Smiling Red

My wife wanted a new thumbnail picture for her Facebook page.  (Our use of Facebook tends to be infrequent and sporadic.)  I took up the challenge as a chance to learn some digital coloring techniques and practice full figure drawing -- as opposed to the busts I normally doodle.  I really learned a lot especially how two colors change their apparent hue when placed together.  I can see all the flaws and I still have a long way to go before I will be happy with anything I draw, but I really like the result of this exercise.  (Note that my feelings are heavily biased because of the subject of the portrait.)

Noir Sprite

This was my second attempt at creating a sprite.  This time I took a shortcut.  Rather than creating something completely from scratch, I found a drawing that looked like it would make a good sprite, shrunk it, and then corrected the pixels one by one.

Slime Sprite

This is my first attempt at creating a moving sprite.  For anyone who doesn't know what a sprite is (not a drink or magical creature), sprites are often used in video games   Before the age of more advanced graphics processors and the boom of 3D technologies, sprites were all the graphics you saw if you ever played a computer game.

For me, they hold a lot of appeal.  There is the nostalgia factor, as sprites remind me of every great game that entered into my childhood.  There is the fact that they are NOT 3D, which is important as I tend to get motion sick when playing 3D games. (Strange, but true.)  There is the fact that sprites tend to have a smaller processing requirement than newer 3D graphics, so games employing sprites can run on really outdated hardware.

Then there is the fact that sprites represent a real test in minimalist art.  Creating recognizable detail with only a few pixels and a very limited color palette is difficult  while doing it well is even more so.  While working on the little slime guy walking above, I looked at a lot of sprites and there is a lot of lazy sprite art out there.  When you find a well done bit of sprite work, though, it is really amazing to realize the level of detail the artist has packed into just a few square pixels.  (Look up "Secret of Mana" or "Final Fantasy VI" some time to see what I mean.)

If I ever manage to make a video game as I would like to, I am pretty sure I want to use sprites instead of some newer technology.

Homegrown Studios logo design

Learning about vector graphics and using Inkscape.  It is an idea for a logo.

A Curious Clock Tower

Thought of You

I mentioned to someone the other day that animation is one of my interests. They sent me this link. I thought the way the artist combined dance and animation to create such an expressive piece was breathtaking.


I also noted that this was a perfect demonstration of one of my basic beliefs in regards to animation. Good animation is all about telling a story, and animation can tell stories in a way that is impossible in any other medium. Here the artist created a dance piece that would be impossible for a live dancer.

Anyone more interested in the artists work should check him out here or here.

8-bit Joy

Figures of Pac-Man and Ghost made from salt dough.

What do the ghosts talk about as they wait for the level to begin?

"Run for your life!"

"Hey guys! A little help here!"

Happy Red

This sketch took about 2 minutes to do. I did it on a whiteboard using three different dry-erase markers: black, red, and blue. I was a challenge to control my hand without steadying my arm against the board. The outcome made me happy.
This second picture is a vectorized version of the first. I used Inkscape to draw over the digital photo of the sketch and to add color. It was fun to learn how to draw with Inkscape, but there is still a lot I need to learn. This second image looks flat in comparisan with the first.