art Archives - White Cat

Tag: art

I Stream Art!

Posted on February 1, 2020 by LTB

In the distant past before the days of Twitch I tried streaming my art a couple of times to some friends for fun. It meant I only had a couple of viewers if any, but it was an interesting thing to try, especially as I eventually ended up living so far apart from my other art-inclined friends. It never became more than that though, in spite of the thought of it being in the back of my mind once in a while.

But a few months ago I finally decided to give it another go. I had been talking with some new art-interested friends about how to go about this and that, and got the idea to try and stream a piece of mine to better show I personally went about things, and because doing it together could be fun times. I still had my old streaming playlist lying around with the thought of “what if some day I’ll need it”, so I stuffed some new additions on there and looked into how to make this all work on Twitch.

And I’ve been doing it since! I now try to stream at least a couple of times a week, with Fridays reserved for work on art for my game to make sure I keep up steady progress. I’m a very small streamer-fish and don’t even always have anyone watching, but it’s turned out to be a great motivator in general to get drawing, and it has even gotten me back into contact with a few old friends from years ago as well, so it’s been a good time so far.

In general I treat it as an exercise in focus, along with teaching myself to be less secluded about showing off my progress and work. I’m terrible at getting my stuff out there. Answering people’s questions along the way is a fun added bonus!

So! If you’re interested in seeing how I go about things art-wise, are curious about how assets for Angelic Orbs are made, or just want to listen to some chill music, feel free to drop by and say hi!

Angelic Orbs: Fallen Star

Posted on May 1, 2014 by LTB

Time to talk a little about what was introduced earlier – White Cat’s next visual novel, Angelic Orbs: Fallen Star.

Angelic Orbs is the story about Tia, an angel who is unable to return home, and the three people she meets who feel just as lost in the world as she does. Together this unlikley group begins a journey to correct the wrongs she has done, and learn the truths of the world they live in.

AO is planned to take part over three or so ‘episodes’ or ‘chapters’. Fallen Star is the first, and will contain a story that hopefully works well on its own, but also leads into the greater scheme of things that follow in the next chapters. This is done because AO in general is a much bigger story than Blue Rose was, and because I plan to try out a number of new things in the way the story is told and the visuals are presented. Splitting the story into well-sized chapters will make the completion of each of them easier to accomplish, and let me get a game out there earlier to see if this kind of projects works well with its audience. And for the things that do not work, I should be able to improve that so much more for the following chapters.

Angelic Orbs is not BxG or GxB – the player is not a narrator but an observer, and the ways you can interact with the story are shaped, maybe limited, around that. There will be times where you can change the point of view on the story that unfolds, and a few occassions where you can interfere with the with the circumstances that the group finds themselves in.

At the time of writing another kind of interactivity is also planned. Whenever the group finds themselves in a situation where they have no choice but to fight, you will be able to control these battles in a turnbased rpg-like manner.

At this point however, the game is still very early in its production. It is currently in the writing phase, with the first draft of the first four parts of the chapter written so far. Many of the concepts about player mechanics and even art presentation are therefore still up in the air, and many things can yet change before the final game sees completion in the distant future. I will most likely return with several different blog posts about this, while also trying to gauge people’s thoughts on different ways of handling these topics.

The sad part about this point of the production is that there is so little to show! Therefore we will have to make do with these little concept sketches for now. If I can set some time aside for it, then hopefully I will have some more visual things to present at some point, and maybe do a more indepth presentation of the world and the characters that this vn will be about.

So see you next time!

Lena portrait

Posted on June 4, 2013 by LTB

Wanted to try and do a painting from scratch with limited time, set to 1½ hour. Failed pretty much as expected as I got caught up in all the wrong things! Even cheated with 15 minutes in the end to make it more presentable *cough*. Anyway, here is a simple Lena.

Time and place

Posted on January 16, 2013 by LTB

The deadline to participate in the World of Warcraft Tribute artbook from Udon was passed the other day. I made an attempt to participate in this – in spite of not paying attention and therefore only hearing about it when there were 4 days left to submit something in. I still wish I had more time to work on my piece, as there are things I would have liked to put in there, had I more time. But for now all there is to do is hope for the best. Slim chances, I know.

But it also makes me think of something that sometimes crosses my mind after finishing a piece. What if I had heard about this contest earlier, and started working on my piece in good time? It would most definitely have looked completely different. Not because I had more time to work on details and to add things, but because I would have started work with both a different mindset, but also maybe a very different image in my head. Would it really have been better?

I think art depends a lot on the very second you sit down to begin. Even if you make early sketches and plan out your picture, so much of it is decided on that one moment and the state you’re in, if you do it Monday or Tuesday.

I find it a strangely fascinating thought. This picture you’re painting, or the text you’re writing – how would it have looked if you had done it next week instead? Or just a few hours later?

You’ll never really know. At the same time, the thing you are working on exists only in this very second when you put down your pen. Wait, and it will be gone forever, replaced by something else. For better or for worse, that’s another matter entirely!

Blue Rose Characters – Simon

Posted on March 5, 2012 by LTB

Next character introduction is for Simon:

Simon is a Templar of the Blue Rose, just like Lena. They have worked together for almost two years now, and Lena sees him as an important mentor to her.

Simon takes his position very seriously, and has a great sense of responsibility for those under his command. He is also very calm and collected, and usually has his temper under control. Usually.

Simon’s route was hard to write. So many things are going on under his calm exterior, and the other routes have him say and do things as a result of this, which could be hard to explain. That, and he usually has to draw the short end of the stick.

Don’t worry Simon, you’ll get your chance! Some day…

Blue Rose Characters – Gavin

Posted on February 21, 2012 by LTB

(I realised I had said earlier that I would now introduce Blue Rose characters, then never actually continued doing so…. oops? Anyway, here is finally introduction #2)

Next up in our character introductions is – Gavin! He was the first character I wrote a route for, so he might as well be the first of the main characters that I introduce as well:

Gavin is one of the first people that Lena is introduced to in the village. He can be a bit of an idiot, but I quite like his non-serious attitude. In spite of his tendency to piss off everyone around him, Gavin is also a pretty dependable type.

Like Lena, Gavin is a bit of a newcomer in this village, and therefore also somewhat of an outsider.

The inspiration for Gavin came very early on from a certain character in a certain movie/book. In the end his personality ended up completely different from that character though! They only share a very few superficial traits.

Blue Rose Characters – Lena

Posted on July 24, 2011 by LTB

Guess I can (very) slowly start to introduce the characters in Blue Rose.

The obvious choice for the first one is:

Lena – the protagonist.

The last visual novel I wrote (which spanned more than 5 minutes) was Angelic Orbs. The protagonist in that story was Kevin, a boy from the country who… well, was kinda helpless. Kevin was not the bravest of men, and certainly no warrior, often resulting in him having to improvise during the more dangerous situations in the story.

Lena is something different – apart from being a girl, she is also a Templar of the Blue Rose, a high order of elite knights in the kingdom of Tanves. She believes in being able to hold one’s own and in fighting for what is right. Which means she can kick some serious butt if it comes down to it.

She is also the only important character in the story without any in-game sprites. That doesn’t mean you won’t get to see her in cg’s though.

Although Lena believes in being strong, she soon realises that in reality she has hardly ever made an independent choice in her life. She also comes to the realisation that these choices will end up having great consequences for everything around her.

One of the key points I had in mind when starting out on Blue Rose, was that I wanted a protagonist with a clear, strong personality. She would have a name, a face and an important role in what happens. She is not just the protagonist, but the centre of the story – and the reader will go through the events together with her, aiding her in her choices.

Hopefully you will enjoy this journey when it’s finally done – and that you’ll be able to care for Lena, even in spite of her faults.

Erin’s transformation sequence(?)

Posted on February 12, 2011 by LTB

Usually I would never show off crappy art like this publicly before I fix it, but I thought I’d tell a little about how I work on the art for Blue Rose (and most other things, really).

Some days a w.i.p drawing just looks awesome while you’re working on it, but then when it’s done, you look at it and think ’OMG what was I doing!?’

Ewww (especially when mirrored).

At times I get lucky and I only need to clean up the lineart a bit and make sure the head has the right shape (one of my sloppy areas). And then there are times when proportions are thrown out the window and they look like that example up there…

Poor Erin.

Actually I could redraw the whole thing and that might be easier, but I’m too lazy. So instead I try to patch up the lineart I have, although the amount of work ends up pretty much the same!

Hours later…

Yay, much better!

After this, I can finally go on to drawing her different expressions and send her off to my colourist… until next time I open the file and realise ‘aww I should have fixed this and that too!!’ <_<;;

Usually I would never show off crappy art like this publicly before I fix it, but I thought I’d tell a little about how I work on the art for Blue Rose (and most other things, really).

Some days a w.i.p drawing just looks awesome while you’re working on it, but then when it’s done, you look at it and think ’OMG what was I doing!?’

(Erin pose2, before fixes)

Ewww (especially when mirrored).

At times I get lucky and I only need to clean up the lineart a bit and make sure the head has the right shape (one of my sloppy areas). And then there are times when they look like that example up there…

Poor Erin.

Actually I could redraw the whole thing and that might be easier, but I’m too lazy. So instead I try to patch up the lineart I have, although the amount of work ends up pretty much the same!

Hours later…

(Fixed Erin sprite)

Yay, much better!

Silence before the storm

Posted on November 22, 2010 by LTB

So, about time I actually showed some real art from Blue Rose. Except it’s still only lineart!

But here you have the main cast of the game – the protagonist Lena in the front, and all the pursue-able characters around her:

Aran is being all mysterious in the back, turning his face away from the audience. Not to make him super mysterious or anything, but he’s never been that close with the rest of the group anyway! You’ll get to see what he actually looks like later…

Character names from left to right: Gavin, Lena in front, Aran in the back, Erin, Tobias looking annoyed in the front and lastly Simon.

Now back to drawing art that actually appears in-game…

Bottle Bunnies and Magical Horses

Posted on December 5, 2008 by LTB

Hello again.

Instead of ranting about my computer breaking down again, or make lame excuses for not having released my game or comic yet, I am going to talk about something completely different today.

As my motivation for looking up on the Bella Sara card game has recently been rekindled, I happened to stumble upon the artist blog of Jennifer L. Meyer, one of the artists of said card game.

And I must say, just looking over a few of her pictures made me fall in love with her art right away. I mean, there are cute bunnies everywhere, who can resist that?

Cake-baking bunnies, electrified bunnies, warrior bunnies, winged bunnies… and they all still look like real, fluffy bunnies.

Of course she draws other things than bunnies too, and it’s all worth a look. And if you want to avoid all the text and blog-ness, you can also just visit her portfolio.

Looking at her Bella Sara horses almost makes me loose the little confidence I had just gained in this area. I mean, this is what I have to compete with? Dear me.

So, don’t wait for me to get my act together and say something analytical and profound about her art – just go look at it already!

(And man, I really do need to do something more out of this blog too.)