Misc updates

Whew! --- i'm coming off of a busy past few months!

* Work -- i've been working our video game, called: 'Red Faction: Armageddon' for nearly 3.5 yrs (as the Art Director) and we are just wrapping things up.. the game will be going through submission (sony, microsoft, etc) and then it will move to manufacturing and distribution -- with a store release date of May 31st (yay!) it was a great project to work on.. lots of challenges that dealt with destruction, the overhaul of our in-game rendering system (we went with an inferred renderer), dealing with constructing environments below ground/caves and above ground, the challenges of adding in non-human enemies (multi-legged/arms) and more!

the art team was top-notch (the whole team was-- but i'm just speaking in regards to the art, since that's my area) and it was one of the best projects i've worked on, to date. at our peak, we had over 40 artist's and we were working with outsourcing companies around the world.. my job was not only providing input and direction, but also ensuring that the visual quality bar was high and that the art maintained the style i set early on, for the project. i'm really pleased with the results and i can't wait for the consumer to experience the game!

* Daily Art -- i've been publishing/creating art every day of 2011 (my goal) and so i'm now in to month #4.. it's been a lot of fun, but challenging.. a few nights i was busy and not feeling well and it's those times where i have to give myself a 'nudge' to keep up my goal! i'm fairly pleased with the results.. there are some that i really like.. and others i could definitely delete, but my goal was to not censor the quality -- to share my experiments and my 'duds' that didn't work out. i hope to post my color work in the near future, as most of the work has been sketches and b/w artwork. i also working on some Zbrush sculpts that i'm excited to share.. stay tuned!

* Personal Art -- i recently had a showing of my artwork at the 'Daily Grind' in Mahomet, IL.. i put on display approx 20 pieces of artwork, ranging from paintings, pastels, acrylics and limited edition prints. the artwork was from the past 21 years, so the subject genre and techniques were wide-ranging. i was really pleased with how the space looked, once seeing the artwork hanging.. a bunch of those pieces were just stored in my basement studio for years! it's a nice feeling, as an artist, to see your work framed and presentable in an environment such as a gallery or cafe. (and it was a lot of work.. framing, matting, finishing pieces of artwork, time to hang the artwork, etc.. and it was all happening at the same time that my game was finishing up!) -- i was a very busy artist from Nov '10 until Mar '11 (basically, 2 full time jobs)

i am currently working on some new paintings in my studio.. a wide range of genre (portraits, landscapes, 1 abstract and 1 floral/still life) -- i'll post them as i finish them

* Misc --as mentioned, i am messing around with Zbrush again.. i used it quite often a few years ago.. then with being Art Director, i didn't get much time to use software and experiment -- and that always bothers me.. i like keeping current on software, techniques, etc.. so, i purchased Zbrush 4.0 and i'm back to hammering away at it-- learning the new features/tools and also re-learning old techniques.. i love the software!

i have also been finding time to mess around with software such as: Scribbler Too, Alchemy and Live Sketch (iphone) -- all fantastic software that either free (or cheap)

anyway.. that's a few updates. i hope to write more (like this) that gives you updates on what i'm up to, what challenges i'm dealing with, what artist's i'm discovering and/or studying and more! until then.. chat with you soon!

Chad