Pell-mell down the hill

You might have noticed the site looks different. I like to keep things fresh, so I hacked up the template and a bunch of images. The header image is a photorealistic flash illustration of a Nintendo DS of mine. I hope you like it. =)

I just finished two online game projects back-to-back. I'll post those two online games here once they are live on our client's website.

It's been crazy times, but I can hopefully get back on a normal schedule. I've got several really exciting Electrotank projects I'll be working on in the next month.

~Vectorkid

MTV's Pimp my Ride game

MTV approached us to create a topdown driving game where the player attracts people on the streets with their pimped out ride. Creating a large detailed world to drive in while still keeping the file size small can be a challenge. To pull it off we used a combination of vector and raster graphics. Vector graphics to define the base color of objects and raster textures applied with masks in Flash.

Below shows the three major stages of drawing the world; wireframe, base colors, and raster textures/filter effects.



Check out the full online game!

~Vectorkid

Hotwheels using Flash & Photoshop

When Electrotank needed a speeding race car for the high impact splash screen of Rebellion Race, I called on Flash and Photoshop to draw this one first across the finish line. In Flash I used the following tools; Selection Tool, Line Tool, Pencil Tool, Paint Bucket Tool, Color Mixer, and Filter Panel. In Photoshop I used the following tools; Brush Tool and Transform feature.

With Flash's vector drawing environment and the well developed drawing tools let me be precise where I place my lines and curves. With the Selection Tool I can make any final edits to these lines really quick. Photoshop excels where Flash leaves off. In Photoshop's raster drawing environment I can draw detailed lighting effects right down to the pixel.

Below are an animation showing the three major stages of drawing the red car; wireframe, base colors, and photoshop detail.



Check out the full online game!

~Vectorkid

RealWorld Vectorkid Next Week!

Flash content is everywhere on the web, from banner ads, movie sites, product demos, to online games. In future posts I will be showing you techniques used in real world client work I have been fortunate to work on at Electrotank. Not only will these techniques be helpful in your own work, but they will show true potential of the drawing tools in Flash.

Below is a cereal bowl and spoon drawn for Electrotank's corporate website. You can see the three major steps in drawing it. Step 1, drawing the outlines with the Line Tool, Pencil Tool, and Selection Tool. Step 2, coloring in the outlines with solid fills and gradient fills using the Paint Bucket Tool, Gradient Transform Tool, and Color Mixer panel. Step 3, adding a layer of highlights and shadows with gradient fills and blur filter effects.




~Vectorkid

Vectorkid Underground

For folks that do not know, my name is Robert Firebaugh, a.k.a. Vectorkid. I am founder of vectorkid.com, a vector art community site that educates developers of Flash's illustration possibilities since 2000. To help spread the word of Flash vector art I have published three books; Macromedia Flash Professional 8 Game Graphics, Illustrating with Macromedia Flash Professional 8, and Illustrating With Macromedia Flash MX 2004.

Currently I am busy creating online games at Electrotank with some of the best developers in the Flash industry. Electrotank was founded by Jobe Makar, Mike Grundvig and myself back in 2001. My role consists mostly of game design, art creation, and web design. I love playing games ever since I was a child and to produce them as a career is just a dream come true.

With this busy life and everyone I know having or reading blogs I thought this might be a perfect solution for me to share my flash art techniques and my crazy life.

Stay tuned ~ Vectorkid


Pikachu is property of ©Pokemon.