Work experience is fun!

There is an incredible amount of freedom during this work experience. Lately I've been working on a specific game so I haven't had much freedom on the topic but style is entirely up to me. I think I'll explain my progress a little (be prepared for more drawings than usual).

I got this work experience due to my 2D honours project. The guys from Zapcoder loved my hand drawn backgrounds and then asked me to come in and do some work for them. Personally I was very proud of them. I've never properly experimented with backgrounds so it was interesting to test this out. Also, I know that most big 2D companies (ie Studio Ghibli) draw their backgrounds so I thought I'd test this out with my project. It also meant I was able to figure out what I could and couldn't do when I went into the industry.

The company requested that I drew parliament for the upcoming game on Scottish Independence. I'd never drawn a background on a graphics program so I thought this would be great reason for experimentation. Plus it'd save the hassle of deciding what to draw! They liked this style so much that they asked for more, which I was very pleased with. Not bad for my first ever background on the computer!

For the past couple of days I've been working on something for the Ryder Cup. I'm getting more confident with buildings so I thought I'd challenge myself again and add a proper environment to this. I'm very pleased with how it turned out. I'm now getting used to backgrounds so I was experimenting more with the colours for the grass. 

It's lovely being able to draw in my own style, something I completely didn't expect. Being at my work experience has definitely motivated me into learning more about drawing and is actually inspiring me! I've spent the past couple of hours looking up different kinds of backgrounds to draw, something I always hated doing before. I'm really glad I got this opportunity as I'm able to expand my drawing skills and gain some contacts along the way. Not to mention I'm thoroughly enjoying their company! They make work so fun, it's actually hard to stop drawing at the end of the day and relax. I hope that I can stay there for a while and I definitely plan on making the most of this opportunity. Be prepared for a lot of work to be posted!

Who knew characters would be so fun?

Wow talk about being busy! Everything's happening at the one time. I got a job to help out my family and then just after got contacted by a local company about work experience! I'm allowed to create any kind of artwork, no matter the style, and it'll be uploaded to their app. It's not quite up and running yet but keep an eye out for Zapcoder. It's basically an app where you can create your own games, even with your own customisation settings. Going to be pretty busy if I'm going between work and work experience!

I've also got a little job as a character designer for a friend. I never thought designing kids characters would be so much fun! You get to be as crazy as you want and go wild with the colours. I do really enjoy drawing characters, but usually they're inspired by an image or a certain style I come across. It's not often that I actually design my own characters. So I never thought designing would be as much fun as experimenting is. Don't think I'm quite cut out for character designing but it's definitely fun giving it a go!

So I've been experimenting more with that style from last time. I'm quite pleased with how these have turned out. Perhaps they're not as good as the last but I'm definitely adopting this style! Plus I've decided my next project will use illustrations in this style. 

The first is loosely inspired by "Nausicaa" by Studio Ghibli. It was quite an interesting pose to attempt. Think I'll try and stray away from the rigid poses I'm used to as this pose gives the character a bit more "life".

I also wanted to do another "cute" picture. One theme I've never explored in an image is a proposal so I thought this would be a great opportunity to try. I think the style fits it so I'm very pleased. Think my next challenge is working on my colours so that my project can be even better. Bring on the inspiration!

Simple, yet effective

So it's about time I upload something new. Not that I'm keeping to a strict timetable but I feel that this should be updated regularly, even if it's just progress sketches.

I've now officially graduated! It wasn't as dramatic as I thought it would be, just another day. Not one of us tripped up, in fact it went by rather smoothly. I was lucky enough to get a photo with my class so that I can remember them for a while. It's kind of put me in a weird mood. I want to be productive and be the best I can but at the same time it's the end of an era and I don't want to rush things. I'm finally through education (although I'm considering a Masters degree) and it's quite emotional going through that. The stress of trying to get a job combined with a lack of knowing what to do with yourself if a lot more difficult than I thought it would be. 

So right now I'm taking things slowly. I decided that I'd experiment with a new style I came across earlier today. Just something small and cute to upload while I sort out the inevitable question of what to do for the rest of my life. I'm incredibly pleased with how it's turned out, despite how quick it was to create. I definitely think I'll be using this style a lot more often. I quite like the colouring style too. Despite not knowing much it was very simple to replicate. Every step helps though so I'm glad I've managed to create something I love.

I've always wanted to create something Japanese and I've never been able to create something I'm happy with. I'm quite happy that my fascination with a culture so different from my own has been put into a simple drawing.

Patreon and sketches!

A friend of mine told me about a website called Patreon. If any of you are artists and are wanting to share your work (for a donation) feel free to check it out. People can donate whatever amount they want to help you, the artist, create more work. It's kind of like Kickstarter only it's with small, regular projects rather than a big one. If you want to have a look mine is at http://www.patreon.com/nanimations. Anyway onto the blog.

So it's been a pretty busy week. Graduation's just round the corner and I thought I'd do some sketches to distract myself from IMPENDING DOOM! If only it was that dramatic...

First off, I thought I'd do a bit more pose sketching. I do it a lot so try not to get sick of the pose sketches. I figure you can never stop learning and it's always interesting seeing new poses. I've never drawn a character from this angle before so it was quite interesting to try. I'm quite liking it so I may try a few more dramatic shots with a similar angle.

I've been having a look through all of my old work. It took me quite a while to look through and personally critique it but I've learned a lot. It's weird seeing all of your old work. Especially when you're comparing it to the new stuff. You see how far you've came in not only a short amount of time but you dig up work from years ago. It's amazing what you can learn over the years!

It also makes me appreciate everyone that's helped me along the way. From my parents, to teachers at school and online critiques, I've developed my own style and I'm truly happy about this. Not so long ago I was able to copy any drawing style but I was never comfortable enough to try my own. Now I think I'm developing it, still got a long way to go but I'm getting there. Every little step counts.

So this next drawing is just a quick character design I created. I realised that I tend to draw a lot of single characters so I thought I'd try two boys this time. Yes that's a boy on the right! I wanted to make him look a bit girlier than I usually do. I've been reading a manga that explores friendship between two male best friends and it inspired me to create this. 

It's also a bit of experimentation. Another friend of mine is helping me get better with my colouring so hopefully in a few years I'll have something completely original that I'm happy with. Can't wait! Anyway that's enough text for now so I'll keep sketching and post another time.