Hello, and Welcome

Thanks for taking the time to visit my blog. My name is Makai, and I’m an aspiring professional artist and game developer.
This page includes introductions and explanations for the content you can expect to find on this blog. If you’re instead interested in viewing archives of my artwork, or contacting me for one reason or another, please refer to the Contact and Links page.

Sketchbook Art

I’ve been drawing for most of my life, but I didn’t start taking art seriously until late into my Freshman year of college, when I was exposed to the artwork of Kim Jung Gi, a world-renowned Korean master artist.
Kim’s uncanny ability to render complex scenes through a combination of his incredible memory, and intensely creative imagination, redefined what I thought was possible in art.

  • Jung Gi Kim; Korean Master Artist
    Portrait shot of Kim Jung Gi, a Korean master artist.
  • Jung Gi Kim; Medieval Star Wars
    Brush pen painting, depicting Star Wars characters in a semi-medieval setting; by Kim Jung Gi.
  • Jung Gi Kim; Attack on Titan
    Brush pen painting, depicting various characters from Attack on Titan (Shingeki no Kyojin); by Kim Jung Gi.

(Click to view the full-size images.)
Kim Jung Gi and some of his artworks. Note that these paintings were drawn in (brush) pen, with no prior sketching or underdrawing.

Since then, I’ve been actively striving for improvement; practicing fundamentals, and (perhaps most importantly) drawing every day. I still have much to learn – in truth, my artistic journey is still in its earliest stages – I’m only getting started. It is this learning experience which I hope to share with you through this blog.

Game Development

Along with a passion for doodles and sketchbook art throughout my childhood, I found myself frequently playing and enjoying video games. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve come to respect video games as a powerful artistic medium and means of expression.
I think video games are an underappreciated medium, in regards to their potential for crafting evocative experiences through direct interaction between the game, and its player(s).
As with my artistic epiphany, this realization of ‘video games as art’ occurred recently – between my Junior/Senior years of high school, and my Freshman year of college. It was around this time that I played Hyper Light Drifter, and Dark Souls, two games which redefined my definition of video games as a whole.

  • A gorgeous view of the faraway Central Town in Hyper Light Drifter.
  • Dark Souls 3; Lothric Knight
    Player character (right) dueling a Lothric Knight (left) in Dark Souls 3.

(Click to view the full-size images.)
Screenshots from Hyper Light Drifter, and Dark Souls 3, in that order. Please refer to the bottom of this page for citations and sources.

I’ve been working on developing a game in RPG Maker 2003 for the past couple years, a project I hope to complete before I graduate from college.
This project has been an (unexpectedly) massive undertaking, and has forced me to practice numerous areas of game development, including (but not limited to) story and character writing, pixel art, animation, environment design, and various fundamental game design concepts.
I am making an active effort to continue developing this game in-between classwork and sketchbook art, and I hope to share pieces of that process on this blog.

Summary

In the wake of an extremely difficult week in the Spring of 2018, I found myself directionless. After careful thought and reconsideration of my life, I refocused my interests, and decided to fully commit myself to my passions.
This brings me to where I am today, developing a passion project in RPG Maker 2003, and constantly working on improving my sketchbook art.
This blog will serve as a log of sorts for my interests, as well as a collection of artistic resources and inspirations. I hope that the content of this blog interests artists and non-artists alike.

And, once again, thanks for taking the time to visit my blog.


Sources

  1. Kim Jung Gi; Star Wars
  2. Kim Jung Gi; Attack on Titan
  3. Dark Souls 3 Screenshot(s)

Neither Kim Jung Gi’s Artworks, nor the screenshots used in this post, belong to me. In the case of any artworks, they belong to their original creator(s). In the case of video game screenshots, they belong to the original creator(s) of the game depicted, and/or whoever took the screenshot.