Project Deanster: Concept Art

This is the final bunch of images done "for class" on my project, so I can't promise I will be able to stay this consistent over the summer (since I'll have a job and be super busy). But this was a super fun project overall and I'm really glad that I put most of my time this semester into this particular project. It really helped me to improve as an artist, and it helped me to develop the story, characters, and world, for the game before even diving into the creation of the game itself. It was extremely beneficial to the progress.

I did a concept piece of what the text bubbles might look like.

This is a concept piece for how the style of in-game graphics might look like.

And this was another concept piece, mostly to capture the mood and colors of the scene.

These are some ideas for User Interfaces for the game.

And some more ideas for how the text bubbles might look.

Character studies of Deanster.

Character studies of Duncan.

Character studies of Natalie.

And some real quick enemy concepts. I still have to go in and develop these a lot more, but I really want to figure that out once more gameplay elements are solidified.

Logos, Props, and Characters!

Closing up the first major stages of concept work for Project Deanster. And we're finally trying to figure out a title for it as well. Only about a week or two left to work on concepts before the semester closes, then there will be a lot more to work on with the game over the summer.

Some props for the garbage can that Duncan falls into, and for the item that he finds within it!

Logo concept ideas for what the game might be called!

And these are some concept ideas for Stormazark Games, our studio name.

Some character studies of Hunter.

Character studies of Quigley.

Character studies of Penelope.

More Deanster Concept Work!

I worked with characters, props, and magic/abilities this week.

Some concepts for Raven's special ability: Invisibility!

Concepts for the four pieces that the heroes must collect on the islands.

Some ideas for what Duncan and Natalie's diving gear might look like when they go underwater at one point.

Expression studies of Amelia.

Expression studies of Mason.

Dust is Here!

This week I worked mostly on creating a style for some of the magic, some prop ideas, and more character expressions.

Some ideas for Duncan's dust abilities.

Electricity concepts.

Natalie's white cane.

Seth expressions.

Raven expressions.

Character Expressions!

This week I focused on drawing some of my characters with different expressions, in order to feel comfortable drawing them. This is being done so that I can prepare for the final art and animations for the game.

Some sketches I did of Duncan, before he receives his abilities.

Various expressions and poses for Ava.

Mostly expression studies of Liam.

Owen's fishing rod, which reaches all the way to the bottom of the mountain.

Concept for Duncan's garbage truck.

Finalized Natalie?

I may have come up with a final design for Natalie, but I'm not 100% sure. Her design miight still change, but this is definitely the closest to final I have come, thus far.

The main thing I would change are her colors probably, but the rest feels pretty solid.

And these were some sketches that led up to that.

And I also did a few expression studies of Owen.

Motivation!

I finally found my motivation that was lost the first half of spring break. I think drawing in my sketchbook might've helped bring it back. Also: drawing my characters in a style I am comfortable with.

It's been awhile since I've drawn this character... and it's been almost a week since I drew my characters digitally in my usual style.

A little rainforest study done with the lasso tool.

Sketches of some of my characters.

Quicklings

I spent a lot of yesterday updating some of my sites and my resume. So I wasn't able to start doing any art until later in the night. I think I was having some difficulties focusing for the end of the night, so I didn't really spend much time on these pieces, but I did a few studies.

I was trying out a more realistic/detailed style compared to what I've been doing recently. It kind of brings me back to how I used to draw a little bit, but at least I can see that I've improved since then. But anyway, this is Gostream. He looks a bit older and more mature than he is currently, so perhaps it's him a few years in the future, I'm not really sure.

Since yesterday was St Patrick's Day, I drew my character Clove holding a shamrock.

A little landscape study I did of an Abandoned Sun Temple. I wasn't particularly liking how it was coming out, so I decided to stop and move on. I only spent about 20 minutes on it.

This one was another quick study. Looking off of a mountain to the water.

Angular Style Experimentation

I started playing around with a more angular and shape-driven style these past few days. I found that it's actually a really good way for me to create environments quickly.  It also helps me to be a bit more creative with background elements.  This style helps me make decisions and limits my use of color and shapes a lot more, which is a great practice. I still prefer my usual style for drawing characters, but this was a fun little experiment and I might do some more in the future just for fun.

This is my character Ralphie. I first tried out this style after being inspired by the game, Guacamelee.

And this was a little concept idea for Project Deanster. It's of one of the islands.

Environment Time!

My plan for over (the remaining of) Spring Break is to create an environment piece at least once a day. Whether it be a study from a photograph or life, or making up my own environments. After my junior review, I was reminded that I really do focus a bit too much on characters and really need to start drawing those environments more. So I hope to improve by doing this exercise.

But in the meantime, this is what I did last week to start breaking into these environments and thinking of them in a different light:

Test environment study I did, taking elements from a few different photos and combining them into one. This is a garbage dump, for Project Deanster.

Another little study I did of an apartment complex to grab at ideas for Project Deanster.

I tried creating some silhouettes of simple environment elements: trees and islands. I also tried out things like a house and a garbage can.

Some little bridge tests.