I have been busy a lot lately preparing for the upcoming deadline for Dare to be Digital, however i have been looking at my work lately and seen a lack of personal development. My last couple of pieces of work have been to help develop my skills at using new software and how to paint and colour in new ways to my previous style. I have been looking at how i could better myself in my type of style i have and i came across a blog of a artist who gave out a couple of interesting points. One which i did take into consideration and try was to draw in the style i want to practice people and faces i know well. The blog talked about how you know the faces around you and are easier to picture in your head than random faces or copying off other images, the point made as to draw these people in the preferred style you want to practice. I personally prefer disney/pixar style art with every over the top expressions of shape and characteristics. I chose to have a go and creating this effect by drawing friends as i could picture what they looked like in that style. These are what i drew. I also created them in illustrator to help me again strengthen my skills in that software.

Tshirt competition

I entered a couple entries into a Deviantart competition to design a teeshirt which has a cute monster design on it. You could enter as many teeshirt designs as you like but you had to design your own monsters to add to the design. They gave us the teeshirt templates in which to use when designing the tshirt. Unfortunately I was unable to place in the competition but I enjoyed designing the work and it helped me practice my skills on photoshop. It was also a great way to develop my personal practice as well as get viewers looking at my work.

2D Art and Practicing New Software

To continue my development on Illustrator i developed an creature design. I started with a similar doodle to the first attempted I did and then placed it into Illustrator. I used Illustrator tools to outline the creature to have smooth edges and have vector feel. I then exported the creature out into photoshop for colouring, I spend a while designing this creature because I though it would look goof as a part of my portfolio as well.

Learning Illustrator

As part of my learning aspects for BA8 I said I would have a look and use illustrator. As I haven't used the software before I had to play and test the software first. I doodled a creature in which to use as practice in Illustrator as a way of getting used to different elements of the software. I mostly used the pen tool to outline the creature in Illustrator as well as then used the brush to paint other lines into the image. I saved out the outline of the creature then painted it in photoshop.

New Website Design

I looked back at my old website design and thought it didn't show me personally as a character. Professional websites would be a lot less artistic than this design but i want to get across my character as a person and my abilities rather than trying to push other qualities in which can be seen through my CV and or Interviews, I also feel like its more attracting for a viewer to see rather than a website that may look in a similar style to other designers and artists. Having a site that is rememberable is also important as i have personally heard from a number of designers how because of simple elements on there cv, art or websites have stood out they have got jobs because they are the person the employer can remember.

My idea is to create this site either on Iweb or dreamweaver. I haven't used Dreamweaver before so i will have to learn how to use the software if i am going to use it. I also have heard how Icloud, are no longer going to be avaiable from april, this may effect my using Iweb based on Iweb uses Icloud to host Websites.

Mummy Enemy

Here is a mummy design for the Egypt level of Nimbo, This creature was designed to slowly walk and eat the plants on screen with its main weakness being wind has it is only held together by the its linon wraps. It will strong agaisnt lightning and ice.

Enemy Theme Design

This enemy is for the artic/snow levels, typically a snowman is commonly refered to winter and christmas. Dispite snowmen not being alive also known for attacking or eating plants the comic concept that they are in game should keep players less worried about the practical sence and keep them for focused on playing. There weakness would be heat, and they would have a medium amount of health.

Locust

This is a design i did for another enemy for the plants in Nimbo. Locast are known for eating plants and crops which makes them a perfect natural enemy for the game. I looked at real images of the insects to see what they look like in detail so i can make my cartoon version look semi realistic. I will be grouping them together small to they will appear to fly as a group into the level as an enemy. Their weakness would be to wind, though they will have low health anyways being so small.

Catapillar Enemy

Today i thought that a potential enemy for plants could be a small group of catapillars due to the fact that are notorious for eating plants and there leaves, I doodled some designs out as well as worked up a finished version which i think works well in the style and looks fun and amusing.

Moshi Monsters Music

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/social-media/9119099/Moshi-Monsters-signs-record-deal-with-Sony.html

I came across an article on how moshi monsters has signed a record deal with sony to release an album. This shows how when a game becomes really popular more opportunities egmere, it also means that if the game as many strong aspects they can then be extracted out more such as the sound and music from Moshi Monsters.