Happy Halloween!!

another glowy slug guy...

slow day @ work...

Sketched up this guy between projects today. I like him.

Holy crap it's been a while...

So it has been a long time since I posted anything here and i thought I was due for an update. Lots of things have been happening. First off, I am currently working here in Michigan with Speedshape Inc. where I was trained in Nuke X and have been working for the past 4 months as a digital compositor. Random I know, but for a while I have really wanted to get into film and take my knowledge of 2D composition and design into a moving media. I have learned so much in these 4 months and I have met a lot of talented people from all different backgrounds. We are converting the new Spy Kids 4 movie into 3D stereo and it is a lot of fun! I am having a great time here and I'm looking forward to where it will take me in my career. Here is the trailer below...

Don't worry I am still an illustrator and concept artist at heart, but work hasn't left me much time to paint so I figured I'd post some old work that I never got to show from a variety of jobs...

These characters were concepts from an animation at Inviro Studios that never went anywhere. Our client was making a theme park and wanted iconic characters to represent the kingdom in which you were visiting. We were going to make an animated tv series to go along with the park, but the idea never took off.

Princess Tam - following a design similar to that of the Incredibles, I wanted Tam to be beautiful and attractive, yet reserved and intelligent.


The Ice Queen - After several changes in style b/c of 3D execution, we went in a route that was a little more exaggerated. This was the evil queen in the ice realm of the park.


King (Tam's father) - A jolly, charismatic and fun character. Probably the most fun I had at Inviro was designing this character.



This was an environment concept I did for Maxsar here in Livonia for Scar 23. I was really inspired by Feng Zhu's environment concepts and found a style I was comfortable in with the room design. It was a lot of fun.



Quick bot concept for Scar 23 as well.


For those who read this, thank you for coming back and looking at my work. I really want to be able to get back into concept and illustration and when I have time I will post more work. Take care!

-Wayneo

Back in LA!

Hey all!! I'll be spending the next few months working in Los Angeles at ZOIC Studios. I'll be teaming up with the best and baddest artists out of "The D", Jeremy Melton and Imran Shiekh. It's going to be great working with these guys.

Here is a quick vehicle concept I did for Maxsar back in Michigan. More work to come soon!

Storyboard work...

work sketch...

just for fun.

Happy 2011

Wow 2010 flew by huh? Well it's time for an update I think. Here is some stuff from work that I have been working on. Most of this stuff was considered canned, then brought back, then canned again...seems to be a trend in film development. But whatever. these characters were a lot of fun to work on and they really tested my rendering skills. Also the first time I got to work on something from start to finish on a Cintiq, which pretty much changed my digital life. Anyway. Hope everyone has a happy, safe and prosperous 2011. Looking forward to next year when Zombies end the world...

It's all about good communication!

This was a 2 hour concept sketch that got canned...

New character WIP

fun work I have been doing in my spare time...

sketch

Testing out a new brush...

alien sketch

Been working on some alien designs for work, but they were all a bit to "kid friendly". I wanted to do a sketch that had a little more realism to it. Also I was really inspired by some work by Eric Ryan, a concept artist at Liquid Entertainment and a professor at Gnomon. I signed up for his creature design class today. Should be really a great experience.

Mad love to for Hockeytown!

Missing Detroit a bit lately, if you can believe it. This was a character that I did for a work a bit ago that never went anywhere. Decided to spruce him up a bit in my home colors of the REDWINGS! Think he looks better this way...

lunch time sketch...

It's hard for a super hero these days...

Mr. Freeze Re-Design

Just for fun...and fun it was.

Love me some Castle Crashers!!

Got on this a little late, but the Xbox Live Arcade game Castle Crashers, created by The Behemoth, happens to be my new favorite game. And I couldn't pass up doing some Fan Art for it. Really a fun piece to work on.

afternoon sketch...

Update: Fun just to play...




Played a lot of Uncharted 2 last week and I had to a piece inspired by the team at Naughty Dog. Amazing game!


Our Hero seems to be trapped in some god forsaken land, matched up against all odds to get to the next check point. I will definitely be finishing this one up.

really inspired...

Detailed Render:


Turnaround:


So, now that I work at an animation studio, I have been doing a lot of work geared not towards realism, like the majority of my work usually is. With that said, I have found a new love for amazing stylized characters, especially all the character designs from any of the Ratchet and Clank series from Insomniac Games. I am hugely inspired by both Dave and Greg from Creaturebox.com as well as the stylized environments from Darren Quach.

So, I really want to spend the next couples months creating a solid section of my portfolio geared towards stylized characters and environments for my own Platformer Video Game. The idea is that our hero is a hired bounty hunter in a universe full of crime and villainy. He is thrown into the hero role when his side kick (un-named character) is kidnapped, because he is actually the pivotal key to unlocking a weapon that will annihilate the galaxy. He races across space, capturing bounties along the way, in search of his lost companion and order to save the galaxy from destruction. Very similar to Ratchet and Clank. but I just beat Tools of Destruction in like 3 days and I'm taking on A Crack in Time this weekend.

Anyway crits welcome and keep in mind that if I was given the opportunity to create this game for real, I would start cranking this stuff out like yesterday, but the hero character is all I got so far. Later yo!

-Wayne

New WIP

Some thumbs for my new painting WIP

Afternoon sketch...

I was really inspired by the level of talent coming out of Zynga's Mafia Wars and the key frame concepts that come up when you play the game. They tell a great story and each scene is really well put together. This was my stab at trying to replicate that style and create a strong composition. I think its pretty successful.

Photoshop - less than 5 hours

Mass Effect Fan Art

So making fan art seems to be my new favorite hobby. The first Mass Effect was such an amazing game and the second looks incredible. Definitely going to pick this up.

Transformers Fan Art Final

This was a lot of fun!

Transformers Fan Art Update...

Transformers Fan Art

Had some time and felt like trying to be like the greats for a day...like Mr. Ben Proctor.

Here is my take on a Decepticon based off of a US Apache Helicopter. Obviously the colors wouldn't be like this for a real US Apache, but I like his this way. Thinking about adding a few more details from the helicopter, but I am done for the evening. Later.

The Art of Avatar book signing event!!!

I just got back from an amazing evening standing in on a Q & A session and book signing event with the industries leading concept designers! I drove up to Alhambra and went into the Nucleus Gallery on Main Street where I was amazed to find out that tonight, in that gallery was going to be a panel of artists who worked on James Cameron's "Avatar". I instantly grabbed the nearest copy of the book and stood next to about a hundred people awaiting the entrance of who I could only hope to be the best of the best.

The panel consisted of Steve Messing (Alice and Wonderland), Ben Proctor (Transformers), Daphne Yap, Ryan Church (Star Wars Ep 2 and 3), Neville Page (Star Trek and Cloverfield), Dylan Cole (Lord of the Rings), James Clyne (War of the Worlds), and Alex Alvarez (owner of The Gnomon School of visual effects). I was beyond stoaked to be a part of this evening.

All signed my book and were extremely easy to talk to. Pretty damn amazing!

Happy Holidays!

Been busy at work and I am currently visiting the Vegas office working on some design concepts for our Animation Project. These were two piece I got to do in my free time for a possible game pitch. Crits welcome!

Playing with style...

So working for an animation company has had a big influence on the style I work in. I am still using a layered, matte painting technique, but I think that playing with the style of the piece just gives it an extra splash of fun and enjoyment. I did this piece just under a 10 hour span from thumbnail to finish. Then I felt like creating 5 more worlds to flesh out after. More to come.

Todays sketch...

Sketching between work today...

With some solid crits, made some changes...

update

Pretty close to done...crits welcome

Been busy!

So work has been going great out in L.A. I have been really busy storyboarding for our animation project that we are going to be showing over seas. We hope to be able to air it here in the U.S. as well.

In the midst of my crazy work schedule, I did this sketch yesterday afternoon, which when finished will be my entry for the Imagine FX cover design contest. Take care!

Moving to L.A.!

Well I picked up a full time position at a start up company in Santa Monica that starts in 2 weeks. I am really excited to get out there and start to work. More info to come soon!

things in the works...

I have been pretty busy lately with some freelance work, but I managed to squeeze in a new character today. It was nice having the day off and paint something new for myself. I'll be posting the freelance work up soon. Peace!

Been busy...

Been crazy busy lately, but I happened to pick up a part time job in sales at the down town Chicago LEGO store. I figure that after a few months, I could possibly work my way into a possible internal design position, but I am not going to get too ahead of myself.

Heres a quick sketch for my newest character concept. Thanks for visiting!

New Character Illustration

Hope you guys dig...
Full Color Concept:


Finished Concept:

Some old junk...

Here is some old work i did a little while back. Just never got around to posting it up...cheers!

These were some thumbs I did a couple months ago that I really liked. I have a hard time drawing robots and mechs though and I really want to push myself to be able to do that...we'll see if I go back to these.


This was a bot sketch I did when I was bored...


This is a head study I did for a character I never finished. I think it has a lot of potential, but I want to dirty him up a bit.



Here is an illustration I started and never really got around to finishing...I may go back and use some of it. I really like the planet.