Ken Jie's Back to Basics

Speaking of Maquette

2011-12-14T15:01:00.000-08:00

From a previous post : http://yowkenjie.blogspot.com/2011/09/frankenrina-part-2.html

Took me 5 days to finish I think. Had lots of fun with this fellar, can't wait for the next maquette project. :D

Gambit and Rogue

2011-12-05T04:38:00.000-08:00

Fan art jam thingie with a Marvel fan friend, Nat Wee. Waiting to see her portrait of Gambit. :D

This painting was really experimental to some extent, because I started out with my usual silhouette, but thing time I cut out / add details into the silhouette, creating that ink feel that comics usually have.

As I started painting, I was going through a series of different techniques that I've rarely / never used before, which was quite exciting. But in the end, I noticed that there was yet alot of error in proportions and volume, which you will see in the WIP pictures below. =)

Final

Rough Silhouette Sketch / Layout

I decided to tilt gambit and perform yet another foreshortening attempt. I pretty much decided to throw in Rogue late after refining Gambit's silhouette for composition sake and as a request. :D

Colour Blocking

Pretty much just applying the flat colours.

Colour Blocking +

Hehe, further refining and adding some details, but still working with a big brush and having the canvas thumbnail size to see the overall picture clearer. But at this part I noticed his left hand to be broken and out of place, so...

Further Refinement

Using the lasso tool, and some tweaking, I adjusted the left arm to a more suitable position. Then I jump into adding details, like the eyes, making the face more 3D and refining the hair a little to give it some shape and volume.

A Little Bit More Tweaking

Here basically I'm pretty happy with how it is looking, though I noticed that the torso might be a little too long, so as usually, I used the lasso tool and shortened it. Other than that was further refining of the hair and I am done.

Final Touches

I jump into adding the effects, and further enhancing the image by increasing the contract, making some areas darker or brighter, just to bring out Gambit and Rogue. I added a little orange tint on Gambit's coat to bring it out a little more.

Final - Final Touches

This is after some C&C from friends. =) I refined and added finer details and textures. Also made adjustments to the right hand, improved drapery and hair. Changed Rogue's hair from red to brown. :D

That's basically my Work in Progress for this piece, had loads of fun on this while exploring different techniques to accomplish some obstacles.

Captain America and a Fresh Pair of Eyes

2011-11-22T06:48:00.000-08:00

It really sucks the moment you pick up the stylus, only to find that it has been a while since you last painted with it. That's what happened to me, worse part is you can't tell the mistakes you're making, esp at the beginning, the crucial part where you build the skeleton of your artpiece.

Let me take you through a small tour on how I did this image.

Final Result

This painting was done on/off during other projects & assignments from college, I think time allocated was maybe around 4~5 hours?

Anyway, let's get to it.

This may look like a joke to you, but this was really how I started my thumbnail, pretty bad silhouettes. But because I was impatient, I just treated this as a warm up and jumped into the real thing. Not the smartest thing to do if it was a commission, but since it was practice, so hey.

I jumped into the painting, got the rough silhouette of the tank, then pretty much did a followup with Cap, then well, during this period of time and much fixing of the foreshortening, I wasn't able to tell what was wrong with the image. Lucky for me, I sent this image to my neighbour[Calvin Chong] for critique, he pointed out that the hand looks broken and sent back another image showing how it should look like.

So I continued to fix the arm, using the lasso and moving it around. I figured something like that looks about right. But something was still out of place.

So I went through some books and images of anatomy, then I realized that I was missing some gap between the neck and the deltoid, with that, again I used the lasso tool and moved the arm further away. I also noticed other minor flaws like the hand being too big, eyes a little too far apart and so on. As seen with those little green notes in the image. :D

Here's what I gathered, and why the hand felt like it was broken. Notice the green line, how in the first one it flows and the second[right] one, it breaks or arcs.

And that was how I made the image. Pretty big changes from start to beginning, this is really due to not having a solid foundation and lack of practice. I really need to buff up.

Picking Myself Up

2011-10-17T08:28:00.000-07:00

Been awhile since I felt demotivated, struggled with drawing and getting my mind straight. But I managed to pick myself up and continue moving forward.

I felt really good today, did a bunch of speed painting that really motivated me again. Out of the blue a friend just kept giving ideas that kept me interested in pursuing and finishing a piece. It was the most absurb painting I have ever done. But painting it was amusingly a blast.

Here is Lieutanent Vietnam, the absurb one.

20 mins speed paint, going to be using this one for my essay assignment. xD

Also an update of 3D Frankenrina. Tweaked texture after this WIP, will update in future.

Frankenrina Part 3

2011-09-25T08:23:00.000-07:00

More updates on Project Frankenrina.

Just finished up the 3d model, will be moving on towards texturing soon.
This was quite fun to model, reminds me of the days when modeling U92, only this time with a better understanding in anatomy, I made sure the wireframes flow according to the major muscle groups. :D

Here are the products, hehe.

Will really appreciate it if you drop a C&C.

Frankenrina Part 2

2011-09-04T12:51:00.000-07:00

Hey guys,

Quite a huge update this time around, did quite a number of Frankenrina concept arts[could have done more, damn you minecraft!]. I'm gonna have fun modeling this guy, but I'm still gonna continue exploring on the styles.

Right now I'm revealing alot of muscles, wonder if it'll have the same effect if I made it more stylized and lessen the details of muscles?

Did not go too much into detailing as like adding the leg hair and all, xD. Was really speeding through this one, trying to get the right costume, and I still am trying!

Look forward to more updates on Frankenrina, and the 3D model soon! : D

Side tracking :
Mufizal Mokhtar, Art Director for Ubisoft came over Lasalle to give a masterclass on sculpting.
Check out his DeviantArt here : http://mufizal.deviantart.com/

The class was fun, and we got free clay! Weee. It's been about 2 years since I last sculpted something, pretty happy with how the head turned out. =)

Had LOADS of fun with the muscles and huge nose and wrinkles and stuff. Looking forward to it again if given the chance - of free Super Sculpey!

Frankenrina

2011-08-25T12:46:00.000-07:00

Working on a short film project atm for Lasalle. Did some concept drawing for it. It is going to be about Frankenstein doing ballet. Haven't gotten into details yet. :D

Can you imagine it? I'm working late trying to finish life drawing. Totally feels like back in The One.

Anyway, here are the concept arts.

This is just the first stage, a very quick render of the idea of Frankenstein in a tutu. Will further refine and try other silhouettes to find the best fit.

C&C and suggestions are very much welcomed and appreciated! Thanks!

Back to College

2011-08-11T08:14:00.000-07:00

Finally settled down in Singapore, and now I'm back in college once again! Oh god.

Good news is that, it is back to learning and leveling up. Bad news is, the schedule here is going to be quite hectic[I think?]. Hope I will have time to work on my personal project and work on concept art more.

I am really liking the classes where we think up of short stories, and adjust / improve it until it becomes something, it is quite impressive and the methods of teaching and learning environment here in Lasalle is very different from The One Academy, but both colleges has its pros and cons.

Ah, 2 years to go. I will need to allocate my time here well, alot of money is going into my education. =(
Have to stay focused.

Anyway, my first digital painting in SG, lol. Did this for 2D sketch for 3D modelling as the head model wasn't going as planned. Back at the The One Academy, we worked on the same tutorial for head modelling, during then I modelled a guy's head, now I'm going to try for a female head.

Really really rusty with my figures drawing, this is very depressing. I'll have to refresh my anatomy again. So so so so depressing! Argh, so many things to do, so little time!

Update - Env Speed Paint

2011-04-17T08:21:00.000-07:00

Been a while since I updated, did some speed painting + exploration, took 45min~90min a piece.

Going wild with colours, trying for acrylic feel.

Digital approach.

Trying for watercolour and lineart feel.

Digital free painting. Went crazy with this one.

A study, used a photo ref.

Colour + mood study.

Environment + texture study.

Intense Colour Study

2011-02-24T10:11:00.000-08:00

I'm really cramping alot of information into my head this week, I guess judging from my own art, there are too many variety of colours everywhere, that most of the time my art piece becomes too chaotic.

So, knowing my weakness, I picked up James Gurney's Colour and Light and finished it, then I went ahead and spent RM200[damn pain] on Richard Robinson's tutorials on Mastering Colour and a few more stuff. Also gone through Gnomon's Color Theory: The Mechanics of Color with Richard Keyes and Practical Light and Color with Jeremy Vickery.

I picked up quite alot here and there, but going through James Gurney's Colour and Light and Richard Robinson's Mastering Colour, they both more or less cover the same topics. Pretty cool stuff, they more or less elaborate alot on the fundamentals[that we often forget/neglect ever so easily], most of their artworks, if not all are done traditionally.

The Mechanics of Colour, Richard Keyes more or less takes us on a joy ride of the many old master's paintings and explains the rationale behind the colours.

Practical Light and Color with Jeremy Vickery leans more towards the digital artists as he explains colour and light with knowledge in both 2D and 3D. Basically he'll be talking about materials, how light reacts, specularity, and etc. Pretty much the basic stuff we need to know.

I'm just itching to start working, I think I need the adrenalin. Feel so restless now.

Did another study / practice.

Mastering Color by Richard Robinson

2011-02-19T20:24:00.000-08:00

I recently stumbled across Mastering Color by Richard Robinson in New Zealand, which is a great video painting course for any painting medium - oils, acrylic, watercolor etc - it's all about how to see color properly and translate it to canvas. It covers lots of in-depth material in a way that's really easy to understand. I totally recommend this for all painters who need better control of their color - and lets face it, most of us do! Here's the link to the website:

Mastering Color DVD

Oh, here's the chapter list too:

1. Color Theory
2. Seeing Color
3. Describing Color
4. Value
5. Mixing Color
6. Manipulating Color
7. Color Harmony
8. Light Effects

You can watch the first chapter for free on the site:

Mastering Color DVD

Basic Update on Portfolio

2011-01-26T08:38:00.000-08:00

I just did some compiling from Project U92 that I can use as portfolio. I guess it is neater and more simplified when presenting, in a way?

Texture & Model by me
(Photoshop, Zbrush, Maya)

Textures by me
(Photoshop, Zbrush, Maya)

Texture by me
(Photoshop, Zbrush, Maya)

Texture & Model by me
(Photoshop, Zbrush, Maya)

One week in SG was really awesome, visited the universities / colleges that offer degrees, enquired and I guess I've decided to go into Animation course again than Fine Arts. Also, visited Feng Zhu Design School, damn I wished I had taken their Diploma in Concept Art. If only they opened 1 year earlier.

Regardless, they still offer night classes for certs, planning to take them while I'm studying in Lasalle, woot!

Trying to find job atm, either in SG or MY. Hmm.

This week is pretty intense for me, both physically and mentally. o.o

Study Update 008

2011-01-09T12:57:00.000-08:00

The colours are quite dull... outcome of failed planning. D:
Even for a study subject.

Official Launch of Project U92

2011-01-08T13:08:00.000-08:00

Spannar Productions Presents
Project U92, 3D Animation Short Film 2010

Animation and Demo Reel Links

Project U92 HD 720p Final Cut

Facebook Link

Characters Demo Reel
Vehicles Demo Reel
Environment Demo Reel
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Project U92, is a secret administration contract to study the lone survivor of the previous nuclear war. The subject instead of being destroyed in the nuclear blast, was positioned perfectly in the eye of the blast vector, through some miracle managed to fuse his DNA with the uranium actinides. Upon detonation, emerged a new life form, that lives, breathes and regenerates uranium cells, creating an unending source of energy. But the president of the warring faction wasn't going let it go to waste, it is captured and being experiment on to uncover new ways to harness it's perpetual energy. This is a story about a power hungry tyrant, a desperate experiment and a tired old war veteran that is sick of them both.
We hope you'll enjoy the ride!

Spannar Productions
This animation is produced by a team of 5 students, of The One Academy Communication and Design Malaysia. As our final project in our Diploma in Digital Animation course. The time taken to complete this task was roughly a year from pre production to post production.

What is Spannar Production? It is a team of talented college students from The One Academy, who worked on Project U92 - a short 3D Animation Film. From different backgrounds and with different goals, we make a balanced team. I am credited for the concept art, character modeling, texturing and lighting in Project U92.

Spannar Blog
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Cast and Crew
Voice Cast :

Scott Stoked as Denver J. Wilson
Chris Guerrero as President Frederick L. Jones
Odell Atkinson as U92, Actinide Monster
Dark Wolf as The Military and Scientists
Helen Quigley as Female Computer Voice

Production Crew :

Calvin Chong Ho Aun [Director]
chonghuan182 (at) yahoo.com
http://www.facebook.com/Calvin9999

Tan Wen San [Executive Producer]
tanwensan.spannar (at) gmail.com

Shaun Yow Ken Jie [Art Director]
yowkenjie (at) hotmail.com
http://www.facebook.com/yowkenjie
http://yowkenjie.blogspot.com/

Muhd. Amir bin Sha'azza [Lead Animator]
muhd.amir89 (at) gmail.com
http://www.facebook.com/muhdAmir89

Vincent Lim Jan Chian [Editor & Composer]
vincentlim.spannar (at) gmail.com
http://vincetoyou.blogspot.com/

PreProduction Sites :
http://www.spannarproduction.deviantart.com/
http://www.spannarproduction.blogspot.com/

Audio Effects and Background Sound Tracks used are properties of their respective owners, as mentioned in the credits. We do not claim to the fore mentioned belongs to us in any way. We do not profit from this animation, it is for our educational purpose only.
All Visual Media seen above are copyrighted to Spannar Productions Team of The One Academy Malaysia, all rights reserved.

Comments and Critiques are encouraged.

Killing Floor : Mrs Foster CA

2011-01-06T10:06:00.000-08:00

This was done pretty fast. I keep feeling like it is missing something, but I can't quite pin point it.

Study Update 007

2011-01-06T08:21:00.000-08:00

Hey hey, another update. Been playing alot of Killing Floor lately, will be leaving for Singapore soon to visit the Universities and Companies.

I am having a hard time getting motivated to do some concept arts lately, it is like I have no goal atm. So I turned my addiction in Killing Floor into my motivation, to redesign some of their monsters and characters. So expect some updates on that soon. =D

Anyway, here is Study 007. Referenced Taylor Swift.

DW V Public Voting and Study Update 006

2010-12-17T03:08:00.000-08:00

First off, Dominance War V public voting has started, here is the link :
http://www.dominancewar.com/2010/en/index.php

The forum I am fighting for :
http://www.gameartisans.org/contests/minis/view_entries_cgsociety_2d_3.html

Secondly, did a study for a vintage 1960s car model. Not sure of the name though. Used reference found in google.

I have a feeling my techniques used to paint mechanical stuff is pretty weak. It always gives away this soft feeling, prolly cause of the soft edges.

Study Update 005

2010-12-16T22:03:00.000-08:00

Environment and mood study of Rivendale, from LotR : Fellowship scene.

Next up, vintage vehicles! :D

Uploaded!

2010-12-14T14:25:00.000-08:00

Uploaded mah work for Dominance War V in Game Artisans, here's the link :-

http://www.gameartisans.org/contests/minis/finals_cgsociety_2d_3799.html

Kind of edited the final image abit too, not much difference, just trying to make the characters pop by making the bg lighter.

So many 'godlike' artworks out there, this is a great motivating / inspiring activity for oneself.

Study Update 004

2010-12-14T10:40:00.000-08:00

Took pretty long for this character, Galadriel. Also, from LotR. Need more practice!! I think next figure will probably be Taylor Swift, googled some picture of her. xD

Study Update 003

2010-12-13T07:01:00.000-08:00

Abit slow today, did not get proper sleep cause I kind of forced my body to stay awake yesterday. Had a terrible headache in the morning. o.o

Here's Gimli from LotR, the awesome dwarf. xD

Still waiting to publish my concept art for the DW V, seems that the system will start working by today, midnight[Day time in the US].

Study Update 002

2010-12-12T21:13:00.000-08:00

My female anatomy / portrait is horrible! I need to buff up! I feel like maybe I've practiced drawing alot on the opposite sex last time during figures drawing classes that all my female drawings now has abit of guy features. This totally sucks! Whole of yesterday was spent just trying to get Liv Tyler's features right.

Also, I believe my environment skills are lacking too, so a study of Lothlorien from LotR : FotR with Galadriel inside.

Study

2010-12-11T07:18:00.000-08:00

Recently just watched LotR : Fellowship of the Ring, pretty much boiled my blood to draw the characters and environments as study. So started today, and wow, I feel so rusty, haven't done figures in such a long time.

So well, I referenced Gandalf in LotR, and a random girl while I was googling. Here they are.

I am gonna be doing this more often, quite fun.

DW V Mini Finals

2010-12-07T04:33:00.000-08:00

I think this will be the final, but DWV seems to be down atm. =/ Can't submit final image. Learnt alot during this process, I cheated / skipped alot of steps during the beginning, which led to the final image not being as awesome as I pictured.

Pre-DomWar V

2010-11-22T08:29:00.000-08:00

07 Dec 2010

Okay.. should be done with this. Lightened War General characters again, didn't feel it was so dark till I started flipping the image here and there, and damn you really notice alot when doing that. Should remind myself to do that more often in the future.

Have 2 versions, I feel like the brighter background one looks better though.

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06 Dec 2010

Thanks to some awesome folks from CGSociety forums, I kind of moved the characters here and there, added more details and slight changes all around.

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06 Dec 2010

Big big update, did alot of refining/detailing, actually added some red on the War General, around the edges of his armor, looks weird so I took it off. =/

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03 Dec 2010

War General refined, exploring working from grayscale > colour, usually I just jump straight into colours. Previously the brush opacity control really made my War General feel, soft. Added more specular on the Technomage.

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Update : 02 Dec 2010

Refined and added more value. Will block in colours and refine somemore.

Update : 30 Nov 2010

Hey hey! Another update, refined and added more details on both characters!

A little bit more refining and I think it'll be good to go for colouring. Woo!

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Update : 26 Nov 2010

Just finished the overall image, put the characters together and scribbled a rough background.

Still need to add more details on the armors, especially for the Technomage, I still have about half way to go with the War General.

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So there is the Dominance War V going on atm, submiting sketches in the concept art section in CGSociety.

I'm prolly going to be working on Technomage and War General, though, I feel like I'm having a tough time getting the War General's silhouette right, maybe I need some time to visualize and stuff. Bleh, whatever it is, I've finished the first thumbnails for Technomage. Here it is :

I used to have a hard time drawing girls, especially the face, it seems that I've improved! Yay~
But I still struggle a little, still needs more practice. Anyway, I'm quite happy with the outcome, I picture my Technomage to be stern, emotionless, and as beautiful as she is dangerous. Oh, and she glides!

I'm going to throw in more details, perhaps go even more crazy with the design, she is a Technomage, so I'm guessing maybe I can give her some robotic parts. Hopefully I succeed in not making it generic.

Next update will probably be the War General, and if I'm on a roll, I might get the rough composition of the final image done.

Anatomy

2010-11-15T13:37:00.000-08:00

Ever since I entered The One Academy, I've always loved drawing characters, I mean, who doesn't? In college, the moment they started teaching Anatomy/Life Drawing, I immediately became so engrossed to it that ever since that day, I've never stopped learning the human anatomy. It is just so fascinating, how a simple structure can actually be so complex.

I am especially grateful that I worked on U92 a.k.a. Uranium Boy, he allowed me to explore the human muscles in 3D.

So over the years, I've been to the library reading up anatomy books such as Anatomy for the Artist by Sarah Simblet, Figure Drawing and Anatomy for the Artist by John Raynes, Atlas of Human Anatomy for the Artist by Stephen Rogers Peck; and well, admirable in their own way, but not exactly what I was looking for. They usually just explain the common parts, I was looking for something more advanced, more detailed.

I actually own a great book by Burne Hogarth, Dynamic Anatomy, it consists of extreme poses with the muscles visible, some basic forms conveying the muscle areas to get you started and etc, but it is still missing that something.

Until a few days ago, when I picked up this book, Anatomy Drawing School - Human Anatomy by Andras Szunyoghy & Gyorgy Feher. This book explains how the human joints work, and is elaborated with illustrations, from the skeleton, to the visible muscles with and without the human skin. This book even threw in a little extra, like drapery studies, movement studies and the basics like proportions, shapes and etc.

The deeper you flip through, you'll find out more on how there are layers of muscles overlapping each other, and how they work in conjunction with the bone with each and every one of them labeled.

Perhaps it is just me who requires such a detailed book, but I think this is a great grab. And guess what? It only costed me a measly RM40 for something so invaluable. The only thing I regret now is not finding this book earlier. =/ Heck, now I don't need to skin someone. xD

They also did one for Animal Anatomy, but it did not look as great as this book, or perhaps I did not flip through enough when I was viewing it. Maybe I'll give it a second look.

Oh yes, once again there is another challenge in ArtOrder, Dungeon Delve. Here is the thumbnail I did. Anatomy! : D

Team Fortress 2 Pyro's Majestic Jester Hat

2010-10-20T01:44:00.000-07:00

The TF2 craze came back to me, to the extend of me modeling a hat for the Pyro for Valve's TF2 - Community Contribute

T'was cool modeling a low poly object and texturing following their art style, I had alot of fun working on it.

Click to enlarge image.

Consists of 768 Tris / 390 faces.

Just submitted it to Valve, let's hope to see it in the game soon. xD

Copyrights

Pyro Model provided by Valve via Source SDK.

Jester Hat by Me.

H.P. Lovecraft's - The Mi-Go

2010-10-08T12:45:00.000-07:00

Another challenge at the ArtOrder.

Here is my finalized version of the Mi-Go.

Mi-Go (The Fungi from Yuggoth):

“They were pinkish things about five feet long; with crustaceous bodies bearing vast pairs of dorsal fins or membraneous wings and several sets of articulated limbs, and with a sort of convoluted ellipsoid, covered with multitudes of very short antennae, where a head would ordinarily be.... As it was, nearly all the rumours had several points in common; averring that the creatures were a sort of huge, light-red crab with many pairs of legs and with two great bat-like wings in the middle of their back..."

- H.P. Lovecraft, “The Whisperer in Darkness”

Click to enlarge.

Welcome to C.O.R.E.

2010-09-24T13:15:00.000-07:00

Let the rendering begin! After 9 months of production, finally we have reached this stage, and soon we'll be able to see our work come to life!

Here's a peak at what we're up to atm :-

Also, ArtOrder is having another challenge on creating a Lovecraft creature. Here's what I've came up with :-

Feedbacks are welcomed!

Lighting Part 2 and Angler Frog

2010-09-12T04:01:00.000-07:00

Emergency lighting done by me, this is when U92 escapes.

This is the original lighting, done by Vincent Lim.

Angler Frog! This picture was put on hold for a while, decided to finish it. xD

That's about it for now.

Lighting & Log Monster

2010-09-07T08:59:00.000-07:00

Working on environment lighting, quite tough to do esp with the long render time even when in draft quality. Atm optimizing the scenes to reduce render time, lol. Here are the 2D over 3D planning and 3D versions.

Here is the President's Quarters :

2D planning :

3D :

Opposite direction[3D] :

Here is the Cloning Lab :

2D Planning :

3D :

Bottom of Platform[3D] :

Coming up is the Cultivation Lab, there are two moods for that, and the city, also two moods, night and day. :D Will go through refinement again after this. D:

Anyway, an update on my personal 2d painting done for a challenge in ArtOrder :

Crunch Time!

2010-08-17T04:11:00.000-07:00

"Your job as an artist is to push craft to its limits - without being trapped by it. The trap is, perfection." - Art & Fear by David Bayles and Ted Orland

I love this book, there are so many inspiring words / quotes in it. This book really makes you think.

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Onwards to business.

We are really pushing ourselves now, I don't even have time to work on my 2d paintings.

Here is another update on the textures I've done :

I'm really happy with these, esp the tower. *Esp since I designed it* xD
Vehicles Modeling is done by : Ca_|_vin.

Just 2 in a half months to go to the launching! Wee~

© Spannar Production

First Update

2010-07-17T00:55:00.000-07:00

Haven't blogged in a while, though I believe it is about time I resume what I once did before. In this blog, my plans are to share mostly on what I've gone through, share some artworks and so on. So, let's get straight into business.

Project U92
We are in our 7th month progress, Things aren't going as smooth as we though as the deadline we set was a 6 months run. What we can guarantee is quality, though. Main reason for the postpone is highly due to the many refinement / detail we put in our work for each character and object.

Here is an update of our progress :

For some laughs :

Here are some personal projects I did during my break from all that 3D :

That's it for now. Quite the bombardment.

© Spannar Production