Harry Potter: Hogwarts Adventures demo videos!

Here's the first version we sent to WB with the 2D design:

Harry Potter: Hogwarts Adventures for Facebook v.1 from Alex Pelayre on Vimeo.

And here's the second version with the 3D rendered characters/environments:

Harry Potter: Hogwarts Adventures for Facebook v.2 from Alex Pelayre on Vimeo.

Enjoy!

© Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc., Flying Lab Software

Amazing Tales (Project Caspian)

Amazing Tales.. Project Caspian.. we had no official title for this game, but we knew it was going to be awesome. Running on the Cryptic Engine, the premise of Amazing Tales was based on a variety of genres ranging from pulp, to sci-fi, to adventure. Amazing Tales brought together great themes seen in movies such as Indiana Jones, Sky Captain, or The Mummy. What made this project so fun was the freedom we had with throwing in ideas. We had big plans for this game... and we couldn't wait to see it all unfold.

We weren't sure exactly if we were going to sell this game as an MMO, but we knew it was going to be multiplayer. We'd start out with the player choosing which class they'd like to be. The classes ranged from Adventurer, Vigilante, Scientist, Occultist, or Monk. Then we'd throw them in the middle of Egypt, where they had to band together with other players to take down the threats of the planet. What were the threats, you might ask? Our enemies ranged from Atlanteans, martians, Nazis, occultists, the undead, dinosaurs, and various other creatures, hellbent on wreaking havock on civilization!

Further progress in the game would lead the player to other locations, such as New York, Shanghai, or London. Missions would consist of team work and strategy of playing off yourself and your teammates' abilities. The end result of missions would lead the players into an ultimate boss fight. A major selling point we wanted to have in Amazing Tales were the boss battles. We wanted them to be memorable, so we wanted them to be huge. The fights themselves, AND the actual boss. Players would be up against giant alien robots, Tyrannosaurus Rex's, or battles aboard huge war zepplins.

We had high hopes for Amazing Tales, and with such a small team working hard at it, we felt we had accomplished a lot in the time we had. Unfortunately the game was never picked up by a publisher, and was again, another shelved title. Still, there was plenty of work and dedication put into that project that I'm sure everyone who worked on it can be proud of.

Soon to come:
Gameplay from Amazing Tales, and our pitch videos for Harry Potter: Hogwarts Adventures!

You're a wizard, Harry

So I've gotten the OK to share these online. These were for a Harry Potter Facebook game proposal that Flying Lab Software was doing for Warner Bros. They had requested we design the game kid-friendly, with some cartoony and anime-like aspects to it. I did a majority of the character designs for the first pass on our demo video. After working with WB for a few more weeks, they decided to go a different direction and make the character look a bit more mature, to sort of emulate the current emotional state the movies were in. So I began designing in that direction.. and then once again, a huge shift in direction, and we ended up redoing everything 3D rendered.

I admit, it was kind of heartbreaking to see my characters thrown out, but you can't always expect everything you create to make it in game, as I learned. Overall, it was a fun experience and I enjoyed working on this project.

Despite all the work and hours we put into making a great proposal, we were shot down right at the finish line, and Harry Potter: Hogwarts Adventures was no more. The game industry is a hell of a place.

2 Model figure drawing

I went to a 2 model figure drawing session tonight. First time doing one of these.. It was very exciting and fun. It's literally been YEARS since I've done figure drawing... so I was and still am very rusty. The two models worked well with each other and had some fantastic poses. Here's a few of the 12-15 minute poses.

Some sketches

A couple sketches I did a couple months ago.. new stuff soon, I hope.

Taking a Breather

So I haven’t updated in a couple days.. This is mainly due to exhaustion. My last 2 daily sketches (which I did not post here) were not up to par with the quality I’d like to display, and my attention to detail was steadily dropping. I’ve found that it’s more challenging than it seems to work a digital painting job for 8 hours a day, and then come home to spend a few more hours doing these challenges. I can’t whip up something quick and be proud of the result- not yet anyway. All my challenges I have done have probably taken no less than 2 hours each. I want to be able to build up my speed and eventually have no problem doing a drawing a day on my free time. But it can’t be done right away. I need to learn to pace myself, can’t just run at it full speed.


SO, I will be taking a break over the weekend. Actually, kinda forcefully since I won’t be anywhere near a computer. I’ll be off camping and hopefully clearing my mind and refreshing my senses. Perhaps even a few pencil sketches will come of it. Anyway, just wanted to let my few followers what’s up, and you can expect more updates this coming Monday.


Thanks everyone!

-Alex

Day 11: Turning Point in Your Life

My transition in which I "changed sides". Evolving your art style isn't always an easy thing to do, but like a lot of artists say, it is most beneficial to you in the end. This transition didn't happen overnight. It took years of practice- breaking free from the norm, and studying new art techniques I let myself discover in the process. While it seemed everyone around me tried so hard to copy the works of anime, I looked in a direction I had not glanced over since I was maybe 10 years old: Western comic art. I still don't feel I've reached my comfort zone in sense of style, but I do know that I feel more confident and happy about my work than I did when I was drawing anime.