My illustration work from 2017

As you might guess, it's been a big year. The move across the country and starting up a new, long-term job have taken much of my time and attention. But I still have other work to do and I'm continuing my freelance work. Much of what I did in the previous year was for animation, but there always is illustration. So here it is:

This is actually test frame from a long animation I worked on. Most of the textures were created procedurally in Cinema 4D. Another artist built most of the crane and then I had to fine-tune it and texture it. I also built the geometry of the items hanging in front.

Here is another test render. Thankfully, the tank model was provided by the end client and I didn't have to build it. I did, however, have to spend a lot of time organizing the pieces. I then textured it and built the scene around it. This is how animations start.

Another 3D render. Again, this was a model provided by the client, since it's their product and it has to be perfectly represented. I just had to texture, light, and render it so it looked pretty.

Here's a simple one, mainly vector shapes that I put together. It was created in Photoshop, using its great vector tools and layer styles. It was supposed to be the background for an ad or something like that, but sadly, I hear that the client didn't like it and I don't think it was used for anything.

You may remember other illustrations similar to this one. I end up doing a lot like this. I'm almost becoming an expert in heavy machinery of this sort. It's demonstrating a process of building a geotechnical retaining wall. The rather plain sky was designed to be the background for the text of the final ad. I do like how this one came out.

Now, here's something different, for a different agency. Apparently, another artist had been hired to illustrate a lion head for a package. What he really did was steal the lion image from the poster for the movie The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, pick half the face, copy and mirror it, then apply some quick Photoshop filters to it. I was hired to paint it from scratch. But all my initial sketches were turned down until it finally looked like the image I was supposed to replace. So I basically ended up copying the original image anyway, down to the (inaccurate) color of the eyes. But at least I actually painted it. Every pixel is my own.

A very different piece. This is mainly a photo, but demonstrating a new product that is in development. Part of the problem was to illustrate luminous elements. This is always a tricky proposition, but it eventually worked. I did have fun working on the reflected elements.

Another piece for the same client as the previous image. This one included various photographic elements composited together to create a hopefully realistic and believable image. It also included 3D rendered elements that had to fit into the scene as though they were present.

These tanks may look familiar. It's a frame from the final animation. The whole thing took a lot longer than I had expected, but I do like the end result.

Another frame from a 3D animation. I ended up doing a lot of this work during the year. There were a number of items I had to animate in the final clip. Much of this work is based on photographic textures, as the animation needed to look quite realistic. It's also a good way to speed up the work flow.

Yet another frame from an animation. Another artist started it and did much of the initial work. I just had to finalize it, improve the textures, and make sure all the elements came together.

Here are two separate images that were put together for a company's holiday animation. I guess it turned out okay and it was well received, but it's not my best work. You may notice that the lighting is a bit off. Painting snow is hard, especially at night. I didn't have much time and no source material provided, so I guess it's okay for what it is.