Update - kira concepts and illustration

It's been a while since I updated this page, mainly because I've been working, but also because I've been working on updating my reel and finalizing the new website:
These are all from the same general project, based on an original story I began writing some years ago. First are some character sketches, followed by an illustration progression - from sketch to finish. Well, near finish.
Enjoy!

new portfolio website

My updated 3D portfolio can now be found at the following address:
http://www.wix.com/amrobbins/3dportfolio

new tablet! :D

SO, my tablet died yesterday. I mourned it last night, said my goodbyes... and then hopped on out to pick up a brand new Intuos 4!
I've only had it for a few hours, and I've only been playing with it for about one of those hours (couldn't miss the season finale of GLEE after all), but I must say, tis amazing! I love the new design, and I can get such a wider variety of results with the pressure sensitivity on this one than with the older model.
Anyways, I decided just to fix up the character design I'd started a few days ago since I still wasn't all too happy with it, and I still have a ways to go but I feel it's looking a lot more fleshed out :)

more to come! Trust me, with this baby, the sketching shall definitely continue!

when the mind is TOO full, it's time to draw!

I've found myself switching gears a lot this week. I'm struggling with so many different ideas for things that I want to do and have wanted to do for a while.. I wanted to get some new 3d work done before Comic-con in July (I feel like I've said this a lot already!) but I'm struggling to decide exactly WHAT to do. I would ideally like to collect three new pieces for my portfolio: an environment, a stylized character, and a realistic character.. I just can't decide which I should do first! as for the realistic character, I'm going to attempt to retrieve the tooth fairy from the now-dead computer, but if that doesn't work I may try to flesh out the guard character a bit more. As for the more 'cartoony' character, I've been trying to come up with a concept that I like well enough to work on (which is difficult since I rarely make something that I'm completely happy with). I want to do something fairly simple in terms of the model, and then spend a good deal of time taking it to a refined finish.
On the side, I'm still working on that illustration and taking laborious notes and plotting out a novel that will probably never be ready, but it's one of my goals to at least complete one. Anyways, with all this back and forth decision-making business, I decided to take a break and draw something up for fun... I MAY model this at some point, just because all this indecision is bad for me and I may as well start something, but regardless, it was a quick fun project :)
I started with a full-body sketch, but I'm still not happy with the lower half.. no harm in sharing though:

Just a quick update on the previous post. Not sure when I'll actually get around to finishing this, but hopefully when things cool down with this other project, I'll have plenty of time :)

Have been super busy lately, but got the chance to do a bit of rough doodling tonight! So, I present to you (my favorite) three thumbnails that resulted from this creative brainstorm.



more to come...
someday, I promise ;)

*hugs*

just a quick doodle. Jeff was having a bad day, so I sent him a hug :)

Royal Guard -2

So, I've taken my initial sketch and created another that's a bit more fleshed out. I never really decided whether I wanted these characters to look more human or slightly alien, so I may be changing this again soon, we shall see.
As usual, I'm still not 100% happy with this, but I feel like it's at least a bit closer to what I wanted. It may be a while before I get back to this character again, so I wanted to at least share it's current incarnation before (in essence) killing the re-doing it :)

Edit: made a few adjustments to legs and elsewhere, and am now experimenting with new PS brushes! Still just the beginning stages - I'll post again when/if I get further along :)

So, I'm going to be super busy over the next couple of days, but I wanted to post this up, perhaps get feedback!
This is based on a story I started writing a while back, and while I never got very far with it, I did become attached to the idea of some of the characters. This is Amia and she is a member of the royal guard. I was inspired by Egyptian themes mainly because I envisioned this race as being sun-worshipers and a culture of prestige and tradition. They are a fairly peaceful culture, so their armor is mainly a decoration and symbol of status and wealth. Anyways, before I bore you any further with my descriptions, I'm including the original sketch as well as some initial color comps. Enjoy!


As always, comments are loved!
Hopefully I'll be able to post this weekend's project up sometime next week ;)

Just a quick update. Sorry I haven't had the time to post anything lately, but I've been dealing with major technology issues lately.. which is the main reason for the update. Unfortunately, the computer upon which I was modeling the Tooth Fairy is now dead. I may eventually drag it in to retrieve some of my files, but for the moment, all projects done on that computer shall not be completed. I'm a bit depressed about it, but was rather itching to switch gears anyways, so perhaps this is a good thing - Which brings me to the good news! I finally updated my Mac! (yes. this should have been done ages ago.) and now Zbrush works on my computer! Of course, I should probably get an updated version of Zbrush, but for now I'm just happy that I have at least ONE computer that is capable of doing anything.
That's all for the moment, but because it seems strange to not include an image of some sort... I present to you, my (yawning) Buddy!

more graffiti!

sketch done from a photo I took a while back at the Academy of Science in San Francisco. I rather like the way it turned out, despite not managing to finish it, but sometimes you just have to stop.. especially with graffitti since I figured it would probably crash if I took a break and left it to its own devices.
Enjoy!

Vector Turn

Just another update on the tooth fairy. Not much was accomplished today, but the model is pretty much finished. Tomorrow I'll hopefully get far enough to take this into z-brush for a first pass.
That's all for now!

Sneak Peek

Just a quick sneak peek of the Tooth Fairy as he looks at the end of today..

Tooth Fairy - as seen in Hellboy 2

the model! as seen in it's static T-pose... pose will come later!

Unfortunately, Maya sabotaged the other images I took, so this will have to do for now. I'm excited to start UV mapping and then getting it into Z-brush! The only modeling left to do is his teeth (which are a pretty prominent feature, and pretty massive) which will probably be kept simple and then sculpted in Z-brush. I'm really looking forward to finishing something new, and excited to see what I can do with Z-brush - all practice for the upcoming Dominance War V! Ah, the excitement!

"Waiting" re-hash

More practice using Illustrator. This is an illustration I did a decent while ago, but I felt that it wasn't as clean as I had wanted it to be based on the style I was trying out. So, here is take 2!

"Waiting..."

I'm nearly done with the low-poly model for the Tooth Fairy. All that remains is to add nostrils, ears, and it's wings. Hopefully I'll be able to post a few renders of the wireframe tomorrow, just to update my progress. Until then, that's that!

Tooth Fairy

So. I have finally settled on a project - one that I had wanted to do last year but never got the chance due to Dominance War (which will probably happen again since DWV is set to start fairly soon). I present to you, a turnaround (which took way longer than I thought it would) of a Tooth Fairy as seen in Hellboy 2.

That's all for now. Stay tuned!

she rules

I've gotten into the habit of working on Maya in the mornings and then ending the day with a photoshop sketch.. so, I have yet another done tonight! Like the previous post, this is a sketch that I grabbed from an old sketchbook. I had fun playing with the styling of it.

I think tomorrow I shall have to try to actually render something in Photoshop instead of the more graphic style I've been gravitating towards lately - I could definitely use the practice!
Hopefully I'll be able to post the model and zbrush sculpt for my current personal modeling project. Nothing too exciting, merely a recreation of a sculpture that my family owns. I think I may make two versions of the sculpt, one of the straight sculpture, and another where I can put my own spin on it. We shall see. For now, that's all she wrote!

the quick and the cute

Just a practice in Illustrator using a little sketch I made a while back. I'm debating on whether or not to render it or just leave it as is. But for now, voila!

I shall probably leave it in it's simplistic state and continue work on a few Maya projects I've been starting up - feels so good to be getting something done again *le sigh*
That's all for now! Stay tuned for more (I hope I hope)

Avatar... still haven't seen it in 3D - I should fix this

So, this was done just for the heck of it - started in a moment of late-night insanity, no doubt. I'm posting it unfinished, mainly because I did the quick sketch before I left on my trip to San Luis Obispo, and I don't think it's really work revisiting it. It was done mostly for fun, after all. I mean, after seeing Avatar multiple times, one becomes curious as to what their own Avatar might be like... or perhaps it's just me ;)

I've done a few more pieces in my sketchbook that I will hopefully scan and post eventually, but seeing as how my room is currently in shambles and my scanner is hidden in the midst of it all, it may take a while.

So, this Christmas was pretty much like most previous Christmases. I got practically nothing productive done besides taking care of my holiday shopping and making sure that my house was clean enough to pass my dad's inspections. It's become sort of a tradition now that I make something small for each of the relatives I visit on Christmas... nothing fancy, just a small sketch or painting - in this case, it was small watercolor paintings of poinsettias.



Again, nothing too fancy, but I was fairly pleased with how most of them turned out, and the rellies seemed to enjoy them, so I will consider my endeavor a success!
Now, if only I could find work >_<