Man, it's been a while since I've made a blog post! And since then, I've put up 4 portfolio pieces! While I am happy and proud of my work, it's important to press forward and just keep going - and continue learning new things!
I've been working on a new Planetary and Sub-Orbital Patrol-Fighter ship!! This thing is a beast. It has two engines; one traditional jet engine and one experimental outer-atmosphere engine, capable of propelling the ship 10.5 miles per second - that's 37,800 miles per hour!
The final images for this ship are not ready to show. However I will show some of its ordinance for taking out tangos in-atmosphere. I can't wait to reveal the whole thing!
-Alex Jamerson
To Show W.I.P. - Was The Answer
So I guess I decided since my last blog post, "To Show W.I.P.," is the answer to the question! I'm currently working on two projects. An environment and a portrait/bust of a character. Heres a work in progress render of the character I'm working on.
For the first time, I'm using Modo's Sub-Surface Scattering (SSS) material. I've never used it before, but I'm very familiar with SSS in other programs and game engines, so it was a simple transition.
But I'm currently having an issue with Modo's hair/fur material. I'm trying to manually control the hair with curves, or as Modo likes to call them, 'Guides.'
As soon as I check the setting for the hair to reference the Guides for their location and shape, it disappears from the render. Not sure why this issue is popping up, but I'm working on that one.
But the character's base mesh was modeled in Modo, sculpted in ZBrush, and textured in ZBrush and Modo and Photoshop. The eyes were modeled in Modo, hand-painted in Photoshop, and the material is SSS with a transparent reflective layer of geo on top of the eye color and white geo.
First Blog Post - to Show W.I.P. Or Not to Show?
Hi all!
I'm still undecided about whether or not a "Work in Progress" blog is a good thing to have on portfolio website. After all, the discussion goes on about when to show artwork to your client. What part of the creation process is far along enough that clients will be impressed with your skill, or at the very least, won't think that you have less skill than a W.I.P. piece might make it appear to them?
After all, most clients and hiring recruiters aren't artists. Obviously, this statement isn't meant to belittle them. Trained artists have an ability to spot potentially good artwork at its foundation. Through good composition, early lighting setups, topology, anatomical accuracy - trained artists are able to recognize a potentially good art piece before it looks even notable to most people.
The thing is, most people are usually the ones doing the hiring. This isn't so much a problem as it is just something to be aware of. You have to cater your portfolio to who is looking at it, because it has to impress them before it gets to well versed artists.
So, will I post work in progress artwork as I create it? Maybe not. However, I may write a making of blog piece while I create my new portfolio pieces - then post it here once I'm finished.