Hi everyone,
I just wanted to introduce you to the new company I am working for called Pulp Monsters. They produce an awesome superhero skirmish game called Pulp City. The concepts and art for this game are really fun to work on I love working with them. Here is a link to their site to go check it out:
http://pulpmonsters.com/heroes.html
The rules for this great game are absolutely free and it takes very little investment to start playing as it is a skirmish level game so you only need a few figures to start. If you like superhero's you will find something you like about Pulp City(one of my favourite parts about the website is the cool sound effects).
Keep an eye out for upcoming photo's of my stuff that I sculpted for them, I will post them as soon as legally possible!
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
End of an Era?
Well as most of you have probably heard the plug was finally pulled on Wizkids yesterday. Imagine my surprise as I was perusing The Miniatures Page and saw the announcement. It was a complete shock to me as I had just finished having a great conversation with the product manager on Friday about future plans and commissions for Wizkids. I feel very saddened by the news after working on a product for so long (my first figures were in infinity challenge and I had just sent out some for B&B) and my sincere condolences go out to the employees of Wizkids who had this sprung on them.
I would like to thank all of the Heroclix fans who supported the game so much and made it such a success over the years. As a result your commitment has allowed me to keep sculpting the characters I love and feed my kids over the years by keeping me gainfully employed. It is such a shame as some of my best work was done for HOT and B&B which may now never see the light of day. I have to walk away with the knowledge that I can at least use them for my portfolio.
I feel very disappointed by the raw deal that many of the fans have gotten from the way this was all so suddenly yanked, you guys deserve much more for all the support and money you all have invested in the game over the years.
On a positive note, you never know this may be the best thing for Heroclix if it gets picked up by another company it may breath new and exciting life into it. It also opens up the property to any company willing to pay the licensing fees.
I would like to thank all of the Heroclix fans who supported the game so much and made it such a success over the years. As a result your commitment has allowed me to keep sculpting the characters I love and feed my kids over the years by keeping me gainfully employed. It is such a shame as some of my best work was done for HOT and B&B which may now never see the light of day. I have to walk away with the knowledge that I can at least use them for my portfolio.
I feel very disappointed by the raw deal that many of the fans have gotten from the way this was all so suddenly yanked, you guys deserve much more for all the support and money you all have invested in the game over the years.
On a positive note, you never know this may be the best thing for Heroclix if it gets picked up by another company it may breath new and exciting life into it. It also opens up the property to any company willing to pay the licensing fees.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
New Photos Uploaded
I updated my Flicr page with some of the sculpts I did for the new Arkham Asylum set.
Check it out: http://www.flickr.com/photos/24546626@N04/
Lyssa Drak was my favourite. The set was diffucult because alot of the characters I did were unknown's to me. In total I did 7 figures for it.
James
Check it out: http://www.flickr.com/photos/24546626@N04/
Lyssa Drak was my favourite. The set was diffucult because alot of the characters I did were unknown's to me. In total I did 7 figures for it.
James
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Thor
Here are some photos of a Thor figure I did in my spare time. I really enjoyed this because it is rare that I actually get to paint one of my figures. This is for personal use only and will not be sold as a part of any product line.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
New Tutorial Series
As some of you may know I taught a beginners sculpting class a few months ago. I thought I would post some of the material that wrote for the textbook that I used for the course here.
Here is the first part that talks about some basic fundamentals that are handy to keep in mind when sculpting. (You may notice that the text refers to the reader directly, this is because I wrote it to address the students)
Level 1 –The Basics
Key Things to Consider When Sculpting
Before we start, I’d like to cover a few basic ideas that we all need to be aware of. Sculpting is an art and it takes years of practice to learn how to do. The one important thing to remember is that skill increases with practice and time. It is important for you to remember this when you look at not only your own work but each other’s work. Do not judge yourself by the quality of a sculpt or conversion that you have just done, ask yourself these important questions; is this piece better than my last? What did I do that worked out well or was easy? What did I do that didn’t work out? And the #1 question; what can I do to improve? The goal is not to sculpt a Bernini off the bat; the goal is to always strive to make each sculpt a little better than the last. Don’t stick to what I teach you, there are many different ways to sculpt something, there is no final word. Don’t be afraid to redo something you screw up or experiment with a new technique.
Most importantly don’t give up, one of the most important attributes sculpting requires is patience. I have had figures where I have re-sculpted the face over 5 times before getting it right. Sculpting requires an immense investment in time and you must be able to take that investment and flush it down the toilet if it goes wrong. You must learn to self examine your work with an impartial eye. This can be very difficult when you pour so much creativity into a piece, the personal interest you place in a sculpture is enormous and you must be able to see past that to accurately judge if a figure you do is good or needs improvement.
You must also train your eye to see in 3D. Examine the people and things in the world around you every day. Train yourself to look at the contours of each object you see, this can be something as simple as the texture of an orange or the pattern in the bark of a tree. Study people. Look at the folds in their skin, the shape of their bodies and the folds in their clothes. When you train you eye to see in this way you will subconsciously train your mind to recognize these different patterns and textures, which will in turn help you sculpt them when you are working.
Check your ego at the door. You must try to be humble. If you believe you know everything and are the greatest talent since Michelangelo you simply will not learn anything. The best way to learn is from other sculptors and they will avoid you if you have an attitude like this and certainly will not share their techniques with you. If you believe you are the best you will be blind to errors in your work and as such will never be able to improve. Eventually if you do seek a career in sculpting you will end up facing an art director who doesn’t approve of a piece you do and your ego will probably cost you the job. Your talent can only take you so far.
Here is the first part that talks about some basic fundamentals that are handy to keep in mind when sculpting. (You may notice that the text refers to the reader directly, this is because I wrote it to address the students)
Level 1 –The Basics
Key Things to Consider When Sculpting
Before we start, I’d like to cover a few basic ideas that we all need to be aware of. Sculpting is an art and it takes years of practice to learn how to do. The one important thing to remember is that skill increases with practice and time. It is important for you to remember this when you look at not only your own work but each other’s work. Do not judge yourself by the quality of a sculpt or conversion that you have just done, ask yourself these important questions; is this piece better than my last? What did I do that worked out well or was easy? What did I do that didn’t work out? And the #1 question; what can I do to improve? The goal is not to sculpt a Bernini off the bat; the goal is to always strive to make each sculpt a little better than the last. Don’t stick to what I teach you, there are many different ways to sculpt something, there is no final word. Don’t be afraid to redo something you screw up or experiment with a new technique.
Most importantly don’t give up, one of the most important attributes sculpting requires is patience. I have had figures where I have re-sculpted the face over 5 times before getting it right. Sculpting requires an immense investment in time and you must be able to take that investment and flush it down the toilet if it goes wrong. You must learn to self examine your work with an impartial eye. This can be very difficult when you pour so much creativity into a piece, the personal interest you place in a sculpture is enormous and you must be able to see past that to accurately judge if a figure you do is good or needs improvement.
You must also train your eye to see in 3D. Examine the people and things in the world around you every day. Train yourself to look at the contours of each object you see, this can be something as simple as the texture of an orange or the pattern in the bark of a tree. Study people. Look at the folds in their skin, the shape of their bodies and the folds in their clothes. When you train you eye to see in this way you will subconsciously train your mind to recognize these different patterns and textures, which will in turn help you sculpt them when you are working.
Check your ego at the door. You must try to be humble. If you believe you know everything and are the greatest talent since Michelangelo you simply will not learn anything. The best way to learn is from other sculptors and they will avoid you if you have an attitude like this and certainly will not share their techniques with you. If you believe you are the best you will be blind to errors in your work and as such will never be able to improve. Eventually if you do seek a career in sculpting you will end up facing an art director who doesn’t approve of a piece you do and your ego will probably cost you the job. Your talent can only take you so far.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
The Joker
Hi Everyone,
I put the photos of the Joker I did for the Arkham Asylum expension up on my Flikr page. It is a bit different than the production model, they changed the scenery.
Here is a link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/24546626@N04/
James
I put the photos of the Joker I did for the Arkham Asylum expension up on my Flikr page. It is a bit different than the production model, they changed the scenery.
Here is a link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/24546626@N04/
James
Monday, September 1, 2008
Interview
Hi everyone
I did an interview for a fellow artists blog. If you are interested here is a link to it:
http://www.john-cartunemansdoodles.blogspot.com/
James
I did an interview for a fellow artists blog. If you are interested here is a link to it:
http://www.john-cartunemansdoodles.blogspot.com/
James
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Likeness Exercise
Greetings to everyone who missed me. I have been very busy during the summer finishing figures for the Hammer of Thor expansion for heroclix (26 figures in all) and after a short break I am back.
One of the hardest things to do on a miniature is a likeness and I like to try and practice it as much as possible. Here is my attempt at Luke Skywalker, I had to primer it in gray to get a good photo.
What do you think?
James
Friday, July 18, 2008
New Photos Uploaded
Hi everyone
Just a heads up to let you know I uploaded photos of my Young Avengers Hawkeye sculpt I did for Secret Invasion. Just go to my flicker account to see.
Just a heads up to let you know I uploaded photos of my Young Avengers Hawkeye sculpt I did for Secret Invasion. Just go to my flicker account to see.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Deadlines
Just a quick post to let everyone know I'm still alive. I've been busy with a deadline so it has kept me from posting for the last couple of weeks. I'm mostly caught up now so regular programming will resume shortly. One of the realities of being a freelance artist is that you often get to set your own hours but sometimes you have to work extra hours to meet a deadline; this means weekends, overtime, and holidays.
James Van Schaik
James Van Schaik
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