- My work always starts out with a crappy sketch (above) Just to get an idea of what I want to put in the image.

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- With this piece, I flipped the image and worked out the pose a bit more until I liked it.

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- Then its on with the pencil drawing. I work with an irregular shaped brush on a normal setting with opacity at 100%. The brush works with the pressure sensitivity on my tablet so I can get dark and light without having to adjust anything. (the fact that I don’t know how to “talk” photoshop is showing…) I keep my sketch layer on a lower opacity than the final pencil layer so I can see my sketch while I’m drawing.

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- Now its time to add in some color. I’ve set my pencil layer to multiply (for now) and I have created layers for color – one for the rocks, one for BattleCat’s fur, and one for his armor. I like to use as few layers as possible when I work but in this case I needed to be able to edit the fur and armor separately. I’m adding in some modeling but not too much – just enough to get an idea of where I want my light-source to be.

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- If I were painting this traditionally I would have layed in the background first. However, with the magic of “layers” I can add in a background after I’ve painted most of BattleCat. For the background I used my “go-to” brush as well as a soft edges brush to make the clouds look softened here and there.

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-I’ve added in BattleCat’s stripes as well as add in some more shadows to his fur. I’ve done this on a layer above the fur but underneath the armor so I don’t have to worry about erasing too much.

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- Adding in some more shadows – this time to the armor.

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- Now I’m starting to add in some darker shadows over everything I’ve painted so far. These shadows are on their own layer and are a deep purple – as opposed to the darker greens and reds I was using for the armor and fur. I’ve also added in some whiskers at this point.

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- Highlights come in at this point as well as some cool reflective light to counteract the warmth in the piece. The highlights on BattleCat are a warmer, gold tone. While I’m painting all of this I will go back and forth in-between steps. I don’t paint the image completely step by step like this but this will give you an idea of how it all come together more easily.

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- Now I’m adding in some “ultra highlights”. Almost stark-white to give BattleCat some pop in his darker areas. I’ve also pushed back some of his limbs and his tail using a bit of atmosphere. This helps in giving the image a bit of depth.

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- Finally I’ve warmed up the piece by adding in a layer of gold tones on multiply. I set it to around 20% opacity. I’ve also added in some flecks of golds, reds and whites to the background along with some flags and things of the sort – keeping those on a lower opacity as well to keep them pushed back. At the end of the painting I’ll switch my pencil layer from “Multiply” to “Ghost”. “Ghost” is a filter by flaming pear that turns a line transparent. What I like about it is, that the line will become a darker version of whatever color is underneath it. The change is very slight, however if you scan in pencil drawings it will really come in handy. You can find that filter: Here. (It’s the download at the top titled: “Free Plugins”.

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All of the fur and texture on the saddle is created by my brush traveling back and froth on the wacom. I don’t use fur brushes or imported textures. This isn’t to say that they won’t save you lots of time and can’t look great – I just don’t know enough about them to use them confidently and I enjoy painting like I would be drawing in marker. Its just a preference for my personal work. For this image I used these brushes:

which you can download : Here. (That last brush, by the way, is my “go to” brush. I like the bristles and the slight texture it creates.

I also created a color palette to help with keeping the basic colors consistent. I don’t normally do this but it helps with something like this where color has to remain very vivid.

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Anyway, if you still have questions, you can contact me via the contact page or comment on this post.

Thanks for reading!

I should also add that BattleCat is © Mattel

]]> http://www.fishhookstudio.com/2010/08/mean-kitty/feed/ 7 http://www.fishhookstudio.com/2010/08/battlecat/ http://www.fishhookstudio.com/2010/08/battlecat/#comments Tue, 17 Aug 2010 06:29:10 +0000 Brynn Metheney http://www.fishhookstudio.com/?p=892 Continue reading →]]>

battlecat

Here is a work in progress of my take on Battlecat for CGHUB’s Creature Planets current challenge.

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This was for a prior challenge for a prompt called “WarBeast”. This was as far as I got on the concept and then I had to drop it. I like the drawing though.

“While most think genetic engineering didn’t get it’s start until the early 1970′s, the science’s beginning can be traced back to World War 2 with the introduction of the Q.E.D. -Quadrupedal Explosive Device (Pronounced “Ked”) Created by The Allies, the animal was a chimera of sorts, bred to chase flairs into battle with explosives attached to their bodies. They were bred without ears to keep the animal from being startled on it’s course. Because of it’s origination in the lab, the Q.E.D. was not considered an animal, but rather a tool of war and was used until they were outlawed and destroyed after the war. With the emergence of the animal rights movement, it was in fact, found to have animal-like qualities. Some argue the Q.E.D. played a pivotal role in defeating the Nazis, however it is still considered to be one of the best examples of how horrific war can become.”

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This was done for Creature Planet’s Dead Flat-Footed Drizzler Topic over on CGHUB. This particular entry was late due to a very complicated day I had yesterday.No matter though, here is the final…

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Some monster fun. Trying to round out my portfolio a bit. I’d like to have three samples of the types of work I do and can do. Anyway, hopefully more of these guys to come. I do have other more pressing projects I need to be working on but these are fun to draw!

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Finished up the Pygmy Esorifleu for CGHUB’s creature planets. These were lots of fun to do. I’m currently working on the next species for topic # 15 – Viscinian Scavenger. These are just some rough sketches of the overall form that I want the organism to have – following the guidelines provided in the prompt.

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This forum activity has been really good for me. It a lot of fun to help run but its also pushing me to try new things with creature design and even graphics. I’ve been producing the banners for the activity with direction from Shane Watson – CGHUB’s community director.

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In case you’re wondering, I did not paint the actual planet. I use Flaming Pear’s “LunarCell” to produce it. Creating a banner along with stats and a creature for the activity each week can be a lot fo work and so any shortcuts are vital to get things done on time. I did, however, paint the galaxy and produced all of the other graphics on the banners (except for the little icons on the top banner, those are winning entries) Anyway, This has been loads of fun for me and my partner in crime (co-runner of creature planets) - Ogi Grujic. As the activity progresses, I’d like to re-work the layouts of the planet banners and such but for now these seem to be working ok.

Like I mentioned in my post before, I’m wanting to share things that inspire me, things I find funny, and things that I think others should watch. This was a short that brought tears to my eyes. I love how animation is able to span gaps and make you care about lumps of dirt on the moon. Enjoy…

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Something I’m working on for Creature Planets – the weekly activity I help run over on CGHUB.

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Sketchie fun…

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Lots of projects coming up and lots of updates. These characters are from a private project I’m currently working on. Lots of fun! I love drawing dinosaurs way too much! I’ll show more later as the project progresses and opens up more. I’ll also be posting some work from a book collaboration I’m working on with Opal Palmer Adisa. I’m honored and very excited to work with this author on one of her personal book projects. I can’t wait to get started!

Some other great new is that I will start co-running the Creature Planets over on CGhub.com. My partner in crime is the incredibly talented Mr. Ogi Grujic. We will be working as a team to come up with topics for the community to participate in and lead in critiques and discussion about works being produced for the topics.. I’m very excited and honored to be a leader of this community challenge. I’m able to work with so many talented artists! Hopefully Ogi and I can help carry on what Mike Corriero had started – its a very high bar!

Anyway, I’m off to finish my evening with a bit of reading. I’ve added my good reads widget so you can check out some of the books I’m into.

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Some random sketches…

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…and then it got out.

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Some shots on progress of two pieces I’m working in-between right now. One is a mock Conan cover, the other is a mutant animal. both will be done by this weekend…

On a side note – R.I.P. Dio – this is the month is for the passing of gods…

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Sort of at a loss tonight. I’ve been experimenting with painting environments with no luck so far. So to take a break from doing that I painted some quick alien-ish heads to serve as avatars for this blog. I’m hoping to have some more work up soon. I might do more fun things like this for a bit. I’m needing a bit of a break to get some things figured out. I have a trip coming up soon so that should be good separation from my work right now. I’ve been feeling somewhat dry. Anyway, I elaborated one bust a bit for fun…

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]]> http://www.fishhookstudio.com/2010/05/days-go-by/feed/ 0 http://www.fishhookstudio.com/2010/04/haggis/ http://www.fishhookstudio.com/2010/04/haggis/#comments Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:13:31 +0000 Brynn Metheney http://www.fishhookstudio.com/?p=627 Continue reading →]]>

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Haggis are omnivorous mammals that roam the Scottish Highlands. They grow to the roughly the size of a small dog and are almost hairless. They live in burrows in large family groups. Haggis  spend their days searching for roots, grasses, and insects to feed on underground and have even been spotted consuming carrion. Male haggis have large, bulbous crests on top of their heads with which they use to attract females. Males also have a pair of tusks which they use in combat with other males during the breeding season.

Based off of the traditional Scottish dish for this

just for fun

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Some sketches and quick finishes from a few weeks prior. I’ve just returned from vacation and am getting back into the swing of things…

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Character study for the day – more to come. This particular character was part of a project me and a some friends had going a few years ago.

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This was for CG hub Creature Challenge – “Dazzling Prancer”. I included a small run-cycle so the creature could be seen from a side view as well.

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Then I got distracted and tried to animate it. I’s not complete (you can see how rough it is and its stops half way through) but I thought it was fun.

prance cycle animation

More work coming soon in the human category…

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Just a quick post of my progress…

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This beastie here was done for ConceptArt.org’s C.O.W. – something I don’t usually get to participate in but I found some extra time to work her out.

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This one is for another CGhub Creature Challenge - The Dazzling Prancer. I’m really enjoying drawing these guys and might keep them around for some personal projects.

Meanwhile Im currently working on getting some private commissions done – a tattoo design and a brachiolope. I’m doing both in pencil and I’ll be posting work for both in the coming days.

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Character study for the day….

So here is the final for my re-take on Snarf. This was done for CG hub’s Creature Planet Contest. I’ve been experimenting with starting and finishing pieces in the computer. I’m really pushing to keep my “penciled look” though all of it.

I’ll also be exploring some prehistoric work for a bit. I started with the Raptor and dropped the subject but am interested to pick it back up again.

Here is a sketch for a saber toothed tiger. Also coming soon in the prehistoric section: a brachiolope. – for some friends.

Snarf is © to Warner Bros.

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I like them all lined up…

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So after talking to a friend of mine (who happens to be a Thundercats fan) I decided to take another shot at Snarf. This time, trying to really capture what snarf is. Anyway this is the sketch and I;ll be moving to final from here. You can view other takes on snarf on CG Hub’s Creature Planet Challenge.

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I need to get away from neck frills…

sketch for today.

EDIT**

I might do a small series of profiles…this has been fun

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]]> http://www.fishhookstudio.com/2010/02/mermaid/feed/ 4 http://www.fishhookstudio.com/2010/02/pit/ http://www.fishhookstudio.com/2010/02/pit/#comments Thu, 18 Feb 2010 20:27:28 +0000 Brynn Metheney http://www.fishhookstudio.com/?p=505

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Sketch for the day…

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Small sketchie that I really enjoyed doing. I don’t paint in the computer much but I’m slowly taking to it.

Here is a work in progress for CGhub’s Creature Planet contest:

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Its a redesign for Snarf from Thundercats. I’m not really into fan art but I couldn’t resist! Anyway, we’re making head-way on the Morae River’s new webpage so that should be up soon. Expect new work on brynnart.com

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A new piece in the works. I’ll be posting the final to this soon. I’m trying out the process of designing a culture around this particular character.

In other news I’m currently working on the Morae River’s website. Its turning out to be a huge website with lost of different menus and pages for each species. It’s taking a lot longer than I anticipated but I think once its finished it will really showcase the work quite well.

Off to the studio to draw for a bit…

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Assassin Devil for ArtOrder

Assassin Devils are © Wizards of the Coast

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did this for a friend…

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An old sketch I found on my computer. I thought I’d color it to get warmed up for today…