Aug 27, 2008

you can't deny the force...



i played 'the force unleashed' demo.

holy. shit.

it has never been so gratifying to be a jedi. usually they're cry babies. or the sith are underpowered. galen marek is no such pussy. he's ridiculously powerful. just like the demo is ridiculously fun to play. force lighting? pwns. force lighting wrapped around my lightsaber while i skewer a guy? that's just plain hot to trot. this game may just remind me why i am busting my tail to crack the game industry out here in maryland. these are the kinds of things i want to be a part of from concept to creation. i've gotten to the point where i don't play games for fun. i haven't done that in years. now it's all about what i can glean from the process to make myself better.

this game just happens to do both for me.

finally got my pc hooked up and running again. i love my macbook dearly, but she's a little unusable when i want to opencanvas with rachel. matilda fired right up though and she's been doing great (minus internet goodness) while terrorbot5000 is getting her logic board replaced.

to the business at hand though, i suppose i'll post up a little bit of our OC shennanigans from last night...which took me well past midnight - and i'm a grown up now so that's tough.












and that's it. that's all i have for now. i am buying this game the day it comes out. already got it reserved. and i'll be there...sweaty palms and everything. don't think so? i find your lack of faith...disturbing.

destroy them all starkiller...destroy them all.

EDIT you know, when rick is right...he's incredibly right. he basically asked me why i didn't finish this picture and i couldn't conjure a reason. that's the worst form of sloppy thinking. "done because i'm tired".

lolz.

he's done now.

Aug 22, 2008

moments of clarity…



…are hard to find. it's been a long week. maybe one of the worst i've ever had. it seems like everything will be made in the shade by monday, but who the f*$% really knows.

anyways, two sketches…each took about 45 minutes. i started doodling with nothing in mind and batman just sort of appeared. after that, a young onlooker saw what i was doing and asked if i could draw two-face. i didn't use any references, so don't be too harsh on my harvey dent. yes he's messed up, yes his gunhand is skewed and yes it could be a lot better. but to a 11 year old boy, i'm sure it's awesome.




i took a little time this morning before work and did some tonal work on em, more to keep busy than anything else. nothing fancy, just a mouse and some soft brushing. i feel like i've had to be doing something all the time or sleeping this week or i will have a nervous break down and shut off.

on a lighter note, i will be starting inkstatic studio back up and begin plugging-in here in dc now. i've been reflecting on it and after a couple of very long conversations this week, i've decided it can't wait any longer - i've had my time off and it's time to get back on track. too many needless and unwanted distractions lately.

inkstatic@mac.com


open for business.

Aug 14, 2008

ART CHALLENGE 4!



The blood wouldn't wash off. The steaming water swirling around her turned red and angry. No matter how she tried, the blood stayed.

…Tomoe sank to her knees in the steam. Jin hadn't fought. Hadn't begged. He had looked her full in the face as she raised the sword and struck his head from his shoulders.


"For Edo." she breathed as she gazed at Jin's lifeless body. He had smiled at her. A smile she
had known since childhood. That confident, crooked smile he always gave her before he did something extraordinary. The same smile he had given her beneath the cherry blossoms the night he had told her he loved her. The smile that would engulf all of her memory of him. Fingers trembling, she gripped the sword tighter.

No.


She would hate him. She would hate his memory, she would not let him hold this over her. He had led the rebellion, she had begged him not to, but his foolish pride would not let him do otherwise. Yes, she had no choice. An arrogant fool he had been and now he was dead.
Her father was no tyrant. She was not some ignorant child, naive and awkward. What blame could she possibly hold? She had every right, and after all he was just a man…no, a boy really. Any man would die to have her…to be with her. But Jin did die. Died with a smile that said "You have killed the only true happiness you will ever know."

She was the Samurai Princess of Edo and she was alone…




and i tossed in the unsteamed version so you can note the multiple layers of color i utilized to build the skin tones. man it was grueling.

so art challenge 4. ball in my court, i selected at random "the lone samurai princess of edo" for our topic. rick's is done of course. mine is a two-parter. i have this inked drawing of tomoe with a blade in hand standing above jin's headless body. unfortunately, i've been under one deadline or another, sick or gone and haven't gotten around to scanning it. so today, while sitting at home i banged out a quick digital sketch of tomoe alone in the bath house to keep it loose and fresh.

photoshop of course. just continuing to refine and practice my techinque. and speaking of technique, go check out kung fu panda. it's an absolute joy. from the opening credits to the end of the closing credits, everything is meticulously designed for your viewing pleasure. dreamworks has truly brought their game on this one. i've seen wall•e but pixar is going to have to pull something else fairly amazing out of it's ass to top the martial arts antics of a panda.