The Sketchbook of Solitude

RAGE Mutant

2011-12-07T18:31:00.000-08:00

It's been quite awhile since I updated this blog, or even had it open to the public. I have decided it is about time to open it back up and allow people to see what I am working on. I can't promise to update often, but I can try to at least update! :) That being said, I am working on a mini character that can fit in RAGE. The idea was to use Bobo the Seal's Demon SDK as the base mesh and build something that looks like it could belong in RAGE. It has since grown a bit beyond the original SDK, but Bobo needs credit for the base mesh none the less! haha. (Links provided at the end to his work)

In these images you can see some of my process for personal works. I usually have a rough idea in my head that I flesh out in the 3D process. I sometimes do paint overs or concept things I like, or am unsure of. However, mainly I try to design in 3D for mini projects like this. I let the cahracter take on a life of its own and find itself. I do make sure in the initial planning phase though to block out everything I think I want represented in just basic shapes or primitives. I can get an idea of balance and where it's headed. If I can say anythign about character or design its this. Don't be afraid in your personal work to gut something and do something different. If it isn't working don't just force it cause you want it. Make sure it makes sense. Make sure it fits your goals, keep it simple, and most of all if you know something should be cooler.... make it cooler! haha. I will be re-visitnng the tire shoulder pad as it doesn't look cool enough anymore compared to the rest of the piece.

You can also see I am blocking out his presentation base early with representative shapes. It's good to think these things out early, it keeps the piece fresh and gives you a clear idea of where you are going to end up. I still have quite a bit to do on this guy, but he is coming along nicely and I am having fun!

Bobo the Seal links:

Website: http://www.bobotheseal.com/

Where I got the SDK: http://jseamanart.wordpress.com/2010/10/08/bobo-the-seal-demon-sdk/

Earthworm Jim Head Sculpt Final

2010-07-28T00:29:00.001-07:00

Hey Everyone,

I know it's been a long while since i updated. I went back to an old model that I wanted to finish up. It took about a week on my spare time, but I give you the finished Earthworm Jim head! I am going to start Re-Working his body now. Thank you everyone!

-J

More Guilty Party!

2010-05-19T14:47:00.001-07:00

Hey Everyone,

I posted up 2 new guilty part screenshots in the guilty party post. They have now shown the nurse character I worked on woot!

Prop Bust

2010-05-02T16:42:00.000-07:00

It's been a little while since I have updated what I have been up to. So here is a little taste. This was done for Sony about 2 months ago. It wasn't meant to be for a character, it was a prop bust for an environment. I had about 8 hours total to sculpt and refine it, and while the time was crunched I was overall pleased with what I was able to do in just a work day. I was responsible for the sculpt, another artist took it, made a low poly and textured it.

Guilty Party Announced!

2010-02-24T17:21:00.000-08:00

Hey Everyone!
So a game I worked on last year has finally been announced so I think it is safe to post up images of the characters they have shown off in the screen shots. I will post others as they show more characters. You can read a preview over at Kotaku. I am quite excited!

http://kotaku.com/5479479/disneys-guilty-party-a-whodunnit-of-mini+games

New Art

2009-11-17T01:34:00.001-08:00

Jim Update!

2009-11-05T09:44:00.000-08:00

Hey Everyone. Here is a Jim Update!. All the bells and whistles from the previous update are turned off at the moment. I have been concentrating on restructuring the anatomy. I am using Bridgeman, Hampton, and Muscle magazines as ref for this guy. Mudbox is an amazing tool.

Earthworm Jim 9/25/09 update

2009-09-16T20:14:00.000-07:00

I finally finished modeling all the base meshes for Jim. I have been busy looking for a job lately so I haven't had as much time to put into him as I would like.

2D Finals

2009-08-28T18:20:00.001-07:00

Here are the renders from 2D.

It was a really fun project. I may tweak a few things. The top render is a beauty shot, The second image is real time. The Third Image are the wires, the fourth is the Sculpt, and the fifth are the Texture Sheets. The specs are
: 1x 2048 Diffuse
1x 2048 Spec
1x 2048 Normal
9,322 Tri's

Google O3D

2009-07-26T23:13:00.000-07:00

I was part of the development team that made the beach demo for Google's O3D Browser based rendering engine. I am responsible for terrain modeling/texturing, layout, various foliage models/textures, tribal props. Here is the video we showed off in the engine.

Work

2009-07-15T15:32:00.001-07:00

Work

2009-07-15T15:26:00.001-07:00

Skrogg!!!!!

2009-07-11T17:42:00.000-07:00

Here is an update of the alien creature character I am working on. I like to hybrid designing in 3D as well as using 2D as I quite enjoy drawing as much as I do sculpting. Today I started working out the design of this dudes armor. I really want him to look menacing. I want him to give the feel of a general, or at least some kind of Hire ranking solider. I think that adding that thin cape type piece on the back of his shoulder helps push this. I may consider some kind of helmet, though I don't think this guy should really have one..

Life Arm

2009-07-03T11:07:00.000-07:00

I thought I felt like drawing last night. I actually felt like sculpting from life. I sculpted my buddies arm while he sat and watched an episode of Big Bang theory (that show is hilarious) Thank you Mr. Teng for the use of your arm :) This was approximately a 30 minute study. I need to work on my elbow region...

Bed

2009-06-24T19:18:00.000-07:00

Well today I got the opportunity to sculpt a bed haha. It should be finished tomorrow afternoon sometime, but I like where I have gotten it so far. Flatten brush is king!!! haha

And for today's Practice

2009-06-22T22:49:00.001-07:00

I was going to sculpt another arm. I did a couple over the weekend, and I still have to post one of them. But today, with some good tunes I got started on something I have only talked about doing. I started on the Creature I have been wanting to do. I am actually kind of okay with it. As you can see this is far from an arm. Oh well. This one fun, I will do an arm tomorrow....maybe a leg.....

Joe

The Arm Studies Continue

2009-06-20T21:00:00.000-07:00

So I have decided that from now on. If I am doing studies, I will just compile them all onto 1 image at the end of the week, instead of posting up every night a different study of the same thing. But I didn't decide that until today so for now this post is just another arm study :) I finally started getting the right kind of groove again, and I am overall happy with this short study. I know I could have take it further, but it was study and I want to move onto working on some other things :)

-Joe

More Arms

2009-06-17T01:41:00.001-07:00

Arm Practice Continues.....

Arms

2009-06-16T01:02:00.000-07:00

Last night I was up sculpting for a few hours. To be honest though I have been getting the gears turnign on new work, I have not be practicing the way I should be. Last Night made that very apparent. It took a lot longer to warm up than usual. I have decided to start doodling throughout the way in Z brush, the way I would a sketchbook. I need to start doing small things throughout my days, to keep me in the groove when working on more final piece

Here is my first night, a quick arm. I need more practice getting my forms in faster and showing better. I think I will do arms as this weeks study. I don't want to put to much on my plate as far as doodles, but I think sticking with arms for a bit might be good.

This was about 45 minutes, including setting up some ref and getting things in through observation and not just rushing. I need to ensure I understand all I do

-Joe Solo

Things are coming....

2009-06-13T16:45:00.000-07:00

Well it has been quite awhile since and update of any kind has been made to this blog.

I have been working behind the scenes on some new work. I have decided to post up a little something to kick off everything.

The Head was done for Technicolor Interactive.

I plan on fixing up some stuff on the Gorillaz Character 2D....possibly make the rest of the band.

The Jak Re-design image (design by Carlo Arellano) and female sketch (design b me) are a glimpse of things to come. I plan on bringing the nasty fire!

However, you may not see everything in the order you expect. There are a few pieces that simply make take first priority. All I know is, it is time to up my game....

A needed update....

2008-06-30T19:08:00.000-07:00

Well, I know that this update is not that far off from the last one. But I felt that I should update out of dedication to myself. So i pretty much finished up the hands, Tomorrow is going to be a polishing day, adding more asymmetry, and the small things that carry the story, as well as making sure that everything is looking right as far as anatomy goes. The next update should have a few things updated that will give away this models identity. I am pretty happy with how the hands have come out, thank you burne hogarth, bridgeman, and not to have too much of an ego but my mirror and own hand lol. Todays work took about 3 - 4 hours total, I tried to take things slow today. I would like to be finished with all sculpting and have all the other things modeled or 50% modeled by the end of wednesday, but I am having so much fun with it I might take another day or half a day just to play around.

a WIP before a word

2008-06-27T19:35:00.001-07:00

A lot has been going on lately, and I may or may not write a little something about it, but for the people who are close. I have finally "suited back up" lol. Thanks guys. It has been quite a journey the last few months to say the least. Anyway here is a wip of the model I am currently working on. I still have a ways to go..... I will let you all know what it is going to be soon.

Time is on my side this weekend!

2008-04-20T21:13:00.000-07:00

So , I know it has been a little while. I have been really busy with work. Finally though, a stride was hit, and I am making the boss man happy lol. In those late late nights I have been working in secret hehe. Well you all saw the first wip, so I guess the secret is out. I have added more to the priest bust, and you can now see where I am going with his head. I wanted to give him a breathing mask originally, but I like this organic type breathing apparatus better. I imagine it pulsating like a heart, giving him his planets native fumes to keep him alive on our planet!

The Mind Has Settled

2008-04-09T20:09:00.001-07:00

For the past four years I have struggled with the thought.."do I want to be a concept artist, or do I want to be a 3D artist?" I tried to get as good at both as I could. To be honest the goal of being a character artist is a very very recent thing. I think it was really more of a buy product of how much life drawing and anatomy studies I did in my 2D pursuit. Then came along a little thing called sculpting, followed by a tool named z-brush. I have had a love of digital and traditional sculpting forever, but I tried to hide it as best I could by never really doing much with it (in public) and by focusing in an area I was improving leaps and bounds in but still struggled. Sculpting and Digital brush modeling have seemingly come very naturally to me, but for the longest time I denied it. Running from fate I guess. I want to place the disclaimer that these next few thoughts are not of arrogance. Just thoughts in my head. I know I am not at the super professional level yet. That said I shall continue. I didn't like being good at digital sculpting or traditional sculpting for that matter. I didn't like being able to slam out base meshes quickly without every practicing modeling. Why? Because it was not my goal and that frustrated me to no end. I wanted...want to do concept. But now I have come to a place of aceptance. I am never calmer or happier then when I am in zbrush or I am constructing a new character. There I said it lol. Really though, it is the most relaxing thing I can do with my time. I enjoy it. And I am not gonna run from my secret love anymore. I still want to do concept. I still want to be the best 2D artist I can be. But right now, I want that to be just a fun hobby I use to make my 3D better. One day I will journey back down the 2D road. But for now I will just dabble and continue life drawing and studying, but nothing more. For 3D really has become a burning passion, and one that seems attainable. I want to be a character artist. I want to make the heroes my friends run around as in their games, and the fiends they see in their favorite movies. And just typing this, I feel a great amount of stress lifting up and away, as finally I realize what bath to continue my journey down. No worries though. I can never give up 2D, I shall continue to draw and paint. But for right now, I don't wanna try to make doing that my living. So here is a w.i.p. of a character I am currently working on. This ia about 4 - 5 hours in, and I have a lot more to go before his head is complete. But I figure it's a good way to kick things off.

-Joe

Final Chow

2008-03-30T14:29:00.000-07:00

My first objective is completed. I must say I did not start to groove until the end though. It is nice to be more in the swing of drawing again. Now I must continue fourth! keep drawing, painting and modeling away. Least I got one thing knocked of my checklist ;) I htink I might try this next week too, I dn hehe. The Chow can be fun. I will admit this is the first time I have finished one in about 2 years. It is nice not dealing with homework and being able to improve where I want too improve. I think I will go read some loomis.....

First color WIp

2008-03-27T16:51:00.000-07:00

Well here is my first color wip of this character, far from finished but getting a good feeling. I think I am gonna pursue another iteration before I tackle a final painting. I wanna combine some stuff. So we shall see.

First True W.I.P. of Sam Smythe

2008-03-26T18:26:00.000-07:00

Well here is the first true W.I.P. of Sam Smythe for the Conceptart.org chow! haha. I have another design I want to explore, then I will be able to choose which one I take further. This is my first attack at something cartoony in a couple years, so it has been fun. Um only a couple hours for this. And that includes itteration on just this piece of line art. It has been fun. Now....back to sketchin.

p.s. those character bios that I did before I started doing anything with the pencil (wacom pen haha) Saved me soooo much time. I really recommend doing them. I never did it before, but It is saving me a world of hurt.

EDIT: So here is the second rough for this character, I like it better, I feel I was more warmed up. I know that i have dictated little to no form in these two pieces, that is next, I am just trying to get a process going. Baby steps....haha. The piece at the top is the second piece, the one underneath is the first lol. I know it's backwards sorry.

Some Preview work

2008-03-26T01:59:00.000-07:00

Well I got started today. I still have a long way to go, but at least the ball is rolling and the pencil is moving hehe. The first 2 pages of silhouettes are for the CHOW this week. The third page of silhouettes is for the hero of "Skeletons" I started work also on the company specific character, but i am using a different approach and it is not even postable yet haha. More should be coming tomorrow. I will be doing more silhouettes of each of the characters before i start picking and moving on.

Baby steps on my continued journey.....

2008-03-24T04:35:00.001-07:00

Well here I start again. I know two blogs, and no artwork. Well it is on the horizon. I don’t expect anyone to read all of this, but here is some of the pre-production stuff that I am working on to get myself going. I have planned out the next set of artwork for while. My mission. Create 1 environment from concept all the way through modeling and texturing, and hopefully slam it into unreal III. Create 3 characters, all my own concept, and model them. 2 of them will be placed in that environment. The third character will be more company specific, there is two places I would like to work for that have a certain style and Premise and I would like to gear something toward them. This week I plan on working on conceptart.org character of the week. I love being overwhelmed hehehe. Here are the character profile sheets. I am not the best story teller, this is just something to get me going. Honestly I recommend them. They have helped me answer questions I would probably be asked or have to answer at some point before I even but out the pencil. Good times.

Story: Sam Smythe and the Survery Skallings

Purpose: Conceptart.org character of the week.

Setting: Steampunk type world.

A “could be” hero just living life freely. The main character is from a floating skycity to the north tht is attacked by sky pirates. He wants to protect his friends/family/way of life from this new threat., but does not know exactly how…… The town is called smithtown, which as a matter of note has been inundated with sky pirates of late. Big, scary, overly hairy, absolutely barbaric sky pirates. Only sam knows why they have come.

Name: Sam Sheridan Smythe

Age: 17 – 20

Gender: Male

Passive or Aggressive ?: Passive. He doesn’t want to fight but is being forced to. Has spunk

Social Class: Comfortable, everyone shares and is taken care of by the city government….Like to get into mischief, has fun, and likes adventuring so he is a bit more tattered looking than most.

Intelligent or not ? : Intelligent.

What is his build ? : He is a little bit shorter than average height. He is skinny. But he is flexible, has great agility. Is acrobatic.

What is the characters job? : Acrobatic entertainer.

What tools does he use? : Agility, daggers zip gun grappling hooks.

Does this character remind you of someone you know or have seen in movies? : Tim drake from batman the animated series.

What is this characters strength/weakness? :

- Strength: Wit, cunning agility

- Weakness: Short, skinny, not very strong.

What makes this character different from the rest? : Everyone else is very settled and have their average routine. He seeks adventure and mischief.

What type of mood does this character convey? : Happiness overall. A sense of courage everyone can share. The heart of gold kind of guy who makes everyone feel a bit more at ease in any situation.

What is this characters motivation in life? : To go on an adventure of true epic proportion!

---------------------------------------------------------------

Story: Company Specific Character…project warrior….sounds lame I will fix the name later.

Purpose: Match some of the style of a company.

Setting: A medieval fantasy world.

A warrior season on his last hoo-raa! From the western Region Decides to travel southeast do to an infestation of creatures and a new unknown race. He is fighting to get to the last armed defense against the creatures. He of course is fighting his whole trip…

Name: Unknown

Age: 40 – 50

Gender: Male

Passive or Aggressive ?: Mainly passive now. His many years of battling has gotten a lot of his aggression out. But he will still not hesitate to waffle stomp if he has to.

Social Class: Grew up poor, but being a soldier has had access to some awesome gear.

Intelligent or not ? : Very Intelligent.

What is his build ? : Tall, strong heroic.

What is the characters job? : Warrior

What tools does he use? : Swords, armor, survival gear…..toying with giving him enchanted rune wings….dn yet.

Does this character remind you of someone you know or have seen in movies? : Batman from justice league unlimited. …..I know the other one had a batman reference to, I just love the personalities of the two characters and wanted to do something with them. Also arragorn from lord of the rings…but way buffer.

What is this characters strength/weakness? :

- Strength: His experience from age and combat.

- Weakness: He is getting older…slower

What makes this character different from the rest? : He is seasoned and can calculate his odds and reactions quickly and while some of his actions may seem spontaneous they are well thought out.

What type of mood does this character convey? : Dark on the outside but genuinely cares about humanity on the inside. He wants to protect.

What is this characters motivation in life? : protect/survive

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Story: Skeletons

Purpose: Personal Project

An ex-soldier experiment who, along with his sister were kidnapped at birth by the government. The intention: creating weapons. The hero(brother) was subjected to mechanical experimentations and upgrades as will as assassin training. The sister was subjected to biological and mental experimentation. An unnamed organization frees both of them, but the sister now insane proceeds to maim and kill. The brother is the only hope of stopping her. It is set in a not so distant post modern future.

Name: Nathanial Jermaine Abbot

Code Name: N.J.A. OL-01

Age: Unknown

Gender: Male

Passive or Aggressive ?: Aggressive, but trained as aquick silent killerwhen he can) He is calm on the battlefield and thinks clearly.

Social Class: Military Solder/experiment. Everything has been provided

Intelligent or not ? : Intelligent.

What is his build ? : Tall, skinny, cut, strong.

What is the characters job? : Soldier, trained assassin

What tools does he use? : Two blades, two doc ock like tentacles. His training as a killer.

Does this character remind you of someone you know or have seen in movies? : Solid Snake from metal gear solid.

What is this characters strength/weakness? :

- Strength: Soldier/assassin training/ skill with a blade/ will power.

- Weakness: Love for his sister. Still has compassion for humanity. He is o of those nice guys with a tough front.

What makes this character different from the rest? : The fate of the world is resting on his shoulders and he knows/accepts it.

What type of mood does this character convey? : Control. He has that alpha male presence. He is someone you know will get the job done, no matter what the cost.

What is this characters motivation in life? : To stop his sister…save the world.

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Story: Skeletons

Purpose: Personal Project

Name: Cynthia Diane Abbot

Code Name: A.R.C.H. 02

Age: Unknown

Gender: Female

Passive or Aggressive ?: Aggressive, since her mutation she is totally insane.

Social Class: Military Solder/experiment. Everything has been provided

Intelligent or not ? : Intelligent, but her mind is corrupt now.

What is her build ? : Hald lynx spider/half human, tall nasty looking.

What is the characters job? : To kill everything and everyone!

What tools does she use? : Light armor, large hands (claws) and a shriek. She can also jump really high.

Does this character remind you of someone you know or have seen in movies? : The mindset and linguistic skills of Brad Pitts character in 12 monkeys. But more evil and aggressive

What is this characters strength/weakness? :

- Strength: Willpower, insanity, size, overall power

- Weakness: Insanity (come on we all know it works both ways hahaha) slow, underbelly, soft spot for her brother but still willing to kill him.

What makes this character different from the rest? : Zero remorse, and pissed of from the experiments that left her mutated. A mutated cold blooded killer.

What type of mood does this character convey? : Fear

What is this characters motivation in life? : To kill everyone and everything.

So there you go! Haha. Hopefully some artwork next. I just wanna make sure I try doing everything in steps from now on. No more willy nilly.

Later

-Joe Solo

It's Up!

2008-03-22T15:40:00.000-07:00

I am not the man on the bullhorn preaching the value of a blogspot, I assure you of that. I just need to get that out there. I have started this here blogspot as a way of keeping my friends colleagues up to date with where I am and what I am doing. I need to do something to keep my mind right until I get a job. Maybe this here can be part of the motivation. So stay tuned. My journey is not over and this will be a good way to catalog it......