nick's

Ink Pen Practice

2011-12-06T13:58:00.000-08:00

I've been trying out Paint Tool Sai on my tablet at the sketchnights recently. I've never really bothered myself with line quality before: normally i prefer using a plain ole round brush with no pressure/size variation, but in the past few weeks i've been mucking around with the Ink Pen tool, and it's been a joy to use.

Random Hedz and Boob

2011-11-25T16:24:00.000-08:00

Protip: Any remaining space left on a sketchbook page at the end of the day can quickly and easily be filled with a boob (or boobs) of indeterminate size.

Anyway...worried faces and monster heads. You know the drill.

Page 90

2011-11-16T15:19:00.000-08:00

This week's effort. I'm reading Ringworld at the moment, so you might spot a couple of Kzin in there.

Page 81

2011-11-09T11:30:00.000-08:00

Still working my way through toning up a bunch of my sketchbook pages...here's my effort from last week's sketchnight.

Vigil nights pt.3

2011-09-24T19:31:00.000-07:00

Well, that went swimmingly.

It would be nice to take a picture of someone without them gurning wildly, though. Like, just once. You can check out the various contorted facial expressions on my Flickr Page

Vigil Nights pt. 2

2011-09-21T21:29:00.000-07:00

aaand the second:

Scrap Forest Sentry:

The Mk. 4 Plasma Disruption Pistol is good for cutting through six-inch-thick Hullsteel, atomizing a rogue ZoneDrone at 200 yards or lighting your well-deserved cigar after annihilating a battalion of rampaging Shockraptors. It suddenly doesn't seem so useful when presented with one girl and her giant pet Sentry Slizard.

Vigil Nights pt. 1

2011-09-21T21:17:00.000-07:00

So. That art show i mentioned? It's on Friday. If you're around the Austin area between 7 and 10 than come and have a gawp. It's free as in beer. Details on the Vigil site.

So here's the first of three^H^H^H^H^Htwo paintings that i said i'd get done. definitely not three. two.

Machine Maze:

Constructed from the rusting hulks of a thousand ancient starships, and riddled with uncountable traps and pitfalls, the Machine Maze has proved an impassable barrier to any who would challenge the might of Roboskull Mountain. Of course, if you have a squadron of Aerial Swoopasaurs then you can just fly over it. doh.

BWAHAHA

2011-08-04T20:48:00.000-07:00

I LIED!

i will post a sketchbook page. This is tonight's (meagre) sketchnight effort: me mucking around with Paint Tool Sai.

WIPS

2011-08-04T16:16:00.000-07:00

No sketchbook page this week, as i got bogged down in colouring it up. Instead, here are the roughs of 3 paintings i'm working on for an art show in September. Hopefully i can get all three done. I probably won't get all three done. Why did i say i'd get three done? I'm such a fool.

DREGS

2011-07-27T20:26:00.000-07:00

into the dregs now. for crying out loud, i couldn't even be bothered to finish this page. but it's Wednesday, so i'm contractually obliged to post something.

Sketchpage Something Something

2011-07-21T13:35:00.000-07:00

I'm running out of things to call these pages. i think i'm just gonna go with numbers from now on. and there's gotta be a better way to display these things. i gotta do me some internets research.

Again with the monster heads.

2011-07-13T10:20:00.000-07:00

squiggly monster heads seem to be a running theme through most of my sketchbook pages. This probably isn't going to change anytime soon.

BLOOF

2011-07-06T21:39:00.000-07:00

Here's a page of robots drawn on my tablet at our weekly sketchnight thing.

This here's pretty much what i want the pages in my (maybe) upcoming sketchbook to look like: a page of drawings from straight out of my sketchpad or from my tablet, then tarted up a bit with a wee spot of tone and (if i'm feeling particularly daring that week) some colour. Easy-peasy.

GRAAAAAAGHH

2011-06-28T23:46:00.000-07:00

well i should really post sumfing. So have a gory dragon. Don't worry, it's just tomato ketchup. Dragons need condiments, too.

And here's some pics...

2010-02-10T10:51:00.000-08:00

Here are some pics wot i took during the visit...you'll need red/blue 3D glasses to view the anaglyphs:

Picasa

...and my pics from last year are still up on my Flickr page:

Flickr

Back Again

2010-02-10T09:40:00.000-08:00

What about that space shuttle, eh? wooo. That was cool. I've posted a video up on the You Tubes, so i'll let it do the talking.

night launch goodness here!

Fat Wicked

2010-02-05T22:11:00.000-08:00

I still have no idea what this guy is called in the final game, but he'll always be just plain old tubby-angry-flaming-brainmaw-stomachteeth to me.

Right, now i'm off to Florida to go and watch the Shuttle launch (hopefully). I'll post some more stuff when i get back. Toodles!

Ruin

2010-02-05T22:05:00.000-08:00

Here are some ideas for War's horse Ruin. One concept had him as a bad-ass unicorn (or perhaps it's just his armour)...i still like that idea. We could have made it work, dammit!

Guardian

2010-02-05T21:56:00.000-08:00

This shows the process we went through in designing the Guardian in the Black Throne. In the upper left are the first brainstorming ideas...from these a few were developed into the slightly-less-rough guys in the upper right (including my blatant Gurran-Lagann rip off walking head dude)...which then were refined into the final concept underneath.

More Hellgrowth

2010-02-05T21:52:00.000-08:00

A few more Hellgrowth concepts, along with War in his old techno-armour.

War Loadscreen

2010-02-04T22:09:00.000-08:00

Another Joe Mad pic, coloured (does grey count as a colour? well, there's a bit of orange in there...) in by me. War looking all mean and moody-like.

World Map

2010-02-04T22:01:00.000-08:00

This map shows an early layout of the game sketched out by Joe and then prettied up by me (and i had less than a day to do it, i seem to remember...). The Bat Queen became Tiamat, the Chain Spider became Silitha, and the Leviathan...hey, what happened to the Leviathan? He was cool.

Well Of Souls

2010-02-04T21:56:00.000-08:00

The Well of Souls was where all the souls of mankind ended up after the Apocalypse, and ended up being used by Straga to power The Black Throne. This early concept had War encountering a gigantic tornado of corrupted souls.

The Dark Tower

2010-02-04T21:50:00.000-08:00

One of the first concepts for the Black Throne, the big dark tower at the end of the game. The idea (at least in this concept) was that the whole place had been carved out a single block of obsidian.

Ulthane's Domain

2010-02-04T21:46:00.000-08:00

This was a concept for Ulthane the Smith's front door. We were going for a sort of celtic feel with monoliths carved out of smashed columns and paving stones.

Hellgrowth

2010-02-04T21:39:00.000-08:00

Some concepts for Hellgrowth, which ended up being way more spikey/clawy in the final game. The crystal spikes here were supposed to be Angelic weapons hurled into the fray from above, which the hellgrowth would then engulf and drag down to firey doom. Bad news for any humans caught in the middle, obviously.

Ashlands

2010-02-04T21:37:00.000-08:00

An early concept for the Ashlands, when it was envisioned the whole place would be made from the burnt husks of skyscrapers. oh, and lots and lots of ash.

Azrael's Tomb

2010-02-04T21:32:00.000-08:00

This was a concept for Azrael's Tomb, back before it was decided to stick him in The Black Throne instead.

What year is it?

2010-02-04T21:08:00.000-08:00

2010? really? already? good lord. i better post some pics.

I've been hard at work, or at least at work, for the past few years on a wee project called Darksiders which i'm told is a sort of interactive movie designed to be played on some sort of electronic computing device. I have no interest in the details of the situation...i'm paid to draw things, not to mess around with ungodly machines. Apparently these things can be purchased and brought back to your own home to be used, although this seems like a ridiculously outlandish idea to me. Artificial thinking machines, designed to beguile and ensnare the minds of the young and impressionable? No good can come of this, i tell you.

Anyhoo, here's some of the stuff i was working on...so long as i'm not overly ridiculed or subjected to legal threats i'll post some more pics up over the next few days/weeks/months. All images are the property of THQ and Vigil Games.

Oh, this first image is the Darksiders Play Magazine cover from a couple of months ago, drawn by Joe Mad...i thought i'd have a go at giving it a bit of colour.

BAH!

2009-05-19T20:20:00.000-07:00

Okay, so NASA wasn't interested. and i even brought my own spacesuit and everything. bah.

Anyway, while i was down in Florida i managed to snap a few photos of the shuttle, even if they didn't let me on board. There are some more photos up on Flickr, and a couple of vids up on Vimeo.

IT COULD HAPPEN

2009-04-04T00:16:00.000-07:00

...maybe. Just maybe.

Okay, So I Lied...

2009-02-12T19:45:00.001-08:00

Or Did I? You'll notice i never specified i was using Earth units. Exactly one week has past since my last post on the muddy puddleworld of Spluttle IV in the Sloot-Slipckx sector of the Orion Spiral Arm of the Galaxy. SO QUIT BUGGING ME.

anyway. Here's a picture of the delectable Kim Pine to celebrate the release of Scott Pilgrim 5. Yay!

well this is getting stupid.

2008-07-27T21:33:00.000-07:00

so far all this blog has illustrated is just how piss-poor i am at posting new sketches...so from now on it's going to be one post a week. at least one post per week. no, two! two posts a week. two...hundred! two hundred posts, every week. that's one every fifteen seconds, from now until my fingers fall off. guaranteed.

[counts fifteen]

...crap. well, lets go back to one post a week then. see you next week!

I HAVE RETURNED!

2008-05-29T18:11:00.000-07:00

...and i have drawned some pictures. Last night was sketchnight, and i actually drew something instead of sitting around and bitching about work.

2008-04-12T23:18:00.000-07:00

i need to put this here for a while. don't ask why.

Pilgrimy Goodness

2007-11-15T18:30:00.000-08:00

Attention people! Scott Pilgrim Vol. 4 is out as of Yesterday. Fact: Did you know that Scott Pilgrim is the best comic book in the universe? Yes, even better than Blue Monday or King City. Yeah, i know. It's that good.

hmm. I do love those books as well though. uh...okay, maybe it's as good as Blue Monday or King City. They're pretty brilliant too...like , as good, but in a different way. yeah. yeah, that sounds about right....okay i'm making a hash of this...lets just say if you haven't read either Scott Pilgrim, Blue Monday or King City stop whatever you're doing, run over to your nearest comic-book store and don't leave until you have made them your own. Go. Go now!

Anyway. i drew a scott pilgrim pic. enjoy!

SketchDump

2007-11-06T13:49:00.000-08:00

It's come to my attention that I've been a little lax in posting stuff recently. Now, don't get me wrong: under normal circumstances I couldn't really give a monkeys about posting new sketches. I have a job, you know. I'm a busy man, with a rich and fulfilling life. I have many diverse and exotic hobbies that take up much of my time and...ah, who the hell am i kidding? I've just been playing too much TF2.

Recent highly disturbing events have forced my hand, however. My cellmate and arch-nemesis Mr. Richards has just started a blog of his own, and i feel compelled put something, anything out there. If you really really have to, you can visit his blog here. But take my word for it, you'll wish you hadn't.

random monster heads #277

2007-08-24T22:07:00.000-07:00

IN COLOUR!!!

actual sketchbook page #1

2007-08-19T20:59:00.000-07:00

Just for a change from all the tablet work, an actual sketchbook page from an actual sketchbook. And not just blobby monster heads...blobby cartoon heads, too.

random monster heads #3

2007-08-19T18:58:00.000-07:00

Went Sketching this afternoon with my pals Paul and Nick (no relation) at Central Market on Lamar Blvd...nice place: good food, pretty girls, right next to the park, but a wee bit hot and there was no power to the upstairs outlets, so i couldn't steal electricity for my tablet. bah.

roboslinger

2007-08-15T22:05:00.000-07:00

oh yeah! hee hee...i liked this one. he's a robotic gunslinger! i've cleverly blended the two words together for the title, you may of noticed.

okay, that's enough for now. if i try and post too much at once i'll just make myself sick.

random monster heads #2

2007-08-15T22:01:00.000-07:00

oh, hey...i found this one i did a few weeks ago. i reckon he looks a bit like the caveman off that commercial for caveman insurance.

i wonder if i can find anything else in here. hold on a sec.

random monster heads #1

2007-08-15T21:38:00.000-07:00

There ya go Paul. I posted them.

er, it's been a while since my last post, but i've been...um...ill? yeah, ill, that's it...if being too lazy to post anything counts as an illness. So here ya goes: blobby monster heads. fresh from sketch night.

Drip

2007-02-01T22:54:00.000-08:00

blah blah blah blah blah blah.

tired. go need sleep good now.

nighty-night.

Shard

2007-01-31T20:24:00.000-08:00

Just mucking around with an environment...no particular plan here, just throwing shapes and colours and whatnot at the page. Lazy, lazy. One problem with working this way is you get to a certain point and realise you have no idea where to go next...I'll shelve this for a bit, and maybe inspiration will strike. maybe.

Grumpfish

2007-01-30T10:33:00.000-08:00

THIS IS A TEST. do not be alarmed.

I'm going to be using this space to post up pics and photos, and to help me keep in contact with my friends after my move down to Austin, Texas.

Pictures here will generally be sketchbooks pics and unfinished pieces (i.e, most of my work)...finished pics will be posted up on my webiste, here.

Feel free to use the comments section to rant or rave at me.