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Matthiaswagg's Concept Art


Mattiewagg

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First off, not quite all of this is necessarily for Immersive Quests, though it's all done with that intention.

Secondly, I'm no artist. This, I promise. I'm in my twenties and I draw stick figures for people. I also am (currently) doing this all with Photoshop and a mouse, the latter of which makes it very difficult.

Now, what is this? It's my attempts at art. Most of it is meant to be for reference images for my modelers, but not necessarily all of it. This is sort of me free drawing, but with a purpose. I'd love to have your guy's feedback. I might not be able to fix everything, but if I can I'll try and I want to improve, so it would be great if anybody more skilled than I (pretty much everybody) could take a look at this and help me out. OK, here we go:

Plain Dagger:

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Attempt 1:

The shape is too much like the glass dagger, my color wasn't working in Photoshop when I started this, and the blade needs way more detail. Also, the handle is rather disproportionate.

But I think it's decent for my first time ever really drawing anything in Photoshop, or even in an application like Photoshop (other than arrows and circles http://www.darkcreations.org/forums/public/style_emoticons/default/tongue.png).

http://i1295.photobucket.com/albums/b630/Matthiaswagg/PlainDagger_1_zps6b715421.png

Attempt 2:

The shape is still very similar to the glass dagger, and this piece will remain colorless for now. The blade still needs detail. But the shape is much better now.

http://i1295.photobucket.com/albums/b630/Matthiaswagg/PlainDagger_2_zps8d402dfb.png

Attempt 3:

Same as before, but I fixed up the hilt/handle a little, specifically the leather part. Also, elongated the blade.

http://i1295.photobucket.com/albums/b630/Matthiaswagg/PlainDagger_3_zps95ada5eb.png

Plain Sword/Wacom Tablet Testing:

===========================

First thing I started on after getting my tablet. As such, the first - and maybe all - attempts will not be so great. Also note the first was made in Fresh Paint because I didn't have Photoshop.

Attempt 1:

I like the handle's design, but it needs a little more refining and some more ornamentation. The blade is dull and boring, and needs a lot more of interest - at the very least more than a gray line. The hilt is an absolute mess, and will likely be completely replaced.

http://i1295.photobucket.com/albums/b630/Matthiaswagg/PlainSword_1_zps8f0c8972.png

Simple Shortsword:

===============

Started after I got the tablet and Photoshop. I was becoming a little bit more used to the tablet.

Attempt 1:

It's handle is a lot better in shape than my others, I think. It still needs more ornamentation and I think I want the leather more leathery, rather than looking like a bunch of strings. I'm working on blade shapes - they're rather hard for me. The handle seems a little long with the blade too short, as well. The blade needs way more interesting stuff. And that line in the center of the blade will need to be improved on a bunch. Ignore the dots everywhere, I'll clean those up later.

http://i1295.photobucket.com/albums/b630/Matthiaswagg/Shortsword-Simple_1_zps34d24c73.png

Attempt 2:

Slap a paper background on, darken the blade and it's almost like a whole new piece of art (not):

 

 

 

http://i1295.photobucket.com/albums/b630/Matthiaswagg/Shortsword-Simple_2_zps1edd0be2.png

 

 

Battle Wounds War Axe:

==================

Check out Acr0ssTh3P0nd's really, really good concept!

I'm generally happy with this one, even if it's not the most realistic of designs because of the way the axe blade is situated, which is more centered rather than off to the side. This wouldn't lend to the weight of the blade correctly, so it is an error. I may fix it in the future. I will need to clean up the drawing some as well, it's a bit messy currently.

http://i1295.photobucket.com/albums/b630/Matthiaswagg/BattleWounds-WarAxe_1_zps5ab679f4.png

Covert Deductions Dwemer Cube:

============================

I'm not really that happy with this one, especially the material of the cube, which looks horrendous. But it gets the job done for killerbite, in this case. It likely won't be improved since it doesn't have much more use.

 

http://i1295.photobucket.com/albums/b630/Matthiaswagg/CovertDeductions-DwemerCube_4_zps6c59f56e.png

 

=========

Anyway, I'd very much appreciate it if you told me what you thought. Which attempts you prefer, why, etc.

Edited by Matthiaswagg
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mate... buy a graphic tablet... even a cheap one/2nd hand or so , no need of big tecnologies, just to use a pen and not the mouse.

keep in mind that photoshop wrks with layers... it's really important to keep anything in its own layer or group, so you can fix what you do not like simply removing and replacing a layer or a group... no need to redo the whole thing for a detail.

also layers will help you to mix colors and effects... colors are never monolithic... there is always a range and light+shadows.

to help model maker try always to make a frontal picture... no prospective, no distorsion, no "poetic license" :smile:

 

it's great to see someone working on concept art....something often underrated...instead totally important, a good concept simplify your life in any step of game creation

 

good luck Matthia

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mate... buy a graphic tablet... even a cheap one/2nd hand or so , no need of big tecnologies, just to use a pen and not the mouse.

keep in mind that photoshop wrks with layers... it's really important to keep anything in its own layer or group, so you can fix what you do not like simply removing and replacing a layer or a group... no need to redo the whole thing for a detail.

also layers will help you to mix colors and effects... colors are never monolithic... there is always a range and light+shadows.

to help model maker try always to make a frontal picture... no prospective, no distorsion, no "poetic license" :smile:

 

it's great to see someone working on concept art....something often underrated...instead totally important, a good concept simplify your life in any step of game creation

 

good luck Matthia

I know, I'm going to look into buying one. Any recommendations for a cheap but decent one?

 

And I've got everything in it's own layer. I've got a .psd (raw) with the layers, and then the merged .png. And for every attempt I'll save as a new file so I can roll back if necessary. I'm well-versed in the ways of backups and saving. :P

 

And thank you. I've seen from a lot, not having reference images can definitely be a problem. And sometimes images online don't really work for what you want, so I'd love to be able to show my modelers/texturers really what I'm trying to do.

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wacom... always wacom, are imo the best....from the cheapest line to 1000 euros beast ...i have an intuos4M.

bamboo series should be the entry level.. there are different size, clear bigger is better..i bought one for a friend m or l size... i do not remember for about 75 euros some weeks ago...solid, does its work, does not mess the kitchen...does not talk... much :smile:

clear if you look for satellite precision and silky tantra massage sensibility prepare a bag of money...a big one, but as said an entry level will do what you need.

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wacom... always wacom, are imo the best....from the cheapest line to 1000 euros beast ...i have an intuos4M.

bamboo series should be the entry level.. there are different size, clear bigger is better..i bought one for a friend m or l size... i do not remember for about 75 euros some weeks ago...solid, does its work, does not mess the kitchen...does not talk... much :smile:

clear if you look for satellite precision and silky tantra massage sensibility prepare a bag of money...a big one, but as said an entry level will do what you need.

Alright, thank you for the advice. I'll look into it.

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I was going to say what Cabal said. Yes, buy a tablet. Absolutely.

Not that paper drawings are bad, you can also scan them and use the sketch as reference, for a cleaner drawing.

 

About the dagger... Start with the outline. no need to make it completely black. This will make coloring harder. But I can't really critique as drawing with a mouse is really hard, anyway the shape is good.

 

I make concept arts too :)

Edited by Derok
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I was going to say what Cabal said. Yes, buy a tablet. Absolutely.

Not that paper drawings are bad, you can also scan them and use the sketch as reference, for a cleaner drawing.

 

About the dagger... Start with the outline. no need to make it completely black. This will make coloring harder. But I can't really critique as drawing with a mouse is really hard, anyway the shape is good.

 

I make concept arts too :)

First off - yep, looking into it.

 

Second - yeah, the black inside was an accident and now I'm just sort of rolling with it. Future ones I will actually "texture" and color more.

 

Three - wait, really? I had no idea. Would you mind sending me a few pictures?

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I'd recommend focusing on specific skillsets one at a time, regarding your concept art! There are a plateau of skills you need to draw good, and tackling them all at once is hard. First of: Learn line drawings. Sketching is stress free, easy and powerful. Then think about gray-scale shading. Finally coloring. From that point you can decide what path you go: Line drawing sketches, or silhouette-->shading paintings. Both works well, and is all individual.

 

Best of luck!

 

Matth

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I'd recommend focusing on specific skillsets one at a time, regarding your concept art! There are a plateau of skills you need to draw good, and tackling them all at once is hard. First of: Learn line drawings. Sketching is stress free, easy and powerful. Then think about gray-scale shading. Finally coloring. From that point you can decide what path you go: Line drawing sketches, or silhouette-->shading paintings. Both works well, and is all individual.

 

Best of luck!

 

Matth

Thanks for the advice!

 

I also just ordered a relatively cheap (though still slightly more than I was hoping for) Wacom tablet. So hopefully, once I get used to it, my drawing skills can improve.

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