Guild Wars 2

Heya!

1.) How did you learn to create digital art? Did you teach yourself, take a class, make copies of others work, etc?

I’ve been doing art for more than a decade both teaching myself and learning from great teachers. I got a Bachelors degree in Animation and I work as an animator in the video game industry (working towards someday getting a job at ArenaNet, actually xb ). I’d say that most of how I learn is through experience, taking constructive critique to heart, and trying new things. I’d say that the best advice I can give is to just practice a lot! Do gesture drawings, nude studies, learn about the fundamentals of art and the principles of visual communication. I highly recommend learning about color theory and the physics of light.

2.) What kind of physical tools do you use and what would you recommend for someone trying to learn? (Stuff like drawing tablets for example)

I use a wacom tablet to produce my work and i would recommend the same for anyone looking to get into digital art.

3.) What digital program do you use? Is it like photoshop or some other program?

I use Photoshop CC for 2D work. The Adobe suite is pretty standard in the industry. I love to use Z-Brush and Maya for my 3D work, though. Substance is great for texturing, but i’m sure you weren’t looking to do 3D <.<; . Thought I’d cover my bases…

4.) Any other advice you think could help

Be patient with yourself! You’re not going to get it overnight and that’s ok! That’s the main take away of being an artist though, really: you’re always going to be a student. I don’t believe anyone can be a “true master” because there is always something new and interesting to learn. Being an artist is a life-long thing, if you’ve got the passion for it.

There’s nothing wrong with copying people’s styles, by the way. That’s how you end up developing your own, honestly. You take tidbits of things you like and your style becomes an amalgamation of your favorite artists. My favorite artist is Skottie Young and I totally recommend checking out his work. He’s a comic book artist.

Here are some great resources that I use frequently:

Digital Tutors is probably one of the best places to learn new skills in creative fields:
http://www.digitaltutors.com/11/index.php

The Gnomon Workshop is highly regarded as the premium place to learn new skills in creative fields:
http://www.thegnomonworkshop.com/

ConceptArt.org is a fantastic place to develop your skills, learn new things, and ask for critique. I will say though that you might not get a lot of replies, but that really depends i guess.
http://www.conceptart.org/go/artist/

I hope that helps!

Everyone seems to keep forgetting that Primordus is the one living underground (in The Depths – that large subterranean network of caverns and tunnels that run beneath the surface of Tyria). So, since Mordremoth lives in the Maguuma Jungle, how can the giant drill drilling into Lion’s Arch be in any way related to Mordremoth since Mordremoth is miles away :v? So far, it seems more and more than Primordus is who Scarlet is drilling towards. Even the Tengu are starting to have Destroyer problems, so Primordus has to be close.

ArenaNet in an interview did say that after the season 1 finale of the living story (March 4th) that they’re going to take a break from the living story and focus on updating features and adding cool stuff! I also heard that before the game was released that they had been working on those ares, but they just didn’t have any npc’s or stuff to do in those areas so they left them out for release. So, I think there is a good possibility that they may add those areas this year (: !

Zera Allimatti.2541:

You seem to not even want to tap into the lore, much less the game’s main plot about the dragons. This living story thing barely even mentions or name drops anything from the main plot about the dragons.

Actually, they’ve been dropping a lot of hints that Scarlet may very well be an Elder Dragon’s champion (: ! Most likely Primordus, too! Think about it. She hears a voice that she wants to confront the source of. And before you say “But Sylvari can’t be corrupted,” she did go through Omadd’s invention which virtually strips the mind’s defenses and throws you into a vulnerable state. There’s also the Infinity Ball personal story! If you didn’t give the Infinity Ball enough power, it would teleport Destroyers (which are Primordus’ minions) which basically means that the source of power that normally powers devices in that area (chaos magic leylines) also has a layer of dragon magic leylines. Given the trajectory of that leyline (based on locations of special corrupted enemies, Fleshreavers, and such) that dragon magic leyline must be crossing through Rata Sum (and they also have been having troubles with Destroyers, lore-wise). So maybe Omadd’s device wasn’t powered enough and instead of looking into the Eternal Alchemy, she got corrupted by Primordus. She did wake up and became hot to the touch for a few moments. There are other tidbits of good evidence that I could mention, but the best idea would be to just go and look at that theory (: !

So, basically, just stick with it (: ! The season 1 finale of the living story is around March 4th! And if that drill really is going to awaken Primordus, then how awesome would that be :b?

That’s silly :c . It is completely worth logging in to see and take in the fantastic horror of Lion’s Arch getting completely obliterated! Especially considering it’s an important part of the story arc that’s been going on! This first season of the living story is going to be concluded in the next 2 updates or so before they take a break from the living story to focus on implementing new features. Regardless of how zerg it is, it is still completely worth taking a look to witness history being made in Tyria.

And if that drill is for what i think it is, you definitely don’t want to miss the next updates!

Just a portrait of my Asura guardian Fenkai :b ! I’ve been getting more into Guild Wars 2 and I’ve been getting more and more interested in getting a job at ArenaNet someday (: . So, expect some modeling and sculpts in the future as well as some animation work!

I think it would be fantastic if there was a pitch slider for the character’s voice for replayability. Granted, it wouldn’t sound as great by comparison to alternative voice actors, but i’m sure it would be less costly ^^; . Either way, I love to play Asurans, but sometimes i want to create an Asuran with a different personality. Only, when i create a completely different guy he still sounds the same, so he just feels like an alternate reality version of my last Asuran.

Anyway, i’m sure this isn’t as important, but it would be fantastic to add some variety with voice!

I hope you like it (: .

I made up the pistol and scepter, since you didn’t post reference for those x: . And, it was hard to see some of the design, so i had to make stuff up (:

Hey guys, Asuran’s are my favorite race, so that’s why I kinda just want to make Asuran art x: . But, even still, I may draw another race, if your shot is inspiring (: .

Pieces will range from full body to busts with, potentially, simple backgrounds. I’m pretty whimsical, so you might get lucky and get a complex background to boot.

And ya, i’ve got another thread goin, but i’m only posting personal fan-art there.

Hey Vito! I actually haven’t gotten an e-mail back from them, so i haven’t gotten the internship yet. I actually don’t know if I’ll get it, anymore. I checked the blog post that has the information on it and I couldn’t find the animation/vfx section that was there when I had applied… I’m still hoping for the best

I’ve been busy, lately, mostly playing Guild Wars 2 and working on my portfolio. Crossing my fingers for the internship at ArenaNet ! Would love to learn from them.

Just posting one of many more (to come) Asura fan pieces I’ve been painting :b ! Asura are too awesome not to have more fan art of.

This is my 80 Guardian “Fenkai” wondering why you brought Magic Find gear to the Fractals dungeon….

Thanks ! Actually, one of the projects I’m working on is an animation xp . I just didn’t want to say anything until I had something to show

This is my Asura Guardian, Fenkai (:

Awesome work (:

Hello! Thanks for stopping by (: ! I’m an animator and I also love to digitally paint. I’m working on a few fan projects i’ll reveal as they develop, but here are some pieces i painted of my Asuran Guardian named Fenkai~

The first one was painted during beta, which is why his eye color is different in the second piece. Also, the second piece is a work in progress, but I like how it’s turning out so far and thought i’d share. I’ll add some Risen when I get the chance.

mike

This is my Asura Guardian (:

Actually, if you go to PvP (not WvWvW) there is a “PvP Locker” where you can look through the collection of armor sets and weapons and you’re able to preview them without actually having them.

I think what the game currently has is fine with me. I don’t think that adding even more revealing armor is going to benefit this game, to be honest. There’s already decently revealing armor that’s both appealing and functional and to go any farther would stray from the GW2 universe and become an mmo that sexualizes violence with g-string armor that makes absolutely no sense in combat. I can see why people would ask for it though and as a gay guy i think it’d be sweet to see more revealing armor for males, but at the same time i’m really fond of the Guild Wars universe and seeing more strippers running around is just going to eat away at the immersion that ArenaNet worked so hard to build. And I understand the “this is an escape from reality, i don’t care about functionality” standpoint, but if an mmo starts to introduce things that aren’t actually functional or believable in that mmo’s universe then why bother use that argument when it detracts from immersion? Immersion sells the world to you, it’s one of the most important ingredients in developing a game. Kinda hard to escape into a game when the game’s not immersible. I’m sure, though, that in the future they’ll add more decently revealing armor sets. And if anyone is looking for a revealing chest piece, the Pit Fighter chest armor is pretty awesome and appealing