Wednesday, November 11, 2015

BlizzCon Report! Part 2

Portfolio Review!

The lines for the Recruitment Table was very very short, sometimes non-existent! I was incredibly surprised to see this, since it WAS the RECRUITMENT table for BLIZZARD at BLIZZCON. One would think it would be the one play that would attract a large crowd. But I was not going to complain! I walked right up, was greeted by 2 recruiters, had a very relaxing chat with both of them, and then it was my turn to meet the art focused recruiter/reviewer.

The Critique: (take care to note this was my interpretation of the review & I went in looking for a Prop Artist review)

Tuesday, November 10, 2015

BlizzCon Report! Part 1


I had an amazing time at BlizzCon! It was my first BlizzCon, but I was no stranger to the Anaheim Convention Center. It was nice being back at this convention where everything seems clean, bright, and happy! Dear 'ol Disneyland was right next door, so the positive vibes between BlizzCon and Disneyland was pleasant!

Saw this magnificent costume on my way to the convention line! 


I loved the way they organized the different halls! You had a championship stage next to the demo stations for that game. Every part of the halls had the buzz of excitement! There were statues spaced throughout the halls. Most of the statues were what usually sat in the halls of the Blizzard studio. It was nice they brought them out for some air and adoration! I am a little bummed that I missed the Warcraft Movie props which were upstairs on the 3rd floor. ;'(

A photo posted by melthefishy (@melthefishy) on
Winston from Overwatch

The people at the conference were extremely nice! It was probably by chance that I didn't run into anybody with a bad attitude, so I really appreciated my positive experience this year. It really felt like one big community! Like I've raided with all these people before and we had a kind respect towards each other. I was not expecting something terrible from the attendees, but was delightfully surprised anyways.

Waiting for the convention center to open on Day 1!

The big screen that counted down to the official start of BlizzCon 2015!

There was not as many "free" swag items as I had expected, but I think that was a good thing. I ended up only getting the things I actually cared about. BUT, I did get a few free things from my fellow attendees! I randomly received Thundersticks from a passerby when I asked where did he get them from (nice!) and I got 2 capsule ball head figures from a very kind girl I was standing next to in the hotdog line. (thanks, Nicole!)

Sylvannas and Winston! Hearthstone coin for scale.

You know that feeling when you randomly run into somebody you know in a public space with tons of other people?? Well that happened! I bumped into 5 friends that I wasn't expecting to see at BlizzCon. What are those chances!?

Now for the photodump!

My friend's car!

The Darkmoon Faire really does exist!!

Tyrande Cosplayer!

 "Make some room by the hearth!"

 My second home at BlizzCon.

 Need some Heroes of the Storm infographics? 

 Cosplay Panel with some Blizzard Empoyee Cosplayers and winners from the Costume Contest!

 Ever wondered what the Overwatch trailer would sound like with Heroes of the Storm characters?
The Voice Actors panel was where one could find out!

//CUE SAD MUSIC
 Leaving the convention halls for the last time for BlizzCon 2015.

 Goodbye, Anaheim. Goodbye, BlizzCon. You were amazing!!!!!!!

//END SAD MUSIC

I got to visit Blizzard to end the amazing weekend!! My motivation, determination, and focus has been renewed. One day Blizzard... 

Wednesday, October 14, 2015

Finished the Sword!

"This sword was forged for the most brutal puppy to ever sail the big wet pool of the world. This blade has seen many a battle, but no real puppies were harmed in the making of this story."

You can also find this on @sketchfab​ as an interactive 3D model https://skfb.ly/HFLW and at ArtStation https://www.artstation.com/artwork/stylized-pirate-sword!



As I neared the finish on the polish. I was looking at Pixelb's work for inspiration and color reference.

Specifically:


Her stuff is truly amazing. I can already see that the blade was probably the weakest part of the image, but I finished it to a point right before it started to become overworked. It started with the blade, and as I continued to paint, my rendering skills were getting alot better. Happens all the time, right??

I also learned that projecting the model from 3D Coat into Photoshop to render out some of the part was REALLY helpful. Just press ctrl + alt + P while in 3D Coat, and you will see a screenshot of your view from 3D Coat. What is awesome about that is you can paint right on the picture, save it, and then the details get projected back onto your model in 3D Coat. Love it!

I've been streaming myself working on this model, and have truly had a positive experience where I got to talk about my thought process, work thru problems outloud and experiment with techniques, reflect on my process since I am verbally elaborating on my thoughts, and also get to share my knowledge with other people while getting to know them aswell.

You can find the stream at: http://www.twitch.tv/evolvyn

I also want to take a moment to say I've started a Slack Chat group for handpainted texture artists!

It's a small and personal community for enthusiasts and artists who do handpainted texture style. The purpose is to have a small tight nit community to chat with and hangout. It is asynchronous chatting, so you don't have be in the room all the time to chat. Just pop in, post, say a few words, and back to work!

To be invited to this community, fill out my form so I can get your email to send the invite to. http://goo.gl/forms/O8GMDLyr74

You do NOT have to download another client. Slack can be viewed on your web browser by simply logging on @ https://handpaintersguild.slack.com/

Thursday, October 8, 2015

Sword Finish, kinda!

I might do some minor tweaks tomorrow, but for most part it is done!


What I learned:
  • If I am having trouble painting...Bring the model into Photoshop (Ctrl+Alt+P) as a 2D picture to draw on. Because sometimes I just paint things better in Photoshop than in 3D Coat.
  • Sword blade looks like stone still. Need to practice rendering metal again. Someone suggested looking at Tyson Murphy's Tutorial on 3D Motive. I've seen it before, but it is definitely a good idea to revisit it.
  • Metal is hard. haha!
I am moving on to pirate ship stuff tomorrow too! Very excited about that!

Friday, October 2, 2015

Happy Inktober & Sword Progress!


Learning to get more comfortable with ink!

Here were my practices before I did the sword.


And painted up a sword! Next step is to polish the detail.