samballard99

Almost a year? wow, to anyone who is reading this, thanks for watching me over the years. I'm not going to bore you with a lot of words you probably don't want to be reading, so to keep it short i figured i should at least have a last journal or such. I'm still a very active artist, I've been working in comics and freelance for about a year now and its going really well.
I'm the artist at The Clockwork Quartet
I've got my own webcomic running at Sunlight After Dark
And a blogfolio at Sams Asemblage
if you want to hit me up to chat, my skype is shinigami_nabeshin and on facebook i'm Here
I'd like to hear what you're all doing, and if you're in london as i am, why not meet up!

anyhow! Ciao!

Merry Belated Christmas to everyone! and a supertastic new year!

everythings going pretty well at the moment. moved out of my temporary place and thank god it couldn't have been sooner, that was one massive mistake... this january i'll be in london and working as an artist in-house, shoreditch, really nice area for anyone who knows the place.

started my first week before xmas, got paid enough to get myself a new laptop, which is quite a difference from the 10 year old machine i used to work with!

been crazy busy with moving jobs and moving houses. will be good when i've got a permanent place to stay in. this month i've been living out of a backpack, slept in 6 different houses...  hopefully will have some time to do some art this week

so, i just recently moved into a new pad and got a job (also the internet, which explains my absence). Nothing fancy, just a little something to keep the money coming in...

however, i have a few other placements with some game companies whom i'm creating concept art for (including my most recent pic)

but now that everything is settled and stable, i use my free time to be active and get stuff done! so expect a lot of things to emerge from this space!!

also, i'm on skype all the time, add me and we can chat my username is shinigam_nabeshin

I graduated!! I now have a Bachelor of Honors in Animation! No longer will someone give my work a numerical value! ..uuunless they're paying me or something... okay, bad analogy..  

the point is, I'm now absolutely free from the education system! Now to run through life with whimsy~ la lalaaa

so theres that.. so now, if anyone wants a commission, i'm absoultley available to do them! just note me the details and here's a rough pricelist;


Sketch - £4 / $6.50

Inked lineart - £7/ $11

Cell shaded - £12 / $19

Fully painted character or portrait - £25 / $40

Backgrounds are an added £10 / $16

I've been meaning to write this for a while, so i think i'll upload it now; a short lesson on how to improve your work. I've been going to and reading lectures all year and it seems to me that there are a few things that exist in them all which are good to have in mind when you make something. i've managed to make then all a C word so i'm calling them the three creative C's;

when creating, be;
- clever
- clear
- concious

clever; put thought into what you're making, if something you want to do has been done before then think of a new way to do it. gain an artistic library of knowledge that enable you to make an innovative and engaging piece of work.

clear; after knowing what you're going to say and how, be sure to render it in a way that shows your idea. you might have the most impressive concept in the world, but without putting it clearly on paper, no one is going to have a clue what you've done or how good your idea is.

concious; underlined because its the most important. be aware of every single mark you make on paper or the importance of every word you write because if you're putting lines on paper without a definite reason, then they should not be there. everything must have a reason for existing to properly interpret your clever idea; why is the person shot from this angle? why these proportions? why this framing? why this color, shape, texture, lighting? be aware that every factor of the work you make will be interpreted as having meaning attached to it, by knowing what you're doing you control the interpretations and metaphors.

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So that's todays sort lesson in other news, here's an up and coming webcomic made by the man who created earthworm jim! i very recommend reading, as its a bunch of fun! >> www.ratfist.com <<