Animation Appreciation: WoW

I've always loved animation. No shocker there. In an alternate timeline I'm probably an animator. While I'm not sure it could ever be anything more than a hobby for me, that doesn't mean I can't appreciate the craft. And I do. Animation is super cool. 

Anyway, Blizzard is in the process of sprucing up the characters in World of Warcraft, their massively popular MMO. The game's been running for 10 years, which means it was built on tech from 11 to 12 years ago. So with their next update, they're pushing some new models, animation and more.

I've never played WoW, and probably never will. Those types of games just aren't my cup of tea. Still, this look into the animation changes on this character is really cool. If you're at all interested in animation, give it a read.

I'm always fascinated by the cleverness of game animators, who must take things like player interaction, repetitive actions (casting the same two spells for hours), and hardware limitations into account.

I posted one of the videos from the article below. Go read it!

The Last Hair Bender

This was one of those drawings that got away from me. I sat down to sketch out an idea, fully intending it to be nothing more than a rough sketch, as it was already too late. Then I got in the zone and just kept going, but that nagging, responsible voice telling me to go to bed and get some sleep never left. 

This created a weird mix of pressure--to push the picture and try things I normally wouldn't and had just learned, and to push myself to press on and not tweak and retweak sections so I could go to bed.

The end result is something I'm pretty happy with. There are some spots I'd like to clean up (she could be more kinetic, I think I could push her into a more forceful and dynamic pose), but for something I cranked out in just over an hour--that's with some Google Image search time--I like it. 

For the record, the techniques I tried on this I learned in this Udemy.com course by Sycra Yasin. Most of what he showed in the lesson I already knew how to do, but I didn't know how they could be used for art. I'm not sure I'll adopt his workflow for everything, but it was definitely fun to experiment with. If you're into art at all, you should definitely check out Sycra's youtube page. He's a phenomenal teacher and a super talented artist.

Embracing imperfection

“I find it funny that digital art’s greatest advantage is also its greatest weakness (for me, at least.) In digital medium, the biggest problem and boon is that perfection is possible. Not easy, but possible.

And that drives me nuts.

Because I keep trying for it even when I tell myself not to.

But not so with traditional medium. For some reason, the nature of traditional media makes me expect imperfection and, in fact, makes it more beautiful and interesting.

I guess this is a long way of saying I got some brushes for Manga Studio so I can have the best of both worlds.”

— http://frenden.com/post/79939480253/rheill-i-find-it-funny-that-digital-arts

Saw this post at FRENDEN.com. Couldn't have said it better myself. My passion for drawing has only increased since I started working with actual pencil, paper and ink more frequently. It's taught me to embrace the imperfections, improvise better, and has forced me to iron out and/or confront some weaknesses. Frenden's Manga Studio brushes do the same--just gotta make sure I don't lean too heavily on that Undo button. 

She who must not be looked upon

I thought this would make a perfect pairing. Like the previous sketch dailies entry, I started this one on my coworker's Surface Pro 2. When he first brought it in, he had the default stylus and no screen protector. I thought the experience was okay, but didn't like it more than my aging Cintiq 12WX. 

The next time he brought it, he had a compatible Wacom pen with a felt nib, and a matte screen cover. He'd also tweaked the settings a bit, making Manga Studio more responsive. The new pen and screen cover made a huge difference, offering more paper and pen-like friction. I sketched out the doodle above and emailed it to myself to tinker with later at home.

Add a keyboard to that thing and the Surface Pro running Manga Studio 5 is awfully tempting. Still, I think I'm going to hold out for the Cintiq Companion refresh (hopefully in August/early fall). I want the slightly bigger screen, better processor and amount of RAM the Companion offers. 

PS - If you follow me on Twitter or Instagram, you already saw this sketch. I'm going to try to start posting them here too with a bit more background behind each one. So come on back if you like peeking behind curtains. 

The Survivor

Some art I did for my friend Chelsea. Her sister had a brain tumor, and she handled it like a champ. The entire inspiring story is chronicled on Chelsea's blog through beautiful and sometimes heart wrenching photos (Chelsea's kind of great at making life look amazing through cameras). Go check it out.

All I had to go off of was a Bible verse and that her sister was referring to herself as a rock star for coming out of freaking brain surgery unscathed. I feel like you get to call yourself whatever you want if you can power through brain surgery like most people do cavity fillings. 

I had two ideas fighting for attention in my brain, so I made them both. I also wanted to try out those new watercolor brushes I mentioned in the last post (I actually made these before the bear). I'm pretty happy with how they turned out, and more importantly, Chelsea's sister likes them, which gives me all of the good feelings.

Congrats to you Alicia. Your positive spirit and determination are inspiring. Here's to many, many more healthy and happy years being a rock star.