Metroid Prime: Samus Aran on Tallon IV, Considering Retirement
With each new piece I want to really challenge myself to make impactful pictures and connect deeply with the viewer each time. The challenge with this piece was rediscovering painting and developing a process I could repeat. So I thought some Metroid Prime Samus art would be a neat exercise. Love Samus. She’s neat.
In 2021 when I did my ref sheet and splash page for Sophie, I had actually flat forgotten how to paint. So since then I had been leaning hard on cel shading as a crutch and using as many light tricks as possible to to make those pictures have cool lighting and color. And I would say that my results have been pretty solid over time.
Within this last year, Metroid Prime: Remastered released, and I drew this picture to celebrate:
As it turns out, you can just take pencil sketches and give them a coat of paint. There is no reason you can’t take a sketch you really like out of your sketchbook and then just make it pretty.
While I didn’t record any video this go-around, I still got some valuable insights when it comes to doing digital painting.
- A good sketch is crucial no matter what you’re doing.
- The real world isn’t just one flat color, and neither are paintings. You have to build up a little bit in each layer.
- In the real world, your brush can only hold one color at a time. One color at a time helps you stay focus and make more meaningful render passes.
- A background helps. It doesn’t have to be super detailed, but it still needs to be believable.
- Layer masks, opacity, and blending modes are your friends.
All the math adds up to some nifty Metroid Prime Samus art, and I’m really proud of what I accomplished here. I hope you liked it too!
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