:PUSH IT TO THE LIMIT:

We're BAAACKKK!!!

2011-10-17T19:56:00.000-07:00

I said I wouldn't post here anymore....

I LIED!!!

The outer darkness

2011-03-24T21:36:00.000-07:00

This will be my last post before I finalize my thesis project. There have been a lot of new illustrations I've done in the past few weeks, and they can all be seen in the journal entries I have compiled this year.

This year has been beautiful.

I was trying to reach a new level of pressure and stress. I wanted to push my limits, to see how hard and diligent I could work, how much pressure I could handle. How far could my body go with very little sleep and sanity? What work could I crank out in only eight months?

There's a very small part of me that wants to break. I want it to fall apart so that I can find a place to rest.

But I've been resilient, and we keep running and moving. There is no rest. Even during sleep, I prepare for the next task.

Once this is done, I'll take a day off - and then tackle my next project. I still haven't reached my threshold, and I'll keep pushing until I reach it.

Orbiter Cutaway

2011-03-21T23:29:00.000-07:00

No time. No comments. We burn.

Droids gone wild!

2011-03-15T12:03:00.000-07:00

I was going for cute but spacey.

And now for something completely different...

2011-03-12T20:45:00.000-08:00

This is an oldie but a goodie I suppose. Business project. Created a prototype model for an iPod holder when charging at the computer. Modeled in zBrush, rendered in 3DS Max.

Medical close up and...charts!

2011-03-08T18:50:00.000-08:00

I've been burning through some "filler" charts, maps - to place behind images or in blank areas in the journal. I'll still be spicing these up a bit, but they are more for filling up space and I don't want to attract too much attention to them.

The top image, the medical journal, was written by my sister and then actually written - as in with pen on paper - by Jori Bolton. Both are amazing pals. Great job team!!

Thesis update

2011-03-07T16:38:00.000-08:00

I started modeling and painting the "document droids" that float around taking pictures through the astronauts journey. Almost done texturing the little guy. I wanted him to look cute, but spacey and worn.
Here's a small painting of the launch pad at night. Below is the original thumbnail done months ago on a train to Ottawa. Still a great composition, but needed some tending to.

(make it better)
(make it impacting)
(make it move)

This is a structure on Earth, but I wanted to make it look mystical and powerful. Yeah! I'm about 75% complete my thesis? I think...and I hope I can crank out a ton of little paintings and pieces this week. Fill the journal and be done with this torturous beast I have created...

Page Layout Revision

2011-03-04T21:49:00.000-08:00

I've been cleaning up some of the thesis pages - making them look fancy. The illustrations now have more "photo" qualities to them - with screen lines and orange tabs. Thesis....I need you to end...

I could still make it better!

2011-02-27T14:19:00.000-08:00

But I'll finish for now, and let it rest. Unified the colors a bit by cooling down the reds in the buildings. Still needs work maybe some tightening up in the foreground...just things to consider.

Gonna make it better

2011-02-24T15:10:00.000-08:00

Back to environments....good to be back. Piece in progress - greyscale versions to test the strength of the composition, focal point and flippability. I feel it, it's flippable. Any takers?

With the newer version, I realize now that I should start bleeding some of the colors into each other - like the reds and oranges in the building into the blue purples of the ground. In time...

The Biosuit: for Emotional and Spacial Travel

2011-02-22T14:57:00.000-08:00

The final. The close ups.

Probably... he's going to space!!!

2011-02-21T16:34:00.000-08:00

YEAH.

It's been an interesting process making this image, so I'll do another post that shows how I rendered the suit when it's complete!

Oldie but a Goodie

2011-02-18T19:27:00.000-08:00

I figured out how to render stuff decently in 3DS Max, so yay! Some Photoshop clean-uppage like enhancing the glow effect on the lights.

I love lamp. I love glow.

Telos Cavern Update

2011-02-17T18:03:00.000-08:00

No comments, just fight forever.

Within the Deep

2011-02-16T01:05:00.000-08:00

Work in progress in the oceans of Telos. Still need to add larger "ethereal" creatures and continue rendering up the rocky bits. Always trying to push the elements of color and focus on the shape and silhouette of things.

This is where our hero wants to release himself from the pressures of the universe and from life. To get into the mood of epic and beautiful terror, I listen to the Shadow of the Colossus soundtrack. Here's a song!

Biosuit-able!

2011-02-13T23:05:00.000-08:00

Beginning stages of the Biosuit in zBrush. I want to get this done within a day or two, so I'll probably pose and paint over it - and then do all the maddening 3D stuff to make this model textured and workable. Later....later...

Move FASTER!!!

2011-02-09T21:30:00.001-08:00

Will add creatures and something to the final...A quick slap-chop job to the old pink painting.
I'm revamping and unifying the planets now. The pink planet painting was the SAME planet as the jungle/creature painting. TSK TSK TSK. Will not do...there was no correlation between the two...so I decided to go back to the pink painting, take apart most of it - and turn it into a jungle-cave.

Move fast. Stay ahead of the game, and destroy everything you create.

Artwork is never garbage. It's recyclable.

Here's a ROCK!

2011-02-09T20:20:00.000-08:00

I love rocks.

Zoe is my planet

2011-02-07T16:41:00.000-08:00

It may not be finished, but I'm finished for now. Sometimes I get exhausted from a painting - so for now - it's done but I'm always open for feedback.

Chrysos Cutaway

2011-02-07T14:45:00.000-08:00

Still a work in progress. I need to add more information on the planets interior, along with a couple more layers!

Thesis Title

2011-02-07T01:31:00.000-08:00

I decided to take a more expressive approach to the thesis journal cover. I like the results, but I'm not sure if this will work with the look and feel of the rest of the book

WIP Zoe Matte Painting

2011-02-05T21:31:00.000-08:00

Work in progress painting. Trying to blend the matte painting with more painterly bits. Massive creatures cooling down at the ol' watering hole. Two slight variations. I think I'm leaning towards the statue with the two creatures...

Landing on the waters of Telos

2011-02-01T18:55:00.001-08:00

This is my first attempt at a matte painting. I'd like to do more of these, it was pretty fun!

I churn thesis like butter.

2011-01-31T22:50:00.000-08:00

This here be a map of the galaxy, with the Sun at the center position and then habitable planets tracked light years away. These are positions for actual habitable planets, I still need to put co-ordinates, legend, and distance but YEAH! Each large hexagon equals approximately one light year.

More YEAH!

2011-01-31T22:34:00.000-08:00

Here's a second rendition. I don't know!!!

Yeah

2011-01-31T00:30:00.000-08:00

This was going to be an attempt at a matte painting...but I don't even know what I'm doing anymore. Much work to be done, I really have no idea what's going on...

Within the city of Chrysos

2011-01-30T18:06:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure if this is quite done yet, but it's done for now. I need to keep pushing on to other pieces - so I'll keep it here. I learned a lot with this illustration. I tried my hand at using sun beams to high light foacl points and some good ol' perspective to make the composition more dynamic.

Rethink EVERYTHING!!!

2011-01-20T22:49:00.000-08:00

This illustration is actually not part of my thesis! This is for our grad show, where each illustrator received a statistic to interpret. Rather than creating boring and crusty pie charts, we took the information and destroyed it with the power of imagination!

My statistic; "3/4's of the Illustration grad classes work is concept driven."

I decided to create a creature made of concepts of creatures, beginning with words and then transitioning into shapes, objects, etc.

I'm also on a chroma high.

Planet from Space

2011-01-18T00:40:00.001-08:00

Chrysos! We're getting there...

Color scripting

2011-01-10T21:39:00.000-08:00

This is quite a long image, but I wanted to show the different color moods for the four different planets. I'm working at finding a balance between a shot filled with visual information about the planet and a dynamic and captivating shot. There is still alot of work I want to do to refine each world, and from here on in - there is very little time to complete it all.

All of the new thumbnails were done during the Christmas break.

The gate to Chrysos

2010-12-15T22:48:00.000-08:00

I'll come back to this later, but I'm too tired to tweak and complete this. This is my attempt to create more dynamic compositions and shots.

Thesis update

2010-12-12T23:42:00.000-08:00

Here's some stuff I did - thesis.

Creature Chasm

2010-12-06T20:30:00.000-08:00

Establishing shot for one of the planets, with a gaping hole in the surface. Another shot will show creatures spilling out of the center.

Orbiter Turntable...for REAL

2010-11-27T21:59:00.000-08:00

Orbiter Turntable from Michael Janzen on Vimeo.

Here is a turntable of the orbiter. There's still a couple small technical tweaks like stretched textures and moving some polygons around, but other than that I'm satisfied with the progress :)

Feel free to check out the video in HD on Vimeo!
Critiques are always welcome.

Orbiter is blasting off AGAIN!!!

2010-11-27T12:09:00.000-08:00

Finished!! It actually didn't take 2 months to put this together, but I worked on it here and there for 2 months. Lots of new skills were learned....and I hopefully not forgotten...

The actual model is used for my thesis as a "real" spaceship! But I also used it for my product class and designed them as "model" ships with little stands! Turntable will be up soon!

Thesis phase TWO!!!

2010-11-17T23:24:00.000-08:00

So there wasn't really a phase one? But this shows the first stages of page layout, and then the more finalized version of page 01/02. Quite a dramatic change in my opinion! Lots of tweaking to do, changes to images and text....but this is what the entire journal should look like near the end.

WHOAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!

2010-11-15T23:01:00.000-08:00

Here's a rough illustration of the shuttle launching from Kennedy Station. Needs more work, but I'm starting to enjoy the composition. Some finalized blueprints as well!! I wouldn't mind scuffing it up more and adding markings and "extra" lines here and there. Builds character.

Ship at Six!

2010-11-11T03:39:00.001-08:00

Finished my first pass on textures and maps on the orbiter. Looking more "realistic" now with some good textures and colors. My uploading skills are awful, so this is a pretty rough video. Please check out the wonderful 4seconds in 720 dpi!!! It'll still look kinda not good...but when I finish the model I'll do a pretty turntable, I promise!!!

It's not even done YET!!

2010-11-06T21:40:00.001-07:00

Progress of a planetary environment. I'm thinking of adding some bridges or landing platform near the foreground to make not so boorrrring, and maybe some planet silhouettes in the sky!

When will the space ships END!!!!!!

2010-10-31T19:32:00.000-07:00

So I've been working on ships and shuttle designs for the past month or so...maybe longer! But this is the design I fell in love with. The previous versions were too traditional in their design, and the yellow ship felt too aggressive. It looked more like a jet fighter.

This little guy looks more like a ship that is used for exploration and travel. Round edges and a bulkier feel. A cozy one bedroom apartment! It's taken me a couple days to redo the 3D model and texture and paint the thing...and it'll take more time to get it to where I want it.

Environments from the "break"

2010-10-31T19:22:00.000-07:00

I have a couple things. Yesterday, I did a couple environment concepts and tried modeling them out for a better camera shot. Top image is my favorite, and very work in progress. I wanted the structure to look like some sort of factory/temple.

I started out with some basic shapes, and then...played around and painted it! I was practicing scale with massive shapes. I'd imagine these fell from the planets orbit...maybe they are large satellites or broken gateways..I'd like to explore this concept more!

This one I'm just documenting on the blog...it's garbage...and it has potential, but needs work, and maybe a new camera angle. Comments and crits as always!

Planets For Everyone!!!

2010-10-29T13:39:00.000-07:00

Here are some planets I've created all in 3DS Max, and then slapped them into space to see what it looks like. I'd like to make a couple everyday, until I get a good feeling for some of the planets I want to use in my thesis. Comments and critiques are always welcome :D

A terraformed Mars

2010-10-22T06:51:00.000-07:00

Obviously, we would turn the whole planet into a Martian Mega Beach!!! WHAAAAOO!!! I don't think my scientific illustration teacher liked it....

Radically environmental!

2010-10-17T22:19:00.000-07:00

Some more thumbnails for environments. The first ones (below) were done on while traveling on a train. I feel I work better sans locomotive!

Meeting notes

2010-10-16T10:36:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I take notes, and other times I just make little silhouettes.

Totally environmental!

2010-10-10T23:28:00.000-07:00

Some of these are cool, some of them I created and then just went to the next frame...the end!

Orbiter, AWAY!!!

2010-10-02T19:39:00.000-07:00

Here's a concept for the orbit shuttle that the carrier would bring up above the Earth's atmosphere. I may do a couple more ship concepts (this is slightly polished for being concepts) and then take one and 3D modelize it all the way. The black silhouette has some extra thrusters under the wings, those will blow off so in the rendering I didn't add them!

Carrier has arrived.

2010-09-27T20:41:00.000-07:00

Carrier on a string! This is one of the concepts for an orbital carrier which houses the actual orbiter, or deep space faring vehicle. The hollowed out center of the ship fits into the fuel tank which is released when the carrier is above the Earths atmosphere. The carrier uses a thermal protective system (black stuff) to protect it from burning up on re-entry. Below is the concept, 3D model used for paint over and the finished (above).

Thesis proposal opening page

2010-09-22T17:21:00.000-07:00

It'll take forever to explain... but I guarantee to provide coolness this year. All the way.

Augmented Reality!

2010-09-22T17:15:00.001-07:00

Here are concepts for different augmented reality products. I chose one of them and made a full rendering. Probably the screen wouldn't be lightning powered with a pink screen, but I gotta put some jazz into transparent glass. Bam!

If you don't know what augmented reality is, then what are you waiting for?! Get on youtube, type it in and feast your eyes on the future of advertising, education, and entertainment.

Ancient artifact

2010-09-13T13:26:00.000-07:00

Been working on this for a couple days. Created as an idea for one of my thesis project pieces, or a warm up for what I want to explore this year.

Canyons of the Spirit

2010-09-02T09:10:00.000-07:00

Above is the final version of this painting. For the entire time, I worked with the painting flipped in the opposite direction (below) but I felt like there is more energy and movement with the above image. I was thinking of swapping out the "energy beams" for something less abstract like a creature or some travelers. Either way, I feel it tells an interesting and small story. Please critique, would love any feedback. The process is shown below, and it's best read from the bottom up! Thanks for stopping by!

I felt the composition was pretty good, so I began detailing some of the rocks and adding texture to the light emitted from the geyser pools. I was hoping the texture would make the area feel like there was something in the air.

Refining the composition, and adding a "ceiling" so that light would reflect up top and it would break the blackness in the sky.

Began the painting with some basic shapes and an idea. I wanted to paint a cavern but have the focal point filled with light at the end of the cave. Usually its the other way around, so having these pools or geysers of light allowed me to pull off the effect.

Finished environment

2010-08-27T11:15:00.000-07:00

Worked on this here and there over the summer time. Took I dunno..two days in total? Practicing lots of things within the painting, lots of things I'd really like to fix but it feels finished for now.

Enginees

2010-07-26T19:09:00.000-07:00

Silhouette made in Alchemy, 5minutes. Work in progress painting, 2 hours.

The Duchess of many!

2010-07-24T13:10:00.001-07:00

Concepts using Al.Chemy. Fun stuff!

QuickSILVAAHHHH ZEE X

2010-04-14T15:46:00.000-07:00

Here is the final for the Quicksilver ZX!!! This is one of my last school projects... and I feel that I've done enough mechanical 3D models to understand how to model them...kinda. Now it's back to some more organic stuff, like characters and creatures and prepping for my internship at Bedlam games in the summer.

IN Progress

2010-04-13T18:56:00.000-07:00

WORK IN PROGRESS, almost finished... want to add some decals to the bike, graphic design and labeling for the suspension system - and its looking kinda...3D modellish - so I may resolve that if I have time. As you can seeeee, the concepts was originally for some sort of hover bike, but I didn't want to do a phantom view of an engine...(see ROBOT below for why I wouldn't want to do that!!!) So I decided to add some wheels which would allow me to do a suspension system. Yes they're are no brake pads, or mud flaps - no time. Plus, who the hell needs brakes when you're a bad-ass!! These are MASSIVE files, I apologize. Save them too look at them a little better :P

FINALLY!!! I couldn't stand looking at that exploded view!!!

2010-03-30T05:53:00.001-07:00

Two weeks of very hard work. I learned so much about 3DS Max and how to do high-poly modeling in this project. Very fun stuff! There is some science behind the robot. It was designed for a bio-mimicry assignment where we took an attribute from nature and applied it to a product. This Venusian Crawler was made for planetary exploration and can withstand densely pressured atmospheres. This technology is based off of many ocean creatures that use swim bladders to deal with the deep pressures of the ocean! Maybe one day I will rig and animate this lil' guy... but probably not! Onto better things! Thanks for stopping by!!!

Smoke alarm sandwich!

2010-01-30T18:32:00.000-08:00

So this is an explosive view of great magnitude!!! Actually I'm not a big fan of doing exploded views - AT ALL. NEVER AGAIN!!! But at least it looks cool, enjoy.

For Him and Her!

2010-01-27T19:15:00.000-08:00

Color tests GALORE! Well, I guess galore would imply more than two...... :(
These were brought into Photoshop and blasted with some colors before actually UV mapping the creature and posing it in Maya! Hopefully will have it done by Friday!

Insecta-creature!!! (test renders)

2010-01-18T19:31:00.000-08:00

Here's a model I did in zBrush, took about 8 hours to sculpt. Next step is to UV and Normal map it, and give the model a pose and some better lighting!!

Electro-shaman, please make me some ramen!

2010-01-01T10:34:00.000-08:00

This is a shaman who lost his right arm and decided to attach a cool holographic projector to his shoulder! So now he can project all sorts of neat things, like a new arm or a machine gun - or if he is hungry - a frying pan!

Chinese temple

2010-01-01T07:44:00.000-08:00

This is a model based on a series of Chinese temples and shrines I saw a couple years back when I hit China with my Dad. The building was done in 3DS Max and the lion statues were sculpted in Zbrush.

The Lungs of the Earth

2010-01-01T07:32:00.000-08:00

Editorial piece for Scientific class, the theme was photosynthesis!

Lizardly Insect!

2009-12-29T09:23:00.000-08:00

Runs around on all six legs, looking for herbs and walnuts to eat! This beast uses its wings to hop from rocky ledges and plateaus. It picks up speed and momentum by running and then takes off for a brief flight. How wonderous!!!

Final and more accurate version

2009-11-25T05:41:00.000-08:00

Final version of the sclerenchyma cell. Same deal and style of painting as the first one but different form.

The Final Frontier!

2009-11-20T05:37:00.000-08:00

Here's a couple of renders of the scene I've been working on for class. It was a five week project, didn't take too long to do - but I learned a ton about 3DS Max when doing this. Enjoy!

Render test

2009-11-11T21:00:00.000-08:00

A quick screenshot of progress on my interior project. The image is kinda small, when it's finished with textures and color I'll post some slicker images. Simply testing out different lights. COOL!

SCLEERENNCHYMMMMAAAAAAA!!!!!!

2009-11-08T16:44:00.000-08:00

Here is a quick painting of a water lily cell, just playing around with different Photoshop techniques. What fun! The end cell will be much more refined, and probably more accurately depicted.

Creature time!

2009-11-08T07:25:00.000-08:00

Creature feature! Took a couple hours to sculpt, another fun one to paint later.

Another turntable!!!

2009-10-30T22:14:00.000-07:00

Here's a quick texture test I did with an alien head. I was playing around with rock, or leathered and layered skin - and it came out quite successfully. I hope to ( depending on time) normal map this model and render it in 3DS Max. NEAT!

CONCEPTS!!!

2009-10-26T08:59:00.000-07:00

Big project for class, create an interior 3D model. Our awesome professor is allowing us to create our own blueprints and concepts to bring a room to life. Here are some planning sketches for this recon/relay station on an icy and desolate planet!!! Lots of pipes, vents, computer terminals and futuristic gadgetry will be in the scene. Sounds like fun to me!

From Da Fuu-tchaaaa!!!

2009-10-25T22:30:00.000-07:00

So here is a render test of a a prop for a interior 3d model I'm putting together for a school project. It's a power supply box, with a light up hovering display. Work in progress, lots more gizmos to add and different materials to assign to different parts of the generator. Been working in 3DS Max for a week now, and it's a tight little program. Thanks for checking in!

Shapes!

2009-10-09T07:32:00.000-07:00

Here are some leaves! COOL. There are many other shape types to leaves, but this is a handful of some of the ones I like.

The long and arduous journey of 3D modeling!

2009-10-04T10:12:00.000-07:00

Here's a render of a prehistoric sea creature I have been working on. Sculpted in Zbrush, UV mapped in Blender, rigged and rendered in Maya using Mental Ray. Currently putting this character into animation.

2009-09-27T14:31:00.000-07:00

This is a plant! Google image paper, and Illustrator.

Rendered Centaur all Nice and Shiny!

2009-08-24T07:27:00.000-07:00

Real renders! COOL! This was my first time doing a nice render in Maya, and it looks like it came out nicely. Still learning about lighting and all the insane features in Maya, so hopefully I will continue to improve my renders in the future!

DJ! Turn me into the third dimension!

2009-08-18T22:20:00.000-07:00

These are three models which I created this week! A centaur, a scary sharkasaurus and a pretty lady! The female model will be clothed with armor or costumes or something neat soon! I'll post some renders in due time.

Michael and the Egret

2009-08-05T20:22:00.000-07:00

So there was a day when I felt really happy, and this is what it looked like.

Cha-BANG!

2009-07-14T10:01:00.000-07:00

Here's a gruff lookin' dude!

Colorful things!

2009-07-02T18:55:00.001-07:00

I was thinking of doing a series of animals - we shall see if this happens...
Rendered in Painter X.

Our hero encounters a large desert frog! Rough concept!

Year 2: Buildings and Sketches

2009-04-29T23:22:00.000-07:00

Shown above are a few vernacular building concepts, everday structures such as hotdog stands, ticket booths etc. I decided to create a greenhouse. The process was designed into a brochure for the Extrudex product used to create the building.

Below are some quick studies of dinosaur skulls and a sketch done at the UofT cadaiver (spelling?) archive deep the belly of their medical labs.

Some graphic design. This one turned out alright.

Year 2: Bugs and Monsters

2009-04-29T20:17:00.000-07:00

Here is an assortment of sketches and digital paintings. The first few are insects, the japanese beetle and the bumble bee. Below are a few creature concepts I was playing around. I love monsters, I could create them forever :P

Monsters, yay! I was playing around with a few creature variations, but I wanted something lizard/fish-like. I have a ton more monsters sketches but these were my favorite.

2009-03-11T22:53:00.000-07:00

This is an illustration I did as a comparitive study showing different flight patterns of birds. I'll post the animation up which better represents the flight of both the kestrel and the flamingo.

3D Models in Zbrush!

2009-03-11T22:49:00.000-07:00

Asteroid mining town!

2008-10-27T08:00:00.000-07:00

Here's a quick layout sketch for our upcoming comic. All freehand, and all orange.

BUBBLE SHOT OKAY!

2008-10-10T14:27:00.000-07:00

Wow, this looks AWESOME! But it's completely wrong. For some reason when I upload .jpegs the colors are adjusted negatively - but this colorful accident I'll post because it's kinda wicked. I'll post the actual version once I figure out the noobish mistake I made when posting.

EDIT: Saved the file accurately and so the top image (the blue one) is the actual image. This is my first 3D model, created in Illustrator and then brought into Painter and Photoshop for editing.

Technical Illustration just started. Second year, and it's amazing. More school work to come, alot of variety ranging from animal anatomy to orthographic and isometric casters. Fun!

Delayed Life Drawing

2008-08-15T22:06:00.000-07:00

Pose times respectively:

2o minutes
1 minute
10 minutes
1 minute
2 minutes

Some of these I chose because I like the energy of the drawing, rather than the technical prowess *cough cough* such as the drawing with no legs... nice gesture though! I wanted to put these up before the new semester begins, so I can compare what I did last semester to the improvements I will make this semester. Everyone come out to extra-life this year! It's great practice and the best learning experience for observation and drawing.

Diesel and Daphne

2008-08-15T21:23:00.000-07:00

These are some quick sketches which are then converted into quick paintings. I found an awesome new brush that simulates an excellent oily marker effect, which yields a strict linear brush stroke. As well, playing around with some perspective stuff with the girl. I hope to post a broader range of my process, rather than two steps of sketch and finished product. I will be a tutor this year for any of the digital classes, and possibly life drawing (if I have the time). So feel free to e-mail me if you want me as a tutor, and make sure to request me through the Sheridan Career Centre.

Yay, something else to look at!

2008-07-05T07:41:00.000-07:00

Okay, so here's a "comic" book cover I finished up for a story called...The Shepherds..dun dun dun!!! It involves a young girl and her dog who are obligated to be their families shepherds, and watch over - whatever things they watch over in space...dun dun dun!!!

Here's some cool facts/factoids! Shepherds are usually the last siblings of the family, because the elder siblings either received inheritance, got married or are just waaay cooler then the youngest runt in the lot. Because of this, the last born becomes the families shepherd and wanders alone, watching over the herd. When alone and with nature at all times, a shepherd becomes pure and untainted by society which is why shepherds have such an iconic background within many religions. There's an awesome Dutch painting (I wish I had a link, I'll get one) depicting a shepherd who is barefoot and in the tall grass and dirt, yet her feet are clean. An excellent visual of this magnificent character.

So - these shepherds (the girl in space and her dog with an engine attached to his back) are set up in space...and they don't herd sheep....dun dun dun!!! And why does her dog need an engine anyways?! We will just have to wait and see....

Thanks for stopping by!

Maybe this is better?

2008-05-27T21:30:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted in a billion years, but we DID get a comic finished and printed....

2008-04-22T20:54:00.000-07:00

HERE!!! He's happy, but he is not complete!!!

Check our comic out at www.uvcomics.blogspot.com. It's what I've been working on with my friend Sagan, for like the past 7 months and why I haven't posted in ages. THE END! Here's a silly creature.

Perspective is awesome!

2008-02-15T21:27:00.001-08:00

So here's a "movie poster" I'm working on for Cleopatra. Cool times! I was playing around with an environment, taking some creative liberties with Egyptian architecture and then later on rendering it and adding Cleopatra into the scene. She's lit completely different because I created her seperately, so when it's all done the lighting should unify the image. Take a good look at my sexy line quality, because the environment and perspective is all free-hand. Rulers and T-squares are for the weak!

Final Portfolio: First Semester

2008-01-03T16:45:00.000-08:00

Here are some pieces from my portfolio within December 2007. These are good examples of my first attempt at rendering using the crazy "smudging" techniques. It's all new and cool to me, and it's quite an effective method to get a rendered drawing down in 10-20 minutes. This last one, or the one closest to this paragraph - is the last drawing I did on the last week of school - therefore it is technically my greatest drawing with all of my skill and experience combined. Of course...this is only the beginning, and I have so much to learn and so much to struggle with.

It was all fun and games...

2007-12-09T22:15:00.001-08:00

...until all the pictures I took were much too blurry. Gah! So, I won't have any pieces from my current life drawing portfolio except for this one, right here.

For this portfolio we are required to have many rendered or "shaded" figures. I don't like rendering, because I was never good at it, and I always stuck to my straight-ass lines. But, my roommate (4th animator, awesome) showed me some elite tips on how to attack the drawing. Unfortunately none of those examples are here, so you will just have to look at this drawing for a prolonged period of time to make up for all the other images that didn't make it. Enjoy!

(If anyone is curious - I will get the portfolio up later, but I need to hand it in this week, so possibly within the next two weeks I will have the drawings up. Oh, and this was a 10 minute pose, cha ch-cha!)

Tezcatlipoca

2007-12-09T22:01:00.001-08:00

Ah! I'm quite excited about this image. This is officially my second finished digital painting. The first, being Quetzalcoatl and the second now being his "evil" brother Tezcatlipoca. Cool! It's like it was meant to be! Here's the low down on Tez. First of all, he isn't all that evil. He just has a bad rep for being the god of smoke and mirrors, and trying to deceive humans into doing something nasty. The reason why he tempts and tricks humans, is to test their will and their heart (sorry, that's quite cliche). In Aztec mythology there is a ton of dualism, and so Tez and Quetz are twin brothers who work together, but are quite opposite in personality and philosophy.

Technical goodies about this piece. It was done mostly in Photoshop with a bunch of textures and rendering, but the cool stuff was done in Painter X such as the smoke billowing from his body, the background, and the smoke from his face/skull.

B-B-Bones?!

2007-11-26T20:09:00.001-08:00

20 Minute full skeleton

5 Minute skeletal gesture

Here are some skeletal studies which I used for my previous anatomy portfolio in October. Knowing about the skeleton is great for studying how the body moves and what's behind all the fat and muscle on our bodies. I also love animal anatomy (although I'm still very new to it), so I'll post some animal gestures up sometime as well.

These were all done with conte and a pinch of pure graphite pencil (6B) to tighten up some of the lines.

He doesn't even need shoes!

2007-11-25T19:13:00.001-08:00

Here's a quick and simple example of a well inked drawing converted into a vectorized image. Sexiness! The cleaner the lines in the original drawing, the cleaner the digital copy will be. And my lines, are damn clean. Remember, if there is any talent that I may ACTUALLY have, it's drawing a straight line. I can't really do anything else, I just fake all the rest of it incredibly well.

Just to explain the image real quick; this is Quetzalcoatl in human form. The large monstrosity a few posts down, is his bestial-god form. "Quetz" is the god of many things, one being wind. When he runs, geometric graffiti flares in his wake. At least that's what I see in my mind. So this is a simple test of what the graffiti may look like when Quetz runs, and how it integrates digitally. Oh, one more thing - I love fooling around with perspective, technically this may be categorized as 6-point perspective, which is the predecessor to the infamous fish-eye perspective. More examples of that to come!

Best. Hat. Ever.

2007-11-17T22:34:00.000-08:00

Gah! It's huge! Not only is this guys hat WAY too awesome, but I suppose his ego is too! I want to explain something, so get ready to read. This character is an ancient god, who existed some time before many of the Aztec and Mayan gods. There are a handful of these old gods who seem to have unsurmountable power and wear insanely large and kick-ass hats.

On a side note, my posting may slow down slightly due to the hyper project I am apart of. My friend and I have officially begun storyboarding and layout for our first graphic novel. With our ambitious abilities, we want it published soon. Very soon. Not only that, but I plan to begin creating an official site for all of the projects my accomplice and I are working on. These stories that we have created are part of something truly epic, and we will unveil the universe that we have created in due time.

Thank you, for taking the time to stop by and enjoy my progress.

The Devil has Antlers

2007-11-05T20:51:00.001-08:00

This was an image used to represent an anagram of my name and a color "Michael Kenneth Janzen Black". The anagram turned out to be "Hijack 'N' Hell-Bent Amaze 'N' Neck", and then I visualized what that awkward phrase meant. It's all painted with gouache, 100%. I used black only, and I didn't go over any mistakes with white...because I make no mistakes. Quality control at its finest...ah...I'm getting cocky, :P.