Images - First selection for 2011





I should probably not even wish a happy new year to all since we're in february, but anyway. here's a (late) first post for this new year. I've been preparing and gathering quite a lot of new images for a second book that will happen sometimes this year. there's still a lot to do but it's already coming along fine. I will probably have a section dedicated to specific methods i have been using these last years and i hope it'll be a nice helper for some, or at least a visual stimulation that will give more food to any creative process. More soon.
On the custom shapes front, i have been experimenting here and there. The medieval interlude posted above, as i call them, has been done using this technique a lot. it totally gives a fast and effective result. Very exciting. However, the images done this way need to be counter balanced with smoother brush work and visual junctions in order to cut some of the obligatory harsh edges given by custom shapes. One way to do this is to use the smudge tool in order to erases some of these edges. the blue space piece was done the same way, but i skipped the last smoothing steps a bit, and it shows. The more textured piece is just a basic sketch that transformed itself into a more achieved image. More weirdness soon.

The custom shapes tool


It's been a month since i started experimenting with a new technique based on custom shapes. i had given it a try last year but i just couldn't figure out how it was going to be THAT useful to a work process already based on custom brushes. it turns out that custom shapes are, in a way, far more versatile than brushes when it comes to organizing your canvas. the "abstract" factor is partly taken out of the workflow. not entirely though, as you can still mess around with insane shapes. but the way you apply shapes is just more connected to the environment you're creating, allowing super fast compositions in no time at all. i'll continue pushing this technique as it is, for now, extremely promising.
here's an environment extract i'm working on, done mainly with custom shapes. also, go visit kekai's blog for his latest, it's based on custom shapes and it's one thousand times worth it.


Hunchback Racer

a personal image done in a few hours.

halo cryptum

343Industries and Microsoft have announced the first volume of the Forerunner trilogy written my Greg Bear. here is the cover for the novel.


i also have been continuing my ipad explorations and will post another batch of concepts very soon. The Artstudio app has been updated not long ago, and i got to admit it is becoming my favorite of the bunch now. line tool is awesome, and they finally implemented a clone stamp tool which is easily configurable and a pleasure to use. Now i hope they will add a selection tool soon, as it's the only feature i wish to see on the ipad one day.

more soon!

Give me a clone stamp tool on the ipad!

After two weeks of doodling around on the ipad, i got to admit it's an awesome digital tool, and this despite the lack of pen pressure which is dramatically missing from what could have been the perfect digital sketchbook.
Now it's not all marvelous though, and this for one reason: you have 5 main drawing apps on the ipad, and each one of them is having features that the other don't have.
finger tool? ARTSTUDIO, and LAYERS.
clone stamp tool? only in PHOTOFORGE.
add an overlay layer? BRUSHES.
save your custom brushes and parameters? ARTSTUDIO.
"multiply" blending mode? SKETCHBOOK PRO, BRUSHES.
anyway you see the point. it's pretty infuriating!
i have high hopes that there will be additional features soon that will allow us to chose an app for good instead of permanently sending sketches to the photo album in order to switch from one app to the next. just in case it may happen one day, there's one feature i would LOVE to see implemented, in a better way, and whatever the app: Only PHOTOFORGE is having it for now, and in a very basic way: the CLONE STAMP TOOL. seriously, maybe it's probably only considered as a photo thing by many, useless for anything related to conceptart. well you're dead wrong! Clone stamping is vital to my own workflow as it allows me to reproduce entire areas, and it totally belongs to a concept art process.
we're at the very beginning of the Ipad, and i'm already excited about what's on there. can't wait to see more !

here's three sketches done in ... multiple apps!






Naval myth

Another fast sketch leading to weirdness. thanks for your attention and comments!

Inner bridge

personal work
2010

Medieval Interlude II

two months since my last update. wow! - Medieval interlude II is just a personal work. Also, i have another Dune cover out on the french market. and last, i wanted to thank the zupi mag team in Brazil for their interview done last month. As well as Sam bathe who presented an awesome presentation of my photos for the "fan the fire" mag June 2010 edition, here.


their tree

an hour and a half playing with color tones and random shapes, it gave this at the end. i can't help but think i had Avatar in the very far back of my mind for this one.
Among other news, i just wanted to share that link to an interview i've done for nicolas Tarier and Pauline osmond at Artspire. huge thanks to them for their dedication.
oh, and i'm also on CGhub now.


built up north

tried this exercise tonight: imagine a small scenario before painting it. it worked pretty well. 3 hours of digital sculpting.



Structura - second printing available!

Structura - the art of sparth. is now back in stocks! the second printing is finally available on Amazon. it will probably take longer for the books to reach other book stores, but i'm sure it's only a matter of days. you can get it here.
it seems that it's not yet available on the designstudiopress website. more soon.

patrol

i rarely draw mech any more. i'm a bit rusty in that department. same for characters actually. i gave it a try with a foreground character this time. it's interesting to me, observing how things are going so smoothly when there's only architecture in a scene. add a character in there and i'll be spending time refining, changing things, getting lost into details. i should draw bots only :)

trantor interpreted

and yet another distorted compo for the fun. it's still a work in progress, but as i am less reluctant than before at adding hours on sketches, it's no big deal. i'll finish it soon.



medieval interlude

i have been painting so many spaceships and flying things lately. here's another type of scene for a change. 2 hours of distorted pixels and shapes.


 

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