No rest or art for Dad.

Hi there! Well I'm stuck. The Parent trap has snapped my neck and I'm doing nothing but being a loving dad to my son. This has halted everything next to lack of sleep and long hours at graveyard. I'm trying not to fall into that easy cop-out like ignoring my son over my art. Whata douche I would be if I did that. So I am stuck for a bit doing nothing over my laptop save twitter or bills.

Florin here is the last picture I've had time to actually finish. I managed to get some Mudbox in , which is a pretty fun 3d sculpting program. Sadly it's a monthly trial, so after the Zbrush run I'll know which one to buy. Until then it's kick the tires time.

Take it easy.

Kevin

Music behind the Characters.

I love music to a point. I'm set to certain beats, which are basically something between a dirge and a building back beat for my internal soundtrack. Most of my drawing for this AVT project are drawn to what I call my Asinine Metal Playlist.

Here's basically what's on it that highlight's each character so far.

1. Helmet: Unsung : This is KillSwitch's anthem. He's based on this song's aggressive beat.

2. Metallica: No Leaf Clover : The main song for BigBot. It's something grand for the big guy.

3. Insane Clown Posse: Nothing's Left: Whines for MotorCade; little is holding him to his life.

4. Reveille: What you Got : Here's the villain HullBreach's main song.

5. Kasabian: Club Foot : Falls to SpeedTrap's techno-spector theme.

6. Puddle of Mudd: Psycho : This song goes to the hulking Overload.

7. Helmet : Milquetoast : The theme for DeadBolt.

8. NIN: Sunspots: casts a glare on GearBreak.

9. Rammstein: Engel : Whistles through the power tank ShockProof.

10. Yeah Yeah Yeahs : Gold Lion : Roars for Nexus Valor.

11. Submersed: Hollow : Wails for the Maximal BackStryke.

12. Korn: Freak on a Leash : Can't keep DeathKiss chained. She's a major villainous Bitch.

13. Foo Fighters: Come to Life : Wandered into GunStart's theme.

14. Kasabian: Shoot the Runner : Shot FireFlight.

15. The Bravery: Believe : Saw the truth in ShortStop.

16. Metallica : Fuel : Drove the unstoppable GunBattle

Birthday come early.

Well my birthday has come early. I have a tradition that in January I treat myself to something I always wanted. This is my birthday gift to myself. Celebrating me and one more year of life done and the enigma of death looms closer and closer... eeep. All that aside I'm pleasantly happy with the latest Wacom Intuos 4 Medium Tablet. It came with Corel Painter 11 at a fantastic deal that I couldn't let slide by.

So that means I get to experiment with AVP. The last image in this post the Blue fella is a first attempt at the Tablet using the grip pen. Needless to say I got a steep learning curve to climb and quickly. Thankfully this is why I made AVT in order to get better at drawing by using the tools of the trade. I'm almost ready to download Z-brush's month long demo to dive into deep artistic waters.

To everyone visiting a happy holidays. To everyone else not gobbling down PC dong, Merry Christmas. Have a great New Years and see you in 2010.

Kevin164

Update 2 complete.

This has been a long road this project. Started in April of 2008 it was supposed to be a simple 50 panel exercise, but I'm a story teller at heart. So, here we are 200 panels and plus later. I've grown fond of the characters with telling their complete tale. I've listed the chapters left to go and I have the bones and marrow of where I'm going with plot.

I'm getting closer to the third sequence with a two year old, a job, while trying to be a good husband on top of the whole endeavor. So with the update completed I can now move onto the final chapters of the second act, then into the third and final outcome. I made the necessary change to the relationship between Nexus Valor and Gear Break. I've toned down Dead Bolt and KillSwitch since both were too gung-ho. I wanted more solid personalities out my Tankbots. I finally found a name that I liked for the sister of Gun Start and Short Stop. She's had more name changes than Prince. Overall I pleased with the decision on taking the time to go back and fix the Drop Sequence. It was worth the extra work.

Now it's time to get going and finish this project. I'm pushing myself to be finished by November of 2010. Another game conceptual project is looming on the back burner and a children's book for my son is in order. Both are calling me to flush them out. Anyways to anyone visiting I hope your enjoying the story so far.

Kevin164. 11/16/2009

Tweak, Polish, and Beat into a story. Update 2 begins.

Well, I've been dead in the water with the AVT storyboards for the last two months. Why? Because I've been updating all the prior storyboards. Well the first part my statement is a lie. I've been extremely busy on AVT. I practically have the second act finished in Black and White. A few extra filler boards for the action and we are ready to move on to the meat and potatoes of what I think will blow people away when I get planet side in the story.

In fact I think I've over done it. It's a nightmare of sheer volume of work sitting on my hard-drive that I'm going to have to color and finish before I can up load it. Then I decided to UPDATE EVRYTHING!!! What the hell am I thinking?

...and yet... I managed to get the Drop Sequence fixed. I hated that series of boards. When I first started it I really wanted to stop and do something else with the story. It was long and tedious and really didn't serve any purpose. I knew that I needed it to establish the main character. It would tie into the last part of the story about who he was and where he was going. It was important set up for the final act. It looked horrible. I was embarrassed by it. It took forever to finish and I hated it.

Then UPDATE 2 happened and I have made the jump in my art. See if you keep drawing you get better believe it or not. Art is like weight lifting you can only get stronger by doing it every day.

I got better. I can see it in the last few sequences. I'm getting more comfortable with the characters and how I draw them.

Wait till you see the Humans, Aliens, and Jockey Pilots that will populate this story in the third act. I'm biting through the midnight hours to get you all there, and when we go I plan to make it worth the wait.

See you

Kevin164

Nearing the 200 mark on AVT.