Hey, here’s a new post before I take a few days off (but I’ll still be answering the comments on my Blog). So, as the title above implies, this is a ‘making of’ kind of thing. There will be several parts on ‘how to illustrate a game’. I don’t think it’s going to be about painting techniques as much as the thinking process it takes to illustrate a game.
This is going to be a sci-fi game - space opera stuff. The publisher (no name yet) needs a cover, a gameboard (some cool painting featuring space, stars and asteroids) and several spaceships, some human, some alien. Ok. I have a lot of time (for once!), so I can work on the theme to enrich it and, who knows, maybe give some new ideas to the publisher. With some games I start with the cover (Assyria, Martinique), and sometimes I finish with it once everything’s Ok (Sylla). The cover is (potentially) my favourite part, so I prefer to paint it in the end. When I start with it, it’s because I feel it’s going to help me grasp the theme and a certain feel that I’m going to try and use in the rest of the game conception. And sometimes, it’s because the publisher wants me to. Anyway, in the present case, I thought it could be a good idea to start defining the look of the alien race(s), because it’s going to have an impact on the look of their spacecraft, and probably on the cover. For my first concept, I decided to salvage an unused design from the monster spree of last summer. So, I had a basic drawing, I refined it in black and white, painted a finished version of it, painted a kind of situational rough with a quick background centred on atmosphere (I have several of them with different atmospheres, different contrasts and colours), and finally, I did a more detailed portrait, changing things here and there. All theses steps took half a day. Remember this is concept work, so it doesn’t have to be perfect. It may be featured in the final game… or not. I try to make the pictures look good anyway so that I can use them if the publisher doesn’t want them in their game, but it’s still a half day of work. Any more would be a waste of time and money, but I think the end result could be used as illustrations in the game if the publisher likes the design. So, remember, make the most of you time because this is a commercial application of your skills (which isn’t a negative comment, btw!). In half a day, I have a concept and at least four usable illustrations.
Hi, I had this drawing in my files for some time and I didn’t know what to do with it. Yesterday I decided to have a go at it and here’s the result. I have several drawings hatching somewhere… maybe some of them will come to life someday. Btw, go to the Oct 30th entry to see Frank’s Doll#1.
Le dessin qui a servi de base à cette peinture numérique attendait sagement dans mes dossier. Je ne savais pas trop quoi en faire. Hier j’ai décidé d’essayer de le terminer, et voici ce que ça a donné. Il me reste quelques dessins qui couvent quelque part sur mon ordinateur. Peut-être que certains d’entre eux finiront par voir le jour. Frank’s Doll 1 a été posté ici-même le 30 octobre 2008.
I’m finally done with Assyria so I can now move on to new territories. Here’s the Ankou, a myth from Britany. Much in the same vein as the banshee, in fact. Aesthetically speaking, it’s somewhere between my “After the fall” series and something more precise and rendered.
J’en ai fini avec Assyria, je peux donc passer à autre chose, explorer d’autres territoires. Cette peinture représente l’Ankou, un mythe breton assez proche de la banshee de l’avant-dernier post. Esthétiquement parlant, ce tableau se situe entre la série After the fall et une approche plus détailée et texturée.
Hey, sorry for the lull–I’ve been very busy and quite tired (my daughter was born one month ago). So, here are two new game covers to make for the lack of recent updates. Nothing close to my more “artsy” paintings, but they’ll sure get a wider audience. The first one is the cover for Martinique (QWG games) that’s been appearing here and there on various game sites (without my name, most of the time), and the other is the cover for Assyria, Ystari’s next game. I’m currently working on the board, and it’s so much work that it has prevented me from painting for the site. There’s a big space above the ziggurat to allow us to add the title. Oh, yeah, both games are by Emanuele Ornella.
Hello, voici deux couvertures pour me faire pardonner de ce long silence (dû notamment à la naissance de mon second enfant). La première est la couverture de Martinique (QWG games), la seconde celle d’Assyria (Ystari games). Je suis sur le plateau, en ce moment, ce qui explique aussi le manque d’updates, car c’est un sacré boulot de dingue ! Les deux jeux sont d’Emanuele Ornella.
As usual, I wanted something a bit impressionistic after the previous post which was more on the photoreaslistic side. This is a banshee, that is, a ghost whose screams you’d better not hear…
Après un post traité de manière photoréaliste, j’avais envie d’en revenir à quelque chose de plus impressionniste, de plus rapide. J’ai cherché à droite et à gauche dans les légendes diverses, et j’ai opté pour la banshee - un spectre hurleur dont les cris n’augurent rien de bon… 
Here’s the reverse side of the creature featured in the first “Ce qui arriva à Antoneev” (What happened to Antoneev) entry. As you can see, I was trying to push the envelope…
Vous connaissiez le côté pile de la créature (cf. un ancien post et la galerie digitale) et vous le trouviez répugnant ? Moi je le trouvais un peu soft, alors j’ai essayé de faire pire !
Here I am, at long last! The virus is dead. From now on, I’ll be updating once a week, like in the ol’days. So, let’s start with a siren I started right before that virus took over my computer. And remember, avoid raw meat when pregnant.
Me revoilà enfin. Je crois pouvoir dire que mon ordi est débarrassé de cette saleté de virus (touchons du bois !). Bref, je vais reprendre le rythme habituel (soit un update par semaine, en gros). Cette sirène a attendu sagement l’assainissement de mon ordi pour voir le jour…
Hey all, I’m just writing to say that my computer is kaput because of a bad virus. I’ve been trying to expel that sucker for a week and a half, and just when I thought I’d won the war… my computer simply stopped functioning. I was in the middle of a new picture of a mermaid, working hard to post something here before the week end… and here I am, hoping there’s something left at all on my hard disk. So, have faith, I still think I’ll be able to post an update (I mean with a new pic) as soon as a good Samaritan helps me retrieve my files… I’ll keep you posted, folks.
Hello. Je me bats contre un virus informatique depuis une semaine et demie. Pensant l’avoir vaincu, j’ai entamé un update pour mon site - une image représentant une sirène - mais la bestiole est repassée à l’attaque, et maintenant, mon ordinateur refuse carrément de s’allumer. J’en suis à espérer réussir à récupérer mes fichiers sur mon disque dur moribond… Bref, dès que j’ai à nouveau accès à mes documents (et à Photoshop !) je reprend mon travail. Promis, la prochaine fois, il y aura un vrai update (je croise les doigts…) !
A new painting in a more abstract vein.
Une nouvelle peinture dans une veine plus abstraite.
I’ve been wanting to paint Hamlet’s Ophelia for some time. Here’s the result.
Depuis un certain temps, j’avais envie de peindre Ophélie - le personnage de Hamlet, pas la chanteuse.
