Paul Scott Canavan Portfolio

The Thirty Nine Steps - Colonial Club

2012-01-26T03:13:00.000-08:00

Former Editor-In-Chief of Kotaku Brian Crecente wrote a superb article about my studio's upcoming videogame adaptation of 'The Thirty Nine Steps' on 'The Verge'. The article features a few previously unseen screenshots, here's one of those in it's raw painted form. The article is a great read, please check it out and get involved in the discussion:

http://www.theverge.com/2012/1/23/2727325/the-dawn-of-the-new-book

I'm the lead artist/art director on the title, which is currently nearing completion. Every environment in the game is digitally painted on layers so it can be manipulated in 3D space (like a matte painting).

The game will be out for release on PC, Mac, and iPad mid-next year. Please check out the following links for more info

Facebook
Official Website
Twitter

Demon WIP

2012-01-26T03:09:00.000-08:00

This is what happens when I sketch while listening to the Lord of the Rings soundtrack.

Started this painting in a Livestream a few weeks ago, tinkering away at it between jobs; will hopefully finish it off soon.

Photoshop CS5

Daughters of Horus

2012-01-21T14:56:00.000-08:00

This is the first painting from a personal project I've had in mind for a while. No details yet, but expect to see a few similar illustrations appear over the next few months. I'm still planning out the world in my head - it's going to be pretty rad.

Had a great model reference from Marcus Ranum, spent the last few days scribbling away at this between work projects.

Photoshop CS5

Scribbles

2012-01-15T10:06:00.000-08:00

A 15 minute break from work turned into this. Super inspired right now, drawing pretty much constantly - lots of cool things happening in my work life <3

New Year

2012-01-05T08:02:00.000-08:00

I spent my new year in Kenmore, a gorgeous wee village in the highlands. The holiday was spent drinking wine, birdwatching, and taking photos. I didn't bring any of my good cameras, but the iPhone 4S really takes some nice snaps; here are some of my favourites.

Happy New Year everyone!

30 Under 30

2012-01-02T01:51:00.001-08:00

I made Develop's '30 Under 30' list for 2012!! Genuinely over the moon!

Massive thanks to my studio Tern Digital for putting me forward <3

Here's the article

The Thirty Nine Steps - Moorland Station

2011-12-08T04:38:00.001-08:00

Our publisher Lace Mamba released a couple of shots from my studio's upcoming videogame adaptation of 'The Thirty Nine Steps', so I figure I can upload them here.

I'm the lead artist/art director on the title, which is currently nearing completion. The environments are painted digitally in Photoshop on several layers so they can be manipulated in 3D space and treated with visual effects. The game will be out for release on PC, Mac, and iPad mid-next year.

Check out the following links for more info:

Facebook
Official Website
and follow us on Twitter at @StoryMechanics

Paradigm Complex 004

2011-10-16T12:41:00.000-07:00

This is the album artwork for my band The Paradigm Complex's upcoming second EP.

The record is due for release in January, I'll post links when it arrives! The actual recording process was hilarious - we managed to break the studio's ProTools rig by having too many tracks (maxed out and it crashed repeatedly), and due to schedule issues I ended up recording all the drums in one night.

It's a 24 minute song.

Anyway, the artwork is highly abstract and explores a lot of the themes of the record; I'll let you figure them out when you hear it!

Games TM

2011-10-03T08:10:00.001-07:00

We're in this month's issue of GamesTM! It's one of my favourite game magazines so I'm over the moon; all the paintings on the page are mine (I'm lead artist on the project).

For more info on what I'm working on right now hit up digitaladaptations.com

Paradigm Complex 003

2011-08-27T06:58:00.000-07:00

A new piece of artwork for my progressive rock band The Paradigm Complex.

I recorded the process so will upload that when I get the chance!

1 hour, Photoshop CS5.

Scout SP

2011-08-17T12:48:00.000-07:00

Sketched this while waiting for my sister and my mate to get ready for a night out. Took just over 15 minutes, but I could have probably done about 8 of these bloody things before they were finished.

PSCS5

Captain Threehead

2011-07-25T02:19:00.000-07:00

A wee painting based on a character my boss' daughter drew

Photoshop CS5, under 2 hours.

Study 19/07/11

2011-07-19T02:17:00.000-07:00

Quick warmup study to get the brain moving. Reffed from one of my friend's snaps.

1 hour, PSCS5

TCPIG

2011-07-03T14:01:00.000-07:00

Artwork for Glasgow technical death metal band 'The Colour Pink Is Gay'. Created a series of paintings for merchandise, based off their upcoming EP cover [currently unreleased].

http://thecolourpinkisgay.bandcamp.com/

Falling Out

2011-06-23T05:02:00.000-07:00

Matte painting for Matt Cameron's upcoming short 'Falling Out'.

Didn't have a lot of time to work on this so not as polished as it could be. There are a couple of photo textures in there but most of it is hand painted; looking forward to seeing how this looks in motion!

Photoshop CS5, about 5 hours.

Check out his work at http://www.mattcameronfilm.co.uk/

Forester

2011-05-21T10:38:00.000-07:00

Artwork my friend's new band Forester

This is a matte painting based around the concept of a forest growing in an abandoned warehouse. I thought it'd be interesting to paint it as though it were a polaroid photo, partially to ground it in reality but also because the over-saturated effect has always appealed to me.

Wall-E

2011-05-01T13:45:00.000-07:00

Reworked my Wall-E painting. Love that movie!

Digital Adaptations

2011-05-01T07:23:00.000-07:00

Hello!

Apologies for my absence of late, been hard at work at my new studio and getting ready to record again with Paradigm Complex.

I'm working as lead artist at a UK games studio on an epic project called Digital Adaptations; we're taking the world's greatest stories and re-designing them as experiences on gaming platforms... It's a blast.

The first title, due for release in 2012, is Scottish author John Buchan's novel 'The Thirty-Nine Steps'. It's a pretty famous piece of work, having been made into about a thousand films (the 1935 Hitchcock version being ranked as the 21st greatest British film of all time). As an artist this is a flipping dream come true - I'm designing and painting all the environments, and getting to work with a ridiculously talented team.

Go check out the site here

Follow our twitter feed at @StoryMechanics.

The twitter feed is going to be updated continuously throughout the first title's production, so you'll get way more info into a game's creation than most studios release, as well as sketches and thoughts from myself and the rest of the team.

Here are a couple of concept images I painted for other titles:

Pinger

2011-04-03T14:23:00.000-07:00

Loving Crysis 2 right now; on my second playthrough and having a blast. Was inspired to throw together a painting in honour of it's brilliance :)

Enjoy.

Pyro's Factories

2011-02-11T08:11:00.000-08:00

Trying out some new brushes and generally messing about

Another landscape with fire - who would have thought it? PSCS3, 3 hours.

Crash SP

2010-11-21T12:40:00.001-08:00

Hello hello! Sorry for the lack of posts, been rather busy of late.

Here's a quick warmup painting in preperation for my entry to Reid Southen's 'Video Game Mash-Up' competition [http://rahll.deviantart.com/journal/36239903/] Suffice to say I've got a pretty epic combination in mind, really looking forward to getting this done :)

In other news, hopefully going to be working as lead artist at a studio soon - fingers are crossed!

3 hours, Photoshop CS3 and Painter X

Templar

2010-08-26T07:01:00.001-07:00

It's been ages since I've had a chance to upload some decent personal work! I'm constantly inspired by Blizzard's games [my /played time in World of Warcraft doesn't bear thinking about] and the cutscenes in Starcraft II pretty much floored me.

PSCS4, 8 hours

Explorer SP

2010-08-23T16:35:00.001-07:00

Another quickie before bed - started this on my lunch break. Really need to stop painting caves!

PSCS4, 2 hours

Updates

2010-08-22T15:14:00.001-07:00

Hello! Apologies for the lack of updates, I'm knee deep in game concept work right now thus haven't had a chance to rock out much personal work. Here's a few updates of what's going on with me:

First up, I seem to have snuck my way into the October issue of ImagineFX! They gave me a wee interview on a painting I created for the band The Suicide Kings, and it was a pleasant surprise to see my name in the mag :D

I'm also pleased to report that my official website is currently being constructed by my good friend (and superb graphic designer and DJ) Joe Durnan, so I'll chuck up details as it progresses. I'm aiming to create a massive painting for the frontpage of that, so stay tuned.

Anyway, back to Photoshop x x x

Strauss [commission]

2010-07-25T03:05:00.000-07:00

Commission painting. Not my typical subject matter (Pokemon soldiers?), so it was an interesting challenge!

6 hours, PSCS4 and Corel Painter X.

Soldier SP

2010-06-27T12:53:00.001-07:00

Another quick photo study. Working on establishing a palette and mood quickly.

Under 2 hours, PSCS4

NG Speedpaint 001

2010-06-21T05:14:00.001-07:00

Short studies of the wonderful photographs found in National Geographic.

PSCS4, under 2 hours.

Cavern SP

2010-05-23T00:35:00.001-07:00

Painting in Palma airport. 1-2 hours.

Painter X and Photoshop CS4.

Kingdom

2010-05-12T16:30:00.000-07:00

I was through in Aberdeen today for my sister's 21st; we ended up stuck there for a good 4 hours so I started this speedie. Finished it off tonight - probably about 8 hours total.

PSCS4

Cove SP

2010-04-30T10:04:00.001-07:00

Haven't done an environment in a wee while.

Spent about 5 hours on this one.

Photoshop CS4

Good Felines

2010-04-22T11:46:00.000-07:00

Here are the final paintings for Mark Boon's upcoming student film, 'Good Felines'.

In the end we elected to go with black and white images, I felt they were more evocative than full colour.

Just over a weeks work, Painter 11 and Photoshop CS4.

Paradigm EP

2010-03-06T15:32:00.000-08:00

Another piece of artwork for my progressive rock band, The Paradigm Complex.

My plan is to create a new piece of artwork for every song we release; this one is intended for our debut EP (it should be ready this month). More to come!

Game concepts...

2010-01-27T13:55:00.000-08:00

A series of concept paintings for a recent game project.

I collaborated with superb architect and designer Roland Brown to complete this series of mood paintings; he laid down the basic environments and I was in charge of bringing them to life. Suffice to say it was a fantastic experience.

Approximately 3 hours work each.

STC Squad

2009-11-03T12:25:00.000-08:00

A sample of work created for the proposed rebranding of Save the Children, by THE PARTNERSHIP.

I created five characters representing various aspects of the great work the UK charity does on a daily basis. The company is pitching today, fingers crossed!

Copyright THE PARTNERSHIP

Rule the Apocalypse

2009-10-17T16:17:00.001-07:00

Artwork for the Suicide King's forthcoming album, 'Rule the Apocalypse'.

Sandara's Beast

2009-10-15T07:40:00.000-07:00

One of my favourite digital artists Sandara http://sandara.deviantart.com/] invited people to colour one of her unfinished paintings, and who am I to refuse such an offer?

The original sketch can be seen here: http://sandara.deviantart.com/art/beast-wip-140334929, I sort of went to town on this one.

PSCS4 and Painter X, 3 hours.

Tower

2009-10-12T01:44:00.001-07:00

Another morning speedpaint.

PSCS4, Painter X, 4 hours.

Harbour SP

2009-10-10T13:32:00.000-07:00

A quick study. I'm currently trying to work out how my favourite concept artist, Daniel Dociu paints architecture; he has this incredible flair for throwing down rough shapes which somehow create incredibly dynamic, believable structures.

PSCS4, 1 hour.

Jenson Button

2009-09-29T03:50:00.001-07:00

A birthday gift for a good friend; go check out his Blog at http://mattb77.blogspot.com/

Raiders

2009-09-20T12:46:00.000-07:00

A tribute to 'Homeworld', one of my favourite games of all time.

PSCS4, 3 hours.

SARF Artwork

2009-08-26T02:37:00.000-07:00

Finally an educational and FUN game for kids that teaches them all about endangered species and habitats and why it is so important we protect them.

I have been given permission to post some environment artwork from 'Save A Rain Forest', a superb online children's game I have been working on for the last six months. Please go and have a look at the website and join our Facebook group too - the more support we have for this super exciting project the better!

Sarf Studios

Paradigm Complex

2009-08-26T02:35:00.000-07:00

Some artwork for my band, The Paradigm Complex.

Baroness

2009-08-04T13:31:00.000-07:00

Character concept for a recent game project.

Fallen Angel

2009-08-04T13:30:00.000-07:00

Character concept for a recent game project.

Demons

2009-08-04T13:29:00.000-07:00

Quick demon sketches for recent game project.

Camp

2009-07-12T13:51:00.000-07:00

Another wee speedpaint.

Giant

2009-07-10T15:23:00.000-07:00

Random sketch of the day. It's fun to just let loose in Painter every now and then.

Face Off Sketch

2009-06-17T05:10:00.000-07:00

Just a wee warm up scribble this morning. 20 mins or so. Didn't really spend much time on the anatomy, just throwing shapes around! Preparing to begin a new painting today...

World's End

2009-05-09T13:40:00.001-07:00

My first ever matte painting, inspired by the book of the same title.

PSCS3, 8 hours work

Plate

Sketchy Fun

2009-04-29T02:20:00.000-07:00

Sketching during a meeting. Should recieve Assassin's Creed today, really looking forward to finally checking that game out. I'm anticipating being somewhat underwhelmed, but I adore the art style (Raphael Lacoste is simply my favourite artist about and his work on that game is ridiculous). Woop!

Alchemy Sketch Dump

2009-04-27T00:20:00.001-07:00

I've been playing with Alchemy rather a lot of late; it's a great program for rocking out quick character mock ups and silhouettes. Here are some 5-10 minute sketches from the last week.

Cave SP

2009-03-28T16:01:00.000-07:00

Oh man, haven't done any speedpaints in ages so this felt soo good!

Walkthrough

PSCS3, 2 hours, 1 cup of tea

Dragonfly Society

2009-03-13T16:12:00.001-07:00

Alright, mock up logo for my band. We've been rocking out some awesome stuff of late; there clearly aren't enough technical progressive rock bands in Scotland! Hopefully set up to begin gigging during the Festival...

Strike

2009-02-16T16:34:00.000-08:00

Hola! Finally had some time to do a bit of personal work; had muchos fun with this.

Lonely Penguin

2009-01-22T15:29:00.000-08:00

A birthday gift for my bestest friend. Created in the wondrous ArtRage, a program I seem to have fallen in love with.

I love penguins.

JV Study

2008-11-16T14:45:00.000-08:00

Hello chaps, unfortunately I can't post any of my current video game work due to NDA restrictions. Instead I decided to post a recent speed painting I did as a study of the incredible Jeremy Vickery's work.

Painter X and PSCS3, half an hour.

Jeep Concept

2008-10-22T00:58:00.001-07:00

Yeeha, I got permission to post some of the concept work I did for an upcoming horror film set in Africa. Hence this :)

Page 006

2008-10-22T00:56:00.000-07:00

The sixth of fourteen illustrations I recently painted for the book 'Grandpa Ken and the Serpent of Scotland'. To see more, click here

Page 001

2008-09-20T00:54:00.000-07:00

The first of fourteen illustrations I recently painted for the book 'Grandpa Ken and the Serpent of Scotland'. To see more, click here

Page 002

2008-09-20T00:53:00.000-07:00

The second of fourteen illustrations I recently painted for the book 'Grandpa Ken and the Serpent of Scotland'. To see more, click here

Page 003

2008-09-20T00:50:00.000-07:00

The third of fourteen illustrations I recently painted for the book 'Grandpa Ken and the Serpent of Scotland'. To see more, click here

2008 Showreel

2008-08-11T00:02:00.000-07:00

Wall-E

2008-08-07T15:21:00.001-07:00

My tribute to Pixar's masterpiece. That film really blew me away.

Wall-E Sketches

2008-07-21T06:22:00.000-07:00

A couple of quick sketches of Wall-E, preparation for an up and coming painting.

Love this character!

Essence

2008-07-15T03:41:00.000-07:00

Podracer WIP

2008-07-04T06:37:00.000-07:00

In the process of learning Maya, think it's about time I added it to my repertoire! Here's a WIP of my first model.

Elevator Concept

2008-06-26T07:40:00.001-07:00

One of several concept pieces for a massive elevator complex featured in Paradise Lost. The image was originally a warm up exercise which I ended up working into.

Around 2 hours work.

Mountain Speedpaint

2008-06-26T07:38:00.001-07:00

The result of a 15 minute speedpaint jam I had with a friend. The subject was "snow mountain".

Recon SP

2008-05-20T10:13:00.001-07:00

Landing

2008-05-06T06:03:00.001-07:00

Paladin

2008-05-06T06:02:00.001-07:00

Warlock

2008-05-06T05:58:00.000-07:00

Inspired by my current World of Warcraft obsession. As a massive Blizzard fan it's hard not to be influenced by their amazing artwork...

City Speedpaint

2008-05-06T05:56:00.001-07:00

Another super quick one

Predator

2008-05-06T05:54:00.000-07:00

A collaboration with superb animator/illustrator David Sharifi

Storage Concept

2008-05-06T05:52:00.000-07:00

A preliminary piece of concept art for game studio Netflow Developments.

Kid

2008-05-06T05:50:00.000-07:00

Hope

2008-05-06T05:48:00.000-07:00

A commission for a graphic novel in the works

Island

2008-05-06T05:46:00.000-07:00

Quick concept painting

Combine Advance

2008-05-06T05:42:00.000-07:00

A spot of Half Life 2 art. I adore the Combine design, the militaristic alien vibe is just such a fantastic concept.

Minotaur

2008-05-06T05:39:00.000-07:00

Alleyway Concept

2008-05-06T05:38:00.000-07:00

Concept art for Light

Light Poster

2008-05-06T05:32:00.003-07:00

The poster for my short film 'Light'.

Taking Chase

2008-05-06T05:13:00.000-07:00

Superb Edinburgh-based band Taking Chase release their debut album this month and I've been lucky enough to take on their artwork! They've been super fun to work with and I highly recommend you go see them - hell, they've been on MTV so they must be good!

You can check the band out at their website

And get your hands on the EP and T-shirts from Wasted State Records

ABDN

2008-05-06T05:12:00.001-07:00

Designs for the 2007 Aberdeen Ski Team

Life drawing

2008-05-06T05:06:00.000-07:00

A few sketches...