AT-A-GLANCE GUIDE
The world’s top digital painters reveal new theories, techniques and inspiration to make you a better artist…
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IDEAS AND PHILOSOPHY: PAGE 52 INSPIRATION: PAGE 55 COLOUR: PAGE 58 BRUSHES AND TOOLS: PAGE 61 ART INDUSTRY SECRETS: PAGE 62 MAKING DECISIONS: PAGE 64 TIP 100: PAGE 66
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MEET THE IFX ARTISTS Martin Bland
Simon Brewer
Lauren K Cannon
Bill Corbett
Marta Dahlig
Martin Bland is a freelance concept artist working out of his Newcastle studio. He is famous for his apocalyptic artwork.
Simon Brewer takes a no-frills approach to his fantasy-themed digital art. He only started painting around four years ago.
20-year-old Lauren’s art is based around different worlds and mythologies she has created. She currently lives in New Jersey, US.
Bill has been hooked on fantasy art since he drew a dragon at age 11. He produces art for bands, games and online communities.
Talented Polish freelance illustrator and digital painter Marta is a regular contributing artist to ImagineFX.
www.spyroteknik.com
www.painterly.co.uk
www.navate.com
www.billcorbett.co.uk
www.marta-dahlig.com
Michael Dashow
Sacha Angel Diener
Julie Dillon
Jonny Duddle
Aly Fell
Cris Griffin
Michael currently balances his time between illustration for fun and Art Directing at 3D avatar site Meez.com.
Switzerland-based Sacha is a freelance artist who uses traditional mediums as well as 2D and 3D digital techniques.
Experienced artist Julie has completed illustration work for such clients as USRPG, Iridon Software and Guardians of Order.
ImagineFX favourite Jonny Duddle is an illustrator and concept artist, working as a freelancer in the games industry.
Buxton-based Aly Fell is a concept artist for Eurocom. In his spare time he paints pin-ups and pulp-fiction fantasy art.
Cris Griffin is a freelance traditional and digital artist based in the US. Check out her art by visiting her gallery below.
www.michaeldashow.com
www.angel3d.ch
www.jdillon.net
www.duddlebug.com
www.darkrising.co.uk
griffingirl.epilogue.net
Oz Haver
Samantha Hogg
Uwe Jarling
Andy Jones
Rebecca Kimmel
Henning Ludvigsen
Brazilian Oz Haver is a freelance illustrator working out of Puerto Rico. See his stunning digital art at his gallery site below.
Sam Hogg has a passion for painting, and says that the need to create, draw and paint is akin to breathing to her.
German artist Uwe has been painting digital fantasy imagery since 2000, and is now one of Europe’s most prominent artists.
Not to be confused with Android Jones, Andy Jones is an artist based in North Wales. See his gallery at the site below.
Anatomy expert Rebecca runs the Artistic Anatomy and Figurative art forum on CG Society. See below for more of her work.
Norway’s finest has been contributing to ImagineFX from the very beginning. Henning is an artist of amazing talent.
oz-haver.deviantart.com
zephyri.deviantart.com
www.jarling-arts.com
andy--jones.gfxartist.com
www.rebeccakimmel.com
www.henningludvigsen.com
Levente Peterffy
Natascha Roeoesli
Philip Straub
Anne Stokes
Jennifer Thomas
Linda Tso
23-year-old freelance artist Levente combines traditional, 2D and 3D techniques to create stunning matte paintings.
Self-taught Swiss artist Natascha works as a freelance artist for a number of game, trading card and publishing companies.
NCsoft Art Director Philip Straub is an expert in colour theory and has worked for EA and Universal Studios in the past.
Based in Leeds, UK, illustrator Anne has produced artwork for such clients as WOTC, Dungeons and Dragons and Blizzard.
Jennifer Thomas’s goal as an artist is to tell stories through her art. Check out her awesome gallery at the address below.
New Zealand born and based Linda has been painting digitally since 2002. She uses Photoshop and Painter to create her art.
www.leventep.com
www.tascha.ch
www.philipstraub.com
www.annestokes.com
www.direwire.com
www.stickydoodle.com
The 23 digital painters who will inspire and teach you over the next 16 pages
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ESCAPE FROM REALITY MARTA DAHLIG
Art can be a personal matter to many artists, and we all interpret it differently. Marta Dahlig creates art to escape from reality. “It offered fulfilment and consolation. Whenever I felt down, I sat down and painted whatever was in my head. Painting is also a wonderful way to express feelings, release hidden sorrows and frustrations. It’s an extremely intimate process, during which you share yourself with others, bit by bit revealing your soul in every painting.”
ARTISTIC LEGACY
CREATE WORLDS
“For me it’s about leaving an artistic legacy behind, a body of work that will hopefully inspire young artists and entertain people well after I’ve passed on,” explains Philip Straub. “With each painting I create, I try to improve my skill set and add another piece to the puzzle that is my overall body of work.”
Lauren K Cannon creates worlds and myths: “I’ve been obsessed with fantasy since I was a child, and that fascination has led me, like so many other fantasy artists, to create my own world and mythos to base my art around. Each image has a story to tell and a feeling to evoke. I approach paintings as if they were dreams. I like to create things that are beautiful but also surreal and unsettling.”
PHILIP STRAUB
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LAUREN K CANNON
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Ideas & philosophy Make it personal IGNORE TRENDS Bill Corbett
“Experiment with your own art and ignore any art trends.” Bill Corbett’s philosophy is that all things creative are to be expressive. “I like to think that when it comes to some of my pieces I can express my feelings at the time, or convey an idea that I might have. I like the idea of putting my hands in virtual paint and attacking the virtual canvas!”
NEVER STOP Levente Peterffy
“I’ve always dreamt of fictional worlds where one can simply disappear in thought, mood and atmosphere, something that takes your mind away from the real world,” explains Levente Peterffy, who creates his amazing worlds to share his visions with others. “My philosophy is, if you love doing something, don’t stop doing it, and don’t let people decide for you.”
RESEARCH IS KEY
SACHA ANGEL DIENER Knowing what you want to create is Sacha Angel Diener’s advice. “You can never do too much research. I make lots of small sketches. The internet brought the world to your doorstep; compare, know where you are, and keep on refining.”
USE SITUATIONS MICHAEL DASHOW
Michael Dashow focuses on people, their personalities and situations. “Characters in an emotional context really resonate with viewers. Don’t just pose your characters; place them into situations that give your art emotional impact and resonance.”
ALWAYS HAVE, ALWAYS WILL UWE JARLING
ADD PERSONAL SYMBOLISM Samantha Hogg
“It’s a fine line balancing between having self belief as an artist, and not being above given critique, but when you get to grips with that, the improvement can be quite astounding,” says Samantha Hogg. She also thinks that having personal symbolism in her art and to imprint her essence on a piece of art matters more than having a style that is recognisable.
“It sounds like a cliché, but I do art because I always have, and probably always will do art,” explains Uwe Jarling. As long as art is your passion, the urge for becoming a better artist will keep you going as you learn more and more. “I can’t think of another job where you can put so much of your own heart and love into.” Uwe Jarling has always been an artist, and enjoys putting his love into every image that he creates.
REFLECT LIFE
MARTIN BLAND “To me, art should reflect life, be connected to reality,” says Martin Bland, who always approaches his work with this in his mind, trying to find beauty in uncommon situations, to relay a world which could actually exist rather than a pure fantasy approach. “I love to combine dark and unwelcoming imagery with a message of hope or beauty, try to tell a story without telling too much, leaving a lot open to subjectivity.”
REVEAL SOMETHING OF YOURSELF Aly Fell
“Every picture is like a 2D version of the Jerry Springer show; it’s a personal document, be it of an angel, or a rubber chicken factory; it says ‘something’ about the artist,” says Aly Fell.
FANTASY LOVE ANNE STOKES Anne Stokes likes working as a commercial artist because she enjoys the challenge of illustrating fantasy. “I have always loved fantasy art and literature and I am inspired to bring these worlds a little nearer to reality by creating paintings of the fantastical,” she explains.
EXPRESS YOURSELF Jonny Duddle
When Jonny Duddle was a kid, he wanted to be a Spitfire pilot or an artist. “I draw because I want to express myself. Thirty years ago, I’d draw on scraps of paper, lying in the back garden, supping lemonade. Now, I do it for exactly the same reasons but I’m lucky enough to get paid.”
BE SELECTIVE
OBSERVE THE MIND
Cris Griffin is juggling work with being a wife and mother, making her very selective with the projects she chooses. “My art time is so precious I only take on projects that reward me artistically, financially, and stretch my talents.”
If you observe Oz Haver’s art, you are actually observing his mind. “Since my early infancy, my artwork has recorded my thoughts, dreams, life experience and spirituality. It’s the ultimate intimacy and for me it’s always very personal.”
CRIS GRIFFIN
OZ HAVER
Cris Griffin likes to be challenged by work.
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IMPATIENT CREATION PROCESS SIMON DOMINIC BREWER
Simon Dominic Brewer says that he is impatient and likes to see quick results, and digital art enables him to achieve this. “I find the process of creation very fulfilling and I also need something I can look back on and say: I did that. I like to inject some originality into my work, maybe to counter the traditional clichéd associations my chosen genres suffer from.”
CREATE BEAUTY LINDA TSO
“I am an artist because I enjoy doing it!” Linda Tso is attracted by the visual beauty of things, and finds it rewarding being able to create beauty. “Working as a professional artist can become tiresome sometimes, with one deadline after another. You just need to think about why you loved it in the first place and you will be able to keep the heart and soul in your work.”
STEPPING STONES REBECCA KIMMEL
“I view my work as part of a continuum where each piece is an accumulation of what I’ve previously learned, and a stepping stone to the next body of work,” explains Rebecca Kimmel, who has recently exhibited some of her digital figurative paintings for her MFA Thesis Show, called Palimpsest. “A palimpsest refers to a document on which words have been written, scraped away, and rewritten. I see a palimpsest as a metaphor for how an artist is trained and undergoes metamorphosis.”
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FRAGMENTS OF DREAMS JULIE DILLON
Much of Julie Dillon’s latest work has been done for commercial purposes. She tries to find time to work on her own projects. “I’m not always trying to express literal things, rather impressions of my surroundings, and the fleeting moments and ideas that are difficult for me to verbalise. I don’t always have a particular story to tell, but rather more bits and pieces of a larger, broader narrative, like fragments of dreams.”
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Inspiration USE YOUR MOOD
NATASCHA ROEOESLI
“It’s always good to paint if you are in a special mood yourself,” says Natascha Roeoesli. “Be it sad, happy, or excited – all of those emotions will show in your paintings in either colour choices, composition or textures. You might not even know or realise it yourself.”
EVERYDAY STORIES SAMANTHA HOGG
CHECK THE COMPETITION ANDY JONES
Besides music, films, books and even dreams, Andy Jones’s main motivator is seeing other artists’ artwork, especially when it leaves him floored with brilliance. “I always feel I have to step up my game in order to keep up with the whole digital art scene. One day, when I grow up, I will be as good as some of those kick arse artists!” Looking at the competition will keep you inspired.
According to Samantha Hogg, attaching stories to everyday scenes you get glimpses of can be a great way to kick-start the muse. “A man at the bus stop suddenly becomes an intergalactic missionary waiting for the alien to show up. A rundown train station becomes a post apocalyptic headquarters for a team of cyberpunk ninja.” You can create your own stories for everyday things. Samantha Hogg likes to kick-start her muse by expanding everyday stories in her sketches.
CONVEY IDEAS MARTIN BLAND
It’s getting your ideas out on to canvas that’s important. Martin Bland thinks it’s tricky to convey an idea without having a good grounding in art, and therefore practice is the key. “You need to feel comfortable sketching and seeing your sketch correctly projected as a concept. Speed painting or gestural sketching is a great way of training yourself to get ideas out quickly.”
INTERPRET IDEAS LAUREN K CANNON
Lauren K Cannon never disregards ideas that creep through her mind. Her advice is; “jot them down somewhere even if they seem incomplete. Anything can act as inspiration, and it does not have to be direct. My painting Fathom was inspired by Disney’s The Little Mermaid, though you’d never know by looking at it. No matter where you inspiration comes from, treat it with your own set of aesthetics. Interpret ideas instead of copying them.”
DOODLE DOWN IDEAS UWE JARLING
Lauren K Cannon’s painting Fathom was inspired by the Disney film The Little Mermaid.
Uwe Jarling also gets his inspiration from everything around him, from movies to nature. “You just have to make sure you always have your sketchbook handy and do a quick doodle to catch that idea that came up your mind. A pressure sensitive graphic tablet is good if you work digitally.”
Uwe Jarling always has a sketchbook handy to capture his new ideas.
Observe the world around you to keep yourself inspired… OBSERVE
INSPIRATION EVERYWHERE
SEE HOW THINGS REALLY ARE
COMPILE, COMBINE, CREATE
Marta Dahlig
Bill Corbett
Anne Stokes
Jennifer Thomas
Bill Corbett finds inspiration in everything, and he does mean everything! “It’s important to find the artistic value in all things no matter how mundane they may appear. The majority of what I see, feel, and experience gets stored away in my head for the day that I’m ready to express it.”
For Anne Stokes, colours in particular will catch her eye. “Sometimes a shadow can have a lot of colour in it. It is important to learn to see things as they really are, not what you think they may be. A shadow may not be a dull grey shape you would assume it to be, but a deep blue/purple tone.”
“Every random thought that pops into my head is worth writing down,” explains Jennifer Thomas. Compile, combine, and create with those ideas, and your work will become more interesting.
Marta Dahlig believes observation is the key. “It’s crucial to keep your mind and heart open. The best inspiration is the surrounding world, so carefully observe everything, like how people behave on the subway, or pigeons in a square.”
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UNCONSCIOUS TRENDS
INSPIRATION FINDS YOU
“I have plenty of places to look for inspiration,” says Henning Ludvigsen. “I believe that most artists are somewhat affected by other artists and ongoing trends going on around them, even unconsciously. I call these ‘art trends’, and this is also where I find my inspiration by looking at old fantasy masters and online galleries.”
“The surest way to end up with a head empty of ideas is to consciously try to think them up,” says Simon Dominic Brewer. “I’d love to say I’m inspired by poetry, but I’m not. Having said that, one of my earlier paintings was inspired by a dead dog…”
BELIEVABLE FANTASY
CHANNEL YOUR INSPIRATIONS
The humanoid face is Cris Griffin’s foremost inspiration. She finds challenge in making her fantasy portraits believable. “My angels must wear garb that accounts for the wings. My elves must have that preternatural glow. My vampires should reek of the predatory instinct. Accomplishing this, without the regular trappings of pointy ears and fangs is both a test and a treat. Observation + Research + Invention = Satisfaction!”
Levente Peterffy can find mood in a piece of beautiful music, but if he is looking for atmosphere, he can look at a sunset. “The inspirations are many; the important thing is to channel it once you see it. When you do see it, try to remember what made it so inspirational to you.”
HENNING LUDVIGSEN
CRIS GRIFFIN
SIMON DOMINIC BREWER
LEVENTE PETERFFY
EXPERIENCE REFLECTS ART LINDA TSO
STACK UP
JULIE DILLON Julie Dillon’s tips is to stack up on all sorts of ideas; “write down or sketch out anything that catches your interest; even if you don’t know what to do with it at the moment or if it isn’t fully developed, you can set it aside and come back later when the idea has had time to simmer. A literal interpretation often doesn’t quite cut it and I need to collect smaller ideas before understanding how to approach something.”
BE PERSONAL
Find inspiration around you in everything, is Linda Tso’s take on the subject. “Read books, go to art shows, movies, listen to music, meet people and so on. Your art, what you put out really does reflect your existence, so the more experiences you have in life the richer your art would become.”
INDIRECTLY INSPIRED JONNY DUDDLE
Jonny Duddle believes in indirect inspiration. “My Granddad told me fantastic stories about his childhood in Salford, which blossomed into an artistic project.”
OZ HAVER
Oz Haver believes that he thinks too much, and he exorcises these thoughts from his head by letting them pass through into his artwork. “When the muses visit, pay them attention: use the moment and try to be as personal as possible,” he observes.
MINE THE HUMOUR OF A SITUATION
MICHAEL DASHOW
“In the genres of sci-fi and fantasy, you take science, technology and magic to plausible extremes”, explains Michael Dashow. “My own work mines the humour of a situation by taking it to an illogical extreme. ”
BE PARANOID ALY FELL
Aly Fell thinks of artists as a little paranoid as they are always watching and questioning things, whether they realise it or not. “If you wish to represent a world in your art, then surely there is some kind of heightened awareness of things going on. Everything is inspiration; everything is somehow worthy of representation in some way. It doesn’t have to be world problem solving! Of course, some desires have more value, but they all come from the artists’ passion.”
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Inspiration
USE THE GIFT OF IMAGINATION
S
Sometimes Sacha imagines he is the size of an ant and suddenly rocks become enormous mountains.
Sacha Angel Diener COUNTRY: Switzerland WEB: www.angel3d.ch
The richness of detail in Sacha Angel Diener’s work is testament to his highly tuned observational skills.
acha Angel Diener has got his ‘inspiration absorption switch’ turned on all day, no matter where he goes. Things he sees on his way to work, books he’s reading, or even childhood memories can often trigger his inspiration. “It all starts with something given. Imagination is a gift that lets us create our worlds. Sometimes, we see hidden elements in things and let our fantasy lead us to a new painting.” Sacha had a breakthrough to how he is looking at the world when he started doing 3D art some years ago: “Even a pebble or a snail shell became fascinating – I could stare at things for hours to understand what makes it look the way it does. I tried to make out the geometry down to the smallest detail, and understand how it interacts with light, reflection, refraction and translucency. To create a convincing illustration, you need to understand what you are creating.” And the rich amount of details to be found throughout Sacha’s work is a living proof that his artistic detective work has paid off. “Change your vision” is Sacha’s key phrase to his way of harvesting inspiration in his own back yard: “Sometimes I walk around in the garden imagining I’m very small, just like an ant. Doing this will grow all dimensions into to huge epic places, and suddenly you find yourself in deep valleys where the stones have become mountains. Some of the mountains might appear to have old cursed caves, and a field of flowers becomes an endless enchanted forest. A piece of wood can easily become a huge ancient stronghold – magic and mysteries surround you. “There are so many things that can inspire you, but most of all, the gift of having the eyes of an artist is something to be thankful for. Life itself writes many great stories and nature creates such richness of visual treasures. This is what I try to absorb day by day.”
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Andy Jones likes to use less obvious, not so ‘in your face’ colours in his art.
HOLD BACK ANDY JONES
Andy Jones has learned to hold back on using obvious ‘in your face’ colours. “I tend to think a lot more about the subtleties of colour and the non-obvious hues you get on seemingly obvious surfaces such as rock, cloud or fabric. Not all is as it seems when colour is concerned.”
LIMIT YOUR PALETTE BILL CORBETT
Bill Corbett has learnt that the limited palette will cure all evils. “I think the big problem for a lot of artists is knowing when to use and when not to use complementary colour schemes,” he observes.
BORING, IMPORTANT COLOURS UWE JARLING
Uwe Jarling doesn’t find colour theory much fun, but still thinks it’s very important. “Colour is something you really have to learn, you have to be sure what you are doing before you start getting your drawings coloured.”
COMPLEMENTARY 3D SACHA ANGEL DIENER
PLAN EARLY
MARTA DAHLIG Choosing colours can often prove to be quite tricky, and according to Marta Dahlig, it’s important to come up with a colour theme early, during the planning phase. “Think of themes suitable to the mood you want to convey. Experiment with contrasting shades, and whenever needed, use a colour balancing tool to help your inspiration.”
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“A scene mainly lit by bounce lights, and a hard striking backlight (rim light), gives more possibilities than with just a purely direct lit scene. When it comes to environments; in a natural set of light, warm tones working versus colder tones usually give nice 3D effects, while light and shadow in complementary colours helps sell a piece,” explains Sacha Angel Diener.
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Colour Colour theory Aly Fell urges you to push yourself and experiment each time you use colour, to produce surprise results. EMOTIONAL COLOURS Natascha Roeoesli
According to Natascha Roeoesli, colour symbolism is something that you have to keep in mind. “Depending on culture or background, colours will evoke different feelings from person to person.Yellow might evoke a feeling of warmth in one person but could create an uncomfortable atmosphere for someone else.”
LOOK AT THE AMBIENT LIGHT
LIGHTING IS KEY MARTIN BLAND
Martin Bland thinks you need to observe closely. “Colour choices are paramount to a successful image, which is why it’s so difficult to get right. Train your brain to observe how colour affects everything around you, lighting is key.”
UNDERSTAND VALUES
SAMANTHA HOGG
THE COMPOSITIONAL TOOL
“Learn to see ambient light in everything around you,” explains Samantha Hogg. “Colour is an optical illusion a lot of the time, what might appear yellow at first could be green, brown or orange, depending on surrounded by.”
Colour should be used as a compositional skill, says Philip Straub. “Study the properties of light and the colour spectrum as well as reading up on the basics of colour theory,” he adds.
Philip Straub
KNOW THE BASICS
REBECCA KIMMEL
According to Rebecca Kimmel, understanding values is important. “Value dictates form over any other element. I recommend that anyone new to digital painting works first in greyscale. Colour must be understood in terms of its various properties of hue, tint, shade, intensity, and value.”
JENNIFER THOMAS
Jennifer Thomas believes in knowing the basics. “Time spent on random palettes can be transformed into the science of making great palettes that will change the emotional reaction from viewers.”
COLOUR INTERACTION
COLOURS AFFECT MOOD Linda Tso
“Colour can affect the entire mood of a picture,” says Linda Tso, explaining: “how bright or dark, how saturated, what is the dominant hue. Within a picture the ‘colour’ of objects is all relative, and it’s worth keeping that in mind when you’re picking what colour to use in any particular part of the picture.”
ANNE STOKES
Anne Stokes thinks it’s is important to understand how colours interact. “The same shade can look different when placed next to two different colours. An artist can use this to their advantage. In the example below I set the bright red costume against a dull background to emphasise the red.”
COLOUR LIES CRIS GRIFFIN
“Colour lies, it pretends it’s something its not, it looks different depending upon the company it keeps, and it elicits a psychological response unlike any other,” explains Cris Griffin. “Shadows are never truly black, highlights are seldom white. As artists, we must break the conceptual notion of perceived colour.”
MAKE YOUR OWN COLOUR SCHEMES Natascha Roeoesli
“Colour schemes are most often the distinct point that makes up an artist’s personal style. A lot of beginning artists study others’ colour schemes, which is okay for exercise but within time you should be able to create your own,” says Natascha Roeoesli.
COLOUR FORMULAE OZ HAVER
Oz Haver likes using formulae when picking colours. “Always experiment; get out of your comfort zone. Forget that the sky is blue and the grass is green; sometimes the grass is gold and the sky is pink. You cannot learn if you do not dare.”
COMPLEX, YET SIMPLE Lauren K Cannon
Lauren K Cannon thinks that colour is complex: “It can be used in infinite ways, but also broken down into simple theory. One of the downfalls of working digitally is that it hides the way colour blends. More than anything, colour dictates an artwork’s mood, so mastering it is critical.”
The bright red stands out against the dark background in Anne’s image.
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PUSH YOURSELF ALY FELL
Aly Fell thinks you should push yourself each time you use colour. “Every time you make a mark, experiment with its value and saturation; colour doesn’t have to be what you see, it can be abstract, and could produce results that surprise you.”
According to Chris Griffin, artists must break the conceptual notion of perceived colour
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CHOOSING COLOUR SCHEMES
OBJECTS ARE REFLECTING COLOUR LEVENTE PETERFFY
Samantha Hogg
“In all scenery light interacts with objects. These objects reflect a certain colour and that reflection also interacts further with other objects in the scene and so on.” Levente Peterffy believes in simplifying even if colours are complex.
JOB: Graphic designer and freelance illustrator SOFTWARE: Photoshop, Painter, Illustrator According to Levente, it’s important to remember how light interacts with objects and affects their colour.
DON’T ISOLATE COLOURS
KNOW THAT YOU DON’T KNOW
Simon Dominic Brewer thinks some artists struggle with colour because they consider each object in isolation. “When different coloured objects are placed together they pick up reflected light from each other and their environment. Applying this concept to your paintings will lend them an element of naturalness and harmony.”
Jonny Duddle thinks that the more you know, the more you realise that you don’t know. “There’s no quick fix to make you a master of colour. It takes time, effort, study and experimentation. Every artist develops a different relationship to colour based on years of practice that becomes as distinctive as their signature.”
SIMON DOMINIC BREWER
JONNY DUDDLE
Henning Ludvigsen likes to emulate realism and does so by adding noise and grain.
START IN GREYSCALE
GRAIN AND RANDOMISATION
JULIE DILLON
Julie Dillon recommends laying out the image in black and white first. “I find colour difficult at times because it’s hard to separate the actual colour of objects in a scene from what we think they should be.”
HENNING LUDVIGSEN “On my personal pieces, I try to mix my colour palette as much as possible to avoid monochromatic colours,” says Henning Ludvigsen. “I like to emulate realism, and I do that by adding noise and randomised colours to my surfaces.”
DISENGAGE YOUR BRAIN MICHAEL DASHOW
Julie Dillon laid out her image in greyscale before adding colour to the scene.
“When studying the world, try to disengage your brain and concentrate on what colours you really see,” explains Michael Dashow. “We know that the sky is blue and grass is green, but other factors – lighting, time of day, atmospheric effects – can make them look different to what your brain expects.”
FIND YOUR PREFERENCE
HENNING LUDVIGSEN Henning Ludvigsen prefers working with shape before adding colour. “If my painting works like this, it’s an important quality to a piece of art. Still, most artists prefer starting out with colours from of the first brush stroke. Figure out your own preference, and use this to your advantage.”
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Art is a passion around which I run my life. I can’t imagine doing anything else. Being able to breathe life into the visions in my head is perhaps the most rewarding thing for me. http:// community.imaginefx.com/ fxpose/zephyris_portfolio
How do you choose colour schemes? By deciding the mood/personality of a piece and picking colours to suit. How would you define the ‘wrong’ use of colours? When artists use colours they ‘think’ objects should be rather than seeing what they actually are. Clean or more dynamic colour schemes, which do you prefer? Depending on the image, dynamic. How do you use colours as focal points in your images? By concentrating saturation and contrast around key points. How do you use colours for depth? I cool and desaturate things the further away they get. Rule number one about skin tones? Skin doesn’t have to be peaches and browns to look believable. Do you have a golden tip on how to control colours? Blocking in all colours at the start of the process makes it much easier to control them throughout the painting, without doubt!
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Brushes & tools SIMPLE FIRST, SPECIAL LATER LINDA TSO
Linda Tso usually uses the regular Hard Round brush with Pen Pressure set to Opacity in the early stages, saving special effects brushes for later use.
SIMULATE PATTERNS LEVENTE PETERFFY
Levente Peterffy finds brushes effective for his work. “They can easily be used to simulate patterns of clouds, grass, trees, and chains for example.”
BACK TO BASICS ANNE STOKES
Anne Stokes sketches with a pencil on paper, and colours it digitally. “Although the graphics tablet and pen is a great tool, this is more natural.”
Marta used different brushes and blending methods for different parts.
BRUSH CHOICES MARTA DAHLIG
Marta Dahlig thinks it’s crucial to use different brushes for different parts. For smooth, textureless parts, use the Airbrush. For textures, a Hard Round brush with jagged edges.
PAINT IN TWO STAGES SACHA ANGEL DIENER
TEXTURED BRUSHES
USE PAINTER
Samantha Hogg’s tip is checking the texture box in the brush options in Photoshop CS and adding just a subtle hint of texture. This is a great way to get a bit of variety to your brush strokes in Photoshop.
Uwe Jarling finds Painter simulates the natural way of painting extremely well. “I usually try to get a natural media look to my digital paintings,” he says.
SAMANTHA HOGG
UWE JARLING
“I use custom brushes in two stages of the painting process. Firstly, for creating rock textures, mountains, and so on. Secondly for specular highlights, fabrics, and so on,” says Sacha Angel Diener.
KNOW YOUR BRUSHES JULIE DILLON
Familiarise yourself with a brush’s options says Julie Dillon; sometimes it only takes a few tweaks to turn a brush that you’ve always written off as worthless into something amazingly helpful.
IMPORTANT BRUSHES SIMON DOMINIC BREWER
Simon Dominic Brewer used to think that the brushes an artist used wasn’t particularly important. “How wrong I was! I now know that defining a good brush set is an essential part of a digital artist’s preparation, so never be tempted to skip it.”
START BIG
MARTIN BLAND Working with Painter is a good way for artists to get into digital media, says Uwe.
Start big, explains Martin Bland. If you start with a large brush, and work out your forms, you’ll speed up your work process immensely.
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DON’T STRIVE FOR POPULARITY MARTA DAHLIG
“Don’t strive for popularity or expect to be flooded with offers as soon as you make your first steps in digital art,” says Marta Dahlig. “The secret to becoming a professional lies in thousands of hours of hard work. Expose your artwork on various internet forums for extra feedback. Seek constant improvement, as the better artist you become, the more known your name will be.”
DON’T BE LAZY UWE JARLING
According to Bill Corbett, you should make sure that your portfolio contains only your very best pieces of artwork.
“Don’t be lazy! You have to be willing to learn something new each and every day,” says Uwe Jarling. “Working as a professional illustrator is different than doing free paintings as you have to follow art descriptions no matter how wired they are within a given time line. Never ever miss a deadline, if you are not sure if you can finish a job in time, don’t take it!”
OPTIMISE YOUR PORTFOLIO BILL CORBETT
PRACTICE IS KEY MARTIN BLAND
Martin Bland thinks that a strong portfolio knocks down more doors than anything else. “If you’re good enough, the work will come, so again, practise is the key. The more you learn, the better you get, there’s no quick way of doing this. It’s about the hard slog, talent goes part way, training does the rest. After 50 finished images, you’ll be a lot closer to where you want to be.”
“Only show your best pictures in your portfolio,” explains Bill Corbett. “If you see something in one of your older pictures you’re not happy with, repaint it. Be prepared to do a lot of things you might not like. Make sure that the next job is as good as or better than the last, if you can. Remember that you are being paid when you find something boring – it’s strangely motivating!”
GETTING STARTED IN ILLUSTRATION Michael Dashow JOB: Art Director SOFTWARE: Photoshop, 3ds max, Maya Michael Dashow balances his time between illustration for fun and profit and Art Directing at 3D avatar site Meez.com. He loves painting humorous science fiction, fantasy and children’s images. Michael lives in Oakland, California, US, with his wife and baby son.
[email protected]
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Art industry secrets DEVELOP YOUR OWN STYLE
COMBINED PERSONAL TRAITS
LINDA TSO
SIMON DOMINIC BREWER
Linda Tso tells us that you need to have the passion and drive to better your art. “I don’t think there is a secret to it – just practice. It helps to develop a style of your own, as opposed to making art that looks like everyone else’s. Still, I do think that making connections and friends in the industry is very important.”
Simon Dominic Brewer thinks a striking portfolio combined with honesty and integrity is a good start. “Of course, being a mature-acting professional is no substitute for being a killer artist, but neither is any good without the other. A willingness to live off rice and tap water for a time wouldn’t hurt either.”
GIVE AND TAKE
SACHA ANGEL DIENER “To get your career going, build up your network. Exchange with other artists and share experiences. Collaborations of all kind result in something an individual person never could have done. Compete but also share. There’s no better way to check your own knowledge than explaining your points understandable to someone else,” says Sacha Angel Diener.
CONTROLLED CREATIVITY SAMANTHA HOGG
Samantha Hogg thinks that knowing when and when not to ‘think outside the box’ is important. “You might have a wild idea for a job, when your client is after something much more run of the mill. Doing things that have been done many times before and still making them stand out and unique is tougher than creating something original.”
How did you first get started with a career in illustration? I began doing covers for small press publishers. Low pay but terrific experience and portfolio material. Any golden tips for new artists just getting into the industry? Focus on something and do it really well. Become the go-to person for that one thing. Any handy shortcuts for saving hours of work? Good communication up front saves hours of redos from confusion and misunderstandings.
CREATIVE THINKERS PHILIP STRAUB
Philip Straub thinks that an artist that demonstrates desire and passion for their craft and a healthy knowledge of the history of their chosen field is attractive to any studio. “Artists that not only can not only render the heck out of an image, but also have an excellent imagination are rare and therefore valuable to any team.” Artists like Philip Straub, who have superb skills combined with an excellent imagination, will be an asset to any studio.
SELL YOURSELF ALY FELL
“To some extent we must all ‘sell’ ourselves,” explains Aly Fell. “If art is about personal expression then producing art for someone else ultimately becomes a technical exercise and little more. But this is not wrong. To be a professional artist you must redirect your personal vision into a ‘brief’, because generally the reason a client comes to you is because they ‘like’ your personal vision.”
Michael has a strong online presence where clients can find out more about his work.
How do you impress your clients? Complete the assignment to spec, on time, and better than they expected.
chew. Clients generally appreciate honesty when you refuse an assignment for lack of time.
How do you deal with art slumps? Get reinvigorated by checking out other people’s work – that of co-workers, in books, museums, or online.
Any secrets to getting jobs? Find companies you want to work for and present a portfolio showcasing their specific style of artwork.
How do new clients find out about you? I have a strong online presence: via my website, forums, contests, and so on. How do you manage to meet your deadlines? Never bite off more than you can
What makes an artist hit it off? Having a distinctive approach, your own unique take on things. Any tips for applying to companies? Read the job description carefully. Ignoring requirements and not being able to follow instructions is not going to impress anyone.
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GO METHODICAL PHILIP STRAUB
“The one component that is ever present in how I approach most of my work, regardless of the media, is a solid emphasis on reference gathering and thorough study of every images subject matter,” says Philip Straub. “Although I’m methodical in my basic approach to visual problem solving, I do tend to employ a number of different techniques depending on the assignment.”
BEAT ARTIST’S BLOCK THE EASY WAY – WITH TEA AND SWEETS MARTA DAHLIG
Artist’s block is something that we all encounter and unfortunately have to suffer from at some point – even professional artists have moments where they lack ideas and inspiration. “It cannot really be avoided, as it’s a natural counterweight to the creative process,” explains Marta Dahlig. “Instead of forcing myself to work, I try to relax by reading a good book with a cup of tea and lots of chocolate. It always works!”
SELECTIVE THUMBNAILS BILL CORBETT
Based on what he has been asked to do, Bill Corbett will make four to six thumbnails. “I might only send two of them for approval but at least in this way I can narrow down my best ideas and give the director easy choices.”
DIGITAL FREEDOM LAUREN K CANNON
“Working digitally gives me freedom that traditional media can’t offer; the layers system and the ability to save multiple versions of the same picture enable me to experiment,” says Lauren K Cannon.
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As with this painting of a wolf, Bill Corbett will make a series of thumbnails to narrow down his best ideas and show to his art director.
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Making decisions GIVE OPTIONS ANNE STOKES
Anne Stokes works out various ideas and compositions by sketching, and submitting options to the clients before embarking on the finished painting. “Some project descriptions can be very specific and others more vague. Likewise some jobs can involve designing a new creature from scratch, while others need to stick closely to existing reference.”
Start to take control of your ideas TOO MANY IDEAS Samantha Hogg
Samantha Hogg doesn’t suffer from artist’s block, but from quite the opposite. “I usually have too many ideas, resulting in a folder full of unfinished but promising prospective pictures. It takes a certain degree of self control, but I’ll ban myself from even sketching anything until I finish at least one painting.”
PLANNING IS KEY Uwe Jarling
Uwe Jarling thinks about decisions even before he does the first brush stroke. “Planning out things like; does the scene need a dynamic composition, how does the characters interact, and do they have a background? Next comes colours.”
DON’T STRESS Martin Bland
One of the sketches of a dragon that Anne Stokes produced. She shows her clients a series of sketches before progressing to the final image.
When the client is happy with the sketch, Anne then goes on to digitally colour the finished piece of artwork.
If you get artist’s block, relax and let it pass without stressing yourself out is Martin Bland’s advice. “Blocks happen to everyone at some point, there’s no real answer to it. I usually have a rough idea on what to paint, and I like to keep things fluid and work out the theme of the image as I’m going.”
SCRIBBLE FOR IDEAS Levente Peterffy
INSTINCTS AND EXPLORATION OZ HAVER
Oz Haver makes a series of thumbnails and conceptual sketches to explore all his available options. “I explore composition, format, colours and so on. The most important part of this process is to keep the ‘soul’ of the piece alive. I usually follow my instincts, and it works.”
METHODICAL, AND TRUSTED FRIENDS
SELF-DECIDING DECISIONS
Sacha Angel Diener approaches personal and commissioned pieces differently. “While personal pieces is pure freedom with room for randomisation, commissions are approached as methodical as possible to get the maximum out of the given timeframe. If I feel stuck, I will turn to friends whose taste I trust blindly.”
“The initial decisions taken when creating an image decide themselves really; you have an idea or brief. What I find is that a lot of the process becomes organic and new things present themselves as you work the idea up; the ‘wouldn’t it be good if’ ideas you say to yourself. When they come to you, use them,” says Aly Fell.
SACHA ANGEL DIENER
Levente Peterffy isn’t always aware of what he wants to paint, so he will simply scribble around on the canvas. When you don’t know what to do, it’s important to think outside the box, to experiment and try something different. When you feel stuck just keep scribbling and testing new colours.”
ALY FELL
Scribbling for ideas is one of Levente Peterffy’s top tips; keep testing out new colours and compositions.
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Don’t we all strive for the holy grail of tips? That one golden tip that could help us understand how things work and make us better artists? DON’T LET FAILURE GET YOU DOWN LAUREN K CANNON
“Don’t let failure get you down. Even the most skilled artists make bad paintings – never forget that. Failure is a part of growth. No matter how badly a painting turns out; as long as you learn something from doing it, you have succeeded,” explains Lauren K Cannon.
You should learn something from every painting that you produce, and treat each painting as part of your growth.
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The Holy Grail of art tips Despite learning the hard way Wacoms and coffee don’t mix, Simon still produces some great art.
OBSERVE THE WORLD ANNE STOKES
“Observe the world around you. The fantastical can be based on the most normal of things. Inspired by the extended neck of the cobra, I came up with this flying snake for the Dungeons and Dragons Monster Manual,” says Anne Stokes.
BE ‘WACOM WISE’ (OR, TAKE CARE) SIMON DOMINIC BREWER
However, if your goal is to save some money, Simon Dominic Brewer’s self–taught advice is not to dip your Wacom pen in your coffee. “This knowledge will undoubtedly save you money in the future,” he concludes. ACCEPT CRITICISM CRIS GRIFFIN
“Don’t get your hackles up over criticism! The fantasy art arena is highly competitive, and if you don’t take constructive advice, you’ll be dead in the water, doomed to make the same stupid mistakes time and again. Defensiveness kills inspiration,”
Be prepared to take criticism about your work in the competitive fantasy art arena.
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