Pencil Eraser
So in order to give myself a bit of a break from the advanced fingerpainting that is Brushes, I thought I’d try some pixel art. It’s super exciting — one dot out of place can make a HUGE impact on the whole work’s fidelity. There’s not much of a color palette to work with, but once you start to grasp dithering, a whole world of options is opened.
The first piece of this sort that I ever attempted (probably about a month or so ago) appears after the break.
Square. Triangle. Circle. Ex.
Those four buttons are an aspect of Sony’s hardware design that’s become an integral part of their brand image. Certainly they set the PlayStation apart from everyone else’s comparatively run-of-the-mill A, B, X, Y controller tech. And yet I think there’s something more going on here. Lots of companies cultivate a distinctive look through iconography, but, in mapping icons to buttons, Sony has subverted a strong tradition — and created something new in the process.
Ancient Chuck
Glad I took the extra week to work on this one. It’s still a little janky, but a much more respectable effort than anything else I’ve yet painted. Mustering courage for the laces was easily the most difficult aspect.
Hit the jump to take a look at the photograph I was working from.
My looord! I’ve been trying demos or fiddling with web games for probably six weeks straight. Next week, I’ll likely be able to get back to being thoughtful about games. Probably I’ll try to determine whether my demo-playing experiences can be culled for any insight as to what makes a given demo great. Below, you’ll find my thoughts on the final five demos I had yet to play.
If you’ve been following my little sketch/Brushes series, you’ll remember that I’d intended to try and slap a few of these paintings together for this posting. It seemed like cooking up multiple examples would be a great way to encourage my working more efficienctly. I’m afraid that plan kind of backfired. The devil’s in the details, and I got all up in his BIZness this week. That image there represents a little teaser; hopefully I’ll be finished with it by next Wednesday.
I can’t remember if there’s actually been a recent glut of demos, of if they’ve just piled up in the weeks leading to and following our recent move. There are now SEVEN for me to play through, and I’m going to jot some notes about each of them.
Tape Dispenser
Not sure what to say about this. I definitely learned a lot. Still, doesn’t change the fact that my finished product is one broke-ass piece of shit. The tape roll’s just kind of floating there!
Part of my problem is that I’m afraid to slop over a line I’ve already laid down. In other words, I don’t have the courage to paint and paint again — I’m always magically “undo”-ing anything I feel dissatisfied with. Maybe that’s a good goal to set: work faster and accept whatever happens.
I’ll try and cook up a few extra for next week. Toss ‘em off and see how things turn out.
