Handcart Kids

A small commission I did recently. Acrylics and oil 9x12.

Finch: Model Sheet

Well, after hundreds of drawings, I finally had to narrow things down to meet my deadline. So here's character design and sketches for Finch, main character in Heirs of Vent, the game. Seriously though, check out the website for Finch's official character bio, a map of Vent City, game mechanics, and other interesting tidbits from the developers. Meanwhile, for me, it's on to the next character in our line-up. More on that next week!

Figuring It Out

 In struggling with Finch's character design, I'm realizing how sketchy (pun intended) my knowledge of anatomy actually is. So I've spent some time copying various figure studies and drawing from photographs, trying to better understand how things fit together. Hopefully this will increase my visual vocabulary and give integrity to Finch's design (and all of my work!) Not exactly the stuff that thrilling, glamorous blog-posts are made of, perhaps - but an important part of my process, nonetheless.

If you're interested in getting better at figure drawing, here are a couple of resources I'd recommend: 

http://artists.pixelovely.com/practice-tools/#new (for gesture drawing)

http://www.pinterest.com/characterdesigh/ (incredible collection of anatomy studies and character design). Let me know if you have any questions and Happy Drawing!

Finch Maquette: Taking Shape

This week I busted out the clay and attempted some Finch models, and it's been really exciting to see him taking shape! The point of the exercise is to help me envision the character from all angles, and it's already helped a lot with the structure and sense of depth in my sketches, which is awesome - I was feeling kind of stuck before. Next Tuesday's post: new and improved character drawings which means goodbye for now, clay - hello again, graphite.

If you're interested in attempting your very own maquette, by the way, you should check out this video by illustrator Shawna JC Tenney - I sort of followed this process and found it very helpful!

Finch

 Hey guys, so I've been hard at work on the next character in the Heirs of Vent series.

What you should know about Finch: he's Badger's best friend and protector and they've been pretty much inseparable since Finch rescued him from the streets. The guy's got a heart of gold, and is reluctant to use his massive strength except in honest work or in defense of those he loves. Underneath the quiet, modest exterior, however, Finch carries a secret about his origins and, despite his hesitance, is destined to be much more than a humble mechanic.

The writer liked #12.

The other thing you should know about Finch is that he's built like a tank. Never having found much occasion to draw huge muscly guys, this poses a serious challenge for me as an artist, especially when it comes to drawing him from different angles and in a variety of poses. Currently, I'm tackling this by doing lots of figure study and building some clay models which I'll be sure to include in next week's post.

 Meanwhile, after all that sketching (and tons more!) this is the tentative direction I'm taking. As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts. For more info. or updates on the game, follow us on Twitter @HeirsOfVent or check out our Facebook page.

Badger Model Sheet

Well, here is Badger so far, my most comprehensive character design to date. Hopefully he'll continue to evolve as I get better, but in the meantime, Dave has created an entire cast of amazing characters I'm excited to get to. Not only are there Russian Steampunk circus acrobats (seriously!) but Dave's writing has infused these characters with such life that they practically demand to be drawn.

The project is 'Heirs of Vent,' a cooperative, evolving-deck card game/graphic novel. Still in the beginning stages, obviously, but if you're interested in updates, you can follow lead designer, Mikael Fehlberg on Twitter @MikaelAllan. And, of course I'll be keeping you posted with concept art, so stop by again!

Badger Evolves

Thanks for the feedback, everyone! He still needs a lot of adjustments, but Badger is starting to take shape, in spite of being a squirmy little guy and kind of hard to nail down.

I am promising myself some fancy character sheets within a couple of weeks. These will include Badger, AND his best friend (who goes by Finch). Meanwhile, I'd love to know what you think - especially if you have a favorite hat!