Some trad sketches

While digital is always convenient there is always something cathartic about getting back into pen and paper drawing. The process of committing to lines without the benefit of CTRL-Z and flowing off happy accidents has a certain joy to it.

Small spontaneous sketches

LV426ey structures are a staple in my sketchbook

The tools of the trade; Pen, Paper and Music~

Pimping a Bro

Down here in Malaysia there is something of a shortage of folk who understand what concept art is.

Concept art distinguishes itself from illustration from the simple fact that you aren't just drawing a pretty image to realism or getting stuck in on rendering details but participating in that uncomfortable white space known as design.

Design is a holistic practice where one thinks about the whole and the minutia all at once. It's about being outside your comfort zone in the distressing space of "I don't know, but I can make it work." and being skillful enough to manipulate a lot and very little. It also takes practice; getting down with the fundamentals of working from scratch, being comfortable of letting others see and criticize your work and not being afraid to walk away from the many many ideas you will be churning out.

You need to know how to fail often and in the right direction.

Perhaps it's due to the way students are educated here but very few Malaysian artists have that mindset. There seems to be a emphasis on getting things right first time and a hesitance to commit to exploring ideas that might fail. There is a certain level of courage you need in order to be a good concept artist.

Warhammer 40K - The Tyranid Outcast by ~RanDize on deviantART

Randy is one of those rare exceptions of a guy who worked with us for a while who knows what it is to be uncomfortable. Not just talented but also diligent and most importantly gutsy with those artistic explorations. His meticulous research into this artistic field is indicative of the hunger one needs to master their craft.

Kayla 01 by ~RanDize on deviantART

Get ye over to his site and his DeviantArt account to have a proper gander of his wares. Also, offer this man some work!

Peace!

Shipping your first title is a traumatic experience.

Some stress relief doodles.

Beginning this again.

Such is so typical when concerning blogs, you start one, forget it for ages then come back to it precisely because it never seems one has anything interesting to say or at least because one hasn't deemed a thought important enough to record.

So if a man speaks and no woman is around to hear him; is he still wrong?

It would appear that every time I have chosen to restart syndication of my thoughts, it would be because a life changing event has occurred/is occurring/will occur.

For those who do not know, I am a game designer. And the event that is about to occur is the shipping of my first title on iOS. Yey and boo in simultaneity.

Those who know me know I'm no fan of Apple. They also call me Ben. Which is relevant if you happen to be reading this and don't know me.

This blog was once dedicated to the syndication of just art but hey change is good. From here forth I will be posting about my job, climbing, art and life on a regular basis. At least that's the plan before I forget it and start again heheh.

In any case, if you're here make yourself at home, take a peek at the wares and feel free to drop me a message.

Love & Peace~!

Morning warmup

Practice practice practice.

Assassin

Speedie time!

Through the Fire and the Flames we carry on!

Come July 1st, an ambition I set out to achieve 9 years ago will finally come of age. When I was 17, I decided that I wanted to make games for a living. And now after close to a decade of working really hard and coming really close to giving up many times I'm going to move into my first gig in the games industry.

To everybody who kept believing in me during the times I didn't; thank you. It really meant a lot to me.

To everybody who'se still out there working on getting their foot in the door; stay in the fight. Work hard and have courage.