Codename: Maelstrom

Codename: Maelstrom is the name of one of my game proposals that I will eventually show on Beeline Studios. I won't get into the details of the game here. My main purpose is just to show the main character design that I've been working on. The character Maelstrom has been percolating in my head for some time. Sketches I've done over the years can be seen here (towards the end): Art bytes - Characters

Here was my final design:


He's in his skivvies because I intend to model him as you would an MMO game character. Well, it's similar to the way we modeled characters at Doppelganger for the vSide social world. The vSide avatars were modeled in separate pieces (hair, face/head, body, legs, feet, and accessories) and then users could mix and match the different clothing items.

Once I've modeled the bare avatar, I will start modeling a few different combat uniforms for him. First I will model a low polygon version in Maya, and then import that into ZBrush where I will make a high polygon version for the normal map. Normal maps are what make the characters in next generation games look so good. It's basically a new way of bump mapping.

After completing the first draft of the final design, I wanted to try something different with the cybernetic arm. Here's the second iteration:


I wanted something organic looking but still have a cybernetic feel. This is the version I will model. But I did do a third iteration as a combination of the first and second:


This one I like because the surface is very smooth at the shoulder but looks very mechanical at the "hand". But I've decided I will go with the second version. Here is Maelstrom in his Urban Camouflage gear:


I'm going to draw a three quarter back view of the character before I actually start modeling. I like to work out a lot of details in 2D before I start the 3D process. I think it helps me model faster.

This character is the property of Brian Edenfield/Beeline Studios. Please do not reproduce without permission.

Puzzle Farter Splash Screen

My friend Austin owns a Flash game company with his wife called Pet Tomato. They created this game called Puzzle Farter and Austin asked me to do a splash screen. The main character was a bit difficult to figure out, as was the sponge with steel nettles, but Austin seems to like it.

I'm hoping he'll work with me on this iPhone idea I have.

Happy Birthday, Charles Darwin

To the man who gave the world the gift of "On the Origin of Species".

Illustration test

Just a test to see what makes a really dynamic image. I revisited a drawing from a few years ago, April 2007, and tweaked it a bit.



Then I played with it to see how I could punch it up.

This has a very Film Noir feeling to it. I really like it but the composition is off.


Here I just pasted the color version as a new layer and made the layer "color". Then I bumped up the values in the shaded areas and gave it a cooler light source.

Drink and Draw SF

Don't draw very much anymore. Here's a cave-monkey-man:

Drink and Draw SF

Not much tonight. Inspired by The Thing.

vSide Beta 6 launch commemorative t-shirt

Created this t-shirt as a gift to the Doppelganger staff to commemorate the launching of the latest release of vSide

The product release was vSide Beta 6. But before that went live we had an alpha release to a select few of our users. This particular alpha release was M3. Hence the title on the shirt: Grand Ship Alpha M3. Sounded better than Grand Ship Beta 6. Is that confusing enough?

This shirt would make no sense to anyone outside of the company. So here's a few clues to what's going on: Company logo is this evil little sketchy bunny. Obviously, it's riffing on the whole Grand Theft Auto thing so some of the images reflect the GTA game covers. The new release has a sumo game and dice roll as well as a few other fun features.

Final image: