Interview with Dave Seeley

Dave Seeley claims to be a victim of modern mass media and the one-second-MTV-vid-shot, hence the moniker “Image Junkie”.  He is far more influenced by contemporary sci-fi film noir than by the legacy of science fiction illustration.

Dave came from an education in architecture and fine art.  After 10 years as an award-winning architect, he was seduced by the glamour of illustration and derailed his career for the far more immediate gratification of image making. The inner-architect is flourishing in his work, where a sense of materials fetishism and a love of spatial atmospherics are omnipresent.

Dave’s recent monograph, The Art of Dave Seeley, published by Insight Editions, has received top-ranked reviews from ImagineFX magazine and io9.com.  In addition, Dave is one of 10 artists profiled in Dick Jude’s Fantasy Art Masters by Harper Collins and profiled in Karen Haber’s Masters of Science Fiction and Fantasy Art.  He is a contributor to Jane Frank’s Pixel or Paint by NonStop Press. Dave is interviewed in issue 39 of ImagineFX Magazine and is featured in the August ’06 Art Scene International.  He is also featured in the documentary film by Michael MacDonald at Roadhouse films called  Visions From the Edge: The Art of Science Fiction, and is included in the Bill Neimeyer film Art of the Fantastic.

Clients Include: Hasbro, Disney, Lucasfilm, Vivendi Universal, Microsoft Games Studios, FromSoft Games, Sideshow Collectibles, Sony, Baen Books, Tor Books, Randomhouse / Del Rey / Ballantine Books / Penguin, Harlequin Gold Eagle, Ace, St Martins, Kensington Books, PYR press, Simon and Schuster, Harper Collins, Scholastic, Harcourt School Publishers, Night Shade Books, Solaris Books, Midway Games, Fox Interactive, The Village Voice, Heavy Metal Magazine, Popular Science Magazine, Boy’s Life Magazine, Humanoids Publishing, White Wolf Publishing, FASA, Wizards of the Coast, TSR, Wild Planet Toys, DC Comics, and a host of advertising firms.

You can see, commission, learn about and buy work in multiple media at DaveSeeley.com.

1.     Tell us about your work.

I’m far more influenced by contemporary sci-fi film noir than by the legacy of science fiction illustration. I strive for edgy, sexy, dark, high impact, gritty, witty, substantial.  At any given moment, I’ll have several obsessions bubbling in my psyche, and they all will play a role in current work.

I utilize all available tools in 2D and 3D, using photographic, digital and traditional media, and I try to add to my toolbox as often as I can.

    

2.     Tell us about your artistic training, learning process, and particularly how your work evolved as a result of it.

While I’ve been making art for as long as I can remember, I went to school as an architecture major and minored in fine art. Then I practised as an architect for a dozen years while collecting comics and fantasy art before I decided to make the lateral move to being a pro illustrator. I certainly approach image making with an eye toward complex problem solving, which is the core of architectural design. I also still have a strong sense of materials fetishism and a love of spatial atmospherics. Not sure if that was in place prior to architecture training, but it persists in my work as an illustrator.

3.     How did your interest in science fiction and fantasy develop?

I’ve always been fascinated by visions of the future or alternate visions of our past.  Early television shows certainly played a part and pulp novels as a teen.  Heavy Metal magazine was a great source of sci-fi, fantasy, and libido tickling rolled into one visual package.  It introduced me to adult-centric euro-comics.

          

4.    What is the glamour of image making?

There is glamour in the conquest of a satisfying final image, and the reaction of my audience as the rabbit is pulled from the hat.  That sets one apart and provides for a low level simmering celebrity, in our tiny circle.

5.     What are your ambitions as an artist?

My ambitions have always been “to feed the art spirit, and still get paid.”  Easy to do one OR the other, or both part-time; but tough to do both simultaneously full time.  Of course, the art spirit is a moving target, so I make an effort to take time to reflect and plot my course.

6.     Tell us about your fine art tools and techniques and how you incorporate them into your art and illustrations.

Oil painting is my primary fine art tool.  Digital tools have replaced almost all else because of superiority in explorations and modifications.  I used to draw incessantly, and now, almost never.  It’s the final look/feel and painterliness of oils that I love, so often when I use it, I have already developed the image digitally to a very high degree of finish, then make an archival print, and cover it in oil paint as a final massaging of beautiful abstract mark making. 

7.     What do you find most rewarding in the creative process, and how do you overcome that which you find challenging?

The most rewarding part is emerging from the inherent struggle of the creative process with something that is surprising and or satisfying.  All of it is challenging, and I find that sustained attention and iteration is how you overcome challenges.  Sometimes mixing several projects into a timeline helps by getting me disengaged and allowing a fresh look when I return.

8.     Tell us about your book, The Art of Dave Seeley.

The book was a very long time in the making… but awesome to have it published and out there.  It started as a conversation with Insight Editions, my publisher, about a dozen years ago, when they were doing a lot of high-end Star Wars related books.  The initial flirtation waned and went dormant because I think there was a lacklustre response from potential buyers.  In 2013, I reached out again, thinking it really was time to make the book, and they ultimately agreed.  An “art of” book is on every artist’s bucket list, so it’s very satisfying to have that one checked off.  The only substantive downside is that every time I finish a new image that I really love, I’m sad that it’s NOT in the book.

9.     Tell us about the role of photography in your work.

Photography has been in my life since my dad gave me a Canonette 28 rangefinder camera as a teen.  It was a necessary base skill in college while studying architecture, and even more so when I swapped into illustration.  I had a subsistence level skill up until about six years ago when I decided I really needed to up my game.  I expanded my equipment and began to learn a lot about studio lighting.  I rigged up a drop screen and began using model/photographer sites to track models.  I’d hire a model for a particular job, and then shoot for everything else I could think of.  It was incredibly helpful in image building for illustration to develop my own series of shoots of high resolution “stock.”  Typically publishers will only pay for a single shoot, so this allows me to do multiple characters from my backlog of pics.

10.  How essential are Photoshop, Corel Painter, and other types of software to you as a professional artist?

When I lecture on my process, I talk about my “toolbox.”  Within the toolbox, Photoshop is the glue.  It allows me to take all the disparate parts and pieces created with all the tools, and put them together seamlessly.  In contrast, Painter is a very specific tool for me.  It’s about digitally giving the image a painterly quality…so more like a very complex and multifaceted “filter” within Photoshop.  The way I use Painter, it’s only about the final finish.  There are times when I don’t have time to mount a canvas and use oil paint, and there are images where the client wants a purely digital workflow.  I use 3d software more and more.  It’s awesome for finding unexpected perspectives or lighting a complex architectural background.

11.  What advice can you give regarding copyright protection?

I can only speak to copyright protection under the US laws.  As soon as you create an image that is not derivative of another work, it is considered copyrighted.  If you chase another person’s infringement of your work, it becomes an issue of proving you created yours first, so documentation is an issue.  Registering your work with the US Copyright Office is the best way, but because of time and modest expense, most artists don’t bother.  That said, I don’t worry much about it.  I’d much rather be creating new work, than fretting over people stealing my images.  With time and expense, you can get a court injunction for infringers to stop, but you can’t get a monetary judgement from them unless you can show that their infringement has lost you revenue.  That’s an unlikely scenario for an illustrator.  If the infringer is looking at financial loss because they have to pull product from the market because of an injunction, then they will typically pay you a settlement in order to license the image. 

Flip that around, and my advice to artists who infringe on other artists’ work, is don’t do it.  It’s not legal, despite what you think you know.  There is no such thing as “changed it enough.”  “Fair use” does not apply to commercial work.  Anything derived from another’s work, in any degree, without a license, is illegal.  The rub is that it costs money and time to chase infringers, so they think they will not get caught, or they even evolve into believing that it must be ok because they aren’t seeing other infringers penalized.  Legality aside, artists who infringe develop a reputation as thieves, and at some point, clients avoid them.

12.  In the digital age, a lifetime of work can be lost in an instant. How do you store, archive, and backup your precious work?

I keep two complete sets of backups on hard drives…. and one is off-site.  I rotate the on and off-site copies as often as I can.  This is so much less expensive now that huge hard drives are comparatively cheap.  I depend on hard drives failing, but not at the same time.  Still risky, but so far so good.  Yet another set of drives in another location would be a worthwhile expense (maybe one for images only).  For backup files on hard drives, I use Carbon Copy Cloner to keep them identical.  That does NOT protect me from overwriting as yet un-cloned files (usually current working files) inadvertently.  For that, I use Apple’s Time Machine functionality with a dedicated 8tb drive inside my desktop computer… hourly.  That way, I can protect anything over one hour’s work.  The only time it has failed me is when I inadvertently overwrite a file without realizing it for a long period of time.  That happens.

13.  Tell us a little about any good art you’ve seen recently or good books you’ve read.

I’m constantly discovering new art I like/love.  Facebook and Instagram are great for that.  Recent discoveries are http://nicolasuribeart.com/ and  https://willeysart.com/ , both via Instagram.  Currently enjoying audiobook Sapiens, by Yuval Noah Harari.  Fun to get a long-term perspective, and to ponder that we were happier as hunter-gatherers.

14.  What are your other interests?

When I was an architect I had hobbies in personal computing, collecting comics and art, painting, drawing, travelling and woodworking.  Most of those have been subsumed in my career as an illustrator, and I am ALWAYS working.  Even when I’m on vacation, I shoot pictures that I might use in my illustrations. 

15.  Where can we find you and your work?

The Art of Dave Seeley is a great collection up through February 2015.  The only piece I had, but could not show because of NDA, was Ronin.

Signed Slipcased edition available through me exclusively on eBay.

Or Trade Edition via Amazon.

Online:

www.daveseeley.com

www.shannonassociates.com

www.photographercentral.com

www.ixgallery.com

Interview with Mike Thompson

Best known for his portraits of entertainers and celebrities, Mike Thompson has built a name for himself in the world of art.  His paintings have been featured on television, and in print and web campaigns. Mike began his career working as both Designer and Art Director in the fashion industry.  After creating top selling designs for companies such as Timberland, Ecko and Nike, the artist left the corporate world to become a full-time illustrator.

Over the past decade, his artwork has been featured in magazines, video game covers, movie posters and toy packaging.  Some of his clients include: Marvel, Hasbro, Warner Bros, Dimension Films, and Cartoon Network.

One of Corel’s featured 'Painter Masters,' Mike has hosted several webinars for the company. His art and techniques have appeared in many international publications, as well as the books: Digital Collage and Painting, by Susan Ruddick Bloom, and Secrets of Corel Painter Experts, by Darryl Wise and Linda Hellfritsch.

1. Tell us about your work.

I am a professional illustrator. Over the past 15 years I’ve worked on pieces for the music, fashion, video game, television and movie industries.

2. What aspects of your childhood inspired your artistic creativity?

I grew up reading comics and watching cartoons, which proved to be a constant source of inspiration. I was always a big fan of music, especially hip-hop, so I started my career painting rappers for magazines. I am also a very big sci-fi and videogame nerd, so later I transitioned into package design for action figures, and console games.

3. Tell us about your artistic training, learning process, and particularly how your work evolved as a result of it.

Drawing and painting has pretty much been a constant for me since I was a child. I can’t really remember not doing it. So, naturally, I majored in graphic design in college. I am a fan of great art, so I look at other artists’ work to improve my own. I still use books, and tutorial videos, to learn new techniques. I am a big believer that you are never done learning. That and a desire to always improve is what motivate me.

4. Tell us about your various creative roles and any important lessons you learned.

Over the years I have been a staff artist, art director, creative director and consultant. I’ve enjoyed and learned a lot from each position. Most importantly, the more people you need to direct, the less time you have to create. I like to create.

5. What advice would you give to someone considering making a transition from traditional drawing and painting to digital?

Too many artists jump right into digital work with no foundation in traditional techniques. I think it is important to start with the basics before moving to digital work. Where should they start - what equipment and software do they need? Very simple; paper and pencil. Master that and your paintings will look infinitely better. As far as equipment for digital work, any PC with decent specs and enough memory will work. I would definitely suggest buying a drawing tablet, trying to paint with a mouse is not really an option.

6. Corel Painter is an integral tool in your most recent work. What is Corel Painter and how does it help you to create your stunning images?

Painter is a natural media painting application. It mimics traditional drawing and painting very convincingly. One thing I am not a fan of in digital painting is the traditional “digitally painted” look. I think leaving in brush strokes makes your work less sterile and far more interesting. I also use Photoshop, usually for its transformation tools and color correction.

7. Traditional artistic training or computer aptitude? What advice would you give to anyone considering a career in commercial illustration?

I believe you have to have some form of traditional training in order to succeed - even if you are learning from videos, books or online, that training is very important. Computer aptitude helps, but I know digital artists who know very little and are successful.

8. Your image of the Joker, as portrayed by Heath Ledger, is truly iconic. Tell us about it.

Thank you. I painted that piece for Warner Bros. around the time that the Dark Knight was released. It was used for promotion of the movie and is still one of my favourite pieces. That is one of those pieces of art I mentioned earlier where leaving in all the strokes added to the impact of the painting. Unfortunately, it is also one of my most bootlegged paintings, but I guess that just means people like it.

9. What do you find most rewarding in the creative process, and how do you overcome that which you find challenging?

The most rewarding part of the process to me is, stepping away from a finished painting and knowing I have accomplished what I set out to do. I’d like to say it happens more often than it does, but when you nail it on the first pass, I have to admit, it feels good. The challenging thing is going back to something that could be done better and reworking it. Over the years, it’s become less of a chore, or even an option. It doesn’t matter how much good work I’ve put out, the paintings people don’t forget are the ones that aren’t.

10. Tell us about your contributions to the Verizon Interactive Fan Wall at the Meadowlands Stadium in New Jersey.

That was a really fun project. The concept was pitched to me as kind of Tom Cruise in Minority Report. The ad agency had me paint full sized versions of the Verizon actors for a 10’ x 30’ wall. They then mounted three HD touch screen monitors vertically on rails in front of my painting. As you slide the monitor over my painting, it appears on the monitor then transitions from a black and white static image into a live action feed talking about the service. Very cool! As a tech nut, I was all over this project.

11. You have worked on animated television series such as Green Lantern and Beware the Batman. You have also created posters and iconic images for the film industry. What aspirations, or reservations, do you have regarding the continuing application of your work to film and television?

My aspirations are to continue doing it as long as possible, hah. I am a tremendous comic fan, so working with DC and now Marvel has always been a dream of mine. I don’t really have any reservations, what is not to like about superheroes and movies? Working on the Guardians before the movie came out was fantastic, so I couldn’t be happier.

12. Tell us about your work exhibited at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles.

I painted an illustration I called the 4 Elements. The concept was four legendary figures of hip-hop: a graffiti artist (Lady Pink), a break dancer (Crazy Legs), a turntablist (Grandmaster Flash) and a rapper (Jay Z). I chose to unify them with the colour orange. Since my origins were with hip-hop, this piece meant a lot to me.

13. What other interests do you have?

I’ve always been a big gamer, so in what little free time I have I’ll jump on one of my consoles or watch a movie.

14. Tell us a little about any good art you’ve seen recently or good books you’ve read.

I see fantastic art every day. Pinterest has proven to be both the best and worst thing ever. I spend way too much time there… “Do you like this awesome painting? Well here are a thousand more you might like!” I have to set limits or I will blow my entire day. The last book I read isn’t new, but it was awesome, Ready Player One. And, I just heard Spielberg will be directing the movie!

15. Where can we find you and your work?

Everywhere; but my site is a good start: www.miketartworks.com I have links to everything else from there.

Interview with Martin McKenna

Martin McKenna is a freelance illustrator based in the UK. He was born in London, and started out in illustration with work for fantasy & horror RPG fanzines in the 80s, in particular the H.P. Lovecraft-devoted Dagon. His first professional commissions came from Games Workshop for their magazine White Dwarf and this began a long relationship with the company, illustrating lots of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay publications and the very first Warhammer 40,000 book, as well as many other GW books and board games. Martin has also created game-related material for other publishers, including covers and internal illustrations for twenty-five of the Fighting Fantasy series from Puffin Books/Wizard Books, and card art for Magic: The Gathering from Wizards of the Coast.

Martin also produced artwork for various publishers around the world including Scholastic, Time-Warner, HarperCollins and Oxford University Press, illustrating popular authors such as Anne McCaffrey, Raymond E. Feist and Harry Turtledove, as well as some classics including Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde and The Silver Sword. He was fortunate enough to receive the British Fantasy Award for Best Artist.

Martin illustrated the book accompanying the album release of Misterstourworm & the Kelpie's Gift, an orchestral work based on stories and characters from Scottish legend. His artwork was used as large-scale backdrops for live performances of the work by The Orchestra of Scottish Opera, with narration by Lord of the Rings actor Billy Boyd.

As an author, Martin has written books about digital art including Digital Fantasy Painting Workshop and Digital Horror Art, and edited Fantasy Art Now published by Collins. In addition to work in publishing, Martin does concept and production art for computer games, and film and television productions which have included the BAFTA-nominated The Magician of Samarkand for the BBC, and most recently Gulliver's Travels for 20th Century Fox.

Talisman Of Death

1. Tell us about your artwork.

I’d hope it can speak for itself for the most part. I’m not sure there’s a lot I can add, especially if a picture’s worth a thousand words and all that. I like drawing dark, shadowy, gnarled things. They’re a lot easier and more fun than doing light, bright and pretty things. Particularly when, if something goes wrong, you can just make it a silhouette, stick it behind a bit of knobbly tree, or hide it in some mist. But no, generally I’m drawn to monsters, melodrama, and a crepuscular gothic sort of mood. Plus over the years I hope I’ve got better at some kind of useful storytelling through pictures, and in my most recent projects I’m working really hard on that. For probably too long now I’ve been working on my first big solo picture book project, which has a deceptively simple story I’ve struggled to perfect. It’s my first serious stab at writing, at the suggestion of one of my kindly editors. It’s a nightmarish adventure for children exploring themes of darkness and light. I’ve strived to create the look and feel of the ‘golden age’ of book illustration and the work of Rackham and Dulac, but with some modern touches. With any luck I may not have fallen too far short.

Carol Wailers

Removal Giant

2. What aspects of your childhood inspired your artistic creativity?

The things that I found most frightening! My earliest drawings, mostly scrawled on my bedroom wallpaper as if I were a troglodyte, all came as a direct result of whatever good, strange things disturbed me in books and comics, and especially on television. The first murky TV memories I have are of Doctor Who, and I was fortunate to be at an ideal impressionable age that coincided with those great gothic horror episodes of the mid 70s. Combined with a very early introduction to Hammer and Universal horror movies - again, I’m grateful to have grown up with all the late night horror double bills that used to be shown by the BBC. This proved to be formative, vital stuff and provided a foundation for exploring all sorts of spooky fare that I still love and find inspiring. I’m at my happiest when I have goosebumps.

3. Tell us about your learning process, and particularly how your work evolved as a result of it.

Big Ben

Whatever I’ve learned has been self-taught; nothing I’ve done has come as a result of any formal training. Perhaps it shows! For many years all my stuff was done with purely traditional materials, using inks and other often unpredictable unguents on paper that didn’t allow for much in the way of mistakes, so I had to gain confidence in my technical abilities early on if I was ever going to complete jobs and meet deadlines. Since 1997 most of my stuff has been digital, which is much more forgiving and I guess it helped me loosen up a bit in my work. But it was a case of almost relearning things or at least how to approach things slightly differently and how to embrace the perceived freedom of all this new-fangled electrickery. My digital work went through a few dodgy phases while I was finding my feet again and searching for some sort of identity within it all, and now I feel happier with how I’m using Photoshop etc for drawing and painting. I seem to be enjoying doing things that are simpler again, using the new technology so I don’t have to worry about the paper buckling.

4. Are there any underlying themes or messages in your work?

Virtually everything I do is commissioned work, so whatever themes or messages it contains are mostly those that are necessary for the artwork to be doing its job in conveying a mood or helping to tell a story, for the client.

5. Of the artwork you’ve created, do you have a favourite? If so, why this particular work?

There’s not really one particular picture I like, it tends to boil down to things that stand the test of time and that I can bear to still look at. Any time I look through old work I find different things that I like and dislike each time. It’s a nice surprise when I look at something I’d almost forgotten doing because it had to be done in a hurry, which is usually the case, and discovering that it really wasn’t too bad. Some pictures remain stinkers and are best buried at the bottom of the drawer.

The Shadowing

Howl of the Werewolf

6. Tell us about your British Fantasy Award for Best Artist.

It was quite a long time ago now. But still I caress it and polish it and adore it for most of every day. I carry it with me everywhere and show it to people at bus stops. Actually, there’s not a great deal to tell. It was nice to get one, whatever it was I did that year, or cumulatively up to that point, to get me nominated and all. The best thing is having an example of the statuette itself, which was made from a carving by my great old friend Dave Carson. Although I did already have one he made for me out of concrete in case I never received a real one, and I still use that as a doorstop.

Spellbreaker

7. How is creating science fiction or fantasy art different from creating other genres?

I’m not sure there’s a whole lot of difference. As a commission, any job requires an individual approach to fulfil the brief, whether it’s something fantastical or otherwise one works within whatever stylistic parameters are put in place. The same basic rules of lighting and composition and whatnot remain the same. The main difference is in the challenge of making a fantastical, unreal subject appear believable to some extent.

8. What do you find most rewarding in the creative process, and how do you overcome that which you find challenging?

I’m very happy if I get something finished. And if I don’t hate it, then I’m ecstatic. I’m exaggerating somewhat but it’s not so far from the truth. I love it when there’s an image, a piece of work that I’m happy with, that I can sit back and look at in the evening but which didn’t exist in the world that morning. There’s so much about the process of making this stuff that I find challenging. I’ll usually get underway with some procrastination. And after some frisbee with the dog and a bit of gardening, and the washing-up, I’ll procrastinate a bit more. Eventually I’ll confront my demons and probably, not having overcome that which I find most challenging at all but merely sidling around the back of it to give it a kick before running away, I’ll have produced another piece of work which I’ll forever thereafter think could’ve been better. But the next one’s bound to be great.

9. What advice would you give to anyone considering a career in art?

Bloodbones

Sorry, art’s full. Anyway plumbing pays better. Oh okay, to attempt a more serious answer, I guess the key thing is to keep working and enjoy it. If you love what you’re doing, stick at it and really put everything into pursuing it chances are stuff will happen for you. There's no tried and tested method of getting into illustration work, everyone I know who does it professionally got to where they are by different routes. Overall it's simply a case of remaining persistent. The important thing is to get your work seen by art directors etc -- submit samples of your work to companies and publishers who put out the kind of stuff you like, and maybe approach art agencies.  Some diligent research online can give you the name of an art director within an organization and how to contact them. And then if you fire off enough bullets, depending on the suitability of your work (and any number of other random factors), one is sure to eventually hit something and you're off to a start -- anything to gain experience.  I remember when I was about sixteen I entered a Games Workshop drawing competition, but rather than being entered into the competition I received a letter from John Blanche (their then art director) inviting me to work for them, which was incredibly exciting for me at the time. So, nothing ventured, nothing gained.  My career started before the internet made it so much easier to contact people -- now it's possible to really put yourself out there in the world through Facebook and the like. Get a site set up, or simply start a page on an art site such as CGSociety. Love what you do, keep at it and don't give up.

10. What have you done to promote and market your artwork and what advice would you give to other artists?

I suspect I’ve probably not been doing enough to promote myself recently. What I could really do with is to be asked to give an interview for a blog -- then I’ll hit the big-time. I’ve been a bit quiet of late, working away on my projects. But I dare say I need to remind folk I’m not deceased, so I must do things like update the blog on my own site soon... too easily neglected, as I’ve discovered. As for advice to artists, I’ve probably already covered that in the previous answer.

11. Who, do you imagine, would be your ideal client?

That has got to be Windsor Davies. Just the thought of him fixing me with his steely squint while gurning that moustachioed pout, before complimenting me on the good job what I done by saying, “My lovely boy!” in his sonorous Welsh baritone is what forever drives me on. A slightly more serious answer might be, I dunno, designing some telly Doctor Who monster stuff perhaps. If you’re reading this, Moffat, give us a bell.

Centaur Uniforms

12. What aspirations, or reservations, do you have regarding the continuing application of your work to film and television?

My little forays into film and TV have been fun, but quite intense and stressful at times. Although that might have been due to negotiating the M25 at 6am to get to film studios - I’m not much of a commuter. I’ve loved seeing my artwork come alive on screen as costumes worn by actors, or as animation or whatever. I’d really like to do more work in film if I get the chance to muck in on anything good, as long as I don’t abandon the sorts of personal book projects, which have been taking up all my time recently. If I have any reservations, it might be that movie productions can be just so sprawling and complex with so many people involved - I went from the last such experience I had at Pinewood to working alone on my simple little picture books, which has been a nice, calm time in comparison. Having opportunities to hop between the two spheres every now and again provides a refreshing contrast, if I’m lucky enough to continue to be asked.

13. Tell us a little about any good art you’ve seen recently.

I’m seeing good things all the time. But recently I’ve been stuck very much in the past, on that Rackham and Dulac trip, with a liberal dose of Sidney Sime. The latter can really stir my imagination and lure it away into murky, spectral reaches. Just the thing on a slow day.

Jack

14. What other interests do you have?

Aside from reading a lot and endlessly watching films, other interests are mainly outdoor activities, in necessary contrast to sitting indoors and the very sedentary business of doing illustrations. Training my brilliant border collie for sheepdog trials - by far my best achievement of late! Climbing Scottish mountains in sideways rain, and recently learning to fly aeroplanes, which provides plenty of thrills and mental exhaustion.

15. Where can we find you and your art?

My work and I turn up in all sorts of odd places. But check out www.martinmckenna.net and that poor neglected blog it features that one day I might actually update.

Interview with Scott Grimando

Indigenous to planet Earth, Scott Grimando currently resides in the outer spiral arm of the Milky Way Galaxy. He hopes to relocate soon. In the meantime, he paints pretty pictures of zombies and fairies, takes nice photos and tries to write.

1. Tell us about your artwork.

It’s the most amazing, fantastical art in the known universe. Or so my mother tells me.

2. Why did you choose this type of creative work, and what do you hope to achieve with it?

I assume you mean Science Fiction and Fantasy art? I was raised on it. This kind of art speaks to me. It speaks of the promise of a better tomorrow and a magical past. I hope to touch people with my work - to get them to think and dream.

3. What’s your strongest memory of your childhood, and how has it helped to define your art?

My earliest memory is a recurring dream that I had when I was still in the crib. I could see into my parents room and they were being eaten by monsters that later took on their identity. At least I think that was a dream. I can’t see any relationship between that and my art. My goal as an artist was defined by an early Boris Vallejo calendar my father bought for me. It gave my overactive imagination a sense of direction. I wanted to be as good as Boris!

4. Are there any underlying themes or messages in your work?

Yes. Monsters ate my parents.

5. Tell us about your learning process, and particularly how your work evolved as a result of it.

I was raised by a commercial artist, so I always had the tools and encouragement. As a teenager, I studied under Harold Stevenson, one of the few students of Norman Rockwell. In my early twenties, computers entered the art scene and I applied my classical training to the new tools.

6. Of the artwork you’ve created, do you have any favourite? If so, why this particular work?

My favourite personal work is the fjords found on the coast of Norway on planet Earth… Now I’ve said too much.

7. How is creating science fiction and fantasy art different from creating other genres?

A Fantasy artist has to be able to create things that don’t exist and make them believable. The viewer must suspend disbelief when looking at fantasy art. That doesn’t work if the Dragon’s not convincing.

8. What do you find most rewarding in the creative process?

Creating. Bringing an idea to life. Seeing a person respond to my creation.

9. What do you find most challenging, and how do you overcome it?

Illustration as an occupation is the job of visual problem solving. You are given a set of criteria along with an outline or manuscript and you must come up with a visually compelling image that hopefully conveys a narrative in your own unique way. That’s the constant challenge and often rewarding aspect of the craft.

10. What have you done to promote and market your artwork, and what advice would you give to other artists?

Traditionally artists used expensive illustration directories and direct mail campaigns. The modern art department revolves around the computer and instant access to the Internet by art directors. A strong web presence is the best approach to promotion now. The web is not the only piece of the puzzle though. An artist must research and reach out to as many relevant art directors as possible. Direct mail is still a good way to keep your most recent work on an A.D.’s wall. However, once a contact has been made, keep them updated through non-harassing emails. Update your website regularly and get involved in as many promotional websites as possible.

 

11. What memorable responses have you had, regarding your work?

A fan once told me that my work had gotten her through cancer. That’s pretty cool. Other than that, I have at least one fan at each fairy show approach me with a whisper of, “Do You Believe?”

12. Evolution seems an inherent facet of fantasy art. What new developments are you aware of, with regards to the application of technology, in this genre?

Digital Art is just about the only kind of art being used in publishing today (excluding children’s books). A few painters still make an important impact on the industry, but they are finding it hard to deal with increasingly tight deadlines and editorial changes. More importantly, a photo-illustration style is what’s being sought by publishers and consumers. Here’s the interesting thing: I get hired because I have both sets of skills. I’m a classically trained painter with digital photography expertise. We’re still talking about fantasy art here. Things need to be convincingly made up. The last thing an art director wants to hear is that the “illustrator” can’t convey the message because they can’t photograph the subject.

13. What aspirations, or reservations, do you have with regards to your art being used in film and television?

I think a lot of illustrators want to get involved in concept development for TV and film. It seems so glamorous and prestigious. There are downsides but I still want to get deeper into the field. I did character development for video game companies and Hallmark Entertainment and I really enjoyed it. A concept art agent is currently looking for a project for me, so we’ll see how it pans out. No pun intended.

14. What do you do when you’re not being artistic?

I kayak, fish, hike, exercise, write, perform poetry and wrestle pandas.

15. Describe your art in one sentence.

 What? How’s that?

16. Where can we find you and your art?

Hopefully you can find my cover work in bookstores. Assuming you can find a bookstore. My first art book from SQP publishers can be found on Amazon or any other online source. Look for, The Art of the Mythical Woman, Lucid Dreams. I think fantasy fans and art students will find it enlightening. The first half deals with components of an assignment and the second half deals with painting theory and the concepts behind my personal work.

Links:

  

www.grimstudios.com
www.theArtoftheMyth.com

Interview with Dawid Michalczyk

Dawid Michalczyk was born in Poland in the early 1970s and has been working as an artist since 1996. He mainly works in the computer games industry but also does illustration for book and CD covers. The popular PC games he worked on include "The Longest Journey" (Funcom), "Unreal 2" (Legend Entertainment) and "Dungeons & Dragons Online: StormReach" (Turbine Entertainment). Lately, he has also been involved in casual online games, like the world's most played online pool game "Quick Fire Pool" (Miniclip). He now lives in Denmark creating freelance and personal artwork.

1. What aspects of your childhood inspired your artistic creativity?

My dad was an artist and art collector, so I grew up surrounded by paintings and antiques. We had a large library and a lot of books about art and architecture. Back then, I was not interested in art at all, it was just part of my life. Nevertheless, I always liked looking at pictures, whether drawings, paintings or photographs. I used to go through encyclopaedias just to look at the pictures, hardly ever reading anything.

  

2. You have lived and worked in several countries, including Norway, USA and Denmark. What have you gained from various cultural experiences, and attitudes to work and art?

Living and working in different countries broadens the perspective on life - perhaps too much. It is both interesting and very educational to experience different cultures because it is so revealing about human nature, and challenges your own beliefs. Overall I have gained many insights about the various aspects of the cultures I lived in. There are good and bad things about every country, and in the end a lot of the likes/dislikes are based on personal preference. As far as attitudes toward work and art, it seems that talented or successful individuals are rewarded and treated much better in the USA. Americans are also much more work oriented. They work more; and they seem more attached to, and responsible for, their work.

3. Tell us about your learning process, and particularly how your work evolved as a result of it. 

I'm self-taught and I primarily learn through studying other artists’ work. I say studying, but in reality it's a very enjoyable process. I just sit and look at the pictures in a book or computer screen. My artwork has changed somewhat over the years. In the past, I often did images that had a lot of detail in them. I'm not all that interested in detail anymore; I like simpler images now. Simpler images are easier to process visually and often don't require as much creative energy to produce; yet they can be just as effective or more so. I also noticed that I tend to use a more colourful palette now, I'm not sure exactly why. I think the changes in my work are the result of me changing as I go through life. The accumulated experiences, increased awareness and understanding of the environment, influence my creative output.

4. What attracted you to the world of computer games?

During the late 1980s and early 1990s I played a lot of computer games - especially on Commodore 64 and Amiga 500. I was fascinated by the pretty graphics of Amiga 500 and collected a lot of games and demos. So it was mainly the wonderful visuals, music and good game play that got me interested in computer games. Later when I started working in the computer games industry it felt quite natural to be part of it. In fact, I don't think I would be doing what I do today if it wasn't for all those Amiga games and demos.

5. Is there an underlying theme or message in your work?

Sometimes there is a message in some of my artwork. For example, in "Endless opposites" I illustrate the perplexity of duality - that there is always a choice to be made. Every choice made is a step in one of two directions; and every step taken leads to a new choice to be made.

6. Of the artwork you’ve created, do you have a favourite? If so, why this particular work?

I don't have one favourite piece, but there are many, which I like better than most. One surreal piece that I particularly like is "Edge of perception". The composition, colours, and metaphysical content works really well together. The blue sky, which gradually transitions into green and then meets the horizon as a bright red fog on the right and a soft white transition on the left. And then there is the abstract structure in front of a standing man looking ahead at the uncharted frontier. The closer one gets to the edge of perception, the more abstract and incomprehensible the unknown becomes. Eventually, a new structure of beliefs emerges which may lead to a new understanding of a particular aspect of reality.

7. Evolution is an inherent facet of contemporary art. What new developments are you aware of, with regards to the application of technology, in illustration? 

In general, computer technology makes many things much easier to do. Especially what traditionally used to be hard or time consuming is now relatively easy and quick to do. Because of that much of the focus shifts to areas that digital technology offers greater control over, like finer colour ranges, better composition, more realistic and precise rendering, increased image complexity, etc. The availability of art assets like libraries of high quality 3D models and photographs transforms the whole process of picture making. Now, instead of doing everything yourself, you can simply use pre-fabricated 3D models, textures, photographs, etc and create a picture out of that.

For artists and illustrators the wonders of digital technology is a mixed bag. Personally, I don't like when too much stuff is being done for me. I like to paint my own textures, do the concept design, the 3D modelling or traditionally paint a 2D illustration digitally. That way I get satisfaction from my work and a sense of accomplishment. So in the end, it's a matter of personal preference how much technology one is willing to incorporate in the picture making process. Digital art is not any better or worse than traditional art; it is merely a product of the technological progression.

8. What do you find most rewarding in the creative process, and how do you overcome that which you find challenging?

Doing the remaining 20-30% of an image is the most rewarding for me because the image just keeps getting better. I overcome the challenging aspects through learning, experimenting, and practice. Studying other artists work is essential.

9. What have you done to promote and market your artwork?

My website under my own domain is central to my online marketing efforts. In the past, I did quite a bit work to improve my search engine rankings, but found it too time consuming. I have accounts on many popular social networking sites like YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Myspace and others. I try to post my new artwork there on a regular basis. Overall, however, the return of investment has been low. Regular updates through my RSS feed and newsletter seems to work better. There is so much competition out there and, now with the recession, getting sales is much tougher.

 

10. What advice would you give to anyone considering a career in art?

Follow your passion and take care of your health. Good health is the most important thing in life - it allows you to do the things you want. Without it you are more limited. Educate yourself about healthy diet, do regular exercise, minimize stress, and cut out the unnecessary stuff. In the beginning, it's probably best to work at a studio with other artists, to learn not only the craft but also the business side of things. Working as a self-employed artist is not for everybody. The main disadvantage here is unstable income, and having to do everything yourself (promotion, selling, website, etc). The main advantages are more freedom to structure your daily life, do the type of work you really enjoy, no commuting, no office politics, bureaucracy, etc.

11. What aspirations, or reservations, do you have regarding your art being used in film and television?

As long as I get paid and credited I'm all for it.

12. Describe your art in one sentence.

Colourful, thought provoking, original and memorable.

13. What other interests do you have?

Health and nutrition is my primary interest - especially healthy diets and supplements. I have been experimenting with different diets for many years and keep journals about my observations. Another subject that interests me is anthropology. I find human behaviour and value systems across very different cultures particularly interesting. Lately, I've become interested in urban and wilderness survival in case the whole system, or parts of it, collapses.

14. Where can we find you and your art? 

On my website at http://www.art.eonworks.com