Thomas Schmall – Page 21 – Art, Games and a Blog

Sketchbook Time Travel – 2009 Edition

March 5, 2012

Long time, no Sketchbook. Some more pages from the end of 2009. Amsterdammers might even recognize one or the other place. I’ll leave it to you to guess. Also, since we’re at the topic of Amsterdam: I’m desperately in need of a studio. It’s tough to find an affordable cozy place, with nice light. If … Continue reading Sketchbook Time Travel – 2009 Edition →

Lecture slides: The Strange World of the Games Industry…

February 25, 2012

…how to get in, and would you actually want that? So below are the slides and links to a three-part lecture I gave today about the Games Industry. It was strangely fun to write all this down. And I surprised myself how much I know about the industry workings, considering that I didn’t come up … Continue reading Lecture slides: The Strange World of the Games Industry… →

“Katia Kabanova” Costume Designs – Part II

February 11, 2012

Time to continue from the last post about the Opera costumes. Here are nine more designs for “Katia Kabanova” that was (playing at the Opera Zuid). But first some photos of the production – here you can see the mud that covered the whole stage, which I had to preview on the designs also. Most … Continue reading “Katia Kabanova” Costume Designs – Part II →

Global Game Jam 2012 – Keynote and Stress Levels

January 28, 2012

Yesterday I gave the keynote for the Global Game Jam 2012 in Leeuwarden. Below are the slides that I promised to upload. Here is one slide about the emotional roller coaster that I always went through when I took part: The rest of the slides is a bit more practical about how game jams and … Continue reading Global Game Jam 2012 – Keynote and Stress Levels →

Red Pencil Witch

January 10, 2012

A little experiment with red pencils – thanks to David and Nadia for the tip. I think I overdid it a bit though … as usual. The paper got wavy from all the shading and going with white pencil over the red (even if erased) is impossible. Could be interesting to adjust my style to … Continue reading Red Pencil Witch →

Dark Orbit Illustration

December 31, 2011

Cover illustration for the Dark Orbit browser game...

A Letter to the Dutch Tax Payer

December 18, 2011

Just the other day I received the mail that it is now “nearly” definite that the WWIK art-support I received here in the Netherlands is ending next year. This happens in the context of wide ranging cuts in the cultural sector. For one and a half year the government has supported me when I tried … Continue reading A Letter to the Dutch Tax Payer →

“Katia Kabanova” Costume Designs – Part I

December 15, 2011

Since the last post of some of my costume drawings, the Faust opera has been played in Paris. Here is an image and a video – I hope to get more good quality photos later. In the meantime I have been working on more plays – drawing hundreds of costumes based on design instructions by … Continue reading “Katia Kabanova” Costume Designs – Part I →

Brain Plasticity and Traditional Media

August 13, 2011

The term neural plasticity describes the fact that our brain is highly flexible to adapt. Everything we learn changes the our structure of neurons physically. I think the way how this works relates to the question whether you should paint digitally or with traditional media. Here is a TED-Talk by Michael Merzenich, outlining some of … Continue reading Brain Plasticity and Traditional Media →