We’ve had my studio’s carpet removed and the floor and wall cleaned some, and we’ve hired a contractor to jackhammer the floor and install a flood-control system for the future. But that work won’t be done for another month. Plein air isn’t a great option either; I’m not comfortable painting in public with the virus.
So I’ve contented myself with drawing in sketchbooks and painting on my iPad. I’ve also resumed an old hobby — making computer games! I’ve made a clone of Tetris, a chess engine, and now I’m working on a card game. Here are some screenshots from all these endeavors.
First, my Tetris clone. I call it “Falling Logs.” It’s fun, and I suck at it.
Geoff Watson, “Falling Crates,” 2020.
Here’s a look at my chess engine. It plays as well as me into the endgame, at which point it falls apart, because I haven’t taught it any endgame patterns yet. I could spend years improving this thing; it is an addictive thing. But it’s also a bit depressing to see your own AI start to beat you. I think I might prefer to leave it in its current, beatable state.
Geoff Watson, “Chess,” 2020.
And finally, two examples of art for a spy-themed card game I’m working on. The game itself isn’t that fun yet, and I may abandon it, but making the art for it has been a hoot. FIrst, an illustration made on the iPad. I might or might not add color and shadow. It’s been great to experiment with line art like this:
Geoff Watson, “Media credentials,” made with Adobe Fresco on the iPad Pro, 2020.
Finally, I pulled out my oil paints to do a quick sketch for a game card. I did this quickly, on the back of a piece of cardboard!
Geoff Watson, “Small gift,” oil on cardboard, about 11” x 14,” 2020.