See You at WordPress!

Hey! To anyone who checks out the ArtzDeeva blog, I just moved over to Wordpress!

Yes, I've moved over to WordPress. Not only do I feel that its customization options are better than Blogger, but I just feel I'll be able to reach more viewers and other artists with a much bigger and more powerful blogging platform. It's a move for the best and much artsy goodness will come out of it.

So if you want to continue following my art, find me here!

Moving the Blog

Greetings from the ArtzDeeva! I've got a pretty big development happening pretty soon.
While Blogger has been very good, I feel like the blog would experience a lot more success and visibility if run on a different blogging service. So I'm simply going to be moving the ArtzDeeva blog to Wordpress in February.
I'm not going to take this blog down - I've put so much work into this version of the blog that I'll simply leave it up with a post directing readers to the Wordpress blog when it's up and ready. I've still got a lot of work to do for getting the Wordpress blog up and ready yet, but I will let you know when it's ready. From then on, the art and the ArtzDeeva journey will continue!
Also without spoiling a whole lot, I've got a lot of great content coming up soon! I'm going to start putting more emphasis on video content, ranging from things like the ArtzDeeva video I put up last week to more formal things like speed draws. But I've got a lot of fun, crazy ideas I can't wait to get started on, and I can't wait to share them with you on the new blog!
That's all I have for today - ArtzDeeva over and out!

ArtzDeeva Emerging

ArtzDeeva Emerging: I'm so excited to share with you a test for a form of new content - ArtzDeeva videos! This will be my animated persona talking about a variety of personal, nerdy, and artsy stuff in what I call the ArtzDeeva Den. Again, this is just a test, but I was so pleased with the result that I had to put it out there!

Tools: Photoshop (background), Adobe Animate (ArtzDeeva persona), and After Effects (editing).

Farewell for Now, Patreon...

Here's what I've been meaning to fill you in on for the last couple of weeks. Please watch.

Chess - Game of the Century

Chess - Game of the Century: This is it. This is my final for 3D Modeling and Animation class! The set up of the pieces, if you take a close look at them in certain shots, is based on the famous Game of the Century between Fischer and Spassky. This is also a basic rough prototype of what the arena in my actual Chess concept is going to look like.

(Sorry I didn't post last week, things have been getting crazy - I'll have an announcement out in about a week or so)

Tools: Autodesk Maya and After Effects.

Chess-Madness of the King

Chess-Madness of the King: It's finally here! I'm so happy to finally be sharing this with you all. This video starts setting in place all the blocks of story that make up this Chess concept. I sincerely hope you enjoy this one!

Tools: Adobe Animate and Adobe After Effects.

Chess Board Progress (Delay Announcement)

I'm sorry I couldn't post this sooner-I've been experiencing a lot of annoying Internet connectivity problems recently. Because of said Internet problems, along with work and school, I'm delaying the concept art video until next Saturday. I'm really sorry, but in order to make something that looks good without driving myself insane, I have to do this. Thank you for you patience.

But here, in the meantime, is what I have on my Chess-related finals for 3D-modeling class!

Chess Board #1: An overhead view of the chess board! The armies are complete and ready for an abbreviated version of The Game of the Century.

Chess Board #2: We've learned to play around with depth of field on the cameras in Maya, and now I can take beautiful shots like this.

Chess Board #3: Here's a more sinister shot of the White royalty staring down the enemy.

Chess-Madness of the King (Teaser)

Chess-Madness of the King (Teaser): I have for you the title of the new Chess concept art video, The Madness of the King, along with this piece of teaser art. Some would say that Chess is just another dimension of life, and for the White King Edward, the realities are blurring. What once were his friends on the opposite side are now his enemies, and his only desire is to have the board completely under his control.

Working fast and hard on this video - it will be out next week!

Tools: Adobe Animate (formerly Flash).

Chess - Bishop v Knight Test

Chess - Bishop v Knight Test: Getting the hang of Flash has been a little rocky, but I think I'm starting to get the hang of things! This was a little pencil test I did of a bishop versus a knight (definitely going to have to revisit my run cycles).

Tools: Adobe Animate (Flash).

Pitch Black Animation

Pitch Black: Short little test animation I made this week. I was in the mood for animating one of my favorite animated villains.

(I'm going to be moving over from Photoshop to Flash, or Animate, for future animations)

Tools: Photoshop. 

Wildcard Wednesday #60

This week, we can expect: more Chess stuff (showing off a bit of my first Maya work) and some of my first life drawing sketches.

Chess-Pawn: Today marks a momentous occasion - I have only just been getting the basics of Maya for two days now, and I've already constructed a pawn with a matted color! Now that I can construct something like this, finals will definitely be Chess themed.

Chess #33: Going to be working on a lot of Chess art over the next two months, some of which I can't show 'til later or until the next concept art video comes out. One of the things I'm trying to get down to memory is the designs for all the different characters, especially the kings, now that they finally have their own distinct designs.

Life Drawing #1: Like I've said before, I'm finally taking a life drawing class this quarter. And I have to say, it is possibly one of the best classes I've ever taken so far. Drawing from real live models is incredible, and I feel like every night I attend, I keep growing in skill, excitement, and passion for what I'm going into. The model drawn in these sketches was a wonderful poser.

Back To School Feelings

Animator in the Making #1: This week ushered in the return to school, and I couldn't be more excited! I'm taking an Intro to 3D Modeling and Animation class, and one of the most essentials classes an artist could need, life drawing! Maya will soon be added to the list of programs I'm fluent in, and drawing people will come with more ease and understanding. I feel like such an evil genius right now.

Tools: Pencil (outlining), Prismacolor pens, Crayola colored pencils, and Sakura blendable markers.

Wildcard Wednesday #59

This week, we have: a return to Chess stuff! Sorry there isn't much today. After the off week I had, it's time to make up for lost time on drawing.

Chess #32: A little inspirational drawing of the Black King Alistair. As I prepare for the next concept art video, I'm trying to round out not just the kings' character designs but also their voices and how big their role in the series will be.

Chess - Concept Art Video #1

Chess - Concept Art Video #1: And here it is, the first Chess concept art video! I realized the ideas I had were too big for one video, so I've decided to make a whole series as I develop the concept. I'll probably do the same for other projects like Between God and the Devil and Tommelise.

Tools: Sketches (traditional) and Photoshop.

(Belated) Wildcard Wednesday #57

This week, we can expect: something a little different, actually! Revisiting Between God and the Devil and Tommelise concepts!
(Note: due to some school scheduling for the fall quarter, I may put a pause on Wildcard Wednesdays or move loose sketches to another day)

BGAD #24: Thumbnails for one of my upcoming animation projects and the latest development in Between God and the Devil in a long while! This will be entered in next year's Elkhorn Film Festival, and it's basically a pitch for the story in the form of a funny news report from Purgatory. This is going to be so much fun, and I can't wait to have it finished! I'll release a storyboarded version pretty soon.

Tommelise #? (We'll Call It 5): Like I said above, I'm revisiting my other concepts as work on the Chess concept art video goes. This includes Tommelise, which I'm giving a whole revamp. I'm working on her design to not only make her stand out, but also easy to draw over and over.

Wildcard Wednesday #55

This week, we can expect: if you guessed Chess, you're correct! More Chess work, why not?

Chess-Character Sheet #1: Starting to crank out the character sheets now! This one is for Lorenzo.

Chess-Lorenzo Test 1: Lastly, a little test animation of Lorenzo. This one's based more on personality than movement and combat, but those will soon follow!

Chess-Isolated Pawn

Chess - Isolated Pawn: A new teaser for the Chess concept art video. Since I haven't focused on this aspect so much, I'm going to be drawing/animating more in-game scenes, like fights between pieces, dramatic shots, and other such stuff. I've got pretty much all of next week off, so I'm going to be putting in a lot of time into this.

Tools: Adobe Photoshop (plus thumbnail).

(Belated) Wildcard Wednesday #50

This week, we can expect: Cirque du Soleil simplicity and more Chess developments.

(Sorry this came late-I lost track of time and I'm trying to make sure I'm ready for Patreon)

Cirque #1: A simplistic doodle I did around the Innocent, a character from Cirque du Soleil's Kooza.

Chess #22: Playing around with my Chess concepts again. This time, I made some ceremonial outfits that resemble the pieces' appearances. The knights are a little wonky, but I'll get them right soon enough.

Chess #23: When I said I'm playing around with my Chess concepts, I really mean it, and it's not just because of Patreon. This series is something I want to make big and meaningful to many people. So I'm really going to work on the story to make sure everything is perfect. And a perfect story will provide perfect visuals and artwork.

Going on Patreon-Voting Rights

Hi, ArtzDeeva here! So yesterday, I talked about the overall basics for my upcoming Patreon page, which is again launching Independence Day. Even though the $7 reward tier involving voting is pretty straight forward, I just wanted to further elaborate on the significance of voting rights on my page.
Even as a creative person, I like to think of myself as being very persistent and prolific. And often that is what I am. However, no matter how hard I try sometimes, I'm not always the best with managing time. In my time at Metro, where projects are usually due every one-two months (we go on a quarterly basis), I've found that's given me enough time to not only put in the work, but also make something I'm proud of. Having the supervision of my teachers has also been a good way to reel in my overactive imagination and get me focused on tackling projects one bit at a time.
This is what voting rights will do. Like I said, all my animation and graphic page projects will be in one-two month schedules. With voting rights, you'll not only be able to vote on which project I work on for that month, but also what aspect of it I work on (story, world-building, character design, and color script). At this reward tier, you not only become a patron - you become a creative partner, someone who's actively a part of the development of my projects. Your votes will help me guide the direction of my projects so that I'm not just aimlessly scratching on paper or wrestling with a gigantic story in my brain. And it will help me truly develop my projects from simply bare bones ideas to fully realized worlds and characters.
This I feel will work the best in terms of keeping me accountable to my schedule and patrons. And I think patrons will really enjoy being part of something big. Trust me, these four main projects are all going to be movies and series in the future-that's no small thing, and no amount of help in any of these projects will go unforgotten or unappreciated. And it's also good for me, the artist, as well. So often, it's easy to just go about your work day to day feeling like you're one fish in the sea or disconnected from the audience you want to reach. This system will eradicate such isolation and keep me engaged with those who get excited about the stuff I make.
This is the significance of the voting right tier I'm creating. And for those considering pledging at that amount, I look forward to our creative partnership together.

Going on Patreon-The Basics

Hi, ArtzDeeva here! I apologize in advance, there is no finished art for today. This week was crazy, and I finally got a job! Yesterday was the first day, and one of the activities (which fortunately is not the norm for work) reawakened the tendinitis ghosts in my wrist and elbow. I'll be okay, but I need at least a day of recovery.
But I am here to tell you the new launch date of my Patreon and some of the details concerning it.
First off, the launch date is Independence Day! What better way to celebrate going indie? After having more time to better prepare for Patreon, I now feel more ready than ever. Although in many ways I still feel very unprepared.
Secondly, I'll talk a bit about the rewards. I have four tiers of rewards in place. $1 is eternal gratitude and also all sneak peeks into developments and works in progress. I will be sharing my blog posts on Patreon, but because I'm already posting for free, my blog posts will be accessible to non-patrons as well. If you remember the trading card art from one or two weeks back, that is all still going to be part of the Patreon rewards. I've actually had these pieces sent in to a mass-printing service, and so I will keep printing as needed to distribute to patrons. Starting at the $3 reward, all of the above plus one piece of trading card art will be yours. At the $7 reward, it's all of the above, two pieces of trading card art, and voting rights on projects. I will talk about the significance of voting rights on my Patreon in a separate post tomorrow, but trust me, they're really important. Lastly, at the $13 reward, it's all of the above, five pieces of trading card art, and the classic your name in the credits of my finished animations.
Thirdly and lastly, since I don't want to make this post any longer than it already is, I've kind of built up a work system for when I'm actively on Patreon. Smaller projects will be completed on a one-month basis, and larger projects will be completed in two months. This holds me accountable to the work, but also gives me some room to breathe and have fun with what I'm working on. Also, as far as original art goes, I've so far boiled work down to four central concepts: Between God and the Devil, Chess, Tommelise, and Desoldri. Because these are all future movies/series, I'm already thinking about how much I reveal to patrons and how much I keep secret for the future. Chess and Tomelise are series, the former I suspect will gather much popularity, so I think I will post more for those (including exploring plotlines and such through graphic novel pages). Because my characters from Between God and the Devil have been pretty popular, I'm going to release some stuff, definitely some comic pages and stuff. But because it will be a movie, I will hold back more on the story (which even now is still under development). Desoldri you'll get even less meat as far as story goes. That's another future movie, and it's going to be big and hopefully amazing. But because of how grand it is, I really can't afford to put out too much, so I might throw out teaser concept art without context for the scenes, characters, etc.
So yeah, those are the basics of when I'm launching on Patreon and how things are going to work for the most part. As always, I'll keep you updated, and tomorrow I'll talk about the importance of the voting rights. Stay tuned!