We Happy Few-Islands Apart

We Happy Few-Islands Apart: It's been a while since I've put out some We Happy Few art. But now that it's coming out in the summer, that's definitely about to change. This is a piece I made after Compulsion Games teased their female playable Downer.

Tools: Pencil (outlining), Micron pens from Sakura, Mincho gray scale alcohol-based markers, and Crayola Twistable colored pencils.

Wildcard Wednesday #29

This week, we can expect: a devil and a Downer.

BG&D #15: It's been a while, but I'll be getting back to my Between God and the Devil concept. This is a mopey Valentine waiting for me to get on with it.

WHF #6: (Sorry for the quality of the pic-the scanner was being annoying and wouldn't let me crop the picture quite right) Another unlucky bobby in the way of Arthur's quest for escape.

Wildcard Wednesday #25

This week, we can expect: only one piece because the scanner settings got messed up and directed to the scanner that doesn't work anymore-ugh. But anyways, it's coming back to one of the subjects that kicked off this blog.

We Happy Few-Arthur: Coming into class today, I had everything done, so I spent my time practicing and drawing Arthur Hastings of We Happy Few in Photoshop. I've been playing the game (not too much since I need a more powerful graphics card), learning the lore, and still anticipating the final version. I got inspired after seeing some 101 Dalmatians pencil tests of the human characters. I definitely want to animate Arthur and the other Downers once I get the hang of it better!

Wildcard Wednesday #12

This week's theme: you know, I go so sidetracked from the original theme. So instead, this is We Happy Few with a touch of Disney.

Disney #2: Sleeping Beauty was one of my first and remains one of my favorite Disney films, with Maleficent being one of my top favorite villains. She really is a thing to be feared.

We Happy Few #3: Being a perfectionist, I am always trying to revisit my models for characters of either my own creation or from various fandoms. Decided this week to work on revamping Miss Thigh Highs and Arthur.

We Happy Few #4: Reworking my model for Arthur, with the "Gone on Vacation" photo in mind. Also, I'm really enjoying learning more about his personality through his little quips and observations (his voice actor his wonderful!).

We Happy Few #5: Practice sketches for the follow-up on my most popular piece of We Happy Few fan art, "The Bouquet". Because I'm not simply doing a follow-up drawing. I'm going to do a little animatic of the scene! The tentative date for its posting is next Saturday, but it will at the very least be ready by the end of the month!

We Happy Few-The Third Downer

We Happy Few-The Third Downer: The only Downer who doesn't have a name-yet. Who is she, and how does her story interweave with the other Downers?

Inspiration: Since this entry for Miss Thigh Highs was one of the first entry ideas I got, I just decided to go for it this week. I love the nickname "Twiggy with Hypodermic".

Tools: The Fine Touch graphite pencils, Prismacolor and Sharpie pens, Faber-Castell watercolor pencils, and construction paper.

Delayed Finished Piece

Hi, M³ here! I'm afraid today's finished piece of art is getting postponed to tomorrow. I had work and a concert pop up on me. If I can squeeze in the finished art later today, then I'll do so, but count on it more tomorrow.
In the meantime, I'll add some finishing touches during breaks. I can't wait to show it to you! It's the Miss Thigh Highs themed entry for my We Happy Few journal. Feels like I'm in concept development class all over again.

Wildcard Wednesday #7

This week, we can expect to see: Miss Thigh Highs chilling in her spacey bedroom while Wellies panic over a Downer, all the while imps prepare to hunt down a corrupt angel.

We Happy Few WIP2*: This is a Thigh Highs-centric journal entry for my We Happy Few journal (coming this Saturday!)

We Happy Few #2: Just when I thought the developers had given nothing about Miss Thigh Highs, I was combing through their updates and found concept art of her bedroom. She sleeps under a Milky Way mobile. Sounds pretty cool to me! (Space core would love that for sure!)

We Happy Few #3: Was in the mood to draw Wellies during my break, so I drew them reacting to a Downer (presumably poor Arthur).

Between God and the Devil: Been working a lot on story and characters this week. This drawing presents two parts in the story. One of them being Bucksnip gathering a gang of fellow imps to take over Blasphemous Behemoth. But it's not just about being the new lords of Hell. This is also a revenge quest after the angel who denied Bucksnip heaven-Admetus.

Beyond that, I'm still figuring out Admetus's character. But all I can say is he is the definite antagonist of the movie. He used to be a Tempter for God until he settled for a position as an Angel Superior. Because of his former Tempter duties, Admetus can change his appearance and voice at will. And not only is his Holy Light one of the brightest, but his powers to manipulate the mind, heart, and soul are great. Oh, if only they were used with good intentions. Admetus is rumored to be hiding in plain sight at Blasphemous Behemoth.

Early Art Surprise!

Hi, M³ here! Why am I posting today instead of tomorrow?
Because I've got not one, but TWO new pieces of art that I simply can't wait to share with you all, so why not?!

Between God and the Devil-Heavenly Hosts: Angelica is a human turned angel seeking Superiority, Valentyne is a human turned demon just killing time in Hell. When these two meet and join forces, who knows what will come out of their partnership?

Inspiration: This was inspired by one of my doodles in this week's Wildcard Wednesday. I tried doing a version of this in my bigger development sketchbook, but I got more success working in a smaller sketchbook than that. These two have given me so much joy and excitement during my breaks at work, I sometimes forget that I created them. Rest assured, I will do everything to see these two reach the big screen and have their story told.

Tools: Pencil (outlining), Prismacolor and Sharpie pens, one Tombow dual brush grayscale pen, and Faber-Castell watercolor pencils (plus my finger for some blending).

We Happy Few-Previously...: We've seen how far the game's gone in PAX East 2016. We've sat in shock at the juiciest trailer yet at E3. Now, as the game gets released in Early Access and closes in on final development for 2017, it's time to dedicate an entire journal to the mad ramblings, theories, and reactions that follow.

Inspiration: Well, based on the first picture from this week's Wildcard Wednesday, you already know why I'm doing this journal. I only felt it fitting to make a "Previously..." page before I go any further. And I'm going to try and not fill up the whole journal before the final game comes out, just so there's room for further exploration. Either that or if I do, then there'll surely be a Volume II to follow if need be.

Tools: Scanned pictures of previous pieces, one Tombow dual brush pen, and Faber-Castell markers.

We Happy Few-Break the Tube

We Happy Few-Break the Tube: "Do you think the canister ever wonders what life's like outside the tube? Of course he'd have to break it to find out. I'll break it for everybody."

Inspiration: In the new We Happy Few trailer for E3 last week, Arthur wakes up from his Joy-run reality and becomes a Downer. And it is shown in such epic fashion, with all the right doses of emotion, terror, and disgust (I'll never trust pinatas again!). The developers have come a long way since they first started working on this game. It's going to be good, I know it!
And yes, I know I'm late on the fan art bandwagon for the E3 trailer. I can thank tendinitis for that. But you know what they say-better late than ever.

Tools: Pencil (outlining), Prismacolor pens, Faber-Castell markers, and Tombow dual brush grayscale pens.

Introducing Make Up Mondays!

Hi, M³ here! I have improved immensely since my last post. For now, I don't have anymore tendinitis-related problems-and two days off! Which means I can spend time on catching up on art.
I know I missed last week's Saturday posting. And I really don't like breaking a routine. So I'm going to give myself a cushion, if you will, in case things like tendinitis or life get in the way of art, and that is through Make Up Monday. Any Saturday art postings I miss will show up the following Monday.
And yeah, that's pretty much it! Tomorrow, the new art that was due will show up, and it's going to be We Happy Few themed. Compulsion Games released a new trailer at Microsoft's E3 gaming conference, and it's now become a surprise hit, garnering several awards and nominations. Best of all, the trailer has given a little more of a peek into the narrative aspect of the game, featuring the protagonist Arthur Hastings just as he chooses not to take Joy. I'm so excited to share it with you tomorrow!
Also, I'm really getting invested in my project Between God and the Devil-there's more concept art coming up, and maybe even a finished piece by the end of the week!

Wildcard Wednesday #3

On today's Wildcard Wednesday, we can expect: Chell and Wheatley try to forgive each other with an angel and a devil on their shoulders, all the while Miss Thigh Highs deals with a doctor and Uncle Jack's saccharine happiness.

Between God and the Devil #1: During my Creative Writing class a couple years ago, I had to write a short play. It was centered around an angel (Angelica) and a a demon (Valentyne) who seek to rid the Cathedral of Blasphemous Behemoth of a trouble-making imp (Bucksnip). It's not anything that good, but it's still thoroughly enjoyable. So much so that I'm exploring the concept to see if I can make anything of it, even something as simple as a little comic strip series. Click on the picture to look at my brainstorming notes!

Why Can't We Be Friends?*: A little doodle I did (with my human version of Wheatley) around a small bit from Lego Dimensions: Portal mission. As a Legofication of Portal 2, it's not too bad, and sometimes the dialogue is spot on. I do hope that if there is a third Portal game made that Chell and Wheatley reunite and reconcile. They're so cool when they work together!

Syringe Wars WIP*: The closer we get to the release of We Happy Few, the more I want to learn about the story and the characters. Miss Thigh Highs is the biggest question mark of the three Downers. I keep getting the feeling that she might be a spy, but whoever she is, she clearly has some mysterious, secret quality about her.

So Happy Teaser*: As can be seen in my posts, I've always got We Happy Few on my mind. And I've come to realize that working at my job is a little similar to being a Downer pretending to be on Joy, only not nearly as awful or psychotic. And it seems to be a general consensus and my own gatherings of her character that Miss Thigh Highs probably finds acting so darn happy all the time annoying. I mean, if you were in her thigh high shoes, wouldn't you get sick of it? 

We Happy Few-The Bouquet

The Bouquet: Normally one gives bouquets to nosy old ladies or wastrels from the Garden District. But fellow Downers could always use a little cheering up themselves-and not from Joy.

Inspiration:  Up until yesterday, I'd never seen a bouquet interaction in all the gameplays and live streams I'd seen of We Happy Few. I finally amended that after watching LuCiGEN's live stream last night.

Also, we know little about Arthur, even less about Mad Scotsman, and absolutely nothing on Miss Thigh Highs. I'm dying to know how these three Downers' stories interweave with each other and to learn more about who each of them is.

Tools: Pencil (outlining), Prismacolor and Sharpie pens, and Faber Castell watercolor pencils.