You are so talented and absolutely amazing to work with, Hardy! Thank you for the shoutout as well. We’re very excited to show off your work throughout the Wild Imaginary West! 🤠
Absolutely amazing Kickstarter page❤! Congrats on very successful funding, it's really great achievement for a TTRPG. But it's not surprising with Hardy's awesome characters!🎉
I literally thought this was a video of taking something from concept to 3D holy wow the end result is a painting??? Insane skill looks absolutely beautiful
Backed this kickstarter immediately! I’ve been a big fan of Boylei for some time now and when he announced it, I knew instantly the artwork was Hardy Fowler (who I’m also a massive fan of!) and when he confirmed it, I was sold straight away. What an amazing and exciting project from one of my favourite crafters, teaming up with one of my favourite designers, it’s perfect!
I still cante believe it was fully funded in just 20 mins!. As I scrolled through the page i was in awe of your art style and your drawings. Each one looks beautiful! Well done. I am also super happy that we got the more character art stretch goal. I can't wait to see what you make!
As someone who did concept work for almost 20 years (tattoo artist) and an avid fan of Boylei and rpg games, I must say you knocked this out of the park. I can’t wait to get my book and see more of this fantastic artwork.
A new Hardy Fowler video on my birthday is the best gift I could ask for! Awesome work and characters as always. Thank you for the deep dive into the industry workflow!
Came over from Boylei's video. I am an ecologist by education and trade, the amount of artistic talent I have could be held in a thimble... This video has been absolutely fascinating! Thank you for your very in-dept narration it has been incredibly interesting to see into your world, learn about the traps and pitfalls in this space and what you're trying to achieve and of course why. Also, I really do enjoy your style!
I would've really liked to see the actual Designing Process that you're talking us through, instead of sped up footage of the final painting. I feel like that could've added a lot.
I know! I wish I had recorded it but I had already done the design sketches when I got the green light to make the video. I'll be sure to schedule some more design videos in the future
I study at Sintlucas in Eindhoven and have been studying there for 3 years now, entered my fourth and final year just a week ago. We've talked and I've done exercises *just* like this a dozen times now. But seeing through the eyes of the a professional in the exact type of line of work I wanna work in later on is SO much nicer. Thing that I never thought twice about or were poorly explained feel way more concrete now in my mind! Thank you so much, this is really gonna help
Heel goed! Stay in school, almost there. Keep in mind that those exercises they have you do are really important. He shows a very cool rendering here. But what is just as important if not more so, is what he talks about. The concept part. Why is he wearing that leather. Did that feather come from a bird he shot? That thinking is what they want you to learn in school and that is what lands you a job! P.s. If you want more concrete info on what the job is about, Check out Feng Zhu (if you dont already) Ow, and nice painting Hardy.
Jesus! Just Wow! the fact that the amount of information one most have! to do art like this is mind blowing, I mean to know anatomy, lighting, color, etc... Pure talent
Excellent design. Great Pro Character Art tips in the VoiceOver. and of course, over on Boylei 's channel you can see that Rune Foundry did a fantastic job recreating your design into a 3d print.
Some of this reminds me a bit of the principle of "first thoughts", that your initial idea may be a good one, but it's often not the *best* one. You should go ahead and draw that first idea, if nothing else but to get it out of your system, but then look to see what you can do to build past it, to ensure that you're creating something a little bit away from the first thing that comes to mind. I often discover that this is where I find more "original" ideas. Not a hard and fast rule, sometimes you really do nail it the first time, but (especially in Concepts) it seems important that you be willing and able to take yourself beyond the first thoughts that come to mind. -EDIT- Also SO MUCH YES on that 24-hr rule! Such a good tip! Not just because you can find new things to add, but because you're also likely to spot any errors or oversights. Saved my butt more than once!
the moment i saw the artworks of the wild west esque characters, i was immediately reminded of Boylei's dioramas, and turns out- I was right! so excited to see where the rest of the project goes
Incredible video, your expertise and wisdom is unmatched. My jaw dropped when you started on the metallic details on the backpack.😅The Kickstarter funded in 20 minutes, and your artwork is a key part of that! Amazing job well done!
It's always informative to watch your process, Hardy. I think most of all I'm just encouraged to see that studios are still looking to work with real artists over AI. I know you've touched on the subject in the past. I'd like to hear what your updated thoughts on the matter are as so many aspiring artists are feeling discouraged these days. Thanks again!
Thanks! That's a great point and I do have some updated thoughts. While I still have no clear idea of where all of this is heading in a 5-10 year arc, I have been really encouraged by a few things in the near term. First of all, artists are still getting those early, career-launching jobs. Careers are still starting. That is obviously huge for the future of our industry and it is happening as regularly as ever from what I have observed in my school community. That is awesome. My second happy bit of news is that I am personally busier than ever so there is still demand out there AND I am seeing more and more of the contracts I take on that have specific language forbidding the use of AI so that tells me that clients are still uncomfortable with full commercial use of this while legal gray areas remain. Along those lines, there also seem to be a few legal wins out there for the rights of artists popping up every day. This will definitely be something to wrestle with for our profession and our species but for now, things seem to be going ok, at least from one artist's perspective.
This is exactly what I was looking for. I spent my savings on an iPad so I can learn how to digital paint… I’m stuck and can’t find my way into this journey. I’m going to subscribe into your beginners guide. Hope I have what this career needs to be someone. (Sorry, English is my second language)
Thank you so much for this video! These days I struggle a lot while searching for a job to be a concept artist in a gaming company. A video related to this from an artist that I admire, means a lot! Beside that I would like to point out that how lovely your rendering skill is! And I remember in one of your videos I asked that is it possible to learn this kind of rendering from one of your tutorials. Would you please tell me where should I start on your website based on these two subjects, one of the monthly plans or project kits?
I'm sorry to hear about the struggle but I'm glad this was helpful. I would definitely check out the Skillbuilder section of my website. There are courses on painting people and character design in that subscription that would be a great place to start. There is a 7 day free trial so you can take a quick look and see if it's speaking to you. I appreciate the kind words and support :)
@@fowlerillus Oh thank you so much for your fast reply. You are so supportive. I'm happy to hear that there is 7 day free trial. I'll definitely check that program.
I absolutely love the design I was wondering if you would’ve weathered the jacket and pants more to give that more rugged outdoors look or is that too much in your opinion?
That's a great call. That could have added some fun texture and story. I try to throttle visual activity pretty carefully so that attention goes right where I want it. I think this instinct comes from years of making art that I now consider way too busy :) Thanks for checking this out!
What's the brush you use to paint? It's a simple round one that already comes with Photoshop, right!? But which one? Smoothness according to pressure!? And the erase brush the same!? Btw... What an amazing work as always!!
Standard round Photoshop brush for brush and eraser. Pen pressure set to size jitter so a light touch for small mark, heavy press for thick marks. Smoothing stays around 30% unless I’m doing that precise mechanical stuff in his back. Let me know if you need other details. Glad you liked it!
It is a nice character illustration that could be found in a tabletop RPG, not a concept art or usable as it is though, you can't distinguish the front design at all, half of the design is hidden and we don't see any iterations beforehand. Also rendering only one area after one area creates disparities in the whole rendering and I wouldn't recommend that, block out the whole thing first then refine.
Great points and you're totally right - this deviated from pure concept art in several key ways to make it more appealing as a piece of promo art. Your work is gorgeous btw!
The stuff you said was very useful, I appreciate it… but I just have to ask: So, this is a character concept design, right? It looks cool, but there are lots areas where it’s not clear how he looks. I would think it’s more of a mood/story/ expression study rather than anything else. I don’t know I am not a professional yet so this kinda of things always get me confused
That's such a good point. I think this one blurs the line between concept art and promotional art and mood got priority over description. The modeler did a great job inferring details from other views, but this type of image would often be accompanied by other views or even T-pose model shots so that none of the design choices are hidden. You are very right to be thinking of these things and I would often go for less dramatic poses for pure concept art (poses that show the character more fully).
@@fowlerillus Oh I see! Wow, you helped me realise something about character design. Except for the the development of the actual design (initial sketches, colour variations, references sheet, facial expressions, etc) we are supposed to not only put things together but to set them in action as in the final product. It would be like a little help but for everyone. It is like drawing a dark illustration and you listen to dark music to help you stay focused on the theme. (It would be a struggle to design something sad or serious if you are in a too happy mood for example) so to sum it up - The purpose of the final render (or just a good rendered mood sketch) is answer the unanswered questions so far like “okay, this fellow looks that way. Are they actually like that? How do they feel? How do they view the world” Thank you 🤩 this would be helpful for my portfolio 😊 and for everyone who would read this
Let's see, the post production stuff that I skipped at the end was to add a Color Lookup (Crisp Warm), I think added 2% noise and then ran the Unsharp Mask filter to make things look extra crispy.
Hey Hardy! At 0:05 it seems like you work on a normal screenless tablet, may i ask you which one is that you're using? Just curious because i have 2 tablets with screens but i can't use them due to neck pain they cause, so i have to (and i love to) work with my Wacom Intuos Pro M and i love to see masters creating masterpieces with similiar equipment. (i'm highly sensitive to placebo so this would be huge to me if you replied
That's exactly the model that I have! I love it and I've always used screenless tablets due to comfort and posture (sorry to hear about your neck pain).
actual question, you said that you wanted to make a authentic human who was in the woods for a long time , then why did u make his clothing so clean,shouldnt there be cuts and stuff on the jacket, with some patch work maybe?
That's a good point and he does look a bit clean for someone who has been camping for weeks. I suppose I wanted to keep the visual activity and limited to where I wanted focus to go (1)face, 2)leather work, 3) backpack gadgets) so I didn't want to add too much extra texture and detail elsewhere. Very good point though and I think even a subtle splash of mud and dirt would have be helpful.
Hey man! Yeah, I have developed a palette of go-to colors that I know will work for a certain use. That helps me stay consistent and not have to tinker much with colors at the end of a project.
Hi, please email at office@digitalpaintingstudio.com and I'd be happy to share my typical price ranges. I don't want to list this specific project's budget publicly in the RUclips contents for my client's privacy.
You are so talented and absolutely amazing to work with, Hardy! Thank you for the shoutout as well. We’re very excited to show off your work throughout the Wild Imaginary West! 🤠
It has been so fun! Congratulations on this huge milestone.
@@fowlerillus thank you!
Absolutely amazing Kickstarter page❤! Congrats on very successful funding, it's really great achievement for a TTRPG. But it's not surprising with Hardy's awesome characters!🎉
@@taniatigris thank you! We’re very grateful for the community’s support.
Boylei posted a link and sent me here. It was really fascinating to listen to your thought process while watching the hunter come to life.
Awesome! I'm glad you enjoyed it. Welcome!
I literally thought this was a video of taking something from concept to 3D holy wow the end result is a painting??? Insane skill looks absolutely beautiful
Thanks! I appreciate it and I'm glad the rendering held up :)
Backed this kickstarter immediately! I’ve been a big fan of Boylei for some time now and when he announced it, I knew instantly the artwork was Hardy Fowler (who I’m also a massive fan of!) and when he confirmed it, I was sold straight away.
What an amazing and exciting project from one of my favourite crafters, teaming up with one of my favourite designers, it’s perfect!
That's awesome! Thanks :)
I still cante believe it was fully funded in just 20 mins!. As I scrolled through the page i was in awe of your art style and your drawings. Each one looks beautiful! Well done. I am also super happy that we got the more character art stretch goal. I can't wait to see what you make!
Thank you so much 😀
As someone who did concept work for almost 20 years (tattoo artist) and an avid fan of Boylei and rpg games, I must say you knocked this out of the park. I can’t wait to get my book and see more of this fantastic artwork.
A new Hardy Fowler video on my birthday is the best gift I could ask for! Awesome work and characters as always. Thank you for the deep dive into the industry workflow!
Happy birthday!
Happy birthday! Thanks man, glad you enjoyed this
Came over from Boylei's video. I am an ecologist by education and trade, the amount of artistic talent I have could be held in a thimble... This video has been absolutely fascinating! Thank you for your very in-dept narration it has been incredibly interesting to see into your world, learn about the traps and pitfalls in this space and what you're trying to achieve and of course why. Also, I really do enjoy your style!
Thanks for checking this out! I'm glad it was interesting to get a look into this industry. I really appreciate the comment
I would've really liked to see the actual Designing Process that you're talking us through, instead of sped up footage of the final painting. I feel like that could've added a lot.
I know! I wish I had recorded it but I had already done the design sketches when I got the green light to make the video. I'll be sure to schedule some more design videos in the future
Amazing work
Thanks Tyler! That means a lot coming from you - I really appreciate it.
I study at Sintlucas in Eindhoven and have been studying there for 3 years now, entered my fourth and final year just a week ago. We've talked and I've done exercises *just* like this a dozen times now. But seeing through the eyes of the a professional in the exact type of line of work I wanna work in later on is SO much nicer. Thing that I never thought twice about or were poorly explained feel way more concrete now in my mind! Thank you so much, this is really gonna help
I'm so glad this was helpful! You're exactly who I had in mind making this. Good luck with your studies.
Heel goed! Stay in school, almost there. Keep in mind that those exercises they have you do are really important. He shows a very cool rendering here. But what is just as important if not more so, is what he talks about. The concept part. Why is he wearing that leather. Did that feather come from a bird he shot? That thinking is what they want you to learn in school and that is what lands you a job!
P.s. If you want more concrete info on what the job is about, Check out Feng Zhu (if you dont already)
Ow, and nice painting Hardy.
Jesus! Just Wow! the fact that the amount of information one most have! to do art like this is mind blowing, I mean to know anatomy, lighting, color, etc... Pure talent
Thank you! I really appreciate that
Excellent design. Great Pro Character Art tips in the VoiceOver. and of course, over on Boylei 's channel you can see that Rune Foundry did a fantastic job recreating your design into a 3d print.
Thank you. Yes! It's so cool to see artwork turned into stuff that you can hold and play with :)
Some of this reminds me a bit of the principle of "first thoughts", that your initial idea may be a good one, but it's often not the *best* one. You should go ahead and draw that first idea, if nothing else but to get it out of your system, but then look to see what you can do to build past it, to ensure that you're creating something a little bit away from the first thing that comes to mind. I often discover that this is where I find more "original" ideas.
Not a hard and fast rule, sometimes you really do nail it the first time, but (especially in Concepts) it seems important that you be willing and able to take yourself beyond the first thoughts that come to mind.
-EDIT- Also SO MUCH YES on that 24-hr rule! Such a good tip! Not just because you can find new things to add, but because you're also likely to spot any errors or oversights. Saved my butt more than once!
This is awesome - great advice. Thanks for sharing this!
Very cool video Hardy. This is my jam !!! Great to see you in action with a reel assignment. Love the character and I can't wait to see more ;)
Glad you enjoyed it Thanks! Congrats again on the Pwnisher competition - I can't wait to see the montage
@@fowlerillus Thank you so much Hardy :)
Thanks 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 🍂🍁🍂
You are so welcome!
Best yt collab ever!!
Thanks! It has been really fun working in this world :)
the moment i saw the artworks of the wild west esque characters, i was immediately reminded of Boylei's dioramas, and turns out- I was right! so excited to see where the rest of the project goes
That's awesome! I really wanted these to fell on brand so that is great to hear. Thanks!
Incredible video, your expertise and wisdom is unmatched. My jaw dropped when you started on the metallic details on the backpack.😅The Kickstarter funded in 20 minutes, and your artwork is a key part of that! Amazing job well done!
I saw that! I'm so glad that it's going so well :)
This is so clean! i love it. Beautiful attention to detail and dedication!
Thank you so much!
Very beautiful ❤
Thank you!
Thank you for the lesson
My pleasure!
It's always informative to watch your process, Hardy. I think most of all I'm just encouraged to see that studios are still looking to work with real artists over AI. I know you've touched on the subject in the past. I'd like to hear what your updated thoughts on the matter are as so many aspiring artists are feeling discouraged these days. Thanks again!
Thanks! That's a great point and I do have some updated thoughts. While I still have no clear idea of where all of this is heading in a 5-10 year arc, I have been really encouraged by a few things in the near term. First of all, artists are still getting those early, career-launching jobs. Careers are still starting. That is obviously huge for the future of our industry and it is happening as regularly as ever from what I have observed in my school community. That is awesome. My second happy bit of news is that I am personally busier than ever so there is still demand out there AND I am seeing more and more of the contracts I take on that have specific language forbidding the use of AI so that tells me that clients are still uncomfortable with full commercial use of this while legal gray areas remain. Along those lines, there also seem to be a few legal wins out there for the rights of artists popping up every day. This will definitely be something to wrestle with for our profession and our species but for now, things seem to be going ok, at least from one artist's perspective.
@@fowlerillus That's very encouraging. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and your work.
You make it look easy! 😱
Thanks! 😅
COOL!
Thanks!
I hope there's a graphic book you come out with displaying your works. Or a world story of your own.
Oh thanks - that would be awesome some day :)
This is exactly what I was looking for. I spent my savings on an iPad so I can learn how to digital paint… I’m stuck and can’t find my way into this journey. I’m going to subscribe into your beginners guide. Hope I have what this career needs to be someone. (Sorry, English is my second language)
Awesome! I think you’ll find that really helpful
Amazing artist, I'm most impressed by the posture of this character.... wow
Thanks! I appreciate it. The pose really is the foundation so I'm glad this one felt right for you.
@@fowlerillus It's really hard to get them right in those bent positions. Great job!
WOW! Amazing art work! I really like it.
Thank you! Cheers!
wonderful work, congratulations!
Thank you very much!
love your art style and videos. really informative channel
Thank you so much 😀
These characters look amazing!!!
Thanks! This game I've been working on is going to be really cool. I'm so glad I finally get to show some of this stuff
I checked out the Kickstarter. So cool definitely want this
Absolutely amazing 😊 I would like to drawings and be similar designer like you.
Thank you! Cheers!
Thank you so much for this video! These days I struggle a lot while searching for a job to be a concept artist in a gaming company. A video related to this from an artist that I admire, means a lot! Beside that I would like to point out that how lovely your rendering skill is! And I remember in one of your videos I asked that is it possible to learn this kind of rendering from one of your tutorials. Would you please tell me where should I start on your website based on these two subjects, one of the monthly plans or project kits?
I'm sorry to hear about the struggle but I'm glad this was helpful. I would definitely check out the Skillbuilder section of my website. There are courses on painting people and character design in that subscription that would be a great place to start. There is a 7 day free trial so you can take a quick look and see if it's speaking to you. I appreciate the kind words and support :)
@@fowlerillus Oh thank you so much for your fast reply. You are so supportive. I'm happy to hear that there is 7 day free trial. I'll definitely check that program.
I absolutely love the design I was wondering if you would’ve weathered the jacket and pants more to give that more rugged outdoors look or is that too much in your opinion?
That's a great call. That could have added some fun texture and story. I try to throttle visual activity pretty carefully so that attention goes right where I want it. I think this instinct comes from years of making art that I now consider way too busy :) Thanks for checking this out!
All of this is important but no one speaks about composition and how to choose colours in character design
That's a great point and great topics for a future video. Thanks!
What's the brush you use to paint? It's a simple round one that already comes with Photoshop, right!? But which one? Smoothness according to pressure!? And the erase brush the same!? Btw... What an amazing work as always!!
Standard round Photoshop brush for brush and eraser. Pen pressure set to size jitter so a light touch for small mark, heavy press for thick marks. Smoothing stays around 30% unless I’m doing that precise mechanical stuff in his back. Let me know if you need other details. Glad you liked it!
It is a nice character illustration that could be found in a tabletop RPG, not a concept art or usable as it is though, you can't distinguish the front design at all, half of the design is hidden and we don't see any iterations beforehand.
Also rendering only one area after one area creates disparities in the whole rendering and I wouldn't recommend that, block out the whole thing first then refine.
Great points and you're totally right - this deviated from pure concept art in several key ways to make it more appealing as a piece of promo art. Your work is gorgeous btw!
The stuff you said was very useful, I appreciate it… but I just have to ask: So, this is a character concept design, right? It looks cool, but there are lots areas where it’s not clear how he looks. I would think it’s more of a mood/story/ expression study rather than anything else. I don’t know I am not a professional yet so this kinda of things always get me confused
That's such a good point. I think this one blurs the line between concept art and promotional art and mood got priority over description. The modeler did a great job inferring details from other views, but this type of image would often be accompanied by other views or even T-pose model shots so that none of the design choices are hidden. You are very right to be thinking of these things and I would often go for less dramatic poses for pure concept art (poses that show the character more fully).
@@fowlerillus Oh I see! Wow, you helped me realise something about character design. Except for the the development of the actual design (initial sketches, colour variations, references sheet, facial expressions, etc) we are supposed to not only put things together but to set them in action as in the final product. It would be like a little help but for everyone. It is like drawing a dark illustration and you listen to dark music to help you stay focused on the theme. (It would be a struggle to design something sad or serious if you are in a too happy mood for example) so to sum it up - The purpose of the final render (or just a good rendered mood sketch) is answer the unanswered questions so far like “okay, this fellow looks that way. Are they actually like that? How do they feel? How do they view the world”
Thank you 🤩 this would be helpful for my portfolio 😊 and for everyone who would read this
the ending cut off at the most important part. we went from mid level rendering to suddenly full completion, filters, FX, uhhh?
Let's see, the post production stuff that I skipped at the end was to add a Color Lookup (Crisp Warm), I think added 2% noise and then ran the Unsharp Mask filter to make things look extra crispy.
@@fowlerillus I see. I was just wondering how that nice metal/rusty texture appeared on the dudes pack. I assume it was an image overlay then?
Hey Hardy! At 0:05 it seems like you work on a normal screenless tablet, may i ask you which one is that you're using? Just curious because i have 2 tablets with screens but i can't use them due to neck pain they cause, so i have to (and i love to) work with my Wacom Intuos Pro M and i love to see masters creating masterpieces with similiar equipment. (i'm highly sensitive to placebo so this would be huge to me if you replied
That's exactly the model that I have! I love it and I've always used screenless tablets due to comfort and posture (sorry to hear about your neck pain).
actual question, you said that you wanted to make a authentic human who was in the woods for a long time , then why did u make his clothing so clean,shouldnt there be cuts and stuff on the jacket, with some patch work maybe?
That's a good point and he does look a bit clean for someone who has been camping for weeks. I suppose I wanted to keep the visual activity and limited to where I wanted focus to go (1)face, 2)leather work, 3) backpack gadgets) so I didn't want to add too much extra texture and detail elsewhere. Very good point though and I think even a subtle splash of mud and dirt would have be helpful.
I noticed you use color swatches instead of the colorwheel or gradient square, is there a reason for that? Does it make you move faster?
Hey man! Yeah, I have developed a palette of go-to colors that I know will work for a certain use. That helps me stay consistent and not have to tinker much with colors at the end of a project.
That vocal fry tho....
Do I do that? I find it super distracting when I hear it in others so I’ll definitely work on that. Sincerely, I appreciate the feedback
What would you charge someone for something like this ?
Hi, please email at office@digitalpaintingstudio.com and I'd be happy to share my typical price ranges. I don't want to list this specific project's budget publicly in the RUclips contents for my client's privacy.
💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯
Thanks! 🤘