Plan for Nauris Krauze
by Nauris Krauze · 08/03/2004 (8:31 am) · 6 comments
Old Burnt
I have had always nicely dodged most of the problems people seem to encounter all the time: faulty hardware, conflicting apps, burnt hard drives etc. I was already used to idea that Hardware Is My Friend and Software Is At Least A Cousin.
Well, guess what, Luck is only Trouble that has temporary lost interest in you. When I suddenly appeared on its radar, it threw everything it had at me and I got misdiagnosed troubles one after another. As I love to think of myself as hardware-handicapped, I put my trust in support, which misdiagnosed the problem couple of times, and I just bought new shiny stuff and paid them in blood.
Until they finally found out that motherboard was troublemaker all along and it had to be replaced. As I reside in flippin' Switzerland, cost of service was exactly two times higher than the motherboard itself. I want back to Latvia where people do that for ten bucks.
Anyway, all the fun above meant only that:
a) I spent roughly 3 weeks with only a laptop, unsuited for any graphics works.
b) I'm so low on cash that I'm contemplating how to embrace beggars profession without extra effort. Maybe I could create a Paypal donations account and be the first Virtual Beggar in the world or something.
New Shiny Toys
Just before the the whole affair with troubled PC, I had finally bought a Wacom graphic tablet. Now, if there has been a purchase you dont regret at all, this is the one.
For those who havent heard about it - its basically a pad and and pen which acts as a mouse, you just get something like x100 control of it.
I did some research online and almost everyone pointed me in the direction of Wacom brand. Although being slightly more expensive, it seems that its worth every extra dime. This being my first graphic tablet, it took a while to familiarize my self with the process.
First four hours after I received it, I wasnt sure whether I will use it at all. It takes some time to get used to and feels a bit like taming a crazy mustang. However, in the evening I could control it pretty well.
Crazy thing is - my drawing process was speeded up some three times with the tablet. Even if discarding other aspects such as comfort and control, the speed gain alone has been enough to justify the purchase.
These two were among my first attempts. Second one is Tom Bampton, drawn using a ref photo. I..umm.. had to make a little changes to make it more family-friendly:)
Steam, Copper and Analytic Engine
Among all that mess I was kindly asked by Jeremy Noetzelman, who's "haunting" IRC as Stravad to fire up a couple of concepts for a pitch for steampunk RPG Steamwerks. Now, I'm actually quite fond of steampunk genre, although, among hardcore fans chatting in a pub I would feel quite uneasy, because I simply would not know all the titles, authors and artists every steampunk lover should know.
I simply love it when I see it, so I'm strange kind of fan.
Anyway, apart from the genre, Steamwerks gameplay concept sounded too crunchy to abstain, so i tested my graphic tablet on it, when PC was uptime and returned to good old pencils whenever Ole Man Trouble turned up and i had to take PC to dreaded tech guys again. Here are some of the concepts, clickity click if you wish to see more.
Meaning of Life
Its 42, you silly.
I have had always nicely dodged most of the problems people seem to encounter all the time: faulty hardware, conflicting apps, burnt hard drives etc. I was already used to idea that Hardware Is My Friend and Software Is At Least A Cousin.
Well, guess what, Luck is only Trouble that has temporary lost interest in you. When I suddenly appeared on its radar, it threw everything it had at me and I got misdiagnosed troubles one after another. As I love to think of myself as hardware-handicapped, I put my trust in support, which misdiagnosed the problem couple of times, and I just bought new shiny stuff and paid them in blood.
Until they finally found out that motherboard was troublemaker all along and it had to be replaced. As I reside in flippin' Switzerland, cost of service was exactly two times higher than the motherboard itself. I want back to Latvia where people do that for ten bucks.
Anyway, all the fun above meant only that:
a) I spent roughly 3 weeks with only a laptop, unsuited for any graphics works.
b) I'm so low on cash that I'm contemplating how to embrace beggars profession without extra effort. Maybe I could create a Paypal donations account and be the first Virtual Beggar in the world or something.
New Shiny Toys
Just before the the whole affair with troubled PC, I had finally bought a Wacom graphic tablet. Now, if there has been a purchase you dont regret at all, this is the one.
For those who havent heard about it - its basically a pad and and pen which acts as a mouse, you just get something like x100 control of it.
I did some research online and almost everyone pointed me in the direction of Wacom brand. Although being slightly more expensive, it seems that its worth every extra dime. This being my first graphic tablet, it took a while to familiarize my self with the process.
First four hours after I received it, I wasnt sure whether I will use it at all. It takes some time to get used to and feels a bit like taming a crazy mustang. However, in the evening I could control it pretty well.
Crazy thing is - my drawing process was speeded up some three times with the tablet. Even if discarding other aspects such as comfort and control, the speed gain alone has been enough to justify the purchase.
These two were among my first attempts. Second one is Tom Bampton, drawn using a ref photo. I..umm.. had to make a little changes to make it more family-friendly:)
Steam, Copper and Analytic Engine
Among all that mess I was kindly asked by Jeremy Noetzelman, who's "haunting" IRC as Stravad to fire up a couple of concepts for a pitch for steampunk RPG Steamwerks. Now, I'm actually quite fond of steampunk genre, although, among hardcore fans chatting in a pub I would feel quite uneasy, because I simply would not know all the titles, authors and artists every steampunk lover should know.
I simply love it when I see it, so I'm strange kind of fan.
Anyway, apart from the genre, Steamwerks gameplay concept sounded too crunchy to abstain, so i tested my graphic tablet on it, when PC was uptime and returned to good old pencils whenever Ole Man Trouble turned up and i had to take PC to dreaded tech guys again. Here are some of the concepts, clickity click if you wish to see more.
Meaning of Life
Its 42, you silly.
About the author
Nauris Krauze is 2D designer/illustrator with 10 years experience in game development. Currently art director at 3Nstudio, working on games for social networks, occasionally doing some contract work. Portfolio: http://3nstudio.com/nauris/
#2
08/03/2004 (10:12 am)
Very impressive and beautiful work Nauris! I wish I had a fraction of your creative talent!
#3
I have a Wacom as well and it is really handy. I still haven't really gotten used to it but I'm pretty much still learning how to draw with a pencil.
And why does everyone get a different answer to the meaning of life... ;)
08/03/2004 (10:13 am)
The lighting on the second last one is really nice.I have a Wacom as well and it is really handy. I still haven't really gotten used to it but I'm pretty much still learning how to draw with a pencil.
And why does everyone get a different answer to the meaning of life... ;)
#4
08/03/2004 (1:22 pm)
I should put that drawing up as my picture here. Would save me digging out actual photos :) 
#6
@Paul: thenky. "always" isnt the right word though, as i`m still crawling the first steps and battling my limitations. Maybe after 20 years, when I`ll be stuck in routinely straight quality curve... :)
@Tom: man, I`ll have to finish it some day then. Just dont use it for passport :P
@Greg: 42 it is, its a well documented fact :). Btw, how big have you your tablet? Mine is A6 and I was repeatedly told that it`ll be too small, but i kinda can not imagine drawing on bigger one, at least for now. But then again, I tend to draw really small usually, only slightly moving fingers.
@Eric: well, I love to think of myself as a pretty helpful guy, provided that i have time to spare and people on the other end are professional and dedicated enough. If only half of the projects I`ve been "concepting" for, have made it, I`d be writing this from Bahama, hehe.
The fact is, though, that I`m slightly stretched at the moment, reserving those few gaps of free time i have for some hypotetical short term contract jobs which could land couple of bucks in my pocket right now.
I hope that one day I`ll be able to make living with drawing alone, however, currently it doesnt really pay the bills.
08/04/2004 (7:05 am)
Thanks everyone for kind words:)@Paul: thenky. "always" isnt the right word though, as i`m still crawling the first steps and battling my limitations. Maybe after 20 years, when I`ll be stuck in routinely straight quality curve... :)
@Tom: man, I`ll have to finish it some day then. Just dont use it for passport :P
@Greg: 42 it is, its a well documented fact :). Btw, how big have you your tablet? Mine is A6 and I was repeatedly told that it`ll be too small, but i kinda can not imagine drawing on bigger one, at least for now. But then again, I tend to draw really small usually, only slightly moving fingers.
@Eric: well, I love to think of myself as a pretty helpful guy, provided that i have time to spare and people on the other end are professional and dedicated enough. If only half of the projects I`ve been "concepting" for, have made it, I`d be writing this from Bahama, hehe.
The fact is, though, that I`m slightly stretched at the moment, reserving those few gaps of free time i have for some hypotetical short term contract jobs which could land couple of bucks in my pocket right now.
I hope that one day I`ll be able to make living with drawing alone, however, currently it doesnt really pay the bills.
Torque Owner Eric C. Tomlinson
Really sweet work, Nauris. Well done.