Meetup

Drawing Blueskys, Blender meetup and Python rambling.

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Blueskys (thumbnail sized sketches)are one of the things I had a hard time with as a student, so I started drawing thumbnails on Friday using Krita a digital painting/drawing application. Its amazing how a little bit of time can dramatic improve something. Although not particularly good at it, in the first dozen images so far there is a clear progression of quality as images become less 2D and more volumetric. I decided to start doing blueskys because its one of the things the design instructors always told us to do in order to come up with appealing work. I would hope that my environments become a hallmark of appealing original design. Expecting to get a page done (about 100 blueskys) and put it up here by next week.

Along with drawing blueskys I also started an online sketchbook at conceptart.org in order to expand the audience and possibly receive more feedback. I’m looking to over the next year to expand lots in the area of drawn/painted concepts and spread them over various networks.

Apart from drawing I also have some Python and C++ development going on at home. I’m not going to say too much about it at this point other than I am working on a functional prototype for a node based pipeline automation tool. Some things are already working, last couple days I have been stuck on a bug but its sure to be figured out. When the required functionality to be useful is complete I will share the git repo on TheEnvironmentGuy.com (Its open source and under a permissive license :).

Yesterday was the January 2015 meetup for the Blender group in Vancouver. Its got a fair bit larger than it was three months ago. Currently majority of people there are ‘new recruits’ to Blender but there are some industry people there. We were talking about some new development for a GUI aimed at teaching people how to use the system. It hasn’t been formalized yet but I expect to get info passed my way when the funding proposal comes.

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Working through the hard parts

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For any artists reading this I am looking to interview your experiences as you were learning your trade and achieving the goal of becoming professional artist for the first time. I value your stories and so do the readers of this blog. It means a lot to me when someone shares their story and I would like to bring your story to people with a genuine interest. The time right before someone goes pro is a challenge, your words are inspiring to me and others. If you would like to have your story here contact me here.

Speed drawing is in part a way of coping with the issues currently faced. In high school the art teacher there said art is a form of meditation. I didn’t understand it at the time as I had not yet reached the fundamental of meditation. It is focus and it is calm. Today there are serious decisions, making a demo reel has me down at times. What I know as life now will not exist in the months to come. This is a good thing as it means the future is open to possibility’s but also a difficult thing. It has lead me to plan and place faith in the future outcomes.

To get past this bump on the road last week included a lot of planing and reorganizing for the next step of life. Starting two weeks ago meet up groups have been a priority. They are great resources for artists and other creatives to further their ability’s with group drawing and photography to name a few benefits other than creating interpersonal connections. So far there is a monthly Blender meet up, weekly life drawing and speed drawings as well as urban sketching and industry game developer get together. Since they usually happen at night it keeps me working on the demo longer during the day as well.

In addition I have been running the entrepreneurial machine writing up documents and ideas. Tutoring art is a great experience, to be a tutor you have to live the life of an artist. It places you in the spotlight demanding persistence and attention. It is a great motivator to succeed in endeavors.

The demo reel; The complexity and resolution of sculptures was overshot and so I wasn’t able to complete content fast enough to meet the deadline, as a result I bought another semester which I now feel is a wast of money. The school counts the demo reel class as two courses because they require you to take two classes a week in order to pass. However for me the class consists only of independent work. Very little value is being returned on the investment. There are issues with the administration of the school but I feel personally responsible for the outcomes so I wont complain about it. I do however feel that a serious conversation with my grading teacher will be necessary. In accordance with my value of Integrity there is no choice but to come forward to find a solution. That is my commitment.

Next week I am aiming to put up a collection of drawings. Including life drawing, speed drawing and block studies. I am also going to populate the demo reel with plants and finish up some of the main compositional pieces. Got my angry eyes on the prize 🙂

Looking forward to the next few weeks. Its hard to stay up but I’m in the game and staying strong.

-The Environment Guy

Blender Meetup Vancouver

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For the first time in two years there is finally a Blender Meetup in Vancouver that actually meets up! I had the opportunity to meet a couple of industry artists as well as hobbyists at the groups first ever event. You might recognize a few of them, the organizer Mike Pan created the splash image for Blender 2.72b start up screen, there was also Eoin Duffy an academy award winner for the short film ‘The Missing Scarf‘, and a software developer from Nerd Corps came.

Despite the impressiveness of an academy award I though the most interesting highlight was a hobbyist named Julio. He said he was a chef  that quit his job to learn 3D graphics full-time so he could get a job as an artist at a studio. Really look forward as to what becomes of him, he showed us his first ever environment scene and I have to say it was way better than most people’s first.

You can check out the group and even join if you’re in the area here. I love to meet and we had some great discussions.