The core of Reina's lower legs consists of three interleaved components, and her lower legs have a more pronounced curve compared to natural human legs.  The interleaved frame segments allow for a slight degree of flexibility in the "shin" area.  This combined with the exaggerated curve of the shins allows Reina to both absorb and exert a tremendous amount of force through her legs.

4-  The core of each knee joint contains a compact ultra-high-torque servomotor.  These motors are only employed when prolonged and extreme physical exertion is required.  In all other circumstances, the myomer bundle network is more than sufficient to articulate her legs.

      And lastly, I've finally gotten back to doing a bit of work on other NI characters who I've been neglecting, such as freelancer and mercenary Trent Valimund:

       More on him in the future.

Cheers,
Geoff

Where Did April Go?

      As far as online postings go, I pretty much missed the entire month of April.  That's not to say that I haven't been doing artwork.  I've simply been swamped with both wrapping up the school semester, as well as having discovered Digital Extremes' Warframe.  The game has incredibly good art direction, and has been quite inspirational.  It prompted me to try my hand at doing some designs based on Warframe:

      There's a fourth Warframe design that I've done some work with, but it's a collaboration and as such I'm not at liberty to toss that artwork up on the blog.  Not yet, anyway.

      As usual, I've still been working on designs for Novus Imperium.  These sketches are long overdue, though I'd rather not spoil the details regarding what exactly they are / how they fit into the universe.  The general idea, aesthetically speaking, was to attempt to create starship designs that are smooth and flowing, but also oriented along 90-degree angles.

      Beyond that, I've naturally still been working on the design of Reina's character.  I think I'm getting extremely close to nailing down the design of her armor.  Below are a series of small ink sketches testing out some poses (the middle sketch has had color applied digitally):

      This next one is just trying to figure out some of the less visible aspects of her design.  It's been long established that Reina's civilian gear includes a layer of body armor underneath her clothing, but I'd never devoted much effort to figure out what it looks like.  This is a start, at any rate:

      This last one is something that's taken far too long.  I've drawn many, many iterations of Reina's armor over the last couple of months, but this is the first version that I've been really happy with:

      I've really not got more to say about that one.  I'm just glad to finally have a design for the armor that I'm pretty much satisfied with.  I'm hoping that I'll burn out on Reina's design soon, so I can move on to some of the many other characters whose designs need my attention.  School's just about wrapped up, so I'm looking forward to getting back to both my own work and commission work over the summer.

Cheers,
Geoff

Back in the Swing of Things

      This week I've revisited a couple of alien species in Novus Imperium that haven't been getting enough attention.  This first sketch is just me trying to get a feel for the Reos.  They've been around since the early days of NI, but they've received by far the least attention in terms of development art.

      The Reos have always been somewhat crustacean in appearance, and I've tried to make that more apparent in this sketch than I had previously.  I'm not quite sold on the arms and legs, but I'm very happy with how the head and torso turned out.  I've drawn inspiration from crabs, lobsters and the wonderful giant isopod.  Previous versions of the Reos have had small sub-limbs folded against their torso.  I seem to have forgotten that in doing this sketch.

      This second one has been mentioned on the blog before.  The Corrupted have received more attention than the Reos, but I've still not quite got their look figured out.  As the overall shaping goes, I'm actually fairly pleased with this design.  I am, however, really iffy regarding the color scheme.  In sci-fi, it seems like the color purple has sort of become shorthand for "alien."  I've been playing around with other color schemes, but as yet I've not found a satisfactory alternative.

      And lastly, still more sketching with Reina.  Here I'm testing out a somewhat simpler / cleaner style than how I usually sketch.  I've also been working to clean up the design of her prosthetic arms, particularly the backs of the arms, and how they connect at the biceps and triceps.  I've also been researching anatomy texts to better understand the human musculoskeletal system, and by extension how prosthetics might integrate with it.

      This week's been far more productive art-wise than the last couple.  It's nice to be getting back into the swing of things.

Cheers,
Geoff

Spring Break

      Well, it seems that last week was the first week this year that I've entirely missed a post.  In fairness, I was involved in helping to make a wedding happen, so that pretty effectively ate up the end of last week.

      I do however have a more substantial post this week.  As per the norm, I've still been getting Reina's armor figured out:

      I'm finally getting pretty close to how I want the thigh armor to look.  Of course, as soon as I get that how I want it, I start changing other things, because I just can't leave well enough alone.  I've started playing around with moving the armor on the forearms up to the biceps instead.  Reina's already got a fairly wide hips-to-shoulders ratio, and I'm worried that the bulky forearm armor places her visual center too low.

      Nothing particularly special here, just a couple more sketches getting the details ironed out.  I suppose it's worth pointing out:  The exaggerated curvature or the lower leg isn't a stylistic quirk- Reina's prosthetic legs actually do have a more pronounced curve, allowing for a higher degree of shock absorption.

      This one's unrelated.  Just playing around with mobile suit design.  My aim was to try to blend the "realistic" sensibility of Gundam's UC timeline with basic geometric styling similar to Gundam AGE.

Cheers,
Geoff

Testing, Testing. (Part 2)

      I've had a lot of long days on campus this week, so most of what I've done is doing further work on the image that I'd posted as in-progress lineart last week:

      I'm quite happy with how the base colors came out.  I'm not quite sold on the shading, I'm still getting practice.  It occurs to me now that the musculature of the torso doesn't quite match the lines.  Ah well.  It can be corrected.

      It also occurred to me recently that I didn't do an updated reference sheet for Reina last year, so I'm getting a jump on that earlier in the new year than usual.  A new reference sheet is needed now more than ever, too, as she's undergone some significant changes since the 2012 reference.  This new reference is based on the reworking of her design that first showed up last Summer, when I started working on simplifying my existing designs.
      Her boots in this image lack the clamped shin-guards that they've sported for the last few years.  I'm still working on exactly how I want those to fit in, as where they are relative to the cargo pants has been rather inconsistent in my illustrations.

      I seem to be stuck on Reina at the moment.  I ought to see about giving my other characters some love.

Cheers,
Geoff

Testing, Testing.

      I've really got to start getting these posts up earlier in the day.  There's only a couple of things to show this week, one of which I'm rather happy with, and one that isn't yet far enough along for me to make that sort of judgment.  In both cases, I'm just testing out some full-digital techniques.

      I've been doing a lot of works involving Reina this year.  I've gotten her design pretty well cleaned up and worked out, and as such her design lends itself to variation and experimentation.

      This first image is the one that's not yet very far along.  I'm mostly testing out means of doing lineart digitally (without using a vector program, thank you very much.  Vector illustrations have no soul.  Too clean.  None of the little quirks and variations that you get when working by hand).

      This is the finished work.  I was going for a slightly looser feel than my usual works, and I also went very heavy on the shadows.  In terms of colors and composition, I think it turned out pretty well.  Not sure if it's something to continue experimenting with or not, but it was an enjoyable stylistic exercise.

Cheers,

Geoff

Ninety-Degree Angles

      It seems that sometime last semester, something clicked in my mind and I started playing around with 90-degree angles in my designs.  The title of the post has a double meaning as well, as in addition to trying to incorporate 90-degree angles into the aesthetic of Novus Imperium, this week's post focuses on orthographic-format images.

      The first couple of images in this post are development art for two characters who I've not given as much attention as I'd have liked to.  First up here is Dee Typho, a Vhodan pilot.  I've made a few alterations to the look of the Vhodan since the last posted reference of her which I did a couple of years back, but for the most part, I've focused on bringing her attire in-line with my more current NI work.

      Second is Kouda, a Tegran.  Fun fact: the Tegrans were the first non-humanoid species I designed for NI, all the way back in the 8th grade.  They've undergone a tremendous amount of reworking since their initial inception, but I believe the original inspiration is still visible.  The shape of the head was based on a photograph of a horse skull, turned upright.  I recall there was a break on the skull resembling a mouth, and that's where the basic shape of the head came from.  As with Dee, most of the changes I've made to Kouda over his previous design are simply to bring his outfit up-to-date.

      This last one is yet again a concept for Reina's armor.  I've sketched out this armor many times over the last few months, and it's been a little different each time.  I've got the bodysuit, the chest armor, the boots and the gauntlets/bucklers pretty much figured out, but the thigh armor is still giving me problems.

Cheers,
Geoff

Autopilot Engaged

      Between working on character references for a client and getting things squared away for this next semester of school, I've not had too much time for doing other work.  As a result, my personal sketches of the last week were pretty much done on automatic: that is to say, just more sketches of Reina.

      As for that first one, the proportions are significantly more stylized than in my usual works.  The focus was more on getting a good flow in her pose.  I'm not sure I quite succeeded at that.  I think the shift of weight through the torso and legs is alright, but I can never figure out what to do with the arms.

      This second sketch has a bit more of a story to it.  With the help of a friend, I've been doing research and compiling references for figuring out Reina's overall physique.  Trying to create a visual balance in a character who is both short and narrow, and also has a well-developed muscular structure, is extremely difficult.  I'm getting closer to it, though.

      And as for the last one, this is essentially just a page from my sketchbook.  Again, I was pretty much on autopilot while doing these, so it's just further head and face studies.  I sincerely need to improve my ability to draw expressions beyond "neutral."  Perhaps I should very carefully watch some of Disney's 2D animated films.

      That's all for this week.  I'm thinking that next week, I may do a feature on a series of original mecha designs which I began work on late last year.

Cheers,

Geoff

The Concrete Schedule of 2014

      Well then, long time no post.  It occurred to me this last year that I've not made use of this blog as well as I'd hoped I would.  I believe part of the reason for this is that I was not operating with any sort of definite schedule.
      That's why this year, as part of an ongoing effort to add a bit more structure to my life, I'll be making an effort to update this blog every Friday afternoon with that week's sketches and rough works.

      So in this, 2014's inaugural post, I'll be covering a bit of ground from last semester.  This last Fall semester was a very busy, hectic time for me, and as such I produced very few finished pieces of artwork, but rather produced quite a few sketches and smaller works.

      First up is a rough version of one of several sketch cards I'd been working on back in early November.  Just playing around with the pose, really; trying to convey Reina's physicality and affinity for bladed weapons.

      I've also been playing around with how I want firearms to look in Novus Imperium.  Here I was going for very geometric styling, with a simplified profile.  Simplification of designs has been an emphasis for me in the last few months.  By forcing myself to use less detail, I must put greater thought into how that detail is used.

      Here's two lunatics I hadn't drawn in quite a while.  On the left is Gray, and on the right is Phoebe, two of Reina's former squadmates.  These two and Reina all received the same augmentations and alterations.  Phoebe has adjusted well, and is a masterful tactician.  Gray on the other hand is extremely volatile, but is far too valuable of an asset to dismiss.

      Speaking of augmentations, here's an orthographic that I'd done, trying to both iron out Reina's proportions as well as the attachment points for her prosthetics and the positioning of the various dataports throughout her body.

      While considering the possibility of a Novus Imperium comic/graphic novel, I sketched out a couple ideas for splash-page type images.  This one is compositionally very much inspired by Shirow Masamune's artwork in The Ghost in the Shell.

      This is the first of two more-finished works that I'd never previously posted.  I'm quite happy with how the pose and the flow of the image turned out.  Of course, as soon as I'd worked this up I went and began making significant changes to the look of Reina's armor (the topic of a future post, perhaps?).

      And the second more-finished work.  While it's not "abstract" in the traditional sense, it was a very enjoyable stylistic study.

So that's what I've got at the moment.  As I'd mentioned at the beginning of this post, you can expect to see more next Friday.  Here's hoping for a much more productive year than the last.

Cheers,
Geoff

Getting to Know My Spacy People

Do you know what happens when I get side-tracked?  I forget to update my blog for a month-and-a-half, that's what.  Yes, a number of factors contributed to this unplanned hiatus, chief among them being model kits, Star Wars: The Clone Wars-themed artwork, and Skyrim.

But if you're anything like me, you don't read this blog for my words, you read it for the pretty pictures, so let's get to it.

First up, a study sheet of my character Reina Cloude, set in the original universe of Novus Imperium.  You may already be somewhat familiar with her, as she's been the subject of a previous post, and she occupies the background of my blog, come to think of it.  In fact, the little icon that appears on the tab you've opened this blog in is a little painting of her eye.  She's been the focus of a whole lot of development over the last couple years.

1-  This was just me getting warmed up.  I think I'm finally starting to get a grasp on how the various shapes of her torso fit together.

2-  Similar to the above, I've drawn Reina's face more times than I care to count, but that's an essential part of the development process.  I have to give her a defined look, and I have to get acquainted with every little detail to ensure that she has a consistent appearance.

3-  Finally trying out some ideas for the back of her civilian outfit.  I wanted to give it a slightly more sci-fi feel than the previous studies and sketches I'd done.

4&5-  I've been trying to figure out her armor's design for a while now.  It's a huge challenge, trying to make the armor look substantial enough to protect her, but still keep it light-weight and flexible enough for a stealth character like Reina.  I'm liking where it's going with the back and chest, but I can't seem to work out exactly how I want the stomach section to look.  It'll get there eventually.

Next up is a character who's been in the works for as long as Reina, but who I've only in the last two years rally made a lot of progress with: Timberwolfe, an ex-military freelancer who acts as a sort of adoptive father to Reina.  He's a Saldean, and alien species created by my close friend Kevin.  Externally, Saldeans are extremely similar to Humans.  Most of the differences are internal, the details of which I'll get into at some later date.  Suffice to say, their home planet of Saldea is a high-gravity world, and Saldeans are heavily muscled to counteract this.  On a Karic-like (Earth-like, basically) world, a Saldean is likely to be able to perform "impossible" feats of strength.

1&2-  A couple of head studies.  Similar to Reina above, this was primarily just to help myself get acquainted with the various details of his face.

3-  This may be the first image I've ever drawn of Timberwolfe without him wearing a bandanna, headband, or skull-cap.  I decided to extend that scar running up from his jawline through his eyebrow, up his forehead and over into his hair.  The scars on his head and shoulder are a couple of nasty souvaniers from the mission that ended his black-ops career and resulted in his going freelance.

Alternately:  "Timberwolfe, a proud member of the Solid Snake Hair Club for Men."

4&5-  Unlike Reina, Timberwolfe's armor has fallen into place without too much trouble.  There's still plenty of room for improvement, but I'm really happy with where it's going.  I've got sort of a blend of Metal Gear Solid 4 and Mass Effect influences going on with my current armor designs.  Also worth noting: his physique.  I'm trying to have his appearance show that he is obviously very strong, but also trim enough that he can really move when he needs to; vaulting over obstacles and leaping wide gaps when he needs to.

Also, he does have a real name, I just haven't figured out what it is yet.  "Timberwolfe" is simply his old black-ops call sign.

Also Also, here's some shameless self-promotion:  I'm currently taking commissions, for information, you can check Here.

So there it is.  My apologies for neglecting my readers (all three of them).  But I'm getting back into the groove, so expect weekly updates, at least.

Cheers, all.