Character Design Demo - Post Apocolyptic Mutant

This is a recording of the Apocalyptic Mutant Character Concept. The video is sped up from about 2 hours down to about 15 min, and demonstrates the entire work flow from start to finish.

Check it out and enjoy the video. 

Post Apocalyptic Mutant Character Concept

Another glorious inhabitant from the post-apocalyptic, war ravaged Earth theme.

The catastrophic, intergalactic weaponry used by the alien invaders during the war created a fallout of pollution and toxins that caused severe genetic anomalies throughout humanity in the years to come.

The character concept you see in front of you describes one of the beasts left lurking around after the invasion.

This guy was demoed during class in about two hours.

Interview With Moni Jay 2013

I was recently given the opportunity to have my first interview this week, conducted by aspiring journalist and writer Moni Jay. And here it is. Enjoy.

               

Interview with Freelance Concept Artist, Clayton Barton

1.      How did you get started as a concept artist? Share a little bit about yourself?

Concept art was something I fell into because I liked to draw. I figured if I want to draw and I want to paint I could get into illustration for books and games. Originally I wanted to do art for comic books, but the demand for artists in the comic industry has declined in the last few years, so instead I worked hard on improving my skills and concentrated on my own artwork.

2.      What are the challenges that an artist would normally face when starting a freelance career, and how did you overcome them?

When starting out, there are a lot of freelance artists who may become discouraged, generally because they don’t know what to expect. A lot of freelance artists will often do work for companies literally for nothing for the opportunity of getting their name and artwork out there. But after a while you’ll say to yourself, ‘hey I should be getting paid for the effort I put into this project, even if the project is never released.’ So eventually I started writing my own contracts, which is something a lot of professional freelance artists do.

3.      There is a lot of advice on concept art forums about what a successful portfolio looks like. What would be an ideal portfolio if you were in a position to review someone else’s work?

Your portfolio shows off your skill and shows that you can work with a variety of styles. A client may ask for something more stylized or they may want something more simplified, or maybe even something more realistic depending on the project. The artist has to be prepared for anything, especially a freelance artist because they have to get work wherever they can and on many different projects in different industries.

4.      The life of an aspiring artist is a relentless learning process. Artists inspire each other all the time on online communities such as Deviant Art and concept.org. Outside of online sites, where else would a young artist be looking for inspiration?

There are a lot of art courses and tutors that can teach and inspire young artists. But my best suggestion would be Gaming conventions, or any kind of art convention, whether its Comicon or BlizzCon, and there are often open seminars that are held where an aspiring artist can learn and be inspired by other artists. Conventions are a good source of information and networking in the industry.

5.      Now with huge blockbuster games in production what is the competition like in the concept art industry at the moment?

There is always competition in any industry. There are big-name artists out there with excellent skill who constantly get work. If your new to industry it can sometimes be hard for you to break through, but at the same time there are smaller companies who provide opportunities for young freelance artists.

6.      The concept art industry is forever changing. How important is the concept artist’s role in the future?

A concept artist’s artwork often determines the overall design and look of a game, a movie or a character. They can determine the environment, and how the characters look in that environment. As the artist you are creating an entire world from your imagination.

7.      How would you see 3D art evolving in the next five to ten years?

Artists will always be needed in the industry, but that doesn’t mean the methods and the tools in which they use won’t change. Programs like ZBrush, 3DSMax and other programs that produce digital media provide new methods of design, and are becoming more popular and more effective in the industry.

8.      You have been a freelance concept artist for a few years now. What was it that made you decide to be a teacher, and how would you manage both.

What I like about teaching is I see how my knowledge can help other people. When I acquired a certain skill, naturally I wanted to share my knowledge with aspiring artists, so when I was offered the opportunity I immediately took it. They work hand-in-hand and I will often draw and paint in my classes and students would learn from the outcome of the artwork, so it was easy for me to balance art and tutoring.

9.      On November 13, 2012, THQ reported that they had defaulted on a $50 million loan from Wells Fargo. One month after the company filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy, all THQ's properties were auctioned off individually. It was estimated that over 1.09 thousand employees subsequently lost their jobs. How hard will it be now for artists to get a job when up against so many professionals all vying for work in the same industry?

Many employees would have possibly gone into teaching and tutoring, some may have acquired work in other companies. An optimistic way of looking at that situation is a large company can break down into many smaller companies, and this actually provides more jobs and opportunities for artists wanting to get experience in the industry.

10.  After working on projects such as the iphone game ‘Speed Blazers’ and a full 3-D simulation game for Occupational Health and Safety in the workplace, what does the future hold for you?

After working on various projects, I would see them all as a beginning of something larger. I look at all projects as a learning experience to prepare me for the future. The Occupational Health and Safety game was one of the first projects I worked on with a team of other artists. I met challenges I had to overcome, such as working to a schedule and working in a team environment. Speed Blazers was the first iphone game I worked on, and during its development I felt I was a part of the company and that company’s future.

11.  If you had to go back in time and tell the young Clayton Barton two important things, when he was first getting started, what would they be?

Don’t be a hermit. Remember the other important things in life like friends and relationships. You can hide away in a basement drawing and painting all day, and have no life outside your work, but networking and communication is important. An artist’s inspiration is acquired by seeing the world.

12.  If you had a message to share with other talented artists, what would it be?

Be dedicated to yourself and your work, especially if you’re an aspiring artist. The more time and effort you put into developing your skill the better you’ll get, and the better you are the more you’ll want to do it.

Thank you very much Clayton for your time, and now I ask at the end of our interview where can people go to find out more about your work?

My email is, claytonbarton.art@hotmail.com and blog is, claytonbartonartBlogspot.com.au.

http://www.claytonbartonartist.com/

Space Marines

Made up these new concepts for the Luna marines I’m going to use in my next 3D scene. Someone needs to fruitlessly fight off the hideous Muntkey I posted a few months back. I’m thinking I’ll go the third one; it does after all seem to be the choice of the people.

Space Marines

I noticed my motivation and drive recently slipping away as the all too tempting yet subtle procrastination began to take up more and more precious hours of would be productivity. I just didn’t feel like doing any art work. Ah yes, this battle is known to many creative souls, the battle to keep up the energy and motivation to constantly create, a battle that must be won if one hopes to keep a job in that which he loves most. But it’s always so hard to push yourself when you just aren’t in the mood to do something.

Here’s what I discovered though. Is that, if one does bite the bullet and really sit down and just push themselves to do the work or practice they know they need to do, that drive and motivation slowly starts to regenerate, at least in my experience. It’s odd, and it kinda sucks because in a way you need the right kind of motivation in the first place in order to express your creativity, but I do have a theory. I think, at the end of the day, as people, we want to conserve energy. We want to be lazy in other words, doing only the things that need to be done and not the things that should be done. Ideally, that’s the way we work, at least biologically. But, the brain can be tricked into overcoming this. How? Well by sitting down and literally forcing yourself to do something, after a while your brain will stop resisting and actually want to do it. Your brain will stop resisting because it wants to take the easy way out, it wants to be lazy and just go with the flow, so it’ll do as it’s told after a while. The brain says to itself, “hey, this guy keeps on drawing despite thinking he doesn’t want to… He actually does want to, and he’s being stubborn, so I’ll accommodate that and stop resisting, cause that’s the easier alternative.”

Okay. It’s a bit of a crazy way of looking at it, but it seems to work for me and maybe for you (if you too happen to be going through a dry patch). Once I jump in the deep end and just get into it, sure I’m not gonna suddenly change my mind over half hour or even an hour, give me a night though, or a couple of days and I’ll be right in the zone again. Our brain, basically loves to do what it does most. So if you haven’t drawn or whatever in a while, you’re not gonna feel like it until you do (or that sudden burst of inspiration you’ve been waiting months for eventually rocks up).

Enough ranting. And onto some awesome news! Getting a new PC 4 times more powerful then the PC I have now, meaning 4 times the resolution and 4 times the polygons! A much needed upgrade that has been on the agenda for a while now. This also means more video tutorials aswell, especially over the Summer break. So keep a look out for those.

Until next time.

http://www.claytonbartonartist.com/

End of the Line for Cradle

The Games Development Course I have been doing for the last two years has now come to an end. Cradle, my major games project I have been planning and producing for the last year was finally handed over for the end of year graduation exhibition, and I am now awaiting my results. A great, numbing weight has been lifted from my shoulders, and I feel as though I had been putting so much time, so much thinking and so much effort into this project that I almost forgot who I was for a little while. With the pressures of Uni gone, it's good to be able to breath again and concentrate on me, my relationships with friends and family. Despite this, part of me is still saddened to be leaving. I have met some great people, and made some valued friends in these last two years, not to mention the invaluable knowledge I will take away with me thanks to the teachers who taught me all I ever wanted and set out to know. Without those teachers and the support of my friends and family there is no way my skills would have evolved to the point at which they are now, and I want to thank all of them for that because my artistic abilities are really what my life is about.

Cradle was a great learning experience. I think the biggest thing I learned though was how much time and hard work goes into making a game, and what is realistically achievable  within a given time span. When I was first given the assignment I had some really big ideas. I was going to create the best Horror Survival game out there, with heaps of hideous creatures lurking in numerous dark and dangerous levels, with only a few weapons/tools to defend yourself as the player. Well. Let me tell you, the final game ended up being about 10% of my overall plan. Soon enough I was cutting back more and more on levels, characters, weapons and gameplay ideas. I worked day and night and still there were just not enough hours in the day to give me the time I needed to do all the things I had hoped to do with this project. To really get everything done that I had written up in Cradle's 50 page game design document I would have needed a small team and even then I'd probably be struggling to get it all done in that small time gap of six months. I hated cutting away my characters, such as the Mauler, an infected mutant dog with a bite much worse then its bark. Those ideas and concepts were my babies, but I needed to do what needed to be done in order to actually get this assignment in on time and looking half decent.

I pleased to say that I did win an award on the night of our graduation for Cradle being the Most Outstanding Major Project. This award was something I had set my sights on from the beginning. In fact it was possibly my biggest motivation at first but it soon came to be that I was no longer making this game for myself, I was doing it for the teachers and the people who believed in me, because I didn't want to disappoint them.

Well enough keeping you in suspense, here are some screen shots from the game itself. This particular level was based inside a large waste processing plant where the player was required to turn on power to the main pumps in order to progress to the next level via an over flow outlet.  The player would come up against deadly enemies which had been infected and mutated by the alien virus, and the only hope the player had of surviving these fiends was to play a hide and seek game with them, avoiding the creatures at all cost.

Another thing I have realized after doing this course is how much my heart belongs in games. I'm not sure why I didn't see it years ago. Working as a games artist I'm able to design my own characters, my own worlds and then bring them to life in a virtual, interactive environment. I have also realized how closely related 2D and 3D art work is, both helping to develop skills in the other.

So what now that I have finished Uni? There is so much I want to do. Well first up I want to get the updates happening more frequently on my blog. And I'm pleased to say it's straight into full time work for me now, doing what I love. I feel extremely lucky. I'm now working for a really great games company called Fraktalvoid, along with another talented class mate of mine who was also picked up for his excellent art skills. Besides that, I've started doing some more drawing, training up hard with plans for a graphic novel in mind next year. Who knows, maybe I'll turn Cradle into a comic book series. At some point, hopefully sooner rather then later I want to release some tutorials on my blog regarding drawing and 3D modeling, and maybe even some tutorials on other areas of game development that I am competent in. I'm also planning on entering Dominance War next year, it's a long shot, but I'm going to have a go. If nothing else, Dominance War will help me build up my folio with my latest and highest quality of work. And there is so much more I want to do. Best of all though, it's just really great to be able to go home at night and leave work at work. And now I have my weekends back as well. So I'll definitely have some time to make up with friends, family, and most importantly my beautiful partner Scarlett who has been a great support to me throughout this entire journey.

Alas I enter a new chapter of my life, excited at the thought of what the future may bring.
Take care everyone.
- Clayton