max's stuff

Scary stuff

2011-02-24T09:42:00.002Z

Egyptian General

2011-02-13T03:26:00.001Z

I don't know what an Egyptian General looks like but if I would design their uniforms it would look something like this.
With best wishes to all Egyptians.

Olives

2011-02-10T02:19:00.003Z

Culture Vultures

2011-02-10T01:31:00.002Z

People at an exhibition at the South Bank, it was cold, I had a cognac, nice.

I was lost...

2011-02-10T01:27:00.003Z

...but now I'm found.

Change of diet

2010-01-18T12:26:00.000Z

Orson Welles Sketchbook

2009-12-25T18:09:00.003Z

There's a BBC4 Orson Welles season on and among films there is a fabulous series of talks and drawings by the man himself entitled Orson Welles' Sketchbook. You can catch it on BBC iPlayer for a few days (link).

Merry

2009-12-24T01:10:00.002Z

The secret ingredient

2009-12-07T00:51:00.001Z

Slim Pickens update

2009-09-30T16:12:00.004Z

An update on the model of Slim Pickens, I retopologized it all using 3d Coat in order to have a facial geometry that can be deformed into more Slim Pickens expressions and an animatable geometry all over the body. Now I started texturing him, I've done the head so far, no hair yet, but they will come.

A couple of sketches

2009-09-24T00:41:00.009Z

Some faces (and one back) from a planning committee. From top left Paschoud, Smith, the back of Milton, Sharp, Miller and Bentley.

Inside the 136 bus from Catford to Forest Hill.

Old lady studying the news at cafe.

People.

Slim Pickens

2009-08-30T18:01:00.005Z

For the past two days I've been working on a model of Slim Pickens - one of my favourite cowboys. Of corse I had to look at Dr Stragelove about a thousand times but hey, it's a great film, it doesn't hurt to watch it another time. Which is what I'll do tonight as by chance not far from me there's a mobile solar powered cinema showing guess what? Yes, Dr Strangelove.
It's part of Climate Camp, the environmentalist event that is taking my neck of the wood by storm.
I meant to go and check it out, I haven't done it yet because I was busy, also, I have to confess, I have reservations on the movement, but sure enough, if it wasn't for them I wouldn't have known that I shouldn't buy my energy from EON.

The Pickmebat in Colour

2009-08-17T11:23:00.004Z

The discovery

2009-07-31T12:43:00.004Z

There's one in your fridge too.

Victoria to Bellingham

2009-07-29T14:07:00.006Z

I just finished this piece of political agitation that I produced in record time for a campaigning action of the local Libdems asking Transport for London to bring forward the forecast Victoria to Bellingham train route, a very important improvement to South East London's public transport network that's been scrapped with very specious reason, hence the flying pigs.

More about it here and here.

The complete Pickmebat

2009-07-25T14:12:00.004Z

I finally finished the Pickmebat for the CGCoach Creatures and Critters contest (link), as ever it finished with a bang, with one of those long days and night's work. I managed to submit the final artwork with only 26 minutes left for the deadline, that was 7:34 am here in London.

The submission comprised 3 distinct required items, one final render (above), one page with a quick step by step to include the original concept (the mess below) and one turntable movie to be uploaded on Youtube and embedded on the contest's thread.

As ever I wish I had had more time to make some things better, never mind, I'm happy with the result, even above what I expected to produce when I started. Nevertheless I'll do some more work on it now, a few hours will make me completely satisfied and then bring the model in Modo to do a proper render especially since the membranes are the perfect stuff of subsurface scattering, something I really want to learn to master.

Sam

2009-07-06T01:52:00.002Z

The pirate ship

2009-07-01T15:05:00.003Z

My daughter's favourite spot, the pirate ship in Ladywell Fields.

People about town

2009-06-29T14:18:00.005Z

One morning up and down the transports, queuing, and doing all that we normally do. Good to have a sketchbook.

Park sketching

2009-06-21T16:50:00.007Z

It was a glorious day in Greenwich Park last week, and the green slope that unfolds from the Observatory was full of people busy lying down doing nothing. Above them tourists were taking pictures with their mobiles. Not of the people doing nothing but of the breathtaking view. The Park, the Queen's House and the Maritime Museum at the bottom, the Naval College, then the bend of the river, then Docklands and then East London which as everyone knows extends to the end of the world.
I was more interested in the people doing nothing instead, although I had to have a go at sketching the view of course.

After the park experience I proceeded to draw something that I've had in mind to draw for a few years, the entrance to the Queen Mary Building of Trinity College (formerly Naval College, originally Greenwich Hospital, built by Sir Christopher Wren) on the riverside of the building. The entrance leads to a Courtyard that has an exit at the opposite end. A shadow cuts the courtyard diagonally and a small piece of sky can be seen under the arch of the entrance.
Sounds simple, well in my experience it isn't. Maybe because of the classic proportions that if you don't get enough right look bad when you look again at the original, or maybe because drawing one thing into another and another one again into it confused me, but I never thought that such a seemingly simple arrangement of geometric shapes could be so hard to get right. I only managed to do a preparatory study and I really need to go back and give it the time it deserves (regardeless of whether I deserve that time to go back).

Headbanging on the tube

2009-05-31T23:42:00.004Z

Butt-head lives! I saw him on the tube listening to his iPod as if he was alone in his bedroom.

The Pickmebat

2009-05-29T03:07:00.006Z

Blow Me Down Again

2009-05-22T00:38:00.003Z

Blow Me Down

2009-05-19T01:03:00.002Z

The Sleeper in full colour glory

2009-05-08T15:03:00.007Z

Garden Poetry Impro

2009-04-04T23:38:00.005Z

My daughter in the garden, having bread and butter and improvising poetry. Among other things she mentioned the moon, sausages and worms.

Life Drawing

2009-03-31T12:28:00.002Z

Sketching Killjoy

2009-03-20T01:21:00.007Z

I thought that I like this guy's attitude, so here are a few sketches.

Killjoy

2009-03-17T02:50:00.005Z

It's for your own good.

The artist having a coffee after a shower

2009-03-02T04:32:00.003Z

The artist's golden life, here in self-portrait.
I showed this to my daughter though and asked her, who is this. "A funny face" she answered laughing.

That Action Hero in full

2009-02-16T00:48:00.006Z

The Action Hero contest at Zbrush Central ended last Friday at midnight Pacific time, that's 8 am on Saturday here on the Greenwich meridian. I submitted my final entry within 30 minutes of deadline, after one of those neverending shifts of work that I recently seem to do rather often.

Anyway, here are two final renders, the first one is my official final entry, it's almost a pure Zbrush render with only a touch of post work in Photoshop, the other is one of the additional renders I've done, that received only a slightly larger amount of Photoshop fiddling.

It's been a priceless learning experience, working for two months alongside a large contingent of seriously talented artists exposes you to a lot of thinking around all aspects of these kind of productions, a constant flow of constructive criticism were kindly given and gratefully received and it's been of great benefit to all those involved.
But it was also exhausting and I won't be doing another one in a hurry, for two months running I literally used all my available time to make progress on this piece.
Time to apply what I've learned and also get some balance in my life as well as my artistic life with some good old drawings.

New year, new challenges

2009-01-05T14:58:00.007Z

I'm taking part to the Action Hero Competition at Zbrush Central. It started on 19th December and it closes on 13th February.
Participants must come up with an idea of an Action Hero, an initial concept sketch and then develop that with Zbrush. And that's fun! Here's my entry.

There are about 90 competitors in the challenge and there's a lot of exceedingly good stuff going round. Being this a work in progress competition all participants must post regular updates of their work. For me it's a perfect opportunity to finalize my learning of Zbrush by picking up techniques here and there. In exchange I give what I know to whoever want to follow what I'm doing. Group learning at its best.

Be Merry!

2008-12-22T05:54:00.002Z

Santa's crunch (work in progress thread)

2008-12-17T23:56:00.003Z

This image above is part one of six daily installments. It's a story that by the end of this week will fit neatly on a page, stay tuned for...

...part two...

...three...

...f-f-four...

Top row!

2008-12-11T21:49:00.004Z

Since Tuesday night the highly prestigious "top row" of Zbrush Central has a thumbnail image linking to my illustration that I had submitted to that website.
When I saw it my eyes popped.
As a 3d artist I'm just a beginner and I'm humbled by the proximity of phenomenal talents of 3d art as next thumbnail neighbours on the top row of Zbrush Central.

The presence of the link on the top row has meant that in the past two days my entry has been viewed 7,698 times and that about 450 people visited this blog coming from there.
If you're one of them here's my warm Zsalute to you.
This is my blog, be my guest.

Return of the monkey

2008-12-11T03:01:00.004Z

I've been having fun with my Monkey. I did some work on the muscles and then tried out some of the many ways to add skin details.
A very interesting study actually as I had to figure out how the distribution of the muscles determines how the skin stretches in different ways around the body.

Done better

2008-11-28T15:59:00.003Z

Here's a better version of my 3d illustration. Yesterday I had to deliver whatever I had ready by deadline time and unfortunately I didn't have all the time I needed to finish it in the way I would have liked to. Not even to check it through actually, all I could do was save it and send it.
Still, I'm quite happy with what I've done and of what I learned doing it.
I will eventually render it in another program other then Zbrush with a proper set of lights and all that, for now here's the same of yesterday with some extra work in Photoshop to bring it towards what I had in mind.

Done!

2008-11-28T00:30:00.003Z

A race against time today to finish my entry for the CG Arena "Beautiful" challenge.
The email with the entry left my computer only a handful of seconds before the midnight deadline for submissions and as this is my absolute first model in colour I'm very happy.

Tasty

2008-11-08T19:19:00.004Z

You strike gold when you find something else that your daughter likes to eat. Hurrah for carrots!

Beautiful challenge

2008-10-28T16:11:00.003Z

I'm taking part to a 3d competition at the CGArena forum. Click here to visit my entry page and see how I do it.

Daddy draws daughter draws daddy

2008-10-27T00:13:00.002Z

Proof that we see ourselves in everything. My not yet three year old daughter Crystal got hold of my sketchbook and now I'm deluding myself that she drew daddy!

Rocket Ride 3D

2008-09-30T17:50:00.014Z

About a month ago I saw Vince Musacchia's Rocket Ride sketch and thought that I had to make it into a 3d model. Thanks Vince.

To see it turning click here (animated gif 2.2Mb).

Read all about it!

2008-09-18T20:15:00.003Z

Book Cover

2008-09-12T22:42:00.003Z

My wife published a book! I got to do the cover.

Kung Fu Janitor

2008-08-07T19:09:00.001Z

3djob#1 take2

2008-08-04T14:24:00.006Z

Here's the final amended version of this group, I hope I get a snow globe.
Click here to see the model spinning like crazy.

3djob#1

2008-07-25T00:39:00.017Z

My first paid job in 3d! A client sent me this image and asked me to make it into a proper turn around for a snow globe. I would have normally done it with a pencil but hey, it's the 21st century and I had two days to do it. So I decided to surprise my client and gave myself the challenge to do the whole model in just two days. As I did. Two rather long days though but I'm pleased to say that I knew what I was doing at any moment of the job, the timing was realistic and all went pretty smooth which meant that I actually enjoyed myself doing it and I hope it shows.

Here's 7 views of the model (once it opens in a new window it may still look small, click on it to make it bigger).

Click here to see the model spinning like crazy!

Update: I've just received comments (including some of appreciation) and amendments from the client, not too bad, just to make Eeyore less saggy, and some small changes to slant them both towards one specific reference model supplied with the comments.

Second Update: revised version posted here.

Low tech

2008-07-14T20:50:00.005Z

Technology is fun but life drawing is good old fun. Two poses from this morning short poses session.

The Sleeper (take #2)

2008-07-04T22:56:00.003Z

Lickerman

2008-07-03T02:19:00.002Z

The Lickerman! Because we need him.

Thoughtful

2008-06-29T15:04:00.000Z

fiddlin'

2008-06-22T01:21:00.003Z

Even more monkeying

2008-06-16T02:47:00.003Z

Evolving, revolving.

Modern Day Freedom Fighters

2008-06-12T14:26:00.002Z

David Davis resigns from parliament to fight against the erosion of British civil liberties.
Strange isn't it? I would have made him a proper right-winger.

Monkeyboy

2008-06-02T02:08:00.002Z

I'm still working on the Sleeper scene but today I wanted to take my eyes off it and have some fun modeling another character that came in my mind so here's Monkeyboy to you.

The Sleeper (take #1)

2008-05-19T19:07:00.008Z

A few months ago I did this little sketch, I now made a 3d model out of half of it. It's still in need of some work but I'm quite pleased by what's coming up so here's this work in progress preview.

Zippo and his Funny Teenage Goth Son

2008-05-17T01:38:00.002Z

hhhhrrr

2008-05-12T03:02:00.002Z

I haven't been melted by a Dalek, I've only been busy working and all the rest.
Here's a self-portrait of me stretching my back after a particularly protracted working session. Not really, it's one of 100 drawings done at a 100 x 1 minute poses a couple of weeks ago.
I wanted to scan them all but really they're too many, this one as the most expressive of them all got the honour, all the others will have to wait.
That said, another couple of them ended up on a job, they were the poses that I needed and I used them straightaway, just a bit of polish applied.

Wide and washy

2008-04-02T13:58:00.002Z

Two points of view of a pose with a model of large built done with washy ink on watercolour paper.

Itchman

2008-03-29T02:51:00.003Z

Kota

2008-03-17T22:44:00.005Z

I was on baby-care today and to my delight my daughter asked to go to the museum. To make the visit even more delightful as we arrived she was sound asleep and she slept long enough to allow me to have a coffee and a cheese-cake reading the Times at the museum cafeteria and then sketch this early 20th century bronze from Gabon at the African collection. How civilized.
For the record: "This rare Kota figure was placed on top of a container that held a basket or box of ancestral relics. It symbolises danger and was designed to prevent unitiated people from opening the container."

Short pose, long pose

2008-03-15T23:14:00.004Z

Two rather different drawings from today's life drawing session.

Mbuya

2008-02-26T17:15:00.003Z

Back to the Horniman for some more African masks. I spotted this group that I thought was very cleverly laid and decided to go for it.
I purposely decided not to read the description before drawing, to try to get a feel for what they stood for from observation.
They turned out to be Mbuya masks from Congo, modelled from dying people!

Skylight

2008-02-17T23:38:00.006Z

As the usual room was taken by another activity, life drawing at the Art House this weekend took place in a room with a large skylight straight on top of the model and a glorious bright sun above.
In the bottom picture there's the room during a break, but not the skylight.
Unfortunately the use of this room was a one off.

Peep Show

2008-02-11T01:59:00.001Z

Just watched 4 episodes of Peep Show series 1 in a row. I'll probably wake up in the middle of the night to watch the last two.
Episode 4 ends with Jeremy finally remembering what was "the bad thing" that he did with Superhans. Don't know what I'm talking about? I'm sorry, I can't write a spoiler.

Monster weekend

2008-02-04T02:26:00.001Z

I spent the weekend doing this group of interconnected sucker-footed friends.
Lots of fun, now texturing, rendering and all that. Can't wait actually.
Should they have some sort of scales? Mhm.

Magic

2008-01-23T04:05:00.000Z

Sleep tight little angel, it's your Fairy Grandmother.

Stretchsketch

2008-01-22T00:35:00.001Z

#

2008-01-20T17:43:00.000Z

The Holy Model and the Artist

2008-01-19T21:00:00.001Z

Full house at life drawing at the Art House today, on one pose my view was rather dull so I moved around in search of a better spot, unfortunately all seats were taken. I found a second row standing spot that was interesting only to be told by the woman sitting in front of me that having me standing behind her was giving her "the creep" and she couldn't draw. I had to move again, this time the only other available space was the floor. But it was there that the miracle happened and this halo appeared over the model's head and my drawing started to flow.

Stolen stage

2008-01-18T10:30:00.001Z

Experiments

2008-01-15T13:13:00.000Z

A couple of wierd things that came out of my experiments with computer art. The first is obviously a metaphor for something, the second is instead a celebration of springtime and love.

The spotted lady

2007-12-30T11:33:00.000Z

A diminutive leopard-wearing lady queuing at the bank. They're everywhere.

2 minutes

2007-12-03T21:01:00.001Z

Some of yesterday's 50 x 2 minutes poses session.

The doctor's waiting room

2007-11-26T00:18:00.001Z

Goo

2007-11-20T02:37:00.000Z

And this year's Turner Prize goes to...

2007-11-15T22:57:00.000Z

Creatures of the night

2007-11-11T23:55:00.001Z

Life Drawing to start the week

2007-11-06T00:28:00.000Z

Spotted

2007-10-30T20:48:00.000Z

I thought you should know about the happy Spotted Globefish of the Horniman Museum.

Sore eyes

2007-10-25T00:39:00.001Z

I spent the past few months taking my first steps in the wonderful world of 3d and I have to say that despite being a merciless trial and error modeling is quite a lot of fun.
Anyway, here's a work in progress that I feel like sharing.

The thing

2007-10-17T02:20:00.000Z

The oldest one and other Londoners

2007-09-13T15:04:00.000Z

A few sketches of Londoners done recently to mark tomorrow's anniversary of my 10 years in town. The first one is the oldest man I've ever seen in my whole life, he was at the bank a couple of weeks ago, skin like a roast chicken and a spring in his heel, makes you hope.

I balance that with a standard young one from the same queue at the bank.
A couple of readers and texters at the train station.
Two more common transport faces, the vigilant and the energy-wise.

Rejected #1

2007-08-29T23:51:00.001Z

Kids' play

2007-08-24T11:16:00.001Z

I've been on baby duties since 7 am this morning. Breakfast, cartoons, running, playing (freeform as well as big ball) and a bit of drawing with baby-safe pastels. Here's our 4-hands-work with the seal of approval that Crystal gave to my half page.
Next week I'm on this schedule most days so look out for more.

The secret

2007-08-23T15:24:00.001Z

Happy Birthday Oscar.

Life drawings' lives

2007-08-22T23:05:00.000Z

A word of warning from my life drawing efforts to all of you compulsive sketchers. Put down the pencil before getting behind the wheel.
Don't drive and draw.

Life drawing

2007-08-20T13:06:00.000Z

Unimpressed parrot

2007-08-06T01:42:00.000Z

At the Museum

2007-07-24T18:58:00.001Z

The past

and the future

Or is it the other way round? I can never remember.

Giving

2007-07-23T14:24:00.001Z

Going...going...Gone!

2007-07-18T21:48:00.001Z

As I was sketching him trying to resist sleep, he made himself comfortable and let it all go.

A date

2007-07-17T01:30:00.000Z

A tribute.

Loan Pike

2007-07-12T16:04:00.000Z

All credit agreements with Pikes are subject to the voluntary code of conduct for Pikes and Sharks.

Sportsman

2007-07-07T00:36:00.000Z

This Sunday all self-respecting sportsmen must take a few hours leave from the pub. The route of the Tour de France is passing by London.

People waiting

2007-07-06T14:41:00.001Z

This man yesterday sat next to me on the train and remained perfectly still in that position with his eyes closed for a good ten minutes. It's like asking for it.

This one was waiting for his train to be announced.

This woman is waiting for the vet to visit her dog.

And this is my cat in the cage waiting for his turn too. He's better now.

On the threshold

2007-06-17T22:58:00.000Z

Who is he? What is he saying? I don't know. And it's extremely crude. A pointless thing to do but once I started I just couldn't stop.

Mandatory Olympic Post

2007-06-07T00:13:00.000Z

A £400k bill and people drop down with epileptic fits at the sight of it.
Can anybody resist from having fun at the expenses of the organisers of the Olympics in London?
Here's my humble tribute to the Olympic committee.

Click on the thumbnail below to see it as flash animation.

At the mall

2007-06-06T15:49:00.000Z

There was this man at the cafe of the shopping centre, he was looking like he didn't know what to do with himself today. I sneakily sketched this tiny thing, pretending that I was doing something completely different.

Turn around plus

2007-05-23T20:39:00.000Z

Three views of the same pose enhanced with Photoshop. How does one stop fiddling with the computer on a drawing?