In this artist series, I wanted to write about the process of creating a miniature from concept to completion and what it entails. A sort of open diary if you will or a glimpse at my digital workbench.

Every artist has their own process but we all start more or less in the same place with one source of inspiration. Take these jetbikes for instance for one of our upcoming Kickstarters.

Above you see is some renders of the final product. But as someone once said it isn't the destination but the journey that matters. In a very orc fashion, this project was born on a whim. I wanted some orcs that could fly, I then was simply meandering when I came across this Y shape. It is a bicycle tool, and then the Muses sang.

Then came the inspiration, wouldn't it be cool if that had jet engines strapped to each side and was a bike like vehicle! If you are ever bored this is a great creative exercise to try out, take everyday objects and try to let your imagination fly under a specific prompt. Another really fun technique is to kitbash everyday objects until you have some interesting shapes. That is how great special effect artists from Hollywood came up with any number of props and ships.

It also helps to be culturally aware. We are all a collection of influences. For example, if I had never watched Star Wars that iconic Y shape might not have triggered any thought or have any meaning. It pays off to be curious too. I tend to watch a lot of documentaries and movies that not only are enjoyable but that fuel my imagination. The same with books, with books it is even better because it forces you to draw from your personal experience and imagine what the author is trying to describe. People are a collection of their experiences and the same is true for art. Artists are a collection of their personal experiences and cultural influences.

Once you get going it is hard to stop and an idea starts taking shape. Once you have that Eureka moment you can start exploring concepts. First I build a mood board. I would get a bunch of pictures that relate to what I am trying to draw or materialize. I tend to go from a broad subject to a more narrow one. So I know I am working on this vehicle and that it will have jet engines and be driven by one creature. I turn to our trusty friend the internet and start googling jet engines, planes and bikers.

I then select the images I like and then with that create the mood board. In this stage it is always good to allow a fair amount of time, this will become your source material and will influence the look of the final project. Also, take into account the shapes that will define your final sculpt. What I mean by that is have a look at what are the most prominent components of your idea. In the case of the Jetbikes, it is definitely the jet engines. So once you have that figured out you can spend some extra time looking for pictures of engines, intakes etc.

Once all of that is done it's time to start drawing some concepts, you can kitbash pictures or draw them by hand or a combination of both. This is the best part since your idea really starts taking shape. At this point, it is important to think a bit about how this vehicle would work or in the case of creatures how they would move. What I mean by this is that a good concept has to be believable if that makes any sense. For a concept to be believable your source material needs to be good. Here is a pro tip: never draw or sculpt from imagination. Take your time to study pictures and components. This is what really sells the concept as something that viewers can relate to. After you draw a few concepts, pick the best of each drawing and start sculpting! You might want to have the character or vehicle drawn in different angles so you don't have to go back to the drawing board once you start sculpting.

In any case, this post is getting rather long. I hope you enjoyed that glimpse at the process stay tuned. Happy printing!

Anthony

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