Helgeson Art

Color Flats WIP

2011-11-08T06:32:00.000-08:00

Blocked in local colors and sketched out a rough BG. It sure looks a bit messy now, but I aim to make it less cluttered, more focused and readable along the way. I'll be sure to post a tutorial of some kind when I'm done, but I think rendering this out will take somewhere like 60-80 hours. Still got all elements in separate layers and groups etc. so stuff should be easy to move around if any of ya'll have some suggestions on the composition. I can still see some tangents I'll take care of :)

Things for me to remember when I render:
-Don't be afraid to use darker darks.
-Vary the line weight, and indicate lines rather than doing an equally thick stroke. Like Wes Burt or Niklas Jansson.
-Be consistent in the lighting (although I will render each portrait as if it was in its own scene).
-Avaid random hueshifts!! Thanks Devin!
-Don't be afraid to leave shadow areas completely flat, like Mignola, Frazetta or Justin Gerard.
-Define the ambient color of the scene, and understand what color is being reflected up on downfacing planes in the shadowside.
- Rimlights are not lines. Make them smooth where necessary to indicate form turning.

Now I can kick my ass if I don't do these things. Good to have clearly defined goals :)

Draw :D

2011-11-06T02:41:00.000-08:00

WIP. Let's see if I can muster up some discipline to finish it up :) The hero "Tombgrave" and the bad guys .

Lifedrawing. Doing this twice per week now, which is really helping. I feel my depth has been getting better, and the way I prioritize the order I put down lines on paper. Also, I have less of a warmup period when I sit down to draw.

As always, thank you for looking :)

Testosterone.

2011-10-26T06:01:00.001-07:00

I bought myself a new A4 Moleskine sketchbook. Man, that paper is goooood, and scary to draw on because it's so expensive. I now have two sketchbooks, one for rough sketches and cafegestures and one where I try to push my lines and finish a bit further.

Some designs need multiple iterations :)

Waaah, it's friday!

2011-10-21T04:20:00.000-07:00

Totally thought today was Thursday. And tomorrow i Saturday, and then comes Sunday...Crazy!

Gunblast!

2011-10-16T01:29:00.000-07:00

Personal Epic Sci Fi game concepts ;) I do enjoy the vicious fish lady, so I might render her out :D

New Sketchbook!

2011-10-08T22:14:00.000-07:00

Hi people :D Here are some new sketches ^___^

Have a great day!

Sketchbook

2011-09-30T23:54:00.000-07:00

2011-09-18T07:30:00.000-07:00

Hello Ya'll, here's stuff! :D

Take Care ;)

More Classic Fantasy Bad Guy Thumbs

2011-09-02T04:57:00.000-07:00

Thumbnails

2011-08-28T00:56:00.000-07:00

Hi guys! I'd like to share some designsketches for a game I hope to make some day :) Streets of Rage gameplay in a fantasysetting sort of :D These here are some enemies. To me, this step is the hardest. I really try to think carefully about shape design, proportions, colour and strong visual identity. If a design doesn't work undetailed like this, it's probably a bad design. More to come in the future!

*Edit
Just wanted to add this wisdom from Pixar artist Jason Deamer, from his interview over at characterdesign.blogspot.com

"Once I've finished my research and I've got some interesting meat to sink my teeth into, I'll spend some time to think about the Who, What, When, Where, and the Why? This is a character in a story driven to act a certain way by the specifics of his or her circumstance. Who are they? When are they? What do they wear and how do they act? Does this person readjust their glasses every time they begin to talk. Is he/she a shy and timid sort of character? Maybe they hide behind long hair that covers their face? It's all of these character informed decisions that can really make a design speak to the viewer.

After finding some inspiration, I like to put all the research aside and try to capture a caricature through a kind of reverse osmosis from all the research I've done. I'll start doodling basic shapes, while always keeping the basic gesture of this character in mind. I'm looking for a simple form that captures the abstract feeling of the thing I'm trying to design.

When I find something that feels right I'll start to flesh that out into a silhouette of the character I'm after. At this point I'm focused not only on the pose but on the abstract relationships between the different basic shapes. How does the volume of the little leg feel relative to the mass of the torso? Is the head competing visually with the bag he's holding? Etc."

-Jason Deamer

Sketches

2011-08-24T05:41:00.000-07:00

Hello people! Singapore is an amazing city!
At first an unfinished character design. I lost interest in it for several reasons. Probably won't finish it. Then some rough sketches for fantasy enemies, and last a lifedrawing long pose.

Live from Singapore!

2011-08-17T07:14:00.000-07:00

Hello my friends! I'm sorry for the absence, but I've been buzy both mentally and physically with my move to a brand new city in a new part of the world. Finding an apartment, settling into the new job, making friends, getting employment pass etc. has taken much of my time and energy. That said, this place is amazing, and I hope to once again bring you more regular updates :D

As always, thank you for looking :D

Sketchy

2011-07-22T10:09:00.000-07:00

Y un peus de musique!
Change of heart by Billinski

Sketchmix

2011-07-15T02:27:00.000-07:00

Here are more sketchbook sketches.

I have a new job!

2011-07-12T04:51:00.001-07:00

Starting very soon, I´m joining Red Steam Studio in Singapore, a Gameloft Pre Production Art Studio! I´m super excited for this opportunity, and I´m eagerly anticipating all new challenges coming with this job :D The team there is crazy skilled, and I´m humbled and honored to be allowed to join their ranks!

http://redsteam.net/

I have been given permission to show my work test, so I will :) Hope ya´ll like it :)

Take care!

Eeeek! Sketches!

2011-07-11T14:17:00.000-07:00

After I´ve come up with an idea for a design, I will often start with a fairly quick portrait sketch, and then work on thumbnails. I often have to do many to try out different ideas and directions. Rarely do any of the first sketches work out. I did like the design of this face, even though it has no conscious expression :)

Thanks for looking! =D

Sketchbookery

2011-07-07T05:53:00.001-07:00

I will often draw constructional sketches to warm up and get my mind thinking in 3D-forms.

Sketching

2011-07-04T10:51:00.000-07:00

Moar Sketches

2011-06-30T07:45:00.001-07:00

Sketches

2011-06-22T12:58:00.000-07:00

Sketches!

And my heroes. Thanks for the tip Kristoffer :)

Music. Jaques Christo is one of my favourites.

En Route EP by Creep Crawl Flash

The Flaming C, and other things.

2011-06-12T12:27:00.000-07:00

Those who know me, know that my favourite character designer is Bruce Timm. When he sat down with comedy genius Conan O Brien, the end result was pure gold. Now they´re calling artists to contribute with their versions of "The Flaming C", and I thought it would be fun :D

http://video.teamcoco.com/video/conan.jsp?oid=237436&eref=sharethisUrl

My version.

In addition, I wanted to share a couple of links on the subject of storytelling. I hope you find them as educational as I do :D

Sketcherly!

2011-06-09T14:20:00.000-07:00

Hi guys! I´m officially looking for a full time position as a concept artist! Feel free to drop me a comment or mail if you know of any opportunities :) Meanwhile, here are some sketches! :D

Process

2011-05-30T10:27:00.000-07:00

Thought I´d share a little process. This is not a rule by any means, but one of many possible approaches :)

Fallout 2 Character

2011-05-29T09:58:00.000-07:00

Rimlights are addictive.... ;)

Blargh Doodles

2011-05-28T13:54:00.001-07:00

Sketchbook sketches

2011-05-27T13:25:00.001-07:00

Moar Lifedrawings :D

2011-05-26T09:53:00.001-07:00

Life! :D
Think I made some progress. My habit of rounding everything out was slightly diminished. I want to work on better nailing the proper proportions, and volume of the shapes. I have a tendency to elongate, shorten, inflate and deflate forms. Also, I failed at storytelling, focusing more on construction. l'll remember that next time.

Lifedrawing

2011-05-15T05:43:00.001-07:00

I attend lifedrawing every week. It´s in another town, so I take the train. It´s always worth it though, the best training, and the best way of smashing the ego.

Take Care!

SpaceGun 3000

2011-05-14T14:13:00.000-07:00

I designed another enemy & updated the design a little bit for the hero. His name is now "Colt Justice".

I also wanted to share some music, a song by Pat Metheny. When I was back in highschool this guy was my biggest hero. I wanted to grow up and play as well as he does. Well, in the end, I decided not to focus on music, politics or golf, which were my primary career paths, but went with drawing =D. I hope to begin playing golf again some day though. We´ll see.

These quick thumbs are fun to do, and really let´s you try things out fast :)

Music!

Metropole Orchestra & Pat Metheny - So May A... by kamatrikero

Gatling Junior

2011-05-08T13:22:00.000-07:00

My workpal Viktor dropped the name Gatling Junior... I had to draw him =) And this post comes with quick design thumbs too! =D

Take Care!

2011-05-01T11:16:00.000-07:00

Finally got around to drawing her from different angles, cementing the design.

Stuff

2011-05-01T02:53:00.000-07:00

Design for a friend! =D

Images!

2011-04-26T08:41:00.001-07:00

Hands Extravaganza!

2011-04-21T08:07:00.000-07:00

Sketches from during the week :)

Each Tuesday evening, me and some friends go to a pub to do some sketching. Usually each one drops a word, and then we draw an image with all those words included. Fun creative exercise! =D

Happy Easter!

Sketches

2011-04-17T03:39:00.000-07:00

Fun with a Colored Pencil :)

And this is what happens when I skip the construction and jump into rendering XD. Fail positioning of facial features...

Rebirth

2011-04-14T08:52:00.000-07:00

Hello! Back in early 2009 I started this blog as a simple portfolio. Today I´ve decided to transform it into a sketchblog. I´ll try to update often, and I hope I can entertain you in some way :) Mostly it will probably be traditional sketches.
And thus begins the sketchbookery!

Portfolio

2009-02-26T12:39:00.000-08:00

Portfolio available at:
http://helgesonportfolio.blogspot.com/