Steampunk Myths and Legends Entry: Joel Andrews

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This is a favorite story of mine.
In a SteamPunk world the frog will be chasing the Princess' golden ball on his Steam-driven Subcycle down a well of gears and machinery.

I am late posting ( even though I have been making slow progress on the sketch ) due to crazy schedules at work and home.

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I have scanned this drawing while sorking on it. My goal was to push myself to build it in a 3D package, but time is so short I am going to have to rely on my illustration background to meet the deadline!

So, Photoshop and painter it is.

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I'm going to call these "Work in Progress" now - as I am pushing for a digital illustration.

I started modeling a Frog, but I lost too much time over th holidays to continue. Oh, well.

Often I just rough in a drawing and keep polishing until it is what I had in my mind. No roughs or overlays. I use Col-Erase pencils because I use the erasers to draw as much as I use the lead.

[Womball]

It looks fantastic so far. What's the princess look like?

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Here is the proof that I was modeling a Frog Prince concurrent with my drawing. I am sorry to set it aside, but time is my enemy here in the last week.

Besides, I am a character guy and I know I can get the expression I want in a 2D illustration. My current 3D skills would require more time.

I still want to go back and use this little guy for future projects.

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Womball, thanks for the kind words! As to the Princess, I am thinking of painting over a vintage photo of a Gibson Girl or someone from the era of Queen Victoria. She will be backlit and distorted by the surface of the water - so she will be more of an impression of beauty.

This is the finished drawing of the SubCycle before I lay on the digital paint. It kind of just "spilled out" but I believe my subconcious was blending old hand-crafted wooden sport boats, Harley Hogs and the SR-71 Blackbird spy plane ( if that makes sense ).

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First I want to say that I am honored to be involved in this competition. The submissions I am seeing are inspiring. I hope this becomes a book because before this competition began I was looking for a good book on the subject and could not find one.

Here is my sketch for the environment the Frog Prince is diving through - a Steampunk Gear Well. The Princess will be peering down after him. I tend to create the backgrounds, characters and other elements separately and then compose them afterwards.

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Wow. Did the dam burst? I have not been able to log on since last night! Hope everything is OK.

Here is the background and character composed in the required format. the Princess will be peering down through the pentagonal opening as he pursues the ball.

The Well opening and the warm glow from the ball will dictate the lighting on the Frog Prince and environment.

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Above the Well the Princess waits in a beautiful garden. The Frog Prince has to leave beauty behind and plunge into the mechanical depths to to grasp his future. Only then can he return to his Princess.

I am basing the Princess on the photo to meet the deadline. FYI, Anny Ondra actually starred in Britain's first talkie, "Blackmail" directed by none other than Alfred Hitchcock!

[Womball]

That's quite a wacky princess. Will the shading alter on her after the frog is shaded?

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Here is a test-fit of the Princess at the top of the Well. I am going to put off fussing with the water FX because the rest of the work is more pressing.

I am starting work on the Golden Ball. It will be a steampunk clockwork piece; a sort of pocket watch for the Priness that glows from inside.

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This is another test fit of the elements. I am planning on adding spin to the rotors, a bubble contrail, atmosphere to the water, etc.

I have actually had this image ready to upload for more than a day, but the site was down. I'm glad to see it up again. I'll try to post the current progress later today.

[Nightlitsky]

Very cuuute.
I like the colors you pick. The storytelling aspect is interesting, the feeling of movement is evident.
Good luck with the lighting and the shadows.
I have been having a hard time uploading milestones too.

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This is the grayscale image of the frog on his sub-cycle. I will post the rough color blocking later.

This is definitely the final stretch. 1 day and 12 hours to go!

Good luck everyone.

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I thought I uploaded this this morning, but I never saw it on the Entries pages - so I'll try again.

This is rough color blocking. I have done more today. I'll post tonight if I can.

[llama-d]

This is looking great. Some darker values might be nice. Looking good though

[RandyToons]

I really like your style of illustration... I'm all for a few more toons!... Good job!
Randy

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About 8:00pm last night I realized the "7 days to go" was not a mistake on the site. What a relief! I was starting to run on empty. This is where I left off.

This means that I can enjoy the polishing process.

Thanks guys! I got a night's sleep!

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I am still massaging colors, lighting etc. I am also playing around with a "Bubble Brush" I made - but I may want to jump over to Painter and try the Image Hose instead.

Glad to have the time while nudging the art!

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Software: Photoshop

The Steam Punk Frog Prince has been charmed by the Princess into retrieving her jewel powered Time Orb, which she has accidentally dropped into the Machine Well. He jets down on his boiler-driven Submersible AquaCycle, chasing the treasure. The Prince is, in reality, grasping his own future - with the Princess!

[Nightlitsky]

Haha cute
You did a really good job!

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I just test printed my image and realized that it needs to have "Auto Level" applied in Photoshop to punch up the contrast! It looked fine on my laptop. Oh, well.

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