Megastructure Update: Shirts Shipping and Book Shipping Update

Hey everyone!

So first off, for those of you who purchased the Megastructure T-shirt, the shirts are done, here's a pic of me wearing mine. The shirts will be sent out this week, so expect them to arrive soon.

Now the big news, I have the latest schedule for the book printing from the printer.

- The printing process is beginning now (yay!)
- March 30th: Advance copies arrive (I'll snap some pictures and post them)
- April 10th, packed at factory in china
- April 24th, on the boat
- May 20th, arrival at the port on the US's west coast
- May 28th, at US shipping warehouse, books start shipping out to you the customer.

I thank you again for your patience, the supply chain problems have sucked but glad to see thing moving forward. Will keep you informed as we pass all these final milestones, and then looking forward to you all having the book in your hot little hands. Any questions, always feel free to contact me!

Abstract Robot Head

Abstract robot head. Was playing around with a few mechanical photos and this emerged. Not a full robot head design, it would need a lot of work to work in 3d, but I think it's kind of fun in a stylized 2d kinda way. 

general_khanobi's Scrach Built Crew Pod

I so love it when people are inspired by my artwork and make their own interpretations. Thanks general_khanobi for making this awesome Crew pod scratch built sculpt. Check out his work here: https://www.instagram.com/general_khanobi/

The Native

"She was the first native we found to the planet. She wore skins & furs, hunted with a musket, and yet a probe followed by her side. Could her people have built something as technologically advanced as the monoliths? The pieces just didn’t fit."

New Written Tutorial: Converting 3D Geometry Into Displacement Maps

Just added a written tutorial to my website about a simple but effective trick I use sometimes to convert geometry to displacement maps in 3dsmax (although the theory works in any app). Hope people enjoy it! 

http://www.neilblevins.com/art_lessons/convert_3d_geometry_into_displacement_maps/convert_3d_geometry_into_displacement_maps.htm

Last Chance For A Tshirt

This is your final chance to get a Limited Edition Megastructure T-Shirt! Will close the orders monday, they'll be made that week, for shipping the week after. So if you want one, now's your chance. And thanks to all who've already grabbed it!

https://artofsoulburn.gumroad.com/l/qtgvr

Birch Planet

The Birch Planet is a shellworld that surrounds a black hole. Due to the immense gravity of the black hole, each shell would have different time flows, slower time closer to the black hole, faster time towards the outer shell. The physics on this Megastructure ended up not working out, so it doesn't have an entry in the Encyclopedia, but this image still graces the back cover of the book.

New Video Lesson: What Is A Pitchbook?

Two years ago I posted a written lesson on film / game pitchbooks. Since so many people prefer videos these days, just finished off a video version, hope people enjoy it! 

https://youtube.com/watch?v=cL5BHrr_ri4

Megastructure Prints

Getting the Megastructure art prints ready. Awesome, only 354 to go!

"The Story Of Inc" books shipping

Here we go, 103 copies of "The Story of Inc" ready to ship to the people who choose that reward tier for the Megastructure Kickstarter. Expect them to be sent in the next week. When your copy arrives, feel free to post a photo on social media and include my account, love seeing them in the wild!

Heart Of The Giant Home Cluster

Rough painting for my "Heart of The Giant" IP, traveling to the home cluster.

New Lesson: Fighting Mech Analysis: The Importance Of A Visual Hook

As a designer, it's important to use visual hooks, which are a set of rules that define a unique look, a look that makes your design stand out from the rest of the crowd. For a junior designer, this may be applied to a single design, or as a more senior designer, a visual hook may be something that needs to be applied to an entire alien race, or even an entire IP or Franchise. This lesson will illustrate what a visual hook is, and how important it is, by doing a deep dive into my favorite fighting mech franchises.

http://www.neilblevins.com/art_lessons/fighting_mech_analysis/fighting_mech_analysis.htm