Hmm...very nice...I like the tattoos; Very creative, especially the arrows and arrowheads. Has a very tribal feel to it.

I also like the yellow chevrons on his shoulder plating; Very gritty and military.

By the way, I don't want to take up too much of your time, but I was wondering if you could give me some information on becoming a Concept Artist. I'm seriously considering going into game design, and I could use any advice you have.

(Oh, and is the "pull" on the bottom plate just for removal, or something else?)

--
"No good deed goes unpunished..."

"Say hello to my little friend!"
"Sag hallo zu meinem kleinen freund!"

Can I ask a question? What's the 'new cancer,' and why can't I stand it?

well, as i am not a concept artist in any official capacity, if i am considered one, than you have already attained it! but in all seriousness, i am fighting that battle as we speak. right now i work at Target of all places, so i do not yet have a story i can give you that ends well.

-brace yourself, this is as i think of it!-

im not sure how old i was... probably your age when i even first heard of the position of 'concept artist'. until then i just drew in school every day and blew off most of my public education for fun. once i had a goal - a career that did exactly what i wanted to do, i really buckled down. i got myself out of traditional art slowly, over the course of 2-3 years with my trusty graphic tablet. learned how to use painter and photoshop and really the rest took care of itself. i graduated with an associates in 'digital media' - which btw almost means nothing to somebody hiring you - in 2 years from a local community college and in that time i took as many classes as i could that would help me (life drawing, animation, 3d modeling and lots of independent studies) i plugged myself into conceptart.org and to this day practice and get better with their weekly activities (usually the Industrial design of the week)

i might be told i am wrong in saying this, but for conceptual design the faster you can move to 100% digital work the better. its faster, easier and essentially required in the industry. you need to get a tablet and you need to make it your bitch. it took me almost a year to finally get comfortable with one - and i kept on avoiding it. if you put your mind to it it would take much less time.

enter weekly 'contest' like the industrial design of the week. that way you are always given new and fresh ideas to work on, with guidelines much like you would find in the industry. furthermore, when each one wraps up, usually everybody will critique each other's work - this is invaluable.

other than that - get to know as many people as you can. get help from as many people you can.

its not a fast or fun process. you can look back to the beginning of my gallery and scraps - almost 6 years back - and see almost everything i thought was good that was uploaded to the computer. there are a LOT of pictures back there that i thought were good but were just stepping stones to what im drawing now, which i also think is good.

hope any of that was helpful.

--
-Contact me for commission info-
-AIM: Legato895-
-Email: commissions@michaelkingery.com-

very nice.i like the custom painted armor,that is an original look.has a Mayan feel i think,maybe its the leaf and skull design on the chest plate.awesome.

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________
" Dry land is not just our destination, it is our destiny! ".Atticus Finch.

I look pretty bad-A!

thnx for making this so cool... the blade/uber-pistol is sweet, the armor is highly stylized and i love that my tattoos made it into this... its very sci-fi meets primal/militaristic meets war-time meets heavy one-man show. the hammer and chi-rho make it look like something out of the dune series, where "religion" is a heavy part of patriotism, spiritual-conflict, and the war movement.

PS -- funny thing, i didn't even notice the eagles beak and stray feathers the first time i saw it.
PSS -- and what is the little black writing on the white box above the "PULL" banner???

and the stray feathers are turning into bombs with shark faces

the note on the box says something to the effect of "if this stops working hit it on the plug" - i can't be bothered looking at the source file again atm!

sorry for not calling you back, i slept from 12:30pm to 1:30am \o/

--
-Contact me for commission info-
-AIM: Legato895-
-Email: commissions@michaelkingery.com-

i agree about the mayan thing, but it wasn't intended. i also had the option of amplifying that vibe, but i decided against it. and the leaf/skull/sword on the chest is a direct referenced tattoo from my friend

--
-Contact me for commission info-
-AIM: Legato895-
-Email: commissions@michaelkingery.com-

I like the bulkiness. Makes it more believable. The art on the suit was a good idea. Otherwise, this guy just standing here wouldn't have any personality!

Looks like his suit includes some kind of waste-reclamation system. Or a flotation device.

I used to have issues with green too, I still hace some few xD

without the tattoos your right, it would be rather generic. also, most of the bulk accounts for the pilot being downed behind enemy lines - perhaps on planets with hostile atmospheres, so it has to be self-sufficient.

--
-Contact me for commission info-
-AIM: Legato895-
-Email: commissions@michaelkingery.com-