Legionaries

I have a lot of work lately, so I haven't posted anything for a month. I stopped all my private projects, Manta 3d model for example and also some concepts arts. Here is some older stuff. In fact I started it before, but I caught a bit of time today while rendering some other job and finished him. There was another guy  in battle suit on this picture, but I had to cut him out because he is in a form of sketch. I'll put that guy later when I have more time to complete it.

Opel Manta WIP

Lately I've moved away a bit from the drawing and began a 3D project. Just to remind my self of modeling in 3ds Max. My biggest paranoia is that I will forget something very useful what i used to know. Since I was a kid I really liked this car and it looks so cool even today. I would say that Manta is something like german version of Ford Mustang or Ford Falcon from Australia (better known because of Mad Max movie). I plan to create it really detailed, inside of the car, maybe even machine. Also there will be two versions, normal one and one in apocalyptic style, don't know yet, I'm pretty far from ending now. I'm still collecting references, it's difficult to find some real good in higher resolution, not to mention blueprints, I hardly found this blueprints that are visible on the screen, they're very low resolution and slightly pixelated, I edited them in PS to have something that I can use. Otherwise there is a newer version of Opel Manta from eighties, it's also cool, but not as one from seventies. Maybe I'll do that newer version later. Texture is more for fun, to evoke the working atmosphere as in a garage.

I fixed some errors in shape of the car, especially the rear part. Here are some screens of details that I'm working on. Axles and suspension, drive shaft, chassis and cage, made from bars. I really don't know anything about cars, but I'm trying to model all this things as close as possible.
I copied the references, but I soon became very frustrated as I do not understand how all these things work. It is much easier to model something, when you know what is the practical application of individual parts. I think I'll have to get some online manual for mechanics. Never is too late to learn something new.

Weird animals

I planned to draw more technology stuff, but sometimes things are not going as I planned. You have some crazy idea and you must immediately put it on screen, so here it is, weird cross between pig, Texas longhorn and camel. Here is also a bent old granny in role of a cattle-breeder. Both will be a perfect fit in a post-apocalyptic world.

Mutant blades

I don't really like fantasy genre, but lately I started to read Michael Moorcocks Elric of Melnibone, well, it's not so bad, it's kind of fun despite some inconsistencies and naive, strange overturns even for that kind of literature. Book has been trigger and made me more open for such a genre. Now I'm playing really good PC fantasy RPG, it's not much different from other bestselling fantasy crap, but in some way I like it, it is even inspiring for me, helps me to develop new ideas. So here it is, something that I took from fantasy world and adjusted to my own. It even has its own little story.

Bigger image of blade bearer with his own story.

Behold!! Double blades armed dwarf. He is not a joke!!

This was just a small digression, back to the machines now.

Demo Reel 2012

My 3d work from past 3 years, at last I managed to collect some things which are worth enough to put them into demo reel. There is couple of new stuff too, TAM truck presentation, few freelance projects and at the end, hardware render of my work for PC and mobile games.

Poor quality one from my web page
http://gfx-storage.com/gfx_shreel.html

Better quality directly from vimeo 
https://vimeo.com/50237831

Results

I'll post some of exercise results here. Just a few of them, that I'm relatively satisfied with. First one is flying transport vehicle which is result of compound objects in perspective exercise. Should work like a Sikorsky Skycrane but with VTOL jet engines. Below is the city that I tried to draw as a background, but in half I asked my self: " What the hell are you doing, you should practice, not lose time on some detail that would not even be visible", so I decided to create some quick background. I'm still on compound objects and I'll practice to draw pieces of technology which I think are the best for that degree of practice.

I recently ran on the Paul Richards page where he explains the process of designing a new things through thumbnailing, he is very talented and busy man, just take a look at portfolio, and it's really fun to read his advices. 

http://www.autodestruct.com/thumbwar.htm

How I'm still practicing, I decided to apply learned lessons, here are some of my thumbs for new flying vehicle that I need for personal project.

Couldn't resist new idea, Thief bot's older brother the Para-bot. Here is just basic sketch about his behaviour, 1st sketch represent him thrown from the aircraft, then he is flying, using jetpack, some rough landing and rise up. Maybe I'll add some more detail later.

Para-bot updated, final look is defined.

A lot of practice waits for me

Some honest people helped me to realize my mistakes when drawing. Currently I'm practicing drawing of objects in various perspectives. I approached to this problem seriously and divided practices to five different degrees. First, primitive objects in perspective, compound objects in different perspectives, technical objects, from vehicles to sci-fi humanoid robots, then figure and gesture of a human body, animals, and at the end interaction between bodies, probably the best example for that is sport, especially team sports as handball or football.

I discovered cool online application that can help amateur and self-taught persons, as I am. You can practice gesture and posing, lighting too. Here's a link

http://www.pixelovely.com/gesture/figuredrawing.php

I ran on this relaxing video, maybe it's off topic and not really style that I'm chasing but it shows great painting knowledge through simplicity of shapes and colors. Well, I like this music also.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyMUgZr5TvE

More about the painter

http://www.wikipaintings.org/en/yiannis-moralis

WIP

Currently I'm working on this modern mage for my project. Also I'm working on TAM truck 3d model which is mostly done. It should be the vehicle in which the main characters will travel to their adventures. 

TAM truck finished, some screens from 3d model presentation video for my show reel.

Private project

I also started a private project linked to the world that I've created for roughly 4-5 years ago. 
It should be old school plain adventurous sci-fi, something what I think that is missing today. I'm currently working on a story and main characters, also on populating world with interesting apocalyptic, mutated residents. Theme is actually about greedy people, stupid people and ecology.  I'm still not sure whether this project will be in a form of some kind of comic book or animated movie. Animation is really hard for realization, especially when you work alone. To evoke the touch of this world, here is a link to 4 years old video and concept art of a few characters. There are two more cadres of video that i never published, I'll upload them later.

https://vimeo.com/10931099

Allods Team contest

Month ago I found contest from Russian company Allods Team, they needed concept art for sci-fi soldier, this is result.
 

Fallout NV BBD mod concepts

I started to work with people who wanted to try their hand at making games, they needed characters, monsters, vehicles, weapons. I realized that it is much easier to draw a concept and then create a 3d model, so I started drawing again, this time digitally. It's more symbolic, just to capture idea, more for personal use than a real concept art.

You can find 3d model versions on Beyond Boulder Dome mod blog
http://beyondboulderdome.blogspot.com/
in older posts and something on my web page
http://gfx-storage.com/

Old comics

At the beginning, some selected details from the old comics I drew, something is sketched in pencil, something with ink. These drawings are from the year 1995, I found a small note in the first picture that says Fürst 95. Mostly they're not completed, do not have any text, and some remained in the stage of sketch.

Welcome to Art Of Oz

I'm Ozren Fuerst and I do mostly 3D models and some animation. I am a 3D generalist, and able to do any job of that kind. Here is my web page covering the 3D part of my work.

www.gfx-storage.com

Since I have much to say, some in form of words, much more in form of drawings and paintings and since I don't have powerful enough loudspeakers or a large enough screen so anyone can hear it and see it, I decided to start a blog.

The intention of this blog is to motivate me to continue with traditional and digital drawing, which I neglect for too long, and to receive constructive criticism and advice for further progress. I have not had a chance to study in an art schools. I'm self-taught and that is the hardest (or the most foolish) way to learn so I'm not really sure if that what I'm doing is worth anything.

As I said, some of the content will be expressed with words, other in form of pictures. The reason for that is probably the fact that I have grown up among a lot of comic books which were very popular those days. I was only a kid then, so I didn't worry much about words and meaning. It was important to me that my drawings look approximately cool as those I could see in old Marvel comic books. Of course, I couldn't achieve that then and not even now.

Growing older, I realized that good story and meaning of things are very important too, that ideas originating in art are inspiring science, philosophy, ecology, even politics, every known human activity. On the other hand, it would be hard for art if there were no physics (influence of force), math, especially geometry, biology (anatomy), chemistry (tools for expression) and electronics (digital painting and 3D). All these things complement each other, so when you deal with art, you deal with everything. Well, that would be the topic of this blog, everything.