Etherealm Creations

2009-06-28T15:37:00.000-07:00

I've been taking the last several days to relax. I have only been doing art that i feel like doing. I started working on this for my girlfriend many months ago. I have been wanting to finish this for a while so i'm happy to see it finished. I have two more weeks before my last quarter of school starts and then i graduate! Woot!

Mythica Trailer

2009-06-24T22:58:00.000-07:00

I've been working on this for the past 11 weeks. Hope ya like.

Mythica Trailer from Matt Campbell on Vimeo.

Happy Holidays!

2008-12-22T06:52:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays to everyone! As i look back on this past year i see so much improvement in my art and that is really exciting. My thanks go out to all my friends and family who have supported me and helped me when times got rough. This past year i learned a new 3d program, i learned how to composite 3d into video footage, i worked for a gaming company doing illustrations, i went to San Diego Comicon, i reacquainted myself with my cousins and my new second cousins in California and i am in a relationship with someone i love. What a great year! I will be graduating next year around september with a Bachelors of Art in media arts and animation. I can't wait to see what the next year holds! Be ready, i know it will be exciting and i will be posting all here!

2008-12-10T10:34:00.000-08:00

Another quick pinup sketch. I inked it during work last night. I usually like to make dark hair for pinups. i guess because its fun to ink and gives it that classic Betty Paige feel but my coworker suggested i leave it so i could make her blond or red headed instead when and if i ever color her. Hope ya like!

2008-12-08T21:05:00.000-08:00

This is what i was doing instead of paying attention in physics class!
I'm in finals right now so i'm doing what feels like a million things. I'll be posting more soon!!

The Gate Keeper

2008-12-03T14:25:00.000-08:00

In traveling to the underworld Magnus and his crew come across the Cerberus. Placed in the underworld to guard the gates from letting anyone IN or OUT. This creature does not breath fire but has nearly impenetrable armored scales. It is fast, agile and ferocious. How will Magnus defeat such a creature?

This creature design copyright © Matt Campbell 2008

Picturesque

2008-12-02T10:11:00.000-08:00

Another one i'm working on. This one is still in the very early stage.

2008-12-02T09:55:00.000-08:00

Here is a little bit more progress on the pirate painting. It doesn't look like much and it may be dark on your computer but most of the time was spent on the ship wood and the barrel under her foot.
I've got a few other paintings in the works as well.

A sketch or two

2008-11-24T22:20:00.001-08:00

I should be going to bed as i have to get up early but i felt the need to do another quick sketch first.

Also, this is one of the projects i've been working on in Maya. There is still a long way to go on it but i'm hoping to have it completed and textured very soon.

Gunslinger Sketch

2008-11-17T10:08:00.000-08:00

I little sketch i made after watching the Marko video from Massive Black. If you don't know who he is then go find out!!

Been Busy

2008-11-10T08:12:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone. Sorry it's been so long since my last post. I'm getting into the final quarters of my animation degree and it's pretty intense. I'll post some of that work up here real soon. I have been able to squeeze in some illustrative work here and there but just not much.
I have been slowly working on this illustration of my friend Rachel. It's far from finished but i thought i'd show you the WIP. I also have one in progress of my friend Erica as well as my best friend Summer. Hopefully i'll have more time for illustrating soon.

Renaissance Festival

2008-08-10T19:52:00.000-07:00

Rachel hand made this entire costume as well as two more that are just as awesome!

The master of thieves, aka Fingers

Privie Guards?

Just Sexy!

Also sexy apparently!

Captain Jack himself

Death is among us!!!

More to come!!

Taking a break from homework...

2008-08-10T11:25:00.000-07:00

...to post up some pics for you!! First for those of you that didn't catch them on myspace here are some pics from San Diego Comicon.

The Mad Hatter

Joker and Penguin

The Penny Arcade Guys

"Why so serious?"

The man himself

Okay i think i'm going to reduce the size of the ren fair pics because i just noticed how huge these are when you click on them.

Busy few weeks!

2008-08-05T07:58:00.000-07:00

Sorry it has been so long since my last post. I've had a busy few weeks. I went to San Diego for Comicon with my good friend Joey. It was awesome and i shall post some pics soon. I also went to the renaissance festival in Larkspur,Co which was awesome as well. I should clarify that it was the last day and i have friends there who are die hards and pirates. We partied all night till we couldn't stand any more. I have lots of pics from that as well. I have to catch up on some school work and other projects first.

Zombie force GO!!

2008-07-08T07:28:00.000-07:00

I've started on the undead group. I've made dozens of sketches here are a few. Be sure to click on it for a larger view. Oh this is so fun. IN this group there are zombie/undead warriors, those who worship and want to be an undead warrior, and lets not forget wizards and stuff. Oooh undead wizards, lol.

Also, i went to go see Hancock. It's a fun movie. Lots of cool special effects but as a hero movie not on par with say Ironman. Although i did catch something interesting in the credits that i had to research. It said the producers were Will Smith and a James Lassiter. Now my first thought was that maybe he was related to Jon Lassiter the CEO of Pixar but i found no such connection. What i did find is that this guy James and Will must be tight. Here's a list of movies that James has co-produced lately, Hancock, I am Legend, The Pursuit of Happiness, Hitch, I robot, Ali, Men in Black. Notice the theme here? Now i'm just curious. Is this guy in love with Will or did he just see a star that could ride to the top? I mean if you look at what he did before Will Smith its pretty unnoticed stuff. I don't really have any opinions. Who knows maybe they are best friends. I just found it interesting. That is all for now

2008-07-04T15:31:00.000-07:00

This is the LAST of the Iron Legion series!
Now it's time to sketch Zombies and the like!!
I'm, so excited!!

Oh, and don't ask why he has buckles around his biceps, i just thought it looked cool.

They came in the night..

2008-07-04T09:45:00.000-07:00

"It felt like an earthquake at first. Made of iron and stone it devastated everything in it's path."

Yeah i like how this one came out...alot! :)
This is called a Colossus
Forged from the dwarves and brought to life by the wizards, the colossus are nearly unstoppable.
You may remember the preliminary sketches from an earlier post.
I've got one more to post from this group then it's on to the UNDEAD!!! Sweet!

YARRRGH!!

2008-06-29T19:43:00.000-07:00

I just finished this illustration for Nayantara. Had fun with this. I could have kept going for a long time adding little details but these are supposed to be kinda rough looking, more painterly and conceptual.

“It is when pirates count their booty that they become mere thieves.”

On a sad note. A great artist, Mr. Michael Turner passed away of cancer this weekend. I was a big fan of his work. He and another roll model of mine, J. Scott Campbell, both became known for their sexy, curvy woman in comics at about the same time. My love goes to his family and friends. They have it much harder now than he does.

2008-06-24T16:33:00.000-07:00

Just finished this one. I had to spend some time studying horses. I haven't really drawn very many. I wanted a big horse like a clydesdale so i drew a few from a book i got from the library. Then i wanted a fierce striking pose that would work well in a vertical space so i came up with this design. I still need to work on not allowing myself to get too focused on details too early. All the detail os on the armor of the knight and yet he is only a small part of the whole picture. I do like the atmosphere.

Captain Jack Sparrow

2008-06-13T17:07:00.000-07:00

I had to do one last painting for my painter class. This was painted using a frame from Curse of the Black Pearl as reference. The original had burning trees in the background that had been set on fire by Elizabeth. I didn't really want to paint that so i made a ship in the background instead. I painted it all in painter using artists oils with the exception of making a pattern overlay layer in photoshop for his bandanna.I spent about 8 hours all told on this. I see lots of stuff i could fix but i get bored and have to move on to the next thing. Please click on the image to enjoy the larger version.

Hope for the Nice Guy

2008-06-10T16:49:00.000-07:00

Last year i did some illustrations for a book my friend Tad Spencer was writing. The book "hope for the nice guy" is now published and available to purchase at Amazon I just got my copy in the mail today. I forgot how funny the stories are and how fun it was to do the illustrations. I can't wait to read the whole book! Congrats Tad!

I found this old caricature i did of Tad almost two years ago out in LA. Haha still makes me laugh. Sorry Tad.

2008-06-05T14:00:00.000-07:00

Another illustration for Nayantara Studios. This is supposed to be an elegant dwarf. Still exploring and trying new things. I'm not sure if they are all really working so i'd love some input.

I see dark people!

2008-05-28T21:01:00.000-07:00

After viewing this painting on the monitors at the school i decided to make some brightness/contrast adjustments. When i viewed the below image at school i could not differentiate between his boot and the shadow below his boot. It just looked dark! I checked the monitors at school and almost every one i cold find had a brightness/contrast setting of around 50-60%. So i went home and checked mine. It was around 75% for each so i adjusted it to 50% for both brightness and contrast. (The factory default was 100% brightness 75% contrast so i actually turned it down from when i first turned it on)

I could still make out a pretty decent definition of color between the boot and the shadow of the boot so i sat back in my computer chair to contemplate. Just then i noticed the screen get darker. So, if i sit back in my chair, tilt my computer screen back a good inch and a half from verticle and have my brightness at 50/50 then i can achieve what it looked like on the screens at the school. Now, after discovering this i did come to the realization that i was viewing a wacom cintiq screen that sits back at a pretty steep angle.

Still though, my obsessiveness kicked in and i decided that there may someone still who can't see all the things i want them to see so i made adjustments to the file as well. I'd love to hear your input and i'd also like to know what your monitors are set at.

Spearman of DOOM!!

2008-05-28T07:58:00.000-07:00

Woot!! I just finished this spearman for the game. I went to go see the new Indiana Jones movie and i think that's what inspired the dramatic lighting. It was difficult pulling off having the character back lit yet still be able to see details. Also, in all my years i have never used the lens flare. (ok i did use it in the Etherealm logo)I have always been told that it is a cheap trick. I used it here because i think it fits. Let me know your thoughts.I just sent it in to the boss so we'll see what he says.
In other news, i think all my neighbors are going crazy. Yesterday i saw my next door neighbor cutting his lawn with scissors and now as i look out the window i see a lady and her grandson doing the same thing across the street! WTF? Are gas prices THAT bad?

Speed painting with texture brushes!

2008-05-25T12:40:00.000-07:00

Hey this is so neat! I saw this icon on my deviant art account and got inspired.
So i opened up photoshop and grabbed my dirt brush and started laying in a shape. An hour later i had this!! I love photoshop!

Wizard

2008-05-24T12:57:00.001-07:00

Just finished up this Wizard for Nayantara Studios. My first attempt at painting any sort of magic. Again i could spend a lot of time working in the details but these need to remain quick. I spent about 6.5 hours on this one.
Enjoy!

Business Cards and ComiCon

2008-05-23T20:03:00.000-07:00

Getting things ready for ComiCon! The tickets for both the plane and the convention have been purchased. I'm working on a give away portfolio which will be in comic book form. I'm working on the cover now. I also intend to send out an order for business cards within the week. This is the current design. The phone number is blurry on purpose. it won't be like that on the print. I'm not sure that everyone will approve of the nudity but I'd love to hear your input.

Also, i added a hit counter to the blog. I'm curious to see if i'm just posting this for myself or not, lol.

Concept Designs

2008-05-20T21:39:00.000-07:00

I thought it might be interesting to show these concept sketches for a rather large character in the game. This giant is powered by steam, coal, and the magic of wizards!! It doesn't get much funner than that! I had so many ideas but i ended up going with a more humanoid design.Two of them were chosen which i will combine together into one finished painting. Can you guess which ones?

It's me!!

2008-05-18T20:54:00.000-07:00

This is me!! I painted this in about 7hrs all together using Painter X oil brushes. I really do like that program but photoshop has some definite advantages when it comes to texturing and adjustments i think.

Another ones bites the dust!

2008-05-17T20:06:00.000-07:00

I just finished up another painting for Nayantara Studios. I've been having a blast doing these. This one took about six and a half hours. Probably would have finished sooner if not for all the hair, haha.

I decided that i needed to fix some things on the scout. I mainly redid her left hand. The previous version was "a bit ogreish" to quote a friend. lol
Anyway i fixed that and adjusted the contrast to help her pop a bit more.

Leo Returns!

2008-05-15T21:34:00.000-07:00

After a two year hiatus Leo has returned to Etherealm Creations! Leo has been vital in the past to keeping spirits high during production of projects. Within the first five days of being here he has already changed the infrastructure of the office. So good to have you back Leonidas!

Geez this week is flying by. There's a lot going on. I have an eight to ten page paper due next Tuesday on "Getting a job as a professional artist". I have about half of that right now in rough draft. I won an old Punisher comic titled, "The Punisher invades the Nam" while i was in English class.

For Nayantara Studios I've made over half a dozen sketches for a colossal character. This one here was the first one. I really like it as a whole but it's not right for what the game needs. The robot creature is too futuristic and nowhere near big enough.

I rendered a character with a spear who looks an awfully lot like my friends boyfriend, Jon. I started laying in the flat colors for the outrider. I hope to finish the outrider tomorrow as well as get a good start on a female wizard.

I did this light study Wednesday morning in about 30 min.

2008-05-12T08:01:00.000-07:00

So as i may have mentioned i started working for Nayantara Studios doing in game illustrations. What an awesome job! I get to paint fantasy characters all day! I just have to remember to do my schoolwork, lol. Here are some of the illustrations i have done for them. They are posted about actual in game size.

This first one took about 8 hrs. I started painting it in Painter X with liquid inks then moved to CS3. I made a chain mail brush which was used on his mid section and under his chest armor. This painting set the tonal values for the armor of all the other characters in this group.

This next one was done while i had a stomach virus and i really don't like it too much. I've had to go back and fix a few things. I could fix a lot more to the extent of redoing most of the painting but deadlines must be met and my boss seems happy with it so I've chosen to move on. I like how his face and beard came out tho.

God look how terrible the legs were rendered on this guy. Ugh!

This one was completed in about 7 hrs. I like the composition and colors. Once again i used a chain mail brush. This one was slightly altered and i tried a different approach. There are still a few things i would like to clean up on this one as well but I'm trying to focus on getting quicker. I know i can do the detail. What I'm trying to learn how to do is insinuate detail without actually spending a lot of time rendering.

So i hope you enjoy these and i'll post more soon.
Oh, by the way, since i've been doing these i really haven't had time to work on the succubus from the earlier post. I'll get back to her someday.

Progress

2008-04-28T08:09:00.000-07:00

Here's a little update on my latest painting. I started painting in some highlights on a layer to establish a light source. I also started tweaking the color levels a bit. I'm still trying to keep zoomed out as much as possible to avoid getting in to details too early. I still need to decide what to do with her hands. So far between the phone calls and other distractions i've only spent about an hour and a half maybe two.

Practice Practice Practice

2008-04-27T22:09:00.000-07:00

I've been working hard on getting my digital painting skills up. I was invited to submit for a job doing online game illustrations. This first Orc as well as the one from the last post were my submissions. I ended up getting the job, Woot!!
I'm still have to sign paperwork on Monday but in the meantime i'm practicing because they want an illustration per day so i need to get my skill level up!!

The first painting here was done in about 8hrs using mainly Painter. The next one i did in about 4.5 hrs using photoshop. I looked to the art of my friend Samson for guidance on lighting and color. He is an amazing artist and you should go check him out http://www.samsonart.blogspot.com/

I'm learning something new with each painting so i push forward.

I'm working on a new one here entitled simply "Blue". It's a subject matter i'm more familiar with so we'll see how quickly it goes. I will post the progression of the painting. Okay i should get some sleep now cuz i have a long day tomorrow.

Digital Painting

2008-04-20T07:24:00.000-07:00

I'm working on my digital painting skills. I have sooo much to learn still. This goofy Orc is something i threw together yesterday to submit to a game company. Now that i've had a night to sleep on it I don't really like it that much. I was trying for a backlit look but the colors just look muddled together. After i finish up some 3d homework i think i'll paint another Orc and see if i can't do a better job.

I adjusted the levels a bit on this one because i think it was to dark.

RIP Ollie

2008-04-16T07:14:00.001-07:00

Ollie Johnston, a hero, legend and inspiration to many animators passed away on Monday at the age of 95. Mr. Johnston went to the Art institute waay back in the early 30's and then went to work for Disney before he even graduated. He worked on Disney's first animation, Snow White for $17.00 a week! After working on several more films he eventually wrote “Disney Animation: The Illusion of Life,” considered a bible of animation. He worked on Disney films until 1978. Can you imagine getting a job right out of college and staying with it for over 40 years!! Awesome!!

Johnston had planned on becoming a magazine illustrator but fell in love with animation.

"I wanted to paint pictures full of emotion that would make people want to read the stories," he once said. "But I found that [in animation] was something that was full of life and movement and action, and it showed all those feelings."

I found this quote from a CNN site and thought that it was inspiring because i have the same feelings.

For more info go check out this article
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080416/people_nm/disney_johnston_dc

Another Portfolio Page!

2008-04-14T00:12:00.000-07:00

This is another portfolio page i put together over the weekend. I spent most of my weekend doing rigging homework but i definitely have a better understanding of it now. I understand how much i don't want to ever be a rigger for a living. I have a great appreciation for those that do and i will work hard to make my future models easier to rig. I'm actually working on modeling the red succubus in this pic here! I'll post more of that soon!!

Rigging sucks!

2008-04-12T12:33:00.000-07:00

Arrg!! I'm currently working on skinning characters for a rigging class. WHAT a tedious task! If i were to do this for a living i would need to be paid very well!!
All those little white vertexes need to be assigned correctly or the mesh deforms when the character is animated. I guess it's good that i know the process so that when i model something i know how hard it's going to be for the next guy to rig. Bleh!
I have to finish this one and then two more so i better get back to it!

Portfolio pages

2008-04-11T20:45:00.001-07:00

I'm working on putting together some portfolio pages. I actually haven't had portfolio class yet but i'm trying to get a full time position before i graduate. I drew most of these while at work at the bookstore. I started with the two Superman sketches then i drew the chubby Batman. After that i just got on a roll. Right now my favorite is the Green Lantern. I want to color these up but i'm too busy at the moment. I would love some feedback about anything on the page if it's constructive!

Hear no Evil

2008-03-31T07:10:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted in a while. I have been rather busy which is a good thing i guess. This little guy here started in painter with oil brushes and i finished up the details in Photoshop. I kind of like him. He reminds me to block out the negative comments that people say.
Enjoy =)

2007-10-07T19:56:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the Etherealm blog. Here i will try to keep you up to date on what is going on at Etherealm Creations.

This company was started by me in 2002. Since it's inception i have had a few goals for my company. One of them is to provide illustrations for various media projects. I just finished a job for Repercussion Comics down in Austin Texas. Here is a bit of that.

In this first page a character wakes from a nightmare. I tried a few thumbnails and liked the idea of wrapping the dream image around him. I did this page differerent than the rest of the pages in that i actually drew tight pencils and then adjusted the levels in PS. I then filled in the spot blacks.

Page 2:

For this page and the rest that follow i realized i had no time to both do tight pencils as well as inks in the time that i had. Si i made rough sketches about 4"x6" and sent them to the client for apporoval. I then blew up the roughs to 10x15 and inked from the roughs on my light table.

One of the things i like about PS is the abilty to correct mistakes so easily. When i get a Cintiq screen i'll probably go to drawing and inking digitally.

More to come...