Video Games Have Great Art: Fig. Drawing Sketches

Hey guys. So officially online for things like making youtube videos or for playing online games with people I've donned the name Xanthen (that x makes a z sound like xylophone). I've always liked the idea of having a different name to have people call me by, not that I don't like my name I just thought it would be awesome to have another one. So tadaaaaaaa!!! New name, if you leave any comments or recommendations for me please use that name, though I'm betting that most of you looking at this blog probably already know me. =) Here are the second week of Sketches for my figure drawing class. The primary topics for this week were geometric figures and ROBOTS!!! 

So this sketch is based on a robotic unit from again, guess what, Starcraft. Basically these robots are like miners, they harvest the resources you need in the game to build your bases and armies. They may not seem like much at first but up close and personal they actually look really cool. Imagine if you had one. Who wouldn't want a personal floating robot who brings you stuff? I mean come on, it would get the groceries, supplies, and it would probably go to work for you. Awesome am I right? 

Here's another Starcraft robot guys. Though this one actually belongs to the human aspect of the game. This is a widow mine. These things are scary. Basically they are really fast and easy to make and super destructive. You do not want to walk over one. I have seen so many people lose games because of these things. You may be thinking "Oh I'm safe, those things don't really exist. I'm golden." Oh yeah? We already have pretty high tech weaponry. Stealth Bombers, military drones, smart bombs, the list could go on for quite a while. Is it really unimaginable to believe that maybe we will one day build a robotic mine that can locate it's enemy and attack it by itself? In any case I'm stepping a little lighter around my yard.

The arch nemesis of the widow mine is the observer, basically another robot that can spot the "hidden" widow mines. I guess I forgot to mention that before, you can't see widow mines when they are buried. But these very nice robots, who can see things that are hidden, allow you to destroy any mines that happen to stand in your way. I love how they are designed. Particularly how when they are stationary they fan out like in this sketch, but when they are in transit they have a much more smooth and aerodynamic mode. You can look up some pictures if you really want to see it. 

These sketches were really fun, the first one is a logo for my favorite race in Starcraft, the Protoss. They logo is so cool!!! And then sketch 3 is my second favorite. He just looks so adorable! And I really love the way he turned out. One of my friends actually requested that I draw a second larger one for her. 

These are my favorite figures that I made. I find that when I think of the body in it's geometric aspects I can create a better actual image of the body. So this week my goal was to make a bunch of more accurate figures. I'm happy with what I got, of course they aren't as accurate as I wish they were, but they are much closer than a lot of work I've done before. Number one is my favorite here. 

So that's it for this week. Let me know what you think with comments and share this with your friends. Any feedback helps as long as it stays constructive. ;) Thanks for all of you who helped usher me along the road of the arts. It seems that now as I get further along in college my artistic work is in a constant mode of improvement. And by that I mean that I have to draw every freakin day. But hopefully soon I'll be able to add digital art to my portfolio. Thanks again everyone. =)

Sketchbook for Figure Drawing

So here are a couple of drawings from my sketchbook, the ones that I actually like. Having never done a blog before I don't expect the internet to be to aware of myself yet, but hopefully this might get me a kind of edge in getting myself out there for people to see. =)

This sketch was nice to do, number 4 was actually the most informed of the four sketches. The others were done based on imagination or pictures as opposed to  number 4 which was based on actual proportions, even though I never really finished it. 

I also really like number 2, he feels like a kind of face I've been hiding in myself. A sad face that still hopes for a brighter kind of future. Having never put my actual emotions on a characters face I find increasingly that my pent up emotion finds itself in my drawings when I'm drawing for the sake of drawing instead of because I have to for an assignment. 

These four sketches were inspired by 3 particular aspects. Drawing 1 was inspired by a screenshot from Isaac, the main character in the video game Dead Space. Number 2 was inspired by a memory I had of watching a documentary about a long range sniper rifle called the Barrett M82. I meant for this one to be more like the blasters from Star Wars using blaster ammunition but it's difficult to put that into a drawing without drawing the weapon firing. Drawing 3 and 4 were both inspired by the video game Starcraft. Drawing 3 is a force field, but instead of the almost magical ability to create them in the game via the Sentry unit I decided to draw it as if it was built by humans using technology instead of the psionic abilities of the Protoss.

This sketch is probably my favorite alien to draw in Starcraft. The Zergling. These are nasty little creatures, not that little, they're probably about the size of large dogs, that rip apart anything that gets in their way with a variety of claws and teeth. Don't try to pet them...

These three other pieces are obviously not from my sketchbook, however I thought that I would include them to bolster the amount of art I have on this blog. 

This was actually my very first painting. I had seen a few tutorials on how to paint and watched a couple of TV shows demonstrating how to paint. And I had done several art projects that involved painting. However this was the first painting where I really thought about how to piece the art together. I really love how it turned out. Unfortunately I gave this painting to a friend who I am no longer in contact with and it doesn't reside in my collection except for these photos I have. Long story short a girl was involved. 

This painting was a birthday gift to one of my best friends. It's a photo she showed me of her father fishing on a trip they went on. I love this picture. When I gave it to my friend her face lit up and seeing people overjoyed at art that I created is amazing. It's one of the best feelings in the world. Some people told me I should have left out the glare from the camera lens but I think it adds a nice touch to the painting. 

This was the second painting I made. This painting I actually had no assistance with, no video or friend help. Which actually astounded me since it turned out so much like the photo I based it on. Being a new artist and having things actually turn out the way you want them to is also an incredible feeling. I love the water in this one. I feel like it gently captures that slow rhythmic oceanic sound, and being stuck in the middle of a landlocked state really brings home how much I miss the ocean. 

Anyway, that's my first art post. Hope all of you who are reading liked it. And hopefully as I keep going my art will become better so I can maybe become good enough to sell some of it. =)

Thanks a lot everyone.