Pit of Ideas

I entered ArtStation's Feudal Japan: Shogunate challenge to try and push myself to do more environments since I'm very character/creature focused. I learnt a lot doing these and it was a nice change from concepting people. 1 - The Geisha Eavesdrops. It was not uncommon these days for the wealthy to use those of her profession as spies and assassins, as such, the Geisha would not have been surprised if samurai had been present whilst she entertained the neighbouring Daimyo. However, this entourage he had brought with him was unexpected - unsettling even.  As the Daimyo conversed and fell deeper into his sake, he spoke freely to the strange men who sat at his table about power and glory, and about a plot that would allow him to take it all. Starting with her own Lord. 2 - The Household is Cursed. As fast as she was able, the Geisha returned to her Daimyo to report what she had overheard. The castle was eerily quite and held a sense of unease. She heard ...

This is my interpretation of elves, using the Hulder in Scandinavian folklore as inspiration. The main goal of this was to develop a more illustrative concept art style, like the character and creature concepts done for God of War.

Steeds are native to hilly and mountainous fields. In the past century or so, they have been domesticated by humans and are used as pack animals or transport.  Microscopic scale-like structures in their chest fur bristle when a Steed feels threatened. The change in structure changes the perceived colour of the fur to reveal imposing warning patterns.

I like drawing muscles :) And that's about all I have to say.

Final Year Project Semester 02 Self-Set Brief:  Concept 1 character, mount and prop. Illustrate 1 environment. Setting is a xeric shrubland/desert with influence from Chinese and Himalayan tribes. Nomad: The Environment Whilst the nomads travel a xeric shrubland-like desert, their ancestors were once one of many much more advanced tribes. However their disregard for the land led to their deity stripping the land's abundance from them. Thus, they had to leave their settlements in order to try and find sources of food and water, all the while attempting to appease the deity and show them that they could be worthy of its blessing once more. The final painting - I learnt a lot about photobashing doing this project, and also about painting fast. This was a huge challenge for me given that I rarely sketch environments, let alone paint them as finished pieces. A small amount of the thumbnails I made for the final painting - none of which I liked ...