Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Adv Acrylics Classwork

So I've been taking a class in Advanced Acrylics. I've never really done still life, or even impressionist type work before, so I'm rather pleased with my results so far. I still have a lot to learn in regards to techniques. I think my year off of college, and doing my own  acrylic painting studies as well as visiting Seattle Art Museum (SAM) and studying master paintings, have prepared me for applying what I have observed. Anyways, here's what I got so far.

 Week 1: Still life using only colors and techniques of the Renaissance.
Acrylics on wood.

 Week 2: Impressionist type painting study, where we could use whatever colors we wanted.
Acrylics on Bristol board. 
 So I used black light acrylics for this piece.
Acrylics on Bristol board. 

Week 3: Paint a scene from somewhere in Seattle. This is the Puget Sound.
Acrylics on Bristol board. 

Monday, April 25, 2016

Newest JCSG Cards

So, I've been commissioned to make new editions to Jet City Saber Guild trading card line up again. I didn't post the original photos in my last post in regards to trading cards because there were just too many. But here you can see what I started with, and what I finish with.

Photography by Suspi Photography
Trading card template by Rubin Polizzi
Jet City Saber Guild logo by Derek Hidalgo



Sunday, April 24, 2016

Adv Lvl Design Wk3

Hello Again!

Here's this week's update on my Hellish level. I was supposed to get the game metrics down in Unreal, and make it playable, but I'd feel more comfortable and accurate if I model out all of the platforms correctly the first time, instead of guessing where they will go, and how long they will be, and basically rebuilding the scene twice. Especially the demon, which will be a low poly representation and will consist for 3 moving parts: main body, arms, and chains.

So this week, I managed to finish sculpting* the walls, cave, the Mario coin boxes, a large floating platform, and lastly stalactites/stalagmites in large and small. Nothing is textured or unwrapped yet, this is all lighting effects, which I plan on baking as a texture for low poly sculpt (if I need it for performance reasons- otherwise I'll keep it as is.)

What it looks like in orthographic view.







*In regards to the list of finished components stated above, this will be subject to change over the course of a few hours, i.e. before class. By the end of next class I should have everything modeled, and ready to port into Unreal, and for homework, I'll piece the level together, then attempt at coding in nodes.

Sunday, April 17, 2016

Adv Lvl Design Wk2

So this week, I did a lot of tutorials research on Unreal Blueprints, and got real familiar with coding and the terms of C++ which are very similar to that of C#. I then began to start boxing out my level in 3D as well as coming up with a basic background color scheme. Not much to show in terms of "wow" factor, but I plan on finishing a lot of the rock sculpting and texturing this week in class, and by next week have some of the basic platform movements and ropes blueprinted (is this even the proper term?) I'm quite fond of my doors. So 80s.

Anyways, screenshots below:






Monday, April 11, 2016

Lvl Design Class Week 1

Hello Everybody!

My instructor is making me use my blog for assignments, which is pretty rad, because it means I have to update this weekly! So anyone that actually follows my page, will have more stuff to ogle.

So for week 1, I am going to revisit and old level design for a game that never happened (sadface), but I really loved my design. I made a lot of nods to various side scrolling games such as Monster Party (door puzzle), Super Mario Bros. (one of the coin box secrets and door puzzles), and Donkey Kong Country (vine jumping) in particular.

Mood Board/Inspirational Art


environment element nods to classic games

The theme of this level is horrifically/hilariously gory/gross and hellishly demonic, like Monster Party meets Cannibal Corpse meets Mortal Kombat humor. I want the entire game to be very retro, trippy (yet horrific in nature) saturated colors, with black or near black shading (and adult themed) in terms of artistic styling and color scheme. I want to make these levels seem very surreal, some like a Salvador Dali painting, abstract art, and incorporate puzzles into the designs. I want elements of the level to be 3D objects, projected in 2D format (with 2D foreground and background elements) with a parallax design (foreground elements to hide needed items, moving background, etc) like in the newer Rayman  games.

Since the level design I created was meant for the last level before the final boss fight, I wanted to make this particular level challenging in regards to jumping skills/navigation of a hazardous environment (spikes, falls, instantiated things falling from the ceiling), puzzle/problem solving, random monster door encounters, a mini boss (the one eyed snake thing with the penis rattle guarding the master door), and collecting keys in order to exit the level (through the master door) to the final boss.

But now, this is going to be my own project now, I am going to make my own story for this game. I want to tackle taboo subjects: drugs, sex, religion, gore, and warped humor. The only way to sell this would be to make sure the story line is well written, and carefully articulates these topics with perfectly timed humor. George Carlin will be my inspiration, along with many other rebellious artists over the course of history.

The brief story line is you are a character, that drops some acid, smokes some pot, falls asleep, and the character finds them self trying to escape their own mind... and the mind is as limitless as the universe. Due to this, the designs/styles of each level can be completely different than the other. each with their own challenges and unique puzzles and mini games. The way I could keep players engaged, would be to add new levels periodically in updates.

 Original lvl concept sketch

Original sketch of major environment feature (horned monster that you have to navigate to progress through the lvl) and the mini boss (one eyed snake monster) that protects the boss door.



Letters above doors signify where you go if you enter, and where you will end up.  I also want to incorporate random encounters in the doors. (takes you to a separate room, like in monster party, which adds to another level of the subconsciousness)







I'm going to run into some issues in regards to developing this for Unreal. I'm new to the engine and know nothing of C++. This will be a good challenge for me, because at the end of this class, I can add the skills to my resume along with Unity and C#.

Tuesday, April 5, 2016

Still Life Study

I'm taking a traditional art's class this quarter, and I'm really excited about it. I feel like this will be beneficial to me in the long run. I know I'll learn some valuable techniques in this class.
45 min sketch: