Quick Concept Number Three

Hello there. As the title suggests here is Quick Concept number three. I'm thinking I really should come up with  a better name for this series: I think it'd be great to turn it into a little book. But enough of my secret plans for illustration domination.

So as you might have guessed, this concept was to cross Roman legion style armour with a current technology EVA spacesuit. Now the Romans can expand their empire into the stars. Veni Vidi Vici. 

 I developed an interesting logo on the helmet, but it ended up being so small that I only got a rough shape in there. It was of the mythological founders of Rome, 'Romulus and Remus'. In the story they were rescued by a she-wolf, So I chose to use the 'Capitoline wolf' for a logo, looking over two planets. This is a reference to one of Star Trek's more well known races, the Romulans. Their capital planets are called Romulus and Remus

Though I said in my last post that I try not to put so much detail into these works, there has been a steady rise in the amounts of detail from the first one to the third. Oh well, the important thing is that I'm getting quicker and better. I'm proud of the metal in particular, unlike some other drawings I've been doing this one really looks like shiny metal. I also didn't spend nearly as long agonising over colours like I usually do: This is probably because I've been getting colour palettes from photos rather than trying to blindly work out what colours would work well.

So that's it from me, see you next time.

Yaoi Dreaming

Hi there.

Just one new piece for today, one that I'd completed a while back. As I said in a previous post I didn't like the idea of posting a gift before the intended giftee received the aforementioned gift. But since I gave it to her the other day, here it is in all it's splendour.

So this particular friend is obsessed with yaoi, and for all of the people looking at this blog who don't know what yaoi is, its manga or anime devoted to homosexual relationships. Look at the 'Wikipedia' article if you'd like to know more. She also likes birds, hence the peacock. This was quite fun to draw, as I don't often draw couples and I like the fluffy, happy feeling I get from this picture.

I've recently found a great new way to flatten watercolour artworks, as the paper often buckles when using water based media. I used to attempt this by just placing the artwork in a book and waiting a few days, which gave me only limited success. Take a look at this site, for a great and easy way to flatten paintings.

My next Quick Concept(TM) should be up in the next few days

Keep drawing!

Quick Concept Number Two

Hello all,

I've a new work for all to see, my second piece in my quick concept series. As I've said in my last post about this series, it's basically a way for me to try and develop a concept quickly without worrying too much about narrative...not that I don't think of it at all. I also do these very small (A6) to ensure I don't go to town on the detailing.

So my challenge this time was to come up with a character design using the words seahorse and spellbook: The words were provided by my sister, I think it's always good to have other people pitch you ideas, as they think of things you won't. So I first thought of a witch riding a seahorse, this seemed kind of obvious and much too involved for such a small image. So I started thinking of a diving suit, one that resembles the bone structure of the seahorse, with the snout acting as the rebreather. Hey presto we've got a sea witch. The challenge was trying to come up with a way for a spellbook to be usable underwater. I originally thought of some kind of tablet or PDA, but after considering a bit longer...seaweed with waterproof ink. Now to start my next one, but you'll just have to wait and see what it is.

Thanks for reading

More on Watercolour

So today I have a couple of new pieces of concept art to share with you all (how ever many of 'you' there are). The first one is a practice piece in watercolour in which I wanted to try using an undercoat in a different colour aside from yellow/orange that I mostly use. I find the undercoat helps to unite all the colours and give a strong feel to the image.

I really wanted to do a character that I'd not normally consider and decided to centre on a nature photographer, someone who goes to extreme lengths to discover rare and exotic species of plant life and catalogue them. I loved the idea that she found something so beautiful in such a run-down abandoned place. It also gave me a chance to try drawing an environment recaptured by nature.

The second artwork for today was a gift for my father for father's day (yes I did that on purpose). The way I went about this was a fairly tried and true method for concept art: Combining 2 different things to get something new. Two of my dad's favourite things are wine and aircraft, so I attempted to put them together and came up with a flying wine broker. The idea being that she would travel the world in her plane buying exclusive wines and bringing them back for her clients. I enjoyed doing this so much I started to think about doing a follow-up and draw her plane. I thought about basing it on a World War 1 era bomber.

I have another artwork which is also a present to show, but I haven't yet had a chance to present (pun intended) it to it's owner. I feel that she should have the right to view it first. That's it from me.

Watercolour practice

Hi there,

Just as I promised, here's some work I've been doing in watercolours. It had been a while since I last used them, so I thought I'd do some quick practice pieces.

The concept for this piece started with a desire to draw a girl wearing seifuku. Playing around with some shapes in the background, it started to remind me of a shrine erected after a war. So I decided the girl could be part of an naval honour guard to keep watch over the navy's archives. I decided to give her a trident as a pole-arm. It is great weapon for guards and the connections it has with Poseidon, Greek god of the sea.

Inspired by my friend Levene's 'Animal in a day' artworks I decided to try doing concept art without a background and much less concern on a narrative. Instead, just picking a couple of words and trying to put them into one character design. I often try to put too much thought into an artwork, so this a great way to practice coming up with a concept quickly.

An update on where I'm currently at

Hi there,

So it's been a bit since I've posted something, but I thought to myself: "Today that will change" And so it has. I guess it's also time for some navigation and introductions on my part.

My name is Reiko and I recently completed my Bachelor Degree in Illustration. The main focus I want to take with my illustration is the production of concept art for the video game or movie industries. Unfortunately, looking into the skills I require to work in these industries, I've decided that I am not ready to take on such a challenging career...yet. I personally think I've got a good imagination for this work, but a major lack of technical skills to produce work quickly and up to a professional standard. So to remedy my problem I'm spending my days teaching myself all that I can.

I've been spending lots of time working on my anatomy skills using a book by Andrew Loomis, called 'Figure drawing, for all it's worth.' I highly recommend this book to anyone that wants to be able to draw a realistic human figure without the need for a model. You'll find some of my drawings from life (separate from my anatomy studies) in the sketchbook section.

Aside from anatomy I've also been working on perspective and 3D construction. Trying to draw an object not just how I see it but actually all the building blocks used to create an object, referred to as a draw-through. Eventually when I get a lot better at this I'll be able to draw the same object from multiple angles without moving the object, a precursor to imagining a concept in 3D.

I've also done a couple of painting practices (these are copied off photos) in PS. Most people imagine things as defined by line - Doing these paintings will eventually help me understand form as opposed to understanding things in line. This, combined with anatomy and technical drawing will allow me to create accurate and believable concepts. I'll take a moment to plug another artist, the one for which I discovered what I needed to do to get where I want to be. I talk of Feng Zhu. Aside from his amazing concept art and running a dedicated entertainment design school in Singapore, he also spends his free time providing detailed tutorials on concept art, digital painting and information on the industry. He has also produced a couple on portfolio preparation, specifically episode 19 and 20. These two videos have provided a starting step on how I can improve my skills, which without them I would be lost on how to proceed. All of his tutes can be found on his school's Youtube channel

Now for the sections I haven't mentioned. In the concept art section you'll find artwork devoted to bringing out a idea, be that a environment, character or vehicle...or maybe all 3.

In the Illustration section you'll find artwork that is more of an about expression rather than concept. Though because of my desire to work on concept art, much of my illustrations would be concept art too!

Well that's it from me for now, sorry it was such a large slab of writing, more images in the next post, I promise!

Bachelor of Illustration Graduate Exhibition

Hi there,

Here is a selection of my work from the exhibition celebrating the end of my three year illustration degree. The exhibition was way back in March this year, but if you didn't get to come along you can always have a look at my work here.

New blog

Wow! 

I finally have made a new blog, probably about time I did...images to come soon hopefully