UE4 Sci Fi level mess around done

Although it still has a few niggley problems I'm considering this done now so I can move onto other stuff. This was basically just me messing around when I had a few minutes here and there. I wanted a clean look and some Kubrick-esque style framing and lighting (as I'm sick to damn death of everything having to be dirty and knackered looking, everyone and their dog seems to be doing that in substance painter, substance designer these days.)

Anyway here are a few screen shots:

You can also seem them and a couple of videos over on my Art Station account HERE

Proving why Banksy 'shredding a painting live at an auction' was a fake and a setup.

I saw on the news about Banksy 'shredding a painting live at an auction and was horrified how its been presented a a fact and not the 100% provable fake is no doubt is.  So I said as much on my Facebook page with a few people asking me to outline why, as it may interst a few other people, here's the video.... oh and it also outlines Banksy's real name (which the auction houses and median have known for years but choose not to mention.)

Celebrating 25 years in 3D!

In September 1993 I 1st started doing 3D when I was 23 years old.... quarter of a century ago!  So I thought to mark this large milestone I'd bang out a quick video this morning. (...and realized in the process it'd been a year since I stuck anything on YouTube!)

It's been a long road, and this video covers lots of stuff and answers a few questions as well, its 1/2 hour long, so make yourself a coffee 1st ;) But that only works out at just over a minute of video per year ;)

Unreal Level update (WIP)

Some new texture sets out of Knald and shader setups mostly in this update.

Unreal engine level (work in progress)

Here's some images for a work in progress unreal level I've been working on / messing about on of late.  The level still has some issues (such as some alignment issues etc) still to work but give you all and idea of what I am doing in my free-time.

I Got Married!

I got married this week to Louise, we had a small private family registry office wedding then a truly massive one in front of all our family and friends yesterday.  So after nearly a year of planning, we can now get back to what passes for normal.  I'm a very lucky guy to have found my soul mate and for her to agree to marry such a mad old bastard like me.

An Article That I Was Interviewed For

I was asked a short time ago to answer a few questions for Dice about working in the games industry.  The article is now live and can be read here:

https://insights.dice.com/2018/03/23/building-career-video-games-artist/

There's one incorrect thing I have to point out, that is that although it says I am currently working as external contractor for chaos group, that in fact stopped last September. Right now I'm not working, stil hunting for a job and doing freelance as it comes in.

Paintings commissions

Here's 3 paintings I did over 4 nights last week for various commissions.

Getting back into sculpting....

Its been a fair old while since I was sculpting regularly.  I sort of stopped as at the time I was doing a lot of sculpting or rocks, cliffs, mountains etc that can be soul destroying very fast.  Plus once I got in from work I rarely wanted to sit in front of a computer again for even more hours.  So I sort of stopped....

Then after a couple of years I got a mental block against even trying to sculpt as I was convinced I had 'lost it'.  Basically the biggest enemy was my own brain.  But of late I've got the sculpting bug back with a vengeance and working to get my sculpting back up to where it was for personal stuff. So here's a few doodles from the last week.

Wayne's review of 2017 - A Total Shit Show of a Year!

I started 2017 pretty stable. I had a job as an external contractor for chaos group, I was solvent and doing well.  Then 2017 REALLY kicked in and it turned into a shit show very fast. First up was when I managed to tear ligaments in my right arm which kept me out of work for over a month. Then while in Holland for the End User Event I ended up with an infected saliva gland which meant I ended up in hospital over there and was very ill once I got back for a few weeks.

Then at the very start of September I was given 20 mins notice that the entire documentation team I was working with for Chaos Group was being laid off. (I worked on V-Ray documentation for Maya, Modo, 3Ds max and Nuke among other things)   Suddenly I was without an income and with very little savings.   A couple of freelance gigs and a couple of painting commissions kept the wolf from the door to enable me to get to the 1st Jan next year.

After that all the money is gone, everything is maxed out.  That's when the real shit show may well start.   As a result I have finally got around to joining Artstation https://waynerobson.artstation.com/

I've kept myself to myself online for quite a while now, apart from YouTube videos and Facebook and twitter I've been silent for about 4 years.  So I figured this is as good a time as any to let people know that I am still alive and that I'm looking for work.  So in the new year I'll be looking for work and cranking out some 3D stuff to show what I can do these days.

So what positive stuff did I manage this year?

I messed  around with some concept art for a mech and agun

I started a short lived video blog once again (mainly to promote the Nuke for 3D artists series i started than ran for 22 episodes.)

AMD gave me two rather nice graphics cards worth together over £4k! A FirePro W9100 32 GB and a Radeon WX7100.  I reviewed both of them as well as the open source Nuke clone Natron.

I finished the year with a couple of freelance gigs that I obviously cant show anything from (somethings never change) and a painting for my mate Matt who works in Steel Town music here in my home town of him and his late dog Arnold.

I also did another painting (that I wont show here as it is of 2 young relatives of a mate) and have already been paid for 2 further paintings (that money will be gone by a few days after new year.)

So what does next year bring?

Well in April I'm getting married, then I have a helluva tax bill that I am expecting. Hopefully I manage to find an income or there is a real danger of everything crashing and burning rather fast.  I just hope to god 2018 is better than this year.

This has to be one of the more depressing reviews of the year I've ever wrote. 

New Painting: Matt and Arnold from Steel Town Music in Consett

Here's a painting I did of Matt who works at local music shop Steeltown Music (where I have bought all sorts of musical things with his late dog Arnold who died a couple of months back.  You can visit their website here: https://www.steeltownmusic.co.uk/

Matt and the guys were over the moon with it.