Absence note for Drawing for Games (11/12/2012)

Unfortunately due to a sickness bug in the winter of 2012 I was unable to take part in this session.

I hope that I will be able to go back and complete the colouring of my Star Wars' art as I was really looking forward to completing the picture that I had put a lot of time into. Sadly I don't have Photoshop at home in order to complete it in my own time.

Photoshop Session 2 (4/12/2012)

Having enjoyed the last session I was really looking forward to this one as I thought I would be learning new things. Unfortunately this was not the case as we were told to practice the skills we had learned last week in order to produce a cover for a video game. Now whereas I did have fun doing this and it allowed me to remember previous skills I felt at the same time that I could have done this at any time at my own leisure.

After we had finished our covers we moved onto shading a ball similar to how we shaded the human face last week. Unfortunately I only felt this to be another practice of the skills we had already learned and nothing new.

Overall, whereas it was a fun session that allowed me to practice my skills I felt as if we were covering old ground. Therefore I hope next time we will be able to learn something new.

You can see the evidence of my work below:

Referencing:

Paladin, D (Unknown) Castle Crasher Knights [Online image]. Available at:  

http://www.gamerzines.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/castle_crashers_small.png  (Accessed: 4/12/2012).
 

Unknown (2008) Xbox 360 box template [Online image]. Available at:  http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb170/Spyro4President/Xbox360Template-1.png (Accessed: 4/12/2012).
 
Unknown (Unknown) Banjo and Kazooie [Online image]. Available at: http://www.therwp.com/w/images/thumb/c/c5/Banjo-kazooieBKNB2.jpg/300px-Banjo-kazooieBKNB2.jpg (Accessed: 4/12/2012).

Unknown (Unknown) Joanna Dark [Online image]. Available at: 

http://www.oxmonline.com/files/u12/JoannaDark.png (Accessed: 4/12/2012).

Unknown (Unknown) Marcus Fenix [Online image]. Available at: 

http://images.wikia.com/gearsofwar/images/1/19/Gears_of_War_3_Personajes_COG_Marcus_Fenix_V2.png (Accessed: 4/12/2012).

Unknown (Unknown) Splosion Man [Online image]. Available at: 

http://static.giantbomb.com/uploads/original/0/3683/1049517-splosion_man_1.jpg (Accessed: 4/12/2012).

Unknown (Unknown) Master Chief [Online image]. Available at: 

http://bakarenders.com/renders/albums/userpics/22517/normal_Halo-4-master-chief-front-cover.png (Accessed: 4/12/2012).

Unknown (Unknown) PEGI 12+ image [Online image]. Available at: 

http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20060221071461/finalfantasy/images/c/ca/PEGI_12.png (Accessed: 4/12/2012).

Unknown (Unknown) Kaim Argonar [Online image]. Available at:   

http://s4.zerochan.net/Kaim.Argonar.full.891686.jpg (Accessed: 4/12/2012).

Unknown (Unknown) Fable 2 Hero and Dog [Online image]. Available at:   

http://xboxoz360.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/fable-2-31.jpg (Accessed: 4/12/2012).

Unknown (Unknown) Viva Pinata [Online image]. Available at:  

http://images4.fanpop.com/image/polls/640000/640700_1297552376331_full.jpg (Accessed: 4/12/2012).

Unknown (Unknown)  Crackdown Agent [Online image]. Available at:  

http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100528213247/crackdown/images/7/72/Crackdown_agent.png (Accessed: 4/12/2012). 

Research for my Star Wars piece of art (3/12/2012)

Having the time to draw my own piece of artwork I decided to base my work on one of my favourite movie franchises, Star Wars.

Wanting to capture the atmosphere and appeal of the films I looked at many existing designs and came up with the following six credit care concepts.

Personal and peer feedback as to which design I should choose:

Asking all my fellow peers and even my lecturer I not only found out that they all really liked my concepts, but I also got the following notes for my work.

• 1 was popular with a few of my peers as not only did it have perspective, but it also had a figure on the seat who looked as if he could be talking to the figure in front of the image. Whether this figure is meant to be intimidating or not is another thing. 
• One thing that people liked about 2 was that the person appearing from behind could infact be rushing over to tell the other person at the console that something is wrong with the ship. Thus adding tension to the overall scene. And whereas this was the first idea in my head originally I feel that it may pay too close a resemblance to the well beloved Millenium Falcon as seen in the movies. 
• 3 was very popular due to the image's perspective in a large open environment and the use of the triangular windows that not only looked good, but also original. They also really liked how the scene was layered and even included a mouse droid which they demanded to see in the final piece.  
• Quite a few people really liked 4's perspective as not only were the two characters on different perspectives, but the one on the raised surface looks as if he could be intimidating. I intended to capture this as if I do draw this one then I would add lots of red lighting and dark backgrounds for atmosphere. My peers were also keen on the console the figure at the front is using due to its unique design, though some did confuse it for a window. The lecturer did point out however that I should avoid having background details collide with the characters, otherwise it can mess with the viewer's eyes and make them think that the two are the same thing. Therefore if I were to do this one I would have to slightly tilt everything to one side. 
• Wanting to including some emotion into my scenes with hand gestures and body language, number 5 was a good example of this as you can clearly see the two figures either negotiating or arguing. Perhaps they are in the middle of a battle and/or are lost, thus explaining why they would be gesturing like this. The addition of the Astromech droid was also popular as people loved the R2-D2 look alike. A few peers liked this scene, but most felt that its angle didn't feel right, as if the scene was more a part of some set. Therefore if I were to do this image I would need to change the angle slightly.
• 6 was not only my favorite due to the homely atmosphere it creates, but was also very popular with both my peers and my lecturer who suggested that if I were to do this piece of art then I would need to use lines of perspective in order to accomplish the scale. I also recognise that I will need to give the figure with his feet up something to rest on otherwise it looks as if his legs are floating.

Overall:

As stated before 6 was my favourite and whilst it is challenging I feel that it just calls out to me to draw it.  Therefore I will attempt to bring the scene to life using lines of perspective before drawing the crew, environment and objects. I recongise that I have not recently tried to draw a scene with all these features in it and therefore it should be a lengthy, but rewarding task to complete.