Artblog by Gillian Renk

“So Busy Doing Nothing”, original character,...

Mon, 11 Feb 2013 23:07:30 -0600

“So Busy Doing Nothing”, original character, Photoshop CS5, completion time: ~ 5 hours

I squeezed in a painting in between some commission work. I wanted to practice some lighting and work with a new brush I just downloaded, so this was pretty good practice.

I wanted to do something a little more ambitious, but I couldn’t think of anything that didn’t…well, suck. So I’ll figure something out and work on that later. For now, this was a good exercise in style and rendering and all that fancy jazz. This felt much more like…me? I still see some problems, as usual, but I feel good about this one.

“Piltover’s Finest”, characters from “League of...

Fri, 08 Feb 2013 22:30:18 -0600

“Piltover’s Finest”, characters from “League of Legends”, Photoshop CS5, completion time: ~ 20 hours

Oof, this was a doozy. My entry for Riot’s Preseason Three Digi-Art Throwdown Contest for League of Legends! That is sort of a mouthful.

20 hours of labor, and even now, I still have issues with it. Still, I’m happy with what I was able to do for the contest! It was a tremendously good exercise in backgrounds, since I’m not used to doing non-natural backgrounds like this one. I also had to paint some seriously complicated outfits (and this is after simplifying—they’re in “training clothes” here, not their full in-game gear)—not to mention Vi’s fists, which were a gigantic pain.

All in all, I’m glad I got it done, and I hope I win, but even if I don’t, at least I got more painting practice in!

“Tamarin - Turnaround”, original character, Photoshop CS5,...

Sun, 16 Dec 2012 22:18:38 -0600

“Tamarin - Turnaround”, original character, Photoshop CS5, completion time: ~ 6 hours

Next turnaround! Tamarin’s redesign took a lot of work and debating over how I wanted it to look—I wanted to keep her general color scheme and aesthetic without it being so plain and blocky. I think this is much more interesting and true to the desert clothing I want in the actual lore, so that’s a success!

This one took a lot longer because I was much more exacting in my work on Tamarin’s base layer (for these turnarounds, I’ve been making a base just-underwear layer and then adding clothing layers on top of that so I can get a good reference for everything)—I was way pickier in how I wanted her to look and for some reason I had a harder time with her body type than I did Calen’s. Still, I’m very happy with how it came out, so I guess it was worth it!

“Calen - Turnaround”, original character, Photoshop CS5,...

Fri, 14 Dec 2012 17:37:12 -0600

“Calen - Turnaround”, original character, Photoshop CS5, completion time: ~ 4.5 hours

I decided to remake the turnarounds I posted a while back, now that I have new designs for the Cursed characters! I finished all the rough designs (I only posted the sketches for Marien and Calen), so it seemed like a good time to dig into the turnarounds. Besides, I need practice making more detailed references.

So here’s Calen! Much happier with his appearance in general this time. Plus I got back into painting (I’m so rusty!). Good things all around!

Oof! I know I haven’t posted in a while, but I’ve been really...

Wed, 28 Nov 2012 01:02:31 -0600

Oof! I know I haven’t posted in a while, but I’ve been really wrapped up with moving and dealing with computer issues. It’s led to a sort of art block, unfortunately.

I’ve been reading about character design lately, though, and I decided I wanted to take a new stab at the Cursed cast! My fiance and I are kicking it around as an actual game concept, since he’s learning programming, so I’ve had it on the mind. Plus, the more I read about good design, the more I’m unhappy with my old Cursed designs.

I know these are pretty rough sketches (I used my more finished thesis project designs for comparison), but in terms of design, I’m pretty happy with what I have right now! I’ll be working on Tamarin, Emelev, and Braniard soon.

Oof, wow, I haven’t posted anything in a while! It’s...

Wed, 31 Oct 2012 04:57:27 -0500

Oof, wow, I haven’t posted anything in a while!

It’s been a rough few weeks—months?—art-wise, so I haven’t produced a whole lot. But I did manage to get some sketches done to practice different faces and some different body types. Not radically different body types, mind you, since I was working from existing League of Legends characters, but it was still fun.

So, that said, here are some League of Legends ladies! Some of my favorites to play and some of my friends’ favorites. I apologize for the bad quality, but I had to do my color adjustments in Photobucket and…that’s not the best editor in the world.

Another update! I’m trying out value painting, and while...

Sat, 22 Sep 2012 22:56:22 -0500

Another update! I’m trying out value painting, and while I like the depth and form, I really need to cram some better colors in the shadows. They’re way too dull and grey for my taste.

I also fixed some problems with her face, head, and shoulders in terms of proportions. I’ll probably still fiddle with them in the final piece. My hastily scribbled notes have some intended changes, too.

Working on a small redesign of a character, trying out a few new...

Sat, 22 Sep 2012 07:14:14 -0500

Working on a small redesign of a character, trying out a few new techniques. For now, here is the lineart I’ll be working from! I wanted to stick with some of the design elements from her original design (which was based on Xenosaga) but reform them in a way that seemed less tied to any one fandom. I also could use some practice with more modern clothing and the like. Sci-fi is not only highly prevalent in today’s gaming industry, but it’s also my weakness! It’d be best for me to work on that.

“Buccaneer Ahri”, character from “League of...

Wed, 19 Sep 2012 22:30:02 -0500

“Buccaneer Ahri”, character from “League of Legends”, Photoshop CS5, completion time: ~15 hours

And it’s finally finished! It took quite a long time, and I made a lot of mistakes through the process, but I did learn quite a bit. I’m pretty happy with how it all came out!

And clocking in at 10 hours, here’s another WIP of pirate...

Wed, 19 Sep 2012 07:42:01 -0500

And clocking in at 10 hours, here’s another WIP of pirate Ahri! Good lord this is a lot of work, but I think it’s turning out pretty well. I’m working on the tails now, and it’s proving pretty challenging to make them look appropriately furry without also making them stand out from the rest of the painting.

A WIP of a painting I’m doing based on a design I made for...

Fri, 14 Sep 2012 22:35:04 -0500

A WIP of a painting I’m doing based on a design I made for Ahri (of League of Legends fame)! I’m nowhere NEAR finished, but I think it’s going pretty alright so far. Shiny fabric is my nemesis!

“Llaalruse the Blind”, original character set in the...

Sat, 25 Aug 2012 05:10:00 -0500

“Llaalruse the Blind”, original character set in the “Elder Scrolls” series, Photoshop CS5, completion time: ~10 hours

Wow, I have no idea on completion time, so sorry about that! I wasn’t really keeping track, I was just enjoying the process.

Finished my fullbody painting of Llaalruse. I had a lot of fun differentiating between different textures, using references, and adding little details! I haven’t gotten into real detail work in quite some time, so aside from hurting my hand by working all day, it was a really enjoyable process.

I feel like I do need to work on some character pieces, so I...

Fri, 24 Aug 2012 19:22:00 -0500

I feel like I do need to work on some character pieces, so I combined that need with my love of Elder Scrolls characters! So here’s a WIP of a Lalruse (though I think I’ll be renaming her to Llaalruse—Dunmer names are a little sillier with Ls and As) painting I’m doing.

I’m working on fixing Llaalruse’s design a little bit while I paint, too, adding in some more Ashlander-y things as I learn some more about the game (I even altered her real name, since I realized it wasn’t spot on for Ashlander-style names, and that is her heritage). I imagine she wouldn’t drop her birth culture entirely, even if she left it for civilization. Mostly I just want her to look ecclectic—silk shirt from city life, armor for adventuring, shaggy hair with wraps and beads from early Ashlander life, scarf from being farther north (you need SOMETHING when you’re in an ash storm), that sort of thing. Once I get it all finished, I think it’ll be an improvement over her simpler design from earlier.

Haha, whoops, I wish I could do this for a living. Sorry for nerding out. I do so love Morrowind.

“Among the Branches”, original character set in the...

Wed, 15 Aug 2012 20:59:00 -0500

“Among the Branches”, original character set in the “Elder Scrolls” series, Photoshop CS5, completion time: ~8.5 hours

FINALLY done with this! I had a lot of trouble with the leaves, and it wore me out for a few days. Anyway, I finally sat down and finished it today, and I’m quite happy with the finished piece.

I sharpened the final image this time, since I liked the brushy look it gave it. I’ll see if this can be applied to other pieces in the future. Haha, always changing my technique.

Someday I need to do a turnaround of Evanil’s design from the second era. I’m pretty proud of the ensemble.

Sure, why not. Here’s another WIP. About 2 hours of work...

Fri, 10 Aug 2012 22:33:06 -0500

Sure, why not. Here’s another WIP. About 2 hours of work at this point?

I lined in Evie so I could paint her more accurately later. The lines will probably disappear for the most part later on. I also messed around with the color palette, so the contrast is a little stronger.

With all the computer issues and life conflicts I’ve had...

Tue, 07 Aug 2012 19:52:52 -0500

With all the computer issues and life conflicts I’ve had lately, I haven’t been painting much! I sat down and hashed this out today in under an hour (not sure HOW much under, mind you), and I’m pretty happy with it, especially for being out of practice. I’ll see about finishing it!

hyperionwitch: FINALLY finished my Xenosaga comic, geez. What...

Mon, 30 Jul 2012 20:14:35 -0500

hyperionwitch:

FINALLY finished my Xenosaga comic, geez. What with computer shenanigans, I had to take a big chunk of time off after I finished the basic colors, then I sat down today and did effects and lettering.

I’m quite happy with it, but right now I totally don’t want to see it for a while. lol

Just reposting this onto the art blog!

$5 DOLLAR BUST COMMISSIONS!

Sun, 29 Jul 2012 01:37:53 -0500

I’m having a sale on commissions! Sorry about the lack of updates, but perhaps this will...

“Strider”, character from “Homestuck”,...

Sun, 22 Jul 2012 19:31:34 -0500

“Strider”, character from “Homestuck”, pen and paper, completion time: ~5 hours

Wow, definitely not sure on completion time because I basically just sat down and zoned out while I finished this. It probably took longer than 5 hours—you have to be way more careful with real media, haha.

I just got some new inking pens and other real media supplies, so I thought it’d be a good idea to do some nice black and white picture. I chose Bro Strider from Homestuck as my subject, and I’m quite pleased with how it came out. I’ll see how it goes if I use this technique in the future.

“Break Down”, original characters based on...

Thu, 12 Jul 2012 19:21:00 -0500

“Break Down”, original characters based on “Final Fantasy VII”, Photoshop CS5, completion time: ~9 hours

That’s an extremely loose guess on the completion time, for the record. I was not paying attention at all, mainly because I’ve been picking at this piece for days so as to not wear myself out.

Some years back, my friend and I created some FF7 fan characters and I drew a picture of them doing some kind of dual limit break. At the time I was very proud of it (though I drew it in partial ski-ramp-nosed anime style, despite not using that style prominently at the time), but looking back, it is pretty iffy! I figured now would be a good time to try to recreate it, since it had some interesting lighting and a color scheme I don’t often use.

So, I redesigned both characters and whipped up a new piece. I am quite pleased with how it came out in the end! I included some detail shots, because the faces turned out particularly well and the format of the piece is such that the details are a bit harder to see.

I’m still tinkering with style and with trying to make pieces without K values for better printing, but I think it’s going in a good direction. Thank goodness.