[A]

Hey guys,
before I launch into the details of this illo, just thought I'd post it here to get people's feedback.

She's meant to be a druid, low-level, early-days adventuring stuff.

I used photo reference to get the pose and lighting. Is that cheating?

Cheers,
A.


...and the linework ...

_________________
Hey ... can anyone help me find a games artist job?
Maybe in Canada?

[fukifino]

Some people might say using a reference is cheating, but I think that's BS. Those same people will tell you "draw from life!" but we can't all get life drawing classes or afford models.

Anyways, I think the picture's coming along quite nicely. I especially like the texture of her forearm bracer and her bodice. I see lots of areas that need work, but it's obvious this is a WIP, so I'll assume you're going to get to them.

The lighting looks good...except the right side (as we're looking at it) of her face. It seems the primary light is from the left of th picture with softer, reflected light on the right..but her face looks evenly lit on both sides... That's about the biggest thing I can see offhand. Keep it up! Looking forward to seeing the finished piece.

[Light]

This is really good!! I like the sketch a lot.

You have to define what cheating is within any given context, and so basically no it is not cheating but it does make it easier (then not using photoreference). See the discussion on tracing for various peoples POV on this, and mine too.

If this is commercial work, and the photos are not your own then the law on that is something like if a casual viewer can notice the work is derived from an existing commercial work then they have a grounds.

Pose, styles, ideas, and etc are not copyrightable but artistic works are.

It is commmon for professional artist to take a pose from another source. Many times someone will spot the source. But, this happens all the time even among good game/movie artist. Its also common among comic book artist to find a photoreference of a face or 2 that has some of the qualities they want, and then to copy it but only in a very loose sense so that it would be very hard to know exactly the person they copied. Thats something you probably knew though.

Nice work again!

[A]

Thanks for the crits guys.

I've also updated the top post with the latest image. Nearly done - only the spear and arm at extreme left of the image to go. Phew!

I got a bit carried away on the bodice too, so I thought I'd post some detail.

Cheers, A.



_________________
Hey ... can anyone help me find a games artist job?
Maybe in Canada?

[piter]

this is very good stuff, A. in response to your sig, i know of the perfect job for you - senior technical artist at bioware corp. (developer of NWN)
check out their site, if you haven't already, at www.bioware.com
they are looking for people who can do art and programming to facilitate the development pipeline.
they're located in edmonton, alberta, canada.

[A]

Thanks piter!

Hey, great work with the ghoul sketched .... I tried to look up some older posts of yours, but all I could see was a zillion replies saying how ace your work is, and no work 'cause the links were broken! Damn.

I'd LOVE that job at Bioware - as a matter of fact I applied for it near the start of the year. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of going through a rectuiter (OPM jobs, based in England) and they messed things up for me royally. Things got really ugly, Bioware rejected the application I sent via them, then I contacted them directly and I think they were so pissed at the recruiters' effort that I got re-rejected. Ouch.

I'll be approaching BioWare again soon. You don't happen to know someone on the "inside" that I can contact directly, do you? It always helps so much if you can do that.

Thanks again for looking that job up for me, and maybe see if you can repost a bit of an art dump to the forum so I can see your work.

Cheers, A.
_________________
Hey ... can anyone help me find a games artist job?
Maybe in Canada?

[amichaels]

I'm really looking forward to seeing this when it's finished. I would like to see more detail on the leather vambrace likein the sketch though, I am a fan of swirly designs.

[piter]

thanks A, and no problem. umm... i don't know anyone on the inside unfortunately. i was thinking of applying to that job a year ago when i was out of work, but decided i was not qualified on the art side (they want a lot of computer art too, and all i had were drawings). other companies i can suggest around where i live (toronto) are:

silicon knights (maker's of eternal darkness)
rockstar canada (max payne, gta 3)
digital extremes (unreal) - these guys are based 2 hours from toronto.

and i have a friend who is on the inside at pandemic studios in santa monica. if you want i can get you in contact with him.

as for my other art, it got deleted when i ran into credit card woes, and my hosting company closed my account. it's now reopened, but all of my old stuff is gone... besides, it was mostly copies of brom's work, and i would like to do more original art. i've included a few here since you're interested (hope you don't mind, since it's your post - if you do, please let me know and i will take my images down).

cheers,
p.

[A]

Piter,

Great drawings! What medium do you use? If it's ink, I'd be interested to know exactly what products you find good ink/paper wise - I've found it really hard (and frustrating!) trying to hit on a good combo for ink work.

Thanks for posting your pics piter, and thanks for the advice on the jobs. I've hit both Rockstar and Digital Extreme, but I must now go and check out these Silicon Knights guys. If you want a job in games, don't be discouraged by a lack of computer-based skills - you've got a huge talent, and that's what really counts. The computer is just a tool, to be used (and abused) along the way ...

Also, as a massive favor, if you can ask your friend at Pandemic if they consider international applicants (I'm an Australian!), that would be great. Most US companies it seems just trash your CV the minute they see your not from there .... no Green Card, no job.


amicheals, you can check out the finished illo in the "Gallery/Finished Works" forum. I finished it last night, although the fatigue probably shows on everything on the extreme left of the picture.

Cheers, A.
_________________
Hey ... can anyone help me find a games artist job?
Maybe in Canada?

[piter]

thanks A. i have a bunch of letraset pantone markers (black 6) that i used for these drawings. each marker has 3 different size tips for various levels of detail. i've never tried ink. it sounds potentially... messy. the trick with marker is to work big. i do all of my drawings on 18"x24" cartridge paper (cheap stuff). when you photograph it and scale it down, it usually looks fantastic.

no problem... yes, check out silicon knights. they seem like a great company to work for as they encourage interdisciplinary exploration and i hear eternal darkness did well. they are also located in st. catherines, which is really close to the beautiful niagara region--one of my favorite places to go, and it's just 45 min. from toronto.

i will ask my friend about pandemic's policies for you. what's your email address? good news is that my friend is a canadian working in the states.

thanks for the advice and encouragement. i am doing graphic design at the moment but am hoping to make a splash in the illustration/concept art field either in role-playing books/cards, games, or film. if you have any more advice for me i would much appreciate it! i very much want to remain a traditional 2D artist, so working in a game company seems iffy, unless they allow me to do strictly illustrative or concept work... what are the chances of that?! it seems most companies want modellers, animators, or texture artists nowadays and very few hire dedicated concept artists--am i wrong?

well... good luck on your bioware application. it would be very cool indeed if you got the job.

take it easy.
p.

[fukifino]

Looking really good. But her left (our right) shoulder...the muscle mass connecting her shoulder to her neck..it looks really flat..like there's a very sharp edge to it...might wanna spend a bit of time rounding that out. Other than that...awesome.

[amichaels]

I've used india ink before in working with Rapidograph pens. It's kind of scary at first since india ink is so dark, if you make a mistake it's tough to fix. But the ink is really dark, which I like. I usually use Pigma Micron pens though. They are kind of like a felt tip, but they come in a variety of sizes and lay down nice, dark lines without rough edges or bleeding. It's important to use smooth paper though if you are wanting nice clean lines.

[piter]

A,

i asked my friend about pandemic, and he said that they hire A TON of australians in cali, and even have an australian office. only problem now is that he's just been let go, so i no longer have a contact on the inside.

hope that helps.
P.

[marc_taro]

Hey A - nice pic. I don't think using ref (properly) is cheating...In games, you gotta do what ya gotta do to get good stuff fast...I know I used pics when I had to...

The key tip for Aussies relocating is have a university degree - otherwise the immigration is tricky...

Good luck with your quest - send me a link when you have new stuff

Marc_Taro