Girls with swords and pew pew guns
It’s time yet again for the daily WIP! I got home late today so I only had about 2 hours to put into the model today. I spent most of it on the boots, which are still a bit of a wobbly unwrappy mess. I also added details all over and added some more textures. I still haven’t quite decided what to do with the midsection of her armor, but I’ll be figuring that out tomorrow! Lots to do still, but I’m pretty happy with this so far!
Hullo! Another evening, another few hours of practice! Here’s Cuda Zuri, a warrior elf girl from somewhere far, far away. I’ve spent quite a bit of time on her already, having built her from a similar model I made last year that I decided to spruce up (a lot). The modeling is done, but there’s plenty of texture painting to keep me busy for a few days still. I’ll add more WIPs as I progress. Hope you enjoy!
PS: Here’s the model I made last year: http://www.majoh.com/art/3d/NanenahWarrior_3D_large.jpg
My first completely new art since moving! Moving in with my fiance occupied at least the last five or so weeks of my life, so it’s a huge relief to finally be arting regularly again! Here we have Indiana Jones, a macho, rugged man, because my portfolio lacks macho, rugged men. I made him in Photoshop CS2, over the course of 2 days, with about 4 hours total of time spent. A much larger version of this is available on my site, www.majoh.com. Hope you like!
I think I originally painted this in February, and I spent last night touching it up. Her face had always bugged me in the old version, and somewhere in the last 6 months I must have gained whatever knowledge I needed to possess in order to fix it, because I am much happier with it now. Here she is, much prettier than before! 😀
The first thing I’m doing to prep my work for my impending job search is to remove anything that isn’t my very best from my site. This is always a tough task – it’s like picking who’s going to be on your team in gym class, knowing very well that you’re about to upset someone who thought you were their best friend. Here is my ode to old work:
I’m sorry, painting I slaved on in 2005 until my wrist hurt and my eyes dried up, but you just don’t make the cut anymore. You were a good friend, through thick and thin. True, you were once my featured Deviation on DeviantArt, but as the years passed you’ve fallen to page 4 of my gallery, pushed back by mere practice pieces that somehow are better than you. I promise to always remember you. But times are tough, and I dread the thought of some future employer finding out how badly I used to draw noses. If it’s any consolation, I’m sure my mother would love you unconditionally and demand a print to hang in her house somewhere.
Sincerely,
Mandi
Hi! I don’t know if my life is interesting enough to warrant adding yet another blog to the Internet over it, but time will tell.
I’m a 24-year-old artist – I’ve been drawing and making a mess of fingerpaint since I was a toddler. Aside from keeping myself fed and warm, finding a way to make a career out of art is my biggest goal in life! I graduated in 2006 with a BFA in Game Art & Design from the Illinois Institute of Art in Schaumburg, IL. Looking back, I wish I’d started this blog when I was a student, because then at least I’d have a steady stream of weird stuff to mention in every entry! In any case, my schooling was enjoyable. I made many good friends and learned an incredible amount of art-related skills.
Shortly after graduating I found myself gainfully employed at a small game company that creates DS, PC, and Flash-based games. Within a few weeks of being hired, word got out that I could not only pump out art, but write game script as well, and for the last 2 years now I’ve been balancing a number of game-creating responsibilities, ranging from writing design documents to creating game script to building menus and interfaces. I even met the love of my life, Jim, at this company, and to whom I’m getting married in October.
I’ve learned some nifty things at this job, like ActionScript and event scripting, and I’ve seen a lot of “game industry” action. I’m very proud of the games I’ve worked on: I was lead designer and lead scripter (well, only scripter) on Julie Finds a Way. I was lead artist and co-lead designer for Kit Mystery Challenge! (no, I don’t get to name these things. Sigh.) I even got called in to rapidly replace as much of the art as I could in the final weeks of Homie Rollerz. I painted maps, I recreated level art, I retextured everything in sight – it was an amazing 2 weeks! I’ve also worked on Tonka: On the Job PC (scripting, art assets), My Little Pony Pinkie Pie’s Party (design), My Little Pony – The Runaway Rainbow (scripting).
But here’s the catch! In covering so many different roles, I seem to have fallen off the path towards becoming a full-time artist. I haven’t done art much lately: it’s not that there hasn’t been any to go around, it’s just that other tasks have been more pressing. It’s easy to outsource art, not so easy to outsource asset management and development organization. It’s a small company, and if you have a wide range of skills, you get to use them all (even at the expense of not doing tasks you might enjoy more). We have full-time artists who come and go (I’ve outlasted 4 of them now!), and their speciality tends to be art, and only art.
So… I’ve decided that it’s time to try something new. The goal of this blog is to write about my experiences in becoming a professional artist. I’m always doodling or painting something in my spare time, but I want to take it even further and make it my full-time job at some point in my life. In the next few months I intend to update my print portfolio, assemble a new demo reel, and do whatever it takes to find a promising new job. I’ll post WIPs, stories from work, and general updates on how the job search is going. I hope you find this blog enjoyable to read, and maybe even find it inspirational. Enjoy!
