This might appear too dark on a lot of peoples' screens. My monitor is pretty bright, so I tend to make things pretty dark initially. I'll likely brighten it as it becomes more complete.
Lots more work to do still!
Showing posts with label current project. Show all posts
Showing posts with label current project. Show all posts
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Scary update #2
The latest progress on the haunted house picture....
This might appear too dark on a lot of peoples' screens. My monitor is pretty bright, so I tend to make things pretty dark initially. I'll likely brighten it as it becomes more complete.
Lots more work to do still!
This might appear too dark on a lot of peoples' screens. My monitor is pretty bright, so I tend to make things pretty dark initially. I'll likely brighten it as it becomes more complete.
Lots more work to do still!
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Trick or treat already
This is my current project, in a very early stage still! It's an interior of a haunted house. The software in use is Corel Painter. I would like for the finished painting to have a considerable bit of texture to it, but I find that using texture in the early stages of the painting is very imprecise, and makes it very difficult to pull the elements of the painting together (in my opinion). So I'm switching to the rather flat airbrush tool and will worry about texture in the later stages of the project! Anyway, Halloween is coming up, so I can't resist creating a suitably themed painting. :-) As usual, please click the image for a bigger view!
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Just drawing and coloring
Today I've been working on drawing my first comic strip for some time. I'm drawing it on the computer, in Corel Painter 11, and have yet to decide if I prefer that to drawing directly on paper! The pen and tablet technology these days, while vastly improved over what was available a decade ago, are still not as precise as a real pencil and dip pen.
Also I need to decide if coloring the strip is a good idea. I'm so used to reading the old fashioned comic strips in black and white, that I wonder if the color is just a secondary consideration. It's the characters and the idea that count, and if the color in strips is not going to be done in a beautifully detailed manner, then maybe it's best left out. On the other hand, even flat colors can add a type of 3d depth, so I do lean in favor of it overall. Plus it's more current with the contemporary style of comic strips.
I have a cast of characters which I invented a long time ago, which always appear in my writing and comic strips. I feel there's a story to be told with these characters, but I always debate if that should be in the form of a novel, or through comic strips. There was a day when I couldn't imagine writing 4-panel comic strips, because I always considered my ideas to be lacking in brevity. I drew cartoons as a youngster, but they were typically long, drawn out affairs, covering dozens of pages. I think it was something of an accomplishment when I decided that I was able to write the short comic strips!
Enough for today. I'll do more doodling and pondering tomorrow...
Also I need to decide if coloring the strip is a good idea. I'm so used to reading the old fashioned comic strips in black and white, that I wonder if the color is just a secondary consideration. It's the characters and the idea that count, and if the color in strips is not going to be done in a beautifully detailed manner, then maybe it's best left out. On the other hand, even flat colors can add a type of 3d depth, so I do lean in favor of it overall. Plus it's more current with the contemporary style of comic strips.
I have a cast of characters which I invented a long time ago, which always appear in my writing and comic strips. I feel there's a story to be told with these characters, but I always debate if that should be in the form of a novel, or through comic strips. There was a day when I couldn't imagine writing 4-panel comic strips, because I always considered my ideas to be lacking in brevity. I drew cartoons as a youngster, but they were typically long, drawn out affairs, covering dozens of pages. I think it was something of an accomplishment when I decided that I was able to write the short comic strips!
Enough for today. I'll do more doodling and pondering tomorrow...
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Boo boo's abound
Here's an early look at the LuxRender version of the kitchen scene, rendered for just a short amount of time (about an hour or so)!
If you click the image to enlarge it, you can see specks and dust in the image, which is a result of not letting the scene render for a proper length of time. But you can also see some of the nice effects that LuxRender provides, in the reflection on the floor, and in the shiny chrome of the trash can lid and the water faucet. The challenge now is to get the lighting more evenly distributed, so that the hutch is shown in sharper relief, without the overexposure of the sun in the window and on the walls. Also I might have to get specific with LuxRender on how I want the texture maps to lay on the objects (this is called "UVW mapping"), as it has stretched my wood grain textures, and scaled the tiled floor up considerably (compared to the image in yesterday's post)! Actually I kind of like the large colored triangles on the floor, maybe I'll leave it that way. Also, the plates inside the hutch are meant to have patterns on them, not just flat color, so that's another mapping boo boo.
Be sure to tune in tomorrow, for another boo boo ridden attempt at creating this kitchen! :-)
If you click the image to enlarge it, you can see specks and dust in the image, which is a result of not letting the scene render for a proper length of time. But you can also see some of the nice effects that LuxRender provides, in the reflection on the floor, and in the shiny chrome of the trash can lid and the water faucet. The challenge now is to get the lighting more evenly distributed, so that the hutch is shown in sharper relief, without the overexposure of the sun in the window and on the walls. Also I might have to get specific with LuxRender on how I want the texture maps to lay on the objects (this is called "UVW mapping"), as it has stretched my wood grain textures, and scaled the tiled floor up considerably (compared to the image in yesterday's post)! Actually I kind of like the large colored triangles on the floor, maybe I'll leave it that way. Also, the plates inside the hutch are meant to have patterns on them, not just flat color, so that's another mapping boo boo.
Be sure to tune in tomorrow, for another boo boo ridden attempt at creating this kitchen! :-)
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
A blinding light
Another update on the kitchen scene!
I still need to add materials to a number of objects. I also need to set up a "mesh light", which will act as the sun when I render the scene in LuxRender. The image here was rendered inside Blender, using an area lamp and ambient occlusion as the light sources. An area lamp is a focused beam of light, seen coming in through the window, while ambient occlusion is a general level of light in the scene, having no direct source, but which exists everywhere and illuminates objects not struck by the area lamp. A combination of area lamps and ambient occlusion is one of the best ways to produce a realistic looking scene in Blender. However, Blender lacks global radiosity, which is the effect of light bouncing off objects in a scene, scattering light and color onto nearby objects. That's why LuxRender is used for the final render, as it has global radiosity capability, and makes for a decidedly better looking scene than what Blender can produce alone.
But there's a cost for such realism: Luxrender can take several days to render a scene, while Blender rendered the above scene in less than a minute.
I also have to put what's called a "portal" outside of the window, which won't actually show up in the scene, but which will help LuxRender to more efficiently direct and calculate the effect of sunlight shining in through the window. The portal is simply a flat plane which tells the LuxRender engine, "Hey, shine a light through this hole in the wall!"
You might want to know, where's the refrigerator? Ummm... it's off camera. Yup, off camera and yet assuredly keeping our beverages and produce nicely chilled. And now I will end this post before you can ask about the microwave oven and dishwasher.
I still need to add materials to a number of objects. I also need to set up a "mesh light", which will act as the sun when I render the scene in LuxRender. The image here was rendered inside Blender, using an area lamp and ambient occlusion as the light sources. An area lamp is a focused beam of light, seen coming in through the window, while ambient occlusion is a general level of light in the scene, having no direct source, but which exists everywhere and illuminates objects not struck by the area lamp. A combination of area lamps and ambient occlusion is one of the best ways to produce a realistic looking scene in Blender. However, Blender lacks global radiosity, which is the effect of light bouncing off objects in a scene, scattering light and color onto nearby objects. That's why LuxRender is used for the final render, as it has global radiosity capability, and makes for a decidedly better looking scene than what Blender can produce alone.
But there's a cost for such realism: Luxrender can take several days to render a scene, while Blender rendered the above scene in less than a minute.
I also have to put what's called a "portal" outside of the window, which won't actually show up in the scene, but which will help LuxRender to more efficiently direct and calculate the effect of sunlight shining in through the window. The portal is simply a flat plane which tells the LuxRender engine, "Hey, shine a light through this hole in the wall!"
You might want to know, where's the refrigerator? Ummm... it's off camera. Yup, off camera and yet assuredly keeping our beverages and produce nicely chilled. And now I will end this post before you can ask about the microwave oven and dishwasher.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Something's cooking
This is the progress on a 3d kitchen scene that I'm creating. It's based on a tutorial by Karan Shah at cg.tutsplus.com, but includes my own embellishments. I'm making it in Blender of course, and will render it in Luxrender when I'm done constructing the scene. The pitcher from yesterday's blog post makes a return appearance here. :) Hope you like the scene so far!
(Please click for a larger view).
(Please click for a larger view).
Friday, April 1, 2011
Too much to consider
Well, I've just been working on the current animation project. Today's weighty dilemmas and work have revolved around:
1) Considering rendering in passes, so that static objects may be rendered in one frame only, thus permitting the LuxRender engine to be utilized for those objects (resulting in better realism than if they were rendered internally in Blender). The various passes would then be composited in Blender.
2) Considering the use of 2D painted objects to be used as textures with transparent backgrounds, for objects in Blender which will have a small amount of motion. This would cut down on geometry in Blender and perhaps allow for a more realistic look for those objects, which, due to their motion, cannot be efficiently rendered in LuxRender (unless I had five extra lifetimes in which to make this movie). Using these 2D painted textures could sort of create a whimsical "cut-out" look to the objects in the movie.
Sorry for the dry technical stuff, but it's what is consuming me lately. :-) Maybe a photo would help.... This is a shot of LuxRender in the process of rendering a test scene (you can click the image for a larger view). The neat chrome effects seen in the lower righthand corner of the image are one of the strengths of using LuxRender instead of Blender, for rendering. This image has been rendering for only a few minutes. A complete, polished render of just one frame in LuxRender can take 24 or more hours of computer processing time. It's pretty intense.
Yes, the little chrome bolt is looking at you. :)
1) Considering rendering in passes, so that static objects may be rendered in one frame only, thus permitting the LuxRender engine to be utilized for those objects (resulting in better realism than if they were rendered internally in Blender). The various passes would then be composited in Blender.
2) Considering the use of 2D painted objects to be used as textures with transparent backgrounds, for objects in Blender which will have a small amount of motion. This would cut down on geometry in Blender and perhaps allow for a more realistic look for those objects, which, due to their motion, cannot be efficiently rendered in LuxRender (unless I had five extra lifetimes in which to make this movie). Using these 2D painted textures could sort of create a whimsical "cut-out" look to the objects in the movie.
Sorry for the dry technical stuff, but it's what is consuming me lately. :-) Maybe a photo would help.... This is a shot of LuxRender in the process of rendering a test scene (you can click the image for a larger view). The neat chrome effects seen in the lower righthand corner of the image are one of the strengths of using LuxRender instead of Blender, for rendering. This image has been rendering for only a few minutes. A complete, polished render of just one frame in LuxRender can take 24 or more hours of computer processing time. It's pretty intense.
Yes, the little chrome bolt is looking at you. :)
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
A moving portfolio
Following up on yesterday's test of an animation... My current project is creating a short animated movie, to highlight my digital artwork! The movie is primarily being made in Blender, and will likely be spliced together and edited with iMovie. Here is a Blender screen shot of the work in process:
The movie will probably be only a couple of minutes long, at most! I would love to output the scenes with the LuxRender engine, for global illumination and maximum realism, but I estimate that it would take 3 months just to render a final version of the movie. That doesn't include modeling, texturing, lighting, animating, and the killer test renders.
I'm currently working in Blender version 2.49b. I haven't upgraded to the new Blender 2.5 yet, as the last time I tried it, the button panels had graphical glitches. Plus I haven't had time to learn the new interface. :) Version 2.5 has a totally revamped interface (much better organized than the current edition, whose button panels have suffered for too long from continuous forced additions). Also 2.5 features stronger sculpting tools, and at some point will allow for multiple open windows that are further customizable by the user. Lots of changes really, but all that will just have to wait while I try to get stuff done. :)
The movie will probably be only a couple of minutes long, at most! I would love to output the scenes with the LuxRender engine, for global illumination and maximum realism, but I estimate that it would take 3 months just to render a final version of the movie. That doesn't include modeling, texturing, lighting, animating, and the killer test renders.
I'm currently working in Blender version 2.49b. I haven't upgraded to the new Blender 2.5 yet, as the last time I tried it, the button panels had graphical glitches. Plus I haven't had time to learn the new interface. :) Version 2.5 has a totally revamped interface (much better organized than the current edition, whose button panels have suffered for too long from continuous forced additions). Also 2.5 features stronger sculpting tools, and at some point will allow for multiple open windows that are further customizable by the user. Lots of changes really, but all that will just have to wait while I try to get stuff done. :)
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Boop-Oop-A-Doop!
Here's something different that I did for a friend. We were discussing the last painting that I finished (ref. post dated 03-19-11) and I mentioned that I could change the woman to be Betty Boop (her favorite character)! Then I decided to do a whole new image instead, because I had been wanting to do something cartoony anyway! Clicking the image will impose a larger view. :-)
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Store update
I've added a few more items to my store (www.zazzle.com/michaelricketson), for my latest painting of our heroine with her cat, skull, and bone collection. :) I had to do a little cleaning up of some white anti-aliasing on the painting in order to make it presentable on a dark t-shirt (if I had used layers properly in my paint program, that wouldn't have been necessary)! Also, a mug, stickers and a coaster are available. There's always the danger that more is forthcoming, as well! As mentioned previously, I am still leaning towards creating a vector image version of this artwork, but I won't start working on that immediately. Right now I'm doing a personal artwork which I'll show shortly!
Here's another Zazzle store which impressed me... The artist, Chad Wiles McCown, does some stylish illustration which has a feminine flair to it, if you'd like to take a look at it! www.zazzle.com/wiles44
Here's another Zazzle store which impressed me... The artist, Chad Wiles McCown, does some stylish illustration which has a feminine flair to it, if you'd like to take a look at it! www.zazzle.com/wiles44
Saturday, March 19, 2011
New image in gallery
Here is the finished painting that I've been working on! It's been added to my main website, www.michaelricketson.com. By tomorrow, I'll have it available in the store as well! Be sure to give the kitty a little scratch behind the ears, while you're here. :)
Monday, February 28, 2011
Tickle me with taxes
Today I received a new portfolio book, in which I can present my artwork. It'll hold 8 1/2 x 11" prints, which is on the small side, but not too out of the norm I believe (digital portfolios are actually replacing physical portfolios more and more these days). I also received some pencils. I actually have to order pencils through the mail, because for some reason my local art supply stores don't stock the HB lead, which is my favorite!
Today I learned a new appreciation for being an artist, in that I hardly got to do any artwork today. Instead I was getting paperwork together for my yearly tax return! But here is yet another update on the current project, such as it is! :) Enjoy.
Today I learned a new appreciation for being an artist, in that I hardly got to do any artwork today. Instead I was getting paperwork together for my yearly tax return! But here is yet another update on the current project, such as it is! :) Enjoy.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Where can I hide?
Here is the latest progress on my digital painting for the t-shirt artwork!
Yes, I'll be putting some clothing onto the woman. This is the "airport screener's" edition of this artwork. Stripped down and looking for somewhere to hide. Well, come back soon and all of this will be looking better. :) There will be a horror theme to this image, so, lots more work left to be done.
Yes, I'll be putting some clothing onto the woman. This is the "airport screener's" edition of this artwork. Stripped down and looking for somewhere to hide. Well, come back soon and all of this will be looking better. :) There will be a horror theme to this image, so, lots more work left to be done.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
A store pending?
Today I started taking a look at www.zazzle.com... I'm thinking about making some of my artwork available for purchase, on t-shirts, magnets, coffee mugs, etc.! So I've ordered a few items from Zazzle, because I want to see what the products are like. Zazzle of course allows an artist to set up an online store, selling all sorts of items with their artwork on them, many of the items being customizable. Zazzle prints the artwork onto the products, per each customer order, and is able to ship within one day, from what I understand. I was pretty impressed with the website, with its depth of functionality and ease of use. I found one artist's Zazzle store that I was particularly fond of, called Retropolis Travel Bureau. There are some very nice looking items for sale there, all with a "retro-future" style of artwork. The artist is named Bradley W. Schenck.
The question is how much of my previous artwork is suitable to be put on a t-shirt or button or whatever. I'll have to evaluate the pieces, and meanwhile, I've already started work on an image which will be intentionally t-shirt friendly. Below are some rough, early sketches. I plan to make two versions of the artwork... one to be a painted raster image (shown on the right), and the other to be a vector image using solid colors. I'm imagining that these graphics will be something preferred by the ladies (ladies who like to crawl around in graveyards and attack zombies for their blood).
I hope to have more news on this soon! Stay tuned.
The question is how much of my previous artwork is suitable to be put on a t-shirt or button or whatever. I'll have to evaluate the pieces, and meanwhile, I've already started work on an image which will be intentionally t-shirt friendly. Below are some rough, early sketches. I plan to make two versions of the artwork... one to be a painted raster image (shown on the right), and the other to be a vector image using solid colors. I'm imagining that these graphics will be something preferred by the ladies (ladies who like to crawl around in graveyards and attack zombies for their blood).
I hope to have more news on this soon! Stay tuned.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Someone shot my pack pig
Here's a sneak peek at the digital painting that I'm working on currently! It's a science fiction scene, and still pretty rough:
I had started this painting a while back ago, with the intention that it would be the home page image for my website and blog. But I abandoned it, on the grounds that it was not going to be done quickly enough to be ready for the website going online. Ironically, the image that I ended up creating and using, turned out not to be any faster! There's nothing easy about painting a purple woman in peril. Anyway, I would like to see this other painting completed, as I think it kind of hints at an interesting story.
Also, I've pretty much decided that I won't be finishing a previous painting that I showed to you (the one of the woman getting run over by some recreational enthusiasts at the park). I think there's too much going on in the picture, and there's problems with foreshortening, so it's really a mess. Also, I was receiving hate mail from the Society of Really Pleasant Guys Who Ride Skateboards, and I am uncomfortable having those people angry at me. I wouldn't want to be brought before the Board of People Pedaling with Polite Vigor, and so I am happy to go back to the image shown above, instead!
I had started this painting a while back ago, with the intention that it would be the home page image for my website and blog. But I abandoned it, on the grounds that it was not going to be done quickly enough to be ready for the website going online. Ironically, the image that I ended up creating and using, turned out not to be any faster! There's nothing easy about painting a purple woman in peril. Anyway, I would like to see this other painting completed, as I think it kind of hints at an interesting story.
Also, I've pretty much decided that I won't be finishing a previous painting that I showed to you (the one of the woman getting run over by some recreational enthusiasts at the park). I think there's too much going on in the picture, and there's problems with foreshortening, so it's really a mess. Also, I was receiving hate mail from the Society of Really Pleasant Guys Who Ride Skateboards, and I am uncomfortable having those people angry at me. I wouldn't want to be brought before the Board of People Pedaling with Polite Vigor, and so I am happy to go back to the image shown above, instead!
Thursday, February 17, 2011
New gallery image
I posted a new image to my website's gallery today!
I painted this digitally in Painter 11. Of course my website is www.michaelricketson.com.
You can click the image for a larger view.
The woman's image is based on photographic references of two different women, neither of whom I know. Previously also included in this painting, was a small team of space beavers patching a structural anomaly in the trans-dimensional dam that they had built to regulate the downstream flow of space-time. But I erased that part.
Thanks for looking!
I painted this digitally in Painter 11. Of course my website is www.michaelricketson.com.
You can click the image for a larger view.
The woman's image is based on photographic references of two different women, neither of whom I know. Previously also included in this painting, was a small team of space beavers patching a structural anomaly in the trans-dimensional dam that they had built to regulate the downstream flow of space-time. But I erased that part.
Thanks for looking!
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Current project 02-05-2011
Here's a view of the digital painting that I'm working on currently:
I had originally planned to use this picture in the header of this blog, but I decided to keep the look of the blog more in line with my website (www.michaelricketson.com). I'm sure that a lot of you enjoy seeing pictures of people getting run over at the park, so you'd better believe that I'll be posting the finished painting to my gallery as soon as possible!
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