Electropath COLOR - no BG

&

Original Lines - [link]
By ~Shinou

Color - `vest

I'm still working on the background for this image. It's quite a doozy, and I'll give you guys a little bit of a heads up on what I'm working on.

Anybody who keeps up on the happenings of video gaming is probably aware of the new parkour-driven game called Mirror's Edge. Parkour is the act of "free running," which is an acrobatic discipline involving performing great gymnastic and athletic feats involving commonplace obstacles.

Video of Parkour in action: [link]
Video of Mirror's Edge in action: [link]

I decided a tribute is in order before the game even comes out, mostly because it's the ONLY title that actually sparked my interest in recent history. GTA4? Already bored of the formula. Metal Gear Solid? Not my thing. Rock Band 2? No accordion peripheral equates to a non-sell. Mirror's Edge, though, pushes the boundaries of so many physics in-game that are otherwise commonly disregarded by gamers EXCEPT for when they screw up.

Allow me to elaborate.

Camera programmers get NO credit. EVER. If you get an awesome camera angle of a scene, the user gives all their heapin' credit to the guy who made the scene. Not the guy who positioned the camera to actually make it look good.

Only exception is when the awesome scene has the camera constantly stuck looking at a boring feature, whereas the gamer doesn't send their ire to the environment artist, they happily recognize the existence of the camera guy just to wail on him.

Same applies to physics programmers. They get no credit whatsoever by gamers. The character modelers and animators get the praise for a properly rigged ragdoll physics system. More likely the janitor that cleans up the place will get good marks for proper collision before the physics programmer even gets his name scrolled on a credits sequence.

Point being, camera and physics programmers get no love. But Mirror's Edge actually gives these guys an ability to shine on their own, and delivers it in an uncanny visual aesthetic that puts emphasis on the constant motion prevalent in the game.

Thus, I render ~Shinou's Electropath character appropriately in a similar color scheme as the couriers in Mirror's Edge. And the background, well, just see the videos above and you'll see what I'm working on.

Photoshop CS2
Wacom Tablet

Comments appreciated. Criticism honored.