SimAnt

[Prometheus|ANJ]

I found Sim Ant in the store and enjoyed it for a while. I used to play it back in the Amiga days. It made me do spinoff art, like most games make me do.
As usual, I started with scanned thumbnails and then arranged on a sheet for coloring. I typed up some silly text to fill the blank spots and managed to misspell half of the words I noticed.

http://www.itchstudios.com/psg/simant/color3.jpg

I really enjoy doing different versions of a certain design while trying maintain some consistancy. The design on the bottom right is perhaps the most unique. It's a millipede with evolved backlegs so it can walk like a droideka sort of. Otherwise it's pretty much the usual chitinoid-mantis-gorilla thing I do.

[cartoonfox]

wow. i love these designs. especially the (*snigger*) rolly polly and the evolved millerpede thing. great stuff.

do more, do more! :D

[endregan]

hehehe your silly.

these are solid.

as usual :)

[pixelbomb]

my favorite is the caterpillar. i dig how you keep it painterly and loose.

[Snowfly]

these are too inventive. damn...

[skrubbles]

so this is what you were working on the other day.... awesome as always, buddy :D

[kimchee]

I love it when you do spinoff designs like this from older games. I think it's my favourite stuff from you. You have an awesome sense of form that just makes the new designs so fuckin' solid. I love your eye for colour too.

Great, as usual. Is this the original resolution for the coloured sketches, or were they bigger? If bigger, could I see a full res? If not, that's cool of course. Just wonderin'.

Keep it up man!

[Tedsuo]

I used to love SimAnt, it was my favorite "Sim" game along with SimEarth. I was over at Maxis last month and they had all this old Sim stuff up on the walls, I got all misty....


You guys have some seriously screwed up looking bugs on that side of the pond. No wonder you designs are always so interesting. :)

[Octave13]

I love how distinct your style is. I can spot it a mile away. Kick ass.

[Prometheus|ANJ]

I'm glad you guys liked 'em. I scaled down to 25%, so the original is 4x, ie. 3000 pixels^2. The thumbsnails were an inch or so on paper.
I think I'll turn my attention to the tdome or megaman stuff now. I got too many projects, but this time I managed to paint up all the main characters atleast. Usually I do one or two and the rest remains thumbnails.

I also enjoyed SimLife and SimCity (of course).

[geoffd]

never played the game, but if it looked like this, i'd be all over it!! wow, i've always loved your style and just can't get enough. i honestly don't think i'll ever look at ants (they remind of Starship Troopers) or the rolypoly bugs the same every again. :D

[Balton]

these are very good but I think you misspelled soldier ;)

[benzo]

i remember that game.... the graphics were so bland. these are great redesigns; would totally make me want to play a new version of it. very alien looking. great color. your work and commitment amaze me. thanks for sharing. what about the ants? your layout is very interesting, reminds me of pages from rien poortvilet.

-benzero

[chao]

yea.. i played it too before..fun game.. good old days =) great work, prom! as inspirational as always! any new megaman pictures that you can share? =D:chug: :chug:

[behemot5]

:eek:

[IgnusDei]

nice. i should invest in a tablet someday

[bhuddistmonk]

Those are FRIGGIN' AWSOME! You truly have mastered the "bubbly, oily" style of photoshop painting. Reminds me a little of Samwise Didier's work. I like how they seem to flow from one end to the other.

[McNallyism]

YEah!!!! cool bugs, Mr. Jansson! I played that game when they ported it to the SNES (or was it the old NES?). I found out you could easily win each level in that game by just rushing the enemy anthill and killing the queen right away. That way you could totally avoid all that pesky resource management...

Your "spin-off" designs do a good job of capturing the essence of the source bugs, while instilling them with a new sense of primal ferocity. These designs would go a long way to make the world of ants and other insects feel more epic and alien if the game were remade...Actually, these would go great in a sequel to the game that would take place after the apoclypse and fall of man. The insects could evolve to take the place of the mammals, so simant would take on a new scale...wow that would have been a cool thunderdome. heh heh...


-Sean

[hethe]

Wow Prom. You are so cool. So cool!

.hethe

[Chris J. Anderson!]

Prometh, cool coloring style and designs, good stuff dude!

[Bomba]

Prometheus,

Rarely do I get a chance to mention, but your artwork is very inspiring. Great shapes and designs.

-J-

[PhilHolland]

Prom,

I really look forward to your posts. And this proves why.
Your thoughtful design is wonderful.
And the emphasis that you put into color is truelly unique.

Phil

[Loga4]

Awesome designs,Niklas!
everyone of them are so cool!

[Prometheus|ANJ]

Woo, thanks for the response. I'm gonna try to do more game spinoff art/fanart. Blaster Master perhaps? I drew up some thumbs for the last tdome but never colored anything. I got like 30 binders with thumbnails I need to do something about.


Here's the thumbnails for those interested. I always do several and circle in the ones I like. I use a HB 0.5 mechanical pencil and draw as small as I can. I sort of had starship troopers in mind when I did the designs, kind of hard not to.
http://www.itchstudios.com/psg/simant/sketches.jpg

Screen of the actual game and my sneaky tactics to starve out the enemy. I pwnd the pesky spider too. There's usually 50-200 ants on each patch.
http://www.itchstudios.com/psg/simant/pwnd.PNG


No megaman art yet, I've been slacking for 2 days. I did an avatar though.
http://www.itchstudios.com/psg/avatar/pantyclad2a.jpg

[nardfrog]

OMG that aavatar is awsome

[davi]

truely great conceptual work.

very impressed.

[LemoNHearT]

wao~cool concept,is new version of bugs life~
i like the caterpillar most~

[Rockhead]

Hey, I went and checked out you website and stuff, great work. I think one of my favorite things was, actually, your quick little robot studies that you said you did in a speedpainting thread, I liked to see robots done in a more painterly fashion, good job.