Trying a New Style...

I have a confession to make... I've been slightly afraid of tablets. That's right, a bit of tablet-phobia on my part. I've become so accustomed to drawing with pencil & paper, scanning my images, and then finishing with a mouse that I feared transitioning to a tablet would change my style too drastically.

Another less shocking confession is that I've become kind of attached to vectors. They're smooth and clean -- everything my art isn't naturally -- and animatable to boot! But as I've been looking at art all around the web by my favorite artists, it's clear that using a tablet with photoshop is the preferred artistic look which is embraced by most.

So at last I tried it myself. Here my first entirely tablet-drawn work... Please click to view the full-size.

The work is called "The Cursed Sword" and features a character of my own creation named Brice Bataille.

In conclusion, I'm not going to abandon the world of vectors and go Photoshop-all-the-way... It takes much longer and there's no hope of ever animating an image like this... However, I think it would be interesting to combine the two styles (vector + painted) and see what I can come up with. :)

MousePaw - Crabs

Here's some more characters for Operation SpyRat: Word4Word. They're all crabs! Most of them don't look all that different...but wait until you see the last two.

Pinch:

Clamp:

Snap:

Bob:Claude, the fiddler crab:

His Majesty, the King Crab:

I had to do a lot of looking at pictures of real crabs to draw these...and man they are ugly, especially those king crabs - they are huge and make me cringe quite a bit. Nonetheless, I think the characters aren't nearly so untouchable. :)

The Archeress

At last, I have more art to show. This one I'm quite proud of, it's a female archer (or archeress, though I'm not sure if that's a real word >w<). I drew her standing at first, but then chose to place her in a more dynamic pose that expresses more energy and the tension of being in the middle of a fight.

I also spent a lot of time tweaking her color scheme.

This illustration is inspired by the online trading card game Ederon, which I once often played and recently decided to return to. One of my decks is a solo Hunter, and this is the picture that comes to my head whenever I play this bow-based deck.
Please click to see the full size!

Here are some WIP versions of the illustration:

Rough pencil sketch

Digitized drawing (vectors)

Penciled shading (which I like to call a "shading map." I create the vector version by looking at this).

Thanks and let me know your thoughts!

Seagull Sisters

More characters for the MousePaw games...
These three sisters which appear in Word4Word are like chatty teenage girls. I decided to give them matching scarves & anklets as well as ridiculous eyelashes to go for that effect. :3

Getting Pencily...again

Well as most of you know, I've obtained a position as a Game Art intern so the vast majority of my efforts are going toward that! (I've started a blog about my experience which can be found here.) Thus, I don't really have the time to fully render out my drawings anymore... and so I'm back to posting pencil sketches. Some of these I might return to once I get the time though :)
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I decided to revisit some of my characters from Covenant! Here are the two rivals, Analise Helkiah and Celia Cottonmeadow. I revamped their designs slightly too.
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The two next sketches are both of a new character that I just designed and am already getting really fond of. I can't tell you her name yet... However, as you can see, she has a fondness for playing the saxophone...and cuddling with the saxophone?

Pet Society Halloween Competition Entry

I don't enter contests a whole lot, but when I saw that the Flash game I play on facebook had an item-desiging contest, I decided to give it a shot - especially since it is my dream to work at a place that makes games like Pet Society someday. :3
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The contest was to design a Halloween Plant - either a tree, a flower, or a vegetable. Not the most exciting thing, but here's what I came up with...
I don't expect to win, but I thought I would show you guys. :)

Birds of Prey

More MousePaw stuff here! Technically this is part of the "Pet Shop Animals" set, but I didn't title it that because really... why would birds like these be in a pet shop?? Anyhow...
This is the bald eagle, Morris.
And this is the hawk, Stringfellow.

Birds of prey are always so tricky to draw, because if you get the proportions wrong it's easy to mistake them for a normal bird or a chicken or something. :( But I have always loved birds of prey so I'd practice drawing them... I hope these guys turned out alright!

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I'm going to be starting a Game Art internship soon, for all of you who don't know. I don't know if they will let me post my stuff on here or not! But if not, the game will be on facebook for all to see :)

Pet Shop Animals, Part I

Since part of Word4Word takes place at a pet shop, I've started working on the vector models of all the animals that live there. Again, I call them "models" because they are able to be animated. Anyhow, here's the first bunch: the reptiles.
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Big Charlie the Boa Constrictor (and his teddy bear Benny)-
Prince the King Snake-

Cammie the Chameleon -

Leon the Chameleon -

More to come.

(100th post!) Takashi & Janet

Here is another picture based on the ongoing rp that my sister and I have, Generation 7 (G7). It is my first illustration created completely with vectors - no photoshop here, 100% flash! I think I'm pretty much sold on vectors now.
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About the characters: Takashi is a shy, sweet guy from Japan who has had a big crush on the cold, reserved rocker girl Janet ever since they first met. Who would have thought they would get together? But will it last, or is heartbreak imminant?
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Also, this is my 100th post on this blog. Seems like just yesterday I was at my 50th! >w<
This blog is my very first web domain, but since then I've expanded - I now am on DeviantArt and Carbonmade as well - username "OneWingArt" on both if anyone is curious. :3

Sakuya Flash Animation

Although I just recently brought you a Flash animation, this is something quite different from the SpyRats.
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We've got a much more complex character and of course a muuuuuch shorter clip - which is why it's best if watched looped. :3 I love Sakuya (from Touhou Project) a lot and after I finished making the vector of her I just couldn't let it be done yet. And I'm really glad I made that decision. I have no doubt that this short clip will be the crown jewel of my next demo reel.
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I could talk more about this animation and all the different techniques I used in it, but since nobody reads this stuff anyway, on to what you all care about, the link to the clip!

Click here to watch it.

Annie & Soonyi

Now that the opening sequence for the game is finished, it's back to making more vector models! Firstly, here's our armadillo heroine that helps out the SpyRats, Annie.

Not only is she cute and smart, but she can roll completely into a ball. Handy!

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Now on to more villains. I've already introduced Blueclaw the cat and his sly siamese minion, Ming. Now, here is another siamese minion. This is Soonyi (pronounced "Sue-nee"). Unlike his playful counterpart, Soonyi is more of a bully.

Here are both siamese minions together! Obviously two very different kitties.

They are siamese if you please. They are siamese if you don't please...

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Just as a side note, I get to do the vocals for Ming! I'm excited about that. (After all, I love villains.) It will also be quite a contrast to the deep voice of Jake Haffie who voices Soonyi.

Operation SpyRat: Word4Word Opening Sequence - finished!

Weeks go by with nothing to show...but that's all done now! As promised, here it is - the Opening Sequence animation that I've been working on for so long.

Just hop on over to youtube to watch it. :)

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Up next will be more character models for the games, as well as other illustrations of a new style... Come back again soon. ^^

Pencil Drawings

This happens every time I get busy with a big project. Because I'm directing so much of my efforts to MousePaw, I don't really have the time to fully render out my drawings, but it doesn't stop me from drawing. So here's my latest sketches. (They're all either original characters or fan art.)

This last one is special. I guarantee that you will see it again, somewhere... Somewhere you probably won't expect!

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Hm... these drawings all have one main thing in common. I should really start drawing some more guys! >w<

Operation SpyRat logo

I've still been working away on animating & making art assets for Operation SpyRat: Word 4 Word.
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I'm not quite ready to show you any more animation yet - though the opening sequence will be done SOON - but I can show you this logo that I just put together today.
Once again, Operation SpyRat is the name of the game series and Word 4 Word is the first title that we're going to be releasing for that series. (We being MousePaw Games - www.mousepawgames.com).
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I think it turned out pretty nice. Now I can stick it on all the SpyRat stills to come. :)

Word 4 Word Opening Sequence Animation - Sneak Peek!

For all of you who are curious about the project I've been working on for the last month or so, here is a little glimpse.

Did you see the lip sync?! :D I still remember being in my Flash class and getting so excited when a guest speaker came and showed us how to do lip sync. Little did I know then that one day I'd be working on a game project where lip sync was a large part.

For those of you who are wondering - yes, both voices are me. Those probably won't be what we use for the final clip (so I'll have to tweak the sync a bit again, heh) but that's all I've got to work with for now, hehe. :3

Although I've only posted a short clip, I actually have 1 entire minute of animation completed for the opening sequence - I suspect it will be 3 minutes when done (including the credits). And that's what I'm up to!

Don't forget you can keep tabs of both sides of the work for Operation SpyRat: Word 4 Word on MousePaw's website, www.mousepawgames.com.

Vocaloid - Lily

Click here to enlarge.

Not long ago I posted a fan-art I made of Luka Megurine, a Vocaloid made by Crypton Future Media who has been out for over a year now.
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This time, here is a Vocaloid who has not even been released at all yet. Lily, Internet Co's lastest vocal synthesizer application, is due to be released August 25 of this year. However, her character design (drawn by KEI, the same artist who designed Miku, Rin, Len, and Luka) is already out and fan-artists are already trying their hand at capturing her.
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I took a little different take on Lily than most drawings I've seen before. Since she is intended to be a punk, most draw her looking tough and grinning...but hey, everyone has a soft side, right?
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Needless to say, I love KEI's character designs; I think he is fantastic. However, when I first saw Lily, I was not all so impressed. Her design is starting to grow on me, though. I do like the prominent use of cords in her outfit - it goes along with the theme of making the Vocaloids appear both as technology and human.
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But drawing so much fan art makes me really miss designing characters of my own. Maybe I can still find some time when I'm not working on MousePaw stuff to do more of that myself. :3

What I'm Working On

I know, I haven't posted a lot lately. That's because I've hit a few more long-term-ish projects. The majority of my focus is going into animating the opening sequence for Word 4 Word. The picture above is a screenshot from that. Alicia the mouse is preparing for the daily newscast when a mysterious caller gives her a tip about some breaking news... But will she and Rebekah be able to get the message out in time?
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I'll probably get the sequence done by August sometime. In the meantime, I might show some more screenshots or maybe even short clips :)
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I may be doing more Vocaloid fan art too. Because I love Vocaloid. TwT <3

Vocaloid - Luka

Click here to enlarge.

Oh, Luka ... how I adore her design. Of course I love most anything that has to do with Vocaloid, but both Luka's voice and her look ascends far above the rest (except my dear Miku-chan, hehe). Anyhow, I love her.

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And so I had to draw her again. ^^

Cats!

Every game needs a villain... And when your main protagonists are mice, of course the villains have to be cats!
This is Blueclaw. Like most evil masterminds, he is bent for world domination - of course.

Don't make him angry...

This is Ming, a minion of Blueclaw's...though he may or may not have his own agenda as well. This little siamese is quickly becoming one of my favorite characters for the pending MousePaw game series Operation SpyRat!

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In other MousePaw news, our website is up!!! Not much on it yet, but there's a short paragraph about our games & our mission, an update on our process, and of course a countdown ticking toward the projected launch of game 1! (Operation SpyRat: Word 4 Word) Check it out - especially if you're looking for cute, fun, and educational games for kids.

http://www.mousepawgames.com/

A New Drawing of Elhiroth

Click here to enlarge.

As you may know, Elhiroth is one of my favorite original characters, both because of his design and his story. I still think it's unfortunate that I was unable to get very far on my old graphic novel project, Covenant. I'm still fond of the story and the characters. Maybe someday I will be able to return to it again. In the meantime, I can still make art of my favorite spirit-servant. :)
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For those who are interested, here is the original sketch and vector illustration that led to the final work:

Miku - 180 degree turn (animation)

This little animation is the first two cuts of the introductory scene of Append7, which will serve as a teaser of sorts to get people curious (as well as draw people to my auditions, which I will talk more about later). But although I don't plan to release the clip to the general public (ie. youtube, etc) until it is finished, I just had to show this off to my blog visitors!

Despite it being short, I can't help but be proud of this animation. After all, I took a 2d vector model and made her appear to do a 180 degree turn in space. What do you all think? Comments and critiques desired.

Vector Model - Rebekah

I'm continuing work on making all the MousePaw characters into vector models, and next is Rebekah the turtle. I'm getting faster at making these things, I think :3
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I'm also doing a bit of animation for Append7 and will be animating these guys too now that the scripts are ready. Hopefully I'll have showable animations soon.

One-Wing & Flutter

Likely you've noticed One-Wing's Gallery has a new banner!
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The art featured is my first step into an entire new way of making art - illustrating with vectors. The drawing was created entirely out of vectors, then taken into photoshop for finishing. So what do you think about the look?? Here is the full drawing:

Click for full size

Personally, I'm pleased with the result and excited to pursue this new style further.
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Here is the vector drawing before taken into photoshop:

About the characters featured: Obviously you all know One-Wing, the mascot of this website. But a few of you might recognize her little friend as well. It's Flutter, my own personal character from the MousePaw game series. I would have had to make a vector of her anyway, so why not include her in this new experiment?
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Comments and critiques welcome. I know that since I'm starting something new, I still have a lot of things to work on, so I'd love to hear what you guys think I could fix. :3

Vector Model - Alicia

Here's another MousePaw Flash Vector - Alicia, the female mouse who stars in Word 4 Word.

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I also have more Vector Models for Append6 but I'm going to wait and post them all at once, I think. Also, you may notice I got a new template for my blog, but the banner no longer fits very well. Thus, a new banner is in the works as well. And I've started on the animated intro to Append7 as well!! (Then I'll actually explain what it is.) Yup, busy as always. :3

MousePaw - Animated Logo

Here is an animated logo I created that will be played at the beginning of each MousePaw Game.

I think it turned out pretty nice. Also, in the final version, when the whiskers twitch, a little mouse giggle will play.

Cure Moonlight - Fan art

Sometimes I just need to draw something pretty. This time my inspiration was a character design from an anime I've never even seen, Yes Precure! I have to say, most of the character designs from that show look quite brainmelting to say the least, but Cure Moonlight is lovely so I had to try my hand at drawing her.

Hopefully it will let you click to enlarge the pic. Please do if so; the larger version looks even better.
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Here is a version without the background, which I had to post...because admittedly, I did not draw the background from scratch (I did alter it significantly though). And just for fun, I decided to include the original line-art (that I drew) as well. Who knows, maybe some of my artist friends would like to see if they could color it better? :3
Anyhow, it's back to my Flash projects now. ^.^ Expect more posts soon.

Vector Model - Luke the Mouse

It's time for the first of the MousePaw characters to be converted to an animatable Flash vector for the new set of games coming out this year. Of course, it had to be Luke the Mouse. I think Luke's design converted well to a vector - he didn't lose his fluffiness or character and still is his cuddly little self.

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Just wait until I start animating him. :3

Flash Model - Miku Append

You can expect a lot of Flash stuff in the near future from me. That's because I have two projects going atm: The first is "Append 7," which I will explain more about later, and the second is bringing the MousePaw characters (Remmie & the Lab Rats) into Flash for animated/lip sync sequences.
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Needless to say, this Miku Append, which is the new design for Miku which appears on the box-art of the newly released add-on program of the same name, is for "Append 7." She will be interesting to animate because unlike Miku Prime, she does not walk, rather she "floats" using the hover devise around her waist. :)
Vocaloid fans will know that there are 6 different "appends" for Miku - Soft, Dark, Sweet, Solid, Vivid, and Light. But what's this Append 7...? Hmmmm...
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I have lots of cool ideas in my head for this...hopefully I will be able to bring them all to life once I get better adapted with Flash CS4. Keep coming back! ^^