Simon Holland Designs

More, More, More

2012-02-13T17:19:00.000Z

Works in Progress

2012-02-11T19:57:00.001Z

Its always surprising when you unearth an old memory stick, found these on an old stick might play with them or I might not but I thought I would stick them on the blog for archives sake.

Marsh

Monolithic Landscape

Orange Fluffy Clouds

Big Colin

2012-02-08T20:08:00.002Z

Big Scot Colin... hes a trucker. Now he is ready for a sub-surface scattered shader on the skin, some bump mapping on the skin and then he is hot to trot

Floating Droplets

2012-02-02T10:59:00.000Z

Rendered this out as a trial on using Macs to batch render, 120 frames 1hr15mins including set up on 12 6gb Mac Pros, Beauty, Ambient Occlussion and 60 frames of Z-Depth at 1080.

Rotating Thingy Update

2012-01-25T12:24:00.001Z

Rotation Primary Animation

2012-01-24T22:13:00.001Z

Studio Wall

2012-01-24T21:02:00.003Z

Corner of the Studio

2012-01-24T21:00:00.002Z

Bedouin 2

2011-12-14T12:34:00.001Z

This is an attempt at speeding up the painting process, this rolled in at 20 -25 minutes from concept to finished article. The colour scheme was inspired by Rembrandt, Turner and Blanche. The title is rather random as the subject matter was inspired by Moorcock this extended to the environment also, I vaguely remember a passage in one of the Erekose novels where he mentioned a beach with obsidian cliffs so I thought I would try and imagine a reflective rock surface catching the light of a setting sun. I feel the mount is rather lumpen and could do with some resolution, yet the rider would need to remain the focal point.

Hot Rod

2011-12-08T22:20:00.002Z

I painted this to trial some techniques for painting high- gloss materials and smoke. The materials are a departure for me and rendering them was rather enjoyable. I enjoyed the subject matter as well, inspiration for the colour scheme came from the bold schemes of hot-rods and customs such as this bad boy:

yummy.

Hot-rod (WIP update)

2011-12-08T19:11:00.000Z

Hot-Rod (wip)

2011-12-07T17:02:00.000Z

Hot-rod Wip

Orbital Barrage

2011-12-06T21:35:00.001Z

Landscape Sketches

2011-12-05T15:08:00.000Z

Cloudy Sky 2

2011-12-05T14:45:00.000Z

Cloudy Sky 1

2011-12-05T13:54:00.001Z

Spectacular Science goes live.

2011-11-22T21:39:00.000Z

http://ucreative.ac.uk/news/2011/november/spectacular-science

The UCA website heralds the arrival of the Spectacular Science project. Admittedly my submission requires a few refinements in the editorial department which I'm hoping to take some instruction from Phil on in the near future. I think that part of the problem is that I have been editing in After Effects as opposed to a bespoke piece of software such as Premier or Final Cut. I will be creating a proper Final cut file tomorrow in order to lay the groundwork for some serious editing fun.

Digital Sets

2011-11-22T20:42:00.000Z

Trial render of completed set. early morning lighting and render layers as per the tutorials in the first five weeks.

Spaceship 1 wip

2011-10-16T23:03:00.000+01:00

Taking inspiration from old school sci-fi artists like Chris Foss and early Jim Burns I have started work on this I am aiming for a gouache type effect.

After Effects CS5.5

2011-09-29T22:09:00.000+01:00

AfterEffects Logo from SIMON HOLLAND on Vimeo.

Running some old techniques through CS5.5

Landscape

2011-09-27T12:42:00.001+01:00

Playing around in PS CS5.5

Distorted 1

2011-09-09T23:39:00.002+01:00

Infection by the Flu Virus On-Line Pitch

2011-09-02T21:13:00.002+01:00

Infection by Flu Virus

Colour Concept

2011-07-20T12:38:00.003+01:00

More concepts, colour palette timeline, Scibd trial (scene 1 rough)

2011-07-14T14:20:00.000+01:00

Yes top left was inspired by certain Disney character.

flu virus infection

Flu-Virus Concepts 1.04

2011-07-13T16:20:00.002+01:00

Flu-Virus Concepts 1.03

2011-07-13T13:14:00.001+01:00

Flu-Virus Concepts 1.02

2011-07-13T11:10:00.004+01:00

Flu Virus Concepts 1.01

2011-07-12T22:26:00.003+01:00

Creature Design.

2011-06-02T22:44:00.000+01:00

These are some initial sketches for Jon's superdy-duper Character design brief:

And a head study the scan as usual didn't pick up the finer shading of the sketch... nevermind.

For Oliver Fowls

2011-05-06T21:28:00.001+01:00

Select faces to delete.

Remaining geometry following the curvature of the original model.

Extrude the edges.

Bevel the edges.

Sub-D smoothed.

A tweaked one to get a sculpted edge.

Above example smoothed

Of course as you push the vertices around you may need to adjust the distance between the the main body and the additional geometry so that it maintains consistency. In the above example I added some additional geometry to create the indentations.
Hope this helps.

Wooded Cliff

2011-05-05T11:19:00.000+01:00

Sketch book study for an environment that I am currently working on , further updates will filtering in soon.

@ Phill (no..... not you Phil)....New Character Design

2011-05-05T11:14:00.000+01:00

I started with some uber loose sketch more to warm up rather than nail anything cohesive. I knew I wanted to draw a female character, with a post apocalyptic/ Steampunk vibe. I picked apart my initial sketches, noting were the anatomy was off and why.

Once I had decided on a pose I blocked in a real rough idea, I decided that she should have two weapons, a flame thrower and an armoured glove (no doubt a bit Hell Boy creeping in there). This concept was taken a little bit further in the next stage with a bit more detail and the addition of a helmet.

Final pencil sketch: I changed a few things on this piece the three most notable changes are the pose of the right arm, the weapon and a sleeker helmet design. I changed the weapon because I liked the idea of Phills character getting blown out of the shy by a huge dollop of 12 gauge shot rather than burnt to a cinder as he lands. I altered the pose to make her a bit more dynamic and show of the physique a bit better. Talking of physique I wanted this character to be pretty athletic, after all she does wander a post-apoc landscape, fighting to survive on a daily basis, therefore she is going to be a fairly tough cookie.

Forest Path

2011-04-21T17:04:00.004+01:00

Crash Site

2011-04-20T23:28:00.002+01:00

Lowland Watch Tower

2011-04-20T12:49:00.001+01:00

Bedouin

2011-04-19T23:38:00.003+01:00

Temple of the Dog

2011-04-10T21:25:00.003+01:00

Quick piece of environmental work I did as a break from other stuff, painted whilst listening to the band of the same name.

Old, Old (nay ancient) Skull drawing

2011-03-06T20:31:00.001Z

A positively ancient drawing circa 1990. This was drawn from life on A3 paper (hence the horrible scan) and mounted really badly (hence the awful wrinkles). The main intent was to investigate the structures in the cavities and to determine the proportions. With hindsight I should have ditched the Dutch Angle and drawn the lower jaw and the top of the skull to give a better sense of the proportions.

Flower Girl

2011-03-05T21:58:00.001Z

Greyscale underpainting, inspiration from "She's a Rainbow" by the Rolling Stones. Psychedelic colours pending.

Wise Words from Caro

2011-03-04T23:17:00.002Z

I heard a rather pertinent sentence tonight. This came from the sculptor Anthony Caro.

Caro's gallery

"Sculpture is food for the eyes, food for the soul."

The beauty of these words lies in the fact they can apply to all the visual arts, and, I feel that they hold particular relevance to the work that digital artists are producing today.

Vista 03

2011-03-02T15:46:00.002Z

Greyscale Landscape Version 2

2011-02-25T22:54:00.003Z

Greyscale Landscape Version 1

2011-02-25T22:33:00.004Z

The Well

2011-02-02T15:58:00.003Z

Jungle Speed Paint

2011-02-02T14:46:00.003Z

Tower

2011-02-02T12:34:00.002Z

Prayer Flags

2011-02-01T22:04:00.005Z

After watching the great Michael Palin traipsing across the Himalayas the other night I couldn,t get the idea of Budhist prayer flags out of my head, so they make a second appearance in this environment speed paint.

Post Apocalyptic City

2011-01-17T07:56:00.003Z

Character Design wip1

2010-11-24T14:11:00.003Z

@ Phill Hoskings

2010-11-20T05:18:00.003Z

Well I finally got round to pushing my 3 potential characters further I am liking 1 and 3, you can probably tell that 2 didn't get quite so much love, I was going for a heavily built guy in a sort of Budhist repose, which is falling into the kind of character that I would want to push further. However No 1 the techno assasin and No3 the Evangelical Redemptionist Killer are more interesting to me.(Especially since I have lost No3's Solomon Kane style hat)Next stage is to settle on one of these guys and push up a bit further, your thoughts and comments are moist welcome no matter how harsh.

Maya pen and carbon fibre ball

2010-11-18T00:03:00.003Z

Had a bit of a play around this evening with MIA materials, the ball and the plane, the pen is all Blinns including the rubber bits. I quite like the pen design but then again it is a riff on an actual Parker design, please don't sue me.

Sketchbook Dump

2010-11-04T22:09:00.003Z

A selection of bits that were placed in my sketchbook whilst I was off air, some are work in progress some a bit rough 'n' ready. Vaulted City

Airship, concept idea for the image in the post below.

Sentinel 2

Summer at the base of the Devils Spine Mountains

Master.... Its alive

2010-11-02T13:42:00.003Z

Finally after having to invest in a new Motherboard and Power Supply Unit my computer once again breathes. Hardly a surprise that these items needed replacing as other the past 3 years they have had a very hard life. And for a grand total of £102 I now have (hopefully)another couple of years usage. yay

Airship_wip

2010-10-27T17:00:00.002+01:00

Yes it has been a while I know:)

The initial inspiration for this image was taken from a sketch that I drew a couple of weeks ago. That in turn was inspired by the Medway Queen being transported on a barge (for restoration iirc).

The scene was first created in Maya and an Ambient Occlusion pass was rendered out, this was then taken into Photoshop and then painted over digitally,there is still a fair bit of work to do, I thinkI need to re-conceptualise the background, something more Mediterranean possibly, also finish finish the foreground and introduce a couple of figures. So all in all about 50% done so far.

Journeying in the Vale of Tears

2010-09-23T12:33:00.003+01:00

Sketchbook Page 6 (Sentinel)

2010-09-19T22:16:00.002+01:00

Character Design Pre-Lim Sketches

2010-09-08T11:23:00.005+01:00

These are a series of character designs that I have been working through in order to develop a character for an art battle with Phill Hoskins (who will no doubt serve my ass to me lol) these took no more than a couple of mins a piece. At the moment I am just trying to grab an essence that I can build on.

Sketchbook Page 5

2010-09-02T22:37:00.004+01:00

Yes ok I lost a day or two but kids go back to school (or go for the first time for Nathan)

Sketchbook page 4

2010-08-31T19:01:00.006+01:00

Hi all, I trust everyone has had a good summer and is looking forward to a new semester. As you can see I have been working on good old paper. I have been trying to do a page a day, however the weekends are somewhat more hectic , so it is a page every other day. Todays page will probably be uploaded tomorrow morning.
In reply to your comment the other day Jon, the holiday was good although a good 3 days too short, as I ran out of time to just chill and sketch. However I came back with about 350-400 reference photos, so not a total loss in that respect. Edit: Just a note about this page.... I tried a drawing of a theme with and without reference material I think it is obvious which one is which lol

Sketchbook page 3

2010-08-31T17:10:00.004+01:00

Sketchbook page 2

2010-08-27T08:30:00.006+01:00

Sketch Book Page 1

2010-08-25T22:47:00.004+01:00

Scanner has washed out the tonality a little, such is the joy of using blue pencils to draw with.

Amalfi Coast here I come

2010-08-12T18:55:00.003+01:00

Well guys tomorrow I depart to Sorrento for a week, so unless I find a Wi-Fi spot then no updates for a while. Whilst trying to relax I will be visiting either Pompeii or Herculaneum, climbing Mt Vesuvias and hopefully visiting the Emperors palace on Capri, so plenty of opportunity to grab some reference shots.

In between these little trips I hope to be exploring the back streets and cafes of Sorrento and indulging in some sketching and being all arty etc. lol.

So assuming I don't become all pre-occupied there should be plenty of updates soon.

Stars

2010-08-11T22:56:00.003+01:00

Old School Skull Painting from reference.

2010-08-11T15:09:00.003+01:00

Rams Skull

Practising Lava

carrying on

2010-08-04T10:15:00.003+01:00

Another update... cheers Jon for spotting the eye, It was getting late and I didn't spot that, bit more bl,ocking out done. will do another check on angles etc. later. Not sure about the wings either..... thoughts anyone. There isn't a significant amont of time invested in them yet.

Something that isn't dead... current wip

2010-08-03T23:01:00.003+01:00

More Undead goodness

2010-08-02T22:47:00.001+01:00

Arachno Gladiator

2010-07-30T23:30:00.003+01:00

The Hidden Vale

2010-07-30T08:32:00.005+01:00

Another quickie

homage to Romero

2010-07-20T22:42:00.001+01:00

remnants

2010-06-17T14:53:00.005+01:00

Detective

2010-06-08T19:53:00.004+01:00

More vampire badness

2010-06-02T15:10:00.003+01:00

Vampire.001

2010-06-02T09:42:00.002+01:00

30 min warm up speed paint

Damnation... speed

2010-05-29T21:41:00.004+01:00

Lilith.... speed paint

2010-05-29T17:01:00.005+01:00

Lilith (Hebrew: לילית‎ Līlīt; Kurdish: شەوە[dubious – discuss]; Arabic: ليليث‎ Līlīṯ) is a legendary creature that appears in many creation myths. She has many origins with many variations on her name and common themes of infertility and unabated lust. For the most part she is considered a succubus, a powerful demonic creature who seduces men and sometimes eats children but has even appeared as a screech owl.

She is believed to have originated as a female Mesopotamian storm demon associated with wind and was thought to be a bearer of disease, illness, and death. The figure of Lilith first appeared in a class of wind and storm demons or spirits as Lilitu, in Sumer, circa 4000 BC. The phonetic name "Lilith" is traditionally thought to have originated in Ancient Israel somewhere around 700 BC, despite pre-dating even to the time of Moses.[1]

In Jewish folklore Lilith is the name of Adam's first wife, who was created at the same time and same earth as Adam. She left Adam after she refused to become subservient to Adam and then would not return to the Garden of Eden after she mated with archangel Samael.[2] Her story was greatly developed, during the Middle Ages, in the tradition of Aggadic midrashim, the Zohar and Jewish mysticism.[3]

In some modern views Lilith was a mother goddess demonized by Semitic religions and now recaptured as a feminist icon.[4] The Lilith legend is still commonly used as source material in modern fantasy and horror.

Nike update

2010-05-29T13:24:00.001+01:00

Always good to have a couple of projects on the go.

spot the difference

2010-05-27T21:04:00.004+01:00

things to do while the Doctor is on the box

2010-05-24T21:10:00.002+01:00

growing mycellium

2010-05-20T12:01:00.002+01:00

Thought I would have a quick play around today growing some stylised mycellium

New Blog

2010-05-03T19:25:00.002+01:00

I have set up a blog purely for one particular project, it is situated at

http://medwaysbillboardproject.blogspot.com/

Not the most imaginaqtive title, but when I have confirmed in which direction I will be going in it may change.

ooh aah just a little bit more....

2010-04-22T22:25:00.005+01:00

Mech update

2010-04-22T22:05:00.003+01:00

managed to squeeze in a little more time on this one

Nike in Repose.... wip

2010-04-15T21:27:00.002+01:00

about 4 or 5 hours work so far, derived from the classical myth of Nike, with a twist

mech update

2010-04-04T22:34:00.003+01:00

Cruddy week at work, managed to get an hour on this this evening refining and sculpting forms ignore the arms/weapons. Will be a gun platform, bipedal tank so will need to research waepons etc.

Non Japanese Mech...wip

2010-03-31T22:50:00.003+01:00

Girls and Guns

2010-03-29T12:13:00.004+01:00

Enough of the Freud already, it was fun to draw.

Work Done... couple of warm up sketches

2010-03-28T22:20:00.005+01:00

Coming Soon: Ivan and Irvine.

2010-03-21T10:08:00.003Z

Initial sillohuettes, and the first concept for Ivan,

concept1.1 revised mouth

p x 3 +j = ?..... erm..... 3pj

2010-03-18T13:09:00.002Z

Mathmatical equations aside.

I travelled from almost sunny Walderslade to actually properly sunny Whitstable, the Horsebridge arts centre to be precise. In Gallery one the above equation was explained: 3 Phils and 1 Jan or Phil Gomm (tutorphil), Phill Hoskins (Photoshop Phill), Phil Cooper and Jan Groszer to be precise.

Between them they are exhibiting a selection of works from the genres of photography, sculpture and painting.Phil G and Jan are showing a variety of photographic studies, Phill H some sculptures and a couple of paintings, whilst Phil C has some mixed media paintings on show.

I'll start with Phill H first. A series of ten heads adorn the far wall of the gallery, how ever I see spaces for two more. Is their absence intentional, by feat of accident or do they not exist but in the artists mind?

The heads are a series of character studies, each probably no more than 10cm in height, and finished in white. The delicate sculpting manages to capture the anatomy as well as the character of these individuals, and they range from what appear to sincere studies to 4 superheroes with the appropriate exaggerations. Rendered in white we are able to see the subtle nuances of the sculpt including rake marks and sections where the clay has been added.

My personal favourite of these is the pilot, with his old-school flying helmet and goggles he exudes the appropriate arrogance that is topped of with a cheeky wink ... good show old fellow.

Phill's contribution is completed by two (oil?) paintings, these are both vibrant works that seem to draw influence fom Kandinsky and Klee. Within the the mix of chequers, organic and geometric shapes I see landscapes and cities dancing with vibrant hues, the Alizarin Crimson/ Rose Madder and Ochre particuarly stand out.

Phil C has brought along several mixed media painting, these are a parting gift to Whitstable as he is set to depart to (sunnier ?) climes.

With these images he sets out to capture the autumn and winter that we have just endured/ enjoyed, taking the majority of his inspiration from woodland and hedge-rows seasonal pigments form undualting textures across the canvas, muted woody tone are contrasted with autumnal oranges. I was left wanting more which can only be a good sign.

Jan is exhibiting with two sets of photographs, of, what at first appear to be very different subjects. There is a certain strident quality covering all of Jan's work, a particular confidence in the way he engages with his subjects.

Totems are a collection of studies taken from Dungeness. In this collection Jan focuses on what appear to strange collections of mechanical parts that linger in this desolate environment. Echoing the heads on Easter Island they stand as a testament to what could be seen as a forgotten race or time. The scars that have been left by the elements on these strange creations depict the masterful nature of the environment within which they reside.

The textures are simply stunning (pay attention all you CG artists), the decay that threatens to over-run the totems is contrasted with the taught mechanical shapes as they are singled out against either the powder blue or the slate grey of the sky. Only once we reach Totem 9 is the purpose of these icons revealed.

Jan's second set of images are also environment based, here he explores the relationship of his flat in Hackney as he prepares to leave for pastures new. The series of stark black and white self portrait can at first seem brutal in their honesty and openess, combined with Jan's text they take on a sublter more poignant context, within them they hold emotions that at some time we have all felt at the parting of ways. Jan has a blog also.... check it out

http://ninthplanetsblog.blogspot.com/

Last but by no means least we have our venerable lecturer Phil Gomm. Oh dear Phil no 16:9 format....tut, tut. Mr Gomm's contribution consists of a collection of horticultural portraits. Starting with puple and violet the series runs through cream into yellow finally culminating in sensuous reds and oranges.

Did you have to use the Latin names for the titles lol.

These pictures transform the flowers concerned from what could be seem as horticultural studies to something much more dramatic, something that captures the nature of the plant more succinctly than any dry study could ever hope to achieve.

They hold qualities that are more than those of simple photographs, colours dance across the paper dipping in and out of focus in a way that should seem vague and unrevealing. However this is not the case from within these blurred abstract flows areas of detail and vibrancy arise to draw us in and demonstrate the alienness of these floral marvels.

Bold colours form a graphic sensation in Anemone Coronaria, concentric circles of green and purple create a joyous vibrancy, thes explode in a burst of violet stars in Allum Aflatuneuse, getting closer to this image you can pick up the fine details of the flowers. The colours become more muted and the shapes mopre painterly in Astrantia Major as delicate petals emerge from a shifting miasma to from a graceful dance with their tranluscency. Following this is Foeuiculum Vulgare, clusters of cream shapes close together as if in debate admidst a sea of green and purple. Suddenly living and breathing the muted yellow of Eremurus Stenophyllus breaks onto its gool grey background, extending the phallic anthers it strives to be free of its confines. Finally with have the erotically sensuous folds of Eschscholzia Calorfornica, the warm red and orange petals unfold to reveal the yellow fire within.

I could write more and elaborate on what I have said already but duty calls and I have to pick the youngest up from nursery (real life and all).

It was good to Whitstable, and thanks to the guys for putting on a varied show.

Painting by Numbers

2010-03-08T22:19:00.001Z

update

2010-03-08T20:01:00.003Z

Just realised my title sounds a lot like one of yours Tom maybe it is the Transient part lol.... to follow will be a 4 minute video of the process, when I can get it to a manageable upload time.

More character work.... Armoured Transient

2010-03-08T19:49:00.007Z

this was a 45 speed paint derived from blocking in abstract shapes and seeing what appeared.... the title bears very little relevance so I present

New Wacom Cintiq 21ux

2010-03-05T20:57:00.002Z

http://www.wacom.com/cintiq/cintiq-21ux.php

all donations gratefully recieved.

(The promo video actually gave me goosebumps... either thats a sign of good marketing or I am extremely sad)

Blogger being silly.

2010-03-02T05:20:00.003Z

For some strange reason Blogger isn't showing the comments on my last post, despite telling me there is one, is Blogger telling fibs or just being naughty, if anyone did post a comment would they care to repost it on this post.... pretty please.

update3

2010-03-01T22:46:00.003Z

Waterhouse Reference

2010-03-01T12:58:00.002Z

Future_Deco

2010-03-01T12:44:00.004Z

Portfolio piece drawing influences from Metropolis, Bladerunner, and numerous other sci-fi/ deco cross overs, also Waterhouse's The Oracle in regards to subject matter.

STAGE 1: Layout, composition and under drawing.

STAGE2:light blocking

Time for a break, some lunch, and a fresh pair of eyes to finalise the layout.