free! 10 hours of video tuition!

PLus photoshop CUstoM BrUshes win! an art course

worth $1,300!

Pro insight

16 tiPs to Paint
Portraits
Dynamic compositions
Lighting and contrast
Bringing eyes to life
Atomhawk’s Viktoria
Gavrilenko paints this
month’s majestic cover
excLusive
never-beFore-seen
art From the
new game

have fun with

coLour & Light

Discover the 14 steps to create this bright and
beautiful fantasy forest scene in photoshop

and more...
Create a game ConCept
with a strong identity
Pro advice to master
the digital art basics
Use 3d and 2d to paint
a Card art CharaCter

tt gustafson’s art
Fantasy illUstrator! the nostalgic charm of sco
 Editor’s letter

Welcome to… EDITOR’s ChOICE Laro, Mignola and

online art comps

72

I spend a lot of my waking

day searching for amazing
art. I know what you’re
thinking – what a soldier!
Well, one of the bummers
Laro’s lines
to this gruelling schedule I asked Thomas Scholes who his favourite artist was.
is that I have so many He named Rob, and his character workshop reveals why.
awesome artists in mind that the job of 22
figuring out when to work with who
becomes a real-life, mental Krypton Factor.
Viktoria Gavrilenko is an artist who’s
been on our radar for a long time, and
when we decided that our cover should
depict a bright and colourful version of
Shakespeare’s Titania, queen of the faeries,
Viktoria was our first choice. To hell... and back?
Her workshop, over on page 66, is Mike Mignola’s decided to say goodbye to Hellboy for a
while. We celebrate the artist and his hellish creation.
a stunner, starting with line art and
building up to create the final vibrant 18
image. She’s also produced her second
ever video for the tutorial, so check that
out… Now, back to the endless search for
awesome art. Wish me luck!

Beren Neale, Acting Editor Your challenge

beren.neale@futurenet.com Online communities have changed over the years –
can ArtStation revive the age of the online competition?

Contact ImagineFX Subscribe

mail@imaginefx.com and save!
Save 47 per cent and
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Photography plan.
imaginefx.creativebloq.com Turn to page 48 now

September 2016 3
 Save up to 47 per cent, and get money off Adobe products
when you subscribe to ImagineFX! See page 48

Contents
Your art
8 Reader FXPosé
Including dragons, baby
40

dragons, faeries, demon

girls, zombies and more.

News and events

18 Winner takes all
Does this challenge signal a
new age of art competitions?

26 Artist in residence
Despite his demonic art, Jim
Pavelec’s studio isn’t hellish.

Your questions
32 Artist Q&A
Core art advice on perspective,
blending modes, textures, See page 8 for the best new art
watercolours, and much more.

Features 32
40 The art of Doom
We talk to the concept artists
who revisited the original FPS
for 2016’s next-gen version.
“We felt everything in the original
50 Studio profile looked like it was something a 15
Find out why Atomhawk is
keen to develop its artists. year old would draw…”
Id Software’s Hugo Martin talks Doom
Q&A: Blending modes
54 Sketchbook
Characters and detailed
environments populate 58 34 36
Jared Muralt’s sketchbook.

58 Scott Gustafson
There’s more to this artist
than his fantastically detailed
and nostalgic fairy tale images.

Reviews
92 Software & hardware Scott Gustafson Q&A: Painter Q&A: Adjustment layers
95 Training
96 Books
50 54 26
Regulars
3 Editor’s letter
6 Resources
24 Back issues
30 Letters
48 Subscriptions: Sketchbook:
US, UK & worldwide Atomhawk Jared Muralt Artist in residence
78 Next month

4 September 2016
 Issue 138 September 2016
DownloaD resources Turn over the page for
this issue’s art assets

Workshops 66
Advice and techniques
from pro artists…
66 Visualising the
Queen of Fairies
See Viktoria Gavrilenk
bring her colours to life.

70 Apply hair
and fur to objects
Save time in ZBrush,
with Rob Redman’s help.

72 Concepts with
a sense of identity
Rob Laro uses rapid
iteration for a character.

76 How to develop
strong lighting
Rudy Siswanto creates
a compelling cover.

80 Bringing fantasy
portraits to life
How Mélanie Delon’s art
stands out from the crowd.

86 Create a card
art character
Stéphane Richard switches Get confident with colour
software to paint card art.

104 110 112

Inspiration and advice from

the best traditional artists
100 FXPosé Traditional
104 Scumbling & glazing
Jeff Miracola uses glowing colours. Classic Hellboy Glazing
110 A retro Hellboy
Paolo Rivera’s comic book cover. 114
112 Glazing techniques
Anand Radhakrishnan’s tips.
114 First Impressions
Chris Dunn talks badgers.

100

FXPosé Traditional Scumbling & glazing Chris Dunn

September 2016 5
 Resources

Resources
Getting hold of all of this issue’s videos, artwork and Ove
brushes is quick and easy. Just visit our dedicated 10 hOurrs
web page at http://ifxm.ag/colour138light of video tutori
from pro artisals
to watch andts
learn from!
workshop videos
Visualising a
fairy queen
Viktoria Gavrilenko brings her
colours to life as she paints
Shakespeare’s Queen Titania.

Get your
resources
You’re three steps away from
this issue’s resource files…

1 Go to the website
Type this into your browser’s
address bar (not the search bar):
http://ifxm.ag/colour138light

2 Find the files you want

Search through the list of
resources to watch or download.

3 Download what you need

You can download all of the
files at once, or individually.

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Siswanto, Paul Tysall

phOtOGraphy Future photography studio

6 September 2016
 Issue 138 September 2016

ExclusiVE VidEo tuition!

Watch our videos to gain a unique insight into how our artists create their stunning art

Q&A videos

stéphane Richard Alix Branwyn

Learn to switch between Photoshop, DAZ 3D, ZBrush and KeyShot to illustrate a Understand how to match colours by eye,
comical card art character from The Witcher 3, while on a tight deadline. to build a colour palette in Photoshop.
plus wips, brushes and final image plus wips and final image

Alix Branwyn nick Harris

Blending modes are one of the most powerful tools in Photoshop’s digital toolbox. See how Painter’s Paper controls provide
Learning what they do and when to use them will make you a better artist. a great way to bring texture into an image.
plus wips and final image plus wips and final image

TrAining

nick Harris James Gurney

Witness how Painter’s Digital Watercolour, the most beginner-friendly option because it Use the outside world to generate a rich
works with other blend modes and tool sets, can help you create great watercolour art. assortment of characters for your art,
plus wips and final image as seen in Portraits In The Wild.

And All tHis! Detailed workshops with advice from the best fantasy artists around the world, including
Mélanie Delon, Tony Foti, Rob Laro, Jeff Miracola, Anand Radhakrishnan, Rob Redman, Paolo Rivera and Rudy Siswanto.

14 CUsToM BrUshes, inClUding…

soft fuzzy fEAtHER BRusH modEllinG BlEndER
The blending brush Viktoria Gavrilenko Rudy Siswanto uses this to render Stéphane Richard uses this preset
uses to retain texture in a stroke. feathers on an owl bear and griffin. for smooth but controlled blending.

September 2016 7
the place to share your DIGItal art

2
Pei Gong
Location: China
Web: www.peigong-conceptart.com
emaiL: 55017000@qq.com
meDia: Photoshop

Pei has been studiously fantastic ideas that I can use for future
preparing himself for a digital painting projects.”
career in concept art for And that hard graft has paid off
years, honing his painting handsomely. “I feel so lucky that I now
skills and artist chops in have a chance to get into the gaming
evenings after school. industry, and I’ve met so many great
“I really enjoy watching movies and artists all around the world,” he says. Yet
playing video games,” he says, “not only his main goal remains to be inspired and
just for fun, but also to bring lots of learn from all that’s around him.

8 September 2016 Email your submissions to fxpose@imaginefx.com

 Concept artist Thomas
Scholes admires Pei’s art…
“Pei’s firm grasp of
the fundamentals of
drawing, perspective,
atmosphere and
rendering combine to craft a
convincing illusion abundant
with depth and space.”

1 West Lake “A quiet and mystery

landscape garden. There’s a quiet
lake surrounding the garden.”

2 kUnG FU “The hero is surrounded

by rebels. Fighting could break out
at any moment. Blood will be spilled.”

3 DraGon isLanD “I imagined that

this is a secret island, which only
the dragon and the local residents can
easily access.”

September 2016 9
 ryan Winch
Location: US
1 2
Web: http://ifxm.ag/ryan-w
emaiL: rmwinchart@gmail.com
meDia: Photoshop

Ryan has been a

passionate artist of all
types of illustration since
childhood. Graduating
from high school, and
with no means to attend college, Ryan
joined the army and served as an
infantryman for eight years.
“With the ability to attend college
through the GI Bill, I studied at the
Academy of Art University in San
Francisco,” he says. “After receiving my
BFA in visual development, I moved to
Los Angeles where my first job was with
Disney Interactive as a concept artist.
Recent endeavours include a series of
children’s books dealing with bullying
issues called Space Pilgrim.

IMaGINeFX crIt
“I like Ryan’s
painting style: it’s
deceptively simple,
but look closer and it’s full
of details. There’s humour,
too: who would have
thought that rabbits
were taught about the
significance of carrots?”
Cliff Hope,
Operations Editor
3

1 sPace PiLGrim “This is my current

children’s book project, to be
completed within the next year or so. It’s
about the adventures of a boy named
Logan who’s launched into space and
crash lands on an alien planet.”

2 mermaiD “Sometimes you just have

an urge to draw a girl with a fish tail.”

3 storytime “A private commission

illustration of bunnies learning about
the colourful history of the carrot. Some
of the bunnies are less than interested.”

4 FeLLoW exPLorers “Another

scene from my Space Pilgrim book.
When the boy crash lands he’s not
alone. Logan is joined by Emma and a
helpful robot named Bert.”

10 September 2016 Email your submissions to fxpose@imaginefx.com

 4

Email your submissions to fxpose@imaginefx.com September 2016 11

 Tin Salamunic
LocaTion: US
1
Web: www.salamunicblog.com
emaiL: tin@salamunicart.com
meDia: Photoshop

Tin has been a senior

designer, commercial
illustrator, UX analyst and
creative director over the
past 11 years. “I’m primarily
a digital artist, although I occasionally
sketch in my Moleskine whenever I have
time,” he says. The Adobe Suite is his
go-to arsenal for most work. “But I rely
on Manga Studio’s unique tool set when
it comes to inking.”
“My inspirations change weekly, if
not daily,” says Tin, “and I don’t have
major long-term plans for my career
because I’m very happy where I am.”
The artist works together with his
wife, who is also a designer.

IMAGINEFX CRIT
“There aren’t
many images in
ImagineFX as
striking as Tin Salamunic’s
Dead Island. I both can’t
stop looking at it and
really don’t want to look
at it. And I don’t plan to
book a holiday to Dead
Island any time soon.”
Daniel Vincent,
Art Editor

1 Tokyo, Japan “I’m a sucker for

travel journals, and in the past I never
left the country without several blank
sketchbooks. Lately however, I’ve been
leaning more and more towards digital
sketching. It’s faster, more convenient,
and I never run out of materials. Digital
sketching is a great tool when you’re
just too busy and don’t feel like carrying
around supplies.”

2 bike “I try to sketch whenever I

can. It keeps things fresh and helps
me maintain a visual library of all kinds
of exciting things I encounter on a day-
to-day basis.”

3 DeaD iSLanD “I write video game

and tech reviews when not doing
illustration and design, and I’m a huge
fan of Deep Silver’s Dying Light and
Dead Island series. This was a Dead
Island tribute piece I did for the DS
folks after their game launched.”

12 September 2016 Email your submissions to fxpose@imaginefx.com

3

Email your submissions to fxpose@imaginefx.com September 2016 13

 Xuexiang Zhang
LocaTion: China
1
Web: http://ifxm.ag/xuzha
emaiL: xuexiangart@hotmail.com
meDia: Photoshop

“I started to paint in school

when I was 15,” says
Xuexiang, “and in 2009 I
went into college majoring
in animation. It was around
this time that I became aware of how
much the games industry relies on
digital artists.”
The Chinese artist graduated in 2013
and since then has been fully committed
to working within game companies,
loving the passion of the art teams on
each project. “Now I’m a freelance
concept artist, teleworking for a
company in Canada.”

IMAGINEFX CRIT
“The first thing that
jumps out at me
from Xuexiang’s
art is the use of colour,
which manages to be both
powerful and yet subtle at
the same time. He has a
great understanding of
shape, too, especially
flamboyant curves.”
Beren Neale,
Acting Editor

1 Dragon baby “I tried new themes

and texture with soft and loose
strokes to depict the picture. The use
of side lights helped to exaggerate the
volume of the creature.”

2 paLaDin “This illustration was

2015’s last project. This was the first
breakthrough in my work, although my
painting style has since changed.”

3 Demon girL “This is a character

in a card game. She’s a vampire
demon who hunts intruders that get lost
in the middle of the night. She rules the
graveyard and the dead from the
underworld would fight for her.”

4 game icon-Dragon HeaD

“An icon for a Chinese game,
which is the first time I had to draw part
of the dragon head. I developed fresh
understanding of anatomy, namely that
contrasting colours help to capture the
viewer’s attention.”

14 September 2016 Email your submissions to fxpose@imaginefx.com

2

Email your submissions to fxpose@imaginefx.com September 2016 15

1 2

Vladislav pantic
LocaTion: Serbia
Web: www.theartofvlad.blogspot.rs
emaiL: panticvladislav@hotmail.com
meDia: Photoshop

A self-taught freelance
artist from Belgade,
Vladislav was slowly
seduced by digital’s ease
of use and apparent
unlimited possibilities.
“For years I’ve been fascinated by the
world of faeries,” he tells us, “and so
became inspired by artists such as John
Bauer, Brian Froud, Jean-Baptiste
Monge and Alan Lee.
“I tried to present beings from that
reality in a way I see them, using both
digital and traditional media.”

1 THe guarDian of THe foreST

“In this illustration I let the mysterious
atmosphere of the faerie kingdom
appear as the being of light, in this case
the guardian of the sacred forest.”

2 reTurn To LabyrinTH “I watched

the Labyrinth film half a dozen times
as a kid and it’s still one of my all-time
favourites. This is my interpretation of
these great characters.”

3 THe gifT “In this piece I was trying

to achieve a dynamic image of
faeries. I was keen to depict a feeling
of lightness, freedom and joy.”

4 THe prince of miDnigHT

“I wanted to create a character that
represents the other side of the faerie
realm. Even in that world we can meet
some unpleasant spirits, so be careful
when dealing with faeries – not all of
them are benevolent.”

16 September 2016 Email your submissions to fxpose@imaginefx.com

3

4
IMAGINEFX CRIT
“I really like the
classic fantasy feel
to Vladislav’s art
seen here, the subject
matter, the beguiling
atmosphere and sense
of mystery he conjures
up. I would happily have
Return to Labyrinth on
my wall at home.”
Clifford Hope,
Operations Editor

submit your
art to fxposé
Send up to five pieces of your
work, along with their titles, an
explanation of your techniques, a
photo of yourself and contact
details. Images should be sent as
300DPI JPEG files.

email: fxpose@imaginefx.com
(maximum 1MB per image)

post: (CD or DVD):

FXPosé
ImagineFX
Quay House
The Ambury
Bath, BA1 2BW, UK

All artwork is submitted on the

basis of a non-exclusive
worldwide licence to publish, both
in print and electronically.

Email your submissions to fxpose@imaginefx.com September 2016 17

 Artist neWs, softWAre events

At the core of the DiGitAl Art community

Challenge accepted!
Winning ArtStation Challenges give artists a platform to share and improve their
work. Dom Carter asks if it signals the renaissance of the digital art competition...
When it comes to giving character, environment and transport art. Jean-Baptiste Monge, who scooped first
artists an opportunity to “We didn’t want it to be Groundhog Day place in the 2D character art
find work and connections, with a forum-based system, with all of those challenge, considers the award
ArtStation is taking the lead. limitations,” Daniel says. “So we started with a great achievement: “Even at
“Founder Leonard Teo’s a custom-built competition platform, and my level, nothing is to be taken
vision for ArtStation is that we solve real added features that elevate the challenge for granted,” he says.
problems for the artists and the industry,” experience like Twitch streaming, 3D viewer The benefits of entering extend beyond
says Daniel Wade, the site’s product support, feedback, public voting (likes), winning, though. “For younger artists, it can
manager, referencing the importance social media integration, and a simple be a good experience to see how you react
of ArtStation competitions. judging experience.” in the face of stress and deadlines,” explains
Launched earlier this year, The Journey is Jean-Baptiste. “The most important thing is
a batch of contests that hark back to a time Taking ParT that you finish the illustration on time.”
of giant forum competitions. Split into 2D Word of the challenges spread quickly Considering that he’s been put off by
and 3D categories, these six ArtStation and attracted an overwhelming amount huge forum competitions before – “The
Challenges invited artists to submit of talent. Professional illustrator subjects were common and boring” –

We didn’t want it to be
Groundhog Day with a
forum-based system, with
all of those limitations

18 September 2016
bye bye a right win a course
hellboy hell hole? worth $1,300
Artists from across Jim Pavelec is well Escape Studios is
the industry salute known for his demonic giving away an eight-
Mike Mignola as he art, but this painter’s week storyboarding
calls time on Hellboy, home studio seems course – this could be
the popular demon- anything but hellish your ticket into the
turned-paranormal to create traditional visual effects industry.
investigator. and digital art in. Don’t delay, enter today!
Page 22 Page 26 Page 28

WinnEr: 2D EnVirOnMEnT CHaLLEngE

Yan Yang has built up
his skills by persistently
studying other people's
work for six years.

September 2016 19
 ImagineNation News
WinnEr: 2D CHaraCTEr CHaLLEngE Creating a slow-moving WinnEr: 2D TranSPOrT CHaLLEngE
creature was a chance for
Jean-Baptiste to give his
hyperactive mind a rest.

WinnEr: 3D EnVirOnMEnT CHaLLEngE

Jean-Baptiste’s entry helps certify the slow internet, bad servers and confusing
quality of the ArtStation Challenges. websites. ArtStation is quite a good portal
Layna Lazar, winner of the 3D character at the moment, though.”
challenge, agrees that the
interesting brief attracted ExPOSurE anD CarEErS Wojciech uses his travel
experiences to create
wasn’t lucky this time, showing a
her to The Journey, and hopes The spirit behind the ArtStation Challenges images not seen in the competition entry in a portfolio means that
the contest leads to, “More fosters community-based learning. And cinema or video games. you’re being proactive and seeking ways
competitions that have a by growing artistically within a supportive to get exposure.”
briefing to create worlds and stories rather community, artists put themselves in a For Serbian-based artist Darko Markovic,
than ‘make a thing’.” position to get noticed. his location means that
Layna is also mindful of deadlines and “Receiving an award gives you a lot exposure is hard to come by.
3D work’s long pipelines. “Participate in a of exposure and helps to make your “This competition was the best
challenge that suits you best or is something name a lot more recognisable,” says thing that could happen to
you want to be doing for the next few Wojciech Piwowarczyk, winner of the 3D me,” he says, after coming
months,” she says. “At the end of it, you’ll environment challenge. “It’s a first place in the 3D transport competition.
have a great finished portfolio piece, and huge advantage when looking “Exposure is the main weapon when you
that’s always worth it!” for work if someone finds in have great work. No one will hire you if
Having something different to work on your portfolio an image they you’re hidden in your cave, no matter how
was the driving force behind recognise. Even if someone good your work is.”
Kait Kybar’s entry, which Having worked with film and games

if ilm discovers new

triumphed in the 2D transport studios for more than 30 years, Daniel has
category. “Competitions are seen winners from these challenges use their
like a personal project that
keeps you motivated,” the artist says.
talent, then there may be exposure to land their dream jobs. And after
months of planning, he could finally reveal in
Like Jean-Baptiste, Kait is unsentimental
when it comes to the old days of massive
opportunities for the artist May that ArtStation has been working with
ILM to launch a Star Wars challenge hosted
forums and competitions. “I only remember in the future by the studio’s art directors.

20 September 2016
 Kait has been painting Industry InsIght
digitally for 20 years, but
still finds it easy to generate Challenge
Champions
new ideas for images.

Forum competition organisers on

how they grew their communities

Darren Rawlings, former

moderator at CGHub
“While I was an editor/moderator
at CGHub, we had ongoing events
called jams, where artists would
post designs and stuff every week
on a chosen topic. It was fun and
everyone seemed to enjoy it. We
gave out badges and whatnot for
winning, but it was mostly just that:
jamming. Folks in the community
drawing together. A lot of folks
would join and there were always
cool topics, such as design a new
Mass Effect character. I remember
thinking some of these designs and
should be in the game. There was
always mind-blowing stuff coming
out of the community.”
Fernando Caire,
The Gnomon Workshop
“The Gnomon Workshop has
run monthly Community Image
Challenge contests since 2006 in
“This is really a first for an art challenge 2D and 3D categories through
on this scale with a major studio and its our forum. Each month we’ve
biggest IP, and we’re in discussions with chosen four winners to receive
other studios to run this type of challenge subscription prizes: access to
in future,” Daniel reveals. In confirmation The Gnomon Workshop library.
of what the winners of The Journey Contest themes change from
challenges have been saying, he observes month to month, with recent
that, “It’s not far-fetched to imagine if ILM challenges including Magical Fail,
discovers new talent, that there may be David and Goliath, and Tolkien.”
opportunities for them in the future.” WinnEr: 3D TranSPOrT CHaLLEngE
Lynette Clee, former studio
manager at 3DTotal
THE fuTurE Darko was keen for
his vehicle to push
“I think we should lay emphasis on
“3DTotal ran regular challenges
ArtStation’s new challenges and features communication and connection between
the boundaries of on the Threedy forums including
have certainly generated optimism and proportion and design. artists. In this manner, no matter what
Stylised Challenge, Speed
excitement in the community. But where outcomes we get, we can always benefit
Modelling Challenge and Speed
does ArtStation go from here? from the experiences.”
Sculpting Challenge. We also used
“I think online competitions For Daniel, it all comes back to solving
to post a Stylised Challenge over on
have a lot of prospects and problems. With the competition between
ConceptArt.org forums for the 2D
I’m prepared to be surprised,” Layna is new to the studios to find top artists only set to
world of digital art and guys and gals. Prizes were usually
says Yan Yang, winner of the increase, this could lead to the evolution
has been mentored by 3DTotal goodies such as DVDs,
2D environment challenge. Jon Troy Nickel. of studio-judged art challenges.
books and PDF magazines.”
“Studios are always looking for talented
artists, and the competition to find them is Daniel Wade, former publisher,
increasing. The ability to see how these CGChallenges
artists perform on a deadline – even “The art challenges started out as
simulated – will also be valuable.” he says. friendly artist-driven contests on
“They would never replace our community the CGTalk forums. It was just a
challenges, because the requirements are bunch of guys shooting the sh*t
quite different. Studio challenges will either while creating art and giving each
be recruitment-style challenges where other feedback. They became the
studios are searching for talent, or public CGChallenges on CGSociety. These
challenges where the studios want to give grew from a handful to thousands
back to the community.” of artists, with a defined framework
To keep up to date with the latest around a creative brief, several
ArtStation competitions and developments, categories and substantial prizes.”
WinnEr: 3D CHaraCTEr CHaLLEngE visit www.artstation.com/contests.

September 2016 21
 ImagineNation News
Creator Mike Mignola
continued the series
by writing and
illustrating the Hellboy
in Hell collection.

Closing the door on Hell

Raise Hell As Mike Mignola calls time on Hellboy, the demon-turned-paranormal
investigator, artists from across the industry pay tribute to the landmark comic series
“I’ve never taken a significant demanding his attention. But it was a Research and Defense, but I’d like to take a
chunk of time to just do work painting completed in his limited spare time year off from drawing any kind of comics.”
essentially for myself,” says that sparked a realisation. “I only average Considering Hellboy is one of the most
Mike Mignola, the prolific about one painting a year, and the last critically acclaimed comics from the past
artist and writer behind painting I did, I actually really liked,” he three decades, Mike’s decision not to focus
Hellboy, who recently announced that he reveals. “So I thought, ‘Gee, if I do a bunch of on the series has understandably made
has decided to pause work on the series paintings, maybe I’ll actually figure out what waves in the graphic novel community and
and focus on personal projects. “I’ve no I’m doing instead of relearning every year.’” beyond. “Mike Mignola is the smartest comic
idea where it’s gonna go,” he adds, “but Even though this is the end of the road for book artist of his generation,” says iconic
it’s exciting. It’s what keeps me going.” now when it comes to Hellboy, Mike stresses comics creator Frank Miller.
This is uncharted territory for Mike. Hellboy made its debut that he still has plenty of other projects to “He puts his words and his
in 1993 and has gone
Previously, the Eisner award-winning artist keep him busy. “I can’t really take a year off pictures together with great
on to win Eisner and
has had plenty of work lined up and Harvey awards. — I’m co-plotting Bureau for Paranormal care and makes it all look
very easy.”
Previous work on Gotham by Gaslight and
Cosmic Odyssey had already garnered Mike
a lot of fans, including Catwoman artist
Adam Hughes. “I was on board with Hellboy
from day one,” he enthuses. “I admire
everything about it: the art, the writing, the
design, the world-building, the sheer
uniqueness of the voice of the storytelling…
all are head and shoulders above the rest.
Mike Mignola’s Hellboy makes every day
seem like Halloween, and Hell a pretty
cool place to visit.”
Heavy Metal veteran and Hellboy artist
Richard Corben observes that the series was
a source of inspiration for a
generation of cartoonists. “His
comic art is beautifully simple,
so simple that other
cartoonists think they can

The Hellboy in Hell series kicked off in 2012, and

picked up where the original series left off.

22 September 2016
 Artist news, software & events

Hellboy is a fan
favourite, having
been voted the
Best Indy Character.

Mike Mignola
is the smartest
comic book artist
of his generation
emulate his style, which is futile:” he explains.
“He’s one of the best. Congratulations on
your masterpiece Hellboy in Hell, Mike.”
With discussions about bringing out a
third Hellboy film, together with rumblings
over a television series, this might not be the
last we’ve seen of the character, but
Ultimate-Spider-Man writer
Brian Michael Bendis insists
that it’s the creator who’s
remembered. “Mike is so
excellent, so consistent,
that my fear is that people may take it for
granted. Do not. He is one of the great
comic legends of all time, and we get to
watch him live.”
The Hellboy saga will
You can keep track of Mike’s upcoming
meets its end in For
projects at www.artofmikemignola.com. Whom The Bell Tolls.

September 2016 23
 Complete your collection!

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August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016
Comics have never been more With the help of Magic: The Stan Prokopenko gets down to In this month’s issue, learn how to
popular, and this issue we give Gathering and Fantasy Flight the bones of the matter in our manage values by following Karla
you the skills to break into the Games artists, we give you the anatomy special, Aaron Griffin Ortiz’s cover workshop, improve
industry. We also chart Conan’s skills you need to paint stunning lays bare his methods, Ed Binkley your portrait skills, build a library
appearance in the comics, talk to card art, and reveal art from the creates a human house fly and of custom Photoshop brushes,
illustrator Iain McCaig about his latest Magic deck, Shadows over Loopydave shares his learned tips get the most from your life model,
love of storytelling, and help you Innistrad. Plus, Rodney Matthews on caricature. We also study up and more. We also talk to Lois van
combine 2D and 3D techniques. shares his brilliant sketches. on the 10 best online art schools. Baarle and the ILM art department.

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24 September 2016
 ImagineNation News
My adjustable easel, where I do most of my painting, would not be A print of a Nicolai Fechin page of hand
complete without the Tom Kuebler shrunken head. It watches over studies. It’s a constant reminder that I need
me to make sure that what I’m working on is sufficiently disgusting. to work harder, and smarter.

Jim
Pavelec
Hell boy He’s known for
his demonic art, but this
painter’s studio isn’t hellish
Hell is pretty full these days,
so I work at home like most
artists. I recently moved my
studio back into my home
from an office location. I felt
the extra expense of the off-site studio
was unnecessary, and wanted to save
money for upcoming projects.
My workspace isn’t very large, but this
means I can bounce from my easel to my
computer or drafting table with ease. With
the new painting techniques I’m utilising, this
is ideal for me. I switch back and forth from
traditional media to digital several times
within a piece. I can work on a drawing, lay
some acrylics and pastels on it, scan it, paint
on it in Photoshop, print it out, mount it to
board and be painting in oils – all in one day.
This setup has enabled my creativity to
expand to the next level.
I do a lot of my pencil and pastel drawing
at a local coffee shop. There’s a long
tradition of the artist and the café. The
constant coming and going of people has an
energy that you can tap into, and working in
public opens you up to meeting new friends,
patrons or collaborators.
I don’t need top-of-the-line equipment for
making art. My easel is a mid-range easel, I
made my mahl stick out of things I had in the
basement, my palette was salvaged from a
local hardware store, my Wacom – which
I got for next to nothing on Craigslist – is old,
and a lot of my bookcases and other storage
items I stole from a large chain bookstore
that was closing down. I’m not condoning My bag of rocks is one of my favourite drawing
stealing things, but hey, do what you have to tools. The bag was knitted for me by one of the
baristas at the cafe. For those not familiar with my
do. Being an artist is a tough racket. drawing process, I start by coating paper with a
Jim has been a freelance fantasy illustrator for dusting of powdered graphite. I then press a large
kneaded eraser into the various textured surfaces of
over 15 years. You may be more familiar with the rocks and shells. Finally, I press that eraser on to
his demon drawings and paintings, and as the the paper, lifting up the powdered graphite and
revealing wonderful organic patterns that I use as
founder of the artist rights website ArtPACT. the basis for my drawings.
Follow him on Instagram: @jim_pavelec.

26 September 2016
 Artist news, software & events
I bought this special clamp mount designed specifically for the iPad. I’ll often create a Pinterest
board for a painting I’m working on, and put all the reference I need in it. I can then scroll to
whatever I need, instead of printing the reference images out and wasting ink.

These are currently my three favourite rocks.

A trilobite fossil dating back 500 million years; a fairy
stone, which is a concretion of glacial sand; and a
piece of green malachite. I’m always looking in nature,
and at rock and mineral shops for new textures.

Hellboy.
Because…
it’s Hellboy!

My palette is a large
piece of countertop
material I found in the
scrap bin at a hardware
store. It’s not fancy, but
it serves me well.
My drafting table. This is where a piece usually
begins. I have a wide variety of media within
reach, and work very randomly and chaotically.
I’ll be simultaneously working on a watercolour
block with watercolour, acrylic and soft pastels.
Water, thinners and rubbing alcohol are also used.
Whatever I end up with doesn’t need to be archival,
because I scan it, manipulate it in Photoshop, then
print that image out and work on top of it with more
paint and pastels to achieve the final artwork.

September 2016 27
 ImagineNation News

Win an eight-week
storyboarding course!
Competition Want to take your first steps into the world of storyboarding? Enter
our competition to win a place on an Escape Studios course, worth $1,300!
London-based Escape Studios, part of
Pearson College London, is Europe’s
premier visual effects academy. If you’ve
got raw talent and the drive to create top-
level visual work, Escape Studios can give
you a highly vocational training experience
in the animation & visual effects industries.
We’ve teamed up with Escape Studios to
offer a place on its eight-week storyboard
art course. Students will benefit from three-
hour hands-on teaching sessions one night a
week. Made up of set projects that cover
everything from character design, scene
structure and cinematography, the course
Hibbert Ralph, the producer of
culminates in a final live “industry brief”. Redboard, demonstrates the key
The mentoring continues with a further software used on the course.
eight-week period of additional support and
online aftercare, in which students can hone The resident art guru who’s Please submit your answer at http://ifxm.ag/escape-studios. This
their skills in a virtual classroom. leading the course is: competition is open to entries from the UK only and all entrants must
To be in with a chance of winning a place be 18 or over. The closing date is 15 August 2016 and the prize is
on this course check out Escape’s website, A) Alex Williams non-transferable for cash or other Escape Studios courses.
http://ifxm.ag/escape-story, and then B) John Williams You can check out a full set of competition rules by visiting
answer the following question: C) Rory Williams http://ifxm.ag/escape-studios.

28 September 2016
“What was Disney’s 50th
animated feature?”

#SMARTERMOVIEMAG
 ImagineNation
now if somehow there’s been another stuff
up? Your system says my subscription is
done and the three issues added on to
resolve the last problem weren’t added on!
I’m really hoping that you’ll be able to
help with this! Your art news that’s
YOUr FeeDBacK & OPINIONS Graham Goodall-Smith, via email
grabbed our attention
contact acting editor, Beren Neale, Beren replies Hello Graham. Firstly,
on beren@imaginefx.com or write thanks for getting in touch about this and
to ImagineFX, Future Plc, I’m so sorry you’ve had so much trouble.
Quay House, the ambury, Our subscriptions are handled by an
Bath, Ba1 1Ua, UK external company who largely do a great
job. I’ve forwarded your email on to the
Follow us on twitter:
relevant team and I expect them to contact
www.twitter.com/imaginefx
you shortly to sort this out. If they don’t,
tell us your thoughts on: please email me again.
www.facebook.com/imaginefx For what it’s worth, the March issue does
usually come out in February and so forth.
LinkedOut But that’s neither here nor there if your issue John Landers
I’m a fan and a user of your has been misappropriated somehow
@johnofthefuture
magazines. I was reading a digital and doesn’t arrive at all! Sorry again.
edition of the comic special, Comic Anyone experiencing subscription woes
“Articles in @imaginefx
Artist Volume 2 and I wanted to – and it is rare that we get complaints of
download the resources but the this nature – should send an email to
always inspire me to
link was broken. It redirected me contact@myfavouritemagazines.co.uk. practice harder!
to a blank page. This has happened #sketching”
before with other links. But for the Please sir, can I have
moment the one that I’m looking some more?
for is http://ifxm.ag/comart2. I’ve got one – just one – of the ImagineFX
Can you please help me with that? Sketchbooks series and it’s outstanding.
I appreciate your help. However, I’m trying to find more. Have they
Andres, via email stopped being made? Or are they available
Most of our special issues
come with downloadable to download for Kindle Fire. They are about
Beren replies We’re very sorry about this, resources – videos, layered the best thing I’ve found for the thing that
artwork and brushes.
Andres. There are all sorts of boring and I want, namely a book full of sketches by
complicated dreams behind the failed many artists. It’s an excellent magazine well
resources link, which I won’t bore you with worth the 15-odd quid. Can you send me a Jean-Baptiste
other than to say that it’s a hangover from link to a download please? Shops where I Monge
us moving web servers. We’ll certainly live no longer stock them. @jbmonge
fix it as soon as possible. I would also Keith Boe, via email
encourage readers to email us if they come “Meet Binabick the
across any broken links. Beren replies Hello Keith. We’re really glad Clean One”
you enjoyed the ImagineFX sketchbook
Subscription stuff up? special. There have been three Sketchbook
I have recently changed address and, despite specials produced so far and volume 2 and 3
setting up redirected mail, I haven’t received are still available – and we will put more
the last two issues of the magazine (May together, too.
and June editions). I have previously had To order your copy – and any of our other
problems with the subscription. I was sent a special editions of ImagineFX – simply visit
December issue in December, then a www.myfavouritemagazines.co.uk and
February issue in January. I was told that follow links to Specials and Design. Happy
they had run out of January issues, which I drawing, Keith.
didn’t expect to happen with a subscription.
To resolve this, the staff I contacted
extended my subscription by three issues,
which was very kind.
Since the February issue, I have been
receiving issues a month ahead of the
Dave Paget
month we’re in. For example in February @davidpaget_
I received the March edition, and in March DID YOU MISS
I received the April edition. I hope that’s OUr cOMIc “Artwork for my
not too confusing, but that’s why I’ve
art ISSUe? latest tutorial video,
Turn to page 24 The Reaper”
missed May and June, even though June’s
to see how you
only just started! can get hold of
I should have received a May issue in Just finished something you want us to shout
this and other about? Send it our way on Twitter
April and a June issue last month, but past issues of So far we’ve put together three Sketchbook volumes, (@imaginefx), or find us on Facebook!
neither of them showed up. I’m wondering ImagineFX. and there’s more special issues to come.

30 September 2016
 Take the smart
movie quiz...
www.gamesradar.com/new-totalfilm-quiz

#SMARTERMOVIEMAG
 ImagineNation Artist Q&A

Struggling with a painting technique or get your

topic? email help@imaginefx.com today! resources
See page 6 now!

Question
Help me make sense of Photoshop’s Blending modes
Terri Calloway, Canada

nick harris
Answer
English artist Nick switched
Alix replies
to digital after 18 years of next to the undo button and learn when to use them, to help you make
working in real media, mostly layers, Blending modes are one creating a digital piece a little bit easier.
as a watercolourist. The
of the most powerful tools in and that’s exactly what i’m going to do in
majority of his work is aimed
at the children’s book market. the digital toolbox. in most this short article.
www.nickillus.com cases, you’ll probably just find yourself the blending modes in photoshop
flipping through them until you find the Adding a subtle operate by interacting with the pixels
alix Branwyn effect you want, experimenting with the Multiply layer made
that are placed beneath them and are
Alix is a Seattle-based with a low Opacity
illustrator for the games unexpected. however, in some cases Soft brush at the end split up into a few different groups,
can be a great way
industry. Her artwork is it’s good to know exactly what some of to push your shadows
depending on their effect. the main three
primarily in fantasy and horror, the more commonly used modes do and and forms. groups of Blending modes that you will
with a focus towards the dark
and downright creepy. likely work with are the darken, contrast
www.alixbranwyn.com and lighten groups.
of these, the main Blending modes
Tony foti that i used for my example created in
Tony is an artist with Konami photoshop are multiply, overlay, and
who still somehow contributes
freelance work to numerous Screen, respectively. once you get a feel for
books, trading cards, video how these blending modes interact with
games, magazines and your piece you can find any number of
adverts of all types.
www.tonyfotiart.com
uses to make your process easier.

paul canavan
Paul is the lead concept artist
at Blazing Griffin. He has been

Artist’s secret
featured in Spectrum,
Develop’s 30 Under 30 and
recently won a BAFTA, which
he doesn’t brag about. At all. Adding some texturee layer at low
www.paulscottcanavan.com
Creating a Color Blending mod in an array
s
charlie creber opacity with random brushstroke texture
be a good way to add
Charlie’s a concept artist of colours can
to your art.
and illustrator working from and a splash of the unexpected
Cardiff, Wales, where she
spends her days creating
digital and oil paintings, and
collecting felines.
www.creberart.com

need our advice?

Email help@imaginefx.com
with your art questions and
we’ll provide all the answers!

32 September 2016
 Your questions answered...
Step-by-step: Question
laying out common I’m new to Painter. Could I have some tips
Blending modes about using Painter’s Paper textures, please?
Layla Towns, Australia

Textures in this image comprise several

layers, built up using the Real Fat Chalk
tool, and painting with a combination of
in-built and custom Papers.

Multiply is a fantastic tool at many

1 stages of your process. Because white
on a Multiply layer is omitted, it’s great for
placing pencil scans into your piece to be
coloured. It can be used for blocking in the
initial shadows on colour flats, or for
creating freckles or tattoos that interact
with the skin tone of your character.

Answer
Nick replies
painter’s paper controls have the texture and/or lighting. Furthermore, you
provided a great way to introduce can use a rectangular selection to sample from
texture into an image for some time any flattened image to make a paper, using
now. it’s always worth taking the the capture paper option to be found in that
time to point out some of their potential for drop-down menu, top right. while not all
those not familiar with them yet. images work well for this (cross-fade for tiling
I find Overlay to be the most versatile access to their controls is through one of two is available), you’ll certainly be able to build
2 Blending mode. When using lighter tabs, usually found together on a single palette up a custom library pretty quickly and easily.
colours it creates a luminous glow, and (click windows>paper panels). you’re offered Brush grain then becomes more exciting a
darker colours can create rich shadows. It’s papers and paper library. the latter is self- control to play with.
useful for blocking in your lights on colour explanatory: it’s where you’ll find your choice
flats, creating bloom and glow, pores and of papers. you can add to or remove papers
skin texture, and adding touches of using controls along the bottom of the palette,
saturated colour to the shadows’ edges. or from a drop-down menu accessed from an
icon that’s top right. it’s also possible to use
painter’s own paper maker to construct fractal-
Artist’s secret
based additions. generAte Q uiCk Clouds
For me, the main attraction is in the controls from A PAPe r te xtur e
y cloud effect
sometimes, when i need a wisp and ramp
offered in the papers section, though. once a
paper is selected, you can rotate and scale it, or quickly, i often use Paper textures gular
irre
adjust contrast and brightness, or even invert up the scale on one of the more
ma ke ma rks wit h the fat
options. then i
Chalk and smu dge them abou t.

Screen only adds lightness when

3 applied. In addition, this light is more
opaque and less saturated than what
Overlay would create, which makes it ideal
for creating atmosphere like fog or smoke.
Layering in some soft Screen layers can
Once you find a Paper, or combination of Papers that you
also help push objects in your scene back like, you can accentuate the texture by inverting it for the
in space, to create more realistic depth. dark and light portions of an element.

September 2016 33
 ImagineNation Artist Q&A
Question
Any advice for painting with watercolours in Painter?
Luiza Walczak, England

Answer
Nick replies
painter offers a banquet of watercolour tools. it boasts
digital, real and watercolour tool categories, each
with a range of brushes. while real and watercolour
categories require a specialised layer blend mode
called watercolour, the digital watercolour will work with other
blend modes and consequently tool sets, but it has fewer tools.
i come up with a loose sketch first, flood fill the background
layer, duplicate it and set the new layer to either multiply or gel.
the latter kills the white and gives you a head start on colour.
then simple water Brush strokes at lower opacity lay the
groundwork. using that brush, along with the Simple diffuser,
Salt and gentle wet eraser, i work up some tones. i duplicate that
layer, then block in the figure with solid colour on a new layer.
i then place that layer below the two watercolour layers.

Watercolour-type
effects can be achieved

Artist’s secret
not only by applying
colour washes, but by
removing or working on
Wet And dry lour
areas with some of the
other tools provided.
i’ve mentioned the Wet waterco
mand to be foun d in the
layer com as
layer drop-down menu. Well, just
useful and nex t to it is the dry
The best way for you to
bine
Watercolour layer command. Com on choose which Painter

the two to stop-start colo ur was hes watercolour set suits

you best is to spend digital real Watercolour
textural Papers. time trying them out.

Step-by-step: combine painter’s Watercolour sets

To start defining shapes I work with the Oil Pastel
1 and planes, I work with the
2 (pick whatever Paint tool
Erasers and Blenders you prefer) to build up interest
appropriate to each and form on the character’s
watercolour type on my layers. base colour layer. I take the
I develop some form and chance to bring green hues in.
lighting on everything, as well I also add another Digital
as introducing some darker Watercolour layer to add depth
areas with washes on another to the shadows on the
layer (Real Watercolour). I can character. I build more form
then work back into that layer into the foreground waves,
with the Erasers and Salt to using Salt and the Erasers to
create waves and froth effects. hint at froth and splash effects.

By working with body I carry on building up

3 colour (Oil Pastel again) on
4 tones and interest all over.
a lower layer, set to the default This includes introducing an
Blend mode, it’s possible to effect called Flow Maps. These
build up more nuances and can exaggerate the Paper
subtlety with the watercolour effect if you select Create from
layers above. This is the way Current Paper (on the drop-
I like to work and if you’re down from the Flow Map
aiming for a more purely panel). They work with the
watercolour look, then it might appropriate Flow Map brushes
not be for you. We all find our in Real Watercolour. I tweak
own preferred way of working, Layer strengths and finish off
given time to try things out. with added highlights.

34 September 2016
 Your questions answered...
Occlusion shadows
help to push the
three-dimensional
Step-by-step:
creating your own
colour collection

Building and maintaining an

1 inspiration library is a must. Whether
you create it over a long period of time or
you go on an art-collecting binge, finding a
collection of pieces where colours were
handled in a way that speaks to you will
My master swatch file was created give you the material you need to build out
Question using about 100 photos and paintings
collected from the web.
your own collection of colours.

Please help me establish a

colour palette in Photoshop
Darren Lambert, England

Answer
Alix replies
in the digital world where we don’t photoshop, because the interface makes for a
have an array of physical pigments quick and intuitive way to colour match in
to mix, where do you begin when it your workflow.
comes to colour? it can be a For colour schemes where you aren’t
daunting task to start out building a colour matching from a reference, however, i’ve found CSS Drive’s Image Palette Generator
library, but with a few tricks and tools you can it to be incredibly useful to build out a swatch 2 (www.cssdrive.com/imagepalette) is
set yourself up for a much easier time. catalog that you can scroll through to grab a free tool that creates Photoshop colour
Being able to match colours by eye from life pre-made colours as you work. i use a handy swatch files. By uploading an image, it
or reference is an incredibly important skill to colours palette generator utility from cSS generates a palette from a simplified
hone, and one of the easiest ways to do this is drive (www.cssdrive.com) as a quick and free version. When you append your swatches
the use of a good colour picking utility. i like to way to create colours to save in a large master in Photoshop by loading in the new set,
use the coolorus plugin (www.coolorus.com) swatch file, using photos and artwork with they stay grouped together.
to replace the standard colour picking tools in excellent colour as a base.

The excellent Coolorus plugin also

3 provides some excellent tools such as
gamut locking with editable gamut maps
and built-in colour harmony sliders. Having
some of the same tools that traditional
Occasionally the palette generator will miss
some of the nice subtle colour in a piece. You artists use like gamut masks can be an way
can supplement the swatches it creates with to challenge yourself by using a limited
some good old-fashioned colour picking.
colour palette.

September 2016 35
 ImagineNation Artist Q&A
Question
How do I use masks to improve my Photoshop workflow?
Wayne Kemp, Poland

Answer
Paul replies
Masks can seem daunting to a paint information out and back in using Layer panel. You’ll notice that a small,
new artist, but once you start your brushes. Clipping masks, on the other white rectangle will appear next to the
using them you’ll never go back. hand, are essentially stacks of linked layers layer. Click the white rectangle and you
They come in two flavours: in which the bottom image defines the switch to Mask painting mode. Now you
Layer masks and Clipping masks. Think of boundaries for the rest. This is great for can draw on the canvas in black or white to
the former as the ultimate replacement for separating elements of your image, and either erase or add information. Layer
As well as adding
the Eraser tool: while an Eraser serves one texture, Layer masks
means you can add texture to a character masks are incredibly powerful for adding
purpose (the removal of information on a can be used to add and not her environment, for example. texture to an image or tweaking
adjustments such as
layer), Clipping masks give you plenty of Hue/Saturation to
To create a layer mask click the square adjustments, especially if you’re working
control over the image, enabling you to specific areas. icon with the circle at the bottom of the with lots of layers at once.
Clipping masks are even simpler: create
a new layer over your drawing, hold down
Alt and hover the mouse between the two;
you’ll now see an icon appear. Click and the
layers will be linked.

Artist’s secret
Mix it Up rage right
the Mixer Brush tool is all the
lates the flow of pain t, enabling
now. it emu try
on the fly.
you to mix and smudge experiment
setting it to Dry , Heavy Loa d and
shes.
with your favourite photoshop bru

I used layer masks to

apply photo textures
to this tree. Masks are
great for combining
multiple layers with
different layer
modes like this.

Question
Which of Photoshop’s many adjustment
layers do you find most useful?
Janina Koenig, Germany

Answer
Tony replies
One of the main advantages of If you look at the bottom of the Layers
Photoshop is the Layers system. window, you’ll see a circle that split into
Being able keep things separate dark and light halves. Click it to bring up
enables you to make significant the list of Adjustment layer types. There are
changes in minutes. With Adjustment quite a few; and for this article I’m going to
layers, you can create colour, value and edge cover the three I use most.
modifications that click on and off easily. A There’s a saying people use when working
lot of the major functions of Adjustment with masks: “Black conceals, white reveals.”
layers can be applied to images (or layers) I find this a bit confusing, mostly because of
Here’s the main image, under the Edit panel, but doing it with an how often at first I’d wonder if it was the
without any adjustments.
Comparing this to the Adjustment layer makes it possible still see mask or the original that I was revealing or
steps should give you an and edit the original art, hours after you’ve concealing. Just try to remember that it’s
idea of how each works.
run out of History states. referring to the mask and you’re in business.

36 September 2016
 Your questions answered...
Question
What advice can you give me for preparing an image for print?
Wayne Jones, US

Answer BEFORE AFtER

Charlie replies
Preparing your artwork for Use the
print for the first time can be drop-down
daunting. You want your menu to
work to be as close to the tweak colours
original as possible – and there are a lot individually.
of pitfalls to avoid before you can finally Click the
hold your work in your hands. graph to select
If you’re new to printing, you might
not have considered things like colour
a value, and
gamut (the subset of colours your
drag out
printer can reproduce), and DPI (the
to edit.
number of pixels per inch of printed
space), but if you’re planning on
printing an image you should absolutely
have these in mind from the start.
Knowing what colour gamut you
should be using (such as CMYK), and Use a Curves layer to
raise the overall value
final resolution of your image will of a low-key image
enable you to work within these before it goes to
print, to stop your
parameters early on, and save you hassle details becoming
later. To check in Photoshop if your dark and muddy.

colours are ‘out of gamut’ use the Gamut

Warning function under the View menu. Select your
Printed images will often come out problem hue
darker than intended, so check your
values and avoid using values that are 10 Slowly push
per cent and under. If you later check to the left
your values and find out that your image
is very dark, you can fix this with a
Curves or Levels layer, which will subtly The Hue/Saturation Artist’s secret
bring up the image’s overall tone. Some
tool will enable you to
retroactively fix your tRiCking tHE EyE
prints won’t always come out crisp, so out-of gamut colours. if you apply a small amount of of
use the Sharpen and Blur tools to help
Use the smallest
possible slider value, Multiply and Blur to the corners l
emphasise the focal points of your because you don’t want your image, it will make the foca
picture and obtain the best read possible.
to desaturate your
image too much. point of your composition pop.

Step-by-step: Color Balance, Levels and Threshold

1  
Color Balance is useful in creating 
extra contrast between colours. Move 
the sliders between cyan/red, magenta/
2  
Levels enable you to emphasise the 
lights, darks and contrast in your 
image. Moving the left slider in the top 
3  
A strong silhouette is a key part of 
good composition, and Threshold 
makes it possible to simplify everything 
green and yellow/blue to adjust which  window adjusts your dark value range, and  down to basic black and white shapes. If 
colours are most prominent. Use the drop- moving the right slider does the same  your values are reading well, then you 
down menu to switch between adjusting  thing with whites. The middle slider adjusts  should still be able to tell what’s going on. 
the shadows, mid-tones and highlights. dark/light contrast in general.  If not, I suggest rearranging your values.

September 2016 37
 essential art
resources
Videos, images, brushes
and more are available
with your digital
editions!

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38 September 2016
 Need our help?
If you have a question for
our experts, email us at
help@imaginefx.com
Question
How can Photoshop help me out with my perspective?
Joseph Benson, England

Answer
Paul replies
Understanding perspective is a
crucial skill for all artists. Our
job is to visualise three-
dimensional objects and
environments on a two-dimensional screen
or page, and perspective is the tool we use
to create that illusion. I’m not going to go
too deep into the fundamentals. Instead,
I’ll focus on how to visualise perspective
within Photoshop itself, creating guidelines
from which to draw and paint.
At its most basic level, perspective can be
broken down into the concept of lines
emanating from a vanishing point that sits
upon a horizon line. This is called one-
point perspective, and most of the lines in The scene is ready to turn into a painting.
the scene go to the same point. You can add If I want to achieve a realistic look I can use
the guidelines to align photo textures.
additional vanishing points on the horizon
line to create different angles, but in this
article I’ll stick with one. Simpler
perspectives, while not as technically
exciting to create, can be more visually
interesting to a casual viewer because they
require less thought to understand.
Artist’s secret t
tHink LikE A COnCEptanAR tiS
Photoshop doesn’t have a dedicated important
perspective tool, but it does offer a suite of While the ability to paint is
ng is
useful features that, when combined, make skill for a concept artist, thinki sider
the key par t of the job. Con
the creation of perspective guidelines actually
rself why
relatively easy. Here, I’ll show you how to everything in your scene, ask you
t its fun ctio n is.
take a loose sketch of a city street and create it’s there and wha
this approac h will soon hig hlight
guides to follow, to generate a relatively taking
s in a scen e.
clean piece of line art.
By including a character for scale it’s easy to figure out the scale of other objects
in the environment. If in doubt, just follow the lines. any erroneous element

Step-by-step: Putting the apocalypse into perspective

1  I sketch out some ideas for an 
apocalyptic street scene; it’s rough 
but has enough information to get started. 
2  
The Polygon tool is ideal for creating 
guidelines: click and hold the Line tool 
icon for more options. Once selected, click 
3  
With the canvas set up I reduce the 
Opacity of my sketch to around 20 
per cent and create a new layer on top for 
To figure out a vanishing point and horizon  the cog icon at the top of the screen, then  the cleaner art. I use the Line tool to block 
line I draw a few lines on top of the sketch  select Star and set Indent Sides By to 99  in the environment, always leading back to 
to see where they cross. I then use the  per cent. Set Sides to around 50-100. Now  the vanishing point, and add some details 
ruler tool (Ctrl+R) to pull a guideline over  click and drag on the vanishing point and  that don’t follow this rule to make it feel 
that point by dragging from the top. you’ll create a grid of lines. realistic. I’ll clean this up more as I go.

next month: PAInT STone CoLUMnS | show someone on a throne | dePICT SMoke effeCTS
illustrate glass distortion | PorTrAy A fIgUre CArryIng A HeAvy LoAd | and more!

September 2016 39
 More than a decade since
the last instalment of
id Software’s first-person
shooter, Gary Evans
finds out how a
sleeping giant awoke

ne critic recently described the original

Doom as the games industry’s “punk
moment”. It changed things. It was a
deliberate break from old conventions. You
had mazes to explore, the freedom to go
where you wanted. You could get creative

with a strafe run or a rocket jump. But

mainly you shot anything and everything
that moved. You used the handgun,
the shotgun, the BFG. And you had two
speeds: fast and faster.
The bad guys, the demons, they also
charged around like raging bulls. So you
One of the art
opened a door and blasted away before team’s touchstones
you’d seen what was waiting on the other was 80s death metal
album covers – an
side. No one kept score – it wasn’t about influence seen in
that. You spilled as much pixelated blood the light and
shadow here.
and guts as possible. You got lost, doubled
back, walked into walls. Out of sheer
frustration you fired a few shots at nothing
at all. Doom showed us video games could
be different. It said, that’s how things
were, but this is how they are now. When
id Software released the engine source code,
fans started building and sharing their

40 September 2016
 All artwork © id Software

Doom’s main character,

an unnamed marine,
fights his way through
hell and the demons
who inhabit it.

Hugo Martin wanted

the game to look like
something a 15 year
old would draw on a
notebook in maths class.

September 2016 41
 own levels. They became welcome to hell
DIY developers: video games
got its very own punk moment. Hugo Martin on how Doom has
“After studying the original evolved over the years…
sprites and designs in the first Doom,”
says Hugo Martin, the id
Software creative director, “we
felt like everything in that
original game looked like it
was something a 15 year old DOOM 1 POSTER
would draw on the back of his notebook “This image was a huge source of inspiration for
Doom 2016. The vibrant colours, the B-movie tongue
during math class. in cheek tone, the marine’s armour – all of it was a
“What we were striving for was that sort touchstone for our game. We used vibrant colours
and kitschy images to balance out the intense violence
of juvenile spirit of all things bad-ass. None on screen. It’s all in the name of good fun and this
of the game art takes itself too seriously. image is a great example of that.”

That’s the key to it all.”

The greatest first-person shooter of
all time is back, looking a bit more more elaborate than the Doomguy last got a proper run out in
slick, shedding a lot more blood, 1993 original. We play an 2004’s Doom 3. The follow-up was years in
fully realised as the best first- unnamed space marine, the making, before developer id Software
person shooter of 2016. Doomguy. We shoot and finally scrapped the game a couple of years
The plot’s not much butcher our way around ago. That’s when Hugo joined the project.
Mars, gunning down and carving
up demons that appear through
interdimensional holes. We face no moral working with high stakes
dilemmas. Everyone’s an enemy. Our As an art director and concept artist, he’s
brains aren’t teased much and neither are recently worked on films like The Avengers,
we distracted by long, interactive cutscenes. Pacific Rim and the upcoming The Dark

The art team worked

Many of the game’s characters quickly, producing lots
have comic-book proportions, to of concepts like this, to
make sure they are “fun, not match the game’s fast
completely disturbing”. and furious pace.

“It’s meant to be What challenges did bringing back

such an iconic game pose?

crazy and fun, not The pressure is always there. I think it’s
what any creative person looks for. You

completely dIsturbIng” want to tackle the biggest problems, take

on the most challenging assignments. It
gets the creative juices flowing. The biggest
From the feeling of taking on a big challenge, to the game’s challenge was making sure that, while still
influences, Doom’s creative director Hugo Martin explains feeling fresh and new, it looked and played
how he and his art team masterminded its comeback like a proper Doom game. Doom puts its
action and gameplay first. Story exists in
support of those features, but it doesn’t
necessarily drive them. The core is speed,
movement, combat and level design.

42 September 2016
 DOOM 2 COVER FINAL DOOM DOOM 3 POSTER NEW DOOM
“There is a punk, heavy metal vibe to Brom’s “The Final Doom cover art has “The xenomorphic design themes “Here we are full circle. We didn’t want to copy
painting that’s a big part of Doom 2016. the look of an ammo box, the of Doom 3 can be seen in the Hell past games exactly. We wanted to capture the
Doom is over-the-top, comic-book fun, and it’s simplified logo adding an air of Knight of Doom 2016. We love the essence of it all and add cool new things. The
everything we tried to preserve in the new finality. The punk, heavy metal look of every Doom game and we cover represents this idea. It’s very recognisably
Doom. It’s supposed to make you smile.” vibe was at the front of our minds wanted to bring back an iconic Doom, but also embodies the summer blockbuster
when making Doom 2016.” element from each one.” feel that we were going for.”

Tower. Working when the It’s got a B-movie vibe, but

stakes are high gets Hugo’s
creativity going. He actively with summer blockbuster visuals
looks for high-pressure
projects. With such and action Hugo Martin
dedicated fans, and at a time when critics
are giving reboots and remakes a kicking, says. The analogy of the 15 year old their creative process. These touchstones
the stakes on this particular project scribbling on their book during maths need to be easily understood and clear to
couldn’t have been higher. class is another. “These things help keep everyone involved.”
The artist says the scrapped game didn’t everything feeling consistent in their tone. Hugo took charge of Doom’s storyline.
feel enough like a Doom game. Hugo You have to establish touchstones early It had to be interesting. It had to have an
helped set up the “pillars for the game” and on for people to use as guideposts during element of mystery. But the narrative
then worked with a team of concept artists
to build on those core elements. To do this,
Labelled one of the most
he had to make sure everyone saw the game violent games of all time,
in the same way. He told them the game you can turn bad guys like
this inside out.
should look and feel like an 80s metal
album cover come to life.
“Using heavy metal
album covers as
inspiration is a guide
post for designers
to follow is one
method,” he

What were your aims for the game’s look? quickly and generate lots of ideas.
To feel like an 80s metal album cover come Thumbnailing and quick sketches helped
to life. Characters have comic book-like us avoid getting bogged down for too long
proportions, but with hyper-realistic trying to find the right design.
textures and details. Not campy, but not
super-realistic either. It’s meant to be crazy What were the game’s biggest influences?
and fun, not completely disturbing. The original Doom games and pop culture
at the time. We used some of the same
Can you talk us through the production? references as touchstones for our work.
We wanted a varied experience, something Evil Dead 2 was a big inspiration. Comics
that wouldn’t grow stale visually. We spent like Hard Boiled and Sin City helped shape
a lot of time jamming on ideas. We felt like the narrative style and the tone of the
the key to Doom’s success in the art violence in Doom. It’s got a B-movie vibe
The latest iteration of Doomguy
department would be our ability to ideate with summer blockbuster visuals and action. is an example of the B-movie
meets summer blockbuster look
that the art team aimed for.

September 2016 43
 After Doom 4 was scrapped for not
being Doomy enough, the team
went back through the old games
looking for inspiration.

also had to stay well We want the

out of the way of the
gameplay. In the two audience to smile as
decades since its original
release, the iconic first- a Revenant gets
person shooter has been
overtaken by countless beaten to death
other franchises. Hugo felt
it important not to look at this competition, Hugo Martin
but instead to focus on the game’s own
wealth of history. He looked at past
instalments and expansions, Doom comics
and forums. Then he examined the era in
If in doubt, fire a few
rounds into the darkness. which the game first came out. Slowly a
It’s the Doom way. catalogue of pop references began to
build: 1987 comedy horror movie helped shape the narrative style and the all exist in direct support of the main
Evil Dead 2, for example, was tone of the violence. Hugo says the game is feature in the game which is combat.”
a big inspiration. So were meant to feel like a modern interpretation The next challenge was to make sure the
comics like Hard Boiled of the original Doom, to have that B-movie gameplay remained varied, that the visuals
and Sin City, which feel, but with all the visuals and action of a weren’t too repetitive, something the team
summer blockbuster. achieved with subtle changes to the set
“The story is there to be experienced designs, colour palettes and lighting set ups.
and discovered if you look for it,” says These transitions had to happen at just the
Hugo. “It’s not forced on the player.
Pulling that off was a challenge.
We have what would be considered
in our game as modern
concessions, but they again

44 September 2016
 works and boiling out
what doesn’t. After a
while the game will start
to tell you what it needs
and you learn that by
playing it a lot.
“Our daily
playthroughs for art were
more about fine tuning
the visual experience and making sure the
look of the game was in synch and
cold steel
supporting the gameplay. That became Lead weapons artist Gregor Kopka tells us
extremely important when it came to the how he created weapons like the Hellshot
demon and weapon designs. These were
the tools the player would be using “It was clear to me,” Gregor Kopka says,
throughout the 13-hour campaign. A gun “that Doom is about cold steal. Every gun
had to have its own character with defining
has to feel and look powerful and support
shapes and mechanics. So for myself, the
the gameplay. Same for the demons. first breakthrough was when I finally
These are the chess pieces in the managed to design and implement my
Doom experience that you play first weapon, Hellshot. From then on,
against in our combat puzzle. It’s I had a feeling that the game was
critical that the AI visually going to be fun.”
The lead weapons artists says that,
support the type of experience
with so many years of experience, he
we were trying to create.” can immediately feel whether or not
a game is doing something special.
He knew Doom was special.
artists quick on the draw “The weapon pipeline was very
When Hugo put his team together, he streamlined and included testing white
box weapons, from a game mechanics
picked people who could draw
perspective, through to the final art asset.
“extremely well”. Like the game itself, he Everyone who is included in the gun
knew the art department had to move development process is invited to the game
fast, to generate lots of ideas and tests and contributes feedback and ideas.
share them with each other as Then we do quick 3D thumbnail-type
sketches and thumbnails. He’d designs, which can also include
animated mechanical ideas. As soon
provide a theme as a starting
as we nail down one direction, we
point for those sketches: “The continue elaborating until we make
breakthrough moment was a final paint over.”
realising what it was we wanted Gregor’s reason for using 3D art
the audience to feel when they from the beginning was so he could
looked at the characters and saw the test it in-game. “I think it’s a benefit
to start in 3D because you can come up
crazy gameplay and the gore. We
with much better mechanical ideas than
decided we didn’t want them to cringe or you can in 2D, and at the end you can still
look away. When they watch a Revenant streamline the design, but on an already
scream while getting beaten to death by proven mechanical concept.”
their own hands, we wanted the
Weapons creator Gregor
audience to smile. Everything Kopka designed every gun
is meant to make you smile and with its own specific shape
and mechanisms.
say, ‘Awesome’.”
The character of the Revenant
is the embodiment of all these
things. Designed by Alex Palma,
he’s a mix of heavy metal imagery,
right moment, exactly when a player’s industrial design, comic book
interest was waning. proportions as well as doses of
“Playing the game everyday is critical,” satanic humour. That is
Hugo says. “You have to have a real everything we strived for
understanding of the product you are
making. Often times, once you get into the
meat of development, the game is ‘all there’, Gregor’s weapon
so to speak, and it’s about building on what designs are now
part of video
games’ most
infamous arsenal
– led by the most
infamous of them
all, the BFG.

“What we were striving for,” says

Hugo, “was that sort of juvenile spirit
of all things bad-ass.”

September 2016 45
 Subtle changes to set designs, colour
palettes and lighting set ups ensured
gameplay felt varied and visuals
weren’t too repetitive.

When Hugo was putting

his team together one of
the things he looked for
was people who could
draw very well, very
quickly. Generating lots of
ideas was key.

in Doom. He is completely to shape more easily.

nuts and so is our game.” “There’s an inherent
“We didn’t want to copy it exactly, campiness to the
otherwise there would be nothing new original Doom,” Jon
to show,” concept artist Alex says about says. “That’s the source
the challenges of reviving such an iconic of all of its charm. We spent
game. “So there were times when the a lot of time talking about
directors tried to really go out there with that sort of thing, looking at campy 80s
the story and, at times, it felt movies and comic books, and thinking
like it strayed a bit too far. But about how we could modernise those parts
eventually they went back to in a way that would stand out against
the original as a source popular modern trends. In many ways the
of inspiration and captured look of Doom is an homage to its past,
the essence of it, while still having some being that it’s a mixture of each of the
pretty cool new things. The way I would previous games, brought together with
There’s an inherent describe it is rock and roll, blood and guts, an intent to update and reinvent for a
and a relentless pace.” modern audience.”
campiness to Doom. That’s the Jon Lane says he understands the game’s
fans, because he is one. The lead concept
source of all of its charm artists grew up playing the game. To pushing back and forth
Jon, Doom is about the “collision Jon explains how the art team worked:
Jon Lane of science fiction and “The work gets tasked out to whoever’s
mysticism”. Once the going to essentially be the owner of the
team settled on that thing. Depending on what it is, ideation
theme, it began can go on for some time, usually in direct
relation to how
significant a thing is
considered to be.
Characters tend to see
the longest ideation
periods, especially
with some of the
modernisation of
Some first-person
shooters encourage classic characters,
gamers to interact which can go back and
with the bad guys,
Doomguy is one of video games’ Doom keeps things forth until the thing is
greatest silent protagonists: no simple: shoot
name, no past, no future. Just
considered to be pitch
anything that moves.
lots of shooting. perfect. We have

46 September 2016
 definitely seen instances where a thing

revIsIng the gets made and torn down and rebuilt from
scratch, because the desire to get it right

revenant is that strong. It can be a painful process,

but it’s almost always better as a result.
It’s important that everyone on the team
Hugo Martin reveals how the art team feels like they’re making significant
revisited one of the iconic creature contributions to the project. You also create
designs from the original opportunities to let artists bring their own
brand of creativity.”
“The Revenant was pure rock ‘n’ roll
– you would find him on the cover of a
heavy metal album. He has a tongue
in cheek quality too and we felt he
what the fans wanted
made you smile – we wanted the 2016 Bryan Flynn, a concept artist on the game,
Revenant to have those qualities. elaborates: “Getting ideas into the game
In the beginning he looked much more usually starts with
serious. In some of the first sketches he’s conversations during lunch or
more slick, like the F22 of demons. It didn’t while taking a break. I like to
feel right to us, didn’t read like the
present the idea later to the
Revenant or like a Doom demon, so Alex
Palma continued to sketch. We started to art director, game designers
look more closely at heavy metal album and others around the office after that.
covers from the 80s. There was a comic If people seem to respond to the idea,
book quality those images had that we I will write-up or draw my idea and submit
wanted to infuse into our design. it formally. Then the team decides if it’s
There’s a whiz-bang, awesome
something we want to, and indeed can,
factor with the look of all the demons
that’s very much present in the final do as a group.”
Revenant design. He represents The associate concept artist would begin
everything Doom is about. an idea with notes and sketches – on how
Alex really landed on something special a weapon would look and work, for
with the design as it captures the crazy example. Then import into a 3D program
spirit we were striving for. This wonderful
and begin to blockout the weapon’s
final design ended being one of the core
elements in our marketing campaign in shape. He’d usually make between five and
Doom, a testament to the great work done eight versions with various hand positions,
by Alex and the team.” animations, silhouettes and sometimes
rudimentary effects.
“In this program, I would have cameras
placed so I could view the weapon as it
would be in-game,” says Bryan. I would
take pictures of the blockouts and quickly
draw over them with line and tonal Hugo and his team
breakup. We would review the choices and worked as equals. That
meant anyone could
narrow down the preferred designs. This have an idea for a gun,
process would continue until we present that idea and
get it into the game.
settled on the final design.”

Hugo and the team felt Jon Lane says the game’s “inherent
everything about The Revenant campness” translates into the
“was pure rock ‘n’ roll”. over-the-top weapon designs.

Hugo says that final design had to give

the fans what they wanted. “We made
Doom for the fans. We ourselves are huge
fans of Doom. The fans played a huge role
in the making of this game, without
question. We wanted to make the Doom
game they wanted to play. And we didn’t
make any compromises along the way. “

September 2016 47
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48 September 2016
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September 2016 49
Location: Gateshead and
London, England
projects: Avengers:
Age of Ultron, Mortal
Kombat X, Guardians of the
Galaxy, Kinect Sports Rivals,
THOR II: Dark World, Killzone
Mercenary, Injustice, Devil May
Cry, Pottermore
Web: www.atomhawk.com

studio profile

AtomhAwk
Charlie Bowater and Roberto F Castro
worked on this piece for Microsoft’s
game creation system Project Spark.

In between its film and game projects, this studio

likes to develop its artists, as tom May discovers…
aunching Atomhawk in 2009 and digital media, including Avengers: Age

L was what CEO Ron Ashtiani

describes as a “leap of faith”.
He found himself out of a job
of Ultron, Mortal Kombat X, Guardians of
the Galaxy and JK Rowling’s Pottermore. So
what’s the secret to their success?
Artwork by Tommy
Kinneru for Injustice
after games developer Midway closed its In short: artist development. “We don’t Gods Among Us, a
fighting game based
Gateshead studio, in north-east England, just hire great people,” says Ron. “We take on the DC Universe.
where he’d been working alongside graphic the time to develop their skills. For
designer Steve Pick and artists Pete example, we have regular learning lunches
Thompson and Corlen Kruger. But instead where each artist gets the chance to share
of going their separate ways, the four their experience and skills in a particular
decided to team up. area with the rest of the team.”
“If I was ever going to make a break from It’s not just about formal instruction,
games development and fulfil though. Atomhawk has generated an open,
my dream of setting up my inclusive atmosphere where senior artists
own art and design studio, don’t just hide away in silos, but instead
this had to be the opportunity share their knowledge and skills on a
I’d been waiting for,” Ron says. daily basis – something that
They haven’t looked back since. Based in concept artist Michael Mowat
Gateshead, and recently launching a greatly appreciates.
satellite studio in London, Atomhawk now “Getting to work with some
has 40 released projects across games, films serious talent is grand,”

50 September 2016
 studio profile

AtomhAwk
Pete Thompson painted
this intense scene for the
third-person video game
Ryse: Son Of Rome.
saM Hogg
The senior Atomhawk artist
on the joys of collaboration
Can you tell us how you come to
work at Atomhawk?
I started my career in graphic design
but made the move to concept art
to fulfill my lifelong dream of
developing video games. I applied to
Atomhawk after I’d been working for
Playground Games on the Forza
Horizon brand for a year and a half.

What does your role involve?

I’ve worked on a huge range of
projects: everything from character
design for a big upcoming AAA
games title to some really stylised
projects such as LEGO.
Unfortunately, everything that I’ve
worked on recently is super-secret
stuff and I won’t be out for a while
yet, so I can’t go into any details. As
a senior artist, I’m expected to be
pretty self-reliant and I often have to
give feedback on the work of junior
and intermediate artists.

What’s been the biggest hurdle

you’ve had to overcome?
We don’t just I’d say it’s rising to the challenge that
comes with working in so many
hire great people. styles, on what can often be pretty
tight deadlines.
We take the time to This issue’s cover artist, What’s the working environment

develop their skills Viktoria Gavrilenko, painted

this for Snail Games’
MMORPG Age Of Wushu.
like at Atomhawk?
It’s cool being able to work among
such a large, 2D-focused team. For
most of the day we usually have
our heads down working, but being
able to see such a wide variety of
work being done is inspiring. I do
really enjoy the ideas that come out
of collaborating with colleagues,
because often you end up in places
that you wouldn’t have found on
your own.

Do typically work on one or

multiple projects at one time?
We tend to get one project at a time,
though occasionally you get some
overlap while waiting for feedback,
so you have to jump between
projects. It’s one of the challenges of
working for a studio like this; being
able to switch ways quickly between
artistic mindsets.

What advice would you give to a

young artist wishing to follow in
your footsteps?
I would definitely recommend doing
some research into the various
aspects of concept art. Ideation
and iteration are really important
– equally as important as your
technical ability to paint and draw.
Spend some time developing your
design sense as well as your
fundamental art skills, because it’s
often that design sense that newer
artists lack. Being able to do multiple
interesting designs within the same
brief is key to being a good concept
artist, in my opinion.

An unashamed Blizzard fan

girl, when not creating artwork
for her personal projects, Sam
The Atomhawk team are
can be found playing Diablo
encouraged to share their and Warcraft.
skills with each other. http://ifxm.ag/sam-hogg

September 2016 51
studio profile

Character concepts by Charlie Bowater

and Viktoria Gavrilenko, who worked
together on an unnamed project.

Michael says. “There aren’t any egos, so

everyone is open with their processes, and
how they actually make the awesome. Very
handy for a nosey artist like myself.”
The founding team initially focused on
realistic action and horror visuals, on
projects such as Mortal Kombat, Ryse: Son
of Rome and Dead Island. But as the
company grew, they decided to add more
range. “So artists like Charlie Bowater were
key to more stylised projects like Pottermore
for JK Rowling and Project Spark for
Microsoft,” Ron explains. “Our creative
team is now 14 people with a diverse range
Concept art by
and so we no longer have a house style; Roberto F Castro,
we’re focused on excelling across the field.” for Marvel’s 2013 film
Thor: The Dark World.

diverse projects
That sense of variety has been a thrill ride
for concept artist Daniel Peacock. “Before I
We want people to take imprint. The cost of its production was
funded by a Kickstarter campaign, which
started working here, I
assumed it was mainly movie
pride in their work, but we raised £17,675 from 393 backers.
“All the design and content was done in
and game stuff,” he says. “But don’t have room for big egos house, with everyone playing a part, so it’s
I soon learned that Atomhawk something we’re exceptionally proud of,”
produces art for all sorts of the tools for creating 3D become more says Ron. “We also learned a lot through
things. I’m working on some images for a available, I can see it becoming a vital tool the process, and hope to put that
children’s reading app, for example.” for a lot of concept art creation. The rise of knowledge to use again sometime soon.”
In the eight months he’s been there, VR is going to make the creation of concept
Daniel has worked on everything from art interesting too, as it’s such a different join the teAm
marketing art to character concepts, thing being physically immersed in a world, If this all sounds like an environment you’d
environment design to logo creation. “My versus looking at it on a 2D screen.” like to work in, then good news: Atomhawk
proudest moment has been designing Atomhawk has even made forays into is hiring. “Right now, we have roles open
creature concepts for an indie horror game,” publishing. In 2011, it collaborated with for intermediate and senior level artists,”
he says. “I love drawing monsters, so it was 3DTotal to produce a 192-page hardcover Atomhawk’s artists says Ron. “Obviously talent is key, but we
work on a huge variety
the perfect project for me.” book, The Art of Atomhawk, and this year it of projects, including
also look for artists who are keen to learn
Michael tells a similar tale. “Since joining released a second volume under its own 3D and virtual reality. and develop. We want people to be
Atomhawk in April 2015, I’ve worked on passionate and take pride in their work, but
everything from stylised interiors and we don’t have room for big egos.”
characters to more realistic environments It’s not all about work, though. “There
and characters,” he says. “It changes week by are also plenty of opportunities to relax,
week and keeps you on your toes. I’ve even too. Games get played in our breakout area
seen the process of making art itself most lunchtimes, and we’ve had everyone
changing: we’ve been doing a lot more VR trying out a new VR headset recently, which
stuff, and many of the artists have moved has been a lot of fun,” reveals Ron. “There
into implementing 3D into their workflows.” are also plenty of nights out and
That’s a sentiment echoed celebrations, including our company
by senior artist Sam Hogg. birthday party, which has a tendency to get
“There’s more crossover a bit messy towards the end of the night.”
between 3D and 2D in We’re sure they’ll be plenty more birthday
concept art now,” she says. “As parties for Atomhawk in years to come…

52 September 2016
 studio profile

AtomhAwk
This environment
painting from Mortal
Kombat X was created
by Marcel Van Vuuren.

Charlie Bowater
produced this character
concept for fighting
game Killer Instinct,
from Microsoft.

Joe Ward worked on the

free online RPG Kings
Road from Rumble
Entertainment. Here’s one
of the characters in action.

Concept art for Avengers: Age

of Ultron, one of Atomhawk’s
biggest projects to date.

September 2016 53
 profile
Jared Muralt

ral t
location: Switzerland

M u
A self-taught illustrator

ed
and self-employed since

Jar
2006, Jared and three
friends founded the
award-winning
illustrations and graphic design
company BlackYard, and has self-

i ro n m en ts po pulate published various prints and books

under the Tintenkilby name. Jared’s

es an d d etai led env sketchbook … busy working on the first issue of The
Fall, his post-apocalyptic comic series.

di ’s
Character sgteus of this Swiss illustrator
www.jaredillustrations.ch

the pa

Female
Face study
“To me, a sketchbook is a place of
inspiration, self-teaching, playing
around and experimenting. Here are
character studies from a fashion
magazine. I tried to focus on
how contrasting black and
white areas and cross-
hatching work.”

54 September 2016
 Sketchbook Jared Muralt
soldier
and pilot
“I never stop practicing and my
sketchbook is filled with
character studies and faces. It
also serves as a diary and
notebook, to continually
improve my skills.”

enroute
to work
“The old town of Berne is just
five minutes walk from our work
space. My sketchbook is always
on me and if time allows, I prefer
to make studies on site and
draw directly in ink, only
very rarely a rough
draught in pencil.”

“To me, a sketchbook is a place of

inspiration, self-teaching, playing
around and experimenting”

First
treatment
“A sketch I drew after my first
acupuncture appointment. The
giant needles were an inspiration
and motif I carried through an
entire project that will be
published as a book
this November.”

September 2016 55
 steamship
dreadnought study study
“Of course, my sketchbook
“Different ideas and approaches for a gig poster also serves as the starting
for Brave Black Sea. Studies like these often lead to point for commission
ideas and images I can use for another project. I pieces and personal
redrew the top left corner image and turned
into a screen print.”
screen prints.”
male
Face studies
“A great challenge and interest
of mine will always be faces and
facial expressions, especially in
old photographs, and trying
to use different sketching
techniques.”

56 September 2016
 Sketchbook Jared Muralt

aBandoned school
“For my upcoming comic The Fall I’m creating an
inventory of architectural studies around Berne. I choose “My sketchbook also serves as a the end oF
buildings and let them fall to ruins on paper.”
starting point for commission pieces” Bon Voyage
“Some pages from my sketchbook
end up almost identical in my print
work. This sketch can be found
in my comic book The End
Of Bon Voyage.”

winter
garden
“My front yard shed,
December 2014.
Since I almost exclusively
sketch in black, I like winter
scenes a lot. Snow gives
you such great contrasts.
This sketch was a study
on how different
textures work within
one image.”

Want to share your sketches? Email us with a selection of your artwork, to sketchbook@imaginefx.com
NEXT MONTH’S SKETCHBOOK: REMBERT MONTald

September 2016 57
 Scott
GuStafSon
There’s more to this artist than his fantastically detailed
and nostalgic fairytale images, as Ed Ricketts find out

’m not proud of my
computer illiteracy
but I do feel the need
to be honest about
it and share my
situation with
others,” admits Scott
Gustafson, renderer of gorgeous fairy tales
scenes in traditional media. “It’s only
through talking about this shameful
problem that I think we, as a society, can
come to terms with it and learn to deal
with those less fortunate among us who
neither text nor tweet…”
He is, of course, joking. As a veteran
illustrator of 36 years to date (and
counting), Scott has little
need of digital tools,
versatile as he is

58 September 2016
 DraGon anD Scribe
This oil-on-panel illustration
was commissioned by and
sold to a private collector.

September 2016 59
DRAWing thE REAl WoRlD
“It’s always fascinating to observe from
life and see how that interpretation differs
from a photo-based reference. I find the
still-life elements, though not as accurate
as the photo-informed ones, literally
have more life, and I recommend
giving it a try.”

VitAl stAtistiCs
The artist’s journey in bite size...
Age NC Wyeth,
59 Arthur Rackham,
Date of birth Gustaf Tenggren little SaMbha…
7 December 1956 What’s the best …and the Tiger with the
Current location piece of advice Beautiful Little Red Coat, also
from Classic Bedtime Stories.
Chicago, Illinois anyone has ever
Favourite artists given you?
William Heath Spend some time
Robinson,
Rembrandt, J.
finding out what
you enjoy doing The idea of someday becoming an
Waterhouse, the animated
films of Walt Disney and
most, and then do it.
Web address artist was with me from just about as
far back as I can remember
Warner Brothers Studios, www.scottgustafson.com

with almost every traditional medium

– be it oils, gouache or charcoal. Besides,
the kind of gloriously detailed and coloured
scenes he paints, harking back to the
Golden Age of illustrators, seem to cry out
for the gentle touch of media to canvas,
rather than the sometimes harshly
delineated tones of software.
Scott is unashamedly influenced by the
likes of NC Wyeth, Norman Rockwell,
Maxfield Parrish and Arthur Rackham, and
like those admired artists, he creates
nostalgic, glowing images that never veer to
the sickly or twee. It would be slightly
reductive to call him a children’s artist,
although it’s true that Scott has created
many illustrations for age-old fairy tales
and bedtime stories (if you’re of a certain
age and grew up in Britain, you might
Merlin anD arthur be reminded of the classic hardback
An original image imagining the
relationship between the two Ladybird story books).
mythological characters, which was Yet he has also written and illustrated his
made into a limited edition print.
own children’s book, Eddie: The Lost Youth

60 September 2016
 Scott GuStafSon

A ConFAbulAtion a confabulation of Edgar Allan Poe, which showcases a

oF DRAgons
A chance to experiment led to one of Scott’s favourite pieces
of DraGonS
The finished piece, which
Scott painted on canvas
somewhat darker side to his talent, and
commercial clients include Playboy, The
using oils, was awarded Saturday Evening Post, The Bradford
Scott was approached by a private with the three young women a Silver medal in Exchange, DreamWorks and The
collector for a commission that had Spectrum 17, in 2010.
representing some sort of human Greenwich Workshop.
only three requirements: it should liaison, perhaps priestesses. On the
contain three young women, a Huskie
dog and at least one dragon. “Here was
ground and nearby boulders are ancient
runes, which were carved by members SinGle-MinDeD aMbition
a chance to see what I could come up of earlier ‘confabulations’. “I grew up in a small town in northern
with within a very wide set of “Soon, I began designing dragons as Illinois, and attended elementary and
guidelines,” he says. well as setting up a photo shoot for the
“I had been looking for a word that I young woman who would pose for all high school there,” Scott says. “I always
could use to refer to a group or three of the young women in the liked to draw and was continually
gathering of dragons, much like a pod finished picture,” he adds. “Fortunately, encouraged by my parents, relatives and
of whales or a pride of lions, and I felt they were supposed to be sisters,
that I found what I was looking for in a so it was okay if the characters all teachers to continue drawing and painting,
‘Confabulation’ of Dragons. looked similar… so the idea of someday becoming an artist
“I envisioned the scene as a great “The final painting measured 46x34 was with me from just about as far back
meeting of dragons – a sort of draconian inches, and took several months to
summit, where representatives of the complete. The biggest challenge, as
as I can remember.”
diverse world of dragons would gather always with a complex piece, was trying However, it was animation that called to
and confer. What I liked most about this to balance all the elements so that the the young Gustafson, so much so that he
idea was that it lent itself to a group of overall effect was one of harmony, yet
eventually majored in animation at the
dragons of all shapes and sizes.” with a variety of shapes, contrasts,
Scott decided that the dragons colours and details. This one offered Chicago Academy of Fine Arts. Ambitions
would meet at the base of a large tree, challenges on all those levels.” changed when he realised that he could
become a freelance illustrator, but he

September 2016 61
souRCE REFEREnCEs
“Take time to do research. If the picture
calls for a throne, see if you can find a
few examples to work from instead of DRAWing
poE: thE
making one up. A 15th century Spanish
throne is going to be way cooler than
anything I could have come up with on
my own, that’s for sure.”
WonDER
yEARs
How the master of the macabre
inspired a fairy tale illustrator
YounG poe Several years ago Scott came across an
old paperback of Tales of Mystery and
“The wondrous words that had
crowded his brain earlier that night Imagination, the collected stories of
were gone…” The title page from Edgar Allan Poe, that he had bought
Scott’s illustrated novel. when he was about 13.
“It not only brought back memories
of how fascinated I was by Poe and his
stories at that time, but it also got me
wondering what Poe would have been
like at that same age,” Scott says. “As I
thought more about it and then began
to research it, the idea of Eddie just
seemed to take on a life of its own.”
The resulting novel was Eddie: The
Lost Youth of Edgar Allan Poe, written
and illustrated by Scott and aimed at
eight to 12 year-olds. It’s something of a
departure from his usual work, not least
because all of the 90-odd illustrations
are in monochrome, apart from the
cover art, shown here.

feels that his education still aids his

work today.
“In studying the work of the great
animators like Ollie Johnston, Frank
Thomas, Eric Larson, Woolie Reitherman,
Bob Jones and Bob Clampett, I found that
they helped me to learn how to capture
facial expressions and pose a figure so that
the posture and pose helped define the
character and the role that he or she plays
within the story,” Scott explains.

the appeal of aniMation

“These days, I’ve actually found a lot of
inspiration looking up pencil tests of great
animators online. The work of Glen
Keane and Sergio Pablos is particularly
wonderful… I’ve grown to prefer these
pencil tests because they’re the actual
animator’s drawings, filmed in sequence
as a test before going to colour. I’d
recommend taking a look for anyone who
appreciates great character development
and beautiful drawing.”
So would he consider dabbling in
animation again? “Well, animation on
the level of the animators I’ve mentioned is
a very complex art, and as much as I’ve
gone in and out of fantasising about it
again, I usually take the lazy way out and
watch classic films like Fantasia or Lady
and the Tramp!”
As he has done for most of his
professional career, Scott works from
home, albeit in his own studio which takes
up the entire second floor of the house:
“This space is one of the main reasons we
bought this house over 20 years ago.” He
also tries to keep to regular work hours,
which helps keep a separation between

62 September 2016
 eDDie anD the raven
The cover illustration for Scott’s
book, the only one of the 90-odd
images that features in colour.

“As far as illustrating the story, even in its earliest concept stages
I knew I wanted a lot of pictures and that those pictures would be in
black and white,” he explains. “Black and white not only seemed
appropriate to Poe and the story, but illustrating a book with
drawings as opposed to paintings was something I had wanted to
do for a long time.”
The story itself grew out of possible situations that the young
Poe may have found himself in, and the visual possibilities grew out
of that. “When illustrating it, I was mindful of an atmosphere that I
unDer the laMpoSt
Eddie stakes out the
wanted to evoke, as well as illustrating the actual story,” says Scott. mysterious Mephisto.

work and non-work time. “When I was done – usually gessoed masonite. This is concentrating almost exclusively in oils as
younger, living in a four-room apartment, done by either directly tracing through a they offer the widest range of flexibility and
I got up late and worked late, and it seemed copy of the final drawing using graphite possibilities, as well as depth of colour and
like that’s all I did…” paper, or by mounting an archival print out overall richness.”
A typical Gustafson image begins as a of the drawing onto the panel.” It’s a complex process – though the
series of thumbnails, anything up to 12 With the image complete, Scott turns results are certainly worth it – and it’s little
loose sketches to set the idea. That becomes his attention towards colour. “On a surprise that Scott hasn’t really had time or
a larger sketch: “I average about three of mounted, reduced print-out of the finished inclination to investigate digital processes.
these to show the client, or just to make drawing, I do a loose indication of what “Seriously, though, the computer is a
sure I’ve tried more than one approach to a I think the colour will be for the final piece, fantastic tool, and I’ve come to rely on it for
given idea.” A more fully fledged drawing followed by underpainting. Depending many things, chiefly communication and
the Man in
comes next, with reference, props and even the Moon
a model shoot if necessary.
“Then I transfer this drawing to the
A limited edition giclee
canvas print, one of When I was younger, living in a four-
room apartment, I got up late and worked
several available to buy
surface on which the final painting will be through Scott’s website.

late, and it seemed like that’s all I did…

on the piece, I do either a monochromatic reference,” he says. “I leave anything more
tonal underpainting to establish the complicated than that in the capable hands
values, or, referring to the colour study, of my wife and business partner, Patty,
a thin, transparent layer of those colours who handles all those aspects of our
in the corresponding areas of the business marvellously.”
transferred drawing.” With a new book in the making,
tentatively titles Storybook Fables and
everY paintinG’S a challenGe scheduled to be published by Artisan in
The final stage is painting. “Depending autumn 2017, life is good. Scott admits
on the complexity and size of a piece, this that he has never really though about
can take anywhere from several days to what’s next beyond the current project,
several months. Last week, for instance, and so far that has worked out well for him
I finished painting a vignette in three and his family. Of course, there are always
days, but the picture before that one – new ambitions.
another illustration from the same story – “I used to fantasise about illustrating
took three weeks to paint. They are all Alice in Wonderland or The Wind in the
different and all present their own Willows, but John Tenniel, Rackham and
surprises and challenges.” EH Shepard are pretty fast company,” he
Scott has experimented with many laughs. “If I were offered the chance, who
mediums over his carer, but primarily he knows? I love illustrating classics, but
now sticks to acrylics or oils for finished I think it would also be exciting to work
colour work. “In recent years I’ve been with a contemporary author as well.”

September 2016 63
ImagineFX presents stunning manga art
and workshops across 146 packed pages!

Featuring...
Genzoman
brian sum
alvin lee
Lois van baarLe
ross tran
bobby chiu
…and more!

Order your copy today!

For print and digital: http://ifxm.ag/manga-artist3
 get your
resources
See page 6 now!

Workshops assets
are available…
Download each workshop’s WIPs, final image and
brushes by turning to page 6. And if you see the video
workshop badge, you can watch the artist in action, too.

Advice from the world’s best artists

66 72

This issue:
66 Visualising the
Queen of Fairies
See how Viktoria Gavrilenko
brings her colours to life as
she paints Shakespeare’s
Queen Titania.
76
70 Apply hair and
fur to objects
ZBrush’s Fiber tools enable
you to create key elements,
as Rob Redman explains.
72 Concepts with
a sense of identity
Learn from Rob Laro, who
shares his process of idea
generation to design an
original character.
76 Develop a strong
lighting scheme
86 Rudy Siswanto shows how
intelligent lighting helps
towards compelling covers.
80 Bringing fantasy
portraits to life
Make your portrait paintings
stand out from the crowd,
with Mélanie Delon’s tips.
86 Create a card
art character
Stéphane Richard uses 2D
and 3D software to quickly
illustrate comical card art.

September 2016 65
 Workshops

66 September 2016
 In depth Queen of fairies

Photoshop
Visualising the
Queen of fairies
See how Viktoria gavrilenko brings her colours to life as she paints the
elegant Queen Titania from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream

eing asked to paint a bad-ass Before starting out with any painting my thumbnails, but also make

Viktoria
B Fairy Queen by none other
than my favourite magazine
got me very excited, and
professional work, though, I always
gather a bunch of reference that might aid
me as the painting progresses. And
sure not to get too reliant on it, because
this can limit my creativity.
I’ve painted many fantasy females
gavrilenko slightly nervous. I managed to calm because this was my first magazine cover before, so I felt comfortable tackling this
location: England myself down, however, by starting off I wanted to be as prepared as possible theme. I also consciously didn’t stray too
with something that I’m comfortable before beginning to paint. Good reference far from my comfort zone: I wanted to
Victoria, who’s
known as Vik with, in this case line art. I eased into can spark a whole bunch of ideas, so avoid the risk of struggling while being
to her friends having to video record my process, which I started my hunt by looking up different under a very tight deadline, while also
and family,
I’ve only done once before, and had a lot films and art books, as well as old having a full-time job and thus little
lives in the
city of Newcastle, where of fun creating this cover of one of my paintings of real queens. I draw bits and free time. That said, I hope that you
she works at Atomhawk, favourite fantasy subjects, fairies. pieces from my gathered references when find this workshop helpful.
creating concept art for
games and various other
hush-hush projects.
http://ifxm.ag.vik-g

get your
resources
See page 6 now!

m
free transfor
)
cmd+t (Mac
ctrl+t (Pc)
o Free
Quickly go int
nsform mo de on your
Tra
er.
selected lay

Kill your
darlings
This is likely the best
advice I was given when I
started out as an artist,
and it’s stuck with me to
this day. Don’t get too
attached to a painting,
Sketching quick ideas Deciding how to progress
be it personal or
professional. If you feel
1 I start by fleshing out some quick and dirty ideas. I’m not 2 I would normally go in with colour and produce a rough
like something doesn’t being too precious about keeping things neat and pretty. At this colour thumbnail now. However, I feel that it would be easier to
work then it probably
stage it’s more important for me to capture the general feel and have a more refined sketch to work underneath, during the later
doesn’t. Rather than
wasting time trying to fix look of the character, as well as figuring out the composition. painting stages. I set the thumbnail layer to 30 per cent Opacity,
something that didn’t I’m thinking about the pose and the best viewing angles to and on a layer above I start outlining with a slightly oval, Soft
work from the start, try
present Titania, to make her look as regal and powerful as brush with Opacity and Size set to Pen Pressure so that I can
something different.
possible, yet still have a definite feminine look to her. easily control the thickness and value of my lines.

September 2016 67
 Workshops

Keep a mirror
nearby
Don’t underestimate
the power of using a
mirror for reference
purposes, especially if
you’re starting out
learning how to paint
people, but also if you
paint them often as a
professional. Nothing
can teach you anatomy
and expression quicker if
you can pose your hand
in front of a mirror, or
Keeping it simple Almost time to colour
reference your face in
different angles or make
3 I don’t want to get too hung up on the line art, because 4 Having the finished sketch on a separate layer, I block in
crazy expressions to get most of it isn’t going to be in the final painting. I try to keep the Titania’s silhouette on a layer underneath with an opaque brush
a deeper understanding
lines rough and don’t worry about line variation. This is all about in a simple grey tone. I then lock the grey layer (by pressing /).
of how the facial
expressions work. me having a good, strong guide to work under later on. I use this This is a very useful shortcut to quickly lock the pixels on a layer
stage to figure out the anatomy and the design of the character so you can’t paint outside of them. Using a Soft Round brush,
and try to get that as close as possible to the final design. I can now finally start blocking in the colours.

resources
Colour thumbnails First steps of rendering
5 I now have two layers: the background layer and the 6 I start on Titania’s face. First, however, I need to decide
silhouette of Titania. I start colouring them in with a Soft Round what lighting I’m going for. I want the image to be brightly lit,
PhotoshoP brush, alternating between the two. One of the best things you with few shadows, so that the colours are vibrant. I begin by
can do when going into the colour stage is to decide what mood laying down a basic coating of shadow and gradually build up the
custoM Brushes:
all-rounder you want to convey. This will in turn help you with your colour skin tones on top, building form with shadow. I make good use of
choices. ImagineFX asks for an autumnal colour scheme. layer blending modes such as Overlay and Multiply at this stage.

A slightly textured brush,

ideal for blocking in
colour or rendering with.

line art Brush

Great for line art, as well

as adding in details in the
rendering stage

soft fuzzy

A lovely soft blending

brush that still retains
texture in the stroke.
Painting hair Rendering fabric
sParKler 7 I think in terms of shape when painting hair. I always start 8 The fabric in this painting is free flowing and moving
by putting down the big shape of the body of hair in a flat colour, (mostly) in one direction. There are only two points where it
then sculpt into that using smaller shapes, remembering the attaches to Titania: her hips and necklace. Those points are
Great for painting design principles of large-medium-small. My way of painting where the fabric will bunch up into folds. I paint in the folds
sparkles, snow, dust
hair is pretty stylised, so I’m not fussed about making it look using a semi-Soft, fuzzy brush that’s easy to blend with, using
particles and skin pores.
realistic, so long as it has enough detail to resemble hair. subtle shadows so that the vibrancy of colour remains.

68 September 2016
 In depth Queen of fairies

Adding gold details

9 I refine different elements like the wings, dress folds and
Titania’s hair under the straps. I’m not completely sold on the 10 Foreground elements
Looking at the image after having established the bulk of it, things are feeling a bit flat.
crown and hair accessory design, however. The flowers in her I want to push the depth of the image further, adding something to it to better invite the
hair and crown feel like something Titania would wear at spring, viewer into the image. I play with a bunch of different ideas before finally settling on having
not autumn, so I rearrange the straps that support her updo, and fabric flowing into the image from the foreground. I then go to Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur and
then revamp the crown to fit the autumn theme. quickly blur the foreground fabric. This helps push the depth even further.

The magic of a Multiply layer

11 To push the depth of the image even further, I create a 12 Extreme colour makeover
The ImagineFX team asks me to revamp the background flatten visibl
e
clipping mask on top of Titania. I set the layer blending mode colours. I really like their suggestion of using purples instead of layers
to Multiply and then use my semi-Soft brush to paint in a leafy autumny green-orange for the background, so I quickly change cmd+shift+e
(Mac)
ctrl+shift+e
cast shadow on her skirt and flowing back fabric. Then I go in the colour scheme by using the Hue/Saturation and Selective A fast and ea
(Pc)
sy way to
with a Color Dodge and an Overlay layer to add glow on the lit Color features in Photoshop. I also add a much brighter light flatten all of
your
parts around the cast shadow. behind Titania, which sets her off against the background. visible layers.

rotate your
canvas
It’s easy to forget how
important it is to rotate
your canvas when in the
midst of rendering.
Rotating your canvas
enables you to use your
hand in a position most

13 Apply Iris Blur

Iris Blur is an awesome tool you can use to quickly give 14 Final touches
To better tie in Titania with the new background colours, I
comfortable to you and
will minimise the risk of
wrist injury – not to
more depth to an image. You can find this under Filter>Blur>Iris add a touch of pinks and purples in a few areas. I also feel that
mention that you’ll get a
Blur. This tool enables you to control the strength of the blur and adding in blowing leaves helps create more depth and steadier brush stroke
to shape the area of the blur by playing with the different points. movement. I finish off Titania’s hair by breaking up the big when you’re not trying to
bend your wrist/arm in
I use this tool on only the background layer and add a slight blur shapes with strands of hair, and keep refining and adding a few
an awkward position.
effect to it to further push Titania from the background. more details, like bracelets and sparkles blowing in the wind.

September 2016 69
 Workshops

ZBrush
apply hair and
fur to 3d objects
rob redman shows you how to get to grips with ZBrush’s Fiber tools,
which enables you to create and control elements such as hair fibres

lthough ZBrush may best be techniques, partly because of the complex time feedback. Your viewport can handle

rob redman
a known for its sculpting tools
and for its feel of working
with digital clay, it’s actually
nature of each fibre, but mostly down to
the sheer number of strands needed to
make the end result look believable.
the vast number of fibres just as it can the
massively dense polygon object that
ZBrush handles with ease.
location: England offers workflows for many tasks. Most 3D software has been developed The key to success with the Fiber tool
One of these is the FiberMesh tool set. with a specialist tool for the task and set lies in masking techniques. As you’ll
Rob Redman
is a creative Its sole purpose is for creating hair and ZBrush is no different. Indeed, it see, working with the strands is easy
director at other fibrous structures. This kind of possesses a particularly elegant solution, enough, but what will sell your model is
a boutique modelling is a particularly hard task to with just a handful of controls that enable the placement of the strands, so read on
animation and
VFX studio, working
carry out using traditional digital you to work very quickly, along with real- and find out how to do both.
across print, film and
television. When not in
the studio he can be
found presenting at
industry events.
http://ifxm.ag/rob-r

Add a PolySphere
to the scene and
divide it to add
some detail.
Load a suitable alpha
to help you develop the
surface detail.
Here’s a simple rock
to which we can
add some fibres.

Establish your
1 base object
For the purposes of this article I’m going
to keep it pretty basic. To follow along add
a polygon sphere to your scene. If you
want to sculpt it, go ahead. I’m using a
simple round rock, but feel free to use
whatever model you want.

Masking method
reference the
real world
2 Placement is as important as the
It sounds obvious, but strands’ appearance, so let’s look at the Mask off the
pay attention to how
grass and hair grows, and
most basic mask. Hold down Ctrl and top half of
the effects of gravity and
drag out a marquee over the top half of the model.
movement. Your mind the rock. Unfold the FiberMesh menu and
may tell you one thing, click Preview. Fibres will be grown in the Click FiberMesh
but the reality is likely to
be a little different.
masked area only. Ctrl-click off the model >Preview to see Previewing the fibres.
and then hit Preview again. your fibres.

70 September 2016
 Quick technique Hair and fur

Create a more Our mask, all ready to be used.

3 accurate mask
While the large blocks of fibre could be
useful, we can certainly use a more
refined method. Unfold the Masking tab
and scroll down to Mask by Cavity. Click
the button and you should see the crack
in the mesh go dark. Head back to the
FiberMesh menu and hit Preview. We
now have a very natural look, with fibres
between the cracks.
Fibres growing
Many masking options are available, between the cracks
but we want to pick By Cavity. in the rock.

Adapting the shape Most of the controls

4 of the fibres can be found in the
There are plenty of other options Modifier section.
available, but let’s tame the overall look.
First, unfold the Modifiers section, and
use the Length slider to control how long
the strands are. The MaxFibers slider
establishes the overall density. Now you
can experiment with the other settings.
A good control to play with is gravity, but
beware: it uses screen space, so make sure
up is where you want it!

Gravity affects your fibres’ level of

droop, but look at your model head The Length slider is
on to avoid unexpected results – sensitive, so go slowly.
although happy accidents can occur.

Convert fibres
into a Subtool
for further
tweaking.

ZBrush contains a number of

grooming tools, each with a specific
role for tweaking your fibres.

The Clumping brush is great for

adding patches of denser fibres.
Exert greater control over your fibres
5
Xnext month
Head to the top of the Fiber menu and click Accept. This changes the fibres into a Subtool, so open the
Subtool menu, where you can swap between the rock or the fibres. From here you can use ZBrush’s standard tools,
but a good one for extra control and detail is the Groom brush, which enables you to brush the strands in real time,
pushing them where you need. There are a number of groom brushes, that are named according to task.
Manga studio

September 2016 71
 Workshops

Photoshop
maKe a concept
with identity
Games artist Rob Laro demonstrates how to use idea generation and
rapid iteration to develop a character with a specific goal in mind

hen designing characters for personify a single distinctive idea or I’ll begin by exploring the concept with

Rob Laro
w purposes beyond a single
illustration, be it for games,
comics or animation, a more
concept, giving them a strong sense of
identity. This ensures that you’ll portray
what the character is all about quickly
a series of quick figure sketches of the
character before focusing on each element
of her clothing and equipment. Here I’ll
Location: England in-depth approach may be needed to and cleanly to the viewer. explain the significance of reference
ensure your character leaves a lasting In this workshop I’ll be demonstrating material to support the designs and how
Artist turned
indie game impression. Each element of their design my design process for a character, as if you can interpret it. Once I finalise the
developer, needs to be fleshed out, from the inside they were the main character of a game, design, I’ll transition to colour in
Rob spends of their jacket to the bottom of their feet. from start to finish. My starting point is Photoshop and create an illustration to
most of his
time frantically drawing,
Not only do you need to be thorough, the rough idea of a monster-slaying showcase the character while looking at
modelling, programming but you also need to unify the character maiden, incorporating the theme of a some of the techniques I use to add colour
and designing games, as a whole. One way to achieve this is to chimera: a mythical hybrid creature. variance and lighting.
somehow all at once.
http://ifxm.ag/r-laro

get your
resources
See page 6 now!

Keeping it
together
At the brainstorming
stage, having all of your
drawings in one place
gives you to get a good
overview of your art,
especially when working
iteratively. It makes it
easy to see your
Quick sketches Unleash the beast
progress and where your
ideas are going. 1 With the rough idea in my head, I start brainstorming by 2 I feel like the character is looking a little too delicate,
Furthermore, if you do
making lots of small, energetic sketches of the figure. I avoid any so I toughen her up by giving her a big hand cannon, which
happen to run out of
steam with ideas, you detailing here: it’s best to keep these drawings very small and adds more weight to her posture. I continue to make multiple
can always take a look at vague, which enables you to iterate through ideas as quickly as drawings and start incorporating animal elements into her
what you have so far and
possible. At this stage the character has a basic design, but I still design. It only takes one sketch to open up ideas, so it’s
try a different direction.
focus on trying to put some personality into the poses. important to not set anything down just yet.

72 September 2016
In depth Sense of identity

Lock
transparency
/ (pc & mac)
Handy for re
stricting
your painting
to
the transpare
ncy
of a layer.

Replacing
colours
When working on
pictures with large areas
of flat colour, things can
look a little plain, so it’s
good to break areas
up a bit and introduce
some variation by using
Replace Color (Image>
Adjustments >Replace
Color). Saturating
colours and hue shifting
in places where colours
meet and at certain
levels of tone change
usually work best, giving
a more painterly feel.

September 2016 73
 Workshops

Study and stylise

4 I would like the sabatons to look bird-like while still
Design and refine
3 After a few more iterations, I’m now settling on the character’s overall design, defining
resembling armour, so I search for images of falcon feet and
make some study drawings of them first. Drawing directly from
the thematic chimera elements into her clothes. I define her falcon cloak and sabatons, lion reference helps to get a good grasp on the identifying features
gauntlets and buckler, snake cannon, and finally her goat’s horn circlet. Now that I know her before translating them into designs. I feel like the talons are the
design well enough to be able to draw her more consistently, the base design is complete. strongest feature, so I incorporate them into the boots.

Adding functionality
6 It’s good to start with real-world references and look for
Reverse engineering
5 The gauntlet design is bit more complex, so I approach this by breaking the armour
convenient shapes and details to take advantage of. For the snake
cannon I base the design on a break-action shotgun, before
into smaller parts. Splitting an item up like this can simplify things, enabling you to focus and stylising the long barrel and stock into the body of a snake. Take
iterate on each part separately. I also make sure to draw the parts at different angles to note not to be too liberal with the modification of references:
understand how the gauntlets would move and function. you don’t want to break any possible functionality.

resources

photoshop
custom bRush:
Every bit counts A choice of colours
soft Line
7 Even the smallest objects still have a role to play in your 8 I now move from my sketches to Photoshop, creating
character, so it’s good to draw them up and cover all the bases. a quick coloured illustration to get an idea of the palette and
I used this single brush to I work and iterate on some of the remaining elements of her silhouette. When working with silhouettes it’s good practice to
develop the entire outfit, before finishing up the preliminary process. I’m ready to account for the tones of your colours. Bright tones are light and
image, for both lines
create an illustration of the character, now that I understand the dark tones are heavy – I make her lower half darker and top half
and painting.
design of the whole outfit. lighter so that she doesn’t appear top heavy.

74 September 2016
 In depth Sense of identity

Quantity over
quality
Making your drawings
colour balanc
e small and fast when
ctrl+b (pc) generating ideas is a
cmd+b (mac great way to keep things
)
Tweak the co
lours of your flexible. This enables you
image while
preserving to stay focused on your
the tones. core concept and not
worry about the details,
because this can be
distracting. Drawing
cumulatively is a non-
destructive process as

Strike a pose
10 IAfter
choose you! opposed to iterating
9 Now that the design is complete, I draw a handful of poses selecting a pose, I make a start on the preliminary,
over a single drawing
multiple times – you’ll be
that best represent her and her personality. I’ve maintained a scaling up my sketch in Photoshop and loosely working in left with a lot of good
stuff to work with.
theme of movement and agility throughout my sketches, so I details. I find this to be the most difficult stage because when
choose a dynamic pose from above. When making a vignette translating a small sketch into a high-resolution image it tends to
illustration with no background, the pose determines your strip it of all its energy, leaving it looking stiff and lifeless. Try to
composition. Account for this when positioning your character. focus on refining the core pose and shapes above all else.

Get in line
11 In my case, lines aren’t just a foundation for painting but
actually part of the final illustration. I place the preliminary on a 12 Between light and dark
For the shading stage I paint a greyscale lighting layer and add it to a layer group set
layer below, reduce its Opacity to around 20 per cent (similar to to Multiply. I then use the Gradient Map adjustment layer to map the black and white to
an inking method) and use it as a guide. I keep the lighting in my lighting colours. Here, it’s grey-purple with a very saturated terminator between the light
mind here, thickening the line weights in shadow because it’ll and dark. This setup makes it significantly easier to change the colours of the image without
help to blend my lines with the shading later on. having to repaint any lighting.

13 Fill me in
Before I start laying down any colours, I create a single
silhouette of the whole body in one layer. I then block in the
areas of colour and clip them to the single silhouette layer (Alt- 14 Wrapping things up
Now that the picture is almost done, I make a flattened copy of all my layers so that
click in between layers). Having the image segmented into cells I can make final adjustments and paint directly into the picture. When working with dozens
like this makes it possible to modify the colours easily. I keep my of layers it starts to get progressively more difficult to change the image, so I take advantage of
painting workflow as flexible as possible until the very end. flattening to tweak the face and saturate the shadow edges of the whole image.

September 2016 75
 Workshops

develoP a StRong
lIghtIng Scheme
Rudy Siswanto shows how intelligent lighting choices can help
to turn a straightforward composition into a compelling book cover

aby Bestiary was a commission composition and the lighting, rather

B I had a lot of fun doing, than focusing on developing my brush Enhance the focal point
I find the real challenge is to simplify a
especially because animals strokes on the canvas and steadily complicated image that contains a lot of
Rudy Siswanto and creatures are my favourite rendering the painting. elements. That’s why I increase the contrast
locatIon: Indonesia subjects to paint. The client, Metal Because of the simplicity of the in the main focal area, both in value and in the
silhouette. I also make the lighting come from
Rudy is a
Wave Games, approached me with composition, I needed to put a lot of behind the beasts’ infancy phase, to create a
passionate a simple brief: to create a mirror expression into my characters. In stronger silhouette. I also want to direct the
illustrator who composition. I found it a challenge particular, the focal point was my audience to explore the owl bear’s face by
loves animals. illuminating its face with a strong lighting.
He works on
because I needed to make a simple opportunity to ramp up the visual interest
fantasy card illustration composition look interesting. in the composition. I already had Light
and concept art, as well I usually begin a painting by adopting something in mind about the flow of the
as character design.
a workflow that’s used by many artists. image. I wanted the audience to follow
http://ifxm.ag/rudysis
I start by producing thumbnails to help the beasts’ journey through life, starting

get your me decide on the overall composition, from their infancy and all the way

resources then proceed to put together a basic

colour rough, before eventually finalising
through their adulthood. This means
I needed to treat the lighting in this
See page 6 now! the colours by rendering the scene. This painting in a very specific way, in order Subsurface
approach enables me to focus on the to tell the story behind the image.

how I create…
BeaStS thRough the ageS
resources

PhotoShoP
cuStom BRuSheS:
FeatheR BRuSh

I used this brush to

render the feathers on
the owl bear and griffin,
especially their wings.

RendeR BRuSh 1

I used this brush for

detailing and refining
Initial sketch Colour rough Final stages
the overall images. 1 I wanted to incorporate three 2 During the early stage of making a 3 I want to keep the values intact. So
different life phases of the owl bear and colour rough, a common approach is to focus rather than using a frontal lighting scheme,
RendeR BRuSh 2
the griffin. So I started simply by observing on the middle of the composition: in this case, I use lighting that originates from behind
animals that live near me. I learned that the two fantasy beasts’ teenage years. But the beasts. This enables me to define the
animals tend to play with each other during this made the composition uncomfortable silhouette of both beasts clearly. I want the
their infancy. During their adolescence to read. So I changed the main focus to the viewer to be able to read what’s happening in
I used this for the initial
the playing turns to fighting – and it happens lower part of the image, where the beasts this cover very clearly, so that when this book
shapes when rendering
all the time! They tend to be calmer when are still in their infancy. This suits the book’s is displayed in the bookstores the silhouettes
to block big shapes
they’re fully grown adults. theme, which is about nurturing baby beasts. of the playing baby beasts are obvious.
and rough colours.

76 September 2016
 Artist insight Strong lighting
The flow of the image
I want to emphasise the focal area in the bottom part of the cover, where
the infant beasts sit. So I make the visual flow resemble an arrow pointing
downwards. I also utilise the beasts’ body parts, such as beaks and claws,
making them point downwards as well. By doing this, I make the flow
of the entire image leading down towards to the bottom of the book cover.
I hope the audience will get the message that I intend to send.

Lighting up
the griffin
I use an additional light
source from the front, to light
the expression of the baby
griffin. I use this to help the
viewer explore this area more.
Sometimes we’re allowed to
ignore realism a little, so our
painting can deliver the
message we want to send.

Exaggerate the
expression
Expression is important for
me. Here I try to exaggerate
the faces of the beasts. I want
to make their faces adorable
and cute, based on general
references. The main focus of
their face will be on the eyes.

September 2016 77
 awe-inspiring

LANDSCAPES
The epic environments and the artists
who create them for film and games

Issue 139 on sale In the uk Friday 12 August

78 September 2016
Pablo Carpio
wil
battle of epic l paint a space
prop
our next issu ortions for
Featuring…
e’s cover! Space battle!
Paint a vast scene within the
constraints of the portrait
dimensions of a cover.

‘Coro’ Kaufman
The Massive Black artist
picks up his paints for a
brand new workshop.

Get the ArtRage

Caricature illustrator Yoann
Lori explains his process to
making a lasting impression.

Scott Robertson
The digital art legend talks
about Design Studio Press
and the appeal of steel!

September 2016 79
 Workshops

Artist insight
bringing fantasy
portraits to life
Mélanie Delon talks through the tips, tricks and techniques she uses to
achieve realistic portrait paintings, ensuring they stand out from the crowd
antasy portraiture is my advice I can give, because nothing good example), I don’t hesitate to redo

Mélanie Delon
f favourite subject. Bringing an
original character to life is
exciting, but can be difficult
comes from rushing a painting.
It’s worth spending time and effort
trying to understand how a face ‘works’,
everything… and have a coffee break!
The main challenge in a portrait
painting is to make the character stand
location: France to achieve. To avoid mistakes and save such as under a particular lighting setup. out. Usually there’s no surrounding decor
Mélanie is a time I try to follow a few rules. But they’re Such a skill won’t be grasped overnight. in the environment to help you achieve
freelance really just guidelines, so feel free to adapt, Spend time experimenting with several this goal, and a finished, polished portrait
illustrator who change and test other techniques that techniques, and don’t be afraid to fail. can often end up looking flat and boring.
specialises
in fantasy
might better suit your painting process. I’ve learned – and still learn – a lot more Thankfully, there are several simple and
subjects. She spends her The most important thing to bear in when I struggle on a painting, and when effective ways to achieve a striking
time working for mind is to take your time. This is the best I’m stuck (on a mouth or nose, for portrait that will be remembered.
different publishing
houses and developing
her own personal works.
www.melaniedelon.com 1 PreParatory sketch
Before starting an illustration,
get your I always do some quick pencil
resources
See page 6 now!
sketches to lay down my ideas. This
helps me to see more clearly what
I want to do and express, and be
more confident about the direction
I want to take. I use these sketches
to build the composition, reworking
them slightly in Photoshop if
necessary. Usually I like to keep
them rough, because this gives me
more freedom during the colouring
process. I feel restricted by
perfectly clean line-art.

80 September 2016
 Artist insight Fantasy portraits

2 proportions of
the heaD anD face
It’s important to be aware
of the proportions of a
human face. Of course,
they’re only guides –
everyone has a different
face shape that doesn’t
necessarily meet the
beauty standard – but it’s
essential to know these
rules, if you’re going to play
by them and break them. I
recommend practising with
facial proportions, until it
almost becomes instinctual
to apply them to a portrait
piece. I always start with a
basic oval and then slowly
add the facial features,
steadily building up the
character’s face.

Slightly tilting
the character’s
head helps to add
visual interest and
life to an image

4 Develop a DynaMic coMposition

3 ensure your colour The composition and placement of the character in
scheme is harmonious the illustration is essential for introducing dynamism
Usually the biggest mistake in a portrait painting is the skin’s to the painting. I always try to imply a slight torso
colour: it’s never either beige or black. Skin comprises a movement, which avoids a straight and boring
multitude of colours, from pale blue around the eye, pink, to posture. Placing the character’s face in the centre is a
hints of yellow for the mouth’s corners. I start painting with classic approach and works well, but I also like to
very few colours, and progressively add more hues. I save nudge the character towards a corner of the image
my colour palette in a corner of the illustration so that to add a little originality, and free up space in the
they’re always on hand. To avoid a muddy look, I avoid using scene. I find that slightly tilting the character’s head
pure black or white. Instead, I increase the saturation to the helps to add visual interest and life to an image.
colour I using for the shadows.

September 2016 81
 Workshops

5 Working the 6 introduce realistic details

background Small details such as veins or beauty dots won’t be immediately apparent,
The background can also help give but will give the last touches of texture and realism to portraits. These can
more impact to the portrait. I don’t keep some also tell a story: for example, exposed veins can be useful for depicting a
like to overload it with details, brushstrokes vampire or a person who’s ill. I generally use the same brush to create
preferring instead to leave it Skin is never perfect, and these details: a very fine brush that allows for precise work. I slightly blur
sometimes seamless
relatively plain to avoid any blending can ruin a skin’s
the brushstrokes’ extremities, to unify and soften the details.
unnecessary visual distractions. texture. I never blend
I usually add subtle texture and a and smooth my
brushstrokes, because I
gradient to avoid a flat, lifeless look.
like to maintain colour
Another alternative is to add variations in the face,
blurred elements, such as a forest along with some texture.
Tiny scribbles help to
or a building, to give the character
introduce extra texture.
context and hint at their story.

An outlandish hair
style helps to elevate my
character’s importance.

Gold war paint

on the face helps
to illuminate my
character’s dark skin.

Small details such as veins or

beauty dots will give the last touches
of texture and realism to portraits
7 eMphasise key
facial eleMents
It’s easy to get lost in the
details, even in an intimate
portrait piece. To avoid this
and save time I don’t detail
the entire illustration,
instead only working up the
areas that I want to draw
attention to. For a portrait
the most obvious area are
the eyes, but depending on
the lighting and the story I
want to tell I can add a
second focal point, usually
a key costume element.

82 September 2016
 Artist insight Fantasy portraits

8 eye contact
Even in the busiest of compositions,
a face will always catch the viewer’s
attention. And to make the face
even more powerful and striking,
ensuring strong eye contact
remains the most effective trick.
The viewer is instantly connected
with the character. It’s an effect that
I use a lot in my portraits… perhaps
a little too much! But I also love to
play with more subtle glances,
which are less direct and help to
develop a sense of mystery, raising
questions in the viewer’s mind.

source your
references
References are
important. You can
always do some internet
9 paint appealing lips searches but the most

Lips are an important facial feature. They draw attention simple and obvious
approach is to use
as much as the eyes do, and help the character to express yourself! I always keep a
emotion. To get them right it’s just a matter of texture. small mirror next to my
Lips aren’t a flat, plain element: I paint the little wrinkles computer when I need to
quickly check some
with a very thin brush, which gives them texture and a lot expression or feature.
of volume. Indeed, volume is the key to bring life to the You can also ask your
lips, so I always add some intense dots of light to make friends or family to pose
for a portrait.
them more realistic and attract even more attention.

how to bring life to the eyes

The key to achieving a striking portrait lies in the eyes. Here are three steps to easily paint them

capture the eye’s shape develop light and volume introduce a sparkle of life
1 First I quickly sketch the shape of the eye. It’s 2 Once I’m happy with the shape of the character’s 3 I further define the eye and add shadow under
essentially an oval, but you can play a bit with it because eye, I can start to apply the colour base, along with some the upper eyelid to enhance the sense of volume. The
nobody has the same eye shape. I quickly sketch my lines volume and light. The upper eyelid will catch a lot of the final touch is the eyeball’s bright dot of light which is
so I know where to add the light and the shadows. It’s all light and will give volume to the eye. Here I decide to use essential: it’s the sparkle of life in any kind of portrait
about curves because the eyeball is round, and the a pale mauve for her make-up, which will work pretty painting. After that I can add more details such as
eyelids must reflect this shape. well with the blue of her eye. eyelashes, to increase the sense of realism.

September 2016 83
 Workshops

10 take the profile approach

Developing a character’s profile is tricky because
there’s no eye contact to play with and only half of
the face to show. I use light and contrast to
compensate for the lack of interaction with the
character, and enhance the costume design to hold
the viewer’s attention. Here, the figure’s hair does
almost everything: it defines her head shape and
contrasts well with the bright, empty background.

Adding vibrant colours

to details like the
orange feathers will
balance out a pale
colour scheme.

11 caPtivating eyes
The eyes are usually the main part of a portrait, and are my
favourite element. They can look sad, sparkling, mysterious
or dangerous… and done well, can bring any character to
life. I like to give them a lot of intensity with unusual colours
such as purple or yellow. The trick to make them stand out is
to play with the light and saturation. I use a precise brush to
create some colours variations in the eye and finish it a
bright dot of light that will give volume to the eyeball.

resources

A clean outline
helps to make a photoshop
character stand
out, especially when custoM brushes:
sMooth
the background
is very bright.
It’s the brush I use for
almost everything, and
especially skin. I like the
soft texture it brings to
any element and it’s
perfect for skin. It’s not
too soft or too textured,
so I don’t have a lot of
blending work to do.

precise

This is a basic Round

brush with Shape
Dynamics turned on and 12 storytelling
Minimum Diameter set to A portrait leaves very little space to
zero per cent. It’s ideal
tell a story, so the general style of
for painting tiny details
such as wrinkles or the character is important and can
eyelashes to a portrait. give a lot of indications and
information about their life. I try to
DotteD
pay special care to their clothing,
even if the viewer can only see a
small part of it. I also spend time on
Eyes can look sad, sparkling, This dotted brush is
useful for adding extra
texture like skin pores. I
their hair and details like a crown, to
give the maximum amount of visual
mysterious or dangerous… and done often use the Blur tool to
blend the results, giving
information. Their story can also be
told by elements on the skin, like a
well, can bring any character to life a soft and natural look
tattoo, a scar or tribal markings.

84 September 2016
 Artist insight Fantasy portraits

13 good lighting
The light is crucial in a portrait. If you get this right, it adds to The shiny golden headdress
the atmosphere of the piece, and brings life and volume to breaks up the huge amount
the face. I always start a portrait with neutral mid-tones and of shadows on the top part
gradually add shadows and light. I love to accentuate the of the composition.
light in a chiaroscuro style; I think it brings a classic feeling to
my fantasy theme. However, I keep my shadows very soft,
and my gradients are usually very smoothed, because the
face is made of curves and not sharp angles.

Adding some of the

background colour to
the character helps
to better integrate
the foreground and
the background.

To increase the contrast,

I often leave some parts of
my characters in
the shadows.
14 skin texture
The skin is obviously an important
element in a portrait painting, and a
common mistake is to make it look
flawless. It’s relatively simple to
paint clean, soft-looking skin, but if 15 play with contrast
you’re not careful your character Another trick that works very well is to add contrast
will end up looking like a plastic to the composition. I achieve this by adjusting the
doll, and besides nobody has lighting, playing with complementary colours, or
perfect skin. To avoid this, I start using warm and cold hues. The trick is to separate
with a textured base and use a the character from the background. My favourite
Soft brush with a little grain texture approach is to use a very dark background and an
to recreate the skin’s irregularities. unusual light source to illuminate the character. The
I also add some dots of light to light captures the viewer’s initial attention, who then
create pores, particularly on the moves on to my character portrait.
nose and around the eyes.

September 2016 85
 Workshops

Photoshop, Daz 3D, ZBrush & KeyShot

Create a Card
art CharaCter
Stéphane richard switches between software to illustrate
comical card art from The Witcher 3, on a tight deadline

he ImagineFX editor asked But it also needs details to support full ZBrush for further detailing. After adding

Stéphane
t me to illustrate a character
inspired by the Gwent card
game, from The Witcher 3
screen mode, attentive scrutiny by the
player, or even larger print versions.
I’m going to focus on a workflow that’s
some rough clothes and props, I’ll bring
the 3D model into KeyShot to render a
few material passes. Then I’ll finish the
richard video game. The brief was to depict a suitable for tight deadlines. This image image in Photoshop, by compositing
LOCatiOn: France comical hero and we settled on a chubby took around 10 hours to complete, from all the render passes to develop a base
elf looking proud of himself and ready to initial sketch to the final image, and this before adding colours and details on top.
Stéphane is
a self-taught win the next battle with nothing more wouldn’t be possible for me without using After using photobashing to generate a
digital artist than a smile. 3D software and photobashing. background that matches my sketch, I’ll
who works as
Card art, especially in digital games, Starting from the sketch, I’ll take you use the Camera RAW filter plug-in in
an illustrator,
concept artist and art presents a very specific challenge. The through DAZ 3D to quickly generate a Photoshop to apply photo-retouching
director in television, image has to work at a very small scale. posed base mesh that I’ll import in techniques to my image.
video games as well
as publishing.
www.wootha.com

get your
resources
See page 6 now!

Smart Objects
In Photoshop I use
Smart Objects to add
nondestructive
capabilities to layers.
Every new file I drag and
drop is set to be placed
as a Smart Object in my
properties (Edit>
Preferences>General>
Sketching the figure Creating a base mesh
Always create Smart
Objects). Smart Objects 1 After spending 30 minutes gathering references for 2 DAZ 3D is a free software that enables me to shape and
keep the original file
Gwent and charming, overweight males, I start to sketch the pose a base mesh. It comes with a standard male and female
resolution and support
chaining filters and character, leaving details aside for now. I keep in mind the mesh that can be shaped with morphs (ready-made skins). I play
Adjustments Layers with various elements of the brief and try to find the right pose with the musculature, weight and size of the character, and pose
editing, re-ordering and
and expression, while highlighting some key elements of it to match my sketch. DAZ 3D doesn’t replace the need to know
fusion modes.
the clothing and props. human anatomy, but it greatly speeds up the process.

86 September 2016
In depth Card art

September 2016 87
 Workshops

Adding clothes and props

Brush tool
Fixing the anatomy in ZBrush 4
selection
Shift+B (PC &
Mac)
3 Once in ZBrush, the first thing I do is to correct the
Now that I have a good, clean model, I add the clothes
and props. I’m not looking for too much details or definitive
through the anatomy. As soon as I pose the DAZ 3D character it starts to shapes, because I know that many things are going to be faster
Quickly cycle
ndard
Mixer and sta have improbable anatomical distortion that I need to correct. to solve later in Photoshop. I just want a rough geometry to
brush tools.
Even though none of the body apart from the head will show have interesting base renders. Using the references I gathered,
in the final art, I want to have something clean to start from. I sculpt the face to match my sketch.

Base compositing
6 I import the passes into Photoshop and attribute basic
Rendering base material passes
5 Thanks to the bridge plug-in, sending my model to KeyShot is a matter of pushing a
materials to elements: matte material for the skin, metal, leather
and fabric for the clothes and props. To make life easier, I create
button. I choose my lighting environment and I do a few key render passes: a matte pass (no an ID pass (a flat colour for each shape for rapid selection with
reflections), a reflective pass (using a metal material), a fresnel pass (with the velvet material), the Magic Wand) by assigning different solid colours in ZBrush
a leather pass and a fabric pass. Those are enough for me to create the image in Photoshop. to my subtools and rendering them as a flat material in KeyShot.

Keep files
manageable
A key part in my
nondestructive workflow
is to know when to be
destructive. At some
point in the process,
I need to flatten layers
and rasterise Smart
Objects to keep my file
workable. I save a new
Refining materials Adding colours
version of the file and try
to decide which part of 7 Most materials are both reflective and matte. I start to 8 I add colours using several layers set on different fusion
my history I don’t need
refine my materials by laying them one on top of each other, modes. Particularly for the skin, I use many layers to slowly
anymore, so I can flatten
it. I use the Crop tool using opacity. I also add weathering using masks. Where the build up the subsurface scattering and variation in tones. I add
with Delete Cropped leather is worn it’ll lose reflectivity and surface texture, so I use subtle changes (red scattering in shadows, broad white around lit
Pixel checked, in order
the matte pass to tweak the material. I do the same with the areas, dermal colour changes from underneath bones, veins or
to remove frame pixels.
metal by bringing back its full reflectivity on scratches. facial hairs). I step back by lowering the opacity, and start over.

88 September 2016
 In depth Card art

Colour mood
9 After reading about James Gurney and gamut masks, and
learning about colour grading for film, I’ve developed the habit 10 Adding details and texture
Next, I start to add details by hand painting and Liquify tool
of adding a colour mood to images. The idea is to restrict the photobashing. I’m looking out for sharp edges, breaking them so Ctrl+Shift+X
(PC)
Cmd+Shift+X
colour scheme, to make it more interesting. I play with several that they don’t look too digital. I use simple brushes at this stage: (Mac)
I use this custo
Adjustments layers (my favourites being Color Lookup and a Round and a Square brush. I use photos and adjustment layers m
shortcut to lau
nch the
Color Balance) until I find a colour mood I’m happy with. to add new elements, and apply texture to the materials. Liquify tool.

resources

PhOtOShOP
CuStOM BruSheS:
MOdeLLing BruSh

My all-in-one brush
to model forms and
add details.
Photobashing the background
11 From the sketch, I know I want a simple background: a 12 Atmosphere, mist and fog
I want to add atmosphere to separate my subject from the MOdeLLing BLender
few trees with a blown-out light originating from the sky, and background, and add a sense of depth. In a foggy environment
a very foggy atmosphere. I search in my library and on the there’s a lot of light scattering in the air that lightens and lowers
internet for photos that match my needs. I’m looking for images the contrast of distant elements. To achieve this I use several I use this Smudge tool
preset for smooth but
with a very diffuse lighting scheme that fits my image. I avoid Level Adjustment layers in between my background, mid-
controlled blending.
strongly lit subjects in direct sunlight. ground and foreground. I add mist and a subtle shaft of light.

13 Post-production
The image looks too sharp. I’m using a blurred copy-
merged version of the image, set on a low Opacity to add a bit of 14 Photo retouching
I use Camera RAW to fine-tune my image. I add some sharpness, film grain and
diffusion. I repeat this several times with various blending I tweak the colours. Camera RAW is a very powerful tool that’s often overlooked for
modes. I also use filters such as Paint Daubs, Sponge and Spatter, illustration. When used with Smart Objects, it becomes a powerful tool for adding a
to create painterly passes. I add a mask and reveal part of these nondestructive finishing touch to my artwork. By converting all my layers to a Smart
passes in areas that look too digital. Object, I can dynamically add filters to it while ensuring that it remains editable.

September 2016 89
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92 Photoshop CC 2015.5 95 Portraits
The interim update of Photoshop In The Wild
has a few surprises in store for artists. James Gurney encourages you
to step outside your studio and
93 Apex Fusion base your character designs on
This stylus for iPad or Android looks people from everyday life.
good and better still, has a polymer
tip for greater drawing control. Books
93 Bez 96 New reads
You can accomplish plenty with The Art of The
this free vector drawing app. Jungle Book;
Killzone Visual
94 PaintBerri Design; Science
Beginner artists would do well to of Creature Design
check out this browser-based paint & Principles
app, which has a social media side. of Creature Design.

Ratings explained Magnificent Great Good Poor Atrocious

September 2016 91
 Reviews

Enhancements include faster open and save The new Liquify tool makes it easy to tweak
and a new straightening tool in Camera Raw. faces, with automatic feature recognition.

Correct the horizon

on a photo with the
new Content-Aware
Crop tool, and the
corners will be filled
in automatically with
appropriate texture.

Onion Skin mode in

the Select and Mask
dialog enables you to
paint in opacity as the
brush automatically
finds edges.

Photoshop CC 2015.5
PhantastiC? Adobe’s stop-gap update to Photoshop spices up
photo-editing with a new cutout method and auto face recognition
Price From £8.57 a month Company Adobe Web www.adobe.com

he latest Creative Cloud cutouts, without having to flip back The cold hard fact is that there’s very

t update is only an interim

release, but there are
some cool features for the
and forth between tools and dialogs.
The Crop tool has long enabled you
to straighten an errant horizon – but
little for the digital artist in any of
Adobe’s Photoshop updates. Digital art
pioneer Craig Mullins has been vocal
dedicated subscribers. Just not much dealing with the empty corners that about Adobe’s view that digital art is a
Features
for Photoshop-using artists. result has previously involved several n Face recognition ’dirty secret’. Yes it remains the number
n Paint selections
There’s an enhancement to the operations. Now, the new Content- one piece of software for concept
with opacity
Liquify filter that automatically Aware Crop means the corners are n Enhanced editing artists and digital illustrators, but this
brushes
recognises faces, identifying each filled in for you automatically, a general apathy to digital artists – not to
n Content-Aware
feature and overall shape. You can process that works especially well with Crop tool mention the subscription-only model
n Font recognition
tweak the size, position and shape of natural landscapes. – has certainly played a part in the rise
n Faster opening
eyes, noses and mouths. Other enhancements include faster of images of Photoshop alternatives such as
The Select and Mask dialog open and save, a new straightening Serif’s Affinity Photo, which can be
system
(formerly Refine Edge) now includes tool in Camera Raw, better integration Requirements yours for a mere £40.
PC: Intel Core 2 or AMD
the Selection Brush, with a novel Onion for stock photographs, and the ability We’ve had CC for the past five years,
Athlon, Windows 7,
Skin mode that makes it possible to to make Library assets read-only 2GB RAM, OpenGL 2.0 and as far as we can tell software
Mac: Multicore Intel
start with a semi-transparent image, (perfect for distributing icons and development has been 85 per cent
processor, OS X 10.9,
painting in the opacity as you make the logos to groups). 2GB RAM, OpenGL 2.0 image editing and 15 per cent 3D – and
selection. With new built-in brush tools But wait, we hear you say, this is all no one cares about Photoshop 3D! So
Rating
and a better hair selection tool, it’s well and good, but we’re artists – not it gets four out of five. It’s good, but
easier than ever to make perfect photographers! And you’d be right. there’s nowt earth-shattering on show.

92 September 2016
 Art tools Software & hardware

Apex Fusion
It didn’t take us long to get used to Bez’s menus,
which are well designed and intuitive.

draWing tiP Discover a stylus for iPad or Android

that looks good and helps you draw with ease
Price $60 Company Lynktec Web www.lynktec.com

oS hen it comes to styluses to In addition to black or silver, the Apex

onLY
W
Fusion also comes in gold or “rose
draw or write with on your gold” – a delicate shade of pink.
Bez tablet, not all pens are
created equal. The earliest
MagiC touCh This free ‘capacitive’ designs took advantage
vector drawing app is of the inherent electricity in your
surprisingly capable body to fool tablets into recognising
them. Because tablet screens are
Price Free designed to detect fingertips, these
Company Juicy Bits early styluses had thick, stubby tips,
Web www.juicybitssoftware.com which meant drawing with them
wasn’t a pleasant experience.
rating
Later ‘active’ designs use a built-in
battery to generate their own
A vector drawing app from indie electrical field that the tablet can
developer Juicy Bits, Bez takes its detect. This means that the physical
name from Bézier Curves. While nibs can be finer. The Apex Fusion is Fusion to encourage the habit. With
it’ll work on any iPad running Lynktec’s third attempt at an active the business-like feel of a micro-tip
iOS9+, it’s iPad Pro owners that stylus, and its best yet. pen, the stylus barrel itself is light and Features
Juicy Bits has in its sights, and so The nib, made from a new polymer easy to grip, and doesn’t become n Choice of four
colours: black, gold,
Bez offers full support for Slide created by Lynktec, glides across a uncomfortable if you use it for a silver, rose gold
Over, Split View, the Smart tablet display surface and feels entirely longer session. n Rechargeable
lithium-ion battery;
Keyboard and the Apple Pencil. natural. The accuracy is good. It feels The internal battery offers around 14-hour charge
We tested it on the iPad Pro and as though the line is emerging from 14 hours of use per charge; a discrete n Auto power save
n Replaceable
found it fast and smooth. Bez’s the nib, rather than the slight gap you micro-USB port accepts the provided conductive fibre
menus are well-thought out and get with some styluses, although there cable for charging. A simple button on polymer nib
n 15cm length
intuitive, and it was easy to get was some delay in the line appearing the pen-holder activates the power. n 1cm diameter
started. The software was very at times. There’s no pressure- With intuitive use and no n Weighs approx 15g

responsive to our fingers, and flew sensitivity in the Apex Fusion, but you configuration required, the Apex System
with the Apple Pencil. We were also can achieve a limited degree of line Fusion is an excellent stylus for requirements
ioS: Any iPad except
impressed with the 4,096 per cent thickness by varying the speed you sketching, although dedicated artists iPad 1; all iPhones
zoom; access to unlimited layers; move the pen. It’s also quite tolerant of may still be tempted by the features, android: Most Android
tablets and
and the full undo/redo functionality. being held at an angle to the screen. particularly pressure-sensitivity and smartphones
In short, all the tools you’d expect You can order extra packs of nibs shortcut buttons, that Bluetooth-
rating
from a pro-level vector editor are cheaply, although it’s a shame a spare enabled designs like the slightly more
here, with the exception of being nib wasn’t included with the Apex expensive Adonit Pixel provide.
able to set a text size. In general,
though, Bez is up there with the best It doesn’t take long to get
used to moving the stylus at
iPad vector drawing apps around. different speed to achieve a
Okay, so you do need to pay a range of line widths.
single in-app purchase of £5.99 to
unlock four additional features, most
importantly high-quality output to
PNG and SVG, and the ability to
import and export documents. But
there’s plenty you can achieve in the
free version of this impressive app.

You’ll need to unlock the app to send your

artwork to services like iCloud and Dropbox.

September 2016 93
 Reviews
Premium Membership costs between
£26 and £52, depending on whether you
sign up for three or six months, or a year.

PaintBerri has just two layers, but elements like Line

Stabilization and Opacity are welcome additions.

PaintBerri
Art SoCiAl This browser-based paint app doubles PaintBerri is very community orientated;
the daily limit of five submissions gives
as a social, online art community for beginner artists everyone a chance to showcase their art.

Price Free/variable Premium Membership pricing structure Company PaintBerri Web www.paintberri.com

e were initially unsure what to and comment on other people’s art,

It’s a level
W PaintBerri’s unique selling
point was. The online app
features free in-browser
and sites with more powerful portfolio
aspects. Then the penny dropped:
the appeal of PaintBerri is that it’s Features playing field.
painting, a competent full painter
mode that includes pen pressure
a safe place for young artists to hang
out and socialise.
n Free in-browser
painter
n Unlimited ability
Everyone has
(apart from when using Chrome), Although there are many places to
to save drafts
n Pen pressure with more visibility
layers, hotkeys and many other show off your artwork, a lot of them compatible OS/
browser/tablet
professional-quality digital painting include established professional artists combos (Chrome Free membership to PaintBerri gives
tools, together with a lite painter with awe-inspiring skills and a large not supported) you access to in-browser painting
n Line Stabilizer
version compatible with older number of followers willing to praise function tools, unlimited storage, auto-backup
computers and mobile devices. Yet their idols at every turn. This makes it n Standardised and unlimited comments, while a
hotkeys that match
numerous art apps, available for both harder for inexperienced artists to apps like Photoshop Premium Membership also grants
desktop and mobile devices, offer draw attention from these digital n Comments can you eight group slots, adjustable
be either text-based
a more impressive toolset. celebrities. Furthermore, it can be or drawn height comments, 600 characters
Furthermore, there are a number of quite intimidating to display your art n Brush Size, Opacity, per text comment, eight publishes per
Flow and Hardness
online forums you can upload work alongside somebody who’s been options day and no advertisements.
doing this for years. n Five posts per With a lot of role-playing groups and
day limit
Because of the limited tools and only n A block feature fan art-based content on the site,
two layers, more experienced artists for avoiding social PaintBerri certainly caters towards a
“drama”
will stay away from the app. This levels n NSFW filter younger user-base and will most likely
out the playing field, keeping heavy leave many older art hobbyists mildly
System
hitters away and meaning everybody requirements nonplussed and perhaps even
else has more visibility and feels safer PC: Connection to underwhelmed with the social features.
the internet, Firefox
to share their work publicly without risk or Safari The best we can say about PaintBerri
of unfair comparison. PaintBerri also Mac: Connection to is that it’s a haven for young, neophyte
the internet, Firefox
features a cap on posts per day, to or Safari artists, looking to make friends and
prevent artists from flooding the learn new techniques in an encouraging
rating
Artists such as SoftBean use PaintBerri to create fan
forums with their art, giving everyone environment without worrying about
art, and people can draw responses to the images. a fair chance to be seen. being judged or critiqued too harshly.

94 September 2016
 Inspiration Training
This watercolour
sketch comprises
people captured at
different times as
they join and leave
a busy queue.

In Portraits In The Wild, James Gurney

chooses four locations where he’s able
to capture a variety of informal poses.

Portraits In The Wild

PeoPle PoWer Use the outside world to generate a rich assortment
of characters for your art, with the guiding hand of James Gurney
Publisher Gurney Studio Price £10/£17 Format Download/DVD Web www.jamesgurney.com

or all the emphasis in art There’s no guarantee that the subject

F training on anatomy, the

human body manifests
itself in an endless variety
will retain the same pose or even, in the
case of the queue, stay in view until
you’ve finished. James shows you how
Artist profile
James
of forms. And that’s without
accounting for gender, age, race,
he adjusts his technique to suit the time
he has, focusing in quick studies on
Gurney
personality and style. Capturing such gesture and the distinctive elements
diversity in your artwork is both an that suggest character. You’ll also see James specialises in painting
opportunity and a challenge. how the situation makes him switch realistic images of scenes that can’t
James Gurney’s latest video shows between capturing the subject or the be photographed, from dinosaurs
him doing the groundwork that background first; getting values down to ancient civilisations. He’s also a
supports his successful attempts to ahead of colour is a consistent decision. plein air painter and sketcher,
represent the breadth of humanity in James’ In The Wild videos never believing that making studies from
his illustrations. As with all his In The offer the density of technical advice observation fuels his imagination.
Wild’ videos, you’ll watch him use an you’d expect from, say, a Gnomon James taught himself to draw by
outdoor drawing and painting kit to Workshop video. Instead, they’re reading books about Norman
solve creative challenges. creative beacons, informing the way Rockwell and Howard Pyle. He
The task this time is to get figures on Topics covered you approach your craft and received a degree in anthropology
n Quick gestures
to paper while the ‘models’ get on with n Capturing character encouraging you to use the world at the University of California, but
n Light and form
whatever they’re doing: queueing for n Values and colour
around you to enrich your work. chose a career in art.
food at a country fair, working in a n Detail and looseness There’s also a great deal of enjoyment James has written the
historical re-enactment village or length
to be had from the characters that instruction books
performing in a choir, for example. 66 minutes you meet along the way; and the Imaginative Realism
There’s also a more formal modelling rating
Sacred Harp choir performance, and Color and Light.
session, with a model who, James says, which you’ll hear fragments of as
www.gurneyjourney.blogspot.com
“We knew wouldn’t stay still.” James paints, is sensational.

September 2016 95
 Reviews

The Art of The Jungle Book

AnimAl mAgic A behind-the-scenes look at how Disney reinvented
a cinematic classic, showcasing some stunning concept artwork
Author Ellen Wolff Publisher Titan Books Price £30 Web www.titanbooks.com Available Now

isney’s innovative Aliens), author Ellen Wolff, a writer

D reimagining of The Jungle

Book has been the
cinematic hit of the year.
specialising in animation and VFX,
takes you through the making of the
movie in six well-structured chapters.
But while critics have been united in We learn how Favreau delved into
their praise for the 2016 reboot, Disney’s archive for inspiration; how the
which draws on both Rudyard creature artists melded anatomical
Kipling’s novel and the 1960s accuracy with the mocap actors’ own
cartoon, they’ve been a little unsure facial features; and how virtual
about how to describe it. environments were used to enhance
It’s not quite “CG animation” and not the emotions in the story. As the
quite “live action”, instead using motion director puts it: “We feel like we’re out
capture to create a hybrid of the two. in fresh snow, with no tracks to follow. Michael Kutsche’s Baloo was envisioned as a larger
It’s digital animation that’s also We’re using technology that no one’s bear than how he appeared in the finished film.
handcrafted. It’s live action that’s often used before, doing something in a way
entirely pixellated. And it’s precisely this nobody’s ever done.” cinematic feel that encourages you to
boundary-pushing approach to The final two chapters explores how pore over every detail of every image.
filmmaking that makes this behind-the- Kaa’s jungle home was
the animators and VFX artists brought Near the end, there are five double-
scenes artbook such a fascinating read. painted as dark, murky the concept art to 3D life, facing such page walkthroughs, showing how two
and claustrophobic,
Following a foreword by the director, to reflect Mowgli’s
challenges as making fur and muscles characters – Shere Khan and Raksha –
Jon Favreau (Iron Man, Cowboys & state of mind. move in the rain, and how to give and three environments were built.
talking animals mouth movements that We’re not sure whether the 10 pages
seem believable. We also follow the of interviews with the voice cast adds
process of building digital much insight to the book’s ‘art’ subject,
environments and combining them but that’s a minor niggle. Unfortunately,
with photographed images, in a there’s a much bigger one: nowhere do
process that Ellen describes as “like you hear from the artists themselves. In
solving a Rubik’s cube.” fact, not one of the conceptual or
Throughout 160 glossy pages, all this storyboard artists whose work is used
textual detail is complemented with throughout is credited anywhere in the
stunning artwork, including pencil book. It’s for this glaring reason we’re
sketches, concept art, storyboards and unable to give this otherwise
film stills, as well as behind-the-scenes impressive book the full five stars.
photography on set. The carefully
considered layouts give the book a RAting

96 September 2016
 Inspiration Books

Killzone Visual Design

gAmE PlAn Celebrating 15 years of the FPS, this lovely collection
of art also offers insights into the video game design process
Editor Ashley Cowles Publisher Cook & Becker Price £32 Web www.candb.com Available Now

ost collections of video

m game art are mostly of

interest to fans of the
game itself. But this
artbook celebrating 15 years of
Killzone, the first-person shooter
developed by Guerrilla Games,
may appeal to a wider audience
because of its “radically different”
design philosophy.
Most games studios hire a team of
artists to create concept art for a
game, which is usually impressionistic,
rather than being a completely established game world. At Guerrilla From hand-drawn concepts through
Games, though, a ‘vis team’ starts by to final in-game renders, and including
investigating how the game will work alien environments, Helghan soldiers,
first, and designing functional systems weapons and vehicles, the visuals are
of behaviour: it’s only when those are in all given space, and the attention to
place that they start thinking about detail is staggering. Yet there’s enough
Helghast troops in aesthetics. It’s this difference in design text to keep it interesting including,
action, using guns
that the style guide
philosophy – common to other areas of most intriguingly, excerpts from the
says should be “heavy design but rare in the gaming world – company’s own style guide.
and cumbersome,
not lightweight
that adds extra interest to this
and comfortable.” collection of Killzone concept art. RAting

Science of Creature Design &

Principles of Creature Design
BEAst foot foRWARD One of Hollywood’s top creature
designers reveals the skills you need to follow in her footsteps
Author Terryl Whitlatch Publisher Design Studio Press Price £32 and £34 Web www.designstudiopress.com Available Now

s an illustrator who’s worked

A on creature design for big

films, Terryl Whitlach is
well placed to offer advice
and instruction on the subject.
In Science of Creature Design, she
examines the importance of anatomy
as the cornerstone of believable
creature design, offering advice and
her own drawings of mammals, fishes,
reptiles, amphibians and dinosaurs.
Companion text Principles of Creature
Design puts this knowledge into examples of the author’s own work to
practice in creating imaginary animals. help you make sense of them. The
Terryl explains how her fantasy work is beautifully presented, and we
creatures are constructed according to see how much of it progresses from
the principles of anatomy, enabling first sketches to finished work. But
them to interact with the environment both books are more like portfolio
Terryl’s JakkoBeast
and other creatures realistically. art books with added tips, than
takes its influences Neither book contains tutorials or comprehensive instruction manuals.
from the Bengal tiger,
snow leopard, bearded
walkthroughs. It’s more about an
pigs and more. examination of principles, using RAting

September 2016 97
insPiRATion AnD ADviCe fRom The woRlD’s besT TRADiTionAl ARTisTs

This issue:

100 FXPosé Traditional

The best traditional art revealed.

110 A retro Hellboy

Paolo Rivera’s comic book cover.

leARn TeChniques foR 112 Time to get glazing

scumbling
Anand Radhakrishnan’s tips.

& glazing
Jeff Miracola creates interesting surface 114 First Impressions
Chris Dunn talks badgers.
texture and glowing colours Page 104
September 2016 99
 FXPosé showcasIng the FInest tradItIonal Fantasy artIsts

Boris Pelcer
Location: US 1
WeB: www.borispelcer.com
emaiL: mail@borispelcer.com
media: Acrylic, graphite and digital

Boris is an independent
artist and illustrator, whose
work is a mixture of realism
and surrealism. He divides
his time between working
on his personal projects and commercial
commissions. “In a way, my personal
work can be seen as a visual journey
where I get to question the world around
me and explore the unknown territories
within my own psyche,” says Boris.
Boris’ clients include The New Yorker,
The New Republic, The New York Times,
The Atlantic, Newsweek and Bloomberg.
He received his MFA in Art from
University of Idaho: College of Art &
Architecture, and his BFA in Illustration
from Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design.

ImagIneFX crIt
“Striking imagery
from the artist.
I think Boris’
paintings straddle the
fields of illustration and
graphic design. I can
certainly see his work
moving from editorial
commissions on to the
front of books.”
Cliff Hope,
Operations Editor

1 aBsurdism
Acrylic and digital, 6x8in
“It seems that in many ways, the joy and
beauty of human life is defined by its
impermanence. I find that realisation
somehow absurd, and that’s what I
wanted to capture in this piece.”

2 identity
Acrylic and digital, 6x8in
“With this piece I explored the question:
‘What is this phenomenon of identity?’
I feel like my identity is constantly
being shaped and reshaped by many
influences, some of which I’m aware of,
while others are much more subtle –
unconscious, even. This piece explores
some of those things that I believe
shape my identity.”

100 September 2016 Email your submissions to fxpose@imaginefx.com

 FXPosé Traditional art
2

Email your submissions to fxpose@imaginefx.com September 2016 101

 FXPosé
mateusz urbanowicz 1
Location: Japan
WeB: www.mateuszurbanowicz.com
emaiL: mattjabbar@gmail.com
media: Watercolours, Photoshop

“I was born and raised in

Silesia, Poland,” says
Mateusz, “where I studied
electronic engineering until
I found out that art can
be more than a hobby when I began
teaching people how to use Wacom’s
creative products.”
Thanks to a scholarship, the artist
moved to Japan to study animation and
comics. In 2013 Mateusz started working
as a background artist and animations
creator for Comix Wave Films in Tokyo.
Alongside his studio work, he’s busy
creating illustration series, standalone
paintings and other works.

ImagIneFX crIt 2
“I love how
Mateusz has
achieved the
motion blur in his first
cycling painting. But
he also captures the
cyclist’s solitude in the
companion image,
where the storm clouds
add to the atmosphere.”
Beren Neale,
Acting Editor

1 ride on BicycLe Boy!

Watercolour and pencil on F4 paper,
31x20cm
“This is one of a series of illustrations on
the cycling theme. I wanted to focus on
the rapid movement in the scene. I
found it a challenge, but like how the
blurring effect brings this piece to life.”

2 yamane meat shoP

Watercolour and Copic multiliner on
watercolour paper, 30x20cm
“I would often walk along the streets of
Tokoyo, thinking how I’d love to depict
the fronts of interesting-looking stores.
This is the first in a series on that
particular theme.”

3 BicycLe Boy” series #08

Watercolour and pencil on F4 paper,
30x22cm
“This piece was inspired by the winding
roads of Seiseki-sakuragaoka train
station, near Tokyo. I wanted to paint a
warm evening with the sky coming out
after the rain, as the hero closes in on
the finish line.”

4 coLd in yokohama
Watercolour and pencil on
watercolour paper, 30x18cm
“This is possibly my favourite piece
from the series inspired by the 1960’s
Yokohama city. I wanted to mix
fantastic elements with nostalgic feel in
just the right amounts.”

102 September 2016 Email your submissions to fxpose@imaginefx.com

 FXPosé Traditional art
3

submit your
art to fxposé
Send up to seven pieces of your
work, along with their titles, an
explanation of your techniques,
a photo of yourself and contact
details. Images should be sent as
300DPI JPEG files.

email: fxpose@imaginefx.com
(maximum 1MB per image)

Post: (CD or DVD):

FXPosé Traditional
ImagineFX
Quay House
The Ambury
Bath BA1 1UA, England

All artwork is submitted on the

basis of a non-exclusive
worldwide licence to publish,
both in print and electronically.

Email your submissions to fxpose@imaginefx.com September 2016 103

 Workshops

get your
resources
See page 6 now!

Pencil Acrylics Photoshop

scumbling &
glazing tricks
Jeff Miracola guides you through his process of creating a traditional painting
that features interesting surface texture and vibrant, glowing colours

O
ver the past few years, I’ve tube. I also discovered that scumbling,
uploaded videos to my that is, the method of dry-brushing a
YouTube channel lighter, opaque colour over a darker one
featuring my various to lighten the original, was extremely
drawing and painting useful for creating interesting textures.
techniques. These short videos have I do a great deal of preparation work
become so popular that my subscribers before I start painting. Essential parts of
have asked for a more in-depth look at my my pre-painting process include allowing
process. I answered by creating a video quiet reflection to think of ideas, creating
which is the most comprehensive look yet thumbnail sketches, photographing
into my acrylic painting techniques. The reference, rendering the final drawing,
painting I created for that video is the preparing the painting surface, and
image you see in this workshop. transferring the final image onto it. imagination. The way I was able to
artiSt inSight
My Forest Angel painting is the perfect Without those crucial early steps, my achieve that final result was through
Professional
way to present my method of glazing and Presentation paintings could not be successful. glazing and scumbling, two painting
scumbling with paint to achieve both Getting high-quality Just as critical are my underpainting methods which have become the
texture and vibrant colour that seem to photos of your final art, and local colour stages, which lay the foundation of my acrylic painting process.
glow on the canvas. Early in my painting which capture exact groundwork for a strong image. I often I’m thrilled to share them with you here.
career, I stumbled upon the method of colours, can be tricky. call these early stages the “ugly” stages Jeff has been creating fantasy
glazing: that is, applying thin washes of I find it best to have because that’s when the painting looks its art for over 22 years and has
paint over a base colour (usually a lighter a professional worst. This is the time when many artists illustrated for properties such as
one) in order to change or enhance that photographer make a abandon a painting, never pushing Dungeons & Dragons, World of
original base. I found that applying many photo or scan of my through to the final result. I was guilty of Warcraft, and Magic: the Gathering. He runs
glazes throughout the course of a painting painting, to looks its this as a young artist until I learned to be a YouTube channel where he showcases many
gave me wonderfully rich colour best for the client. persistent, to keep working until the art techniques. You can see more of his
unequalled to that straight out of the painting resembled the image of my paintings at www.jeffmiracola.com.

104 September 2016

In depth Scumbling & glazing

September 2016 105

 Workshops
MaterialS
Drawing suPPlies
n Prismacolour ebony
pencil
n Derwent pencils
n Crayola Sky Blue
coloured pencil
n General’s kneaded
eraser
n Pentel Hi-Polymer
eraser
Painting surface
n Crescent #110 Cold
Press illustration board
n Art Alternatives
acrylic white gesso
1 Produce thumbnails 2 Take photo references
n Foam brush Thumbnails are a good way to get my ideas on Once I’ve decided on a thumbnail composition, I
Palette to paper quickly. My first concept isn’t always the best, so shoot photo reference of my wife for the forest angel. I light
n 11x14-inch sheet of I create many thumbnails to explore new angles or her from behind because I want the main light source in my
tempered glass compositions. I don’t bother making detailed drawings – painting to originate from behind the figure. I also shoot
n Stanley razor scraper I only add enough information to help me visualise my idea. close-ups of certain body parts, like the hands or head.
Paints
n Golden Soft Body
Fluid Acrylics: Green
Gold, Teal, Cerulean
Blue Deep, Yellow
Ochre, Hansa Yellow
Medium, Red Oxide,
Cadmium Red, Medium
Hue, Quinacridone Red,
Burnt Sienna, Burnt
Umber Light, Raw
Umber, Sap Green Hue,
Titanium White
liquitex Heavy
BoDy acrylics
n Titanium White
BrusHes
n Loew-Cornell
3 Final drawing 4 Transfer the drawing
LaCorneille Golden
With my photo reference and thumbnail drawing With my drawing complete, I make a photocopy
Taklon (7650) Spotter
nearby, I create a more detailed, final drawing on higher- of it, coat the back of the photocopy with soft lead pencil
– sizes 3/0 and 5/0
quality paper, such as watercolour paper, because it holds and tape the photocopy to my painting surface. I then
n Loew-Cornell
up well to any erasing or corrections that I need to make. use a ballpoint pen to make the transfer. After I transfer my
LaCorneille Golden
Taklon (7500) Filbert –
The final drawing is my chance to solve any compositional drawing, I keep the photocopy handy – just in case I need
sizes 4 and 10 issues, and put in all the details I’ll need. to start my painting over.
n Artist’s Loft Vienna
Wash – size 1 inch
n Artist’s Loft Vienna
Oval Wash size 1/2-inch
n Grumbacher
Goldenedge (4624)
wash size 1.5-inch
n Artist’s Loft Marseille
Mop – size 3/4-inch
aDDitional
materials
n Liquitex free-style
Small palette knife #12
n Hyde putty knife
n Natural sponges
n X-Acto brand knife
n Old toothbrush
n Windsor & Newton
Art Masking Fluid 5 Create a colour study
To explore various colour options, I scan my drawing
n Liquitex Blended
and add colour in Photoshop on a separate layer with the
Fibers Texture Gel
n Liquitex Slo-Dri
Blend mode set to Multiply. Alternatively, I print out small
Blending Medium versions of my drawing and create colour studies with
markers. I often make colour studies for my paintings
because it gives me a ‘road map’ to follow as I paint.

106 September 2016

 In depth Scumbling & glazing

COlOur
tip
Light ‘em up
I use daylight bulbs in all
of my studio lamps. This
enables me to achieve
consistent colour in
my paintings.

6 Use art masking fluid on the character

I want to paint the background first and the foreground elements last. To protect the forest angel while painting the
background, I cover her in art masking fluid. This is a liquid that dries to solid rubber latex and is easy to remove. I make sure
to liberally apply the art masking fluid so that the angel is completely covered.

7 Apply texture gel

I spread texture gel on the illustration board using a
palette knife to build up surface texture for the tree trunks
and leaf-covered ground. I carve into the texture gel with
the palette knife or lightly skim across it to create specific
textures. Gesso could be used to create texture, but the
texture gel is thicker and more moldable.

September 2016 107

 Workshops

9 Paint tree trunks and ground

8 Underpainting approach With light-coloured paint, I scumble over the dark
I begin my underpainting by choosing colours that closely match my colour tree trunks using the side of my brush to skim across the
study. I apply the paint in thin washes, let it dry and repeat this process as I slowly build textured trunks, giving the impression of tree bark. I also
the paint to its optimal colour and thickness. The messiness of this stage can be apply a yellow glaze over the painting to add a feeling of
discouraging, but I keep the final image in my mind and keep moving forward. warmth. This is the first of many glazes I’ll be applying.

material
tip
Any oLd rAgs
You can use an old cotton
T-shirt as a paint rag. And
use a glass palette for
picking up paint. It’s
easy to clean and
reusable.

10 Paint the treetops

I use a natural sponge dipped in paint to apply
impressionistic leaf shapes. I apply a dark colour first, let it
dry, and then apply a lighter colour over that, repeating this
a few times so that the leaves appear to catch sunlight.
Applying the paint dark to light also gives the treetops
some depth and volume.

artiSt inSight
maintain a Painting
safety net
Safeguard all drawings,
photocopies, and
reference photos until
you’re done with your
painting in case you
have to scrap everything
and begin again. Saving
11 Remove art masking fluid
these materials has With the background done, I now remove the art
helped me more than masking fluid from the angel. I carefully peel it up by
once when I’ve had to dragging my finger across the mask. It’s important to
start paintings over for remove it slowly, so I don’t lift paint beyond the mask edges.
various reasons. I occasionally use a tool called a rubber cement pickup to
remove any stubborn pieces of the art masking fluid.

108 September 2016

 In depth Scumbling & glazing
artiSt inSight
make gooD use
of air Power
A blow dryer can be
used to speed up
drying time and also
move wet paint around
in interesting ways.
Drying paint quickly
can be used to “lock in”
the paint to create
different effects.

12 Angel underpainting
I build up the colour of the angel with a series of
glazes to achieve depth and richness of hue. I then dab
watered-down paint in the wings so the paint moves
around, creating interesting shapes. These shapes help me
visualise the leaf pattern that I’ll paint into the wings.

13 Paint the face

I spend the most time painting the face, because it’s
the centrepiece of this composition. I apply dozens of
glazes, each time applying a thin wash of colour, then
working into that colour with more opaque colour, such as
white. As the paint builds up on the surface, the ability to
achieve smoother gradients and blends becomes easier.

14 Paint the wings

I apply a base colour of orange with light green over
that. I use my leaf reference photos to guide me as I add
15 Putting in the finishing touches
details such as veins and imperfections. I also paint rim Details that are added at the end of the painting are the most rewarding
lighting along the edge of the wings. For the skeletal because that’s when the painting starts to pull together. I add floating leaves and
structure of the wings, I apply texture gel and paint them magical lights along the vines, and animal skulls hanging from the antlers. I also apply a
brown so that they resemble tree branches. few more glazes of yellow/green paint over the painting so that it glows.

September 2016 109

 Workshops

Acrylics Gouache Photoshop

painting hellboy
in a new light
Paolo RiveRa brings together the style of Norman Rockwell and the Saturday
evening Post to create a comic book cover featuring everyone’s favourite demon

T
his was the first of three I’m glad he convinced me, as it became
MateRialS
covers for the series Hellboy one of my most popular pieces. Indeed,
and the B.P.R.D: 1953, written the original was purchased by Guillermo Brushes
n Silver Brush Black
by Mike Mignola and Chris del Toro, director of the Hellboy films.
Velvet. This is a great
Roberson. I did the interior art I was reluctant to paint because I knew
all-purpose brush.
as well (with help from my dad, Joe it would take a while: about 70 hours,
I mostly use Rounds,
Rivera, on inks and Dave Stewart on sketch to scan. My daughter had just been
Sizes 4 and 8.
colours), but the covers are always done born, so I was short on time (and sleep)
well in advance for solicitations and and those 70 hours often came in pAints
n Holbein Gouache
promotion. I submitted several 30-minute snippets. She’s almost one
n Holbein Acryla
thumbnail sketches, planning to do them now, almost old enough to start drawing.
Gouache White Generic liGhtinG
all in ink with digital colour — the same Paolo grew up on cartoons and
surfAce
the lighting works well on a white
style as the interior art. But my editor, comics, especially Ninja Turtles,
Scott Allie, thought one sketch in Batman, and The Tick. In 2002 n 13x19 inch Fabriano background where the graphic
particular would look good in the style of he got his big break from Artistico Watercolor shapes are more important than
Norman Rockwell, especially since the Marvel Comics. Visit www.paolorivera.com
Paper Hot Press 300lb creating a sense of atmosphere
book takes place in 1953. to see more of his comic and cover work. through light and shadow.

Step by Step: laying the groundwork in photoshop

1 ArrAnge the components

This sketch is to work out compositional
elements and details. Once I know what’s needed,
2 tighten All the detAils
Still in Photoshop, I create a new layer to
tighten up the drawing. This is the stage where
3 trAnsfer And pAint
Using an Adjustment layer, I make the image
a very light orange to mimic a burnt sienna
I can begin to collect reference: period clothing, I look at my reference the most, either pasting underpainting. I print out the drawing on thick
lost pet signs, posed photos and so on. All my images directly into the document or using a split- watercolour paper at 13x19 inches. I sometimes
preliminary work is done in Photoshop using Kyle screen. I then add another layer (set to Multiply) do a monochromatic underpainting, but here I
T Webster’s brushes (www.kylebrush.com). where I work out a rough colour study. just start painting, mostly washes at first.

110 September 2016

 Artist insight Painting Hellboy
lost pets hellboy’s muG
the telephone pole is fun to paint, mostly for the i render hellboy’s features using gouache
variety of textures and subtle colour variations. thinned with water. i work from dark to
i try to accomplish as much as possible using light so that i don’t lose the drawing’s
transparent techniques and end with bold, details, but often tone down the lightest
opaque strokes to solidify details. areas, ready for opaque highlights.

Wacky reference
for reference photos, i want
just enough information to
get the gesture or lighting
right. i most often need help
with hands and clothing
wrinkles. although i didn’t
make it in time for this
cover, i eventually sculpted
a hellboy maquette in
sculptris to help me with
draftsmanship and lighting
for the rest of the series.

September 2016 111

 Workshops

Oils

GlazinG over an
underpaintinG
AnAnd RAdhAkRiShnAn continues on from his previous article, and paints over
a monochromatic underpainting in transparent layers of oil paint, called glazes

A
glaze refers to a thin and similar to placing a coloured Cellophane affect the value to a large degree, the
MAteRiAlS
transparent layer on a sheet over a black and white photograph. finished painting often stays loyal to the
painting that affects the There are two main reasons why n Canvas tonal schemes of the underlying opaque
appearance of the glazing is popular among artists. The first n Oil paints layers. In many ways, glazes work like the
n Painting medium
underlying layer. This is brilliance and luminosity. Because it Multiply layer in Photoshop, adding
n Palette
change in appearance could be in hue, involves applying colour directly without transparent layers with the underlying
n Brushes
value, texture or a combination of all three. the addition of white to make it opaque, image showing through to a large extent.
As such, glazing is the second of the the colours are more saturated and appear Anand is a freelance illustrator
two-part painting process where layers of brighter on the canvas. In addition, it who lives and works in Mumbai
paint are applied thinly on an provides a glow to the painting. and has recently explored the
underpainting, usually done to add Second, underpainting enables you to world of sci-fi and fantasy
colour to an achromatic or break down value and colour. Because illustration. You can see more of his art by
monochromatic underpainting. It’s glazing deals with colour and doesn’t visiting www.behance.net/anandrk.

I don’t approach People usually have

anything over object more reds at their
80 per cent in tip fingertips, and I
the greyscale, fluid mechanics exaggerate that
because of An object suspended in
here for effect.
the use of liquid would move around,
burnt umber depending on the space
and white. available – and that I leave some of
shows in stills, too. the brush strokes
showing through,
to ensure that
there’s a variety
of textures in
the final piece.

I leave a lot of the

burnt umber showing
through from the
underpainting,
because it’s a
pleasant grey and
I avoid highlights on I downplay some of the plays well with
the glass surface at values and keep it light, brighter colours.
this stage. because glazing tends to
darken the values by a
certain percentage.
2 Warm glazes
I apply a number of layers of warm glazes to the

1 Adding to the underpainting painting. To glaze effectively I use a small amount of

In the previous article, I went through some steps in creating an pigment mixed with a larger amount of medium to make it
underpainting using burnt umber and white. I start here where I left off and thin and transparent. I intend to keep it warmer towards the
develop the underpainting a little further. I add some subtleties of skin and folds centre, and cooler at the edges.
that will show through in the final piece.

112 September 2016

 Artist insight Glazing advice
I add greens and blues to the veins
of the hands. I also use blues at the The outlines of bright I group the majority of
edges of the forms to direct the saturated colour help to the darks and use it to
viewer’s attention. suggest glow and add frame the focal areas.
atmospheric perspective.

When direct light hits a glass

container filled with fluid,
I let some of the glazes drip the light generally is trapped
so they sit at the crevices to a certain degree in the
made by dry paint. This container and bounces around Lost edges help to build
pushes the illusion of skin before exiting. This causes a glow the complete image in
folds on the hand. or a gradient in the fluid. the mind’s eye of the
viewer. The human
brain is excellent at
3 Subtle cool layers interpretation and
Because I want this painting to filling in the gaps.
be predominantly warm, my cools are
subdued. It’s important to let an image
be either more cool or more warm.
This automatically gives the image a
tangible mood. Choosing to sit on the
fence will please no one..
I add the tattoos
as tools to direct
the viewer’s eye
Hard edge. and not let it go out
of the composition.

Soft edge.

Firm edge.

Hard edge.

Lost edge.

ARtiSt inSight
Colour is
subjeCtive
A colour will appear

4 Edge considerations dull or bright,

Playing with a variety of edges depending on the
is one of the most useful tools in colours placed next to
suggesting concepts such as
5 Highlights and darkest darks it. So a neutral grey
submersion, transparency and In this final step, I add my opaque lights that stand as my highlights might appear blue
luminosity. When used in and accents of colour. Because the uniform glazes don’t cover these areas, when placed among
combinations of each other it can give they tend to be bright and vivid. Conversely, I also add my darkest darks: warm colours.
the viewer the illusion of form, in this case, the inactive area of the painting that frames the active areas.
whatever the setting may be.

September 2016 113

 First Impressions
Chris Dunn
I’ve just finished a spot illustration for
The Wind in the The Wind In Willows showing Toad
driving a car into a pond. It’s a small
Willows artist reveals watercolour illustration, very traditional
how Middle-earth and exactly the type of artwork I
normally produce. It bears little relation
kick-started his career to my first paid commission and with
luck I will continue producing original
paintings for the rest of my life.
Where did you grow up
and how has this What’s the most important thing that
influenced your art? you’ve taught someone?
I grew up in a town called Create what you like and find a market
Keighley in West for it afterwards, because if you like it
Yorkshire. The town sits in the windswept then somebody else will, too.
moors of Brontë country, and the
atmospheric landscape has influenced You’re known for your animal art – is
many of the backgrounds to my there a species you love to paint? And
paintings. The town also has a Victorian one that makes your heart sink?
industrial past and I think that’s cropped Badgers have so much character and they
up a few times in my work over the years. look good in a woolly jumper. I don’t
enjoy painting domestic pets quite so
You’re a child, you see a painting or much. Wild animals are just better.
drawing that changes everything…
where are you and what are you looking What character that you’ve painted do
at, and what effect did it have? you most identify with?
I was 14 years old, in a local book shop Probably the badger reading a newspaper
and looking at a Tolkien calendar in my painting Settling In. Sitting in
illustrated by John Howe. I noticed Settling in back in 2005. He said to me, “You like front of a lit fireplace with a newspaper,
watercolours could be both vibrant and “Badger relaxes after a long day. realism and narrative – have you heard cup of tea and biscuits is my idea of
This painting was commissioned
dark. Howe’s work had a big effect on by Galerie Daniel Maghen, a of Norman Rockwell?” To my shame luxury (don’t judge me). However, I
me: I realised I could paint fantastical gallery based in Paris.” I hadn’t, and so the next day he came haven’t experienced that delight in the
pictures and get paid for the privilege. back with a huge book packed full of his past three years because my two young
amazing illustrations. That was another boys won’t allow it. Everybody knows
Can you name one person who helped light bulb moment. I would say nobody newspapers are for tearing and chewing.
you on your way? And someone who has tried to hold me back other than
tried to get in your way? myself. I’m my own toughest critic and I Can you describe the place where you
I had a very helpful tutor in my art think that stopped me from promoting usually create your art?
foundation course at Bradford College myself effectively for a long time. I have a small studio at home, in what
would be the small bedroom. There are
I realised I could paint two desks, a drawing table and a

fantastical pictures and get bookcase down one side and then
multiple boards, easels and portfolios
paid for the privilege stacked against the wall behind me. Over
time I hope to fill the back wall with
What was your first paid commission? originals by other favourite artists.
Editorial illustrations for a history of It’s brilliant to be at home because my
work article in a management magazine. wife and kids can drop in, or I can join
They were based on ancient Greek plates the conversation, at any point. Saying
featuring designs representing the that, I may have to fit a lock on the
workplace from Ancient Greece, the studio door to prevent my eldest
medieval period and the industrial invading when I’m not there. I’ve already
revolution, through to the modern day. had a few close shaves, but nothing a
The artwork I produced was mainly putty rubber won’t fix.
digital and I learned a lot doing it, but I Chris is an illustrator and gallery artist. His
don’t keep it in my presentation portfolio. most recent series of anthropomorphic animal
toad CraSheS paintings will be exhibited at Galerie Daniel
“Watercolour spot art for The
Wind In the Willows, to be
What’s the last piece that you finished, Maghen in Paris this July. You can see more
published at the end of the year.” and how do the two differ? of his art at www.chris-dunn.co.uk.

114 September 2016

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