artworks of Gabe Jackson

Hyewon the zombie!

2012-02-29T14:50:00.000-08:00

Hyewon was generous enough to lend me her pretty face for this fun venture! i planned to make this for a business card but ran out of time, seeing i have a ton of stuff to fold in 1 month..

i did a livestream on a Pri's public artist challenge The Art Tavern. Thanks for composing this timelapse for me Pri!

Red Zues- The Explorer's Ship

2012-02-13T01:35:00.000-08:00

So the last 3D piece im doing for the next few month is an RC airship. which i intend to fly around comiccon. Unfortunately we are seated way in the back of the con.. at k10. so i intend to fly around a blimp in order to help draw attention to my booth.

either way i think it would be cool to get into a line of custom made papercraft airships. i think those would go over pretty well. so this is the first. very simple. straight to the point. i have about 30 hours of 3D production time left then i HAVE to focus on other things so im hopin i can knock this out by next weekend.

herers a look at the base mesh. its unwrapped and ready for ambient occlusion and texturing. but ill spend a few hours tomorrow nite doin a rough paint over. that way im not rushing into the texture blind.

Ghost busters- 3D completion

2012-02-12T14:26:00.000-08:00

finally completed the Ghostbusters. not too pleased with the outcome of the GBs but i do like Slimer. of course it looks completely different when folded. well this completes the lines ill be introducing at the ECCC.

the last thing i ll make is a RC paper Airship which ill be flying around during the Con. you ll see posts on that soon enough!

Ghost Busters-Color Pass

2012-01-25T23:29:00.000-08:00

Added Slimer and did a color pass that took longer than i would have liked. kinda think i could have worked out all of that while texturing but its good to have the 2D. will be spending the next days on model and rig. i hope to get this stuff knocked out as quickly as possible.

Ghost Busters

2012-01-23T23:02:00.000-08:00

Fleshing out the style on this latest line. have yet do do a color pass but ill get to that when ive slept more. heres a look at some lines. im looking for a look that is closer to the movie characters. but am simplifying the gear in preparation for a quick build in 3D.

Still considering the 3D approach but id like to get back to my roots of Low Poly/Low Texture Res "Video Game" style of quality. something i feel is now almost forgotten as well as highly unappreciated due to the market flood of NexGen capabilities. LONG LIVE THE PIXELS!

Terminator - 3D completion

2012-01-21T21:24:00.000-08:00

all 4 heads have been brought to completion. all that remains is pepakura and fold up. i intend to have a handful of these at ECCC.

next up on the list of possible lines: the Ghost busters, Hulk vs Wolverine, Airships+Zeplins, as well is a handful of other random creatures. Lets hope i can squeeze as much of that into the next 5 weeks as possible! all of march is dedicated to folding!

Terminator - 3D update

2012-01-13T01:27:00.000-08:00

4 heads modeled but im only showing the ones if textured Reese and Sarah
the mesh is very simple but holds the silhouette just how i like. i used the same colors from the concept but slapped a couple layer adjustments on top to pop it out a bit. these textures are goin very quick (4-5hrs) and im very pleased with the style transition from concept to 3D model. just cant wait to see it all folded..

hope you like :D

Meet Bomi

2011-12-11T19:58:00.000-08:00

I took some time off from my work on the Swugs to build a present for someone :)
this is Bomi the panda! she spends her time sleeping until she gets hungry!

this isnt the last youll see of her and look forward to meeting her pups!

in regards to the actual construction, i still have to find a way to hide fold lines. other than that. not bad for a 5hr construction w/o a preliminary fold test. definitely look forward to making a line for her!

Terminator

2011-11-16T22:43:00.000-08:00

As things come to a close with production on my swug line im looking forward to the next project. ive decided to do a reboot of the original cast of terminator. im a huge fan and watch the movies regularly.. even watched the show!

I did a quick study of the style i want to go with. something simple and comicy with my own flavor. im sticking to characters from the first movie because they are the most iconic and 4 is an easy number of assets to be generated but still quite a handful.

in terms of paper this line will consist of singles, duets, and fuel lines. as im not sure of copy right issues these will be available as rewards for those who spend certain amounts of money on other products ill be selling!

my plate is full for march..Its gonna be Kick-Ass tho!

hope you like!

(and for those who are curious ive included the 5 step process that ive translated from my traditional pen and ink style. LOVE digital but id be no where with out the tradition as a back bone)

Swug 2.0 fold-up

2011-10-18T12:18:00.000-07:00

here are photos of the initial Swug fold-up test. the test was done to determine capability of fold and determining what changes need to be made to mesh/pepakura. There are minor changes that need to be made. this fold up is a LIL rough around the edges but im very satisfied in the time taken.

you can see all the pieces in the top left before i folded and next you see the tools used. im excited to move forward with the other 11 swug designs as well as any up and coming projects. its been a long road coming up wiht a workable solution for simple but readable geometry that translates easily to pepakura. now that the pipeline is solidified, skies the limit.

swug 2.0

2011-10-11T22:34:00.000-07:00

closed in on my swug line for emerald city comiccon. had a huge list of things id like to do but need to narrow it down to a few things! runnin outta time. but the swugs come first. ive attempted alot of styles and am definitely happy with this simpler pipeline. it all comes down to the folds. most other folds have been too intricate for the average human being to wanna take on so.. im goin for a way more simplified structure. hope to lock in the paper model in the next couple weeks or so!

Swuggels-swugs for short

2011-07-20T17:11:00.000-07:00

starting work on the fully customizable Swuggel Papercraft line. prepped template to be tested in fold up for pepakura. heres a look at it as well as some other studies ive done in the past which i am now incorporating into the 3d design.

It will be a stand-alone (DIY) Figurine with a stand that is converted from the box. once you fold the figurine up you set it on the box and place it somewhere for convenient viewing.

the idea is to have a creature that can be fully customized by some one. you will be able to choose: gender, body type, age. horn type, teeth hair, texture, and add-ons. add-ons will be based on a specific role a swuggel would be in the tribe. hunter/fishermen, gatherer, planter, chief, etc. my goal is to create enough types to amount to an entire village with a hierarchy, equating to a vast collection.

After i finish the test fold and am satisfied ill go back in and ad colors. this approach saves costs on printing due to the multiple fold passes.

random digi paint stuffs

2011-07-18T21:33:00.000-07:00

some random digital paints.

-Random digital renders for shortening/familiarizing the color pipeline.
-Armor Concept for a Hi Res model i was doin back in 2010 before i lost the sculpt file.

Pepakura unwrap

2011-06-26T20:46:00.000-07:00

took longer than anticipated to produce the flats for folding. but they re done and im currently cutting. what you see here is a view of the flattened pieces with their flaps. they are arranged to print out 8 11 x 17 images or to be divided in half to print 16 8.5 x 11. the right image is a 3D view in Pepakura of the Model in its pieced up state.

created the box, since im cutting so many pieces and have no where to put them. You ll see that hopefully on the next update when ill have some photos of all the pieces cut out and chillin in the box.

Mr Magnetic update

2011-06-16T16:52:00.000-07:00

got the mesh completed. took a lil longer than i hoped but the first of a line is always like that.
The character line is titled "heroes villains and renegades" thus the labeling on the stand.

Mr Magnetic

2011-06-10T16:29:00.000-07:00

Reviving a character i created in college named Mr. Magnetic for my super secret classified prototype project.

A second rate super-hero wash-up who looks to make a return to crime fighting with his innate ability to control metallic objects.

costume design, head study, and over-all style guide.

Sketch Dumplets

2011-03-24T16:48:00.000-07:00

been a while since i posted any thing so i thought id throw up what ive been up to the past few weeks.

The First are some initial sketches for a mech character that i will be entering into the esteemed 'Dominance War'. its name is K80.3. trying to keep it rough and focus more on form and functionality before i go in and make the lines pretty and straight. initially i was considering a bipedal design but it quickly got boring. ill move my focus next to its main weapon and the back compartment, establishing how the helicopter elements will be integrated effectively into the main design.

multiple arms with articulating appendages lend to combat versatility. elements of military helicopters will provide excellent agility, maneuverability and give the advantage to preemptive striking. Its combat strategies orbit the idea of striking the target from air, landing & quickly neutralizing said target.

The Second is a study of Mr Magnetic. A second-rate super-hero wash-up, who has returned to answering the call for justice, using his power to control objects, he rids his neighbor hood of crime. Ill go on to do a model sheet of him with a full turn around..after D-War :)

Art Test

2011-03-03T17:01:00.000-08:00

these are images for an art test. content requested by client for a better idea of style capability

i spent a few hours all together on both images. one to show stylized sushi. the other a variation of hair styles.

2011-03-02T02:34:00.000-08:00

finished out the rough concepts. here is a closer look at the sword, scabbard and cape.

tomorrow i will do some flat black and white line work of the armor design which will aid me in quickly establishing clean, concise normals in photoshop; leaving me to sculpt only wrinkles, dings, scrapes, dents, and tears in zbrush.

im also considering painting out a few in-depth studies of each material the model will be using: leather, fur, chain mail, plate mail. gold & iron, etc. which will help me in the texture process. once that is complete i should have enough info to get started normal mapping.

no need for a model sheet since im painting over low mesh.

Rakkt Lan update

2011-03-01T12:19:00.000-08:00

spent some time yesterday painting over the new mesh. gonna move on to sword, scabbard, and cape.

Old School Mini Comps

2011-02-28T02:59:00.000-08:00

these images are from a few mini comps that i partook in a few years back when i used to frequent Gameartisans, an online art forum. Fun little exersizes :)

1. Mini Zech-A mini version of my Dominance War entry, previous to this comp.
2. Cloust-A chibi version of a dark knight.
3. Zangief- A well known character.
4. Olias the Pirate-A rough illustration for a 2D mini comp

Assassins Creed 3DS

2011-02-28T01:43:00.000-08:00

several characters from a Great title that didnt make the cut.

The black suited Ezio was the initial model made from reference provided by the client but was scrapped after a change in suit design, at which point the white version was made.

The enemies are 2 of the 5 or 6 characters i made. The textures are res'd down from painted 512 maps and the geometry is reduced to "safe" margines. each produced in under 3 days a piece.

and lastly Ezios eagle. 400 polys 1 256 painted with the expectation of being seen from a distance.

overall production time around 20 man days, the majority of time going to main characters.

2D art test

2011-02-27T11:33:00.000-08:00

an exercise asked of me to show my style flexibility and technical approach. I was asked to create legionaries in 2 different skews targeting 2 different demographics, while spending only a couple hours on each piece. i was given a style guide and technical reference for both skews. color was not required for the male. only a simple pass for the female.

Rakkt Lan update

2011-02-25T11:31:00.000-08:00

Spent a few hours yesterday building a base mesh. the next step will be a rough paint over to further the silhouette. clothe garnishings, straps, buckles, armor details and the likes.

Rina

2011-01-27T23:44:00.000-08:00

the lovely, Rina. Spent a few hours on this one. rusty at painting but its like riding a bike.

digi sketching

2011-01-27T16:02:00.000-08:00

speed sketches. tryna keep it rough.

Thru the Lens

2011-01-27T15:56:00.000-08:00

I took this at Bryce canyon. a very.. Elevating experience! i stood on the very rim of the bowl looking down into the great canyon. shot thru a Tilt Shift lens. check out the full size.

Day 5 - concepting

2011-01-26T01:53:00.000-08:00

still concepting out the armor and will move on to the weapons soon.

armor concepts

2011-01-24T14:36:00.000-08:00

gonna go in a separate direction and concept out some armor.

BlendShapes

2011-01-24T01:47:00.000-08:00

skipped rigging to save time. 3 shapes created.

secondary additions

2011-01-23T20:26:00.000-08:00

added tattoos and gold jewelry to push asymmetry of the face.

phase 3
head and facial rigging for facial blend shaping. then proceed to blend shapes based off rough concepts.

Rakkt'Lan -Phase 2

2011-01-23T17:34:00.000-08:00

Phase 2- Establish UVs. Export from Zbrush. export maps from XNormal and prepare in Photoshop.
In Maya: Set up lighting. establish materials w/ default textures.
once done pursue further establishment of textures.
approximately 2 days.

Rakkt'Lan- Keeper of the Wood

2011-01-21T07:56:00.000-08:00

Other Projects

2011-01-19T22:35:00.000-08:00

This is another blog i opened up to follow ideas i have for realms outside of game art like papercraft and vinyl. currently these projects are still in early concept phase but they should begin to take on more life later on in there year. please enjoy what you see now tho.

http://thepaperking7.blogspot.com/

Goin that extra mile always pays off

2011-01-19T22:18:00.000-08:00

heres some updates of this weeks progress. wrapped up production on the Cammy model. i think i sank about 6 days into it total. it certainly could use some more attention but id like to move on to sculpture exersizes and felt id reached a reasonable point to jump onto something else. as well ive included some sculpts of venom. i had alot of fun with this ones anatomy.

Cammy

2011-01-16T18:34:00.000-08:00

Again, as with Venom, I seek to tie up loose ends. Cammy was a character i started back in 2008 i believe. Ive revamped her a bit. cleaned up the unwrap and restarted the sculpt. as of now, i am moving on to rigging/weighting and posing, then on to final textures.

King of the Fallen

2011-01-15T16:08:00.000-08:00

some concepts i started in late 2010 for a NexGen character. didnt get too far but ill pick up on it after a few other projects are put down.

' Fotograf '

2011-01-14T20:04:00.000-08:00

A few years back i came to the realization that photography would greatly expand my artistic vision. i was correct. i learned quite a bit about point-of-focus & visual direction, color management, and use of space. in my opinion, these are the essential principles of a designer.

As I am a character artist, i found my focus to heavily weigh on portraiture. here are some before and afters of some photos ive taken in the past that i feel reflect my photographic style as well as my retouching capabilities.

Life Drawing

2011-01-13T23:10:00.000-08:00

i have found life-drawing to be an essential element to the development of my art. i feel it to be the building blocks or "meat and potatoes" of the Artist, as it demands many principles across the board. i see it as an arena to practice any techniques without the pressure of failure that i can be victim to in the professional world. Though it can be a strict teacher and shout out ones flaws in their approach there is so much to explore. it may be a harsh belief but i feel it reflects the artist entirely. their character as an artist as well as their capability. you can see how they build the figure from scratch, what they choose to focus on, how versed they are at the process. even their choice in medium is a reflection

i relied heavily on it for the development of the "evolved style" i craved for a couple years back. something i achieved by switching from pencil to strictly pen and marker (a long and difficult process). this page is an compilation of the past few years of life-drawing. i feel it reflects my grasp as well the evolution of that difficult tool, the brush pen.

The Process

2011-01-13T16:39:00.000-08:00

Here is some insight into my drawing process. quick simple and efficient. for the past few years ive focused alot of my attention on developing a fluid technique that translates completely from traditional drawing to digital while maintaining my "comic" style.

Vallus

2011-01-13T15:18:00.000-08:00

Vallus was a Character i made a couple years back for one of the dominance wars. Hes an elemental.

Venom

2011-01-12T23:26:00.000-08:00

A few months back in 2010 i Started yet another contest that i didnt complete in time. Figured id go back and tie up a few loose ends and finishing up some of those characters i never finished. i started with my most recent. Venom.

Serious Santa

2009-11-25T23:15:00.000-08:00

im starting a seasonally themed project for my "papercraft adventure". on (pho)tuesday i came up with the idea 'Serious Santa: "when some one steals Christmas, $#!* gets serious!"

the idea is to create a few mini-dioramas of Santa dynamically and comically interacting with a few other typical seasonal characters, as he hunts down the bad-guys who stole Christmas. ill definitely be pushing a metalslug feel with a wide-angle/side scrolling look. anyway here some progress on the santa sketch.

i have a few more ideas for some others. im thinking like a Droi-dolph or Robo-dolph(robo-rudolph) or Roi-dolph(buff rudolph). and I believe Joe recommended the Obama-nable snowman which i thought was clever. of course he ll have to be fighting on Santa's side.. dont wanna ruffle too many feathers! Christine suggested Mrs. Claus. and i have a couple ideas for that. and prolly a duo of robbers.

the pipeline: one im well versed at. concept, model & texture, rig & pose in scene. from there i just transfer 3d to reality via cheap software and a decent printer. then its a matter of cutting out, folding up, and glueing little pieces of paper together! all in all its a long process. but i envision a very fruitful outcome.

hopefully i can produce 2 or 3 of these scenes by christmas. if thats so, then it yields much promise to future endeavors in this artistic realm! im pretty excited about the possibilities and the many new things to learn!

Paper Raboix

2009-11-24T21:59:00.000-08:00

Lately ive been devising major idea in my head involving paper-craft. I dont want to go too far into detail about the idea at this moment but i first wanted to work out my pipeline of building a papercraft to from an actual drawing. i chose something simple and created a rabbit-fox (recommended by Terry) or rabbit eared fox.

im still in the process of building the model with paper but heres the progress thus far. ill post a pic of the completed paper craft doll once i find the battery charger to my camera.

Travis Bickle

2009-11-24T21:23:00.000-08:00

we all know him! the off-the-wall character Robert Deniro played back in 19...7...something or other in the movie Taxi Driver.

Little Giant Land

2009-11-24T20:42:00.000-08:00

a land where the monsters of the world are normal and the people are small. This is an idea i had for an art book containing scenarios of typical mythological and fantastical monsters portrayed in a comical and fun light. we ll see where it goes, as i am notorious for never ending personal projects. i plan to work more heavily on this after my Christmas art plans.