A typical resident of Bad News Basin

I've been rolled off the Golden Axe project (which you should most definitely buy 20 copies of when it hits shelves), and for the last few weeks I've been doing time in game developer purgatory, more commonly known as R&D. Not nearly as dreary or melodramatic as my metaphor suggests, this period has actually been a great learning opportunity. I'm splitting my "research" time between concept art and MEL scripting. Considering this is an art blog, I'll spare you the scripting.



So basically, the most awesome things in the world are Mother Teresa and a cure for cancer. Close seconds are cowboys and Biblical themes, which are easier to draw. I'm "writing" a story about the pale rider of the apocalypse and all the fun things that happen when he loses his horse. This is one take on him. I was fortunate enough to attend an in-house course taught by the concept artist, whose techniques have helped me out a lot.



And here are some "thumbnails" of ideas ranging from deranged medicine man to bandito guapo to bad romance novel. In retrospect, I shouldn't have skipped the real thumbnail stage of scribbling down scores of ideas. I also should've looked up some better Spanish adjectives. But I don't have to tell anyone how long I spent on these, and I don't know Spanish anyway, so hey.