Mish Mash Blog Post!

 I spent much of December working on Trivia Adventure's Promo Video. It took about 3 weeks to do all the setup, animation, compositing, and effects, and an additional week to learn Particle Illusion and do yet more effects.  

 This one-minute video was accomplished in 4 weeks by me and my husband doing the animation and compositing, and with my co-worker Adam doing the logos. Sound was outsourced. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. Working straight through Thanksgiving and Christmas was worth it. (Only someone who loves making art that much could say that).  But working 16 hour days for a month has to end, and now I am basking in relaxation. I'm sleeping as much as I can, exercising again, and have a blast doing some digital painting at work, which I can't wait to share!!

These sketches are from Ikkicon, where the promo video had it's first public showing! Our booth was unfortunately in a low-traffic area, (DOH), but the promo video did it's job and brought some curious people in!  Anyway, these sketches were done when the traffic was low. We have lovingly called our girl character "Generica" because she's basically your customizable character, so she starts out generic until you make her your own. All of the stuff she's wearing can be found in the game when you're higher level :) Her pet is Action Kitty, the first pet you can find in the game.

And finally, I started the year right by attending figure drawing. Gotta keep the skills sharp, sharp, sharp. I do a lot of digital art at work, but I find that the infinite undos can be used as a crutch. When I go to figure drawing, I generally use oily crayons that are hard to erase, to keep erasing at a minimum. This teaches me line-economy, and to be as sure as I can be of every line I put down. This actually makes me faster, because I'm not searching and erasing as much. :)

 Any-who, it's 4 am so I guess it's time for bed :)
Thanks for visiting my blog! See you at the next update!

Figure Drawing!

 My blog sorely needs updating!! Been working too much, but I can't help it! My job is so fun. I'm making a marketing video for Trivia Adventure, and so all I did over my Thanksgiving break was draw storyboards. I know it's for a little marketing video. It's not for something huge and epic like Cars 3, but somehow I feel like I'm still doing the coolest job ever. I'm storyboarding!!! Plus, Trivia Adventure is kind of my baby :) I like making little monsters and creatures for it. I can't wait for you all to see the latest level, because I really tried to surpass the older levels in art department. I will let you know when it's released!

Anyway, my new year's resolution is coming early. I can't keep neglecting going to figure drawing. I will go at least 3 times a month, damn it. You know how you do scales with music as practice? You do figure if you're wanting to be an animator/character designer, and so that is what I have to do.

 these are one minute poses. I did about 40 of these and these are the only 3 that I really liked. Gotta work on those one minutes!!!!!

Until next time!
Tiff

Trivia Adventure Concept Art!

 I painted this for our office space :) Our Trivia Adventure "mascot" and her cat, Action Kitty.

details:

Anyway, back to animations!

Trivia Adventure Finally Launched!

Hello readers! Finally, after months and months of long hours and hard work, Trivia Adventure has been released! Please join the adventure on Facebook!

So, I got to do a ton of art and animation for the game. Particularly, the levels, characters, monsters, town buildings, and other misc art. I will probably start posting some of my favorite pieces of art here when I get the time.

I am very proud of Steel Penny Games, the company I work for. Steel Penny Games is a very very tiny company with only 6-8 of us working regularly on the game, and I'm in awe of how much we did in the last year. Under the pressure of having my art featured prominently in the game, I think I've improved as an artist under their roof, and hope to improve even more!

Steel Penny Game's Puzzling Paws

Dear Readers,
Last year, I worked freelance for Steel Penny Games and got to do a lot of character animation and art for their now released game Puzzling Paws. It is one of the best jobs I have ever got. I got so much creative freedom to do character designs, animations, and even a watercolor painting  for their office space! They're a really great group of people to work with.

The game itself is awesome. Great brain exercise. When you solve a puzzle, you really get the feeling of being smart and clever. (some of the puzzles get REALLY hard.) When's the last time a game made you think? Problem solve? They don't make games like this anymore! The game is download-able for only 5 bucks. A real bargain. Please check it out! :) Another plus is the game is very casual, Pick it up, play a puzzle or two, and come back later. It doesn't have to eat up your time. OR, you can get addicted and play it for hours like I did.

Tiff

PS. If you're playing the game, remember from the tutorial that the level wraps around itself, if you push a block off screen, it will come around the other side. Make sure you remember this! It's a key to solving a lot of the puzzles!!!