Zbrush - SGT Slaughter

Over the past year, I’ve gone back and forth when deciding to use traditional clay modeling or jump all into a product like Zbrush or Mudbox.  I’ve tried all of them.  I have really enjoyed the speed at which I’ve been able to create digitally and the precision of my results. I hope to create an action figure model that can be printed and later painted.  My ultimate goal is to print an action figure that can be constructed into a fully articulated figure.  SGT Slaughter was one of my favorite characters on GI Joe as a kid and remains so today.  He was a WWF wrestler who’s character was adopted by the cartoon.  He voiced the cartoon character and had an action figure made out of him.  I’m so excited to be able to make him in 3D.

See all images here.

Cobra H.I.S.S. Tank

This was a fun an addictive model to make.  I started making it with the idea of just making one side of it so that it would work as a background to another drawing.  However, I kept adding more detail and decided to complete the whole thing.  It was made purely in Sketchup.

Learning to Texture in 3ds Max

Over the past few weeks, I spent quite a bit of time getting to know UV’ing and Texturing in Max. I’ve done so in other programs like Lightwave and Sketchup but have never enjoyed the results so much.

I cannot wait to apply this new ability to future projects…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I thoroughly enjoyed the amount of control that I can have over my 3D objects.  All the way from coloring their image maps in Photoshop to actually placing them on the model in 3D space.  The sky is the limit.

Frank

Digital Art: Finding the Holy Grail in Tablet Illustration

Never have I been so obsessed with any technology like I’ve been with the idea of being able to draw anywhere I go.  A while back (click here for previous post), I wrote an article that asked the question “Should Artists Adopt the iPad?”  Well, I’ve come a long way since that post.  In addition, much has changed and I’ve learned so much that I’d like to share here.

One of my professional associates said that it is important to determine if a tablet is a consumption device or a content creation device.  To clarify, one must ask if the tablet was intended for the consumption of entertainment or was it also made for creating content.  While I still think that iPads are fantastic devices and have even found ways to draw on them with pressure sensitivity using a “Jot Pro” pen, they do not easily support my most used drawing and animation applications.

I’ve had the pleasure of testing several devices.  Some were good and some were not so good.  I learned a lot about Active and Passive display/pen technology.  As a previous Wacom Bamboo user, I wanted something that would utilize the various levels of pen pressure sensitivity that I use and that would allow me to draw directly on the tablet.  I have been able to test and use the first two generations of the Microsoft Surface Pro.  The first Surface did not immediately support Win tab drivers (I believe that is what they are called).  So, for quite a while, I was unable to draw on it in Photoshop.  However, I hung on with the promise that they are developing drivers and they did!

 

 

Using the Surface Pro was so liberating for me.  I could now go to places like Starbucks and digitally draw while sipping a fun drink.  I found the first Surface Pro very capable of doing what I needed without bogging down very often.  About a year ago, I was able to upgrade to the Surface Pro 2!  Not much changed here accept for more power.  I’ve had no problems with it at all.  If I’m in the office, I’ll always choose the Cintiq HD. But on the go, the Surface Pro 2 is my choice.  I am looking forward to upgrading to the Surface Pro 3 with its bigger screen but until then, I’ll continue to happily draw on the Surface Pro 2!

Happy Drawing!  ~Frank~

In these videos, I use a combination of Photoshop CS 5.5 and Google Sketchup 8 to create a 2D cutout character to be placed on my 3D set.  I combined a few online tutorials to figure this out and thought I'd share my process in action!  Please note that I use a combination of my mouse and a Wacom Bamboo drawing tablet but you can simply use a mouse.  Oh and I know, I kept saying "Pound" # key instead of Space Bar to get the selection tool.  Sorry XD!  Anyways, I hope you enjoy this little tut and please visit me on facebook and you can find out more information about my animated production there as well.

Part 1

Part 2

Colored Line Art

Check out this video from CtrlPaint.com about varying your line art's color.  This is a must see if you are like me and tend to use a lot of black lines.  Enjoy!

http://www.ctrlpaint.com/colored-lineart/

Covered in Shadows

The hardship of a life lived in the shadows of China is unimaginable to me.  I live a life of complete comfort and liberty.  I have the right to freely move about wherever I please and make a life for myself how I see fit.

When I think of this, I’m struck with compassion for those who suffer all around the world.  I reflect on how bad it must be for those who flee their homeland.  Why must the world suffer such injustice?  What will it take for all of us to refocus our attention to what really matters?

The good people of North Korea are a proud and incredibly resilient people.  They continue to endure extreme hardships that would challenge the will of any man.  So, they escape hell on earth with the hopes and dreams of a better life only to jump into another frying pan.  Now, they are lost in a world that they do not understand nor belong.

“Tears of the Sun: Jin’s Story” (title name change in progress  :D) is a project that I’ve begun to spread awareness to the problems facing the people of North Korea.  We will use animation to tell a not to uncommon story of a North Korean family caught up in a world wind of change as they are torn from a life of privilege in P’yonyang and subjected to unspeakable crimes, acts of violence and persecution.  Harsh conditions of life force the family to make tough decisions that will undoubtedly alter the course of their lives.

As I work on this project, I’m continually reminded of the responsibility that I and every one of us have to help humanity and spread liberty for mankind.  It could come in the form of giving to a respectable non-profit like LiNK, doing a creative project like me, or by simply speaking to friends about the crisis.  All acts such as these are worthy causes.  We must stay vigilant and actively continue to protect life and liberty in all parts of the world.  So, get involved and be active!!!  XD

With great humility and compassion,

Frank, CO

Sketchup Modeling - Shanty Town Set Design

Here are the latest editions to "Shanty Town - China"...   I'm using Google Sketchup Pro 7&8.  I hope to finally decide on some shots this week and start pulling them into Photoshop to do some final brush-work.

Shanty Town...?

Here is the beginning of a shot for a rundown town in China. This set will be huge! I used Google Sketchup for the modeling in 3D.

Project update…

This project has been a labor of love and passion starting in 2006 when I first witnessed "Children of the Secret State".  That documentary really opened my eyes to the tremendous challenges facing ordinary people in North Korea.  So many things have happened in my life since then but I’ve always held this issue close to my heart.  Early on, I wanted to find a way to help and to raise awareness.  It became obvious that I should use my most natural talent which was art and the telling of stories with it.

Up to this point, I hadn’t done any animation.  My only experience was in drawing comics.  I was set on a new journey of artistic discovery going from 2D to 3D and finally back to a combination of the two.  I’ve spent a considerable amount of time trying to find the easiest way to tackle this mountain of work.  First, I thought that 3D rendered as 2D cel shading was the way to go.  I figured that I can build everything in Lightwave 3D and simply render the objects in different positions and poses when needed and still get the same “hand-drawn” effect.  While this did work, I could not control the placement of lines like I wanted and grew dissatisfied with the results.  So, back to the drawing board so to speak and I began looking into 2D apps like Anime Studio and Toon Boom Studio.  Finally I settled on Toon Boom Animate Pro and have not looked back.

Recently, I joined teams with a good friend of mine Ian Pearson to help refine/redo the script and generally help out with many of the other aspects of the project.  What a great addition he has become.  Over the course of the past several months, his interest and concern for North Korea has grown.   We’ve taken the original concept/idea/intent of the story and switch it all around with hopes that it’ll be more gripping and a better story overall.

Finally, I’m closer to making some decisions on the background designs.  There will be a lot of back drop images to paint as this story will start in North Korea and then go through China, Laos, possibly Thailand and then South Korea.  While exploring the architecture and design of these Asian countries will be fun and interesting, it also presents a large challenge.  So far, I’m using Google Sketchup and then pulling the layers into Photoshop for final painting (images to follow soon!).  We are a very small team with an even smaller budget.  We’ll need to streamline our processes as much as humanly possible.  We wish to support and respect the honor of the people North Korea in all that we do.  It is of utmost importance to us that they are understood from a humanitarian point of view.  Everything we do will enlist this spirit!

Thank you for supporting this project and the North Korean people!

Best Regards,

Frank Freeman.

More Photoshop Custom Brushes with Toon Boom Animate

Another one with Jin in it.  Jin was originally created in Toon Boom Animate and everything else was done in Photoshop as well as some additional character shading.

Photoshop Custom Brushes

Playing around with Photoshop CS 5.5 today and free brushes.  Thinking up some interesting possibilities for backgrounds in my project.  Can’t wait.

Very cool documentary about voice-over acting.

P'yongyang in Google Sketchup

Created this image of Pyongyang, North Korea using Google Sketchup.  As we work on our animated project (more details to come about this soon), it has become rather important to pre-visualize our shots as we plan our scenes.  I need 2D images but Sketchup helps me to decide on the perfect shot by flying the camera around a 3D image.

Designing Jin - Toon Boom Animate

I've been working in Toon Boom Animate and have done a complete drawing of Jin.  It was quite time-consuming but rewarding.  Next, I'll be working on the other views for a full turn-around.  As you can see, she is much more simplified over other designs.  I tried to duplicate my original style but the joint bends and cloth folds are difficult to do when animating.  I'm sure some pro can do it or team of ninjas but not me (so far).  Enjoy!

Art: A Path To Something Amazing

I read a quote by Timothy Albee the other day that really struck me in a positive way. He writes the creative really well. Here is a quote from what I read in one of his books:

“Art teaches one to think for one’s self. It is the actual practice of being confident that one is capable of finding one’s own answers. It is the essence of adaptability. It is the life focus of knowing through experience that the unknown is but a path to something far more amazing than any human can imagine.”

I’ll dissect this quote as it relates to my understanding and to me. While thinking of one’s self can bring on a host of other issues, as an artist, you spend a lot of time reflecting on yourself and your skills. Being creative requires you to take an idea and develop it to something tangible. I must have confidence that I can perform and solve problems and overcome challenges as they arise. Any piece of work presents a set of challenges that must continually be thought through and resolved like how the character would look from this or that angle and what angle best depicts the desired result I’m looking for.  I have no one to go to get a definitive answer.  I must come up with the answer on my own. While I can ask others, they can only offer their opinion.

Over time, I’ve tried to overcome my desire for control and to achieve perfection. I’ve always had a hard time getting my head around abstract art. I’ve always considered it a waste of time.  Now, I see it as someone truly having the ability to freely create with no barriers. I’m still a little reserved in this area but I’ve seen some amazing work done in character creation where the artist doesn’t really know what they are making and just let the forms take shape based on a very limited amount of information. Their results were truly amazing!

Finally, I tend to like to predict a direct path to my end result (my control issue in full force). Before going digital in my drawing, I was not the type to ball-up and throw away a drawing I didn’t like. I felt that everything (every render) had a purpose along the line of creating something good. Now with Photoshop and my Wacom tablet, I can create different attempts all in different layers and view the progression from one organized location.  I can even pull favorable elements from each layer to use in the final render. Boy have we come a long way.

Happy drawing!

Frank Freeman is a freelance artist, trainer and CEO of Artistic Gurus, Inc. a training company that focuses on how-to videos in the 2D, 3D, Traditional Arts, Comics, Anime and Manga fields. http://www.artisticgurus.com/ or http://www.rentartvideos.com/

Preparing to Fly Solo

Just saw this article in my copy of Computer Graphics World.  It's online and I thought I'd share it.  Students and staff at the Dave School created a fan project in Lightwave 3D version 10.  It goes into the version's new features and how they utilized it.  Good read.  Enjoy!

Click Here (or the image) to view the article.

Painting with Light and Shadows

Use this tutorial to help you to creatively add depth to two-dimensional, flat images.
Use these steps to light up your artwork…

1) Try these steps on an image you are currently working on or any stock image you may have.
2) Press and hold down the ALT key + click the “Fill or Adjustment Layer” button   

3) In the “New Layer” window, name the layer and change the Mode to “Screen”.  Press OK.

4) Notice now that the image has now lightened up and the Adjustments tab is showing.

5) Next, fill the Layer Mask with black by selecting your Fill tool along with changing your color to black.  Now, fill the entire image.  Now notice two things that the image has become darker in tone and the Fill Layer has turned from white to black.

6) Now, we are going to duplicate the same steps again with some minor changes.  Again press and hold down the ALT key + click the “Fill or Adjustment Layer” button.  In the “New Layer” window, name the layer and change the Mode to “Multiply”.  Press OK.  You’ll now notice that the image has been darkened

         
7) Now, fill the screen again with black using the “Darken” layer.  Notice now that the image has lightened up and that both the Lighten and Darken Adjustment Layers appear black.    

         
8) Press “D” on the keyboard and the foreground color will change to white.  We’ll now paint on the image with the color white.
9) Next, we’ll need to select a very soft brush with low opacity.  After selecting the Brush tool or by pressing “b”.  Now, right-click on your image to modify your brush settings.  Change the “Master Diameter” to the desired level and then move the “Hardness” level all the way to the left or 0%.  In addition, lower the opacity to 50% or lower.

10) Now, start painting on the Lighten layer.  To increase the amount of light, either brush over the image multiple times or increase the opacity. 
11) To add shadows, select the Darken layer and paint with the brush. 
12) This image has had some light and shadows added to enhance colors.

13) Here is what the “Lighten” Adjustment Layer looks like.  To see this on your image, simply hold down the ALT key and click your black Adjustment Layer.

14) Finally, here is what the “Darken” Adjustment Layer looks like.  This gives you an idea of what shadows were added.

                                
Using this technique to paint with colors is much like using the dodge and burn tools.  I like this method as a way of having more control of what I do.

Have fun and happy painting!

Frank Freeman is a freelance artist, trainer and CEO of Artistic Gurus, Inc. a training company that focuses on how-to videos in the 2D, 3D, Traditional Arts, Comics, Anime and Manga fields. http://www.artisticgurus.com/ or http://www.rentartvideos.com/

Drawing Anime Characters - How to Master This Drawing Style

Many books and tutorials jump the learner right into drawing the anime style.  However, it is important for anyone learning to draw to start with basic concept.  Even though anime is a cartoon style of art, there are some elements that are rooted in reality.  Comic book artists tend to exaggerate just about everything.  But they must first learn how to draw it correctly before making it pop or making their characters look larger than life.  What makes this style so fun is that it shows life and energy in how the images are displayed.  A lot of what you see is almost as if it came from a photo or magazine that was turned into anime with some added exaggeration.

Learning the basics – Anatomy
It goes without saying that we must all learn to walk before we can run.  It’s common to see comic book newbies and amateur’s work posted on sites that have issues of anatomy and proportion.  If we look closely, the artist set out to do something great but all the positives of their work get distracted by the mechanics of the piece. 

Anatomy is an area that all artists must continue to hone and improve upon.  Good anatomy makes a drawing more believable and acceptable to the eye.  Great anatomy allows the artist to expand and do things that push the limits or even bend the limits.  American comic book artists do this all the time.  Starting with the concepts of true anatomy allows them to move beyond that framework a little in order to make a character more exciting, dramatic and larger than life.

What to do first?
Watch lots of movies and read lots of Manga.  While it is hard at times to consider, sometimes it can be valuable to mimic a popular artist’s style to learn how to draw in this style.  Years ago, Travis Charest (the famous American comic book artist of Wildcats fame) was just starting out and was sort of a knock-off of Jim Lee doing fill-in work.  He created many popular works using this method before developing his own unique style which has now become very well known.  There are countless other examples of this in that industry.  Sometimes it takes having to do this in order to find our own look.

 

Study Famous Works
There are a lot of books out there that show the production art of an anime.  Many of these artists have websites as well.  It’s a good idea to study professional work and how they get things done.  Obviously, they are able to get large amounts of work done while adhering to deadlines.  This means that they probably have methods that are tried and tested.  I’m a big fan of this “insider information”.  I look at this info as precious nuggets of information that if I choose, I can put in my toolbox for later use.  Why re-create the wheel?

Examples from life
The real world is the best place to reference great work.  Go out-doors (if you can) or go somewhere public like a mall and “people-watch”.  Take in the world and its beauty and bring it to life in your work.
Happy Drawing!

Frank Freeman is a freelance artist, trainer and CEO of Artistic Gurus, Inc. a training company that focuses on how-to videos in the 2D, 3D, Traditional Arts, Comics, Anime and Manga fields. http://www.artisticgurus.com/ or http://www.rentartvideos.com/

How to be a millionaire by age 25 - Some good advice to think about

People who have done it tell what it takes -- and how to overcome the perceived obstacles that might be holding you back. - People who have done it tell what it takes -- and how to overcome the perceived obstacles that might be holding you back.

http://money.msn.com/how-to-invest/how-to-be-a-millionaire-by-age-25-kiplinger.aspx