Giant Creatures Fighting...

[Muttonhead]

One of my first digital paintings. Crits welcome.

I am also wondering if there are any thoughts regarding the viability of making a career out of freelance concept art on the East Coast (New York).


http://www.cybermurray.com/Monster-Fight-weblrge.jpg

[I.was.ink]

Good job on that! It reminds me of a game called war of the monsters out for ps2. My only crit is that the foreground competes a bit with the background.

O!

[davi]

i agree the foreground competes with the background some but sine the colors of the 2 monsters are so bold you can get away with it. I also think that there is too much un needed sky showing. Your sky is kinda boring, why not try to add a blimp over the dome or some interesting cloud lighting or a sun or something.. With the clouded sky you have there would be no way the doom could be that bright anyways.

awesome piece though, very professional and amazing for one of your first digital works. Keep up the good work!

[soupface]

muttonhead, this is fantastic. not sure i understand why the characters have a faint 'glow', but i dont care. looks amazing

[Muttonhead]

Thanks for the kind words and suggestions guys. I have been working digital for quite a while, this was just one of my first forays into "digital painting". I find actual paint to be messy and unforgiving, digital painting is very liberating.

I will post more stuff soon. I am actually doing some concept art for a client, but I think my contract with them may prohibit me from showing any of that stuff yet, so when I have more personal pieces to show I will.

Thanks again!

-S.A.M.

[Muttonhead]

Oh meant to say:

Davi-

You are absolutely right about the sky. I like the idea of the blimp, or sky-ship or something. I think I was initially imagining text going there, but thinking about it now that seems a bit silly since there is no book.

Perhaps I will repost when I get a chance to make that addition. Thanks again!

[tyboogie]

i think the execution on this peice is great. I have a thought though--this may be stupid but this is where my imagination went after the initial "shock" of seeing a new peice wore off. How are these monsters bullied into fighting for peoples enjoyment--also whats to stop them from throwing eachother through the stands and killing hundreds of people. I guess my brain works in storytelling mode--maybe i wanna see that scene --i dont know-just a thought--really cool piece--i feel like everyone on these forums talks about the imperfections of execution but less people address the actual "concepts' people come up with ( because its not a science--unlike anatomy and perspective--so its harder to articulate)

by the way where in BK are you? im in willamsburg

great stuff on the site too!!!!----ty

[Jason Manley]

as far as a career out here on the east coast...its not likely unless you work at a game dev studio like I do..or andrew...or a film studio like FENG or the others. You mostly have to live where the work is unless you are mullins...and he could live on the moon and I would hire him.

95 percent of the guys I know do it full time at a given game studio. the reason being is that so much goes into working with the writers and the producers that you pretty much need to be there full time.

most of us pick up work here and there on a freelance level.

puddnhead has concepted entire games during freelance..but suppliments that with WOTC illustrations or helping with film credits. He could not do what he does if he lived anywhere but hollywood.

so to put it bluntly...there just are not that many spots out there and there is just not that much game development art that is being done on the side to support a full time freelance career. even mullins has to do other illustration and such.


you might pick up some work here or there. your skills are strong.

jason

[Muttonhead]

Tyboogie-
I am in Greenpoint. Greetings to my fellow Brooklynite!
Do you have a web-site where I can check out your stuff?
Thanks for the comments. I agree that thinking about the story behind a scene is very important! Many of the drawings I do are intended to have an actual location, a fantasy setting that I am working to base a series of graphic novels on, but sometimes I do not think about the immediate story-line as in your example. I will take this approach into account!

Jason-
Yeah, I have picked up a few leads for concept art stuff here and there, one of which I am working on now, but it is for a game that does not have a publisher yet, so there is a chance it may not pan out, and the pay is low too.

Most of the freelance work I do that pays is more advertising oriented: Lego.com, Hasbro, and other assorted web-site stuff. I am able to make a living off of that stuff, but obviously I want to move in a more creative direction to do concept art.

I have noticed a few game studios trying to maek a start of it here in NYC, but its few and far between. I might just have to bite the bullet and convince my wife we should go west...hehe.

I guess the other thing that could be said is that the more stuff that does start up on the East Coast, the better my chances might be for getting work with them since I am imagining there is far less competition for that kind of work here on the East Coast!

S.A.M.

[tyboogie]

I am working freelance for a company called floodgate entertainment, who is working for bioware in canada--im working on a Neverwinter nights expansion game ( shadows of Undrentide)--also Rocksater has offices above the MOMA in Manhattan. They are hard to get a hold of though.

no website yet--either e-mail me

lockt486@newschool.edu

or AIM me

tyboogieboog

ill send you some work