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Digital PaintingThis gallery contains a few images that I created with naught but my trusty Wacom tablet and good old Adobe Photoshop.Imperadin at 60Although massively multiplayer games can be an incredible time-sink, sometimes they can inspire acts of creativity such as this work. "Imperadin at 60" is a digital painting that I created to memorialize my World of Warcraft character "Imperadin" as he appeared upon reaching his 60th level. The painting was created from scratch with The GIMP and a Wacom tablet. The painting is mostly representational, but with some symbolic elements. The armor and tabbard are as they appeared in-game, however the hammer that he wields is an interpretation of the "symbol of divinity", which is a symbol of the Warcraft Paladin. I used this element because nothing about his appearance was unique to Paladins, and thus this iconic element identifies his role. The setting is evocative of the "Eastern Plaguelands", home to the natural enemies of the Paladin - the Undead. The layout hints that the viewer looks south, and thus the light to which Imperadin looks comes from the eastern horizon - namely, it is the light of dawn - symbolic of the Paladin's quest to banish the darkness. Also, "The Light of Dawn" is the name of the guild that I belong to on the server named "Lightbringer". In this image, Imperadin is the "Lightbringer" in that his presence heralds the "Light of Dawn". Orcish ChieftainThis "Orcish Chieftain" is based on a pencil sketch by Lee "Nutsy" Tanner. Aside from Lee's marvelous pencil work, credit must be given to Google Image Search - which enabled me to quickly find excellent reference images of fur boots and black armor with gold trim. I approached this work in a very different fashion than I had previous digital painting efforts - constructing the image as if I were using Photoshop to light a 3D scene. The base layer is analogous to ambient lighitng - with nothing but solid patches of color for defining the shapes of the figure. The next layer is a multiplicative layer that is intended to mimic radiosity shadows for the ambient lighting. The third layer defines the volume of the figure by simulating the light cast by the primary fill-light. The fourth layer uses a rim-light to highlight the edge of the figure and really separate it from the background. Finally, there are a few miscellaneous layers for subtle texture and lighting effects. Tortured SoulsThe following painting was created as part of a community project to create a "wall of the damned" texture map. Although the general theme was to make a tortured-looking face, I thought it might be more frightening to present an interplay of two tortured faces. My thinking was that the interaction between the two would make them appear more cognizent of their situation than if they were just wailing in individual anguish. Also, the feral attack of one against the other show direct pain and anguish while the viewer is left to wonder what inner turmoil could lead a tortured soul to such a futile and desperate act.
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