Pusheen the Cat Camry

#Pusheen the Cat is wildly popular. The cute animated cat has her fair share of cute and silly pictures both static and animated. I designed a car of her for fun using the NASCAR Generation 6 mod in "NASCAR Racing 2003 Season" (or NR2003). I will share with you my creation in this blog post.

Before I Begin...

DISCLAIMER: Pusheen the Cat is a trademark of Pusheen Corporation. For more on Pusheen, visit www.pusheen.com.

--- Pusheen the Cat Toyota Camry ---

Here is the car I created featuring Pusheen the Cat:


^ from: (one of my Facebook photo albums) - Meow! It's Pusheen the Cat decorated on a Toyota Camry stock car.

In case you know nothing about Pusheen the Cat, let me give you a little introduction. Pusheen the Cat is a big tabby cat inspired by a real cat from the past of Claire Benton, the owner of Pusheen. Pusheen has a sister named Stormy. The term "Pusheen" comes from the Gaelic word "puisin," meaning kitten. Pusheen the Cat was featured a lot in an old Tumblog called "Everyday Cute" run by artists Claire Benton and Andrew Duff. Web comics featuring Pusheen basically showcase her hopes and dreams. Two of Pusheen's favorite activities are eating and sleeping. Both of which she does very well, I might add. Her popularity ultimately garnered her own site on Tumblr. As her popularity grew, Pusheen the Cat later became popular with various merchandise and goods in her image. There is even a book about her called "I Am Pusheen the Cat." It is safe to say that Pusheen may be the most popular fictional cat not named Hello Kitty. In fact, she may even be more popular than Hello Kitty!

I blogged about Pusheen the Cat before. You can read more in my main blog by clicking on this link in case you are interested: Pusheen the Cat (John's Blog Space). Now on to the car I created.

I chose the Toyota Camry as the car to feature Pusheen with. The car is adorned with the number 18 to represent the calendar day Pusheen was born (February 18). The car was painted to demonstrate the sponsor layout for cars in NASCAR for the Generation-6 stock car. Since no actual driver was thought of as the one to drive it, I decided to let Pusheen be the star of her car! So she is the one who has her name atop the windshield visor along with the Toyota logos. I was really unsure what pictures to put on the car to represent Pusheen. I've saved a LOT of pictures of Pusheen from various animated GIFs. The one I chose for the hood was a cute picture I would sometimes see in Facebook sticker comments. The chosen hood picture was Pusheen sitting up with a heart over her head. Up front is one image on both sides of the car with Pusheen waving hello to you. On the sides is Pusheen running; and on the rear quarter panel is Pusheen next to a laptop. The roof of the car features Pusheen on a scooter. Originally, I wanted to have that as the image on the sides of the car. However, I didn't think the running animation of Pusheen would work well as the roof image. So what I did was put the scooter Pusheen on the roof of the car. Past the rear windshield is "pusheen.com." The rear of the car features some graphics I grabbed from an app called PopCam, which is a vastly popular photo app in Japan. Pusheen appears over the Toyota logo on the back of the car saying "meow." And to complete the design, I added some hearts because after all, Pusheen just wants to make friends and look cute.

For More Information...

Here is where you can learn more about the different elements of this car:

• NR2003 NASCAR Generation 6 mod on BullRing Motorsports - includes mod and templates.
• Pusheen the Cat official page

Cross-Promotion/Other Reading.

More on Pusheen from me:
Pusheen the Cat (John's Blog Space)
^ More on the animated cat that inspired the creation of this car.

I Am Pusheen the Cat (John's Blog Space)
^ My review of Pusheen's book.


That concludes this post.





I may share more of my work with you as I make them available in posts. So be sure to stay with "John's Creative Space" for more! Thank you for reading! Take care and be well.

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Moonlight Motorsports

My fictional racing team in games is called Moonlight Motorsports. It is the team I use for racing/driving games that allow for customization or in which cars can be painted. The same blue and gold that identify my work also make up the team colors for Moonlight Motorsports. I am making this post basically to introduce another avenue of creative works of mine. This one pertains to custom art for games. So welcome to my creative works blog- "John's Creative Space!"

About the Label: "Custom Art"

In games that allow for customization of art, I offer my own custom art in my posts. These posts feature artwork of mine designed for computer games. Some of my work may or may not be made available for download. I will consider offering some of my work for download based on interest from the general public-at-large.

--- Moonlight Motorsports ---

Any official cars or logos or such haven't been made available. So this post may be updated from its original posting (August 8, 2015) to reflect new changes. Here is my car in "NASCAR Racing 2003 Season" to share with you in the meanwhile...


^ from: (one of my Facebook photo albums) - This is the team car for my team in "NASCAR Racing Racing 2003 Season." I haven't yet decided on a proper primary sponsor.

One thing to note is that I haven't selected a primary sponsor for my team. I do have an idea for one in mind. This car is really just a team car just to identify myself and my team. There are two different primary sponsors I was considering as my proper car to use in NR2003- Samsung and Logitech. Both cars are Chevrolet SS models I have in mind. For now, I just have my blue and gold car to represent myself and my team in the game. The number I use in racing games is #25. Alternatively, I use #3; but there are very few games or times where I use the #3. So my driver/rider number is 25.

The car was created using a Photoshop template of the NASCAR Generation 6 stock car mod. I used Adobe Photoshop Elements 13 to paint the car up. NR2003 uses TGA format for uploaded images- which PSE13 unfortunately doesn't support. So what I have to do is use another program to save images in TGA format. What I use is the free Paint.NET program to save in TGA format. I then upload everything into the game and enjoy racing my car!

For More Information...

Here is where you can learn more about the different elements of this car:

• NR2003 NASCAR Generation 6 mod on BullRing Motorsports - includes mod and templates.

That's all!





I hope I can share more of my art creations with NR2003 with you all. So be sure to stay with this blog to check out my latest material. Thank you for reading! Take care and be well.

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Game Prototyping

If you want to make a game, it is understandable to jump right into simply making your game right away. However, you need a game to be effective. So prototyping is a key element in game development. This blog post is about game prototyping and my own thoughts on the whole process. I hope you get to enjoy this post and maybe share my blog and its posts with others if you enjoy my work.

There is game prototyping ranging from digital gaming to board game prototyping. The post here primarily concerns game prototyping for digital games. So I'm speaking to all of you who produce indie games. I am not a professional at this topic, nor have I successfully developed a prototype for a game.

--- Game Prototyping ---

Just like with engineers, the process of making something begins with a vision and is further brought to reality with prototyping and eventually the final product. Gaming is no different. Those who take the time to prototype and brainstorm are the ones who produce some of the best games. Take it from me- you want to jump right into making a game using whatever skills you have. However, this jumping in can lead to you getting into or making a hot mess. You don't want that. Instead, it is best to take your time through the development process.

Building a game prototype allows you the opportunity to convert your vision into code. A prototype is NOT the final game. The main purpose of a prototype is to put your vision into a tangible form for which to be edited further. Once a prototype is created, you have to continually modify and enhance your game to where it becomes something you hope to release and maybe even profit from. Anyone who cares about making some of the best games have to master the art of prototyping.

Everyone has different methods of prototyping including various workflows. Some developers even use board games they created and even some other software bits to properly plan prototypes. The main key is to try to create something that can be used towards building a prototype through coding and using multiple samples and assets.

--- Mastering Game Prototyping ---

Allow me to discuss some of the finer elements of game prototyping.

Remember that a prototype is NOT the final product. A game prototype should be a realistic vision of a created game, and all of the different elements going into producing a prototype should be realistic. It is okay to screw things up or not have a fully complete prototype. The main goal is to try to create something that you can work with.

Having said this, prototypes don't have to be pretty and polished. In fact, a lot of prototypes use primitive shapes and even sometimes, copyrighted material.

Game Prototyping: Mock-Ups.

One of the first bits of prototyping that some developers like to do is provide mock-ups. These mock-ups provide a vision of what one wants to accomplish in building a game. Mock-ups of games are not in any way playable. These mock-ups are essentially concepts. They don't have to be purely elaborate. However, a mock-up of a game gives a clear vision and a baseline for what will hopefully lead to a completed game. You don't need to make mock-ups, but they can go a long way towards providing a proper focus on what kind of game you are trying to create. Ideas will change based on the mock-up(s) you create. Ultimately, the finished product may or may not equate to the original mock-up concept. Mock-ups will still help keep you focused. So create something to give you an idea of what it is you are trying or hopeful to create with your prototype for your game.

Game Prototyping: The Programming.

The programming aspect is a real factor in game development. Feel free to use any sort of programming language you are most comfortable with using in making your game. Some of the basic prototyping with programming is mostly in trying to come up with something that you can use in further development of a game. Part of making the final game can be about having errors in coding. Some of those coding errors could result in infamous elements of the game. Like according to Minecraft, the Creeper wouldn't have been possible had it not been for some sort of coding error. Programming prototypes will give you a chance to make the game before tidying the code to be more efficient.

Some game engines, such as GameMaker Studio, Construct 2, and Stencyl (among many others) have been heralded by developers for their game prototyping functionality. Such game engines provide people with a solid foundation for which to prototype games without needing to invest lots of time in providing coding and graphics. You may not be able to export code from most of these programs (or at least not with free versions), but you at least can get started in seeking a vision for whatever game(s) you are trying to create.

Game Prototyping: The Graphics.

Unless you are developing a text-based game, having a great graphics package will help make your game look as amazing as it can be. Until you develop something more stylish, you are best setting up either primitive shapes or (not recommended) images from copyrighted material. What a lot of people do is mostly use certain images as placeholders. These placeholders can serve as baselines towards further development. If primitive shapes are used, these shapes can always be replaced with actual images.

Game Prototyping: The Sounds and Music.

Having an array of sounds and music will help bring life to a game. At the earliest stages, it is best not to think about sound or music until you developed a proper looking prototype. I would think about sound and music after you have a good measure of the programming and the graphics. Look at sound and music as final touches. Early on, you probably will come up with either sounds and music from copyrighted material. Maybe later, you can work to make more original sound effects and music. You may also look to hire or use music from other people. Just make sure to credit the original artist of any protected work.

Game Prototyping: Bringing it All Together.

Once you have the programming, graphics, and sound down; you have yourself a great idea of what you want to build as a game once the prototype is built. Making prototypes will help you to further push your creative boundaries in trying to make your game go from prototype to a final build you can be proud to release. Never stop working to improve your material.


The next section provides examples of other developers making prototypes and development videos on games.

--- Game Prototyping Examples ---

If you poke around on YouTube, you may find some videos on game development. Some developers ranging from single hobbyists to proper game studios have put together their own prototypes for games. I want to dedicate this section to show you how some developers created prototypes for their games. This will hopefully give you some insight on the process of prototyping for games. Some of these games eventually saw final versions; some others remained prototypes. If you need inspiration to develop prototypes for games, this section may hopefully be of great service to you. So take a look at these videos to get an idea of the prototyping process in making games.


NOTE: Since most of these videos had embedding disabled, I will only feature links to videos for you to see for yourself.

• Flixel Platformer Game Prototype
• Game #1 - Environment test, basic movement...
• Torque Game Builder platformer prototype
• C++/SDL Platformer Game Test
• [gamedev} Amber Battles prototype Gameplay
• KnightFyre #GameDev - Day 1 Recap
• Double rope gameplay (prototype v0.2)

As you can tell from these links, I mostly geared my focus on platform games. But of course, prototyping can be done for any game of any genre.

Game Prototyping: Evolution.

This set of videos is an example of how a game evolves through individual builds. The indie game "Chasm" is a great example of how you continually build and build until you make something real special. Take a look at these videos below as inspiration to improve the development process of games. Three development videos are followed by a trailer. So gain some inspiration to build prototypes with these videos:

• Chasm - Development Video #1
• Chasm - Development Video #2
• Chasm - Development Video #3
• Chasm Kickstarter Trailer

The moral of this story- keep working to improve your game so you can make something awesome to release in the future!

--- Game Prototyping: Final Thoughts ---

Prototypes of games and the prototype process are key elements in the final production of a game. Making games is a tedious process, even for established game engines respected for their prototyping abilities. Success in game development all depends on trying to come up with prototypes to help speed up the development of games. Prototypes and various alphas and betas help make this possible. Prototypes don't have to be pretty- they just have to WORK. From a prototype, you can then go ahead and further refine a game project to make it special.

To any game developers out there reading my post, best of luck to you in making and completing your games!





That's all for this blog post. I'm hopeful you enjoyed this post and maybe found something to enjoy about it.

What would you suggest to others in prototyping for games?

You read another post of "John's Creative Space"- my blog concerning my own creative works as well as advice on various aspects of creative works. If you enjoyed this blog and its posts, please Subscribe and Follow for more! Thank you for reading! Take care and be well.

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Soaring High

"Soaring High" is a high-energy song I created using Linux MultiMedia Studio (LMMS). It is meant to be a song of victory as its tone suggests victory. It also could just be used to express positivity. Either way, this is a positive style song I created with a high energy to it. The main instrument I used wad ZynAddSubFX and a few drum sounds. Here on "John's Creative Space," I'd like to present you one of my latest songs. Even though it is featured as a YouTube video, you need not visit my YouTube channel to be able to hear my song. Have a listen below (or click on the link to view on YouTube):


^ "Soaring High - Made With LMMS"

I may consider doing an extended version of "Soaring High" in which the song loops, and then ends with the original version. Make sure to stay with my YouTube channel to see if I make that extended version. The song took me maybe two hours to complete and even longer to try to perfect it. It was actually about a 30-second song until I decided to add a second part to it to make it more around 55 seconds. The perfectionist in me tried to improvise the song to be better than the original. I may even update this post to include both the original song and the extended version.

Anyhow, I hope you enjoy my song here. As a fun fact, this is the first video I uploaded to YouTube (that I can remember) that is 1280 x 720 in screen resolution (720p, of course).

Learn more about Linux MultiMedia Studio (LMMS) by visiting lmms.io.





Feel free to comment on my work either here in this blog post or on YouTube. Thank you for reading! Take care and be well.

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Game Development

#gamedev can be expensive- mentally and financially. Building assets and trying to develop games efficiently can be quite consuming. There is also programming that plays into it. These days are more like a Golden Age to make a game. Reason(s) why is because there are so many resources out there for game development. Also, hobbyists and independent (indie) developers have gotten themselves across in ways never before possible in making quality games vs. what major developers are making.

This blog post is a general look at game development.

About the Label: Game Development

Topics under this label are directed towards game development. This also includes programs and other insights in regards to game development.

--- Game Development in General ---

Do a search on social media. Look up terms like #indiedev and #gamedev on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or some other place. Everyone involved in creating games offer a variety of different games in development. Everyone has a certain level of creativity that they want to share with others and include in games. I have been thankful through Twitter and Instagram to see so many different game developers offer their own creations to the Internet. It never ceases to amaze me just what developers will come up with.

Some game developers are a collective effort. Some others may even be one-person studios: art, media, and programming. Proper teams and studios make games. No matter what, making games can be quite a task with a good amount of reward for successful games.

Game Development Today.

When I was in my teenage years in the 1990s, there were times I envisioned creating a proper game. I had many different ideas, but NEVER being able to actually go through all that makes a game a game- especially coding and building assets. I used to be a Computer Animation major before going to Graphic Design and then Broadcasting/Journalism. So I was never formally trained to program. I even tried back in the mid-late 1990s to learn Visual Basic.

Now look at today. Not only are independent and hobbyist types try to develop games, there are more resources available to help make even the simplest of games. This is somewhat a golden time of game making with the advent of many indie developers. A lot of programs these days are helping in making game development more efficient rather than take a very long time to develop one single game, let alone a prototype of a game.

Harsh Realities of Game Development.

Perhaps the harshest reality of game development is that is is expensive. I literally swear that with some of the resources available to you in this day and age, you need something equal to at least $100 US Dollars to have proper access to and gain full features of a lot of different gaming interfaces and platforms. That is especially if you intend on developing games for certain platforms and even making material for commercial use. For example, you can create and publish a Flash-based game to certain online game sites like Kongregate and Newgrounds. But if you want to port a Flash game to something like Android, iOS, Windows, Mac, or something like that; most programs and interfaces require you to buy a license or pay for a subscription service. You may even need to download extra material to be able to create games for certain platforms.

The Cost of Game Development.

How much can this cost? It can be quite expensive! Let me give you a few examples of how much it costs to buy licenses for certain downloadable programs. Don't worry- I will include links to these products later in this blog post and into the sidebar of my blog in case you want to learn more about each item. (Prices as of April 17, 2015; in US Dollars, and excludes taxes):

• ImpactJS (a paid HTML5 gaming interface): $99 USD

• Stencyl: free for Starters to publish to the Web; $99 USD a year for Indie developers (Web and Desktop); $199 USD a year (Web, Desktop, iOS, and Android)

• Construct 2: free to download, develop only for Web, no commercial use; $129.99 USD for Personal License (develop to Web, iOS, Android, Windows, Mac, Linux, Amazon Store, Wii U, and make in-app purchases, limited commercial use); $429 USD for Business License (develop to Web, iOS, Android, Windows, Mac, Linux, Amazon Store, Wii U, and make in-app purchases, full commercial use)

• GameMaker Studio: free for Personal Use; $49 USD for GameMaker Studio Professional package; $799 USD for GameMaker Studio Master package

• Marmalade: free to download for personal usage; $15 USD (excluding tax) per month or $149 USD per year (excluding tax) for Community license; $499 USD (excluding tax) per year for Indie license; $1,500 USD (excluding tax) per year for Plus license; $3,500 USD (excluding tax) per year for Pro license

• Corona: free to download for Personal Use; $79 USD developer per month, billed annually for Enterprise Small Business; $199 USD developer per month, billed annually for Enterprise Unlimited

• Unity: Personal Edition is free with certain limitations; Professional Edition starts at $75 USD per month


Some of these programs even offer reduced prices for students. Some licenses may even require you to upgrade to higher licenses if you make a certain amount of revenue from your game sales. For example, if you make about $5K USD in revenue from your game sales, and if you are using a certain program for your games, you may be asked to buy a higher license. I only noted game engines that have pricing plans to them.

--- Game Development: What the OUYA Taught Me ---

I mentioned earlier in this post that today is sort of like a Golden Age of game development. Nowhere is this more apparent to me than with games offered for the OUYA. The OUYA is an Android-based gaming console that gained fame as being this different kind of console. People backed this console via its Kickstarter campaign back in 2012 or so. Many people were frustrated with the OUYA, especially those who waited for a long while for their OUYA to be delivered to their homes. Some others totally dislike the OUYA since it used outdated technology (it has an nVidia Tegra 3 processor, for example).

The key element that I take away from the OUYA is how simple it can be to make and publish a game. Did you know that two games posted in the OUYA's gaming lineup were made by (respectively) an eight-year old ("Asteroid Rescue") and another game made by a 12-year old ("Knockout")? Not everyone who publish games for the OUYA are proper game studios. On top of that, the OUYA team looks at every uploaded game and reviews them before including them into their ever-expanding game library. One thing I have learned is that you don't have to be overly talented to make a decent game. People usually think you have to be anywhere from a very popular independent game studio to a Triple-A level developer to make games. This, however, is certainly untrue. Some games created by some developers are actually quite good or could be much better. A lot of people would easily hate on people because their games aren't Triple-A quality. Some others, however, can find enjoyment in even simple games as much as they do more of the higher-quality games.

As much as people have different skill levels of making art and other creative works, people have different levels of skill in making games. You have fully detailed games done by talented individuals and studios, and then you have more casually designed games made by some lesser studios and hobbyist game developers. Being able to create games is possible by almost anyone. And with so many people willing to design games to publish online and for a console like the OUYA, that's why I think almost anyone these days can make a decent quality game to publish online. That's why I say this is somewhat of a Golden Age of game development. You can be a total hobbyist and make a game that ends up selling wildly and becomes enjoyed by many people. Formal training in game development or in mathematics is not required to be a celebrated game developer. Both, of course, are good to have in making games.

So look around the OUYA games marketplace to gain perspective on the many games created by people of various skill levels. You would be surprised at what all people have done to make such games worthy of being played by others.





Here on John's Creative Space, I will be sure to highlight on certain game making engines. I want my visitors to gain my thoughts and such in regards to such game development engines. I want to send all of you my best wishes in developing games ranging from prototypes to full-on games. "John's Creative Space" will certainly help in expressing and exposing such game development programs and engines. So be sure to visit my blog here for more information and insight from me. Thank you for reading! Take care and be well.

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One Year of John's Creative Space

"John's Creative Space" is one year old today! One year? That quickly? Wow. Anyhow, JCS has been my outlet of expressing my creative works while also using it to discuss various other media topics. It became the new "red blog" as I ditched one of my past blogs that last was the "red blog"- "John's Shop Space. Funny enough, I still don't think I've really have been able to use and utilize "John's Creative Space." There are still a number of things I haven't yet introduced to JCS that I want to in the future.

I feel that "John's Creative Space" would not have been so visited and respected if I didn't start introducing my voxel artwork, and especially if I didn't mention MagicaVoxel. This blog needed a good amount of time to grow. It was a blog that needed some sort of spark to get going and to evolve. I especially attribute this blog's growth based primarily on people adoring my voxel artwork that I've mostly shared on Facebook and Twitter. I think it was Twitter that got me a good bit more exposure and attention as far as voxel art is concerned. I am always trying to look for new ways to expand my skills and my talents. My only problem, however, is that I am not as productive as I could be. What I could complete in just a few hours can take days to weeks.

My interests shift a lot. As a one-person entity in media, my interests and energies go in a number of directions. I may try out voxel art at one point and then decide to try pixel art. I may concentrate on art and then go towards making music. Also, I want to try to make applications and perhaps even a game. My interests are everywhere. With some people interested in using my material in their projects, I just think you'll have to be patient with me since I'm all over the map in the media realm. I do appreciate the attention I've gotten, especially from credible and loyal people. I will have to try to work better with others in hopes of profiting from my work while also serving the greater good of digital media. So that is the sort of challenge I am taking on mostly as a freelancer.

Thank all of you who have supported and respected my work so far. I hope to make this blog even more successful in the future.





To everyone who found "John's Creative Space" and enjoyed my work, thank you very much. I will try to showcase more of my work as well as also use "John's Creative Space" to express more than just my own creative works. I want this ride to continue and hopefully meet more people who may enjoy my work. Until next time, thank you for reading! Take care and be well.

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VoxelShop

VoxelShop from BlackFlux Software is another voxel modeling program popular among voxel artists. While I've never created anything with VoxelShop, many use this FREE program to convert models from other formats to COLLADA for Blender or Unity3D. I've used it myself in recent times to convert my models to COLLADA to have them be ready for use in Unity3D (which I am still learning). I am converting models to DAE for use in Unity 3D.

VoxelShop: Features.

VoxelShop is still constantly being developed. Despite still being developed, the projected feature set for this program looks great. One of the features to be implemented for VoxelShop as of this post (among others) is the ability to rig voxel models with skeletal animations. Imagine the ability to animate your models with armatures (also called "bones"). VoxelShop also supports layering- something MagicaVoxel currently does not have. Layering is key in breaking up individual elements of larger voxel models for easier flow. This is almost like Qubicle Constructor handling multiple matrices. There are other features either in the works or also included that I haven't featured in this post.

VoxelShop: A Preview.

If you are a voxel artist or want to design voxel models using VoxelShop, let me show you this video showing you the features of VoxelShop.


^ "voxel shop basic tools"

VoxelShop is available for Windows, OSX, and Linux. You can download VoxelShop for your voxel modeling needs by going to the Blackflux home page and click on VoxelShop. You may also see some of the other products offered by Blackflux Software from the site. The creator allows monetary donations via PayPal if you want to help in further development of VoxelShop. Visit the aforementioned link for more information on donations for VoxelShop.

VoxelShop: Final Thoughts.

Even with VoxelShop still being worked on and developed, I really think MagicaVoxel and VoxelShop together will give hope to all of us who create voxel art. These are two of the most powerful and most effective programs in making voxel models. While I wish I spent more time with VoxelShop and had more experience with VoxelShop, this program is fairly solid in what it offers. VoxelShop is a great program to use even if you simply use it to convert certain formats to other formats. If you're strapped for cash to pay for Qubicle Constructor and be able to use it fully utilize it for making models across many formats for games and even in using it for commercial use, VoxelShop (and maybe even MagicaVoxel too) is something you should consider in your workflow.

On a personal level, I am pleased we have programs like Qubicle Constructor, MagicaVoxel, VoxelShop, Zoxie, and many other voxel modeling programs because they would be the only way I'd learn making 3D models. I never completed a single polygon model in all of my computer art experience. I almost made a car in Blender based on a tutorial set for Wings3D. Key word: ALMOST. Making voxel models has given me sort of a last resort and a last hope to try to make any kind of 3D art. I am more confident with voxels than with almost anything polygon-bound. So I want to salute everyone who has made voxel models and voxel modeling software. Even people who make proper polygon art even make some voxel models.

Thanks to all of you who love my own voxel art work. I'm just doing what I can to get myself noticed as well as have fun doing it. Stay tuned to "John's Creative Space" for more of my adventures in voxel art.





I'm serious when I say I'm glad we have voxel software as a last resort for those of us not confident enough in making polygon art or simply enjoy the blocky nature of voxel models. Subscribe and Follow if you enjoy any or all of my work. Don't forget also to "like" me on Facebook through my Fan Page if you have Facebook. Thank you for reading! Take care and be well.

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Gaming Assets

Gaming assets for #indiedev and #gamedev are essential in game creation. You can always make up assets yourself, or you can look to the Internet for assets for free or for a fee. I've always wanted to make a game a lot of times. Most of the time, though, I felt like I mostly produce incomplete stuff. So rather than try to go through the pain of making a game from start to finish, I feel I am best served to create assets so people more talented and more focused than myself can create material to make games. This blog post is my own sort of post regarding the creation of gaming assets and what I hope to accomplish in making such assets.

Gaming Assets: My Philosophy.

You may have seen my attack myself (to an extent) on not being able to make a game or any kind of mobile app. I am not exactly attacking myself or lamenting not being able to make any quality games. However, I do feel if I can't deliver in trying to make something from scratch, I can still contribute by doing well in departments I am more accustomed to. For me, I've always been fond of making art (and sometimes making music). A number of game developers have people who design individual parts of games. You may have someone who is responsible for art and music. Someone else is responsible for programming everything. Everyone can work together and collaborate to make a game. There is not really any shame if you are more adept in a certain department than some other department. I often try to be a Jack of All Trades because I feel I feel the best way to do something best is to do everything yourself. Also, I fear that if I did design my own game, it would not be as successful in concept as a lot of popular games these days. For example, endless runners, procedural worlds, certain roguelikes, parking games, Angry Birds clones, etc. just don't interest me all that much. But if I am going to make game assets for a variety of applications, I HAVE to take into consideration genres I am not really fond of.

The mindset I try to instill is that having a pack of assets for games allow developers to have tools needed to build something magical. I like to think of assets as LEGO sets. A LEGO building set allows you to create whatever it is the original pack of blocks were intended to create. You then follow the instructions to build the set that was intended to be built with the set of blocks. However, can you make ONLY that? Absolutely not! With the same set of bricks, you can make other items using most of the same blocks. Just like you are not only relegated to building whatever the main set is supposed to offer, game developers can have a number of ideas on what to do with a set of gaming assets. I don't know what games people want to create if given a set of assets. All I do know is that I can provide some items that I hope will be useful in helping people create games. While I wish I could properly create games instead of having here-and-there pieces of what would have been games of mine, I feel like I could be better served offering quality material to others rather than have to work at a slow pace of trying to create assets followed by going through the pains of programming to bring everything together.

The main idea here is that a simple set of gaming assets can go a long way in creating anything you want. Now for more information on me getting myself into the realm of game asset development and offering my assets for download/sale. Read the next section.

Gaming Assets: Why I Entered This Realm.

Why take on making game assets? I like making art, I like games, I've wanted to possibly make a game or make some kind of application for mobile devices, and I want to contribute something positive that I think people will pick up on and expand upon if at all possible. It is the least I can do to try to get myself noticed online. There have been a few people who queried me for clearance on using MagicaVoxel models I created. While I do want to offer my assets online, I am still working out a few little details before I properly introduce my content online for download/sale.

Gaming Assets: The Challenges I Face.

Little by little, I am learning the ropes mostly in offering assets to people online. A big challenge for me is that there are some resources and programs I don't have. Most of those are programs you have to pay for to fully utilize them. Some even are industry standard programs that can cost a lot of money. So I am strapped of certain resources to be at my absolute best. While I can hope to eventually make my own games and programs, the least I can do to get noticed is offer assets to developers ranging from hobbyists to larger independent (or "indie") studios. To offer as many assets as possible means catering to a variety of audiences and in trying to offer a diverse array of themes and styles as possible. If I am more catered towards making a lot of urban and modern stuff, I also have to try to make gritty and evil material in case someone may want something of that nature. If I am more catered towards realistic characters, I also have to focus on more cartoon and abstract characters. Gaming assets also involve interface options and menus. So I have to think also about providing assets in those departments to provide interface art.

I have to improve my pixel art skills as well as (eventually) learn to make vector art to compliment mobile devices and also for cleaner visual displays across various resolutions across various devices. To give you an idea on this front, one of my goals as a solo game developer is to make a game for the OUYA gaming console. OUYA is based on Android. One of the OUYA's criticisms (among MANY criticisms) is that the idea of an Android gaming console is dumb when you can play certain Android games on Android devices with solid enough gaming capabilities instead of playing games on mobile hardware that is considered outdated. But because I see great potential in the OUYA and in making games for the system, I focused my energy on making a game for Android that I can eventually re-work to make it playable for the OUYA. Even if people couldn't care less about the OUYA, it bears some importance to me because I haven't given up on any dreams to make a game, even if it's some simple "Hello World!" thing, and I want to make material reflective of my artistic and creative talent. So there are many important things to me that I want to expose and exhibit in my asset development to offer something to various developers.

I think my biggest "fear" is in creating something completely original and offering it online. Something original in the sense of "this could have been a proper game of yours, but you're releasing it online like it's something someone else could use." In other words... something distinctive and of great quality that you release online when it could have been a game you could have created. It's something I sometimes fear, but when you've failed a number of times trying to design something great, you are better off producing material that someone can use and utilize to perfection.

Gaming Assets: Some of My Interests.

I am hopeful of designing assets for applications ranging from platform-type games to racing games and MAYBE some sports. Who knows? Maybe a guy like myself want to design some assets for girly games. I just want to explore as many different avenues as possible and try to offer as many option as possible for as much appeal as possible.

• Action, Brawler, Platformer
On the 2D front, I am interested in brawler-type games like Final Fight and Streets of Rage. I have somewhat interest in classic fighting games as well, but not as strong interest as I would like. Platformer inspirations of mine include the Super Mario Bros. games and MegaMan/RockMan.

• Racing/Driving
As a fan of racing/driving games, I want to make assets for racing games. Most of what I want to do mostly involves 2D racing games and pseudo 3D (some call "2.5D") racing games. Like, I want to make assets for people making Mode 7-type racing games like Super Mario Kart, F-Zero, the GT Advance series, and more. I even want to design racing game assets for pseudo 3D racing games like the classic OutRun games, the Hang-On series, the Pole Position series, and more. Assets here would consist of things like props, vehicles, backgrounds, and more. Part of me even wants to make a vintage-style Pole Position mostly as a refresh of today's racing venues. The trouble with that aspiration is that I would have to get some approval in trying to re-create and use certain licensed tracks. In addition to 2D assets in racing games, I want to also make voxel gaming assets for racing. There are very few blocky item resources for those who want to make voxel racing games. I want to at least contribute to voxel implementation in racing games. Most importantly, I prefer doing non-licensed and original material just to avoid copyright issues and potential violation of creative identities.

• Puzzle and Maze Games
I kind of have ideas about running through a maze and also some puzzle-style games. My main puzzle inspirations are Tetris and Yoshi's Cookie. I have ideas for a maze style game that I often dream about being played. But really, I can't think of too many puzzle games that I think can be made into unique games to whomever ends up using my gaming assets.

• Girly Games?
Would a GUY actually make assets for GIRL games? I mean no disrespect if there are any guys out there who make game assets for girl games, but it is a rather unusual avenue to take. I do follow fashion. I do have a game concept mostly of an all-female cast. So I am fairly comfortable in perhaps doing game assets for girl games. The ones I kind of have the most interest in would mostly be adventure type games like "Fashion Icon," "High School Story, and stuff like that. I may even have interest in games where you play with pets and take care of them.


So now you know about gaming assets and my own aspirations in this department. I feel once I start making and designing assets to be released online, I will garner attention from many people. I can hopefully make something to please as many audiences as possible as long as I am able to create quality assets for others. I will possibly share my own gaming assets here in my blog before (if I do) offer them online for download and/or sale. I will definitely keep all of you in the know.





This concludes another blog post on "John's Creative Space." Feel free to contact me if you have any ideas or questions/comments about my work or anything you see here in my posts. I hope you were able to get some insight from me. Have yourself a great day/night and thank you for reading! Take care and be well.

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My First Pixel Art

My first #pixelart of any kind is a gaming asset I created. It was all created using simple colors from the freeware Paint.NET program. I created a simple billboard that could be used in a pseudo 3D racing game the likes of Pole Position or OutRun. I decided to utilize my art talent to try to create game assets that I hope will be picked up by developers or for those looking for ideas to build a game around. I'll talk more about my gaming asset aspirations in a future post. But for now, here is the image I created:


^ This is a roadside billboard I created. It was made only as a sample of pixel art. The larger image was zoomed in by 400% so you can see the details better.

Other people are much more talented at pixel art. I simply created this just to put myself on the map of those who have created any kind of pixel art. The creation of this image was made possible by using the Pole Position games as a baseline. I needed to find some kind of image to use to envision something of a proper width and height. A challenge to this is that it can be tough to build any kind of game asset unless you almost basically create your own game or your own game engine. One of my aspirations is to make an Android app (and maybe a game), but I decided I'd stick to designing assets. I feel with more experience and by practicing more, I can design more interesting and more detailed works, including gaming assets.

Regardless, I hope you enjoy my small sample of pixel art.

About the Label: "Game Assets"

Any blog post under the "Game Assets" label are items I created that could be used in the creation of games. These assets can range from single items to various items in one. The main goal is to offer items that developers can use as ideas for games or to build games entirely.





I mentioned gaming assets a lot in this post. Rest assured, I will talk more in depth about my gaming asset aspirations in a later post here on "John's Creative Space." I am thinking in the future to make a site completely to serve as my portfolio of my various creative works. For now, "John's Creative Space" IS my portfolio. Thank you for visiting my blog here. Thank you for reading! Take care and be well.

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Request Address

Recent requests about my voxel art and in others requesting clearance for my models to be used has led me to create this blog post. I want to address a few issues in regards to my creative work being used and for requests thereof. It brings me great pleasure that there are those interested in my work. As much as I have used this blog to offer my creative work mostly for fun, I realize there may be some people who may be interested in some of my creative work to where they may want to use my work in projects. Either that, or I create some material that I hope may be used in games or other sorts of media projects. Either way, I am willing to address these concerns with this blog post here on "John's Creative Space." This post concerns future plans of mine, including possibly entering the freelance realm for assets I've created to be used in various applications.

BEFORE I BEGIN...

If you have ANY suggestions for me in regards to what I am about to discuss and the different nuances you are about to read, PLEASE contact me via E-Mail or through some other medium so I can be more confident in the subject matter involved.





First of all, I want to thank everyone who have seen my voxel artwork and decided to want to ask if I do any extra work or if my work can be used in other projects. I have to say that I am glad my work has been to the liking of others. I needed something to get my creative work across. I needed something to get "John's Creative Space" across. Ultimately, my work has led me to being recognized for my voxel art mostly on Twitter. I've done everything on a hobbyist level while also having a degree of professionalism and responsibility. A majority of the work I do is done to the best of my ability. Often times, the perfectionist in me wants to try to make something just a bit better before releasing it online; and sometimes, already-released work I want to get rid of just to... you guessed it- improve on it some more before releasing again. In addition to my voxel art, I want to try to also delve into pixel art and vector art. The goals there are to offer game assets that I hope will one day find themselves into games and media projects. Some work of mine will be purely exclusive, but I do feel I can offer assets people can use and utilize in a number of applications.

I do want to say that I will surely offer my work to others to be used. However, I would also like to financially profit from my work. I surely want both myself and people involved to both be happy. What I may decide to do is offer my assets online for a price. I certainly want to make prices reasonable and affordable. I will consider several different avenues to allow for my work to be featured as well as offer items for sale. Since voxel art is one of those avenues, I am considering TurboSquid to offer my 3D assets for sale. On the front of being hired or doing any contract work for game developers or others, it is honestly something I have never engaged in. Life in itself is a learning experience. I am sure anything I get engaged with will be something new for me. "John's Creative Space" IS my portfolio, though I may seek a more proper portfolio for my work in the future. I may need to have more experience to really consider myself a true freelancer in a number of departments.

Should I get seriously involved in something along the lines of contract work or being available for hire, you are going to need to be very patient with me, as I've never done any of this before. I am not educated in offering my creative work for a price or in calculating hours of work, estimating hours it takes to complete my work, calculating expenses, offering reasonable rates for my work, legal considerations, or anything like that. I have no traditional 9-to-5 job outside of the usual work I do in publishing content online. I don't even work on a certain budget because I am often times very cheap in doing my work. Despite being cheap, I try to make the most of what resources I do have. I honestly have never worked for anyone before. So I am not as experienced at trying to complete certain projects within a certain timeframe or trying to completely satisfy a client with my work. All of these things make for a brand new experience that I will likely learn to adjust to new challenges put in front of me.

With all of this said... thanks to all of you for your cooperation. If you have any suggestions for me to maybe not feel as crazy or skittish about trying to be someone to offer for hire for media projects or games, please be sure to comment on this post or send me a message or E-Mail online. I am more of a blogger by trade more than I am even remotely close to any freelancer in any field of media (art, music, etc.). I do, however, enjoy and take on the challenge of offering other material outside of my blogging.





In the future, I will be sure to share material with all of you to where you can check out my various assets. I will try to offer material that I am sure people will want to use and utilize. Links will be provided here in my blog and elsewhere. I want to thank everyone again for your interest in my work. If you have any questions or comments, contact me online with the different links and resources I've provided. Thank you for reading! Take care and be well.

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