I did not finish the digital 2 point perspective peice, well not properly anyway. I thought to myself I can paint photo real but I have achieved nothing. I thought what is the point of doing a digital paintover that looks like a photograph if the original photgraph is crap? there is no point, the image is too real and I dont like it.
So now it comes back to my fear of failure, a fear of failing to produce a decent pencil drawing. It seems that the only way to get feedback on dmu facebook is to do a digital painting, no one seems to give a crap about traditional media anymore, me I like getting my hands dirty, be it paint, charcoal or clay, i like the feeling my pencil makes as it marks across the paper, I like getting graphite stick on my hands and face. I can do digital, but its not the same.
Here is the half finished digital peice, I got bored with it
I decided to do a pencil drawing aswell, here it is below.
Honestly I like the traditional media better. I think there is more focus on the main area of the building and the way the empty space/clouds between the sky and the building seem to let the image breathe.
I was told by one of the 3rd years that visual design dosent matter it is game production that is the most important, I was also told not to believe everything the 2nd and 3rd years say. Well visual design matters to me just as much as game production, I feel I am progressing well and I love every minute of both, it is quite something to take 3d and turn it into a 2d image, then back into 3d again. I do want to become a well rounded artist at the end of the day not just a digi freak. You can learn any peice of software, what it take to use you own hands to create a peice of art without relying on any software is something else entirley.
So now it comes back to my fear of failure, a fear of failing to produce a decent pencil drawing. It seems that the only way to get feedback on dmu facebook is to do a digital painting, no one seems to give a crap about traditional media anymore, me I like getting my hands dirty, be it paint, charcoal or clay, i like the feeling my pencil makes as it marks across the paper, I like getting graphite stick on my hands and face. I can do digital, but its not the same.
I decided to do a pencil drawing aswell, here it is below.
Honestly I like the traditional media better. I think there is more focus on the main area of the building and the way the empty space/clouds between the sky and the building seem to let the image breathe.
I was told by one of the 3rd years that visual design dosent matter it is game production that is the most important, I was also told not to believe everything the 2nd and 3rd years say. Well visual design matters to me just as much as game production, I feel I am progressing well and I love every minute of both, it is quite something to take 3d and turn it into a 2d image, then back into 3d again. I do want to become a well rounded artist at the end of the day not just a digi freak. You can learn any peice of software, what it take to use you own hands to create a peice of art without relying on any software is something else entirley.
For what it is worth, I agree with you. What you call "well rounded" others call taking the wholistic approach - seeing it as a whole. I guess that is why I never stop learning and trying new things in interactive media, because as I keep building on what I know I get a bigger picture. In industry this has allowed me to bridge the gap between many different skills and expertise, and help bring it all together, because I have that overarching understanding of the different bits and how they fit together. I like to think it helps me teach it too.
ReplyDeleteI know you call your digital work "too real", but for me, that is what I like about it, I think the shading is better, it looks more 3D because of that. We all have preferences, but don't let that blind you to which is more suitable for a particular purpose (not saying you are - just worth bearing in mind).
There, it's been a while since I gave you any feedback. I occasionally pop by your blog to see how you are doing, I must say I am very impressed with how your digital painting skills have developed - particularly liked the view of the rocks above town - showed it to TP the other day. Hope Uni is going well, and that the family are OK.
Hey Dan, uni is going well and the family is fine, how's teaching at stevo's going?
ReplyDeleteAt the end of the day Dan I believe that to become good at digital it is essential to develop traditional art skills first, and that is essentially my plan.
The worst thing is that some, particularly youngsters who want a quick fix when learning to become an artist, think that digital is the way to learn. They can learn so much with photoshop and a graphics tablet but ultimatley they are going about it in the wrong way.
Digital paintovers look cool but I believe you can learn so much more by sitting in front of a building, tree, object with a pencil and paper.
It is an essential skill, if you need to quickly communicate an idea visually it is a pain to sit and wait for photoshop to load.
Digital has many benefits I needent spell them out for you im sure you are aware.
I am at the stage where I want to soak up all of the knowledge I can, learn as much as I can and get better. The only way I can do that is to keep doing it.
I am learning to "just do" rather than thinking about my art too much.
I would recommend "game art" to anyone who has a chance to go into higher education it is a perfect balance between digital and traditional.
If you would like me to come back to college to give a presentation anytime you are welcome to ask, im free thursdays and fridays.
All the best