The time for fighting in the streets is over.

This american Air Force guy beat me up and told me to, so I did.

I realise that it's been a while since I've done anything, but times have been busy/tough. To be honest I wasn't going to bother doing anything until after New Years, but what's the point in sitting around waiting for a couple of days?

Aquatic equivalent of birds and the bees?

You've got some strange friends, Sister!

Canis Homarus

Just dipping into another of my art comp entries, because it's hard to find time to do much else at the moment. I didn't win this one, losing out to the incredible Saxon Dixon, but I still like it. The topic for that week was "Lobster dog" in the style of "something game-y". The reason: Do we really need one? It's freaking awesome! (Or alternatively because I had just seen Lobster dog and my mind was transfixed on his awe-inspiring visage. Gaze deep at his majesty.)

Also check out Dogfort if you are dogwardly inclined.

The Evaporative Iron Man

As requested: A moderately detailed steampunk Iron Man in front of an icecream parlour. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out... Although by the time I got to the background and drew the icecream parlour, I no longer wanted to draw a background. One of these days I'm really going to have to work on that.

So I hope you like it Ithyrn Luin. If not, send your complaints to Stan Lee c/o Marvel Comics.

Also, Aliesha: When you work out what you want me to draw for your prize, let me know and I'll get right on it.

That Buttercup is a spy!

I had really expected to have had something else done before dipping into the backlog of art comp entries again... but meh, time etc.

This one did win me back the coveted "Lead Artist" title. For those it's not blindingly obvious to, the topic for that week was (3 of the) characters from Team Fortress 2, in the style of The Powerpuff Girls. Critics may debate the proportions of the said Powerpuff girls, but what can I say to that except "hater's gonna hate."

König der Ponys

Now all of that "200 post" business has been dealt with, I can finally get around to posting the work art competition stuff that I've done in the 6 or so weeks that I haven't posted anything.

Today's theme was "Yourself as a My little pony" in a Graffiti style. Since the running joke (or secret fact) is that I'm German I decided to draw myself as that, instead of the respected, bear-fighting, billionaire-playboy-superhero I so obviously am. Then, as if to further emasculate the other competitors, I added them in as tiny stickers. Yodel-ay-he-whooo indeed.

I didn't win though, but at least I lost to someone who is a true pony fan. Besides... It's not like I can win Lead Artist every fortnight.

Two Hundred.

It's (finally) time for the much awaited, presumably forgotten about 200th post image. Not really much to say about it except that I started a few different things that didn't work out, and things have been pretty busy recently.

It's not a celebration without prizes though, and today could be your lucky day. I will draw you whatever you want* if you can either:
a) Accurately describe the "theme" for this picture
or
b) Name all of the characters in it

Comment below and win today!

*disclaimer: it may end up as my "interpretation", and I have a fairly wild (or lazy) imagination.

More like "Cliche Fighter IV"

So the art challenge this week was "Zombie vs. Pirate vs. Ninja vs. Werewolf vs. Alien vs. Russian", in the style of Street Fighter 4 ink splatter. Due to much complaining from the rest of the artists at work, this was then cut down to "your choice of three". I'm such a bad-ass through I did all of them and threw in a robot for good measure.

Alas, I didn't win this week (although I swear I was the closest to the actual style) but I only really had 2 days to work on it, as opposed to everyone else's 2 weeks.

In other news: This is post #199! Whatever am I going to do for post #200?!? MYSTERY.

I know my posting habits have been fairly lax/erratic the last month or so... but there may be a delay before can do anything suitably awesome to commemorate it properly.

Zug Zug.

So, once upon a time I did a bunch of art for a game that never really happened. Many tears were shed, but such is the way sometimes. Imagine my surprise then, when one of the games our interns are working on is using my art... Mixed emotions for sure.

I never really finished that art though... at the time the thought of animating the Ogre attack seemed way too daunting. However, if it's actually going into a game, I may as well finish it off... As it turns out, remembering the brush types I used over a year ago was tougher than doing the animation, even if it is a little wonky. It shouldn't matter though... He'll be a such a small size and moving so quickly it probably wont be notice. Also, he'll probably be on fire.

Also: Yay, did something that's not all text, for a change. May as well make a post for it.

Sweet, murderous music.

And so... my reign as Lead Artist comes to an end. It was a good run, but eventually one of the proper artists had to win.

This fortnight's challenge was to draw Mozart and Bach as vampire hunters, in a "gothic" style. I ran out of time during the week, but I didn't want to pass up such a cool topic. It's kind of more steam punk than gothic, also I was totally going to colour it in but I have other things I need to get done this weekend, so this is as finished as it will get.

Also: Yes I know that this is an implausible situation, because Bach died in 1750, 6 years before Mozart was even born... But ignoring facts like that is the N3V way! I mean vampires didn't even exist until 1813, but that's not stopping us either... Chill out nerd.

FailWhale...

Except not. Despite the fact that I didn't have time to properly complete it (due to work/sickness/laziness), this picture won this fortnight's "Artist Off" competition.  Lead artist for another 2 weeks!

Having a whale of a time.

So the next Artist Challenge (of which I can the current reigning champion) is to draw a "Whale on fire, steampunk style".

This isn't my actual submission, but instead is a distraction to make the artists think they don't have to aim very high to beat me this time. You might say "But Gareth, wont they read this text next to the picture and know it's all a ruse?", to which I would reply with "You obviously don't know artists like I do, I doubt any of them made it past the first paragraph..."

The sad thing is that this currently looks better than my actual submission... Still most of a week to go though.

Coincidentally, this would also make a better pokemon than most of the new generation.

Posting on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

I've been a little slack when it comes to posting stuff recently, but I seem to have problems in getting any time to do anything... So, in the meantime, here's some additional stuff from Plank'd! There's a couple of additional hastily animated ones after the jump, I just didn't want to subject any causal viewers to them... Expect more non-Plank'd stuff soon.

RAWR

So things have been pretty damn hectic the last couple of weeks, so I haven't really had a lot of spare time to do any of my regular extra-curricular activities. Hopefully it's going to calm down a little now... but if not I guess I'll just have to put up work stuff:P

So the image to the right here is not related to any games we're working on (although... maybe it should be...), but is in fact my entry in the office wide "Artist Off" competition. Considering we don't have a Lead Artist, we decided to settle things with a good old fashioned free-for-all (although unfortunately, not officially... but that wont stop us from treating it that way). The rules were simple, draw a picture of a T. Rex fighting a Dragon, and open to everyone in the company. 

Mine is kind of more like a T.Rex and a Dragon having an awkward dance on a blind first date, but it would seem that all that time spent drawing dinosaurs having sex for my friend's money during uni paid off. That image ended up winning, beating out the proper artists and giving me another title for my ever expanding list. 

I am now: Gareth Pavlich, Lead Designer, Lead Artist, (let's face it I'm still) Lead QA, (also apparently) Sound Engineer, Localisation co-ordinator and (lastly) the Voice of N3V Games. Pretty soon, I will be the company.

Yes... I am a hero and it's OK if you want to touch me. 

Mystery game reveal

So yeah yeah, planking is dumb, but surely that makes it the all the more challenging to make a decent game, right? Well, as it turns out I am always up for a challenge.

So I think it turned out OK. It could use varying levels of polish, but what are you going to do on such a small timeframe eh? I guess what's more important is that it lets the bosses know just what we can do if we're working on something interesting... and plus I think we all learnt a little about ourselves too. I, for one, learnt that I am a delicate and unique snowflake.

Aaaanyway, if you want to check it out (and my amateur voice over work), go here: http://www.plankdgame.com/

If you think it doesn't suck, please go here (http://www.facebook.com/plankdgame) and "Like" it. The more likes we get the more likely it is we'll actually get to tidy it up and and add new levels and characters (which is what everyone here wants to do).

The worst detective team in history.

So, work has again been too busy this last week to really have a chance to do anything again... So instead I'm posting something from work. Behold part of what I spent the last weekend crunching on. We'll be releasing tomorrow apparently (which is just nuts) so this can act as a teaser, but people who know me way want to keep an eye out for the sole purpose of listening to me embarrass myself. Digitally.

And now for something completely different...

I've been pretty quiet over the last couple of weeks because work is getting really busy again... But that doesn't have to mean I have to spend all my time coding loot tables. I finally got around to picking up a USB-to-MIDI cable, so I figured "why not give that music thing ago again?"

So this is something at least. It could possibly be in one of the games we're currently making... But it was just fun to write stuff again anyway. The game a zombie type affair, but the feeling I was going for with this track was "Trapped in the toilet at a menacing rave party" with a side order of "Scooby and Shaggy stuttering while trying to trying to explain there's a monster standing behind Thelma, Daphne and Fred", but that ended up being smoothed out a little by the end of it.

Another bonus, I finally have a video in my youtube account! Yay web2.0!

Wallpapers of our disaffected future

I got a new phone and I wanted to personalize it a little so I banged up this wallpaper out of whatever I had around.

And now it's late.

Nananana nananana

I haven't really been very Batman recently... so in an effort to remind myself I drew and coloured this. I'm pretty damn happy with it but at the same time I wish I could have done something with the background. I had no idea though, and it was pretty late, so it was not meant to be.

I think this means I'm the Port Augusta tourism commitee now.

... And I've never even been to the place.

As requested by my sister, a shirt with a logo on it like the Fraiser logo but with Port Augusta's skyline (i.e. the only thing over one story high, the power plant). She didn't really explain what it was for but odds are it's something to do with a pub crawl coz it always is with her!:P

Some title about clipboards...

Unfortunately it's not readable now I've shrunk it down, but at the bottom of that piece of paper it says "This page has been intentionally left blank."

What's it all about? MYSTERY

Money in the bank

Here is a thing for a thing I'm doing. It'll probably go nowhere but hey, at least it's got a little colour for a change.

More to come tomorrow (maybe).

Portal 2!

But the real mystery is, how did I stop playing it for long enough to get this done?

The last flight of the Orient Express

Possibly not an accurate representation of the real thing.

So you know back when I said I'd finally beaten the last of the Trainz to death with naught but my manly man-fists? Total lie. Trainz came back in a big way and took it's revenge with a week of my life.

That, now truly, is over, and with it my days as a tester. As of a couple of days ago I am now officially a game designer. What that means is anyones guess tho!

What comes next? similarly a mystery. Probably no more train drawings though.

Braaaaaaaaaaains Surgeon

This is not a game we're currently making- but it's one we should be.

Also I was going to colour this but now it's late and Trainz yet beckons... like some kind of steam-powered mistress.

An accurate portrayal of my last couple of weeks.

So once again, Trainz has been kicking my ass. The good news is that phase is over now. The bad news is that now begins a new phase of things kicking my ass.

Coincidentally, this is my favorite self portrait so far, mainly on account of my face not being visible. The advantage of this is that you can't see my brand new crunch-time goatee. It is never too late to disregard advice given in comments. 

Just kidding, it's never too late to not have a goatee.

Goatee science/rage combo.

I'm pretty sure it's no coincidence the two games I've played recently both feature goatee-d dudes, but what it means is still a mystery.

Oh.. so it turns out I'm a published artist (of sorts)...

So looks like I do (or at least should) have art credits on a released game. The 3D artist at work (The awesome Rob Shaw) snuck on my concept train art into My First Trainz Set on the back of a cereal box. Somehow, I hadn't noticed until now... And that is pretty awesome.

Previously on...

Could there be a more perfect buddy cop team than Putin and Obama?

One's a violent hard-ass who does whatever it takes to get the job done. The other's the hippest, street-wise cat this side of Harlem. Together, they put the boot into crime and take back the streets.

After botching a major drug bust, Police commissioner Kofi Annan assigns Detective Barack Obama his new partner, Detective Vladimir Putin, himself only recently returning to duty after a long probation for using excessive and unnecessary force. Can these two unlikely allies get past their differences and save the city from crime's evil grasp?

Starring Bruce Willis, Eddie Murphy with Morgan Freeman.

But seriously , this stuff writes itself. Gaddafi is a gang leader in the middle of a mutinous gang war. Berlusconi is the city's biggest pimp.

Mad props to Drew. Co-writing credits are all yours.

Also, I could totally come up with a better name for this but it was laaaaaaaaaate and thats really all i had in me.

Update: You can't have Bruce Willis without the Bruce Willis tilt!

Don't push the button...

...The button is bad.

A gut-wrenching ordeal.

Or not.

So this is "female protagonist" from "Undisclosed project". I imagine it's still a little early for anyone (and by that I mean my sole reader) to know what it is but hold out there Drew... It'll be obvious by tomorrow.

In other news: I think I know what I'm going to focus on... I just need to check some particulars first to make sure I wont be wasting my time.

Lastly: I think I went about this all wrong, and I should've done some front/side character design sketches first. Maybe that can be something for the weekend.

Hey there!..

... It's been a while! What's news? How are you going?

So admittedly, I've been pretty bad. Sure, I've had my reasons... But let's be honest: reasons are only a lazy mans excuse to be lazier.

So, what's the plan now? No idea. I want to do something that a) I might actually finish and b) that I might eventually be able to sell. What exactly that is, is still up for debate.

It could be Project Voltron... but I suspect that might require me to learn 3d modelling. It could be this other iPhone game I have in mind that wouldn't require anything tricky. Or alternatively, it could be something involving this guy to the right. only time can tell... and I'll probably decide by the end of the week. But in the meantime I think I'll keep drawing concept sketches for this thing... Maybe you'll spot some familiar faces!

Get on the damn heart!!!

Due to non-Valentines Day issues I almost didn't have the love to do anything today... But then I figured if I didn't do anything, that would mean the terrorists have won.

So here we are... It then became apparent that it was getting late, and also that I didn't want to be the terrorists too much, so nothing but flat colours for everyone.

Lastly, this goes out to anyone who's not a crazy bitch (unless you're a crazy bitch in a good way).

A belated Merry Christmas and a Batty New Year.

Happy new year! How the bloody hell are you?!

I figure I've left long enough of a gap to make a proper, stylishly late entrance.

So, in the 2 months absence, the following things have happened to/around me:
- I didn't finish Project Voltron.
- I got a promotion.
- I got a new car.
- I moved to the Gold Coast.
- I almost touched a rhino.

I believe all of this adequately sums up why I haven't posted anything during that time.

Meanwhile, its a new year, so what better time to review my previous resolutions! I'm not going to re-do my bar-graphs... so text ahoy.
- I'm now officially a Game Designer. One of the first things I'll be doing is level design, which is what John Romero started doing, plus I'll be developing new IPs. So thats a tick and an increase in the first column. I'll possibly concede some of that increase because I'm yet to have a beautiful jet black mane to back up my design skills. Similarly, for reasons I can't disclose I'm also "known" in some of the right circles, so I'm totally taking that as a tick too.
- I'm getting better with the drawing. Marvel and/or DC are still being coy, but I know they just like to play hard to get... That's no tick for that resolution. However, I do think I'm improving, and I can draw hands and feet, so I'm totally increasing my rank in the second column to some place above Rob Liefeld. I will have to take away some points for repeated lack of unnecessary pouches and belts. I guess thats something to improve on this year.
- I've listened to music. And I played a fair bit of Rock Band and DJ Hero. Half-hearted tick.
- Ok.. Realistically...While I have been going to the gym and such, I would still make a pretty poor Batman. Plus, I totally failed to stop any crime this last year. No tick. However, I've seen Adam West in tights and I think I can compete. Plus I do a pretty competent Batusi.

So... What are my resolutions going to be this year? I haven't really thought about it yet. Do you have any ideas? Let me know! I'm lazy!