Snowy Rowen

 

Lotus Emblem, Pages 3-10

Lotus Emblem Page One and Two

Here is page two, finally! With all the different jobs I've taken up lately, it took me a while to get back to the comic. You will also notice a change in style from the first page... that was another reason it took so long for page two to get here. I felt I needed some time to experiment and find a more efficient way to paint the pages while also making them look good. I think this method may be a good way to go. It's significantly faster than my first method, and personally, there was always something that felt very 'flat' about the first page to me. The second page feels a bit more lively to me, and I also feel like with some time to make more pages and grow this style, it could be something pretty snazzy.

Trying out Painter

Been trying out Painter lately. Here have a taste:

Lotus Emblem Sketch Dump

A quick sketch drop from my Lotus Emblem comic project. It's where a lot of my artistic time has been focused lately, aside from a few weeks lost to music video production. When my client posts online, I'll follow up here too.

VRay Test

Here's a 3D test I made just over the weekend using Maya and VRay, and some textures for the guitar that I was rather fond of.
I did try to save myself some time on this render test, so the models of the lamp, chair, and guitar were purchased from Turbosquid, but the textures were lost in translation from Max to Maya.

Motor City Comic Con

here’s some of the sketches and fun from this year’s Motor City Comic Con.
AOA is planning on doing more local cons this year, so look for us around Detroit and Chicago!

Lotus Emblem

Here is the character model sheet for Rowen, the leading lady of my comic Lotus Emblem. The books themselves are still in pre-production, as I continue to get all of my characters designed and ready, but pages should start coming early this summer! You can also follow the comic's progress at the Lotus Emblem Blog or Tumblr accounts. Feedback is also always appreciated!

Updated: 2012 Special Effects & Motion Graphics Reel

December 2012 SFX & Motion Graphics Reel from Niles Bontrager on Vimeo.

Double Whammy!

Finally, here is my senior thesis film from 09, Code Monkey. I tried to keep it for the festival circuits, but never had the funds to distribute, so here it is. Enjoy!

Also, my website is now up! Check it out at artoftheniles.com