Wednesday 12 February 2014

Alternative Miss World - What is Post-Apocalyptic?

For research, I'm looking into the foundations of Post-Apocalyptic media, such as the settings, stereotypes, traits and tones.
A Post-Apocalyptic landscape; desolate cities destroyed by war, disease or natural causes.

Post Apocalyptic is a future set in a destroyed world, be it by natural means, disease or by human weapons. (Nuclear Weapons are a popular cause of Post Apocalyptic settings.)
Also, the world is nothing but desolated rubble and inhabited by desperate survivors, who usually discard common courtesy in a race to survive in this harsh new existence.  Most of nature is gone due to a great deal of water being polluted, and depending on the cause of the Apocalypse, mutated creatures roam the wastelands (In the case of Nuclear Fallout) or Zombies. (In the case of a disease/virus outbreak.)



Even though the world is destroyed, survivng humans still exist thanks to shelters and vaults, although when they emerge, they're greeted by a harsh new existence that will have them fighting for survival.


In Post Apocalyptic settings, due to mass production no longer existing (And the usual lack of an economy all together.), clothing is made from salvaged pieces; you use what you can.  Popular items in Post Apocalyptic fiction are gas masks, jackets, guns, backpacks, bandages, metal plates and respirators; for survivors, that is.
Humans that are depraved enough to become raiders usually wear anything, usually articles of clothing that envokes fear into on-lookers. (Spiky armor, belts, hands/heads from victims.)
The type of clothing you wear can save your life, as in a new existence, the world isn't what it seems, and you can easily run into a highly irradiated area or into a building filled with falling debris.



Communites still exist in a Post-Apocalyptic envireoment, usually consisting of traders, travellers and farmers.


To improve chances of survival, communities exist in a Post Apocalyptic world.
Farming is still possible at a basic level, and usually, some kind of currency exists, despite the lack of an economy.  An example is the Fallout universe where Bottle Caps are the new currency amongtst most of the Wasteland.
Usually, certain communities that thrive on looting and pillaging clash and end in bloodshed, due to disparity for resources. Everyone in the world has to be prepared to fight or die if another group attacks.

Gangs of degenerates usually form throughout a Post Apocalyptic world, who act as thieves, bandits, murderers, mercenaries, slavers and all kinds of debauchery.
Sometimes, hundreds olf people unite under the rule of a single individual who has thier own idea on what the future of the Wasteland is.
 
If the Apocalypse was caused by nuclear weapons, mutants are a common sight due to radiactive mutation.
 
In Post-Apocalyptic media, if the apocalypse was brought on by Nuclear weapons, then frequently, the world will have several variations of muatnts, mutated from humans, animals and even plants.
A human mujtant couild just have peeling skin or a slight deformity, but full-scale mutants coudl grown really big, have the mindset of an animal and try and kill anything it sees.
Animals mutate too, turning even the smallest animal in to a ferocious killer.
Whilst the mutation caused by exposure varies, in some media, individuals exist who harness nuclear energy and create mutants themselves, such as the Deathclaws from the Fallout universe
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Alternative Miss World - Post-Apocalyptic Distressing Test #1

I wanted to make the outfit I'm creating as realistic as possible, so I looked for a tutorial on how to distress my costume to make it look Post-Apocalyptic and worn.
I found a tutorial by Nuclear Snail Studios, a german Youtube user who creates Post-Apocalyptic clothing for photo shoots, short films and events, and seems to be really good at it.

 

The above video is a tutorial on how to create grungy clothing for Post-Apocalyptic settings.
This tutorial helped me greatly in discovering how to distress my costume.
He uses black paint, gravel (cement mix in my case), plaster powder and clear spray paint to seal it.
I followed his tutorial closly and attempted to distress clothing myself.
 

The test cloth before I distressed it.

The test cloth after distressing; notice how it looks extremely worn and grungy.

A better shot of the distressed tets piece.
 
My second test piece; The leg protectors from my costume; the one on the left is before and the other is after.
 
Second shot.
A better look at the Leg Protector after it's been distressed; I really like the way it looks.

Wearing the Leg Protectors; it looks a lot more convincing nows it's been distressed. (Though it's also a lolt more messy to wear too.)

 I really likke the outcome on both, they look a lot more immersive than just the plain 'brand new' look, and the ammount of little details in them is brilliant.
I would have done more, but the weather hates me and it decided to rain.

Monday 10 February 2014

Life Drawing - 10/02/14

Life Drawing #1 - Basic Lineart with Shading
Life Drawing #2 - Colouring w/ Lineart, using different Brushes.
Life Drawing #3 - *Insert Predator Clicking here*
Life Drawing #4 - Using the Leaf Brush to create a form.
Life Drawing #5 - First image is original, rest are Filters.

Saturday 8 February 2014

Portfolio Piece - Bombface Jerry

I revamped one of my old characters as a portfolio piece, incorporating all the skills I've learned over my time at college.
I think it conveys my skill in Photoshop. (Not to brag.)

Lineart drawn on paper with 0.8 Ink Pen, scanned into Photoshop and coloured and shaded using Wacom Bamboo Tablet.
It took approximately three days from sketch to finished piece.

The finished piece.
A comparison with the last time I drew Jerry. (The old one looks awful.)
Progress from lineart, to block colours to shaded.
A variation to show another one of his looks.

Wednesday 5 February 2014

Tablet Bollocks

I drew these on the Colleges tablet.
I should sell the abstract one to an art gallery.