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spontaneous art with Ayran Oberto! ALSO INSIDE
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USING 3D SCANNED MODELS
USE FISH-EYE PERSPECTIVE
ART MASTERCLASS FOR DRAMATIC DRAWINGS
REVEALED! TRAINING BOOKS
RENDER PERFECT EVERY ARTIST SHOULD OWN

PORTRAITS
Harness new watercolour skills
with Jean-Sébastien Rossbach ISSUE 204

LAUREN BROWN “THIS IS FANTASY. WHY WOULDN'T THERE BE PEOPLE OF COLOUR?"

 Editor’s letter
Welcome to… EDITOR’S CHOICE Three of my top
picks this month…
42

Overthinking projects can

destroy creativity, so it’s
refreshing to discover this
issue’s cover artist embraces
the accidents that can happen Lauren Brown’s fantasy garden
when creating art. Ayran Influenced by Alphonse Mucha and a desire for greater
Oberto loves to paint with diversity in fantasy art, Lauren Brown is an inspiration.
spontaneity and on page 54
you can follow his process to 62
discover how you can harness your impulses.
There’s more control in Jean-Sébastien Rossbach’s
watercolour masterclass. The award-winning
illustrator reveals how he directs his paint and
explains how a dash of kitchen salt can make all
the difference.
The joy of editing ImagineFX is we can present
these two extremes, and everything in between.
Whether it’s using the latest digital tools and You have the power… to make epic art!
techniques or developing your core traditional Ken Coleman uses 3D scanned action figures and
skills, we have you covered every issue. Corel Painter to create his vintage-looking poster art.
Never forget that this is your magazine, too. We 70
love supporting new artists in FXPosé – our global
showcase of amazing new art. If you want to
feature in a future issue visit [Link]/getinifx and
submit your portfolio.

Editor
[Link]@[Link] Creature comforts with Glen Southern
Make use of ZBrush to speed-sculpt a life-like dinosaur,
and the artist shares his 50 texture brushes!

@imaginefxmagazine Subscribe
@imaginefx today!
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[Link]/ifxnewsletter-v2 See page 8 for details.
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Contents
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SUBSCRIBE & SAVE!

Your art 18 24
10 FXPosé
You submit your work to us and then
we show your gorgeous art to the world!
News and events
18 Whyartbooksstillmatter
Artists argue the case for printed art advice.
24 Wakeuptoonlineconferences Whyartbooksstillmatter Onlineconferences
We hear from LightBox Expo’s co-founder.
25 Adayinthelifeof… 34
LucaNemolato
Discover what colourful beverage sets this
concept artist up for a hard day’s work.
28 ArtistinResidence
Australian artist Erin Hunting is used to
being watched by real and unreal eyes.
Features
34 TheArtofLoganPreshaw
This vis-dev artist and art director’s
approach to life is as bright as his paintings.
42 Interview:LaurenBrown
We meet the artist who’s inspired by nature,
fashion and the desire for greater diversity.
48 Sketchbook:DelaLongfish
Dip into a sketchbook that’s a rogue’s
gallery of skeletons, samurai and aliens. TheArtofLoganPreshaw
Reviews 42 28
78 Software
80 Books
Regulars
3 Editor’sletter
6 Resources
7 Nextmonth
8 Printsubscriptions
32 Digitalsubscriptions ArtistinResidence:
33 Letters Interview:LaurenBrown ErinHunting
40 Recenteditions

4
 Issue 204
48 60 Workshops
54 Createspontaneousart
Ayran Oberto paints a colourful portrait
without overthinking anything.
60 Fromconceptto3Dportrait
Anna Cavasos balances beauty and horror.
62 Createretroartfrom3Dscans
Ken Coleman demonstrates how he mixes
Sketchbook:DelaLongfish 3Dportrait scanned figures and digital painting.
66 ApplyamixofCGskillstoa
54 fantasyscene
Combine painting and modelling tools
with photobashing, with Oliver Beck.
70 Sculptarealdinosaur
Creature artist Glen Southern breaks
down his ZBrush sculpting workflow.
88

Portraitsinwatercolour
94

Spontaneousart
62 70 Fish-eyeart

Traditional Artist
84 TraditionalFXPosé
Discover this month’s selection of the
finest traditional art, sent in by you!
Retroart 88 Workshop:11tipson
renderingperfectportaits
66 Veteran artist Jean-Sébastien Rossbach
reveals how he works with watercolour.
94 Workshop:Fish-eyeartskills
Learn how Paul Heaston creates a wide-
angle sketch in pencil, pen and ink wash.
98 FirstImpressions:
Use3Ddetails Sculptin3D WylieBeckert
This M:TG artist thanks social media.

5
 Resources
Editorial
Editor Ian Dean
[Link]@[Link]
Art Editor Daniel Vincent
Operations Editor Cliff Hope
Contributors

Getting hold of this issue’s resources is easy. O

Oliver Beck, Ben Brady, Dom Carter, Anna Cavasos, Ken
Coleman, Paul Heaston, Erin Hunting, Dela Longfish, Ayran
Oberto, Jean-Sébastien Rossbach, Glen Southern, Gary Stuckey

Just visit [Link]/paint204techniques 4 HVER S

of videoOtutUorR
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By the power of Grayskull! Bring a dinosaur to life

is, as far as we are aware, correct at the time of going to press. Future cannot
accept any responsibility for errors or inaccuracies in such information. You
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PLUS 44 CUSTOM BRUSHES, INCLUDING…
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6
 Next month

Our artist super-team

unites to bring your
heroes to life!
Draw and paint
personality in
your character
art with Marvel
and DC Comic’s
Joshua Swaby

All this… and more!

Terry Dodson Reinvent a Craft intricate Judge Dredd
masterclass classic hero comic panels celebration
Discover the pro Marvel’s David Master the classic 2000 AD’s leading
secrets to compose Nakayama reveals ‘ligne claire’ artists reveal why
and draw perfect how to redesign comic-art style the world of Dredd
comic covers. an iconic character. with Igor Wolski. remains vital.
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9
 2

THE PLACE TO SHARE YOUR DIGITAL ART

Ahmed Rawi
LOCATION: US MEDIA: Photoshop, Procreate, Maya, ZBrush, Keyshot
WEB: [Link]/rawi
Ahmed is a concept artist and illustrator
who’s worked for the video games and film
industries for over a decade. Nature and
music are his main inspirations.
1

1 WARRIOR
“A personal study I did during a new
brushes/palette exploration session. It
2 THE CHASE
“Part of my series The Gleed Ghost. A
colourful flying spirit is chased by characters
3 RUMI
“Jalal ad-din Rumi in a sci-fi setting. I was
keen to try Procreate’s glitch FX feature, so I
ended up with an undead warrior design.” to find the secret behind its beauty.” thought of a way to use it in a painterly style.”

10
 3

Want to submit your work? Visit [Link]/getinifx 11

 Ben Bauchau
LOCATION: Belgium MEDIA: Black ink (brush pen and Micron pens), Photoshop WEB: [Link]
Ben’s main inspiration is ukiyo-e art, engravings and comics. His work,
which often involves surreal worlds, is also influenced by past cultures,
war, nature, movement and even the unconscious mind.

1 BLESSING OF THE OWLS

“Exploring the idea of an imaginary afterlife
ritual that occurred to me after hearing the
2 CAGLAN THE GREY
“Part of a series of warriors called Clans of
Kimmeria. An exploration of feudal society and
2
mesmerising screams of an owl at night.” the culture of war.”

3 GORGE OF THE LIMBS

“This illustration takes the point of
view of a creature in the midst of battle,
keeping its defined form hidden to the
viewer. I was inspired by cosmic horror
and pulp literature.”

12 Want to submit your work? Visit [Link]/getinifx

 Davood Moghadami
LOCATION: Iran MEDIA: Photoshop WEB: [Link] 1 OLD OAK
“In this piece I used
Davood had a childhood fascination for traditional painting, personal pens that I made
myself. This helped to
but turned to digital art while studying graphic design. “I distance myself from analog
particularly enjoy drawing and painting nature,” he reveals. painting techniques.”

2 3

2 MOUNTAIN GLORY
“This is another piece
created with pens that I
3 TOXIC FOREST
“As well as acrylics and
oils, I’ve long been inspired
made myself. The different by watercolours. This piece
textures result in different, replicates the watercolour
more interesting work.” technique in Photoshop.”

Want to submit your work? Visit [Link]/getinifx 13

 Gabriel Rubio
LOCATION: Brazil MEDIA: Photoshop, Procreate WEB: [Link]/gabrielrubio
Gabriel has been working in the games industry for the past five years, with
clients such as IGG, NetEase Games and West Studio. He’s influenced by
comic books and illustrators such as JC Leyendecker.

1 RAYGUN
“It was nice to have the
freedom to play with a retro-
1 2
futuristic vibe.”

2 SALADIN
“It was super cool to play
with the contrast between
the grumpy sultan and the
flamboyant genie.”

3 .devreser sthgir llA .semaG toiR rof oidutS tseW htiw pihsrentrap ni enoD
THE RED DRAGON
“This piece helped me
to find my own way of
rendering shapes. It was a
challenge to bring unique
shapes to all the characters.”

devreser sthgir llA .cnI GGI 9102 ©

THE DRUNKEN
MASTER
“I revisited the first piece of
art I rendered in Procreate.
I tried to create a good vibe
with vibrant colours.”

devreser sthgir llA .cnI GGI 9102 ©

14 Want to submit your work? Visit [Link]/getinifx

 4

Want to submit your work? Visit [Link]/getinifx 15

 Edit Ballai
LOCATION: US MEDIA: Maya, Unreal Engine, Photoshop WEB: [Link]
Since her early childhood, Edit has loved to write and illustrate stories about
imaginary worlds. “Nowadays I only focus on visual storytelling for video
game and animation studios,” she says, “but I might continue writing later!”
1

1 UTOPIA
“I created this scene for
Kitbash3D’s Utopia contest. I
3

3
really loved doing this piece.”

2
LEFT BEHIND
SKYSTEAD “In this personal piece
“This has a little bit of a I was just playing with forms
Star Wars touch, created and shapes. Obviously,
from Jonathan Berube’s there’s a huge reference to
industrial photo pack with the film Prometheus which
some love and Maya.” I liked a lot.”

16 Want to submit your work? Visit [Link]/getinifx

 Marby Kwong
LOCATION: US MEDIA: Photoshop, Blender, 3ds Max WEB: [Link]/marby
Appearing in FXPosé is something of a dream come true for concept artist
and illustrator Marby. “I’ve been reading ImagineFX since I was a wee art
student over 10 years ago. It was what initially got me into concept art!”

1 MUSHROOM KNIGHT
“Here I pushed the
fantastical character design
1 2
angle. I exaggerated
elements to tell the narrative
that she’s also a miner.”

2 VALKYRIE
“A more sombre piece,
inspired by Viking
mythology. I love using teal
and green in my paintings.”

3 PALALUMA ISLAND
“I wanted to convey a
bustling fantasy town. The
unusual building shapes
help to communicate that
it’s otherworldly.”

Do you want to see your art on these pages? Then email five pieces of your work and a short explanation
about each artwork, along with a photo and a few details about yourself, to fxpose@[Link]

Want to submit your work? Visit [Link]/getinifx 17

ARTIST NEWS, SOFTWARE EVENTS

AT THE CORE OF THE DIGITAL ART COMMUNITY

A celebratory scene
from US illustrator
James Gurney’s
Dinotopia book series.

Why books still We live in the internet age where

matter to artists
training is just a click away. But
despite this we continually return to
books. Even when learning could be
gained online, educational book
sales brought in £6.4 billion in the UK
in 2020. Consumer book sales fared
even better, rising seven per cent to
Page turners Book sales are on the rise and when it comes to art £2.1 billion last year.
Clearly the printed word hasn’t lost
training the printed page is still important, discovers Ian Dean its appeal, and for artists in particular,

18
yensiD/levraM© Artist news, software & events

Kofi Ofosu prefers books to online learning, saying

it’s easier to access advice when it’s printed.

improve my figure-drawing skills,” he

says. It was a moment that took the
illustrator full circle back to his artistic
grounding. Kofi’s first book that he
owned was Drawing Heads and
Hands by Andrew Loomis, and his
most recent acquisition is Force:
Dynamic Life Drawing.
He tells us: “There are so many
great art training books available that
contain lots of gems of advice. I have
gotten a lot of invaluable information
through reading art training books
– much of this information is difficult
to find online.”
For Kofi it’s about being able to get
as close to an artist’s work and
Kan Muftic reveals that studying
books on the technical aspects of
thought processes as possible. The
filmmaking helped take his art in a pitfall can come if you follow the
new direction, and created new
career opportunities, too.
advice too closely and fail to interpret
and instead merely copy.
many have returned to the has grown beyond the fantasy and There are so many great art
page. “Always,” states
concept artist and
comic art of his childhood and now
directs for TV: his animated short Kiss training books available that
director Kan Muftic
([Link]/kan-m) as we
ask if he still relies on art books for
Me First is on Netflix. Reading film
theory has not only aided him in
making the leap to film, but helped
contain gems of advice
advice. “A book is an object with a his art, too. “Learning about camera On this matter Kofi says: “This
physical and mental presence in my lenses in various filmmaking books advice wasn’t necessarily a technical
life,” adds the artist, whose own book completely changed the way I create one, but it was a quote from Frank
Figure Drawing for Concept Artists images,” he tells us. Frazetta, which goes something like
has proved popular. this: ‘Don’t be a second-rate Frazetta,
Kan reveals that “The beautiful
books of Marcos Mateu-Mestre” got
BOOKED IN
Art books enable us to focus and
be a first-rate you.’
“It greatly helped me because as a
him through lockdown. The love of a challenge ourselves where perhaps young artist I always wanted to
physical art book was instilled in him other mediums fail. During lockdown become like other artists.
at an early age: his parents had a Kofi Ofosu ([Link]/kofi-o) turned to I had never thought about getting
collection of Sergio Toppi books that Figure Drawing and truly in touch with my own artistic
inspired him growing up. Invention by Michael voice. Reading these words from
You can track a person’s life through Hampton. “I wanted to Frazetta helped me to understand
their book collection, and see the get back to my anatomy that as a creative, we’re most powerful
influences in their work. Kan himself fundamentals and when we’re fully

19
 ImagineNationNews
James, while recommending
books by Andrew Loomis,
Harold Speed and John
Carlson, also stresses the
importance of putting
theory into practice.

This is Kan’s concept art of

sorB renraW©

Tabaqui, a jackal that

appeared in the film Mowgli:
Legend of the Jungle.

expressing our unique artistic connections made it a lonely quest, Kofi recommends
Dynamic Life Drawing
“But I knew that you can’t become
vision rather than pretending to be but in retrospect it was the best thing by Michael D Mattesi: an experienced painter by reading
someone else.” for me. It helped me develop “It teaches how to
create drawings that about it, any more than you can learn
This is a balancing act that all artists completely independently, and I evoke emotion.” to draw by binge-watching YouTube
walk. Interestingly, one of the most didn’t suffer through the nonsense videos,” he cautions. “I knew I had to
popular art book authors, that art students around 1980 had face the real world with my sketchpad
James Gurney to endure.” and just draw, draw, draw from
([Link]), has James reveals how he had to create memory and imagination. I made
managed to side-step the his own artistic training programme to regular trips to the zoo and the natural
problem altogether. learn how to paint and draw. His self- history museum.
“I became an artist in a vacuum,” diagnosed training focused on the “When I got the job painting
James says with clarity. “No one else instructional books of Golden-Age animation backgrounds, I learned to
in my family was an artist. I didn’t illustrators and academic painters, paint a lot and paint fast. Working as
have art friends until after college, such as The Famous Artists’ Course, a National Geographic illustrator
and there was no internet back then. and the books by Andrew Loomis, taught me the importance of research
That absence of community and and Harold Speed and John F Carlson. and accuracy.”

I knew I had to face the real world AForBALANCING ACT

with my sketchpad and just draw, draw, James, who has a number of
must-read books to his name,
draw from memory and imagination including the Color and Light: A Guide
for the Realist Painter, there’s still

20
Artist news, software & events
Given the choice between
online art advice and a printed
tutorial, Adam Hughes will
likely plump for the latter.

This issue’s professional artists

pick the training books that they
can’t do without…

Kofi Ofosu
Force: Dynamic Life
Drawing by Michael
D. Mattesi. The
reason I’d recommend this
book is because it teaches how
to create drawings that evoke
emotion – how to capture the
soul of your subject matter
rather than just copying down
what you see in front of you.
[Link]/kofi-o
Kan Muftic
Cinematic
Storytelling by
Jennifer Van Sijll is
an absolute must for anyone
interested in creating art with
narrative depth. There’s an
endless supply of superficial
‘popcorn’ artwork created solely
with the purpose of gaining
followers on social media with
no substance whatsoever. This
should help.
[Link]/kan-m
Adam Hughes
Figure Drawing For
All It’s Worth, by
Andrew Loomis.
It’s got everything you need
to go from the basics to full
illustration. And it’s got some
nifty techniques for drawing
figures in perspective.
[Link]/atomhues
James Gurney
Recently I’ve been
focusing on how
new findings in
neuroscience can help us better
understand the process of
painting. I’ve been revisiting the
classic book on that topic,
Vision and Art by Margaret
Livingstone, and I enjoyed the
recent book Seven and a Half
Lessons About the Brain by Lisa
Feldman Barrett.
scimoC CD©

[Link]

21
 ImagineNationNews
James learnt the value of
“research and accuracy”
while working on National
Geographic magazine.

Knowing the difference

between a rule and a
principle helped Adam

levraM©
develop his illustration style.

the need to balance relying on screenwriting books,

yensiD/levraM©

training with the act of doing. His first pointed out the difference
book, the Artist’s Guide to Sketching between a rule and a
(co-written with Thomas Kinkade) principle,” explains Adam.
grew out of this belief. “A rule says, ‘You can’t do
He explains: “We left art school for this’ while a principle says, ‘This has
a summer, riding the freight trains worked since time immemorial and
from Los Angeles to New York City. will always work for you.’ That positive
After sketching portraits of idea applies to illustration and it really
lumbermen, gravestone cutters and made me look at the rules in a
ex-cons, we had the crazy idea of different way.”
writing a book about sketching from During lockdown Adam found
life – a topic that was rarely covered himself not looking to an art training
by art training books. This was before book for inspiration but a novel:
anyone talked about urban sketching JRR Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings.
or plein-air painting. We didn’t go Concept art of The
Ancient One from
brevity and clarity,” he says. “If you “I just keep rereading it, planning
back to art school because the Doctor Strange, as can say the same thing with half the future fun drawings,” he says, adding
process of writing that book was painted by Kan. words it’ll probably be more forceful. jokingly: “All my other favourite stories
our education.” If something is a fact, such as the keep getting recontextualised –
So what’s left to learn? How about inverse square law of light, state it looking at you, Star Wars – and I like
writing your own book? James shares authoritatively. If it’s a debate, such one thing to never really change by
some insights he’s gathered over the as whether there’s such a thing as a telling me Frodo was a robot the
years from his own writing process. muddy colour, present both sides of whole time.”
“The most important principles are the argument. If it’s a myth, such as Yet Adam is a traditionalist when it
the notion that our eyes move through comes to the internet versus book
Cracking open a book is a picture in a smooth spiral, blast the training. “The Internet is quick and
like discovering the Secret myth and offer the facts.”
Comic art legend Adam Hughes
easy – ‘WebMD, do I have a brain
cloud?’ – but cracking open a book is
Knowledge of the Universe ([Link]/atomhues),
agrees, “Robert McKee, in one of his
like discovering the Secret Knowledge
of the Universe.”

22
 Artist news, software & events
THE SIX BOOKS EVERY ARTIST SHOULD READ
If these aren’t on your studio’s bookshelves, put your order in at your local bookshop today!

Drawing the Head and Hands The Animator’s Survival Kit Color and Light: A Guide
Andrew Loomis’ explanations are detailed Richard Williams’ book represents the 50-year for the Realist Painter
and engaging, and it’s hands-down the best career in animation of an artist who won three James Gurney mixes art and science, theory
anatomy reference book despite its age. The Oscars, three British Academy Awards and and practice, and delivers easy-to-understand
author’s systematic approach will help you over 250 other international awards… and he tuition. The impact of light and colour on a
understand the principles behind drawing created Roger and Jessica Rabbit. It’s blend of painting is one of the hardest concepts to
realistic portraits. Aside from the artistic tips, tricks and insights for all forms of grasp, but this book makes it accessible to all.
advice on offer, Drawing the Head and Hands animation will teach newcomers the ropes A perfect companion to James’ Imaginative
makes an excellent coffee table book, too. and make old hands rethink their work. Realism: How to Paint What Doesn’t Exist.

How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way Drawn to Life: 20 Golden Years Drawing the Head and Figure
If you’re looking for a crash course in figure of Disney Master Classes You could say that this publication is in direct
drawing, or if you’re an aspiring comic-book Walt Stanchfield’s advice focuses more on the competition with Andrew Loomis’ books, and
artist, animator or illustrator, grab a copy of emotions, life and action than proportions you’d be correct. However, Jack’s approach to
Stan Lee’s How to Draw Comics the Marvel and technical accuracy. With the emphasis on drawing the figure is more simplistic than
Way. You’ll also learn about composition, shot gesture drawing, don’t expect a book filled Loomis’. His step-by-step approach will have
selection, perspective, character dynamics and with finished art; it’s more about capturing even the most inexperienced artists drawing
more. If you’re an artist and comic book fan, the moment. If you’re interested in creating better and more confidently. An excellent
then you need this book. drawings with character, this is a must-have. primer for learning how to make marks.

23
 ImagineNation News
Creature art by Bobby
Chiu, who co-founded
LightBox Expo with Jim
Demonakos in 2019.

Wake up
to online
conferences
Web event LightBox Expo Online’s co-founder
Jim Demonakos reveals how to get more
from virtual events this summer
Imagining what this year’s LightBox enables artists to collaborate on the
Expo Online (LBXO) will look like is same canvas, in a browser window. “It
easy – it’s like last year’s, but bigger! was a hit,” says Jim. “Being able to
Founded by Jim Demonakos and draw with your friends in real time on
Bobby Chui, this online event aims to a shared canvas was a game changer.”
bridge the gap between a physical For 2021 the team is bringing this all
space and a virtual show. back with improvements. It’s now a
Once again the event, which starts six-day event, enabling more people
on 7 September, will be split into to explore the virtual Artist Alley the lectures that are of interest to you.
different areas: demo-based without competing against scheduled Use a calendar app to remind you of
programmes, an artist alley and social sessions. New to LBXO are Activities: what you want to do, and make sure
hangouts. The LBXO approach feels challenges for people to take part of, to manage your time so that you’re
like a festival of talents. and the show will be on Discord. able to get food and take care of
The show’s Artist Alley is a live yourself while participating.”
virtual space – an interactive booth
experience that you can
EXPO TIPS
Does Jim have any advice for getting
Part of being a creator is being part
of the creator community. “Make sure
wander around. As Jim the most out of LBXO? “Do your to jump into the chat if you can on a
explains: “[Last year] we research and plan,” he says. Last Clear your diaries – video you’re watching and find fellow
were able to let our year’s show ran for three days and had this year’s LightBox
Expo Online kicks off peers,” advises Jim, who says parts of
attendees discover the 400 programmes. You can expect this on 7 September. LBXO are relationship builders.
artists in the same way they would number to double for 2021’s show. “Online Portfolio Reviews are a great
in-person, by ‘walking’ down the aisles He continues: “What’s your goal for thing to participate in. Even if you’re
of the convention floor. The virtual the event? Make sure you attend all ‘not there yet,’ you’ll have an
Artist Alley generated over one million opportunity to make an impression on
clicks alone.” Jump into the chat on a a recruiter, who might just jot your
Magma Studio, one of the highlights
of last year’s show, is making a video you’re watching and name down for future reference.”
LightBox Expo Online will take place on
welcome return. This software was
co-created by the LBXO team and find fellow peers 7-12 September. Book your tickets now
at [Link]/expos.

24
 In partnership with
A keyframe that Luca Nemolato
painted for the popular real-time
strategy mobile game War Dragons.

© Pocket Gems

A day in the life of…

Luca Nemolato
Concept art of S.T.R.I.P.E., an
armoured robotic suit that
appears in the show Stargirl.

Healthy living Discover what colourful beverage sets

this Italian concept artist up for a hard day’s work
“I wake up at 8.30am and do some I get sleepy and I’m not productive at
stretching, then shower and get a all. At 4pm I eat a quick protein snack

esrevinU CD ©
tea. I drink a lot of green tea because and meditate. Then I work out for an
I really got into fasting and hour and get ready to cook dinner.
meditation - if I don’t get a tea, I I’ve been doing keto for a long time
can’t really function. I start my and I really like cooking.
xiflteN ©

morning slowly by tidying up the After I eat dinner and clean the
house and answering emails. kitchen, it ends up being around Concept Art
Around 9.30am, I get really into my 9.30pm. I usually go back to work Association is an
work and I don’t take a break until until 3am, then I go to sleep and do it organisation
committed to
around 4pm. If I stop for lunch then again the next day. The weekends are elevating and
for friends, gaming and cheat days. raising the profile
As a freelancer, I usually have one of concept artists,
their art and their
full-time client and then some side involvement in the
part-time things that I can handle. My entertainment
industries. Its
main advice is to be communicative annual Concept
and set boundaries with clients, so Art Awards Show
you’re able to meet your deadlines showcases and
recognises
and live a healthy life. When you don’t behind-the-scenes
underestimate deadlines, you’re able individuals
to deliver quality work every time.” working in
entertainment
Los Angeles-based Luca’s projects include concept art.
The Shape of Water, Godzilla: King of the conceptart
[Link].
Monsters and Jungle Cruise. He’s currently
busy at Netflix, working on Gore Verbinski’s
Luca graduated in fine art in 2010, and continued to untitled animated film. You can see more of Luca’s concept art for Blackstar, a supervillain from
sharpen his art skills at Gnomon School of VFX. Luca’s art at [Link]/lucanemolato. the Netflix superhero show Jupiter’s Legacy.

25
 ImagineNation News
Isabelle Staub has been using
Corel Painter for seven years, ever
since she discovered the software
at college. Finding a digital art tool
that can replicate traditional
textures suited her art style.

Painting a successful
freelance career
Brush up Corel Painter has been used by professional artists for
30 years. Isabelle Staub reflects on how Painter has helped her…
Today, Isabelle Staub going freelance. “[In] hindsight, I don’t Created as a throwback
to her Disney Princesses
is a successful digital think I would have ever felt ‘ready’ to range that caught the
artist who’s worked start freelancing. For me, it was eye, this portrait was
inspired by the
with Marvel, Dynamite something I just needed to jump in absent-minded Dory
Comics, Wacom and and figure it out along the way from Finding Nemo.
TikTok. Shooting to fame by through trial and error,” she says.
reinterpreting Disney’s Princesses in
her own unique style, Isabelle has
since gone on to create clothing
BRUSHING UP
While Isabelle’s business knowledge digital painting course. I was very
ranges as well as illustrations. has grown over the years (social much a traditional artist and Corel
Reflecting on her first freelance gig media and new art trends have enabled me to continue that painterly
Isabelle says she was daunted and changed how she works), some style with its program. Being able to
excited by the job. “I was ecstatic aspects of her process have remained. use brushes like oil paint, charcoal and
when I landed my first freelance job, The artist is committed to using Corel chalk made learning digital painting
but I honestly felt like I had no idea Painter to achieve a traditional texture much easier and comfortable for me.”
what I was doing,” says the artist. “At in her portraits. That textural connection to
the time, I was a few months out of She tells us: “I learned Painter during traditional painting is why Isabelle
college and I still felt like a student my freshman year of college in a has remained a Painter artist all these
with little business knowledge at all. It years. “For my work,” she explains,
was definitely daunting, but I
pretended like I knew what I was I was very much a “I still want that feel of paint and
movement that you achieve with
doing when speaking to the client.” traditional artist and Corel traditional mediums.”
She admits to using Google and
pestered her college professors for enabled me to continue that Even after all this time Isabelle
remains loyal to just five different
advice on pricing, invoices and how to
tackle the basic business aspects of painterly style brushes to create her work. We expect
Painter 2022’s new Favorites feature

26
 Advertorial
Corel Painter enables a
traditional feel to brush
strokes and textures.

Isabelle Staub has used

Painter all her career,
including to create
merchandise such as
these beautiful phone
cases for CASETiFY.

This was created for the

Corel Painter Essentials 8
program. Isabelle says the
Essentials range is perfect
for creating art on a budget.

– that enables artists to select their and paper textures. Once you find CASE STUDY
Isabelle Staub has used her Painter skills to create art
most used brushes – will be part of things that work for you, it’ll make
Isabelle’s Painter workflow. digital painting a lot less intimidating!” on almost anything, including mobile phone cases
She particularly loves the Concept When not experimenting digitally Painting portraits and illustrative art is one thing, but
Art Jitter Smooth brush and the Isabelle loves getting back to her roots Isabelle has found herself adapting her skills to new
Glazing blender. “I use layer and throwing real paints around. The ranges and styles of work. Recently, she created a series of
commands a lot as well, especially Gel two disciplines can work together. designer phone cases for lifestyle brand CASETiFY. This
or Colorize, to glaze or change colours “The other day I took a giant canvas demanded Isabelle step outside of her comfort zone and
easily,” she adds. outside on a beautiful day and just think differently about her art.
splashed paint all over it – it was “Formatting my art to fit a phone case was surprisingly
TRY IT NOW
If you’ve not yet experienced Corel
awesome! Art as a job can be
creatively draining, so it’s super
challenging for me,” she tells us, explaining the art was
already created in Painter. “I had to tap into a design and
Painter, Isabelle says there’s no better important to keep things fun and light marketing-oriented thinking when creating my line with
time to try it out. She has some advice when you get the chance,” she says. CASETiFY. It was a different experience for me, but it has
for novices: “Play and experiment! Download a free demo of Corel Painter been so rewarding to see my art in that way!”
Don’t jump into doing a full-blown 2022 at [Link]/future and try the Get inspired to go freelance and see more of Isabelle
piece. Take time to sketch with software for yourself. The new Painter 2022 Staub’s art, shop, and projects at [Link].
different brushes, layer commands is on sale now.

27
 ImagineNation Artist in Residence

Erin
Hunting
This takes pride of place
on my wall and I’ll often
stare mindlessly at him
(his eyes move back and
forth along with his tail)
while I try and dream up
something for a project.

Cluttered fun This

Australian artist says she’s
used to being watched,
by real and unreal eyes…
I live in a quiet suburb
in Melbourne,
Australia and on most
days you’ll find me in
here. The room
doubles as a lounge room, so there’s
a good chance I’ll be curled up
watching TV, movies or reading –
even on my ‘off days’.
My collection of toys and figures are
everywhere: from glass cabinets, to
spilling over and overcrowding my
bookshelves. Along with hand-drawn
pieces from friends and colleagues
hung up around me, inspiration is
everywhere I look!
I’ve always loved collecting toys,
starting with Garfield and Care Bears
PVCs, and ALF plush dolls during

I picked these up second

hand – I’m pretty sure you could
buy them with KFC meals in the
1990s. They make great pen
holders, although Wile’s big
snout often gets in the way.

Hey, it’s Tony Tiger! One of my favourite things to

draw is iconic characters in my own style.

28
 Artist news, software & events
I have a strong love of mascot design and picked
this up via eBay. It’s a genuine advert from a
US newspaper on Frosted Flakes and I think the
artwork and design is perfection.

It seems I’m intent on

appeasing my 10-year-old
self as I always wanted a
Garfield phone as a kid,
and I finally have one
(actually I have two!).

These are by far and away

the best markers I’ve come
across, and I try and create a
traditional piece at least once
a week with them. It’s a great
way to reconnect and
remind myself why I love
drawing in the first place.

I’ve used my Cintiq for about five years now. It’s an

invaluable tool to my work and has helped me
create many books over hundreds of hours of work.
By far one of the best purchases I’ve made!

I picked up this guy

second hand, just
before Melbourne’s
latest lockdown. He’s
one of the most striking
toys I own. I always
wanted one as a kid,
but never did get one
until now.

29
 ImagineNation Artist in Residence
I bought this big glass cabinet to
house some of my more delicate
figures and I love peering at it at
different times of the day.

my childhood, and somehow that I prefer to work in the markers, which I discovered around 15
love has followed me all the way into
adulthood. As I’ve grown older I’ve quiet of home rather than years ago. I find using traditional tools
help keeps me excited and feeling
found myself getting overly nostalgic
about the vintage toys. So most days
– whether it’s in between jobs or after
opt for a shared workspace somewhat fresh about my artwork.
I’ve been freelancing for about 10
years now and have worked with
a long day in front of the computer Among the many
island, we never have had an companies like Sesame Workshop,
working – you’ll find me pouring over bookshelves and abundance of collectables. So a lot of Nickelodeon, Penguin Random House
eBay listings. books, you’ll find a few
that I’ve illustrated, with
my latest items are from all over the and Netflix, and still get a thrill when
Before Covid, you’d see me often at the most recent being world – mainly the US – although my I receive an exciting work opportunity.
the local Melbourne toy fairs, but since Labyrinth: Straight to
the Castle, published most recent find has been an old Most of my communication is done
Australia is such a small and isolated by Insight Editions. Count Duckula moneybox from via email so it’s quite a solitary
South Australia. existence, but I prefer to work in the
quiet of home rather than opt for a
CHANGING ART shared workspace, which I’ve found
For client work I always work digitally distracting in the past.
these days, almost exclusively on my I’m lucky to have my cat Louie to
Wacom Cintiq. Around 10 or so years share my space with. He’s great
ago I would pencil and ink my work by company, although he’s known to
hand, scan and then colour my steal my office chair whenever I leave
scanned line-work with a no-name it for a loo or drink break!
tablet in Photoshop. The art world is Erin is a character designer and illustrator
quickly and ever-changing and who has illustrated books for Penguin,
evolving, and sometimes it’s hard to Random House and Insight Editions, and
catch up. For downtime sketching drawn comic covers for Jughead, Adventure
I still like to pencil and ink by hand, Time and Rick and Morty. Discover her art
and will colour my work with Copic and portfolio at [Link].

30
 Artist news, software & events
Here’s Tony Tiger
again, plus a heap of
retro and for some
strange reason,
food-orientated toys.

Here’s Louie (who is by far the most In 2019 I was commissioned by Will Smith and his
photogenic out of the two of us) team to create art for his social media. This one
biding his time to steal my seat. was 90s characters, including the Fresh Prince.

I have so many Copics

(after collecting them for
over 15 years) and have
my favourite colours in
this plastic case, for
convenience – because
there’s nothing worse
than trying to find a
colour mid-drawing.

Yet another bookcase full of toys and

books. Those Grumpy Cat salt and pepper
shakers (right) were based on my designs
and hey, there’s my second Garfield phone!

The one piece of work I have of mine

on display is the Adventure Time cover
that I drew for BOOM! Studios in 2016.

31
 GET IMAGINEFX
DELIVERED DIGITALLY!

GO
DIGITAL!
.cnI elppA fo kram ecivres a si erotS ppA .seirtnuoc rehto dna .S.U eht ni deretsiger ,.cnI elppA fo kramedart a si daPi

Our digital editions

come with the same
resources included in
the print edition!

Available via our online shop

[Link]/imaginefx-magazine
Available on iOS or Android
32
 Letters

New works that have

YOUR FEEDBACK & OPINIONS grabbed our attention
Contact the edit r an Dea n
mail@[Link] or write to

CLL tsaoC eht fo sdraziW ©

ImagineFX, Future Publishing,
Quay House, The Ambury,
Bath, BA1 1UA, England
Follow us on Twitter:
[Link]/imaginefx Crystal Sully make his break in FXPosé. We’re always
Find us on Facebook: keen to give new artists a platform.
[Link]/imaginefx
Share your artwork via #imaginefx: Kickstarted career
[Link]/imaginefxmagazine Six or seven years ago my work was
featured as Artist of the Month in
Scrap ImagineFX? ImagineFX back when my career was
A short while ago I purchased some just starting to take off for the first time.
duplicate issues of ImagineFX and cut Years later my work is now the face of
them up to make a scrapbook of Dungeons & Dragons with Wizards of Eric Messinger
inspiration for my concept art course the Coast, having just released my latest @ericmessingerart
that I begin this September. piece to announce its upcoming book
I’ve found this scrapbook to be Fizban’s Treasury of Dragons. I’ve
incredibly useful for inspiration, published my own art book after an
especially since the magazines provide DID YOU MISS incredibly successful Kickstarter that
so many pieces of art that I otherwise THE PREVIOUS funded at 1,000 per cent, called The
wouldn’t have ever discovered! I would
like to expand on my scrapbook, but PACKED ISSUE? Untamed Beastiary: A Field Guide to
Marvelous Monsters.
Don’t worry –
I don’t want to cut up any of my current you can get hold I would like to thank you for featuring
magazines as they’re such an amazing of issue 203 me so long ago when I was just getting
read. So I was wondering if you had at [Link]/ my career started.
any magazines anywhere that were single-ifx. Crystal Sully, via email
damaged, misprints or just old issues
and if it were possible for me to pay Art exposure
shipping to receive them. I’ve been a subscriber of your wonderful
Thank you so much for making magazine for the past few years. Since
such an amazing magazine. It’s given my mailed copies run a little behind,
me so much to learn and has helped I decided to take a sneak peak at the
me tremendously on my art journey. digital copy of the September issue.
Rebecca Wathen, via email What an awesome and wonderful
surprise to see my work featured in the Marcus Williams
Ian replies It brings a tear to the eye, but FXPosé section of artists! I want to say @marcusthevisual
turning ImagineFX into your personal mood Rebecca Wathen loves to
thank you very much for including a
boards sounds like a great idea for recycling chop up her ImagineFX sampling of my work!
old, damaged or duplicate issues. I’ll take a to create scrapbooks (oh,
the horror!). Readers – It’s truly an honour to be recognised
look under art editor Dan’s desk… do you have spares? and included among so many of the
talented and innovative artists that are
always featured within your pages.
In the meantime, though, I continue
to create, and continue to enjoy and be
inspired by your publication and the
ImagineFX community.
Kait Matthews, via email
Matías Bergara
Ian replies FXPosé is one of my favourite @matibergara
sections of the magazine. Every issue uncovers
new artists who I know we’ll see more of in the If you’ve created art that you want us to
future, and it’s a pleasure to have them all be a shout about simply tag us on Twitter or
Instagram, and use the hashtag #imaginefx
part of ImagineFX. Keep submitting!

33
Interview

IN A“Created
LATE COUNTRY: NEODYSTOPIA
for Marc Trummer and his
band Mycelia’s concept album,” reveals
Logan Preshaw. “What looks like dark
sky is just more dense cityscape
hanging overhead.”

34
 Logan Preshaw
DREAMCATCHER
“I still see this stage of my life
as an ‘incubation’ period,
constantly learning new skills
that I can use when the right
opportunities arise,” says Logan.

LOGAN PRESHAW Ian Dean discovers a vis-dev artist and art director whose
approach to life is as bright as his paintings

M
any of what I career that’s seen him work at Weta colour a dominant part of his art.
consider to be the Workshop, Studio Moshi, Working “While I was defining my approach to
most successful Dog and numerous studios in and painting I played with colour in many
and influential around his native Australia and ways until it began to look appealing
concept artists are New Zealand. For an artist who’s to me… and I mean not just realistic,
unconventional and CV lists video games Valorant and but appealing and pleasurable,” Logan
highly stylistic,” says Logan Preshaw, League of Legend, as well as films explains. “I do that with many
who acknowledges that defining a such as Men In Black: International, elements in my work, but I think the
new style in concept art is difficult. and the forthcoming Avatar sequels, general audience notices colour first
“But when I think there couldn't that’s impressive. and they're less likely to pay attention
possibly be any more originality left to His paintings, both personal and to other fundamentals like perspective,
be explored, a fresh new artist crops professional, feature explosions of contrast and form language.”
sdroceR espilcE © krowtra ’yrtnuoC etaL A nI‘ llA

up and blows that presumption away. colour. They’re loose and active, and He goes on, telling us colour in his
I think the key to that is working rarely let the eye settle. He tells us it art is “hedonistically motivated” and
towards a style that combines all of was never a conscious choice to make tuned to bring pleasure. “It goes
your most treasured influences, beyond simply using it as a utility to
because the result of that probably
doesn't exist yet.” Computer screens can’t describe a scene, and more into the
realm of exaggeration and idealisation
In Logan’s work that often means capture all the subtleties of to make it ‘juicy’ and almost tactile.
painting colour with abandon. It’s a
refreshing approach for an artist with a colours in real life… Computer screens can't capture all the
subtleties of colours in real life, so

35
Interview
I think that's almost necessary to
fill the gaps.”
TANTRUM
How do you paint angry yet
colourful characters? This is
There’s a sense of joy to Logan’s work Logan’s skill. His characters can
– a vitality that keeps you looking. He offer a range of emotions and
remain bright and engaging.
says experimentation was the most
important aspect of his art education.
It’s a motivation he continues to work
with, and believes once you’ve learned
the rules of art and have understood
the theories behind good paintings,
you need to break them.
“You need to push the limits of your
tastes and treat art on a whole as
organic and constantly evolving,” he
says. “How far can you push
something before you feel it start to
break? When you approach those
boundaries you're probably farther
than many others would dare to tread.”
In respect of his own art, shape and
colour are a focus of Logan’s
experimentations, but stresses you can
realistically play with and find new
wanted to be part of bigger projects
while continuing to live in Australia, How far can you push
ideas in anything. “Drawing some he needed to go freelance. something before you feel
armour? Make the pauldrons
ludicrously big. Give that pirate
character 20 more parrots. Make that
“This affected my art by giving me a
good reason to ‘stand out’ from the
crowd. Online you’re competing with
it start to break?
sunlight 10 times brighter. You don't the entire art world, so if your work is Going freelance was a big decision
know what works until you try it!” memorable, affecting and highly for Logan, but he reveals the work he
expressive you're more likely to be did in various studios laid the
STUDIO VS FREELANCE remembered,” he confides. “Clients
Some of Logan’s desire to find a bold will feel like you're offering something
groundwork for his move. The two
types of work have competing
style can be drawn from a need to to their projects that they can't get demands. The life of an artist in a
stand out from the crowd. Working in anywhere else. I think that knowledge studio is like a “pressure cooker” where
studios around Melbourne proved encouraged me to push the you’re expected to deliver high
encouraging, but the artist says it pales boundaries more, because to even standards every day.
in comparison to industry hotspots survive in the scene my work needs to “You have constant deadlines and
like Los Angeles. Logan knew if he resonate with a lot of people.” a burning desire to prove yourself to
the team,” he explains. “These
CITY SKETCH
“Many of my artworks are
experiences helped increase my skills
exponentially in a short time-frame.
artistic experiments that
evolve into fleshed-out new I was pretty much drawing for eight to
worlds. This is no exception!” 10 hours every day and it was usually
stuff that intimidated me. Studio work
prepared me well for freelance life
afterwards and I recommend every
artist gain some sort of studio
experience early on, regardless of
whether they want to go freelance or
in-house in the long term.”
Freelance has its own pitfalls. The
biggest one, says Logan, is how many
artists undervalue themselves. He
admits to definitely undercharging for
Artist
PROFILE
Logan Preshaw
LOCATION: Australia
FAVOURITE ARTISTS: John
DAYLIGHT HORROR
“Part of a series of unsettling horror-
Liberto, Craig Mullins, Theo Prins,
Sparth, and Muyang Xu
inspired monsters with the unusual twist MEDIA: Photoshop, Blender,
of bright colours and joyful personalities Procreate, Tilt Brush and 3D-Coat
not usually associated with the genre.” WEB: [Link]/wickedinsignia

36
 Logan Preshaw
STAY CREATIVE
Discover Logan’s advice for
maintaining focus…
You may not have heard of it, but Logan
recommends the Pomodoro technique for staying
focused on the job. It’s a simple idea: work for 25
minutes and then take a five-minute break. Do this
throughout the working day to relieve stress and
return to a job with fresh eyes.
The artist explains: “The value of these breaks is
that you can get up, stretch, eat some fruit, step
away from the artwork for a bit, or do some quick
house chores. I find I lose the ‘core’ of an artwork if
I spend too long looking at it, so hitting reset with a
quick break is an essential part of my process.”
Thinking more broadly, Logan will often take a
break from painting altogether and exercise the right-
side of his brain in other ways. This time is spent
learning new skills, such as 3D software, playing the
guitar or mastering the drums. “Sometimes even
playing Minecraft with friends,” he jokes. “It really
depends on what interests you, but if you have an
interest, pursue it! Don't believe that you need to
sacrifice everything else for painting, since creativity
is cyclically reinforcing itself and all of it contributes
to making you a stronger artist.”

TANGO AND JIG

“Spawned from my
desire to create a
dynamic duo worthy
of a team-based hero
shooter. Doubles as a
loose homage to a
certain sci-fi video
game franchise...”

THE MELTING LIBRARY

“It was a challenge to create the
feeling of a deep data repository
and design the enigmatic character
residing there. From In A Late Country.”

his work in the past. His advice to new work, as counterproductive as taking
artists turning freelance is to considerbreaks and sleeping longer hours may
everything in your fee. Every hour seem at first.”
should be accounted for, as well as It’s interesting to discover that even
electricity, tax and superannuation. with years of experience behind him
Don’t fear negotiation, either. “You Logan’s not always good at taking his
need to know what's fair, when to own advice. The work he did on the
push back and what you can forthcoming video game Ark 2 was
realistically live on,” he says. the most satisfying in some time, but
was “highly intensive […] I was
REIN IN YOUR WORK HOURS
Maintaining a healthy work-life
eating, sleeping and breathing that
project, [I was] just absolutely
balance is vital too. Without a studio consumed by it because I wanted to
organising your time you need to get it right”.
show restraint. He explains: “It's easy The work on that game directly led
when working on your own to go over to landing his role as art director at
usual work hours, work through leading Californian creative
nights, or not eat well. Maintaining production house, West Studio.
healthy sleep, eating and work habits Life as a pro artist, either studio-
will increase your efficiency and based or freelance, is undoubtedly
it’ll take you less time to complete stressful, but Logan has a clear

37
Interview
CREATING HAPPY HOLIDAYS
Logan shares his painting process as he develops an epic celebratory scene
1 START IN COLOUR
“Most times I like to begin painting
directly in colour. When doing this
I work broad and flat from the
outset, which enables me to select
areas quickly to paint into later
and gives a good indication of my
overall values. Here I'm only
concerned with the largest shapes
and a vague indication of where
details may go. This gives me an
idea of the value composition, the
distribution of shapes and whether
everything’s working together in
the simplest terms.”

2 FINDING BALANCE
“As I work into the image and
move onto secondary details, I’m
constantly aware of the value
scheme and image balance. It's my
goal to indicate materials, break
up the large forms in a pleasing
manner and define areas of detail
and rest. I’m also pushing and
pulling values to alter the balance
of the image and direct the viewer
to my focal points. A little brighter
highlight here, dipping an area into
shadow there; every decision you
make affects the balance. It pays
to be aware of what areas in your
image are "blending" into a large
mass of value and what areas are
popping out.
3 SETTING THE SCENE
“It's time to make the focal areas
interesting with some tertiary
details. Small contextual scene-
setting elements are created here,
such as the hanging lights,
decorations, crowds inside the
tents, fireworks and foreground
figures. All the while you want to
be polishing the image and fixing
any mistakes. I also recommend
leaving any special post-work
(levels, colour balancing, adding
glow or special effects) to the
very end, since these adjustments
will make painting slower and
more difficult and it's usually
better to keep them available for
editing later if needed.”

38
 Logan Preshaw

ANY PLACE YOU WANNA GO

The rodent has the tickets you want: “Just a
painting for fun. Always great when I get some time
to do something for myself,” says Logan.

If you maintain this mindset when

committing to a large painting you can
get into trouble. While sketching is
about invention and the promise of
something, painting complex scenes
requires a different direction.
Logan explains: “If you paint with
carelessness and inaccuracy early on,
that may lead to mistakes you need to
fix later. To solve this I break things
down. The more you can break a big
painting down into decisive chunks,
the less pressure you'll feel and the
more confident you can be in your
execution. If you know what your first
stages are setting up for, it's easier to be
confident in them.”
FINAL THOUGHTS
Logan is the kind of artist who wants
to share and help other artists, and
just like his bright and positive
SKYLINE
“Another piece from From In A Late
painting, his words matter. We ask
him what piece of advice he can share
Country. The goal here was to that could make a difference, and he
create the feeling of being trapped
in a sprawling futuristic city, with
freedom far on the horizon.”
leaves us with these words…
“You're in a massive gallery, and the
walls are covered with all the amazing
outlook to overcome the hurdles really look… dissect them and let them art that's ever been produced, today
thrown our way and stay creative. take you in, reverse engineer them. and throughout history. However,
“Take in life!” he states. “Inspiration is I'm at my least creative when I forget there's a gap. On the far wall in front
everywhere, and sometimes all it takes to observe and be inspired by the of you, there's a space between all the
is ‘switching on’. When you step small things.” gilded frames and incredible artworks.
outside, don't just take it for granted: When it comes to creating his art That space represents the artist that
observe the light, shapes, history in Logan has some particular ways of would blow your mind… you would
the architecture, the way people move, working that can benefit all artists. die for them, you’re their biggest fan
the clothes they wear. Read books – Some of this comes from gaining the and their work is everything you ever
anything that interests you. Look at right perspective. For example, he says wanted to see. Except they don't exist
some of your favourite artworks, but the defining feature of sketching is yet – it's just a blank space.
confidence. “You aren't setting up for “I believe we all have that ‘blank
Inspiration is everywhere, any big finales, so it's easy to commit space’, but it's different for everyone.
to inaccuracy and looseness. That is No-one's dream artist is the same.
and sometimes all it takes is fun to look at as a viewer, since they’ll I think the most fulfilling goal you can
‘switching on’ see the possibility of the artwork as
much as the art itself.”
have as an artist is to fill that space
with your own work.”

39
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41
Feature
LAUREN BROWN
We’re out here too and
there’s a lot of stuff that
we can do with these
characters and the way
we present ourselves
Inspired by nature, fashion and the desire
for greater diversity, this illustrator’s

W
reputation is sure to grow, finds Ian Dean
himsical, ornate journey it’s clear this was always where
and elegant, she was meant to be. As a child Lauren
Lauren Brown’s drew copiously from nature and
illustrations for sketched animals. “I just loved
her own series, everything: how animals worked,
humorously dubbed the nouveau and how they moved and how they
garden by the artist, are striking interacted,” she says, revealing how she
interpretations of the traditional would create stories and adventures for
art movement. Each one is themed them. Later, her interests took in
around an element in nature we all fashion as well as fantasy art, and
take for granted, but in Lauren’s hands everything began to click.
becomes a window into a new world.
“The moment I saw Alphonse
Mucha’s work, I was just like, ‘Oh my
LIMITED IMAGINATIONS
There was something missing,
God, this is exactly what I wanted’, however, and that was herself.
because there was something so Growing up, Lauren never saw herself
beautiful about the graphic design in the art she loved.
approach, but also the way that he “I remember walking around halls
treated his figures as women. The of many conventions, looking at the
drapery of fabrics, the elegance… it’s fantasy art displays, and just seeing no
almost like royalty of how they were people of colour whatsoever,” says
framed by flowers.” Lauren. “This is fantasy. Why wouldn’t
To get to that wow moment Lauren there be people of colour? This is the
talks like it was a turning point, but lowest common denominator of
revealing more about her artistic diversity you could put in these
realms, and yet we just don’t see any
Artist people who look like us. So a part of
PROFILE
Lauren Brown
my aim is meeting people who look
like us in those settings that I love
to see. […] We’re out here too and
LOCATION: US
FAVOURITE ARTISTS: Geneva
there’s a lot of stuff that we can do
Benton, Loish, Alphonse Mucha, with these characters and the way
Sachin Teng and Claire Wendling we present ourselves.”
MEDIA: Pen and ink, Photoshop
WEB: [Link]
The Mushroom Queen illustration,
part of the nouveau garden series,

42
Lauren Brown
LOC JEWELLERY
“Someone actually reached out
to me saying that they wanted to
make loc jewellery that was
actually mushrooms. So I’m going
to be collaborating with this artist
to make some actual wearable
mushroom loc jewellery and I’m
super-excited for that to happen.”
Interview

is representative of the artist’s

approach. This grew from an unusual
OCTOPUS MERMAID
“It’s amazing to see
how much space there
cluster of mushrooms Lauren had still is to create positive
spotted. Starting with a simple sketch representation of black
characters or black
she began peeling apart the panicle to presenting characters.”
craft the character’s outfit. Her own
hair and jewellery inspired the
Mushroom Queen’s long elegant locs
that mirror the mushroom stalks,
framing the character. Inspired by
Alphonse Mucha? Of course, but the
It was really important to trap of drawing largely white “Every artist has gotten different
me to make a character that characters, which restricted her own
imagination. That’s what the media
criticisms over the years. I definitely
have. It can be really hard at first
had hair like mine… around her had reflected.
“It was interesting,” she comments,
“because I look back at my younger
because it’s like taking a little piece of
your soul and putting it on the table
and telling people to look at this part
artist’s own life is represented in her self, and I’m like, ‘Why were you of me and tell me what you think
illustrations, too. making these characters?’, but really about it. It’s basically thinking that
“It was really important to me to I wasn’t to blame. It was just what I somebody is criticising a fundamental
make a character that had hair like was exposed to.” part of who you are. And that can be
mine, because I just love seeing that, really painful for a lot of people.”
and I love seeing that representation
in art,” she shares. “And I’d like to
DEALING WITH CRITICS Now, she says, it’s possible to
The more of herself Lauren puts into separate herself from what other
represent people who look like me her art, the harder it could be to take people think, and take on board other
and my art, because historically we’ve criticism. But she’s become far more people’s opinions. Yet that anxiety can
been extremely underrepresented, philosophical about critique over the still creep in, and it was notable during
especially black women, in illustration years. Life in a video game studio’s art lockdown when Lauren examined
and fantasy illustration.” team, and now as art director, means her work. She discovered a lot of
Even in her own art, when starting she can easily distinguish between unfinished paintings and illustrations
out Lauren says she fell into the same constructive and destructive criticism. held back by her own internal

44
 Lauren Brown
FRAMING THE
SPORECROWN QUEEN
The artist reveals that a love of animation is her secret
weapon to creating dynamic portraits…

EFINE THE POS

“I explore movement in MPOSE MOVEM
each painting like an "There’s usually a very clear line of direction
animation. […] It’s basically a where the viewer’s eye goes when you see any
sole frame of animation.” of my illustrations.”

USING PHOTOSHO
“The graphic design aspects don’t come until the final part
of the process […] I have a general idea of the framing I want
to use, but it usually comes at the very end once I have
everything else. It’s like, ‘Okay, now how do I frame this the
best way possible?’ And that’s where the last day comes in.”

45
Interview

TIEFLING
Inspired by Adeyanju Adeleke, Tiefling caused a stir:
“Why wouldn’t there be a Tiefling with an afro?”

critic. What would happen if she

finished a piece? Or completed it in a EASY RIDER
“With a lot of my illustrations, there’s
way that didn’t make her proud? usually some kind of narrative being
Would she let people down if her art told – whether big or small – and I want
to continue to be able to create that.”
didn’t match up to expectations? The
anxiety was evident.
“I was putting this invisible
expectations of myself, on my own I have this big world in my guest artists discuss their issues and
raise awareness of mental health
art, and it was holding me back from head that I haven’t gotten a concerns, and offer advice. “It helped
actually producing more content,”
Lauren says honestly. “I’ve put that
pressure on myself to have to make
chance to put out there me establish a better relationship with
social media,” she says.
each piece the best of the best, or it has
to be my magnum opus, or it has to
many different artists,” she says,
“including myself,” to create art that
WORDS AND PICTURES
Lauren is now working up her old
be something that’s stellar enough looks good presented in your online ideas, including the graceful Rose
to be featured somewhere, or get, you collection, in your established style, in Queen design that has sat dormant for
know, a certain amount of likes on a nine-by-nine grid on Instagram. The a year. It’s ignited her imagination and
social media.” life of a modern illustrator is fraught drive, too. She’s always loved exploring
The spectre of social media has with anxieties. It’s why Lauren set up narrative in her illustrations and
“definitely put a lot of pressure on the Painted In Color podcast, where explains every character she’s created
has a story to tell – one that fits into a
broader project.
FAMILIAR “I have this big world in my head
On Alfonso Mucha’s
influence: “I just love that I haven’t gotten a chance to really
that presentation of put out there. Part of my exploration is
women because it just
made them look so really exploring that writing, exploring
elegant and powerful.
I took a lot of influence
that narrative, developing characters,
and inspiration from and developing a world,” she says.
that influence.” Lauren is putting the same detail
into her written words as she is the
line-art that brings her queens to life.
The goal for Lauren is to create stories
where the language and beat of her
words match the whimsy and sense of
movement found in her art.
“It’s going to be a process; writing is
really scary. But it’s something that
I really, really love to do,” she says.
“That’s what one of my objectives are
for the rest of this year.”

46
 Lauren Brown

WE ARE NOT PREY

“I didn’t get any training on how to
render dark skin or how to texture hair
[…] And I think that’s such a loss, because
that’s such a big part of art.”

47
 PROFILE
Dela Longfish
LOCATION: US
Dela has been working for
over 10 years as a visual
development artist in
video games and film for
clients including Santa
Monica Studio, Lucasarts and ILM. He’s
currently the lead character concept

ery of skeletal
artist at Santa Monica Studio where

tful rogue’s gall he’s working on the next instalment in

book is a admeliugrah liens…

the God of War game series.
[Link]/delalongfish

vis-dev’s sketch
This racters, amphi
cha

WANDERING WARRIOR
“One drawing always inspires other ideas
and what began as one character can quickly
turn into a cast of characters.”

SPACE PILOT
“Side-kicks and secondary characters allow
the opportunity to add visual variety to
your cast of characters.”

SKELETON
What began as one CREW
character can quickly “I tend to do multiple
explorations on a
character, exploring all
turn into a cast of characters the different looks one
design could take.”

48
 Sketchbook Dela Longfish
DAY OF THE DEAD QUEEN
“Day of the Dead celebrations were a
OF THE
PUMPKINS
big inspirations for these designs.”

“Being in the Halloween

mood, I was thinking
about what spirits watch
over the pumpkin
patches. I used twisted
vines and leaves as
inspiration for
her body.”

ALIEN
TRACKER
“Sometimes I start
with just a mass of
scribbles and see
what emerges
out of it.”

SCI-FI
HERO
“I tend to jump around
between subject matters.
One day I’ll be drawing
fantasy characters and the
next something more
sci-fi inspired.”

49
 PUMPKIN
FAIRY
“Another version of a
character who keeps watch
over all the pumpkins.
This version is a bit

I first started using more benevolent.”

blue pencils while

doing animation
pencil tests back
in school

SKIN
‘N’ BONES
“At one point this
rooster skeleton
was going to be
the side-kick.”

SCI-FI
ZOMBIE
SAMURAI
“Sometime I don’t know
where ideas come from,
but I always love
seeing where they
end up.”

50
 Sketchbook Dela Longfish
FROG SKELETONS
SAMURAI
“There are times
IN HATS
“I first started using blue
I have specific ideas in pencils while doing
mind for a sketch and animation pencil tests
other times the designs back in school and
evolve on their own. This never stopped
started out with the idea using them.”
of seeing a frog with
a sword.”

WILTED
FLOWERS
“This set of drawings started out
with the idea of telling a California-
inspired ghost story based around a
group of skeletons. I even wanted the
car to look and feel like a skeleton
so it complemented the look
of the characters.”

FROG WITH
A SWORD
“I usually work on a few
drawings at a time,
bouncing back an fourth
between them
as I draw.”

Do you want to share your sketches with your fellow ImagineFX readers? Send us an email with a
selection of your art, captions for each piece and a photo and bio of yourself to sketchbook@[Link]

51
 GET YOUR
BINDER TODAY!

FEATU
ARTWORRKINBGY
LOISH
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52
 GET YOUR
RESOURCES
See page 6 now!

Workshops assets
are available…
Download each workshop’s resources 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

54 66

62 This issue:
54 How to create
spontaneous art
Ayran Oberto paints a portrait
without overthinking anything.
60 From 2D concept
to 3D portrait
Character artist Anna Cavasos
balances beauty and horror.
62 Create retro art
70 from 3D scans
Ken Coleman mixes scanned
action figures and digital paint.
66 Apply CG skills
to a fantasy scene
Combine CG techniques with
photobashing, with Oliver Beck.
70 How to sculpt
a real dinosaur
Glen Southern breaks down his
ZBrush sculpting workflow.

53
 Workshops
Photoshop
HOW TO CREATE
SPONTANEOUS ART
Ayran Oberto demonstrates the creative approaches he uses to
produce colourful portrait art without overthinking anything
Artist When ImagineFX attractive: thick lips, large eyes with using colour. My approach during
PROFILE contacted me, I was
interested to hear that
long eyelashes, small pointed noses
and hair that flows in all directions.
this stage is to create a sense of
randomness using a range of
Ayran Oberto the theme of the cover As with my other client work, I Photoshop tools. I want to combine
LOCATION: Spain was to experiment start by visualising various options. effects that on initial viewing appear
Ayran’s digital art with a painting. This has always During this stage what’s foremost in like mistakes, but with a little vision
explores the stylisation been my mission with my personal my mind is to avoid drawing the can end up having potential towards
of the human portrait.
He also freelances in the work, so I was more than happy to same angle. I look for natural angles the end of the painting process.
advertising, film and approach the cover in the same way. of the head that would allow for a Once the colours are finalised, it’s
video games industries. The idea was to paint a female logical movement of the character’s time to enjoy discovering the image,
[Link]/ayran
portrait and for this I went to my eyes towards the viewer. using design rules that enable me to
comfort zone. My lines, which are Once the sketch with the strongest reveal attractive shapes in each area
always flawed, tend to produce composition is chosen, it’s time to that are gradually refined as the
features that I consider particularly give it maximum visual impact, painting progresses.

GET YOUR
RESOURCES
See page 6 now!

1 Sketching the ideas

It all starts with the sketch. A few key words spark ideas and help me write this workshop. My aim is to create different angles of a female
head using my visual and muscular memory, and give the viewer the sensation that they’re being observed.

54
In depth Spontaneous art

55
 Workshops

2 Wrapping lines over my sketches

As I work on the sketches, I create geometric shapes using lines that seem to surround them. I need to visually feel the shapes and how
they change direction, which is dictated by the general angle of the face. With these geometries I seek to create features that attract me – the
thick lips, refined nose and large eyes that I mentioned earlier.

3 Finding the light spots

To create the lighting scheme I think that the ideal approach is 4 Form shadows everywhere
With the light already established I have an idea of how to
to centre the light so that all the characteristics of the face can be shade, as a result of using a more central light source. I focus on
appreciated in detail. I don’t want the face to become lost in shadow. creating form shadows on all the geometric shapes. One feature of the
To enhance the silhouette a little more, I draw a second light that central light source is that it doesn’t create large shadow projections,
gently brushes the edge of the face. resulting in smooth transitions across the entire face.

56
 In depth Spontaneous art

RESOURCES

PHOTOSHOP
CUSTOM BRUSHES:
INK COLORVARIATION

I used this brush to

sketch with. It has a
natural ink feel to it.
CREAMY ROUND

This brush is useful

for making the first
shading pass and
creating soft transitions.
CREAMY ROUND
SOFT EDGE

I used this for making the

second shading pass. The
soft edge helps to mix
the tones.
OILY 2

5 Exploring colour options

For this step I go to Layer>New Adjustment Layer>Curves. I switch between channels using Alt+2, Alt+3, Alt+4 With this brush I was
and Alt+5, and move the curve as I please, which creates colour breaks. Next, I double-click this Adjustment layer to able to give the hair
volume and richness.
determine how much it blends with the one below in the Layer style>Blending options menu.

6 Creating a variety of colours

I focus on identifying the potential of each of the results from the previous step. Using the Color Picker, I select the colours that emerged
and bring them to other areas of the face by applying brush strokes and taking each of the options in slightly different directions.

57
 Workshops

8 Let the game begin

The colour option has already been approved and
7 Combining the options
The art editor likes two colour options: one with a yellowish-blue palette and
I’m still aware that there are many errors that I must
correct to bring the image to its maximum expression.
the other one with a more saturated skin tone. I place the saturated option on a The most difficult stage has been overcome and now I
layer beneath the other option and erase the face of the layer on top. This reveals can start jumping in all directions. I fix and give
the saturated face and achieves the best combination of the two options. definition to all the chaos that’s still present in the image.

10 Breaking down the big parts

The sketch is the record of a very general idea and
9 Contrast and duality
To balance the image I need to think in terms of contrast, which extends to
each element of the portrait itself is a simple one. Much
like a rendering engine that subdivides clustered pixels to
more concepts than just value contrast. My intention is to create a lot of life and increase definition, I decide to break all those elements
information in the hair so that the softness of the face stands out more. In addition, into smaller ones. This will increase the feeling of high
the eye of the viewer will naturally try to settle on these areas. definition within the illustration.

58
 In depth Spontaneous art

11 Everything flows
In this step I check that the lines of the image
always guide me towards the face. The curved lines are
an excellent tool for this: in addition to supporting the 12 Liquify without remorse
I use the Liquify tool to correct elements that have already been refined. I
viewer’s gaze, they can also be used to generate a move them while checking the thumbnail to achieve a more coherent positioning
sensation of movement, removing any possibility of the of the facial features and hair. For this I go to Filter>Liquify, click the Forward Warp
illustration coming across as static and rigid. Tool on the left-hand panel and push the forms as required.

13 Picking out the highlights

To give a final touch to the image, I create a new
layer and set the Blend mode to Color Dodge. Then I
apply very soft strokes with a neutral, desaturated colour 14 Letting go of the illustration
I can’t deny that all the work I do for clients increases my nervousness, and
over the highlights with the Soft Airbrush from my that as a consequence I find it difficult to know when to stop adding details. If I
custom brushes collection, slightly increasing the unreal can’t control myself at this stage, I may end up destroying the image. The solution
magical tone and quality of the light. is to draw on my experiences, send the file as finished and wait for feedback.

59
 Workshops
Maya, Mari & Photoshop
FROM 2D CONCEPT
TO 3D PORTRAIT
Character artist Anna Cavasos balances the themes of beauty and
horror to visualise a mysterious sorceress enjoying a delicate snack
Artist Something draws me searching for a concept that would real gold jewellery and a beautifully
PROFILE to the contrast
between pretty and
give the most intrigue.
This piece starts with the sculpt. I
embroidered fabric to all tell a story.
I also want to show her skin being
Anna Cavasos repulsive. That’s what look at classical beauty Emilia pale and discoloured, as if she resides
LOCATION: US
initially caught my eye Clarke, whose features would work deep in a cave, and the viewer has
Anna is a 3D character with Lena Richard’s concept piece well contrasted with the scars. When just stumbled upon her. I study
artist and recent
Gnomon graduate based
([Link]); the considering the robe, jewellery and cave-dwelling animals and albino
in Los Angeles. She woman was beautiful enough to props, I want to go for the essence of humans. Albino skin has the lack of
creates pieces varying capture your attention, but what she a mysterious sorceress, whose red that I need, but the patchiness
from stylised to realistic.
[Link] was doing was so gross you couldn’t intentions are unknown. I want her and translucency of salamander skin
look away. As a student, I was to have hand-carved wooden props, was necessary for the creepiness.

How I create…
A CUSTOM
PATTERNED
FABRIC

 
2 Creating the seamless texture
I scan the fabric and import it into Photoshop. Using the Offset tool and with careful
painting, I create a black and white mask that can then be taken into Substance Alchemist.

 
3 Using Substance 
Alchemist
 Finding the perfect fabric
In Alchemist, I use a base fabric
1 I search online for a fabric texture, but
with a small thread count and
coppery colour. Using the mask
can’t find the right one. I decide to search a that I created earlier, I make an
few fabric stores, and end up finding this embroidery layer that has a large
brown floral print. Knowing I only needed thread and lower roughness. This
the perfect pattern helps me to whittle creates a nice breakup in the
down the examples to the one that works. specular pass.

60
 In depth 3D portrait
Animate the  Create the hair
head glow
Her animated head glow is
The hair is done in XGen. The
braid is done with a tube
done using Nuke. I paint a floral groom, with three cylinders
black and white pattern in braided around one another.
Mudbox, and assign it as a The eyebrows and eyelashes
V-Ray extraTex pass. I multiply were lighter to evoke a sense of
it with a Noise node in Nuke and albinism and unify the portrait.
then animate it so it has some
slow movement.

Skin texture Craft the 
I texture the skin using scans
from [Link]. Using Mari,
jewellery
Her sleeve, hood, and braided
I projection paint the jewellery are all achieved with
multichannel displacement MASH inside Maya. I create
maps and albedo maps (using s mp e sma l meshes that would
the Paint Through tool). I make capture specular well, and
adjustments to ensure the skin place curves where I want
is nice and pale, as well as add them. I also create a few
veins and blotchiness. In Maya, variations so they wouldn’t
I use V-Ray’s AlSurface material look repetitive. MASH is great
for the subsurface scattering.
Make the  for modelling quick random
butterflies
I sculpt these in ZBrush, making
forms like this.

a high poly mesh and a lower

poly. I sculpt the veins and
breakup, so that the specular
would catch those details. The
specular map is an opalescent
colour, and the material is a
blend between a normal
material and a subsurface one.

Lighting and 
compositing
Less is more when it comes to
lighting. It’s hard to hide parts
of a piece you’re proud of, but
the viewer can fill in the blanks.
It also tends to add more
intrigue when you can barely
make out what’s there.

61
 Workshops
ZBrush, KeyShot, Photoshop & Painter
CREATE RETRO ART
FROM 3D SCANS
Ken Coleman mixes scanned action figures and digital
painting to create 80s-inspired fantasy production art
Artist Combining my love of The vintage toy box art, 80s iconic combining a model I previously
PROFILE customising action
figures and kit-
movie poster art and Frank Frazetta
are strong influences on the type of
posed and exported in Daz 3D.
The workshop will continue on
Ken Coleman bashing 3D models finish I go for in my nostalgic the lighting and rendering of
LOCATION: Ireland for concepts is exciting imagery. In this workshop I’ll different passes of the model in
Ken lectures in game art for me. Over the past year, I’ve explain my process, from how I KeyShot. These KeyShot renders will
and design at Clonmel developed a library of 3D scanned 3D-scan and prepare the models, then be combined in Photoshop to
Digital Campus in
Ireland. He also designs
assets, including character heads, before importing them into ZBrush. build an image mixed with my own
for clients such as armour and weapons to composite I’ll show you how to use basic hand-painted backgrounds and
Catalyst Games and scenes of my favourite characters ZBrush navigation tools such as textures and then given a final
Morbid Angel.
[Link]
from the world of He-Man, Skeletor Gizmo, Transpose, Subtools and paintover in Corel Painter to get that
and the Masters of the Universe. Brushes to build a character, 1980s-style oil-painted finish.

1 Preparing for the 3D scans

I prepare a figure in Daz 3D – I have a favourite for my Masters of the Universe projects
called Dark Guard. I combine him with some animal and beast morphs to get the clawed
hands and feet. I then export this as an object file to be used in ZBrush. I scan the various parts
of the figures with my EinScan-SE 3D scanner. The larger-scale models are great for detail on
the face, but the armour parts on the seven-inch scale figures are perfect for blocking in 3D.
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2 Building the ZBrush figure
I import the Daz 3D model into ZBrush 3 Lighting in KeyShot
To import the model from ZBrush to
and press T to make sure the model is KeyShot, I go to the Render menu, select
functioning in the 3D space. Using the External Render, turn on KeyShot and then
Subtool palette on the right of the screen I press the BPR button. This will import the
duplicate the figure and press Import. I select model directly to KeyShot. Once the model
the 3D scanned elements by repeating this appears in KeyShot I go to Edit>Add
process. Every time I duplicate a Subtool and Geometry>Sphere. I can then make a light
press Import, the new model part will replace source. To do this, I double-click the sphere
the previous one in the composition. I have model in the scene window in the top right of
to be careful to scale the 3D scanned parts the screen. When I click the light bulb symbol
using the Gizmo and Transpose tools – not that opens beneath it, I can change the
all scanned parts are correct when imported. material to Area Light>Set to Watts.

62
In depth Retro art

63
 Workshops

4 Materials in KeyShot List of KeyShot materials

KeyShot enables you to drag and drop a 5 I use the same materials apart from the 6 Combining the layers
Once my renders have completed I
material on to any of the separate Subtool character colours to achieve the right look and open the basic colour one in Photoshop.
elements to colour it. You can also apply a translucency of light. Skeletor’s face is bone, Next, I drag the other layers into this file as
material to the whole model by dragging the his skin is electric blue and I use metallic and Smart Layers. I set the GOZ layer and Blue
material over to the Scene section and non-metallic colours for his armour. The other Rim layer to Soft Light Blend mode. Once I’m
dropping it on to the ZBrush label, which is KeyShot materials are GOZ Human Skin and happy with the level of translucency of all my
the model and all its elements. If you do this Blue WHITE RIM LIGHT. I export each render layers, I select them all, copy them and merge
you must press the Lock button in the bottom as a hi-res PSD file with the clown option them (the shortcuts are Ctrl/Cmd+J followed
window twice and Press Unlink Materials to turned on to create a silhouette to use for by Ctrl/Cmd+E). I duplicate this layer one
add different materials individually. selections in Photoshop. more time for the next phase.

7 Face lift with Camera RAW 8 Adding texture and detail

Photoshop’s Camera Raw filter is a I find that using photos of rusty 9 Composing a layout
Now that I’m happy with the overall
powerful tool for adding a degree of punch to surfaces and stained concrete are fantastic figure, I group all the elements. I create a new
your illustrations. Select the top-most merged for creating detail and depth in images. The file the same size as an ImagineFX page at
layer copy and press Filter>Camera Raw concrete and porous stone is my favourite 22x30cm but at 450dpi for higher resolution.
Filter. You can see from the image how I’ve textures for the skin. I drag these elements Most of my work is at least A2 in size at
placed my sliders. My approach is always on top of the figure and I mask them using 300dpi. I now drag the figure group across
Shadows up, Clarity up, Saturation up slightly the silhouette from the clown layer that I and start to place background elements and
and Highlights and Whites down. This extra exported from KeyShot. My painted Polyfilla particles to build a scene. I have folders of
tweak really gives a burst of colour and detail layer is especially useful and fun for creating hand-painted backdrops, particles and
to your 3D render. a bone-like effect on Skeletor’s face. objects to help build scenes quickly.

64
 In depth Retro art

10 Hand-painted backgrounds Adding my own particles

I add stock photos of some Irish coastal 11 I create my own particles by taking a 12 Final prep before paintover
Before bringing the composition into
landscapes and one of my hand-painted photo of baby powder on black craft paper, Painter for a paintover, I click Image>
backgrounds. I’m lucky that there are many as well as creating particles with Painter’s Duplicate to create a copy of the file. I select
local landscapes and textures to help enhance Particle brushes. I add these elements by the figure’s outline, then flatten the image
my work. Using my local environment in my placing them in the scene and setting the and copy and paste just the figure over itself.
art is important to me. My hand-painted Blend mode to Screen. I also create gradients I now have options to use Blender brushes on
clouds were created on various large canvas, of green by selecting the colour from the the figure and background separately in
photographed and combined in Photoshop glows on the 3D figure’s body. Using the Painter. Using large oil brushes for the
to create a set of various backgrounds that I Gradient tool and cloud brushes I create background and more refined fractal brushes
can drag and drop into my art. directional light that matches the model. for the skin gives a nice sense of depth.

13 Breaking up the image in

Painter or Fresco
You can save the file to the cloud so you can
open it on an iPad and use blender and fine
art brushes in an art app such as Procreate or
Fresco. However, I choose to use Painter on
the desktop. I use a limited number of 14 Finishing up in Photoshop
I reopen the image in Photoshop and set the highlights to a Soft Light blend mode. I also
Brushes on the merged layers. My favourites experiment with the Opacity of the painted layers and sometimes mask off areas where I may
are Stencil Oily Blender and Fractal Blender. I have gone overboard with Painter. The idea is to balance the abstract brush work with the
also place some white or brightly coloured, detail and silhouette of the final image. Sometimes I merge and duplicate everything on one
thin highlight lines on a new layer with the final layer and use an Unsharp mask set at 200 per cent at 0.2 pixels for clarity. Finally, my 3D
Spring Concept Creature brush. Shown here: scanner is costly, but try experimenting with smartphone apps such as Bellus3D and LIDAR
the before and after versions in Painter. 3D to create 3D models of everyday objects to use in your artwork.

65
 Workshops
Blender, Cinema 4D, Houdini & Photoshop
APPLY CG SKILLS TO
A FANTASY SCENE
Oliver Beck reveals how to get more from your digital tools by
combining advanced CG techniques, photobashing and digital painting

66
 In depth 3D detail
Artist When it comes to Eighty per cent of the foliage in this these two elements together. I’m
PROFILE personal work I rarely
have a clear idea of
illustration was done in 3D, and it
was surprisingly straightforward.
very excited by the possibilities
this approach opens up for future
Oliver Beck what I want to do. I Aside from pushing my technical artworks, I’m sure that this piece is
LOCATION: Germany constantly carry out skills I wanted to create an artwork only a glimpse of what is to come!
Oliver is a freelance small experiments here and there, with a sense of adventure. I love For now, though, I’m looking
concept artist and and sometimes they evolve into portraying huge architecture in my forward to continuing my work in
illustrator. When he’s not
working for clients he something larger. art, usually with a touch of fantasy the realm of fantasy environments.
enjoys finding new Before I started this artwork I had or a bit of a Dark Souls vibe. I’ve only I’ve been reading The Silmarillion
challenges in his
personal work and
been exploring foliage scattering and recently begun to get into characters, – the origin story of Middle-earth
improving his art skills. creating vegetation in CG for a which gives me better opportunities – and am very inspired by Tolkien’s
[Link]/oliver-b couple of weeks, and decided that it to tell stories and incorporate tale. Maybe I’ll illustrate a scene or
was time to bring everything I had storytelling in my pieces. So I location from the book for my next
learned together in a larger piece. thought it was about time to bring work, but no promises yet!

67
 Workshops
SAVING TIME IN 3D Atmospheric touches
I like to incorporate fog and atmosphere
in the later stages of the artwork. I’ll
mask out an area, then apply
brushstrokes with a low Opacity and
using the Smudge tool to refine the
edges. The detail in the architecture was
added by masking and using various
blend modes on my ambient light render
pass as well as photobashing.

Reusing a side-project
The statue with the missing head is a side
experiment done in Houdini. I bring in one
of the statues, remesh it, and split it into
parts using the Voronoi node. I could have
just removed the head by painting over it,
but I love doing these small experiments
and Houdini is always a lot of fun to use.

Make a difference
One of the most important steps to
finalising the image is applying some
post effects. Motion blur, noise,
vignettes and lens flares can make a
world of a difference. Experiment with
them on different layers and see what
you can come up with.

PHOTOSHOP
CUSTOM BRUSHES:
TWO-SIDED

I’ve been using this brush

for as long as I can
remember. It can handle
pretty much anything
you throw at it.
JUICY EDGES

This brush is great for

applying final touches
on fog, waves or grass!
The details matter
To make these little guys I pose some characters in Daz3D,
But don’t overuse it. give them basic clothes, and even swords (although you can’t
Both of these brushes see it here). They’re cautiously walking up the stairs ready to
are from One Pixel Brush defend themselves. The torches were created in 3D, with an
([Link]). image of flames used as an emissive texture.

68
 In depth 3D detail
How I compose…
A DRAMATIC
ENVIRONMENT

Composing the scene

I utilise the characters as well as the
foreground elements to lead our eyes to the
focal point of the image, which is the
bottom of the staircase. This is additionally
framed in a window composition by the
broken pillars in the image’s centre. All of
the other elements either point towards, or
1 Quick blockout using Blender
I start with a quick layout in Blender. I use some
lead the viewer back to this point of interest. pre-made assets for the architecture, stretch out a
couple of ellipses for the terrain, and place a simple
plane for my water material. I later add some boats from
another project for scale and storytelling purposes. I’m
just looking for an idea and a striking composition.

Photoshop tweaks
The 3D render gave me a great headstart
on the foliage. Later on I used some
2 Materials and lighting
I import my Blender model into Cinema 4D. I
motion and Gaussian blur effects as well
as the Smudge tool to remove the detail
make use of Cinema 4D and Octane for most of my
and sharpness from the Render. In some artwork. I establish some basic materials, add fog and
places I used the Mixer brush or cloned create a quick lighting setup. If you have a good
existing elements to make the foliage
more dense or to add variety.
composition, this can get you pretty far and give you a
good idea if the image is heading in the right direction.

3 Final render
This step involves the most amount of work.
I expand the temple structure, add characters and
foliage, refine the lighting and materials, and set up
Create the water
The water in this image is, aside from a few brushstrokes and
passes for the final render. What you can see here
colour adjustments, fully 3D. I create a simple material in Octane, doesn’t involve any painting or photobashing – it’s all 3D
using the internal autogenerated noise texture in the Bump and with some quick colour grading! Don’t be afraid to
Roughness channels. I then adjust the Noise settings until I achieve
a result that I’m happy with – easy and quick!
embrace 3D tools and techniques in your 2D art.

69
 Workshops
ZBrush & Photoshop
HOW TO SCULPT
A REAL DINOSAUR
Glen Southern breaks down his sculpting workflow and techniques
when tackling a concept sculpt of an aquatic, aggressive dinosaur
Artist ZBrush is my favourite of techniques, which is to add simple where you get to add the finer details
PROFILE sculpting package by
far, but people can
primitive shapes to block-out the
primary form and then use just three
such as scales, wrinkles, pores,
creases and cracks in a large
Glen Southern find it intimidating or four of the most popular Brushes dinosaur’s skin. I’ve made alpha
LOCATION: England when just starting out. to add detail. Understanding this images to use with the detailing
Glen runs SouthernGFX, Here I show how to tackle creating a sort of workflow, where you block brushes and I include them with this
a character and creature large dynamic dinosaur sculpt. out primary forms and pin down workshop’s resources. With a range
design studio. He’s been
using and training There are so many ways to start a scales and dimensions, then focus of detailing alpha-textures you can
ZBrush for more than project like this in ZBrush, and there on secondary forms (which includes really make your sculpt ‘pop’ off the
15 years and is a Wacom
Ambassador. Recently,
are lots of confusing tools and large muscle groups and major screen. Whether you go on to paint-
he’s been creating in the feature names like Dynamesh, landmarks) will help you grasp the over the model for an illustration or
VR space working with ZRemesher or the popular ZSpheres. fundamentals of ZBrush. use it as part of a 3D print project,
companies like Adobe
and Gravity Sketch.
To get you up to speed and simplify The final step (tertiary detailing) is you’ll have some amazing details on
[Link] the process, I’m using the most basic the one that I love the most. It’s the underwater creature.

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1 Reference is king when creating realistic art
Collecting references is how to make something believable. I use a mix of references for this version of a spinosaurus and I start with a
skeletal image. In ZBrush you can add your reference to the model rather than to the Viewport window. I decide I would only need a back
image, not a full set of back, side and top. The reference images can be added at the bottom of the Draw panel as shown.

70
In depth Sculpt & detail

71
 Workshops

2 Different ways to create

There are many ways you can start a model in ZBrush. I was going to use something called ZSPheres – a kind of a virtual clay that contains
no geometry – as a base, but decide that building up the form using primitives (simple pre-made shapes) is a better way. I add two spheres and a
plane, move them to match the reference images and then used a feature called Dynamesh to merge them all together and remesh them.

3 Primary forms
Primary forms are the building blocks that we use
to start creating. They help to establish the overall scale,
length, volume and shape of a sculpture. I use a limited 4 Add basic limbs to the body
For the limbs I add basic Cylinders from the Tools menu. I use the same
amount of ZBrush brushes including Move, Clay brushes to pull and shape them and I keep the Dynamesh feature on so that I can
Buildup, Flatten and Inflate. I drag the geometry around remesh the model as needed. Dynamesh is in the Tool menu and is activated by
to match the reference and also kept looking at it from tapping with your stylus (assuming you’re using a graphic tablet) and is perfect
the top to make sure it’s reading well from that angle. for free-form sculpting.

72
 In depth Sculpt & detail

50
ZBRUSH
ALPHAS!

RESOURCES

ZBRUSH
CUSTOM BRUSHES:
SCUTES

5 Generate a separate jaw

The head is the most dynamic part of this creature 6 Move into secondary forms
The initial reference I use was a skeleton and it gave I add a range of 50
alphas to the pack.
and as such I’m happy sculpting him with a closed me a good start. The plan is to sculpt the spinosaurus in a Scutes are the hard,
mouth. I mask off the lower jaw and separate it from the neutral pose so that I can sculpt symmetrically (X) and bony plates on the back
main body (I use Split-hidden in the Geometry panel). leave the posing until much later. At this stage in the of the dinosaur.
With a separate jaw you can try different poses easily and project I’m still looking for the primary forms, but SCALES
really focus on the corner of the mouth, which is a crucial beginning to think about the next part, which is about
part of the design. forming the secondary details such as muscle groups.

A well-used brush that’s

just for adding basic
scales down the body.
CREASES

Crease brushes help to

put some deep-score
lines all around the
creature’s underbelly.
OSTEODERMS

7 Be sure to sculpt around an eye,

One tip is to always sculpt around something that’s going to be there eventually. If you try to sculpt an eye Osteoderms are like
without any geometry you may make it look unrealistic. From the Tool menu add a poly sphere and scale it to the scutes and are found
right size for the spinosaurus. Mirror it across with Geometry>Modify Topology>Mirror, and Weld. Now you can mostly on the back of
the creature.
sculpt the eyelids more accurately and with confidence.

73
 Workshops

8 Create the dinosaur’s toothy grin

To sculpt the teeth I again use a primitive sphere and then use Dynamesh on it. Now I use the Move brush and the Flatten brush and keep
smoothing it down until I reach the desired shape. Flatten gives a realistic look to the edges. If you go too far in reshaping, use Inflate to bring
back some volume then re-Dynamesh the resulting mesh. Continue this process to build and shape the teeth.

10 Build up the creature’s form

around the teeth
At this stage we’re well past primary forms and looking at
9 Position the teeth
In the Sub Tool panel start duplicating the teeth and repositioning them to fit
major muscle groups and specific areas of skin. Pay
special attention to the corners of the mouth, the lips and
your design. Don’t forget to look at more references to make sure you’re making a the volume in the muscles that close the jaws. Don’t do
realistic set of teeth for a spinosaurus. Once you’ve done a full side, merge them any surface detail – rather, just try and get the overall
together and then use Mirror-and-Weld again to flip a copy across. Repeat this step shape to look right. I add a tongue at this stage to achieve
for the rest of the teeth. a fuller sense of proportion.

74
 In depth Sculpt & detail

11 Adding the limbs

I add hands and feet by making separate digits
from primitives following the earlier process, then I
merge them together. I make one hand and one foot and 12 Use ZRemesher to create a low poly version
To be able to pose I need a low polygon mesh. To do this I use ZRemesher in
mirror them for speed. I then Dynamesh them into the the Tool>Geometry panel and set the level to about 10,000 polygons (10). This
main body by merging. Once all the limbs are part of the gives me a decent low poly mesh to work with. I then subdivide it a number of
main mesh I use Smooth and the Clay Build-Up brush to times and use Project from the Sub-Tool panel to add the high-resolution detail
fix the joins and unify the sculpt’s elements. back into the sculpt. This means I’m now ready for the final skin details.

13 Using Alphas to add details

Black and white Alpha maps are a great way to add surface detail. I’m sharing
all of mine with this workshop. To add them in, import them into the Alpha panel
via the Export button. Now use the Standard Brush that’s set to Drag-Rectangle in
the Stroke Panel. Change the Alphas to suit your need and add cool surface details.

15 Place the model in an environment

I generally do a lot of over-painting on projects like
this. I take the final renders right out of ZBrush and I
14 Introduce some colour
The final step is to add some colour. No one really knows what a spinosaurus
composite them in Photoshop. If I need different
background elements I’ll either render other models and
looked like, so you can go a little crazy here. I use the Standard brush with some of add them in the background or paint them right there in
my alphas and I change the colours a lot over the surface of the creature. I keep him Photoshop. I use a lot of reference material when I’m
dark on top and light underneath. This is called countershading in nature. I pose doing this stage. It all depends what the final image is
him in different ways using masking on the lowest level model. I use the model in going to be used for and I often use stock photography to
several projects including painting over for this workshop and also a 3D print. enhance my compositions.

75
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SOFTWARE
Painter 2022
Corel’s painting tool still targets those who
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78
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79
 Reviews

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MARVELLOUS MENAGERIE Learn how to walk on the wild side

and make your animal character art stand out from the herd
Editor Marisa Lewis Publisher 3dtotal Publishing Price £30 Web [Link] Available Now

W
hether it’s for an animation variety across this section. Better still,
project, a children’s the visuals are backed up by detailed,
picture book or a line of clear advice that takes the form of
posters for your Etsy store, explanatory paragraphs, extended
being able to design animal captions and standalone tips. In
characters with visual impact is a Gervais Merryweather’s chapter
skill worth learning. 3dtotal on gesture and pose he passes on
Publishing’s guide aims to sharpen numerous insights gleaned from his
those skills. career as a freelance animator.
The book’s first 80 pages contains Meanwhile, the jaguar rockstar that’s
chapters that cover core animal concepted, stylised and refined by
design and illustration topics. These César Vergara is only a gig away from Tata Che’s snowy owl is delivering warning letters to
include boosting character appeal, their own children’s streaming show. naughty children in the lead-up to Christmas.
drawing faces and expressions, and an
overview of anthropomorphism. Being able to design animal though: they all take their finished
Each topic is explored in-depth by a
different artist, which adds visual characters with visual impact conventional animal design and give
it the anthropomorphic treatment.
is a skill worth learning Sometimes there’s a bit of a
disconnect between the four-legged
design and the two-legged variant,
The main portion of the book sees but there’s plenty of good advice on
seven artists take on an animal- offer nonetheless.
themed project. They’re led by two- Creating Stylized Animals concludes
word prompts – ‘villainous hyena’ and with shorter animal projects, an
‘greedy pony’, for example. Each artist extensive list of idea prompts and
follows the same structure: they start biographies of the 19 contributing
with a mind-map of related words, artists. Credit to editor Marisa Lewis
The eyes have it –
before going on to tackle research, for marshalling their collective talents
Nathan Pangilinan’s thumbnails, basic shapes, details, facial for this enlightening guide.
chapter covers how to expressions, poses, and values and
stylise animals, such as
their facial features. colours. The artists doesn’t stop there, RATING ★★★★
80
 Inspiration Books
En Plein Air: Light & Color
AIR BRUSH Take your watercolour art outdoors with the help of this
book, which even advises what to pack for a plein air painting session
Authors Iain Stewart Publisher Walter Foster Publishing Price £15 Web [Link] Available Now

T
he warmer weather of the The subtitle of Iain Stewart’s book
summer months are a refers to watercolours. Iain shows how
great incentive to practise to capture a variety of outdoor
your art in the great locations in this challenging medium
outdoors. The expert advice within – ranging from New York’s Times
En Plein Air: Light & Color aims to Square to a shipyard in Gothenburg.
make your time outside your studio Yet a good portion of the book is also
more productive. devoted to sketching the scene, ready
for painting. The artist explains how to
visually simplify a location, identify
perspective, action lines and more.
Despite the book’s selling itself as Iain explains how he simplified and selected the
suitable for beginners, the tone and colour palette of this Amsterdam street scene.
language feels more suitable for
intermediate artists. The author’s experience as a
Iain’s coverage of watercolours watercolour instructor is evident.
backs up this impression. Alongside There’s plenty to discover in this book.
practical advice on the nature of It covers a lot of ground, but in a
Iain Stewart sketched
watercolours are workshops on manner that always feels encouraging
and loosely painted this painting outdoors, but there are also rather than overwhelming.
Scottish harbour scene, general artistic insights that will chime
before refining it back
in his studio. with more seasoned illustrators. RATING ★★★★

My Neighbor Hayao: Art Inspired

by the Films of Miyazaki
NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH See how Studio Ghibli’s animation work
was reimagined by a variety of artists for a popular exhibition
Author N/A Publisher Cernunnos Price £22 Web [Link] Available Now

H
ayao Miyazaki and the work grew in size, as more creatives
of Studio Ghibli is interpreted characters and key scenes. skooB smarbA/yrellaG trA ekopS © segami llA
celebrated in this Following an introduction from the
compact hardback, with curator of the exhibition and a potted
over 250 artists contributing more history of Hayao Miyazaki, the reader
than 400 eclectic works. is then free to explore 240 pages of
Some of those pieces were created incredible work filled with unique takes
for a 2017 exhibition at San Francisco’s on My Neighbor Totoro, Howl’s Moving
Spoke Art Gallery. As the exhibition Castle, Spirited Away and more. The
toured over the following two years it media is varied: from traditional
materials such as inks and
watercolours, to paper lanterns, Self-taught Los Angeles artist Nan Lawson painted
embroidery, sculpture and digital her version of Princess Mononoke for the exhibition.
prints. It’s a credit to Hayao’s strong
vision that his designs remain While it’s a pity that there’s no
recognisable in even the most extreme creative insights on offer, this book
interpretations, such as Princess remains a solid collection of art that
Ponyo takes human Mononoke’s headdress being turned Studio Ghibli fans will lap up.
form in this detail from into a gas mask by Freehand Profit
an illustration by US
artist Stacey Aoyama. (aka Gary Lockwood). RATING ★★★
81
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88 84

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94 This issue:
84 TraditionalFXPosé
Discover this month’s selection
of the finest traditional art,
which has been sent in by you!
88 Workshop:11tipson
renderingperfectportaits
Jean-Sébastien Rossbach reveals
how he works with watercolour.
94 Workshop:Develop
yourfish-eyeartskills
Learn how Paul Heaston is able
to create a wide-angle sketch.
98 FirstImpressions:
WylieBeckert
This Magic: The Gathering artist
is thankful for social media.
83
 Traditional Artist FXPosé
3

SHOWCASING THE FINEST TRADITIONAL ARTISTS

Madalina Buzenchi
LOCATION: Italy MEDIA: Watercolour, pencils, gouache WEB: [Link]
Nature is Madalina’s main source of inspiration – she
finds it best enhances the human figure: “I capture
the most delicate feelings in dreamlike portraits.”
1 2

1 NATURE JEWELS
“I used to collect stones when I was a child,
so I wanted to impress this beautiful memory
on the paper.”

2 MAGIC INTO THE WOODS

“Nature at night is a mysterious place
where magic can happen. I used the negative
painting technique to obtain a 3D effect.”

3 SENSATIONS
“A single leaf that touches us can evoke a
series of memories. I made this piece for my
watercolour illustration course.”

4 LIGHTS
“I was inspired by my favourite Disney
movie, Tangled, and especially by the lights
on the lake. In this case the protagonists are
me and my husband.”

84 Want to submit your work? Visit [Link]/getinifx

 Inspirational art
4

Want to submit your work? Visit [Link]/getinifx 85

 Traditional Artist FXPosé
Johanna Puhl
LOCATION: Germany MEDIA: Oil, inkpens and watercolour WEB: [Link]
“Beside video games, nature is a huge inspiration for my art,” says concept
artist Johanna. “I love the organic nature of watercolours, but also the
control you have over a digital drawing, so I try to combine both.”
1 1 ROBOT AND ROSES
“My botanical bot series
depicts humanoid machines,
overgrown by different kinds
of flowers and plants. They
are digital drawings, done
with watercolour brushes
and paper textures for a
natural look.”

2 MUSEUM DRAWING
“I love to get inspired by
actual history and culture, so
I go out to museums or the
zoo with artist friends from
time to time. This page was
done in an Aztec exhibition
and coloured at home later.”

3 CREATURES FROM
IMAGINATION
“This is one of my favourite
sketchbook pages, featuring
organic plants and fantastic
creatures. I want to make
more time for my analogue
sketchbook again.”

4 THROUGH THE
FOREST
“A spontaneous little
watercolour painting of two
riders and their unusual
horses. I love creating little
fantastic worlds like this,
which make the viewer want
to join on an adventure.”

86 Want to submit your work? Visit [Link]/getinifx

 Inspirational art
3

4 5

5 GRUNLINGS
“These cute fruit and veggie creatures
are probably my most-known characters
and I have a huge collection of them now.”

Want to submit your work? Visit [Link]/getinifx 87

 Traditional Artist Workshop
White of the paper

Expressive
background

Coloured pencils

Watercolour
11 TIPS ON RENDERING
PERFECT PORTAITS
JEAN-SÉBASTIEN ROSSBACH reveals his methods of working with watercolour
– the classic traditional medium that’s both simple and complicated
88
 In depth Perfect portraits
You have to stay open to how
watercolours interact with
pigments and the paper, and
readjust all the time

Salt effects

Wet on wet Pencil details

Water stains

W atercolour is my
preferred painting
medium. It’s easy
to work with, and
safe because it
requires neither solvents nor
mediums. But as with many things
in life, simple can also be hard, and
achieving the art goals you have in
mind can be challenging if you’re not Inclined
I often make the analogy between
watercolours and dance, because the
colours somehow have their own life
and flow. When working on a new
painting, you enter a game of
suggesting and reacting. And this is
what I like about the medium. You
have to stay open to how
watercolours interact with pigments
and the paper, and readjust all the
As I’ll explain in this article, the
amount of water you use, the type of
paper and the granularity of your
pigments are all important factors
when helping to take your colours
where you want them to go.
Jean-Sébastien has been
painting for over 20 years.
His art has been displayed in
galleries worldwide, and sold
aware of a few techniques and tools,
which we’ll review together here. table time. Over time I’ve found it’s
become a philosophy of letting go.
at auction. Discover more of his work at
[Link].

89
 Traditional Artist Workshop
1 What paper should I use?
The answer depends on your personality and the
result you want to achieve. There are papers with grain,
there are permissive papers, there are smooth papers,
papers with tooth, and so on. As an illustrator who likes
precision and details, I prefer cold press paper with no
grain. I rarely go under 300g/m2, and my big paintings
(which are over a meter tall) are 600g/m2.
My advice is to begin with the best paper and avoid
those designed for students: the quality is poor and you
never achieve good results with them. My preference is
Arches and Fabriano. Arches accepts no compromises.
Select it if you’re a fiery artist who likes sharp results.
Fabriano is a smoother paper, but you can still be
precise. It’s also more forgiving, which means you can
erase mistakes more easily than with the Arches papers.

2 onsider calligraphy brush

I’m the first to say that good tools make good
artists. Yet while you can buy $20 brushes made with
luxurious animal hair, I tend to find them unnecessary.
After using watercolour brushes for a decade, I’ve
started using Asian calligraphy brushes. They’re 3 rk on an inclined plane
I paint on a slightly inclined plane. When attending
affordable, durable and have a big reserve, which watercolour events I discovered that many professional artists do
means you don’t have to reload them all the time. You this, especially those who paint portraits. The reason is that it leads
can make washes and then the pigments down the paper, which reinforces the illusion that the
switch to detailing in the sun in the sky is illuminating the portrait. Letting the pigments
same movement, without settle down when applying watercolour makes it easier to paint
having to change brushes. volumes and gradients. It results in your portraits looking more
I’ve found that they’re also natural because the viewer is used to seeing a face with the source
ideal for creating dry of the light coming from above (in other words, sunlight).
effects and gradients.
However, I still use spalters Letting the pigments settle gently
when I want to cover large
surfaces quickly, because down when applying watercolour makes
I like to paint on large
format sheets. it easier to paint volumes and gradients
90
 In depth Perfectportraits

4 nin ranulation transpar

Depending on the pigment used, each colour has
different properties. For example, Turquoise blue stains
easily, which means it’s hard to lift up with water if you
make a mistake. It’s also very transparent. Burnt sienna is
easier to wash away and it’s granulated and more
opaque. Granulation is something I look for when
painting backgrounds or non-organic elements because
it adds texture and a mineral aspect. For painting the 5 en to use coloured pen
When making those finishing touches, I use coloured pencils.
skin I prefer a smoother colour that’s less prone to They are ideal for highlighting certain areas or creating precise
staining, such as Alizarin crimson. This information is edges. There are different kinds of pencils. Some are very hard and
usually provided directly on the watercolour tubes, or on precise (Prismacolor), but not really good at coverage, while others
colour charts available from the brand’s website. are thick and loose (Derwent), but more pigmented.

Wet on wet

Mixing wet
and dry
Dry edges

6 ternate dry and we

The magic of watercolour resides in one’s ability to make it
being the water itself. Don’t be afraid to make bold, confident marks
and see what happens. Then react to the actions of the water.
dance between wet and dry areas. Working wet on wet means you Working on a dry surface is for blocking shapes. I try to connect
paint on a wet surface. The colours can then mix and create abstract dry and wet areas all the time because it brings a painting to life. It’s
shapes that you can barely control. This is my favourite bit: the not important that the blue of a fabric enters and mixes with the pink
moment when you’re the co-creator of the painting, the other one of a person’s belly. The colours aren’t as important as the values.

91
 Traditional Artist Workshop
7 Create contrast in your watercolour art

A THE BACKGROUND
To fire up my motivation I begin
this portrait of a geisha with the fun
part: the background. It’s a wash of
Payne’s grey, Raw umber and touches
of Burnt sienna loosely applied wet on
wet to encourage granulation and
staining effects. This is also the stage
when I block in my composition.

B SUPPORTING COLOURS
I place the darkest colours all
around the character’s face because
I’ve decided that I’ll keep her face
completely white. Watercolour is very
often a matter of finding a way to

C
create contrast, because the medium
itself is rather pale and desaturated. By UTILISE THE WHITE OF THE PAPER FOR THE GEISHA’S FACE
putting all the darker tones around her Her face is the last thing I paint – or should I say I actually don’t paint, because I keep the white of the
white face I’ll make it stand out from paper preserved to convey the white make-up on her skin. Even the bottom of the composition is covered with
the rest of the composition. a light grey wash so that the only pure white is that of the geisha’s make-up.

92
 In depth Perfectportraits

8 e secret to painting volume

Painting accurate volumes can trip up artists, 9 xpressive
ckgroun transitions need to go. On the
other hand, what will make my
whatever their experience level. One’s attention is taken When I paint lively portraits, piece stand out is its painterly
up by the style and the splashes of overflowing colours, I don’t want to overdo the feel – its expressiveness. I’ll put
but the volumes are neglected and the finished portrait background. Details are all this in the background, like
looks flat. This is mainly due to the desaturated nature of unnecessary here and can even an abstract case that stores
this medium. If I want to convey the illusion of a realistic be counterproductive. The the beautiful figure I spent so
portrait, I need to focus on tones, not colours. Good most important element in a much time and effort on. The
tones leads to good volumes, which results in a good portrait are the eyes. This is background is the playground
portrait. Unlike oil paint, I’ll go from very light washes to where I want to concentrate the where I experiment with water
strokes that are gradually more loaded with pigment in viewer’s attention. So this is effects. I use salt to create
order to build up the volumes. It’s exactly like adding where all the details, the texture, and let the water drip
Multiply layers on top of each others in Photoshop! smooth gradients and and make stains.

The most important element in a

portrait are the eyes. This is where I want
to concentrate the viewer’s attention

10 Thereserving white areas

natural white colour of the paper is the purest
white I’ll ever get. Before applying any paint on the
surface I identify all white areas I need to preserve. I try
not to apply any water there, and use masking fluid if 11 ng salt to create textur
I recommend trying this simple and fun watercolour technique: prepare a
required. I try to avoid the use of white paint because it wash with lots of water and a fair amount of pigment, then apply it and spread
always ends up looking greyish and dirty. kitchen salt over it. Let the paper dry. The results may be a pleasant surprise!

93
 Traditional Artist Workshop

GET YOUR
RESOURCES
See page 6 now!

Pencil Pens Ink wash

DEVELOP YOUR
FISH-EYE ART SKILLS
Learn how US illustrator PAUL HEASTON is able to create a wide-angle

L
“point of view” sketch from life using pencil, pen and ink wash
ook as far as you can to MATERIALS edges of the buildings parallel to the Odds are by now you have
your right and to your left DRAWING TOOLS horizon but it just didn’t look right. encountered wide-angle art before.
without turning your head. n Tombow Mono Then I remembered how buildings Whether you’ve heard it called
Now do it again but looking 4B pencil in panoramic photos are wider at the fish-eye, bubble art, curvilinear
up and down. Everything n Staedtler 0.3 centre and they taper down to the perspective or something else, the
you can see in front of you without Pigment Liner right and left as they recede from the idea is the same: to fit a lot of space
turning your head makes up your n Molotow One4All viewer. In doing this, the top and on the page you have to bend that
“field of view.” What if you were try white acrylic paint bottom edges of the buildings curve space a bit. There are a few ways to go
to draw every single thing in that marker to meet vanishing points on the about doing that, and I’m going to
space? How do you reconcile all of n Pentel grey brush pen horizon to the right and left. I tried show you how I like to approach a
that information within the confines n Kuretake water brush this in my sketch and it worked! wide angle drawing or “point of
and diluted Noodler’s
of a rectangular picture plane? Lexington Gray ink While it felt like a breakthrough view” sketch in a few simple steps.
Years ago, when I first started n Pentel Hi-Polymer for me, it turns out, many other Paul is an urban sketcher
doing sketches from life, I was trying Eraser artists had been exploring the and illustrator who’s taught
to draw a row of buildings from PAPER concept of curving perspective for workshops internationally
across the street. I wanted to include n Stillman & Birn years, from Parmigianino in the on sketching space in wide-
everything I could see; the whole city Epsilon paper 1500s to MC Escher in the 20th angle perspective. Follow him on Twitter
block. I sketched the top and bottom century to Kim Jung Gi today. at [Link]/paulheaston.

94
 In depth Fish-eye art

2 Adopt a wide-
angle mindset
This is the most challenging
yet crucial step in tackling a
wide-angle sketch from life.
We’re used to zooming and
cropping to select small
portions of our field of view
1 Select a suitable space.
You can do a wide-angle sketch in practically any outdoor or indoor space,
to render on the page. Think
“wide” – your drawing will
but for sheer volume of detail in all directions I love a cluttered interior space. I include what’s to your right
chose to sketch my friend’s woodworking shop because there was just so much and left and what’s above
visual information in every corner of the room. and below you.

3 Draw a curved perspective grid

Start with a horizon line just over halfway up the page. Add a centre vanishing point (VP) on the horizon, one VP each on the left and
right edges of the paper, and one at the bottom directly beneath the centre VP. Draw increasingly curved arcs connecting the left and right
VPs above and below the horizon. Add straight lines radiating from the centre VP and lines gently arcing up and out from the bottom VP.

4 Foreground first
In pencil, loosely sketch your hands, sketchbook
or drawing surface, and anything else that might be in
your immediate foreground (legs, chair, work surface 5 Block in basic shapes
Using the grid as a reference for direction and your foreground as a
and so on). The scale you choose for this portion of the reference for scale, roughly pencil in the biggest portions of your field of view. I like
drawing is important because this will establish a scale to work roughly left to right and foreground to background in successive passes,
reference for the rest of the drawing. correcting as I see fit to keep everything in proportion.

95
 Traditional Artist Workshop

6 Inking isn’t just tracing

An underdrawing is a rough draft. As you add ink
you’ll encounter things you want to change as you go.
Feel free to move elements, change scale and
proportion, and fix perspective issues right then and 7 Leading edges/surfaces first
When you have a big, messy visual element like a pile of lumber receding
there, and add any information that wasn’t in the away from the viewer, it can be tricky to know where to start. Keep it simple;
underdrawing. You’re not beholden to earlier choices address all the nearest surfaces and edges first and then draw the lines receding
that you made in the pencil sketch. away toward the vanishing point once the foreground portion is done.

8 Just keep drawing and erase as you go

Of course, ink is permanent and you will make
mistakes. I make tons of ‘em. Just draw right over them.
Of course you should fix the stuff that isn’t working, but
don’t worry about the mistakes still being visible. In a
wide-angle sketch the visual impact of the whole is
greater than the sum of its parts. This sounds obvious,
but even I need to remind myself to tidy up now and then
so I have a clearer picture of what’s happening in the
drawing. Often it’s only after you erase the underdrawing
that you can see where additional ink work needs to be
done, as well as any mistakes that need addressing.

9 Value makes it pop

The heavy lifting in a sketch is done when the
values are added. I use hatching and ink wash to push
contrast and transform the linear forms into something
that feels three-dimensional. Don’t be timid here: a good,
contrasty drawing is much more appealing than a
washed-out, halfway finished one.

96
 In depth Fish-eye art

10 Ink wash in a brush

This is a trick I learned from artist Ed 11 Vertical hatching
To create a lot of my values I use a mix 12 Layer your washes
The nice thing about a waterproof ink
Mostly out of Bath, England. I use Noodler’s of hatching and ink wash. Vertical hatching is wash is, once dry, you can apply more wash
Lexington Gray fountain pen ink in a Kuretake a good way to lay down a lot of value quickly to get darker. This way you can build up to
water brush diluted with water to add grey and it’s hard to screw up. I use the word the darkest values without worrying about
values. It’s an ingenious way of making ink “vertical” loosely, as I like to keep my hatch overdoing it on the first pass. Keep several
wash portable and it’s so convenient and marks consistent with the perspective and water brushes handy with different shades
mess-free, I use it in my home studio as well. point toward the bottom vanishing point. of grey to speed up the process.

13 Dab large flat areas

To keep a large flat area from appearing either
unaddressed or overworked, attack the space with light
dabs, flecks and speckles of wash. You can layer these 14 White pen for highlights
It’s a small thing but when done correctly, adding a few white highlights can
marks to make areas darker gradually without the make a black and white sketch sing. Look for where the whitest whites should be
frustrating streaks and tide marks that come with trying in your drawing (lights, reflective surfaces and so on). Just a couple of subtle white
to achieve a smooth gradient in wash. highlights on the rim of this metal canister really make it pop and feel metallic.

97
 Traditional Artist Interview

First Impressions Wylie Beckert world and start building a following

This Magic: The – even if you’re beneath the notice
Gathering artist of art directors for now.
thanks social media What art has most affected you?
Seeing Jacek Yerka’s work made a
huge impression on me early on.
How did your post- Before that, I had thought of fantasy
college years affect art as a genre that existed solely in
your art? an alternate-universe medieval
I lived in a miserable, England: knights in armour,
unheated house in dragons, fairies, castles. Yerka’s
rural Maine and worked a part-time paintings are much more personal:
job that paid $260 a week. The they feel real, habitable and familiar
upside of this was that the low cost despite their strangeness. Yerka is
of living meant that transitioning to still my favourite artist to this day.
the unprofitable life of a newly
minted illustrator wasn’t too much Has the art industry changed?
of an adjustment for me, and with When I was getting started as an
no distractions and (nearly) nothing illustrator [2014] many of the big
to lose, I was able to devote myself fantasy art brands were very rigid in
to studying art fundamentals and the type of artwork they would hire
building my illustration skills in a – it seemed to be the peak of the
way that someone with a cushy shiny, photorealistic digital
studio job in an expensive city painting; with my line-based,
would never have been able to. That traditional-media style, I was more
period of my life was both a or less unhirable. In recent years I’ve
hardship and a luxury. noticed this status quo starting to
shift. Magic: The Gathering in
Is the online social side to modern particular is starting to move
art a burden or an aid? WICKED KINGDOM : myself rather than sitting on my towards a less homogenous look
A burden, but an indispensable one. THE KING OF CLUBS hands waiting for the emails from that’s allowing a lot more unique
Long before I was getting hired “A traditionally painted playing
card deck with a narrative twist art directors that never came. voices into the industry. Given the
professionally, social media allowed and a dark fantasy aesthetic.” I was first hired by Magic: The positive response from players and
me to build a sustainable career for Gathering – now my main client collectors, hopefully more
– in late 2019. A full three-and-a- companies will follow suit.
half years after I Kickstarted my
CLL tsaoC eht fo sdraziW ©

first self-directed project, Wicked What’s next for you?

Kingdom. If it hadn’t been for social I’ve been more or less tied up with
media channelling support to my one project over the past three years
crowdfunding campaigns on (my playing card deck Reign of Sin).
Kickstarter and Patreon, I would Doing a large-scale project like RoS
have had to quit art in favour of a has meant being locked into one
‘real’ job years ago. Even if your very narrow style and painting
work isn’t perfectly polished, process; now that it’s almost
perfectly professional, social media finished, I’m looking forward to
lets you put your work out in the starting something a lot less
structured! Creating an illustrated
If it hadn’t been fairy tale collection has been on my
list ever since I saw Shaun Tan’s
for social media amazing book The Singing Bones
– it’s certainly on the horizon!
FAE OF WISHES […] I would have Celebrated Magic: The Gathering artist
Card art created for Magic: The Gathering’s Throne of Eldraine
expansion using ink and pencil on paper. had to quit art Wylie shares her artworks and process
at [Link].

98