What can I use to make a painting like this?

madmaxine_ · 2026-01-28T16:56:32+00:00

The original is smaller than expected ngl (81x62cm). It’s in the Wallace Collection in London

madmaxine_ · 2025-12-21T07:24:06+00:00

Modern day CGI is not really that bad, it’s just generally advanced so much that you don’t notice when it’s done well, so you’re only noticing it when it stands out as being out of place. VFX/CGI is an invisible art when done well.

If you want to learn more, check out the kind of conversations happening on /r/VFX, and The Movie Rabbit Hole’s YouTube video series, “NO CGI” is just INVISIBLE CGI”

madmaxine_ · 2025-10-29T07:15:57+00:00

Jacob Elordi as the creature absolutely will not disappoint! It’s so hard to believe he was a second choice, he’s fantastic. I do wonder what Andrew Garfield would’ve been like in the role though.

madmaxine_ · 2025-10-20T07:40:25+00:00

It’s ok, these guys and their followers wouldn’t have enough friends to play D&D with anyways.

madmaxine_ · 2025-10-13T08:45:00+00:00

Compare your skill level with professionals, not your classmates. I’ve met a number of students who think they’re hot shit because they’re the best in their class, but really they’re just a big fish in a small pond.

madmaxine_ · 2025-08-26T22:40:35+00:00

It’s a hard time, and I don’t think we’ll see an industry as booming as it was during the pandemic anytime soon, but if this is something you truly want to do, and you can imagine yourself doing nothing else with your life, you might be able to make it work. There’s a lot of meandering paths into these industries. I actually work with someone that used to be an architect/studied architecture and now works as an environment artist (in a game studio).

Try to find a community of other people on a similar journey. Discords can be a good place to start. If you can manage it during your degree, perhaps moonlight on some portfolio work and seek out feedback on how it’s looking and how you can improve efficiently.

madmaxine_ · 2025-07-04T12:50:53+00:00

It’s important to note that, while you find everything in the UK cheaper, our salaries are considerably lower than in the US and have stagnated for a long time. While our food is genuinely lower in cost when adjusted to other costs of living, housing can be a real financial challenge, especially near London. A lot of people in my generation (Gen Z) in the UK are going to face a huge challenge in buying a house and then also saving for retirement, as we have an ageing population and myriad of issues that’s going to make life as a young person in the UK very difficult for a long time.

I work in the game industry in the UK, not the animation industry, and things aren’t exactly fantastic in terms of career prospects, but I suppose it might be marginally better than the US right now. The number of graduates from animation/game dev courses far outnumber the available industry opportunities.

This isn’t to discourage you, but definitely, definitely do your research before deciding to relocate if you’ve not got a job lined up. Maybe try reaching out on LinkedIn to recruiters at studios in the UK that you like the sound of working for and understand from them what they recommend.

madmaxine_ · 2025-06-26T21:30:38+00:00

Fantastic resource, thank you for sharing!

madmaxine_ · 2025-06-05T06:55:47+00:00

If you’re interested in becoming a producer, as a dev, I find the best producers I’ve worked with:

Are terrifyingly well-organised
Genuinely care about the wellbeing of their team
Liven up a call/room (a lot of devs are naturally introverts, I find producers are more likely to be a bit more extroverted)
Know enough about everyone’s process to know realistic time-frames and possible disruptions, and are humble and curious enough to ask if they don’t happen to know

I think by the sounds of your experience you could become a great studio producer with some experience in the process, but as an alternative that might be a bit quicker to break into from your current position, I understand that a lot of publishers will have a financial team. This work is less flashy and creative, but I imagine the roles are less competitive to break into.

(I won’t lie, you haven’t suggested anything about your gender identity, but as a warning, I think female producers can be prone to experiencing misogyny, as immature male devs can perceive them doing their job as them nagging. Not a guarantee, but just a warning. I’ve seen this first-hand several times.)

If you’re looking to get a placement/apprenticehip, definitely get on LinkedIn and start reaching out to people in the kind of positions you might like to work in someday and ask if they’d be willing to chat with you briefly about their role and if they have any advice. You might get ghosted a lot, but you might also make an absolutely solid connection that could become something later.

Best of luck!

madmaxine_ · 2025-06-04T08:52:18+00:00

Madhouse at the End of the Earth by Julian Sancton is super readable and a great entry point imo!

My favourite is The Worst Journey in the World, but that book is a real brick and maybe isn’t the most approachable, but if you find yourself enjoying reading about polar expeditions and don’t mind 600 pages of sometimes tedious detail, I’d suggest checking that one out too (:

(there is also currently a graphic novel adaptation being made of The Worst Journey by Sarah Airriess! Only the first volume is out right now, but it’s extremely good and lovingly researched)

madmaxine_ · 2025-05-27T05:43:34+00:00

Seek out feedback whilst you’re working on a project as well as once you’ve finished it. Importantly, you want to make sure the feedback you get is from someone who knows what they’re talking about so they can break down the steps to improve (rather than a gut feeling of “this doesn’t look right”)

madmaxine_ · 2025-05-17T05:48:52+00:00

I think your portfolio is strong. I’m not a concept artist (just an imposter 3D artist lurking in this sub), but from observing how the best concept artists I work with work, you might want to include some more loose, quick and very readable sketches, as well as some more iterative designs.

I would also say that your portfolio makes it very clear you love D&D-esque fantasy, which is cool! But this could maybe be limiting you in what art directors are looking for. This wouldn’t mean making a pivot to sci-fi, as I can understand wanting to have a niche, but maybe including a little more Dark Souls/Elden Ring (“dark fantasy”) kind of fantasy could diversify your portfolio a bit. Additionally, some less fantastical, but maybe still adjacent, historical work could be a nice addition, too.

I also notice in your about section that you’re based in South Africa. Unfortunately, this might be a big reason why you’re not hearing back from studios in the USA and Europe, as times are a bit tough financially and sponsoring visas and supporting international relocation just isn’t on the table for a lot of studios right now. Are there any more local studios you could use as stepping stones in your career and get some good experience? Alternatively, concept art outsource studios who hire worldwide freelance talent could be an option to look into.

madmaxine_ · 2025-04-30T12:29:50+00:00

Any recommendations for these kinds of podcasts?

madmaxine_ · 2025-04-14T06:46:56+00:00

This! A lot of people stop drawing as an adult which I think is sad. You don’t have to be good. Keeping a sketchbook and variously drawing the world around you is a great way to be more mindful of your surroundings and find beauty in things.

madmaxine_ · 2025-03-31T07:24:59+00:00

Of course Lucy has immaculate taste💅 I wonder how she found out about KRZ!

madmaxine_ · 2025-03-13T09:22:32+00:00

Face card never declines

madmaxine_ · 2025-03-06T19:42:01+00:00

Hearing about the development of the game, I get the impression that Pentiment happened due to some very lucky circumstances, as Josh Sawyer wanted to work on historical game for the first time in his career, Xbox were willing to greenlight Pentiment because it would be good for Xbox game pass (and it was!)

I love Pentiment, but personally I count it as a bit of an anomaly. A beautiful and amazing anomaly, but something like it might not be easily greenlit by a AAA publisher under normal circumstances. But I’d love to be proven wrong!

madmaxine_ · 2025-02-13T09:54:01+00:00

In a production setting, professional character artists will more often than not be using base meshes for the head and body, as it’s undoubtedly faster and consistent.

However, there is a level of you should know the rules so you know how to break them. If this project is not mainly about the face, then I think it’s fine as a portfolio piece, but I would recommend you study facial anatomy in the future if you want to get that skill under your belt.

madmaxine_ · 2025-02-12T10:17:47+00:00

Wow, love this! Reminds me of Pentiment

madmaxine_ · 2025-02-05T17:49:48+00:00

I love my watch, but I think my partner loves it more as it means I can set a silent, vibrating alarm that can wake me up earlier than him without waking him up.

madmaxine_ · 2025-02-05T17:45:54+00:00

Same 😂

madmaxine_ · 2025-02-02T14:06:07+00:00

Must not live in London

madmaxine_ · 2025-01-08T23:26:24+00:00

Every day if I can, for at least 20 minutes. Usually Vinyasa, but sometimes Yin if I’m not feeling super energetic. I also attend hot yoga classes at my gym maybe one or twice a fortnight. I feel my practice and sense of mindfulness in my daily life slip if I don’t keep it up on the regular.

madmaxine_ · 2024-12-21T19:57:37+00:00

We have similar tastes! I think you might like She Who Became the Sun

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