CG Hub down officially, potenially new website for designers, 2d/3d illustrators & more

CG HUB is officially down.

They have closed it and their reasoning is "because they feel like it".  One really has to question why they didn't at least sell it to several potentially, rumored suitors, but I guess they felt like it.  Exact reasons have not been given and a lot of this have been vague, but many artists are wondering why the fuck this has happened the way it did.  CG Hub for people that don't know was a website where artists in 2D, 3D, caricatures, concept art, and many more uploaded their work.  This involved anything from personal projects to movies, tv, videogames, and books.  Many of the best artists in the world uploaded their work there.

Besides CG Hub opining a "Pro" version which allowed many artists to pay for the full year and start to get a few extra benefits.  This happened roughly 2 months prior to the website shutting down.  So this if not illegal, is incredibly shady.  People paid money and got screwed over it since CG Hub decided to close the doors.

At the end of the day, it's their product and they have every right to do with it as they please.  However since part of freedom of speech has not been completely closed off by government officials on the internet, I'd say this is a pretty douchey and illogical move from them.  They could have at least sold it off to another company that would have kept going.

hope of a new website

However there is hope that there might be another website made in a very similar fashion to CG HUB, where they take the best design/UI aspects and take off the crappy variations.  There is a potential Kickstarter coming out soon, but until then I can just send you the link to the company creating the website, Shakuro.  I'm still skeptical, but at least it's something.

Link Here

Speed Painting 23: The Amazing Spiderman 2

With the new Amazing Spiderman 2 movie coming in a day, I thought I'd give it a shot since he's one of my favorite comic book superheroes. Also the idea of Electro and Spiderman meant that I could go crazy in terms of colors when creating the illustration.

I used part of a scene from the movie and change it around a bit to my choosing. Enjoy it!

Speed Painting 22: Game of Thrones

So Game of Thrones season 4 comes out in a few days. I don't usually paint black & white illustrations, but I decided for it this particular issue, partly from a creative side and mostly from a lazy side. For this piece, I decided to illustrate Oberyn and Tyrion accross from one another as I get the impression they will play a massive role both in the Kingdom and among one another (I haven't read the books).

The sparrow and the tagline "all men must die" in Game of Thrones season 4 promos have been everywhere, and gave me the idea to make something stark in contrast (color wise) with the rest of the illustration. The two songs are also part of the GoT promos, and I thought I'd give some love to two good songs. Joffrey sitting on the throne like the douche that he is, and I included him there because I have a feeling he's finally going to die.

I was going to initially illustrate Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and even begun the speed painting. However during the early process of painting the piece.. for the first time ever, I scraped the piece and started from the beginning with very little time. This also explains part of my reasoning to go B&W in terms of color. Enjoy :)

Speed Painting 21: inFamous Second Son

I've got a PS4 and inFamous Second Son looks to be one of the hottest games of the year (or so I hope). I played the previous two, the new rebooted version looks absolutely kickass and I thought it be fun to illustrate. Since the game itself comes in March 21st, this became my choice for the March speed painting.. obviously.

The general idea is Delsin fighting basic DUP soldiers and creating him in an action shot that's interesting for the viewer. I decided to use both his chain and his hand and gave him a darker look (hint of evil Delsin?) with that shit eating grin that he seems to have. I added some small tidbits trying to trick people that I'm clever, adding 3 small badges from Sucker Punch's previous big franchise, Sly Cooper and another one from an early game that they made called Rocket: Robot on Wheels. However while I was looking for pictures of Delsin as reference when I had already thought of this idea, I saw that those sly bastards Sucker Punch had like me, created one of the badges on his chest with the official Sly logo.

A bit off topic, but the composer for this song is Lazerhawk, and their new album which includes this song is absolutely amazing. Check it out if enjoy the song in the video.

Speed Painting 20: Fishing in Space

So after my last two caricatures, I need something fun and silly to draw for my next speed painting, especially considering what comes after. So obviously, the only choice was to create a fisherman fishing in space. The fisherman here is your typical fisherman in space, his ship has an anchor when it drops onto a new planet, sea or a big enough creature. The yellow light at the top left of his ship indicates that this is a fishing ship, different colors in space are used for identifying mining ships, explorer ships, etc.

Every fishing ship also needs Jets Air Conditioner, the best air conditioner turned fishing ship engine around. The name of the ship is barely seen due to the crappy state it's in. It's called the Shark S.D.S. .. or the long name, the Shark Super Duper Ship. As you can see on the right, there's a massive whale which might take the bait. I would have liked to add a few little extras but unfortunately I ran out of time, so I hope you enjoy it regardless!

Speed Painting 19: Nelson Mandela

With the recent death of Nelson Mandela, I felt I should do one more caricature styled speed painting illustration before jumping on a different style for the upcoming months. Most should know what his accomplishments are, both good and bad. If not, try reading a book. Or I can give you a quick rough idea of course. A basic background pictures taken to simply add something rather than just having a white background.

I put a prison behind his back since he was in jail for 27 years and it's past him, and what he had to look forward afterwards was people cheering for him.. loving him.. to the point where he became the President of South Africa for 5 years and then quit after his first term. I gave him an earing illustrating South Africa as a map. I also put what I consider his best quote in regards to what he learned, achieved and something applicable to society nowadays as well.

Speed Painting 18: Rob Ford

So I decided make the first Canadian topic about.. well yes, our own pride and glory, Toronto Mayor Rob Ford. I normally have to explain most of my thought process but regarding this man, everything is as blatant as it can be in this youtube speed painting. The seems to have been involved, in drugs, alcohol, potentially prostitutes. I also heard an interesting interview before making this illustrating of Mayor Rob Ford, with one of the most ridiculous responses I have ever heard from a politician. I don't want to spoil the surprise, so watch until the end.. and make sure the sound and captions are on.