Pit of Ideas

This week's #SundayFishSketch is a Slender Sunfish (Ranzania Laevis). I like the prompts Rene Martin posts on twitter because they make me draw, and therefore learn about, fish that I otherwise wouldn't be that interested in.  Slender Sunfish are also known as Trunkfish, Oblong Sunfish, Tsunami Fish, Truncated Sunfish, Slender Mola, Short Sunfish and Dwarf Sunfish. They will school together when swimming (and as far as sunfish are concerned, Ranzania Laevis is very agile and quick in the water) and their skin, which looks smooth, is also covered in tiny hexagonal scutes - exterior bony plates.

Between 1908 and 1913, Olivia Tonge travelled India and part of what is now Pakistan, illustrating the world around her in vibrant watercolour renditions. Whilst her work is beautiful and rich in colour, it may not be the most scientifically accurate. Despite this, the notes she wrote alongside her paintings are insightful and eye-opening, especially to someone like me who doesn't have much knowledge of cultural history. And that's another thing that I admire about Tonge's work; she documented a wide variety of subjects from fauna and flora to jewellery, food and small local creations such as the 'Hill Man's Impromptu Pipe' (see below image). I love Tonge's work for the little insights into the past. Packets of Betel Nut and Hill Men's Pipes are things that I doubt I would have ever known existed without her illustrations and brief but lucid notations. Especially as a concept artist, I find these to spark an abundance of ideas. Sometimes...

 Oyster Toadfish - Opsanus Tau Tailspot Blenny - Ecsenius Stigmatura I recently set up a twitter account ( https://twitter.com/arik_burniston ), and came across this awesome weekly sketch called #SundayFishSketch I want to get more into sciArt/scientific illustration whilst also leaving my mammalian comfort zone so this was a perfect kick up the backside. Not only that, but I'm also only doing it traditonally so I'm learning a lot about how to use my coloured and inktense pencils which have sat in a shoe box for almost three years now. My next step will be to learn how to use watercolours and - probably more importantly - how to get rid of grain in photographed and scanned images. Because those full res images are an eye-sore right now haha. But for now, here are my first few attempts - an Oyster Toadfish and a Tailspot Blenny.

Final Year Project Semester 01 Self-Set Brief:  Concept 3 characters. Create 1 turnaround, 1 movement sheet and 1 illustration for each character. Setting is a mix of Ottoman and Thai, with an alchemical flare. The Apprentice Librarian - Final Images  The final images for the Apprentice Librarian were all made left-handed due to an injury at the time. So whilst I'm not proud of some aspects, I think I learnt a lot (especially on the illustration front).

Final Year Project Semester 01 Self-Set Brief:  Concept 3 characters. Create 1 turnaround, 1 movement sheet and 1 illustration for each character. Setting is a mix of Ottoman and Thai, with an alchemical flare. The Apprentice Librarian - Concepts Like the Surgeon and the Acolyte, I wanted a non-combative character, but one that could still serve a useful purpose in a game. The Surgeon plays a medic role, the Acolyte a stealth role, and the Apprentice Librarian plays the role of an informant during the ransacking of the palace by invaders. Initial silhouettes made with a calligraphy marker. Developing silhouettes digitally - combining Ottoman and Thai influence. Finding a balance between a high-status career without the librarian actually looking regal was a fun challenge. Exploring the face, combining Thai and Turkish facial structures and exploring hairstyles. I knew from the get-go that I wanted more of an aloof and serious personality for the li...

Final Year Project Semester 01 Self-Set Brief:  Concept 3 characters. Create 1 turnaround, 1 movement sheet and 1 illustration for each character. Setting is a mix of Ottoman and Thai, with an alchemical flare. The Acolyte - Final Images Hurt my wrist again part way through this project, so most of the Acolyte's final images were completed left handed. Despite this, he's probably the one I'm most proud of out of the three.

Final Year Project Semester 01 Self-Set Brief:  Concept 3 characters. Create 1 turnaround, 1 movement sheet and 1 illustration for each character. Setting is a mix of Ottoman and Thai, with an alchemical flare. The Acolyte - Concepts Like the Surgeon, I wanted to avoid hero-like main characters in this project. Instead I placed more of a focus on non-combative 'supporting characters', so even though this one is an acolyte/monk in a militant religion he's actually a lazy bum who refuses to train or work. Initial silhouettes using a calligraphy marker. Taking a lot of influence from Thai Buddhism for the Acolyte. Developing silhouettes further in Photoshop. Like the surgeon, I found it hard to find the Acolyte's personality through just the silhouettes so I made a few sketches to explore possibilities. Refining a design further after finding a personality and general body shape/style I liked. Working on colour palettes. Aft...

Final Year Project Semester 01 Self-Set Brief:  Concept 3 characters. Create 1 turnaround, 1 movement sheet and 1 illustration for each character. Setting is a mix of Ottoman and Thai, with an alchemical flare. The Surgeon - Final Images This was a big breakthrough for me in terms of creating finished work and using photo textures to bring more detail and texture into my concepts. I also learnt a lot about laying out turnaround sheets (though as you'll see in future projects I improve a lot). The movement sheet went though multiple changes; at first I wanted to create something that looked pretty like in the Thief artbook. However I soon realised that this wouldn't be helpful to animators (given the style of game I was creating these characters for). After looking into how 3rd person action gameplay is followed by the cameras, I discovered that: In the normal view (running around, exploring), you see the character from the knees up or the full ...

Final Year Project Semester 01 Self-Set Brief:  Concept 3 characters. Create 1 turnaround, 1 movement sheet and 1 illustration for each character. Setting is a mix of Ottoman and Thai, with an alchemical flare. The Surgeon - Concepts For this project I wanted to create characters that didn't fit the usual archetypes/weren't your typical 'main character/hero'. One of the characters I decided to create was a jaded surgeon of ex-military background. He's more of an anti-hero and you'd be hard-pressed to decide if he liked you or wanted to cut you open. Initial silhouettes for the Surgeon - I wanted to bring in a heavy Ottoman influence but also wanted to play around with Plague Masks. Digital silhouettes were then created using the initial traditional thumbnails as influence. I didn't really like any of the silhouettes so far; I couldn't connect with any of them and at this point in time wasn't sure what kind of pers...

Final Year Project Semester 01 Self-Set Brief:  Concept 3 characters. Create 1 turnaround, 1 movement sheet and 1 illustration for each character. Setting is a mix of Ottoman and Thai, with an alchemical flare. Research: Starting this project, I knew I wanted to explore cultures that aren't typically seen in concept art. Two that I eventually settled on were Ottoman and Thai cultures, though I also wanted to mix in a bit of influence from the Industrial Revolution. In an attempt to work these influences together in a readable way, I broke them down into sections: Ottoman architecture Thai religious influence (including architecture in religious buildings) Fantastical, alchemical 'industrial revolution'. Ottoman and Thai influence in clothing and people. Key influence images. This 'fantastical, alchemical industrial revolution' would mainly be seen in the environments and wares being sold in vast markets similar to the Grand Bazaar in I...