ImagineFX November 2015

FrEE GIFt!
116-PAGE
EBooK
with 18 expert workshops
Worth
8.99/
$14.00
FrEE! 4 hours of
pro video training
Art tIPs
gear up your
characters
Create legendary
GAME Art
Reimagine Zeldas Link as a fierce
warrior with even mehl amundsen
PhotoshoP
colour & light

masterclass
InsIdE!
turn existinG art

into fresh concepts
how to Paint like a
Blizzard artist
the rise of mobile
Game studios
rrilla games way

Got Game! Create original CharaCter art the gue
Editors letter
to upping your game

Okay, I have to admit something. Ive never
played The Legend of Zelda. I know, its a
disgrace. The equivalent of having never
listened to The Beatles, or kind of knowing
my mothers birthday Im ashamed.
But that doesnt mean I dont appreciate
what an iconic character Link is. The first
pixel person, in fact, that came to mind when
thinking about reimagining a classic game
character for the cover. Artist Even Mehl
Amundsen was the perfect artist for the job, making old Linkypoos
his very own. Check out how he did it on page 56.
Now that youve got your copy, I hope you enjoy the free Ebook of
amazing game art that comes with it (see page 29), filled with
18 workshops for you to pore over. Thats after you get through the
awesome stuff in these pages. Eliott Lilly makes you take an art
test no wait, come back! Dont you know that test has the same
number of letters as game? (I know!!) Plus, following Eliotts
workshop on page 68 is not only fun, but will also set you right for
when you have to prove your skills to hiring studios.
There are plenty of other insightful workshops in here too, but a
highlight for me was speaking to Geoffrey Ernault about his entry
into art. Temporarily blinded as a kid, his dad talked him through
the Star Wars films, while the artist created his own imagery. On
page 40 you can see the work hes now creating as a pro Right!
Time to fire up The Nintendo to play Link. Hes a legend, after all.
Our special cover for

subscribers this issue.
Beren Neale, Acting Editor

beren.neale@futurenet.com
Claire Howlett is on maternity leave.
Contact us
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November 2015
Save money when you subscribe

to ImagineFX! See pages 30, 60 and 90
Contents
Your art
10 Reader FXPos
Lovely leeches, female orcs,
Fuzzawumps, Lady Macbeth,
a horrifying harvest and more.
40
Artist Portfolio
Geoffrey
ernault
News and events
20 Mobile art goes big

Insiders tell us how digital
artists can benefit from the
rise of mobile game art.
24 Artist in residence
Bulgarian illustrator Svetlin
Velinov on why his studio is
both his castle and his prison.
Your questions
32 Artist Q&A
How to paint icy caverns,
female pirates, heavy rain,
landscapes (fungal or
otherwise), creatures and more.
See page 10 for the best new art
34
Features
40 Geoffrey Ernault
The French gaming and sci-fi
concept artist is about to
embark on a new adventure.
46 Studio profile
A respect for its creative staff
has seen Germanys mobile
games studio Wooga thrive.
You have to go through the

stage where youre paid badly,
but you do it for your CV
Geoffrey Ernault on earning your spurs
46
36
Q&A: creatures
37
50 Sketchbook
Dan Howard opens up his
sketchbook to reveal horned
women and mutant turtles.
Reviews
92 Software
95 Training
96 Books
Regulars
3
6
28
30
44
60
84
90
Wooga
Editors letter
Resources
Letters
Subscriptions: US
Back issues
Subs: worldwide
Next month
Subs: digital
50
November 2015
Sketchbook:
Dan Howard
Q&A: rebirth
20
Mobile game art
Q&A: ice cave
24
Artist in residence
Issue 127 November 2015
Workshops
over the page for

DownloaD resources Turn
this issues art assets
56
Advice and techniques

from pro artists
56 Reimagine a
game character
Even Mehl Amundsens
fresh take on Link.
62 How to work like
a games artist
Remko Troost on the
process of video game art.
68 Depict a derelict
environment
Eliott Lilly shows you
how to excel at an art test.
73 Controlling
colours in Krita
Katarzyna Oleska explains
Color Selector basics.
74 Using a limited
colour palette
Matt Gaser keeps a tight
rein on his colours.
78 Paint a dragon
with personality
Manuel Castan paints
an original dragon.
Get your
free Game
art eBook!
80 How to design
a unique species
Ilya Golitsyn encourages
you to ask why?
86 Create a game
boss, Blizzard-style
Jie Gao shares his lighting
and colouring methods.
29
How to paint Link
114
104
Inspiration and advice from

the best traditional artists
100 FXPos Traditional
104 Movement and scale
Michael C Hayes angelic work.
106 Dramatic lighting
James Gurney on location.
112 Colour and detail
Brynn Metheney on animals.
114 First Impressions
William Stout talks dinosaurs.
The familiar refreshed
106
Plein air art
112
Accurate
animals
William Stout
November 2015
Resources
Resources
Getting hold of all of this issues videos, artwork and

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Workshop videos
Design a
unique species
oVEr
4 HourS
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nd
Q&A videosato
watch and
learn from!
Ilya Golitsyn encourages you to ask

why?as he illustrates amphibian
humanoids for a video game.
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Dan oliVEr group editor-in-chief
roDnEy DiVE group art director
aDVErtiSinG
EDitorial
ClairE HowlEtt ediTor
(on maternity leave)
BErEn nEalE AcTinG ediTor
beren.neale@futurenet.com
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daniel.vincent@futurenet.com
CliFF HopE oPerATionS ediTor
clifford.hope@futurenet.com
tom may group content editor
Julia SaGar commissioning editor
Sammy mainE deputy commissioning editor
aliCE pattillo staff writer
DominiC CartEr staff writer
even Mehl Amundsen, chaanah carr, Manuel
castan, Tanya combrinck, Vaughan emerson,
Tony Foti, Jie Gao, Matt Gaser, ilya Golitsyn, James
Gurney, damian Hall, Leesha Hannigan, nick
Harris, Michael c Hayes, richard Hill, richard
Hood, eliott Lilly, Brynn Metheney, Mark Molnar,
Katarzyna olesk, rob redman, edward ricketts,
Jem roberts, Houston Sharp, remko Troost,
Svetlin Velinov, Garrick Webster, Henry Winchester
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November 2015
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Issue 127 November 2015
ExcLusivE
viDEo
TuiTion!
Watch our videos to gain a unique insight into how our artists create their stunning art
Workshop videos
Jie Gao
Utilise lighting and colouring methods

to illustrate a video-game boss character.
plus Wips, brushes and final image
Q&a videos
Eliott Lilly
Learn how to not only survive but thrive at a video game art test, by turning a
pre-existing piece of art into a coherent environment for a video game concept.
plus Wips, brushes and final image
Tony Foti
Understand how to take charge of

references, in order to produce great art.
plus Wips and final image
Training
Mark Molner
See how to capture the elusive quality

of ice, to depict the inside of a glacier.
nick Harris
Use ample lighting on unusual shapes

to paint a believable fungal landscape.
van Arno
See how the Lowbrow artist freezes time

in a beginner-friendly guide to drawing
from life, Figure Fundamentals Volume 1.
AnD ALL THis! WIPs and finished art available to download, created by professional artists from around the world including
this issue, Even Mehl Amundsen, Manuel Castan, Matt Gaser, Brynn Metheney, Remko Troost, James Gurney and others.
16 CUsToM BrUshes, inClUding

iFx_sPoTs
Ilya Golitsyn used this for painting
air bubbles in this issues workshop.
GAsEr oiL brusH

A great brush for blocking in colour
and landscapes, says Matt Gaser.
Tyrion
Manuel Castans favourite brush.
I use it for everything, he says.
November 2015
the place to share your DIGItal art

Alix Branwyn
LocAtion: US
WeB: www.alixbranwyn.com
emAiL: alixbranwyn@gmail.com
meDiA: Photoshop
Alix started her art career

as a tattoo artist, but
discovered that digital
canvases were much more
appealing (not to mention
less squirmy) and she made the switch
to full-time illustration.
After a spell making art for posters,
T-shirts and other print media, she
traded her career in commercial
illustration to begin freelancing.
This change enabled me to get back
to producing work I love, she says,
character and creature work for
fantasy, horror, and game art with lots
of hidden touches and details for the
keen observer!
compArtmentALize In this piece

I experimented with using 3D
blocking to place the figure and the
cubes floating around them in front
of the camera. I used the render as a
reference along with various images to
help get textures and lighting down.
HArvest of DespAir I wanted

to build a creepy scene of people
buried like crops having their suffering
harvested by mysterious figures. I tried
to contrast the nonchalance in the facial
expressions of the harvesters with the
anguish of their victims.
AstrAeA rAtHeThis personal

piece is a character for a story
I havent finished yet. With this one
I wanted to work with creating narrative
and storytelling through interactions
between characters, expressions and
background elements.
10
November 2015
Email your submissions to fxpose@imaginefx.com
Comic book illustrator, Adriana Melo sees

plenty of storytelling potential in Alixs work
Theres a sense of fluid movement in
Alixs work thats intriguing. Harvest
of Despair conveys depth and impact
with the mens dramatic expressions.
November 2015
11
12
November 2015
nadia enis
LocAtion: Germany
WeB: www.facebook.com/nadiaenis
emAiL: ideas@nadiaenis.com
meDiA: Photoshop
5tH eLement This illustration was

done for a fan-based artbook, that
was successfully funded on Kickstarter. I
wanted to try out a new mix of styles.
pAtHfinDer I was more than

happy when Paizo commissioned
me for half-orc characters, especially as
they were women warriors. Im weirdly
attracted to this combination and had
a lot of fun doing those. I grew fond of
this lady in particular.
The self-taught artist has

worked for hire since 2008,
which for the past five
years has mainly been in
the games industry, a field
in which she also teaches.
Ive varied my style a lot in my
career, fitting to briefings or target
groups, and it never bothered me until
recently, Nadia says. Last year I felt
the need to find my own home and
decorate it. So I started a search for a
visual language that can describe how
I see the world.
Im still searching for my voice,
or for the story that I want to tell. Ive
already found my personal guide
though. It seems to be humour.
Nadias influenced by artists whose
illustrations are windows into their inner
world, such as the surreal power of
Sergey Kolesov and the gentle elegance
of Adam Tan.
Paizo
Jinx I started drawing in the

manga style and even though
I tend to be far away from it nowadays,
sometimes I like to go back and visit this
old friend of mine. Especially when
doing fan art like this.
3
IMaGINeFX crIt
Nadia has a
distinctive style and
an eye for intriguing
and unique characters
from heroes to robots!
Her designs lend
themselves to everything
from animation to game
concept art. Shes certainly
one to watch.
Alice Pattillo,
Staff Writer
November 2015
13
Gemma Wilson
Location: Australia
Web: http://ifxm.ag/Gemwil
emaiL: owlgem@gmail.com
meDia: Photoshop
A freelance illustrator
and visual concept artist,
Gemma lives in Perth.
Its not a city known for
its abundance of creative
careers, but she says she cant imagine
doing anything else.
One of my biggest influences
growing up was Roald Dahl, she says.
His stories would take my imagination
to the edge and back. Osamu Tezuka is
also high on the list. His work reminds
me that you dont need a serious style
to convey a serious message.
Gemma mainly uses Photoshop
to paint, but also loves to work with
markers and gouache paint.
IMAGINEFX CRIT
The frst thing I
notice is Gemmas
bold use of colour,
which instantly grabs the
eye. Shes equally adept at
depicting cuddly and
creepy, all with a cartoon
aesthetic. Hold on though,
a cuddly leech (Lolly)?
Oh my!
Beren Neale
Acting Editor
camp out Two of my characters

from a future comic project enjoying
a campfire meal before they are rudely
interrupted. Andrea (the small one) is
used to the wilds, whilst Ben (the big
one) is used to the finer things in life,
but lends his strength in a tight spot.
Garnet Garnet is from the brilliant

cartoon Steven Universe. Shes such
a strong, stoic character. I admit I took
liberties with her shoulder pads.
Painting that many irregular facets was
a challenge, but I really enjoyed trying
to emulate the refracting light and
guessing which facets should sparkle
the most.
LoLLy Lolly is another character

from my comic project. Shes an
anthropomorphic leech and ever since I
made her I kind of think of leeches as
cuddly looking. This image started off as
a quick colour sketch on paper, but I
liked her expression so I painted it in
Photoshop in one hour.
Sophie anD her FuzzaWump

Sophie enjoys long peaceful
dreams as long as her Fuzzawump
keeps her company. The fluffy beast
protects the young girl in the land of
slumber whilst driving away her nasty
nightmares. I still need to practise
painting foliage, but I enjoyed painting
copious amounts of fur.
14
November 2015
November 2015
15
Katy Grierson
Location: England
Web: www.kovah.co.uk
emaiL: katy@kovah.co.uk
meDia: Photoshop
Freelance illustrator and

concept artist Katy
specialises in
environments. Ive been
drawing and painting since
I can remember, and feel especially
privileged that Im able to do so as my
job. The artist says shes always had an
active imagination, and takes great
pleasure in world building and being
able to share those creations with others
via her paintings and drawings.
Ive always lived on the coast and
take a great deal of inspiration from my
surroundings. Vast, dramatic skies are
among the things I enjoy painting the
most with a fantasy influence, of
course! I enjoy putting a great deal of
narrative into my work, along with using
colour to pull the viewer in.
GoLDen cLiffs This was originally

a warm-up painting I did one
morning. I liked the colour scheme so
much I couldnt help but take it to finish.
I love that it both inspires a calming
feeling as well as the sense of impending
adventure just around the corner.
Distant stacKs A personal piece

with a sense of adventure about it.
I took great delight in the range of
colours I could use and blend together
in this image, without it becoming
gaudy or overworked. I think the piece
takes the viewer right into the canvas.
aciD VaLLey An experimental

piece that leans towards my
occasional urge to do something sci-fi.
I wanted to establish a rather unsettling
mood to the piece, as well as a sense of
mystery as to what the circular structure
in the distance was. To find this out
would mean traversing the noxious
environment, unfortunately!
16
November 2015
IMAGINEFX CRIT
Katy certainly
has a good eye
for composing
compelling landscapes.
And its nice to know
that Englands coastal
scenery contributes in
some part to the dramaticlooking fantasy and sci-fi
environments she paints.
Cliff Hope,
Operations Editor
November 2015
17
1
IMAGINEFX CRIT
Elizabeth has an
extraordinary
ability to convey the
atmosphere from her
pieces to the viewer. I
shivered when I first saw
The Drowning and thats
not just down to the
characters pose its
lighting and colour, too.
Daniel Vincent,
Art Editor
18
November 2015
Elizabeth Leggett
Location: US
WEb: www.archwayportico.com
EmaiL: archwayportico1@gmail.com
mEDia: Photoshop
Elizabeth is a current Hugo

Award nominee and
freelance illustrator living
in New Mexico. With
numerous publications
under her belt, she completed a full
78 card tarot desk in 2013.
Elizabeth finds her inspiration
through the novels and short stories she
illustrates. When painting for herself,
she makes a beeline for classic science
fiction and fantasy writing, with her
go-to writers being Neil Gaiman and Ray
Bradbury. She is also deeply (pun not
intended) drawn to water themes.
My husband and I enjoy tabletop
role-playing games, she says,
fostering kittens and dreaming about
how we would spend our lottery money
if we ever won!
GLashtyn shanty SJ Tucker

wrote a haunting song inspired by
the glashtyn legend and I wanted to play
with icy, slushy marsh water. The dark
trees, cold water and brown reeds
needed to be as much a player in this
story as the girl and the glashtyn.
thE DroWninG A special project

was needed to help pay for my
daughter to travel around Europe with
an orchestra. I contacted musician SJ
Tucker and she told me 12 songs she
thought would be beautiful to illustrate.
The Drowning was one of them.
Prick of maDnEss Im doing

12 Shakespearean pieces. Lady
Macbeth is such a complex character.
I chose to have her carry her crown
rather than wear it, to convey the weight
of her guilt over her desire for power.
ParaDE in LiGht Ive rarely

worked with modern background
settings, but was told it was something
often requested by art directors. Ive
always wondered what wouldve
happened if Wendy had taken over from
Peter Pan. What would the edge of her
Neverland look like?
submit your
art to fxpos
Send up to five pieces of your
work, along with their titles, an
explanation of your techniques, a
photo of yourself and contact
details. Images should be sent as
300DPI JPEG files.
Email: fxpose@imaginefx.com
(maximum 1MB per image)
Post: (CD or DVD):
FXPos
ImagineFX
Quay House
The Ambury
Bath, BA1 2BW, UK
All artwork is submitted on the
basis of a non-exclusive
worldwide licence to publish, both
in print and electronically.
November 2015
19
Artist news, softwAre
events
At the core of the DigitAl Art community

Daniel Djanie created this
character style exploration
for a Mafia-themed prototype.
Mobile art
hits the
big time!
Changing times With high-end art in
demand, we find out how artists can tap
into the new world of mobile gaming
Think of mobile games and you might
think of a bright, shiny fad like Bejeweled.
But as devices get more powerful, theyre
actually getting closer to the quality
of AAA games for the PlayStation 4
and XBox One.
And as mobile gaming becomes big
business, the moneys not just going to
coders. Digital artists are getting a slice, too.
So is this a potentially lucrative new market
for your digital art skills?
Jack Gilson, lead artist at Wooga, starts
by urging you to shed any preconceptions
about mobile. Its one of the largest
platforms for games right now," he says.
People who would never have usually
played any type of video
game, such as grandmothers,
are now doing so. Even free
games are becoming cash
cows, by charging for add-ons
20
November 2015
Infinity Blade, developed by Chair

Entertainment and Epic Games,
was the first iOS video game to
run on the Unreal Engine.
Another character style

exploration by
Gameduells Daniel
Djanie, this time for a
space-war themed title.
and access to extra levels. And so artists are

increasingly in demand.
Companies like Gameloft and Zynga are
spending mega bucks on art teams," says
Jack. With most mobile companies now,
the team sizes are getting way bigger, as art
quality needs to excel to stand out. Take
Gameduell, where Daniel Nikoi Djanie is
working as head of illustration.
Despite having been in the
business for more than 10
years, were currently
reinventing ourselves and
one major part of this change is a strong
focus on high-quality artwork," he says.
Our team is continuously growing: at the
moment were 20 people led by Rockstars

former art director Ian Bowden and myself.
And were not just talking about the work
of 3D artists. 2D will always have a place in
mobile games, because although more
games are becoming rendered sprites,
theyre essentially all hand-sketched first
and then made in a 3D software package,
explains Jack. Concept artists will always
be needed.
Artistic expression
While 3D artists on the whole are better paid
than 2D artists, Daniel believes the latter role
can be more rewarding creatively. Being a
2D artist myself, I feel that I have more
urban
upstart
a vision
in purple
double
whammy
Up-and-coming indie
game developer
Pixelbomb Games
reveals how its used
architectural elements
from Manchester in its
debut shoot-em up.
The walls of Svetlin

Velinovs studio are
painted a calming
purple, which is in
contrast to the content
of his often actionpacked fantasy art!
Discover how writer

AJ Lieberman and
artist Darren Rawlings
cut out the middlemen, teamed up
and published their
own graphic novels.
Page 23
Page 24
Page 27
Industry InsIght
Daniel
nikoi Djanie
On what mobile game art
can offer artists
Whats behind the new focus

on art in mobile gaming?
For years, art was considered as a
relatively disposal element to
mobile gaming. Now the industry
is moving in the direction of more
artistic quality. The impact of indie
titles and art-driven games such as
Angry Birds, Monument Valley or
Bastion are in my opinion the
reason for this change.
with most mobile companies,

the team sizes are getting way
bigger, as art quality needs
to excel to stand out
possibilities in this area for artistic
expression," he explains, because the
individual artistic identity is more secondary
and exchangeable in 3D artwork.
Donald Mustard, creative director of Chair
Entertainment the company behind
landmark iOS game Infinity
Blade also stresses the
possibilities for creative
expression. Modern devices
are very powerful and so
artists can now more fully realise their
visions and ideas than ever before," he says.
Were now seeing huge diversity in the art
direction of different games, from retro to
realistic, and everything in between.
What are the benefits to artists

of working in mobile games?
As a newbie you have the chance to
work on more different aspects of
game art when you work for a
mobile company. In AAA
production often youll be stuck in
one area, which can be very
frustrating if, for example, you only
produce the same kind of assets.
The production cycles are generally
much shorter for mobile games.
This way ideas can be tested in
shorter time periods, and means
there are more opportunities to
create new stuff. Often productions
can run parallel, which leads to
more space for daring projects.
What about downsides?
Youre often producing art for the
recycle bin. Due to the shorter
production cycles, projects are
cancelled more often than in AAA
game companies. The time pressure
in the mobile game industry also
leads to compromises regarding the
quality in order to achieve the
production milestones.
What advice would you give an
artist looking to get into the
mobile game industry?
Show that you know your skills.
Understand that your portfolio is
only as good as your weakest work.
And show that youre passionate for
what youre doing.
Because its a hidden object game, the

background art in the newest Wooga
hit Agent Alice is key, because players
will spend a lot of time examining it.
Daniel is head of illustration

for Gameduell. He previously
worked as a freelancing
illustrator and animator.
www.gilmec.carbonmade.com
November 2015
21
ImagineNation News
Concept art for Infinity Blade III. The dragon

was based on real-world creatures, including
an elephant, an alligator, a bat, and a lobster.
Of course, not every mobile game

demands high-end art. The degree of visual
splendour depends entirely on the tone and
point of the game youre
designing," says Barry Meade,
co-founder of Fireproof
Studios. Many titles are
successful because of their
game mechanics or player involvement or
whatever, and arent art heavy or visually
focused Minecraft being an obvious
example. But in specific cases, like our game
The Room, the game wouldnt be the same
if we didnt go all out to create as fabulous
looking a world as possible. Generally, you

can think of great art as a multiplier: it helps
to sell things, but without other aspects in
place to work with it makes little impact.
A bigger cog in the mAchine

Right now, mobile art teams are relatively
small. This means as an artist youre a bigger
cog in the machine," says Jack. Your work is
more visible: a lot falls down to you and you
also need to be multi-talented. If you want to
do more on an art team and have smaller
game production cycles, then mobile is a
fantastic choice. In comparison, Jack says a
if you want to do more on an art

team and have smaller game production
cycles, then mobile is a fantastic choice
Fireproofs The Room is a physical

puzzler, wrapped in a mystery game,
inside a beautifully tactile 3D world.
22
November 2015
console games role means youll probably

work longer hours and not make as much as
an impact until youre at a senior level.
Of course, theres a flipside to all this. The
days when mobile was an easy way into the
games industry for the newbie artist are well
and truly over. For example, Fireproof mainly
recruits experienced artists from AAA
companies such as EA/Criterion, says Barry.
For Gameduell, meanwhile: Either you
should be a generalist able to combine
artistic abilities, technical understanding and
a sense for the user experience, or youre a
specialist whos outstanding in their artistic
field," says Daniel.
Another concept piece from Infinity Blade III, this

time featuring a striking-looking warrior in gold.
Character designs by
Daniel Djanie for a
circus-themed game
that, like many, wasnt
made in the end.
Wooga, similarly, is looking for the same

level of skill and qualifications as if you were
applying to one of the big AAA companies,
says Jack, adding: We lean towards the
more stylised art style, so coming from a
background in cartoons and animations
helps greatly.
But its not all bad news for up-andcoming artists: Juniors and interns are still
invited to join mobile games companies,"
Jack says. In fact, some juniors these days
know more than some of the old seniors.
And with teams in mobile gaming being
smaller, such a role offers greater challenges
but also, potentially, greater opportunities.
Or as he puts it, You can learn more in
mobile but you need to come in hard and
be fast at what you do.
Artist news, software & events
One step beyond

Bombs away Pixelbomb Games go future-retro with Beyond Flesh and Blood, its
ambitious third-person shooter that brings one of Englands major cities into the mix
Indie game developer Pixelbomb Games is
on a mission to put Manchester on the
gaming map, starting with its debut thirdperson shooter, Beyond Flesh and Blood.
The game is set in a post-apocalyptic
Manchester, after war has savaged the
planet. We wanted to take the
whole experience back to the
raw and violent style of 80s
and 90s action films, reveals
art director Steven DeSykes.
The Pixelbomb Games team is heavily
influenced by sci-fi, movies, Japanese anime
and related games, explains project leader
Lee Blacklock. So for the feel of Beyond
Flesh and Blood we looked at a variety of
source material, says Steven,
including a huge library of
80s and 90s sci-fi and action
movie classics such as
Robocop and Terminator.
The inhabitants of Earth are hostile

antagonists, while the player takes the role of
one of the imperial survivors who live on a
nearby space station, a military force known
as the United Global Remnant.
Concept artist Marina Ortega took
inspiration from Manchester itself where, she
says, Theres a clash of
architecture styles: old
Victorian buildings coexist
with new, almost futuristic
architectures. The team drew
in as much of the city as they could. If a
game is set in the UK, its a suggestion of
London with a few red phone boxes and Big
Ben, laments Lee. It was a challenge to
take elements of Manchester and redesign
them to be an overgrown wilderness, similar
to present-day Chernobyl.
You can get a feel for the game by visiting
www.beyondfleshandbloodgame.com.
Were not making a mech

shooter; were making a
third-person shooter where the
main avatar is a mech, says Lee.
It was a challenge to take

elements of Manchester and
redesign them to be an
overgrown wilderness
In the game the player pilots Tactical Combat
Frames the mechs remotely.
Whether youve been to Manchester or not, you

get a real sense of the place in the game.
Real-world issues
influenced Beyond Flesh
and Blood: dwindling
natural resources,
overpopulation and
global war itself.
November 2015
23
ImagineNation News
My Dell 3007WFP 30-inch monitor has been with me
for many years. It still serves me well and doesnt show
any signs of needing to be replaced.
I bought a Cintiq 24 HD three years ago, but Ive

never quite got used to it. However, I do intend to
get the Cintiq 27 HD Im full of hope for it.
Ive always felt the need for a good option for mobile work.
This Windows tablet a Samsung 7 Slate was a good
compromise on the other more expensive and much heavier
(at that time) solutions for mobile work, before Wacom
brought the Companion into the world.
Svetlin Velinov
My working space has to be

comfortable, spacious and able to fit
all my gear. I have a custom desk with
an enhanced table thats wide and
deep enough to work comfortably.
Dungeons and dragons The Bulgarian illustrator on why

his home studio is his castle and occasionally his prison
My studio is in my home
and my home is my castle.
This is a great advantage
to me on one hand and a
significant disadvantage to
me on the other, because distractions can
reduce productivity.
The other risk is that the castle might
turn into a dungeon, which is why I try to
find a balance by travelling, communicating
and taking a rest from my work. When you
have a job without specific working hours,
you can easily turn into a victim of your own
good intentions.
24
November 2015
Every artist must express themselves

through their work. This only happens when
the surrounding environment is in harmony
with your personal preferences. In my
workplace Ive optimised my layout so
I have everything within reach of a small
movement of my chair. My desk is big
enough for all my tech gear, but also has
enough space for me to draw with
traditional media when I want or need to.
I used a tablet for the first time in 1996,
which makes me a bit conservative. Despite
the fact I own a whole arsenal of fancy
tablets, my favourite is the conventional
My Wacom Companion
is a real companion!
Finally, a good mobile
solution for artists on
the move, even if its
just so I can work under
the thick shades in the
garden unrestricted
by power issues.
Intuos 5 L. This is the one I use the most

when Im in my studio.
For a year now Ive owned a Cintiq
Companion, which enables me to draw
whenever I want. This is a great change for
me, because no matter how cozily youve set
up your working space, sometimes the
isolation is too much and you need to find a
safe haven from your castle. The ability to
work fulfillingly on a mobile device is a big
advantage and I recommend it for battling
the boredom of the fixed working place.
My 30-inch Dell isnt new, but its rock
solid and serves me very well. It can all be

Ive painted a fair bit
of art for Magic: the
Gathering in my time.
Although it doesnt
really explain why
Ive got a card shop
expanding in my studio!
This is a souvenir from

Magic: the Gathering
Grand Prix in Beijing
2014. A box of cards
and a dragon a
souvenir bought with
my last few yuans
at the airport.
Its important for me to find time for doodles,

as you can see in my pile of sketchbooks.
Theres always one close to hand.
A Behind the Iron Curtain

workshop took place in
Bucharest, Romania, in 2010.
This is a signed card by Kekai
Kotaki, who was one of the
instructors, along with
Stephan Martinire, Mark
Goerner and Alex Alvarez.
upgraded, of course, but first I have to

finance the replacement of my Cintiq 24 HD.
The low resolution, weak backlight and
matrix of the monitor, plus the lack of
brightness and sharpness of the image,
meant I couldnt take full advantage of this
otherwise great working tool. I have huge
expectations for the new model and hope
that soon it will be on my desk.
People who consider their profession to
be a vocation are blessed. My work as an
These folders on my
bookshelf may suggest
a bit of tidiness in my
work, but its quite a
misleading impression.
illustrator and concept artist puts me in this

category: I have the opportunity to travel all
over the world, work on interesting and fun
projects, and face a constant challenge to
surpass myself, so that I can keep up with
the requirements of a constantly changing
industry. It makes the job dynamic and
keeps me away from routine. Nice, huh?
I have a whiteboard to
remind me that I can
always find inspiration
for painting outside my
studio. If the board
becomes a painting,
a new blank whiteboard
takes its place.
Svetlin is a freelance illustrator and concept

artist based in Bulgaria. You can see more of
his work at www.velinov.com.
November 2015
25

Hatboy
by Vaughn Pinpin
Comics with soul
Seeing double Darren Rawlings and AJ Lieberman

team up to launch Doppelgnger Publishing
After starting his career at DC Comics, AJ
Lieberman wanted to create his own
comics and books. On the way to forming
Doppelgnger Publishing, he met artist
Darren Rawlings to visualise his ideas.
It was while working on their first graphic
novel for Scholastic, The Silver Six, that AJ
and Darren realised they could publish their
own books. Being your own
boss and creating the things
you want to create is in the
heart of every artist, Darren
says. It takes hard work,
dedication and an ability to stay creative

when you feel nothings left. The trick is
pressing forward through those creative
struggles and sticking to your vision.
Deep Soul is the first book to be released
by Doppelgnger. The story, which was
drafted by Darren and completed by Tom
Rhodes, follows a man struggling to revive
his comatose wife. Their second book,
Graveyard Wars, is already underway.
Doppelgnger is accepting story ideas,
so send in your tales and buy Deep Soul at
www.doppelgangerpublishing.com.
Doppelgnger finally gives Darren
and AJ the creative control theyve
always craved in their work.
Deep Soul is
Doppelgngers
first graphic novel.
November 2015
The Silver Six was

made by Darren and
AJ for Scholastic.
27
ImagineNation
Your art news thats

grabbed our attention
YOUr FeeDback & OPINIONS

contact acting editor, beren Neale,
on beren@imaginefx.com or write
to ImagineFX, Future Plc,
Quay house, the ambury,
bath, ba1 1Ua, Uk
Follow us on twitter:
www.twitter.com/imaginefx
tell us your thoughts on:
www.facebook.com/imaginefx
Getting animated
Disney Television Animation
Ive been a reader of this magazine

since issue 50. It always inspired
me while I was studying
animation. Now that Im
working professionally as a
digital animator, I particularly
enjoy your issues that focus more
on the animation industry. Issues
113 and 124 have been some of
my favourites thus far, because
the insight into other professionals reminds
me that no matter how tough the job can be
at times, Im always grateful that I get to
explore such a stylistically open realm, such
as animation. The constant boost in
enthusiasm is always welcome, so I can
make the most of my experiences.
Mark Kilkelly, Ireland.
Heres an example of
Marks work for Disneys
Wander over Yonder.
Beren replies Its great to get this specific

positive feedback from readers. We have
loads of fun putting together each issue, but
its important to remember what our readers
get excited about. Animation is one of those
industries where theres a wealth of
transferable skills, so whether youre a
storyboarder, illustrator or comic artist, the
advice from animation artists is invaluable.
Were also looking to make more animation
issues, so hopefully youll stay enthused and
inspired for issues to come!
Monster mash!
As a fledgling illustrator fresh out of art
school and wanting to do both traditional
and digital art, Donglu Yus approach has
helped me view photobashing in a new
light. Wanting to paint things from scratch
and use reference as a guide, photobashing
had always conjured up a bad taste for me.
But Donglus approach in issue 124, with
her wanting to paint slightly over the photos
to make everything retain a painterly feel,
puts my over-thinking mind at ease. Im
mostly a traditional artist with a strength
for characters, but this will make my selftaught digital training a breeze.
Izzy Reza, via email
28
November 2015
DID YOU MISS

OUr black &
whIte ISSUe?
Turn to page 44
for more details
on our brilliant
issue 126, and
others too!
Alexander Johanson
@AJohanson89
Illustrator Izzy is more than happy to adapt Donglu Yus
photobashing technique into his digital workflow.
Beren replies Thats great to hear Izzy! Its

an old debate now, but I remember the time
where artists disregarded any type of
photobashing as somehow not as pure as
coming up with an image straight from your
imagination. The truth is, Donglu, as so
many other artists who feature in the mag,
are commercial concept artists. Their need
to convey an environment or character
quickly means using all tools and
techniques to hand. And as youve noticed,
theres immense skill involved in doing this
to create a unique end result.
On the download
When I found out that Sam Nelson was
going to do a workshop for your magazine, I
was really looking forward to learning about
his methods. I loved what he wrote very
insightful! When I went to download the
resource files, it saddened me to see that the
files were all such a small resolution and
that the PSD had only two layers.
Ever since your magazine switched the
resources files online, you started flattening
the layers and lowering the resolutions of
the Photoshop files. Those files are one of
the most important part of your workshops
because thats where you get the
opportunity to see up close the artists work
and understand their thinking behind it.
So I ask you, could you please stop
flattening the PSD files and let them stay at
the original high resolution they were when
the artist finished it please?
Jeremie Locas, via email
Beren replies Hi Jeremie thanks for your
letter. Just to make a few things clear we
dont flatten any of the PSD files we receive
from the artists. We do reduce the
resolution, however, for a number of
reasons. Primarily, this is to stop
redistribution of an artists work. If we gave
out print-ready artwork, it might be sold
online as canvas prints from dodgy sites (of
course, Im not for a second saying youd do
this! But some undoubtedly would).
We also drop the resolution to reduce file
size, so that the downloads dont become
unwieldy. Even when we had DVDs, the art
was always reduced in file size so it would fit
on a disc. That said, I hope you can find
some use for all these great files..
Im blossoming into
the creature designer
I want to be!
Kirsty Rollinson
@KJRillustration
Cthulhu design
pencils and inks,
rendered in Photoshop
and Manga Studio
Lawrence Mann
@LAWRENCE
canDRAW
Since this months

issue is about B&W,
heres one youll love!
Just finished something you want us to shout

about? Send it our way on Twitter
(@imaginefx), or find us on Facebook!
FREE
GIFT!
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worth 8.99/$14.00
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How to Draw and Paint Game Art features 18 workshops, from

the artists behind Uncharted 3, Guild Wars 2, Batman: Arkham
City, and many more classic games. Learn from the pros!
TO DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE EBOOK, GO TO

www.creativebloq.com/game-art
November 2015
29
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November 2015
31
ImagineNation Artist Q&A
Struggling with a painting technique or

topic? email help@imaginefx.com today!
Using the head as a unit of measurement and
comparing natural alignment points throughout
the body, we can create a figure that is
proportioned correctly.
houston Sharp
Houston is a freelance
illustrator and concept artist
for film and games. Hes
also a student at Art Center
College of Design, in
Pasadena, California.
www.houstonsharp.artstation.com
Tony foti
Freelance illustrator Tony

makes art for books,
games, magazines and
advertisements. His work can
be found regularly in Fantasy
Flights Star Wars lines.
www.tonyfotiart.com
leesha hannigan
Leesha is an Australian
freelance illustrator and
concept artist. Her interests
lie in fantasy illustration,
with a particular focus
on creature art.
www.leeshahannigan.com
mark molnar
Mark is working as concept

and visual development
artist for the entertainment
industry. He works for
international film, game
and animation companies.
www.markmolnar.com
nick harris
English artist Nick switched

to a digital canvas in 2000,
after 18 years of using
traditional media. Most of
his work involves creating
artwork for childrens books.
www.nickillus.com
need our advice?
Email help@imaginefx.com
with your art questions and
well provide all the answers!
32
November 2015
Question
How do I draw
human figures with
correct proportions?
Bernie Barnes, England
Answer
Houston replies
drawing figures with correct
proportions boils down to
memorising a few key measurement
comparisons and body part
alignments. using the height of the head as
a standard unit of measurement is the most
useful, and most universally used, way to
maintain proportions when creating figures.
the standard human height is measured at
about eight heads tall. the landmark breakdown
of the torso starting from the top of the head
and moving downwards is as follows: top of
head to bottom of chin; chin to nipples; nipples
to belly button; belly button to pubic bone.
From there, we move down two heads to the
bottom of the knee, and finally two heads
more to the soles of the feet.
this is the most basic of breakdowns, but
there are many others that are useful when
youre inventing your own figures. Studying
anatomy books and photos of models
in standard standing poses is the
best way to learn all of the size
comparisons and alignments
throughout the body.
get your
resources
See page 6 now!
Your questions answered...

Step-by-step:
inventing figures with
correct proportions
Question
My reference photos end up confusing me
do you have any advice please?
Cal Greenberg, Canada
I find that getting the

lighting and pose right
are far more important
than the costuming.
The first two influence
the third, but rarely is it
the other way around.
Before sketching, I solidify the pose

I want in my imagination. The mind
is surprisingly good at recalling realistic
proportions. Its how we create normallooking humans in our dreams. If I can
imagine a pose well, sketching it will be
just a matter of fine-tuning whats in my
mind, using head length measurements.
Try to focus on the

painting, not matching
reference. Had I left
her hair blonde, for
instance, the head
would have been too
similar in value to the
sky and become lost.
Answer
Tony replies
Its good practice to hold off on
2 drawing clothes until after the figure
is correctly established. Think of it like
building a house: making the outside look
nice wont mean anything if the foundation
isnt strong and the essential problems
havent been solved yet. If its a weak
structure, the entire thing will collapse.
Once the problems of proportion and

how clothes and armour fit over body
parts are solved, youre free to render and
detail without worrying if the drawing will
be off. Some artists jump to this stage
too soon, creating figures that are heavily
detailed but with wonky proportions and
anatomy. It pays to be patient!
reference photos are important, but

if youre not careful they can cause
problems of their own. your first
order of business should be to decide
what you need and then photograph accordingly.
Before i take the time to get friends together
for reference, i usually make a couple of small
sketches that roughly define the pose and, if
possible, the lighting scheme. it can be tempting
to just go outside and shoot photos until youve
got something you like (and believe me, ive done
it). But there are few things more annoying than
thinking youve got the perfect image, sitting
down to paint, and realising you have to do the
photo shoot all over again because the
composition doesnt work with the new pose,
lighting and so on. with a little knowledge of
lighting, you can even cut and paste your images
together for a pose thats more dynamic than
what you captured initially.
once the image is ready, you can use the
lighting information in several ways. obviously,
itll help you to paint the main figure. whenever
i have to make something up (the crows nest of
a pirate ship, in this case) i look for anything with
a similar angle and/or texture. when developing
the pose from reference, dont get too concerned
with matching things exactly. instead of copying
the image, check in with it to get the information
correct while you draw the idea in your head.
Artists secret -in

Using a stand
if theres a scene element

you cant get a hold of (in
this case the periscope), have
your model hold something
similar. You can find
reference later on, and to be
thorough, take photos in the
same setting of something
with similar textures.
November 2015
33

Question
Please help me depict a scene in heavy, driving rain
Michael Thomas, England
Answer
Houston replies
Scenes featuring heavy rain
run the risk of becoming too
complicated too quickly:
countless rain drop details,
highlights all over the place, reflections
making a mess of the value structure of a
scene, and so on. when it comes to
depicting a scene with heavy rain, the most
important thing to do is to simplify things.
Viewers dont need to have everything
spelled out for them to understand what is
happening in a picture. we can use this to
our advantage when simplifying a rain
scene. if we choose specific areas to add
detail, the rest of the picture will be filled
in by the viewers imagination.
For a night-time rain scene, we can use
three things to achieve this: spotlights
illuminating a few rain drops, a foggy
atmosphere, and sharp specular highlights.
drawing every single rain drop in a scene
could make the image too busy and
monotonous. By drawing only the
raindrops that fall directly in front of strong
light sources, the viewer can infer that the
rain is falling elsewhere. heavy rain hitting
the ground creates a dense vapour in the
atmosphere. adding this into your image
will make the difference between light
drizzle and a heavy downpour.
adding specular highlights on things
indicates they are wet. Be careful though
this is very easy to overdo. choose a few
key areas to put them, and avoid the
temptation to put them everywhere.
Simplifying the image enables the

viewer to fill in the blanks. This makes
it possible to convey an image
without over-stuffing it with detail.
In silhouette-heavy images,
I like to use clipping masks
(Alt+click between layers)
to keep layers tied to their
silhouettes. What I paint stays
inside the shape!
Artists secret
learn to Be lazY y. But be smart.

okay, dont actually be laz
t make
Create custom brushes or tools tha drops) quicker
rain
e
(lik
ngs
thi
g
min
time-consu
ting every drop
to produce. dont waste time pain n smart!
mea
i
er,
y
laz
when you can be
Question
My fantasy creatures tend to look static
how can I bring them to life
Heather Wolarsky, US
Answer
Tony replies
there are a few different
situations that can lead to a stiff
monster image, so ill try and
address each of them here. no
matter what youre drawing, the usual root
of a problematic pose is a static (or
nonexistent) gesture. if youre not starting
with some loose gestures, then youre just
asking for a stiff creature!
Beyond that, you also need some story
behind the character so that it feels relevant
to the audience. Story can be something as
simple as showing the monster emerging
from a lake, which implies there was
What sort of monster

would he be if he
werent dangerous?
Adding large claws or
giant fangs are good,
but also consider
more subtle traits
like slippery skin.
34
November 2015
something going on before and that theres

still something about to happen. not all
monster scenes have to be scary, but if the
monster itself is, then youre also going to
want some sort of implied threat. it can be
massive jaws, crazy claws or bony paws, but
something about it should feel dangerous.
you can also use textures to make the
beast feel less human. to this end, id
suggest avoiding a silhouette that reads too
much like a normal person. this will
indicate to the viewers subconscious that
this strange creature is of unknown origin,
and could be dangerous!

Question
My landscapes look flat. Whats the solution?
Rory Niesh, England
Answer
Leesha replies
illustrating the effect of
atmospheric perspective will
add instant depth to your
paintings. there are only
a few simple rules to keep in mind.
essentially, when viewing an object
from a distance, certain factors will
affect how that object appears. the
main factor is light scattering or
distribution, which is caused by
particles in the air such as dust,
humidity or smoke.
a few things will happen to an object
the further away it is from the viewer.
there are always exceptions to every
rule, but for most cases these will apply.
the objects contrast and saturation will
decrease, and its values will become
higher. the details within a shape will

soften, but for hard shapes such as rocks
or mountains, their silhouette edges will
remain nice and sharp. distant objects will
also shift towards a similar tint as the sky.
this can, of course, be any colour you
choose: from blue, to orange, to green
(hey, alien planets need love, too).
my process for painting atmospheric
perspective begins with my initial sketch
phase. its important to lay down your
general shapes and colours early on,
to ensure that the distance and depth
is communicating well. taking a light
banding approach is a great way to
emphasise depth in a painting, by
consistently layering the lighter areas
against darker areas.
Make sure to always

keep your value range
close when painting
details into rocks and
mountains, especially
when theyre further
away, because therell
be less contrast.
i usually avoid zooming in and

becoming distracted with detail until much
later in the painting process. when i begin
to add details, ill often use the lasso and
quick Selection tools to help preserve any
hard edges, especially if i happen to be
working on a single layer.
The mountains are visually receding into the background

as they become lighter and take on more of a blue tint.
In contrast, the foreground is quite dark and saturated.
Artists secret
ValUe YoUr ValUes! ch. an

Heres my initial block-in sket
a distant
easy way to correct the value of a lighter
in
it
over
t
pain
ly
subt
to
object is
colour, with a large soft brush.
Step-by-step: Bring out the beast!
Gesture drawing is the foundation on

which the whole painting depends, so
do it as many times as you need until that
scribble becomes a scary monster. Move
the shoulders around, lower the head
experiment aplenty. These should be fast
and loose so you can crank em out.
You can use lighting to accentuate

the silhouette, which should relay the
notion that this thing isnt human. Here Ive
given him a triangular head, amphibious
fingers and the lower body of a snake to
hammer it home, Then I back-light both
characters so he reads fairly easily.
Exaggerate the threat. One of the

reasons Ive given Slippy here such a
large jaw is so he could fit that girls entire
head in his mouth. Thats not to say he will
(she may have super powers, we dont
know until he goes for it), but exaggerating
the threat creates more tension.
November 2015
35

Question
How can I paint an inanimate
object coming to life?
James King, Wales
Answer
Mark replies
I imagine an ancient warrior,
rotting in a forest swamp for
decades, coming to life to aid
his summoner, with help from
some kind of dark magic.
The key for painting something coming
to life is to show the process between the
two stages. In this case I want to show the
skeleton in a relatively dynamic pose, to
show that its alive. But I also want to depict
it just before its bone structure has
reformed. I decide it could be cool to show
the upper part of the skeleton almost
complete, but some of the ribs and bones
still coming out of the water.
To make the image more dynamic I tilt
the horizon line and organise the bones
coming out of the water to point towards
the most complete part, the upper torso
and head. This area became my focal point.
The extra light effects of the dark magic
help me to create a tangible face, instead of
showing simply holes in the skull and to
have more value contrast around the focal
area. I also use these lights to connect the
flying bones visually, suggesting where
theyre going to end up.
I want to depict the

skeletons movement
as it reforms from small
pieces of bones.
I suggest movement by
building shapes around
dynamic lines. This also
helps with storytelling
and directing the
viewer towards my
focal areas.
Artists secret
Use brUsh effects!
movement
You can add more realism and ticles
par
ing
to your illustrations by add
e Ive tried to
effects with custom brushes. her the skeleton
as
add the feel of splashing water
emerges from the swamp.
Step-by-step: The dead awakens
NextupIfillthe
backgroundwithamidgreenandalsoaddagradient
ofgreytosuggestthedirection
ofthelight.Iblockinthe
silhouetteoftheskeletonwith
adarkervalueofthesame
colourandaddsomebasic
shadowstostartformingthe
shapes.Ialsopaintinsome
foliage,inordertotryandget
afeeloftheforestswamp
environmentIhadinmind.
Iusevarioustexture
brushestoquicklysuggest
moredetailinthebackground
andtrytogivetheskeleton
itselfmorepainteddetails.
Icorrectthesilhouetteofthe
bonestomakethemmore
anatomicallycorrectandpaint
inallthereflectinglights.
Asafinalstep,Iaddsharper
edgesandfinedetailsaround
theheadtodrivemore
attentiontothefocalarea.
Istartwithsomereally
roughlinework,where
Iblockinthemainposeofthe
skeletonaswellastheoverall
compositionforthescene.
Ivedonealotofstudiesof
humanskeletonsinthepast,
soIdonttakelongblocking
intheposethistimearound.
Ifyouarentsureofthehuman
bonestructure,usereference
imagetobetterunderstandthe
correctanatomy.
NextIclarifythe
backgroundmoreby
strengtheningthelightsand
addingmorefoliageandtrees.
ThenIpaintinthelightsand
shadowsoftheskeletonusing
asub-layerandaddsome
magicallighteffectsona
ColorDodgelayer.Itendtouse
OverlayandSoftLightlayers
tostrengthenthecontrast
ofvariouspartsandnormal
layerstoaddmoredetails.
36
November 2015

Question
What should I take into account
when painting an icy cavern?
Question
Please help me give my
characters expressive eyes
Mark Rogers, Scotland
Aisha Lamont, US
Age, ethnicity and attitude all influence expression and how a character
comes across. Hopefully these three each look suspicious in their own way.
Answer
Nick replies
3
2
2
To show some opposition to the ice,
I paint in a rusty, eroded giant robot
frozen in the ice thats different in
colour palette and material qualities.
Answer
Its human nature to study other peoples eyes to

read emotions, even in pictures, so they offer a great
tool to use in your own imagery. Our instinctive
people-watching behaviour means we already have
a lifetime of study under our belts. Be conscious of this.
You need to understand that we arent talking about the
eye alone. The rest of the face works in combination for each
expression. Eyebrows in particular form an essential part. It also
pays to understand something of the way the muscle groups of
the face work, and so some study of anatomy books wont hurt.
The combination of expression and body language adds life
to a character. Do you throw your head back when you laugh?
Thrust your neck forward and glower when angry (with hands
on hips)? Look for such things when youre people watching.
Make mental or sketch notes when you spot behaviour like this.
Be prepared to work at it to get an expression right. There may
only be the width of a line between interest and concern. And
of course we all look different too (identical siblings aside), so
youll see endless variations in life, influenced by ethnicity, age
and gender. Theres endless fun to be had with eyes!
Mark replies
The trickiest part in painting an
ice cavern is capturing the
unique qualities of the ice itself.
The clean ice almost reacts to
light as glass, but in nature the frozen water
has a lot of dirt and other organic materials
in it that makes it slightly less transparent.
This, and the generally uneven surface of
the ice, creates the typical cloudy character
of the material. In addition, ice varies in
appearance, depending on how compressed
it is and either how rough or melted and
shiny its surface is.
Because the light coming in through the
entrance of the cave shapes this whole
illustration, I start with a dark base colour
and gradually build up the various layers of
the ice with light. I used the mix of
Overlay, Soft Light and Color Dodge layers
to achieve the feel of the scattered lights
3
Varying your edges can make your painted ice look
more realistic. I use sharper edges (1) to show its
reflective qualities, blurry soft edges (2) to suggest
its transparency and painterly brush marks (3) to
depict its rougher surface.
around the illustration. For the highlights

and sharper edges of ice shards I use
Normal layers and paint within hard
selections with the Lasso tool.
Ice is a reflective surface thats also semitransparent, so whats behind and around
the ice is important, too. In this case I try to
show the rocks behind the ice and also add
warmer reflections of the colours of the
industrial robot and mix in greens and
turquoise around the entrance, to suggest
the warmer outer sunlight.
I sketch out these pairs of eyes based on simple circles. As well as eyebrows
and wrinkles, dont forget that the pupil size varies according to the light in
the scene and your characters mood.
November 2015
37
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MAKE THIS
ARNIE T-800
MODEL
Need our help?
If you have a question for

our experts, email us at
help@imaginefx.com
Question
How would you paint a fungal landscape?
Len Avery, England
Its easy to be influenced by iconic

images such as Alice in Wonderland,
but the amount of reference available
online should enable you to stray
in all sorts of directions.
Answer
Nick replies
A quick look at the weird and
wonderful examples an internet
search throws up should fuel
any imagination. Theres
a surprising variety to choose your
inspiration from. For this article I go for
more recognisable, mushroom shapes to
base my composition on, but hope that
a low eye-level will suggest an unusual
sense of scale. With this in mind I also elect
for a portrait format.
I fire up ArtRage and start sketching with
the Pencil tool, with the Precise setting
toggled on (just my preference). I base the
image around a focal mushroom shape
with a sort of double cap. An initial idea
of lighting is brought in using several layers
of watercolour shadows (I set my layers to
Multiply blend mode). I go on to introduce
some bolder colours, using the Chalk tool,
on a couple more layers, just to make them
easier for me to edit.
After working at these for a while I feel
the need for some sense of background,
so I splash some simple colours on layers
behind with the Light Pressure Chalk,
which is set to Mottled, so as not to make
them appear too bland.
The key point about making this work, to
my mind, is mostly about making the odd
shapes convincingly lit. Get that right and
you can paint them just about any colours
you want. Mine is a fairly conservative
approach that doesnt stray far from colours
youll find in nature. But please do push it
any direction you fancy. I keep working at
the line, colours and tones until the scene
makes some sort of sense.
I chose a portrait format for this

landscape to help emphasise the
strangeness, but also to enable
me the show the full height of the
central mushroom from closer in.
Artists secret
Use the er aser toolgreat
Never forget the eraser as a

on tool,
tool. as well as a useful correcti
any
o
int
k
bac
g
kin
wor
its great for
nk
thi
you
ke
ma
can
It
r.
laye
in negative shapes as well.
Step-by-step: Paint a giant mushroom
Aportraitimage
showstheheight
ofthecentralfungus
best.Idrawwiththe
PrecisePencilsetting,
onapaperwith
reducedgrainsize.I
workacrossseveral
layers,mergingthem
later.Mypencilwork
includessome
directionalshadingto
helpdescribeform.
Iaddwarm
watercolour
tonesonlayerssetto
Multiply,andopaque
bodycolourfor
selectedelementson
standardlayersusing
theChalktool.Iblock
inbackgroundcolour
valuesonlayers
behind:aclearsky
andgreensand
ochresfortheground.
Icarryon
buildingup
valuesandforms,still
relyingonPencil,
Chalk,Watercolor
andPaletteKnife
(Blender).Thefinal
partisintroducing
thefinishingdetails,
manyofwhichare
renderedopaquely
onalayerabovethe
rest.Justhavefun!
next month: EnVIronmEnT concEpT AdVIcE | painting magic effects | mAngA HAIr TIps
depict animal-human hybrids | mulTIply/occlusIon TEcHnIquEs | and more!
November 2015
39
Artist Portfolio
geoffrey
ernaulT
The French concept artist
with a lifetime love of sci-fi
and gaming is about to
embark on a new adventure
hen Geoffrey Ernault
was around six years
old, he found himself
confined to hospital due to
an eye injury. For a while, he
was effectively blind. My father was next
to me with Star Wars playing on the
hospital TV, he remembers. And he
described each scene of the film and what
was happening. And during all this I had
all these exciting sci-fi images coming
through my mind super-cool spaceship
designs, stormtroopers and everything. He
smiles at his first real stirrings of artistic
creativity. Then when I saw the movie it
was even better!
Curtain-wipe to 2015, and the now
hugely talented artist is preparing to move
to the Los Angeles area to join Riot Games
as a senior concept artist following a
years stint at Guerilla Games at its
Cambridge office. In between, hes lived in
Greece, China, Belgium, Russia and back to
his home country of France, all the while
This isnT Mars
In this personal piece

Geoffrey was practising
edges and colours to
produce the atmospheric
effect hes so fond of.
honing his craft for producing fantastically

detailed sci-fi landscapes, creatures and
many other designs.
Guerilla was really great, he says of his
last job. The company contacted me to
develop a new IP for which it needed
someone to figure out the overall look, and
to explore options. That IP went on to
become RIGS, which Guerrilla announced
back in June at E3. It was an amazing
experience, because I had a lot more
responsibilities. It was on Project Morpheus
[Sonys forthcoming virtual reality system],
so it meant we had to find ways of creating
a good pipeline that would work with the
tech, and seeing it evolve was really
awesome. I feel like I really learnt a lot.
More Than a gaMe

World Bearers
Having some fun during my lunchbreak, plus a bit of detail after work,
says Geoffrey, who developed a complex backstory for this image.
40
November 2015
Geoffreys love of gaming, particularly of

the sci-fi kind, also developed at an early
age. When I was about seven, I remember
discovering StarCraft at a friends house,
he says. It was a revelation to me. I fell in
love with the universe, the way the game
profile
Geoffrey ernault
country: US
favourite artists:
Caspar, David Friedrich, Thom
Tenery, Sparth, Luke Mancini,
Andre Wallin
software used: Photoshop, 3ds Max,
Alchemy, ZBrush, Unreal Engine, and more
web: www.geoffreyernault.com
played, the massive armies and the designs.

I just couldnt stop playing it. I started
playing more and more games, mostly
Diablo 2, Warcraft III and Earth 2150.
The real breakthrough came on his 16th
birthday, when his parents bought him a
Wacom tablet. I was really excited! While
looking for tutorials to use it, I realised you
could actually paint with a tablet and not
just use flat colour. I focused all my
attention on that and any free time Id have,
Id learn new techniques and learn the
software at home after school.
Artist Portfolio
geoffrey ernaulT
When I was seven,

I discovered StarCraft at
a friends house. It was
a revelation to me
digiTal PainTing
Techniques
VoluMe 6 (coVer)
The full tutorial of how

Geoffrey created this
image is contained within
the book itself, published
by 3DTotal.
November 2015
41
If you have the

technical skills,
its kind of easy to
create an image
that looks good
nodeWorld
An evocative image which Geoffrey

is keeping deliberately unexplained
with hints of Star Wars in the design.
42
November 2015
Geoffrey mainly uses Photoshop,

along with 3ds Max, ZBrush and the Unreal
Engine as projects or whims demand,
though hes always keen to try new software
or less-conventional methods of painting.
For example I like using Alchemy or
traditional stuff like contour drawing
sometimes. I like to experiment with
the picture, because you cant just add a
landscape picture to make a speedpainting
in an easy way. But what you can do is try
to take a picture of something abstract and
find a cool way to use it in an image, for
a design for example.
In any of his concept designs, lighting
always comes first, followed by
composition, shapes and finally the actual
design. This is partly due to his love of the
Impressionists and the work of Caspar
David Friedrich building a mood just as
much as depicting subjects. I think its
kind of easy to create an image that looks
good, he says. If you have the software
knowledge and the technical knowledge,
Artist Portfolio
Geoffrey ernault
no Mans Valley
Id been watching
a bunch of Ghibli stuff,
so I went back to
colourful subjects for
this painting.
the adventures of
Marvin and GeorGe
A beautifully luminous image inspired by 2D games
Subtitled Escape from the Forest of

Lyess, this was inspired by Geoffreys
experience of games such as Rayman
Legends, and Ori and the Blind Forest.
I wanted to push myself a bit with
stylisation and shapes, as well as mood,
he says. I had been doing a series of
practice pieces, where Id include Marvin
(the small white line-art character), to
add some life to them.
I really wanted to try pushing that
a bit and see how it might look in an
environment similar to those games.
At first I wasnt entirely sure what
you can do something that looks good,

with a lot of detail. But I really like the
Impressionists because they can convey
a mood using such good use of brush
strokes. They dont need to detail
everything because theres mystery. You
have to play with your imagination a bit
and I think it just makes the images better.
I wanted to go for, but as I kept

developing the image, I went for a
moody forest that the characters could
explore. Simple, with mostly trees, but
with highlights of colours and controlled
lighting to guide the eye.
I wanted to show something that
could be dangerous lots of height,
gnarly tree shapes, poisonous
mushrooms but depict it in a way
that makes it look pretty. Its been a
recurring theme for me for a while. I love
taking something scary or freaky and
painting it in an appealing way.
The fall
This was designed for

the game Kerbal Space
Program and created
with 3ds Max, ZBrush
and Photoshop.
gloBal VieW
His travels around the globe first with his
family growing up, and later for his career
have also contributed much to his artistic
worldview. I feel like being abroad boosts
my creativity and makes me enjoy life
more, as Im constantly discovering new
things, learning new languages, discovering
cultures. So when you go to Russia and
everything is super-grey and theres a
blizzard and its cold and you have big,
almost very greyish buildings. Then you go
to Greece and you have sand everywhere,
its hot. Every time I would just leave
everything behind and just start all over.
Indeed, while Geoffrey studied at the

prestigious LInstitut Suprieur des Arts
Appliqus art school, and has taught art
courses himself, hes a big believer in
getting out there and getting on with it.
Even in France, I dont think theres a lot of
schools that teach concept art. They tell you
about speedpainting or Photoshop. But
they dont give you a real-life experience.
You dont know how it feels to work
freelance for a client, being paid badly, but
you do it for the CV. You have to go through
this stage. People dont realise that.
Now LA, and the next chapter in

Geoffreys adventure, awaits. Hes eager to
get started once again. Serge Birault said
art is like a drug. It feels sometimes more
like a curse if you dont paint, you feel
bad. And the worst thing is if you finish an
image, even if you like it for 10 minutes,
afterwards youre going to hate it because
you are going to think about all the things
that you could have corrected! he laughs.
I guess its not about being perfect. I think
were all seeking the feeling of being
content with what were doing.
November 2015
43
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Starting with Charlie Bowaters

striking cover, our monochrome
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drama, Brian Matyas mixes 3D and
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Our illustration special includes 10

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Aaron Blaise explains animations
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Cris Delara paints our pin-up cover

star, while a double-sided poster
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November 2015
45
studio profile
Wooga
A respect for its creative staff has

seen this mobile games studio thrive
he world of mobile games

development may be
incredibly competitive, yet
Wooga has quietly established
itself as a major success story since being
founded in 2009 in Berlin, where its still
based. Rather than spending millions on
lavish television advertising campaigns
featuring unrealistic CG, the company
prefers to concentrate on making the
best games it can. And nurturing the
creative talent within its 250-plus staff
spread over 40 countries.
Woogas titles include the likes of Jelly
Splash, Pearls Peril, Diamond Dash and
most recent success Agent Alice, across a
variety of platforms including iOS,
Android and Facebook. Our business
is centred around being able to
sustainably produce hit games,
There are a
large amount
of projects being
worked on at
any one time
explains Jens Begemann,
CEO and co-founder. In the
past five years weve had
five hit games and our
development approach is
designed to foster the development of
more. Indeed, the studio employs what it
calls a hit filter, starting with many
different prototypes and gradually
whittling them down so that only the best
ideas remain on the table.
Obviously the art department makes up
a major proportion of its staff, with around
60 artists currently on board.
Nick Martinelli, head of art,
reveals that, There are a large
amount of projects being
worked on at any one
46
November 2015
The musical viking and the

colourful archer are two prototype
designs for a game that may or
may not be developed.
studio profile
Wooga
LocaTion: Berlin, with a small
satellite office in Tokyo
projecTs: Agent Alice, Crazy
Kings, Pearls Peril
oTher projecTs: Toby,
Diamond Dash, Bubble Island,
Pocket Village, Monster World,
Jelly Splash
Web: www.wooga.com
November 2015
47
studio profile
Some of the many Woogans doing
their thing at the main Berlin office,
watched on by game characters.
time, so those people can switch between

studio or project on a semi-regular basis
depending on whats needed. Although
most of the artists are full time, there are a
sprinkling of regular freelancers who help
out with specialist tasks when needed.
Artists here have a lot of freedom,
says Nick. Theyre able and expected to
give a lot of creative input into the projects
they work on, but with that also comes a
certain level of responsibility that I think is
a good challenge.
With that in mind, were very fussy with
the artists we hire! We look for people who
can bring a lot of energy and talent to the
table, and wed rather hire a very talented
Wooga artist Steffi

Schtze pictured
working on a character
from Agent Alice.
A background scene
from Pearls Peril, which
is filled with hidden
objects to find.
We look for
people who can
bring a lot of
energy and talent
to the table
Designs for Pocket

Village, Woogas early
Facebook game thats
just coming to an end.
48
November 2015
junior artist than someone who perhaps

has more experience but isnt as talented.
Lead artist Nikita Fedorenko relishes this
freedom when it comes to creating concepts
for new projects. Depending
on the timeline of the project,
and which phase it is in, its
possible to bring some of
those ideas to life and include
them in the project, he says. The ones we
dont use are archived to use in the next
project or at a later stage of production.
player feedback counts

He adds that fan feedback is a vital part of
development, with many players being
particularly passionate about what they do
and dont like. For instance, we had a
protagonist drawn up and finished in a
previous game, but users really didnt warm
to her, he says. We tried redesigning her
whole outfit, every detail you could
imagine, but it just didnt work. In the end
we switched her with the sidekick and
found our leading lady.
Creating games that need to run on a
huge amount of different devices, all with
different capabilities, is a design challenge.
Other than the hardware itself, a
limitation for the art part of the game is
screen size," says Nikita. Its important to
not only make a game look good, but be
clearly readable on as many devices as
possible. So were doing a lot of work and
testing in this direction.
studio profile
Wooga
Agent Alice is another game of the
type that has become so popular
on mobile: hidden-object finding.
siLver
saaremeL
One of Woogas newest lead
artists on life at the company
How did you end up at Wooga?
Theres a trend going on where AAA
developers are flocking to indies and
mobile-game studios, and I was no
different. Mobile games are getting
more competitive by the month,
constantly more beautiful with the
new hardware, and can reach a
billion people. Thats a pretty
exciting challenge.
What are you working on right now?
Wooga has several studios inside it,
each representing a different
segment in the games market, and
each studio has several game teams
working on games from prototypes
to productions. Im in the core games
studio, where we concentrate on a
deep gameplay experience and a
high-quality visual experience. Just
within the brief time of a year Ive
worked on games ranging from epic
fantasy strategy games, to
Renaissance empire-builders and
steampunk viking battlers.
Whats a typical day for you?
I usually start the morning with
feedback and art direction
overpaints, or writing briefs for new
assignments. I try to get all my
meetings in before lunch as well.
After lunch I do my darndest to find
hours to paint concepts, while
tackling the occasional feedback
session.
Whats been the best part of the
job to date?
The mobile games industry is very
dynamic and constantly innovating
itself. Its a lot of fun trying to keep
up with the market and outdo it at
the same time. But most of all, I
enjoy the tremendous amount of
effort that the company founders
and studio heads are putting into
transparency. Were constantly
updated to the state of the company,
what each studio is doing, why we
are doing it and where were headed
in the future. Were also constantly in
an open discussion about what
weve done wrong, what weve done
well and where can we grow
sensibly. Its a very accepting and
pro-active environment thats not
afraid to try out new things.
Although specific art teams are assigned

to each project, theres plenty of scope for
other artists to get involved with their own
ideas, says Jack Gilson, lead artist. Live
games are constantly updated with new
features and art, so your input
could always help a new game
as it continues to flourish.
There are also expert
panels that all add their
input to a game during its development
process. So if youre part of a different team
theres no reason why you cant talk to
the project leader or the lead artist during
a show and tell session, or over an office
beer in the evening.
The studio also allocates a set training

budget to every team member, who is then
free to spend it however they like to
improve their skills. Wooga is constantly
organising in-house workshops, expert
lecturers and brown bag sessions where
employees can share their learning with
each other, Jack says. Theres a big focus
on sharing here and you can learn a lot by
just showing up.
Its this sort of friendly collaboration
which has clearly contributed to Woogas
ongoing success and with the company
constantly looking to bring in new creative
talent among younger artists, that looks set
to continue for a long time to come.
More concept art for a

possible forthcoming
game, currently at the
development stage.
Find out more

about the rise
of mobile game
art on page 20!
Whats your own best advice for

someone looking to get into a
similar sort of job?
Its fairly simple really. You need a
portfolio thats up to par with
industry standards. If your portfolio
looks as good as the guys who did
District 9 or Frozen, then youre
bound to get to the studio of your
choosing. Art directors are looking
for people who can deliver solid art
first, and innovation second.
Silver joined Wooga in 2014.

He was previously a senior
concept artist at Crytek
Frankfurt and dabbled at
Jagex in Cambridge.
www.sept13.deviantart.com
November 2015
49
profile
Dan Howard
Country: US
d
r
a
w
o
Dan H
oating
fl
l
a
e
v
e
r
o
t
k
o
etchbo
sk
s
i
h
p
u
s
turtles
n
t
e
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o
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t
r
o
u
t
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s
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n
The ill es, horned women a
tre
Freelance concept artist

and illustrator in Los
Angeles, California. Past
work includes Ubisoft,
Rocket Games, Gaia
Interactive, Chocolabs and more.
www.danhowardart.com
biker
This is the basic idea of how

I work. A few thumbnails to give
ideas of where I want to go. From
there, I tighten up the sketch as
much as possible.
environmental
An environment idea. I sketch these in

lines first then go in and do a black and
white mood exploration. From there
I add colour on top. These are
relatively small and quick.
50
November 2015
Sketchbook Dan Howard

horns
twist
More tight sketches as

well as some random
ideas and gestures.
Not every idea is gold, so some days I draw

familiar characters just to stay in shape"
shapes
Not every idea is gold, so some days

I draw familiar characters just to stay
in shape, so to speak, and get
something drawn.
red sonja
Random sketches and a Red Sonja.

Ill do small black and white studies
as well to explore lighting and
mood ideas.
November 2015
51
mutants
The rough gestures, sketches and

final lines for two of the four Ninja
Turtles I decided to re-design
for a bit of fun.
52
November 2015
Sketchbook Dan Howard

fight of fancy
Sometimes I get to where I think I have a final sketch ready

for preparation to paint and then Ill do something I like even
more. The figure on the left looked nice for a while, but
I had a feeling I could sell the pose a lot better with dynamics,
as illustrated with these two sketches.
mine craft
This is an idea I had from a

Minecraft build basically a tree with
a small shrine around the base. I wanted
to explore different times of the day
in one illustration. These are the
sketches and black and white
compositions used.
I wanted to explore different

times of the day in Just the
one illustration
Want to share your sketches? Email us with a selection of your artwork, to sketchbook@imaginefx.com
NEXT MONTHS SKETCHBOOK: KEN LaSHLEy
November 2015
53
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See page 6 now!
Workshops assets
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Download each workshops WIPS, final image and

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Advice from the worlds best artists

56
This issue:
56 Reimagine a
video game character
Even Mehl Amundsen
paints a battle-hardened
Link from Legend of Zelda.
62 How to work
like a games artist
From speed painting to
rejected designs, Remko
Troost on video game art.
68 Depict a derelict
environment
Eliott Lilly talks you through
how to excel at an art test.
73 Controlling
colours in Krita
Understand Color Selectors,
with Katarzyna Oleska.
74
78
86
74 Use a limited
colour palette
Matt Gaser keeps a tight
rein on his colours.
78 Paint a dragon
with personality
Manuel Castan shares
his process for depicting
an original dragon.
80 How to design
a unique species
Ilya Golitsyn asks why?
as he illustrates amphibians.
86 Create a video
game boss character
Jie Gao utilises lighting
techniques and colouring
methods for his game art.
November 2015
55
Workshops
Photoshop
reimagine a video
game CharaCter
even mehl amundsen takes the iconic Link, of The Legend of Zelda
fame, and updates his look while remaining true to his gaming origins
even mehl
amundsen
Country:
Czech Republic
Norways
Even has
studied art
in Oslo and
Falmouth,
England, worked for
Canadas Volta games
studio for three years,
and he now freelances
from Prague.
http://ifxm.ag/evenma
he idea for this piece is to try

and flesh out the character
of Link and get a look at what
he would look like in a
gruffer, starker reality.
Because Link is used as somewhat of
an avatar for the player in Nintendos
classic The Legend of Zelda, and is mute
most of the time, its hard to get under
his skin. So I also want to try and imbue
the character with some aspects of
personality that make good sense to me.
I really want to make my Link stand

out from other versions that Ive seen. So
on top of his usual equipment I plan to
take some inspiration from old games
and comics, and make him the
adventurer I have in my head. To do this,
Ill try to apply details that will develop
the character: for example, his armour
and weather-beaten face. For this
workshop Ill take you through a step-bystep explanation of my process, and give
you some tips and ideas on how I work.
In treating Link as a piece of character

art, a lot of elements are already set
because there are certain elements that
need to be on the character, and so from
that standpoint Im a little limited. But
I can play around with his arms and
armour, as well as posing and lighting. So,
focusing on these, I try to add enough
differences between earlier versions of
Link and my own, without straying so far
off that he wouldnt be recognisable to
gamers as their Hero of Time.
get your
resources
See page 6 now!
Switch Lassos
c)
alt (PC & ma
holding Alt
Pressing and
a first point
after setting
onal Lasso
with the Polyg
you to
tool enables
d.
lasso freehan
Getting the ideas out
After talking it through with the guys at ImagineFX, we land on doing Link as a
character-centric piece. So I begin by working up some interesting line sketches to get my
ideas down. I do three iterations, working with the idea of drama being the greatest in the
moment right before, or right after, impact as it leaves the mind some room to play. So here
is Link: charging and dodging, having kicked some arse.
56
November 2015
Tightening up the lines
We choose the first sketch and after a few alterations to

his pose, I tighten up the line work I like to work with clean
lines. This is also a good chance to put in some details on the
character. In addition to Links normal gear, I figure he would
probably keep the sword from his childhood, even if it only
serves as a dagger.
In depth Reimagine a character
November 2015
57
Workshops
taking breaks
I usually try and take a
break every other hour,
to stretch my legs and
hands out, which is good
for preventing tendonitis
or cramps. Its also a
good idea to switch up
your grip when drawing
and painting, for the
same reasons. It can be
very helpful to find other
ways to hold your stylus,
as you would with classic
painting and drawing.
Putting colours down
Working on character art in particular, I like to break my

process down into individual problems that are fairly easy to
solve. I focus on getting them right one by one. Lines done, I lay
down flat colours, not thinking much about anything else other
than getting a palette that works for the character although the
palette for Link is mostly already defined.
Laying in more values
After the first value pass is complete, I go in with a Multiply layer to generate more
definition, and try and push the character towards a value read I find appealing. Again I paint
with warmer hues. I also attach a white layer over the flat colours from earlier, that I toggle on
and off, to get a second read on how my values are working.
Working up the shapes
Adding the background
Let it be bright!
I want to define some shapes, starting with larger ones

and moving down to the smaller one. I do this using a Hard
Light layer, and painting in my dark values with warmer hues
and lighter values with a less-saturated, cooler hue. I concentrate
on shapes reading correctly, and try not to worry much about
details at this point.
Now the character is coming into its own, he needs some

context. I want something that will be pretty loose and not take
attention away from the main character, but that will still add
something to the piece. I decide on a woodland landscape
familiar stomping ground for our hero. I love the idea of him
sprinting through the forest, taking on an unseen foe.
s
Cycling tool
(PC)
alt+left-click
)
alt+click (mac
clicking
Hold Alt when
cycle
tool icons to
.
through them
Its dark in the woods
Initially the idea is for light to be coming through the foliage hitting Link sporadically,
with a dappled effect. But the ImagineFX team decides against this approach as it makes it
difficult to achieve a good, dramatic read on the image and results in the piece feeling too
mellow. Instead, the idea is that Link has just passed into a clearing to engage some enemies.
58
November 2015
I brighten the piece, using a Brightness/Contrast

adjustment layer and attaching a Layer Mask to it, so I can brush
the adjustments in but leave key areas as they are. There are a
myriad ways of doing this and the best approach depends largely
on the lighting situation, so its always worth exploring different
solutions you might even find new techniques!
In depth Reimagine a character

resources
PhotoShoP
CuStom bruSheS:
auFgenommener
PinSeL 1
This slightly textured

chalk-style brush is
my go-to tool for most
painting needs. Its
very versatile.
Adjusting the palette
Now that the lighting is sorted out, I need to go back

and give the colours some revision, because theyve become a
little desaturated in the brightening process. I use a Color
Balance layer, adding more warmth back into the shadows and
giving the whole piece a little warmer overtone. I also do the first
rendering passes on foreground and background.
in the details
10 Bringing
Now that everything else is nailed down, I start on details.
I define the objects, ensuring different materials read correctly.
This takes a lot of time and a good bit of use from the Lasso
tool, which generates some clean selections that I can paint
within, making sure I keep my edges. I use the Pen tool for
specific selections that are too intricate for the Lasso.
SubtLe CoLor
randomizer
This brush can be used

for some subtle colour
variation, but in this
workshop I used it to
obliterate edges.
ChainmaiL
I seldom use specific

texture brushes, but
chainmail I will use, and
this one does the job
quite well.
round hard 70 1
11
Weathering pass
I add hints of wear and tear to the character, although

I dont want to do too much. I add some dings to his armour and
mess his shield up a little. I add some patterning to the sword,
to imbue it with a little real-life magic, because the patterning is
that of Damascus steel, which I think is appropriate.
polishing
12 Spit
I leave the image alone for a few hours, to let my eyes
The old Round brush can

pretty much be used
for anything, though
here it was used for lines.
rest and then come back with fresh ones. Im not thrilled with
the face: while it serves the purpose it feels a little impersonal
its not quite emotional enough. So I give it another pass, add a
little life, a little anger to it.
From general
to specifics
edges
13 Losing
Sharp edges in the wrong places can easily lead the
eye somewhere you dont want it to go. I go around the edges
with the Smudge tool and a Scatter Brush, scattering edges,
then smoothing them out again with a Smudge-Round brush
combination. I also use the Mixer Brush tool, to bring some
colours from the environment on to Link.
filters
14 Adding
At the end, I add a filter or two, to pop a few things.
With the noise filter I add a small amount of noise, to make
the image easier to look at. Next, I go into Lens Corrections,
under Filters, then to Custom bar and play with the Chromatic
Aberration sliders, to get some vibrance along the highlights
and edge-lights. Thats all folks!
November 2015
Always try to work from

general shapes and
elements to specific
ones, at least when
doing work other people
will have final say over, as
this will save you a lot
of trouble in the later
stages of a piece. In
addition, breaking any
problem down into steps
that you can manage will
make it a lot easier for
you to organise the
complex elements of an
illustration. To sum up,
planning prevents
poor performance!
59
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November 2015
61
Workshops
gear up your
game characters
Concept artist remko troost reveals how he creates character assets

for games including Assassins Creed Unity and the upcoming For Honor
remko troost
country: Canada
solutions to constraints and needs that

come from different departments and
directors. Your art may have to fit the
gameplay, story, animation and creative
vision, all at the same time. A lot of
decision taking and breaking happens
before the final art goes public.
Here, through some tips, notes and
tricks, Ill try to show you how to create
easy recognisable, original and readable

characters quickly all by solving several
industry design problems!
In the end youll need to create a
workflow that will enable you to quickly
solve your clients visual needs and/or
problems, all by most importantly
keeping your inner-child and passion
for creativity alive!
1 Work on your Workspace
The more familiar you are with your digital

workspace, the faster youll work and over
the years using it will become second
nature. I like to keep it as simple as
possible. I mainly open my colour palette
and layer windows, and eventually my
brushes when experimenting with texture
or painterly brushes. I use the Tab key to
make them disappear while I paint. And
remember to save your workspace.
I create a folder called ART-TOOLS, where
I name and save my colour palettes,
brushes, textures and so on, in order to
use them when needed and avoid having
unwieldy, overloaded palettes.
All images Ubisoft Entertainment unless otherwise stated.
Remko is a
senior
concept artist
at Ubisoft
Montreal,
where hes created
characters for Far Cry 3
and Assassins Creed. As
a freelancer hes worked
for clients such as Paizo
Publishing, Applibot and
Mokko Studios.
www.pandraw.com
ften when trying to land a job

as a concept artist in the film
or video game industry we
concentrate on art sets. Of
course, skills and understanding what
you see play an important role in our
work, but there can also be a lot of
discussion between several people in the
production process. Youll have to find
2 Thumbnailing and skeTching
Applibot
You need to be able to quickly communicate your

intentions with the team or your client. Some artists
will do thumbnails, others quick sketches or speed
paints. This is not the moment to show off your skills
or get picky about details. Keep it simple and go for
readability, and clear and recognisable shapes and
forms, which you can use to explain your first ideas.
Share and show them before you go further, to avoid
wasting time on rendering.
62
November 2015
Artist insight Game characters
3 limiTed sample
Avoid doing too many thumbnail
sketches. Your client is busy and
giving them too many options isnt
going to help. I ask some questions
and invite them to put keywords on
their ideas. I usually do two or three
iterations of a character, like in this
speed painting for Viking research
in For Honor. Then get back to
them to see if were heading in the
right direction. The more you know
about your clients vision, the more
precise your designs will be and the
less time youll waste.
4 Variety keeps things fresh
To maintain coherence, my final works are

often rendered the same way. But when I
start on a new character I like to switch styles
and experiment. Sometimes Ill do colour
speed paintings, like the Viking research.
Sometimes Ill start in black and white or on
paper. Other times, like this one, Ill work
with strong outlines.
Each approach forces you to think differently
and helps keep the passion for creativity and
discovery alive. Its also a way of challenging
myself. This is early Viking research for For
Honor. I started with paper and pen, then
scanned it into Photoshop.
The more you know about

your clients vision, the more
precise your designs will be
5 From carToon To rendering
This is a design for Sophie Trenet, a former assassin from the
game Assassins Creed Unity, and its a good example
of my previous point about limiting the number of my
initial concepts. I found out as much as possible about
her character and then put down a few simple thumbnails,
to communicate my ideas to the team.
I often sketch these thumbnails on a low-resolution
canvas. For my outlines I often use a hard-edged Round
brush, leaving Pen Pressure unchecked and Opacity set to
80 per cent. Then I apply flat opaque colours with either no
or minimal amount of shading or gradients.
Once we agreed on her design (on the left), I increased
the canvas resolution to between 5,000 and 9,000 pixels
and then started painting in light, shadows, details and so
forth, until I was happy with the final image (right).
November 2015
63
Workshops
6 look inTo my eyes...

You dont need to design a whole character to capture the essentials.
Much of a characters allure and personality comes from the head, its
position, the face, and especially their expression and their eyes. Often its
about what he or she reflects when you look them in the eyes for the first
time. Shoes come later, once you all agree on what really defines the
characters personality. This was early research for For Honor, where I tried
to catch the spirit of an old, proud and powerful warrior.
Im sitting there in my blacksmiths

forge and these assassin dudes walk in
and ask me to design weapons
7 Body language
Youll often use static poses when

concentrating on character design. But static
doesnt have to mean boring and sometimes
its their body language or pose that shows
what they are all about. This revolutionary
for Assassins Creed Unity needed to show
fighting spirit, so I tried to visualise this in his
pose, expression and body language. Trying
different poses also averts the danger of
routine getting into my workflow too often.
8 be whaT you draw

I got asked to redesign the legendary assassins blade on Assassin Creed
Unity, as well as their other weapons. I felt honoured and excited.
I imagine sitting there in my blacksmiths forge and these assassin dudes
walk in and ask me to design weapons for them. I like to imagine how
I would have done it if I had to design these weapons for real. By doing
this I already know what it should look like before I start to draw.
For Arnos Phantom Blade I made fake technical designs, inspired by
clocks, trying to make them look like they could really work. How could
an assassin kill somebody with a hidden blade from afar without a noise
A mini crossbow blade! The Phantom Blade was made for real in the Man
at Arms YouTube series. It was a blast to see it work!
64
November 2015

9 make iT
look real
These weapon concepts
were done as early research
for For Honor. When
designing weapons, characters,
props and so forth its important
to make them look real. Think
about them as actual objects.
What have these people or
weapons been through? In this
case, I ask how long have the
characters been fighting with
these weapons? The shields, for
example, would have been hit a
few times already and so they
should show cuts, dents and
scratches. For the swords, their
metal becomes less shiny
through time perhaps, and if
a character has been in a battle
recently he probably wont look
at all clean and shiny either.
Scars, dirt, ripped clothes,
scratches and so on make your
designs look authentic.
Impact on enemy armour,

shields or other surfaces
would create scratches and
blows on the axe.
Characters would wrap leather

or rope around a weapon
for better grip.
When new leather straps

are added, they wouldnt
be the same colour.
Polished and/or glossy

wood would gradually
appear more mat
over time.
11 triggering emotions
These designs were done for the For Honor faction web
pages. Mood and colour play a big role in how a viewer
takes in a character or landscape, and you can use these
elements to trigger or boost a viewers emotional
response. For example, emotions such as fear, anxiety or
evil can be triggered with dark or washed-out greens and
blues. Theyre often used in horror films. Using warmer or
pastel colours could generate more positive emotions. Try
to observe which colours are used in films to bring about
certain emotions, and apply them to your art.
10 lasso and pen Tools

As a concept artist, sometimes you have to tackle other
tasks during the design stage. These can range from mockups or storyboards for trailers, to presentations and logos,
or even ideas for the players interface and menus.
Here Ive mainly used the Lasso and Pen Tools for creating
the faction logos in For Honor. I directly draw the shapes
using the free-hand Lasso Tool, with Feather set to 0 per
cent and then fill the mask with either the foreground or
background colour using a shortcut on my Cintiq or Intuos.
Directly drawing shapes using the Lasso Tool and filling
them up with foreground or background colours is a
technique thats often used when speed painting.
November 2015
65
Workshops
12 more possibiliTies, more characTers
The next-gen consoles come with more power and more possibilities. One trend thats accompanying
this boost in hardware technology is the endless choices players have when customising their
characters. This means artists have to create plenty of costumes, weapons and accessories for the
same character, to enable people to create their own heroes. These costume designs were done for
Arno in Assassins Creed Unity. Often I start out with a basic costume and then slowly build it up by
adding layers, to create several variations of the same outfit.
You can either start out simple

then add layers to the character
to create variations, or
start with more details,
as shown here, and slowly
remove them.
Z ones enable the

player to change colours
or textures for even
more variation.
Slots can be used

to define which parts
of the character
can be customised.
eVolution
of a character
A game character may have lived a long life before they even make it on to the players screen
A lot of sketches, iterations and research

are done on characters before the public
sees them. This unfortunately results in
plenty of rejected designs. A lot of
people and their visions are involved in
this process. Here are some early Elises
from Assassins Creed Unity.
66
November 2015
The thumbnails were created quickly to

communicate my intentions. I kept them
simple and went for readability and clear
and recognisable shapes and forms.
I shared this with the rest of the team
before going further, to avoid wasting
time on unnecessary rendering.
Main characters often change during the

making of a game. Scenario, animation,
budgets and gameplay all have an effect,
and if one changes during production,
the character often changes with it. Elise
needed to be softened up a little bit to
better fit her love story with Arno.
13 backgrounds and... acTion!

Sometimes, just like I did here for early research done on
non-playing characters for Assassins Creed Unity, adding
a background can strengthen the storytelling of your
characters: where theyre from, who they are, and what
faction they belong to. Furthermore, adding some action or
storytelling to the scene could show what theyre up to or
the role they have in the game. I like to add backgrounds,
when time permits, because its fun and better emphasises
the characters part in a story. Its also a way to energise
your characters presentation.
By hearing those words,

I saw her standing in front of
me, without picking up my
pen. Concept art is a language
to express your ideas
14 the magic of keyWords
When creating a character from scratch I find

it helpful to sum up their nature in just three
or four keywords. If chosen with enough
thought and care, such words will often create
strong mental images. For example, what
springs to mind when you try to visualise
desperate, ruthless or scheming?
During the character design process I like to
ask the client or team for a couple of keywords
that best describe the character for them. Ill
always remember the words Dan Hay,
producer of the Far Cry series, told me when
working on Citra from Far Cry 3. Remko, think
about: bitch, voodoo and sexy mama! Just by
hearing those words, I directly saw her there
standing in front of me, without picking up my
pen. In the end, concept art is just a language
through which you express your ideas.
November 2015
67
Workshops
Photoshop
depict a derelict
environment
eliott lilly shows how to turn your pre-existing art work into
a new, coherent video game concept, during a mock art test
68
November 2015
In depth Environment art
We review
Eliotts book
on succeeding
as a games
concept artist
turn to page 96
November 2015
69
Workshops
eliott lilly
country: US
Eliott is a
freelance
concept artist,
adjunct
professor
and author, who has
been working in the
video game industry
for nearly a decade.
www.eliottlillyart.com
rying to become a professional

concept artist and work in
the video game industry?
Then at some point in your
job application process youll likely be
given an art test.
Like a typical assignment given by the
art director, an art test usually consists of
a brief backstory, image requirements and
a goal. Its designed to gauge your ability
to follow instructions, challenge your
creativity in a controlled context and test
your level of commitment. Even though

it can be completed over the course of a
few weeks, and in the comfort of your
own home, it can still be stressful.
To alleviate the stress, Ive developed
a system of checks and balances that
ensures I never overlook the details.
Its a surefire way to understand the
assignment, a systematic check that you
have executed on each expectation.
For the purpose of this workshop, Ill
also be cherry-picking elements from my
own, pre-existing artwork, to help speed

up the creative process and stimulate new
ideas. These images were incomplete
images, or idea starters that I never
completed. Art tests are a great way to
bring new purpose to old work assuming
its of a good-enough quality and
appropriate for the challenge, of course.
This system of handling art tests has
worked well for me and in this workshop
Ill show you my methods for tackling an
art test step by step.
get your
resources
See page 6 now!
resources
Understand the assignment
Thumbnail studies
I read the assignment and pick out the key words that
identify the expectations of the image. These words act like a
checklist of must-haves for the image to be successful. I also take
some initiative and create a backstory by answering the Five Ws
(who, what, where, when and why?). This process helps me flesh
out the unknown details and forms my narrative of the scene.
Gather the troops
Rummaging through my art files, I chose several images

that Im proud of, which have strong elements I can cherry-pick
from. These images will be a spring board for my future ideas
and will help speed up the process. I arrange the wall panels,
floor pieces and other elements that I like in a folder and set
them aside for reference later.
photoshop
custom Brushes:
hard round 176 1
This hard Round brush

is my go-to tool for line
work. I find that it works
best for me at 3-5 pixels
in diameter.
smoke
A great brush for clouds

or smoke. Excellent for
adding atmosphere to
your image.
sample Brush 10 3
Another one I picked

up online. Its pressure
sensitivity is great for
textured work.
usmc radio
operator
I got this brush from

deviantART and use
it as a placeholder, for
a character or for scale.
70
Because my source material is fixed, and I already have a good idea of what I want to achieve, I doodle just enough of a
thumbnail to reaffirm my intentions and what I want to achieve. If you were doing this for real, youd want to spend a good amount
of time on this stage, working through your composition, areas of interest and so forth.
November 2015
In depth Environment art

scale from an
objects cent
re
shift+alt (mac
)
shift+alt (pc)
Use the anch
or point to
scale evenly
retaining
proportions
.
Establishing scale and perspective
Its skew time!
The first thing I do is expand my background image to

fill the canvas, and align my perspective grid to match. I also
have a character brush that I use for scale. I stamp it once, then
scale him to size around the canvas for reference. Establishing
your perspective and scale at an early stage will save you from
a massive headache down the road.
Line work and value pass
Now that the scale is already established, I know what size

I should skew the doors and ceilings to. I add my line work and
do a quick value pass to see where I want the light to come from.
Value sketches can sometimes be quick and easy studies
(normally done as part of my thumbnail process) to establish
the mood of an image.
I like to work smart when placing elements of interest

into my scene. I skew this techie element into place to give the
illusion that its lying flat on the floor. This can get tricky, but
having a perspective grid helps. I draw one pipe, then duplicate it
twice, altering their colours so they look different. I then flip this
batch to match the other side.
Work smart,
not hard
Another scale check
Im constantly checking to ensure scale is clearly defined.

One of the things I really enjoy about painting digitally is those
happy accidents that occur when you least expect them. While
doing a scale check, I get an idea to paint a stairwell in the
background. I love this idea because it adds an extra area of
interest and makes the hallway feel grand. Win!
Fire with mixed brushes
Part of the backstory I created while using my Five Ws

was that this area has suffered extensive fire damage. Ensuring
that I add this element in my scene, I begin to paint in the scorch
marks. I gather some photo reference of what a fire burn looks
like, then use several custom brushes to mimic this effect.
November 2015
A good trick I learned

early on is the process of
duplicating a flat shape
into a pattern, then
skewing that pattern into
perspective and using it
on the floor, walls or
wherever. Since you can
get some crazy patterns,
I also use this technique
when Im having little
luck creating a unique
shape. This technique is
helpful when youre at a
creative impasse.
71
Workshops
skew your
selection
(mac)
shift+cmd+i
lt (pc)
shift+ctrl+a
selection
Quickly skew
flat wall
a
r
fo
y
hand
perspective.
Further refinement
At this point, my brain is on autopilot. I work around

the image, adding damage to various elements here and there,
such as the track system and railings. I make sure theres clear
separation between the fore-, mid- and background. The most
important thing for me here is that the image reads well.
and check
10 Flip
In a further effort to ensure readability, I always like to
flip and greyscale the image. This is a great way to get a fresh
perspective of your work in progress. After doing this, I instantly
notice that my values are getting crushed. They are too dark in
the background and several shapes have gotten a bit lost, so
I spend a bit of time cleaning them up.
hide the
marching ants
My first order of business
after making a selection,
is to hide those pesky
black and white lines.
Adobe calls them
marching ants I believe
and I find them
distracting when
working against a dark
background. This can be
done by pressing Ctrl+H
after a section has been
made. Once you are
done painting within that
selection, you can press
Ctrl+H to show it again,
or Ctrl+D to deselect
everything. Try it!
11
Damage with the Lasso tool
Attempting to make it look like there was an explosion

in the area, I begin to draw busted-out wall panels and such-like.
Using the Lasso tool I select an area I want to paint, then hide
the selection so I can see what Im doing, and proceed to use
a gradient to fill in that selection.
and compare
13 Review
Feeling good about my image, I check it against my initial intent. I revisit my Five Ws
to ensure theyre clear in my picture. I ask my wife Kim, who is unaware of my assignment, to
describe the image to me. She gets about 90 per cent of it right, which tells me Ive reached
most of my goal and highlights a few areas that need improvement.
72
November 2015
the figure
12 Painting
I decide to place a figure in my image. From my Five Ws
I know hes a member of the press, so I give him regular clothing,
a camera and a flashlight. Hes not the main focus and so I keep
him loose and gestural. I dont paint his face because his
attributes are unimportant (hes mainly there to reaffirm scale).
details and polish

14 Final
I address a few issues and make final adjustments. I flatten
my image and begin to address it as a whole (correcting values,
tightening details, adding filters and so on). I know Ive already
achieved my goal, so everything beyond this point is just polish.
Its becoming more of an illustration than a concept, but for an
art test, its always best to knock it out of the park!
Quick technique Kritas colours
Krita Desktop
controlling
colours in Krita
Learn how to use different Krita Desktop Color Selectors and their
settings to your advantage, as Katarzyna oleska explains the basics
o start painting in Krita you
will first need a Color
Selector with which to
choose your colours.
Krita offers a variety of them. You can
turn them on and off from the top menu
by clicking Settings>Dockers and
choosing from the list.
Here are the ones you can work with:
Advanced, Specific, Artistic and Small
Advanced Color
Selector
The outside circle enables you to choose

the Hue (colour). Meanwhile, the triangle
in the middle shows the mixture of three
colours situated at its vertices: white,
black and the chosen hue (50 per cent
lightness and 100 per cent saturation).
At the bottom a Shade Selector suggests
different colour options for the recently
chosen colour, while on the right you can
see your Color History.
Pop-up Selector
When you click the right mouse

button or one of your pen buttons (by
the way, youll need to assign this action
to your pen button if its not yet assigned
to it), a pop-up Selector will automatically
appear in front of you. This pop-up
Selector contains a Color Selector
surrounded by Color History, as well as
a Brushes Collection from a selected
Brush Presets Tag, which appears in the
drop-down menu.
Small Color Selectors
You can also use smaller Color

Selectors. Specifically these are: Small
Color Selector, Specific Color Selector
and Color Sliders, operating on Hue,
Saturation and Lightness variables among
others (you can choose your variables
in the Advanced Color Selection Settings
see information in point E on the
right). All of these take up less space,
but at the same time can make
choosing colours harder.
Color Selectors, as well as Color Sliders

and Digital Color Mixers. Some of
them, such as Advanced Color Selector,
can be modified.
The more advanced settings may seem
like theyre unnecessary at first. But they
may change the painting experience once
you understand them and very soon
youll learn which of the settings suit your
artistic needs best.
Katarzyna
oleska
country: England
Katarzyna is
a self-taught
illustrator who
works for
various
publishers and private
customers, specialising
in portraits, caricatures,
fantasy and sci-fi
illustration. Shes known
as an illustrator of some
major book titles such
as Terry Pratchett
Discworld series.
http://ifxm.ag/kataro
adjusting your
colour settings
If you click the Settings icon at the top left
on the Advanced Color Selector (ACS),
youll be able to adjust that Selector and
another, called Color Sliders. Even though
it may seem unnecessary to adjust these
settings at first, some changes applied to
them can make your colour selecting easier.
a. general tab
Here you can choose a Color Space for your
Advanced Color Selector (ACS) without
changing the whole colour profile of your
image. For example, while working on your
painting in RGB mode you can choose to
switch your ACS to Grayscale or CMYK
Color Space. You can also choose what will
happen to the Shade Selector when you
shrink the ACS and determine the nature
of the zoom for your Selector.
B. color selector tab

You can choose what type of selector you
want to work with: HSV, HSL, HSI or HSY.
As you click them a description will open
to the right explaining each type
separately. You can also choose the shape
of the selector. Not everybody likes the
default triangle shape of the Advanced
Color Selector. I personally prefer the one
on the top right.
c. shade selector tab

Youre able to adjust the look of your Shade
Selector, too.
d. color Patches tab

Here you can adjust how the Color History
is going to be displayed: how many patches,
their size, count and location.
e. color sliders tab

This setting actually affects a different
Docker. Here you can choose what kind of
sliders are going to be visible in the Color
Sliders Docker.
November 2015
73
Workshops
Photoshop
use a limited
colour palette
matt Gaser
country: US
Matt is an art
director and
concept artist
whos worked
on some of
the top films and video
games around today.
www.mattgaser.com
get your
resources
See page 6 now!
74
matt Gaser shows how keeping a tight rein on colour

can result in a more satisfying painting experience
or this workshop Ill be guiding
you through methods Ive
used on how to control
colour and light while
applying a limited colour palette.
Finding the perfect inspiration that
leads to a great idea, that later becomes
a layout is a natural process in creating
a painting. Yet finding the right colours
or mood to anchor the world youve
drawn can sometimes be hard to pin
down, and at times very frustrating.
November 2015
If all else fails, keep your colours,

values and tones close together. Squint
your eyes and picture an image where
everything is coloured from a similar
place in the rainbow. Painting this way
can be useful in setting the tone for your
main subject matter to pop. Finding the
right mood early on will help identify
a family of hues to work from, setting
up boundaries within a range of
intermediate colours for you to use
throughout the painting process.
A technique I sometimes use begins

with abandoned or unfinished paintings
of my own, integrating this material
over a nice layout or sketch. This can
set the painting on the right course in
unexpected ways. Reference material
is your next best option if you want to
experiment in this way.
So, let your brain relax from the
rainbow of choices out there and lets get
creative with a limited colour palette that
puts you firmly in the driving seat.
In depth Limited colours
Creating the layout
Before I begin I generally have a simple idea in mind. This

can be from a sketch Ive done already or an image in my head.
In this case Im working from a drawing I created using pencil.
After Ive scanned it and imported it to Photoshop, I widen the
canvas size to landscape format. This painting is for a book cover
and will need to be wider on the right side for the flaps.
Starting with good reference
Because my layout already has a castle in the background I decide to use an unfinished
colour sketch of mine that had a mountain palace high above in the clouds. When I saw
this image from my library I knew I had found the right mood and colour to start my new
illustration. The same technique can be applied to stock photography or any other image
from your photo reference archive.
November 2015
75
Workshops
painting
with light
A method I like to use
while Im about mid-way
through a painting is to
duplicate all the layers to
my file. Then I collapse
all these layers into a
complete image thats
flattened, and copy this
flatten layer and darken
it between 30 and 50 per
cent. What this does is
enable you to erase with
light. Because the
bottom layer is lighter
than the top layer you
can effectively paint with
light, by erasing areas
you want to be hit by a
light source.
Laying down colour
Light source
Balancing the composition
I begin by multiplying (Layers>Multiply) my reference

image into my layout, then use other textures and Photoshop
brushes to fill in blank areas. Because my reference image is
mostly warm tones, I transition other areas into soft purples
and greens. I need to make the main character stand out, so
I shift his costume to more cyan, blues and metallic armour.
Layering Channel selections
Focusing on detail
Adding the bridge
By selecting the Channels mode (bottom left tab on the

tool bar) Im able to paint in my selection in red. Then I press
the tab again, which turns it into a selection that I can save
(Select>Save Selection). Ill do this process for every major area
in the painting, saving my selections as I go. This way I can easily
paint behind or in front of areas quickly.
Brush size
mac)
[ and ] (pc &
re bracket
Use the squa
ly increase
keys to quick
the
or decrease
brush size.
The tones need work and I shift the overall palette to more
red/purples. Then I work on the direction of light. By studying
the source as it comes from behind the castle I drop in stronger
highlights while darkening my mid-tones for more contrast. I
add a lake behind the main character, to help separate him from
the background and add trees and foliage in the mid-ground.
I like to work all over the place as I paint, building up

details, moving on to another part. Here I focus on the main
characters face. The sun is behind him and hes got larger ears,
so Im pushing the skins translucency, and striking highlights in
areas where the suns on his face. This gives me a value to base
the mid-tones on his face, which is mostly in shadow.
resources
photoshop
custom Brushes:
Gaser dry Brush
I use this brush a lot for

making clouds and
giving objects texture.
Its like a real dry brush.
Gaser oil Brush
A great brush for

blocking in colour and
landscapes. Has a
buttery feel, like oil paint.
76
The left side of the image needs more focus, so I add more
trees and fill in the sky with tones that are from the rest of the
clouds. However, I dont want too much brightness in these areas
because the castle location should be the strongest in terms of
contrast to my characters. So I keep things soft and mid-tone in
value on the right side. I also keep the colours purplish in tone.
November 2015
I notice the left side seems too baron. So I introduce

a strange bridge into the background. This will also lead the
eye to the main character and castle. I chose colours that are
similar to other areas in the scene, such as reds and purples.
I dont want make the bridge a totally difference hue because
it would pull the eye away from the main subject matter.
In depth Limited colours
Knocking back values
After adding the bridge I see that the values are getting a
bit too close to the foreground elements. So I decide to add a fog
layer. This will help with atmospheric perspective and push the
main character forward in the scene.
details
10 Castle
Now I move on to the castle. I use a round Hard brush and draw as I paint the outline
and inner details of the palace. I want these values to be very close together and so I squint my
eyes as I work, comparing the hues with each other. Most of this area is in complete shadow.
Only subtle areas along the edge are hit by the sunlight thats shining through the clouds.
hue/saturat
ion
ctrl+u (pc)
cmd+u (mac
)
Quickly adjus
t lights and
darks or Satu
ration,
or shift the co
lour of
a selected ar
ea.
11
Final main character detail
I move back to the foreground character. I work on the

feather in his hat, fine-tune the values in his face and around the
eyes. I spend time on his costume and brighten the middle areas,
while leaving more contrast on the edges of his silhouette. This
will help turn the form and reduce any flattening. I also brighten
the scene directly behind him, to push his values forward.
the other character

12 Detailing
Im now ready to finish the details on the side character.
Because hes so small I start a new file and paint on him at a
much higher resolution. Then I drop this layer into the final
painting and scale him back down to fit. Even though his
resolution is smaller in the final image, because I painted him
separately at a hi res, those details will come through.
add details
with a filter
the scene
13 Fine-tuning
As I scan through the image I return to the trees on the
right side, indicating leaves and branches. I also add birds and
little details throughout, while making sure my values all group
and dont compete with the rest of the image.
highlights and detail

14 Final
As the image comes to a finish I drop in little details
such as the floating boats in the background or rim light on
the characters. I also colour shift areas so that they match more
closely. As I look over the image and find it harder to see things
that need attention, I realise its complete and am happy to call
this painting done!
November 2015
Another technique I like

to use is the Poster
Edges filter (Filter>Filter
gallery>Poster Edges).
When Im close to
finishing a painting I will
duplicate it, flatten all my
layers and run the Poster
Edges filter. It crunches
all the edges and can be
harsh at first, so make
sure to reduce the
Transparency by 60-80
per cent. The result can
sharpen areas and give
you more detail without
a lot of work. You may
have to erase areas
where the filter isnt
working, though.
77
Workshops
PainT a dragon
wiTh PersonaliTy
Manuel Castan shares his process for painting an
original dragon, from sketch to finished illustration
Manuel
Castan
CounTry: Mexico
Manuel is a
21-year-old
self-taught
illustrator
whos been
in love with fantasy and
medieval art for as long
as he can remember.
http://ifxm.ag/mcastan
get your
resources
See page 6 now!
his image was made as an entry

for the Facebook group Draw
or Dies monthly Ascension
contest. The idea was to paint
ourselves with our own personal dragon,
one that would Symbolise who you are
and what you love about everything in
life. It was meant to be our inner fire, as
artists, something that drives us forward.
I must confess this prospect made me
feel like a child. Since dragons were
among the first things I started drawing at
the age of four, my love for them has only
grown stronger over the years. I wanted
to show my love for fantasy and art, the
joy of my inner child, what I am and what
I want to be, all in one image.
Needless to say it wasnt easy. This is
the fourth iteration I did for the contest
over a one-month period. It was the
breakthrough after a lot of failed
compositions and colour choices, but
once I arrived at this sketch everything
went smoothly. This is the process Im
going to show you.
Never let yourself get discouraged
when youre struggling. Craig Mullins
once said,Failure is 99 per cent of the
artistic process. And hes right!
Defining light sources

Defining your light sources is a very
important step. The main light is the sun,
which comes down from the right upon the
scene. This enabled me to use the shadow of
the mountains to create rhythm with the
lights and darks in the background.
how i create
a dragon rider and his MounT
Line work sketch
Some people work better from

shapes, others work better from line work.
Starting with lines feels more natural to me.
I like the composition and the idea of this
sketch. It looks like the character is protected
under the dragons wing.
78
November 2015
Adding stripes
I create a new layer under the lines

and start painting. I want to make this image
bright and cheerful. I use the lighting to
stripe the image and create depth, while at
the same time keeping a sense of warm light
and cool shadows.
Refine, refine, refine!
From this point the process is pretty

straightforward just paint over the lines!
I use reference for the face and take
inspiration from other artists for the
environment and from horses, to help
depict the dragons muscles.
Storytelling
elements
The transformations of
the sheets of paper into
dragons as they leave
the notebook are there
to bring interest and
some story to the image.
I spent a good amount
of time messing around
with them, trying to
make the shapes read
well without attracting
too much attention.
Artist insight Paint a dragon

Reference usage
When youre just sketching stuff or
practising, its fine to do everything
from imagination. However, reference
becomes essential for a professionallooking illustration, especially for faces
or other anatomical details. Having said
this, capturing the characters look is
easy because hes supposed to be me!
resources
Values test
A picture must be
understandable. If it
doesnt work in black and
white it most likely wont
work in colour either.
Even when the value
range is drastically
compressed, this image
can still be understood
and the most basic
composition emerges.
PhoToshoP
CusToM brush:
Tyrion
I got this from Shaddy

Safadis brush pack and
it soon became my
favourite. I use it for
pretty much everything.
November 2015
79
Workshops
Photoshop
how to design
a unique species
ilya golitsyn encourages you to ask why, as he shares his process for
designing and illustrating amphibian humanoids for a video game
ilya golitsyn
country: Netherlands
Ilya is a senior
concept artist
at Guerrilla
Games,
specialising in
character design and
illustration. He kayaks
and paints miniatures in
his spare time.
http://ifxm.ag/ilyago
get your
resources
See page 6 now!
lose your eyes and imagine a

post-apocalypse world where
only humans survived, and
because of the natural
selection humanoids evolved to fill all
the biospheres habitat. The closest thing
to this happened when dinosaurs died,
leaving a whole new world for the
surviving mammals to conquer.
Now what if the same extinction event
happens again, and only sapiens survive,
but degrade just enough to start the
adaptation process without all the fancy
tools they have nowadays? In the course
of, lets say, a million years well have new

fauna, derived from the homo sapiens.
The world of flying, ground digging,
hunting and swimming humanoids.
The reason why Ive spent so much
time describing this world is because
the setting is crucial when you have to
create any design in an imaginative
environment, especially if its a creature or
character concept. It makes the design so
much richer when the finished visual
doesnt only answers what and how,
but also why. In case of creature design,
why will help to apply anatomy
knowledge when designing species that fit

certain conditions.
This workshops task is to create a
design of one of the species that could
inhabit this world, focusing on aquatic
humanoids as a theme. These shouldnt
be fish-men or mermaids, but rather
humans that evolved into the new homo
amphibian. Throughout the workshop Ill
show you a bit of my thought process and
decision making, as well as the digital
painting techniques I use. The result will
be an illustration presenting homo
amphibians in their natural habitat.
establish your
power keys
I use a small gaming
keyboard for work in
Photoshop. To have
access to all the
commands I need, I had
to change default
keyboard shortcuts quite
a lot. It took a while to
get used to the new
setup, but now I have
instant access to dozens
of functions. Using
shortcuts, knowing them
by heart and having
them all in one hands
reach hugely increases
workflow speed. It feels
like driving a mecha!
80
Research and idea
I start with rough sketches of the creatures head. I decide

Id like these guys to be partially a land species, like otters or fur
seals. These animals breathe once in a while with their nose just
above the surface water. That helps me come up with the idea of
raising the nose to eye level. Out of several designs I pick the
ones that are a bit more human-like.
November 2015
Anatomy design
I draw a quick human skeleton profile and make it semitransparent. On top of it, I line out a new creatures skeleton,
keeping in mind the otters and seals anatomies: over time these
animals have developed more streamlined features and
elongated body parts. On the new skeleton I sketch out muscle
volumes and adjust it until Im happy with the result.
In depth Unique species
November 2015
81
Workshops
ent
redo adjustm(Mac)
rtcut
cmd+alt+sho
tcut (pc)
ctrl+alt+shor
, to reapply
For example
turation
latest Hue/Sa
s
settings, pres
Ctrl+Alt+U.
Composition and pose
Face designs
Cleaning up the line art
Now its time to start with the main illustration. I do a

couple of rough poses sketches, trying to capture the grace that
you can see in the underwater footage of sea mammals. I decide
to make multiple figures interacting with each other. Itll help
me to sell the idea of them being still quite social.
Construction line art
Silhouette and volume
First colour and lighting
As soon as the decision is made about which sketch to

work on, I go on to define the body shapes of our creatures with
a new line-art pass. Sometimes its really hard to get certain body
parts looking correct from certain angles. In these cases I often
do small anatomy sketches at different angles, to help me
understand whats going on.
resources
photoshop
custoM brushes:
iFX_spots
Before continuing further with the main illustration,

I switch to the faces sketches I made earlier and make a cleaner
line art version. Switching between images helps to keep things
fresh and increases your productivity. It also helps me get into
the line art mood and get a better feel for these creatures facial
details before I continue with the main image.
Using the Magic Wand tool and a Quick mask I select the
silhouette of the line art. I fill with colour and start blocking in
basic light, mainly to indicate volumes. This is easy to do with
the layer set to Lock Transparent Pixels, which enables you to be
bold with brush strokes while staying within a layers borders.
Ive painted air bubbles

with this one.
iFX_Flat_seMihard
This brush Ive used for

blocking in light on soft
surfaces and sketching
the cloth.
iFX_teXture
The random nature of

this brush creates happy
accidents when applying
light and texture.
iFX_sMudge_grain
Grain brushes are good

for a Smudge tool,
creating a nice textured
transition along edges.
82
I use a tracing paper layer when drawing multiple passes

of line art: a layer of semi-transparent white colour that helps
separate previous line art. I come up with the idea of under-jaw
shells that these guys could wear. What if they would use some
throat sounds to communicate under water. And in order to
amplify these sounds, they would use these shells.
November 2015
Usually I begin with a black and white or monochrome

image. To start colourising the image, I apply a blue colour layer,
set to Multiply. On a separate layer I paint rays of volumetric
light. It not only helps create the impression of underwater
light, but also helps me define which surfaces should be lit.
Directional light from above will help me outline the characters.
In depth Unique species
Rendering caustics
If you repeatedly apply Difference Clouds on the same

layer, itll create a lightning texture. I give this texture more
contrast and set it to Color Dodge. After skewing this layer in
perspective I achieve my caustics on the seabed and lights on the
water surface. The same layer, with inverted colours and Multiply
mode, becomes the water surfaces shadows.
11
Clean up and render
Now its time to do some rendering. I use the Lasso to

clean up the silhouettes and the Smudge tool with a grain brush
to soften the brushstrokes edges. I apply same caustic effect on
the characters, but this time I warp the texture using a Liquify
filter, which ensures it follows their bodies surfaces. I add light
to the clothing as well.
a culture
10 Designing
I give the amphibians clothing to suggest that theyre intelligent and have a tribe-like
culture. Because they spend a lot of time in the water, they would probably use seaweeds as a
material for garments. Their garments would be soft when underwater, but on the land
become stiffer, helping to support their elongated bodies vertically, almost like corsets.
colour variation
12 Skin
I add more colour variation to my amphibians skin. Using
a mask painted with a texture brush, I select spots on their
bodies and create a new layer (Ctrl+J). With Hue/Saturation,
I make it brighter and apply Layer Style with Outer Glow to
make the layers textured edges more readable. Now our
amphibians have pigmentation spots like some sea mammals.
quick blendi
ng
mode change
shift+right-c
lick (pc & Ma
c)
When using
a brush this
shortcut open
s a pop-up
menu with ble
nding
modes.
outline using
layer styles
but characters
13 All
I detail the background and add more seaweed.
Foreground elements help to bring the viewer into the scene.
I put the caustic layer on the seaweed and, using a mask, erase it
everywhere except for the lit places. With my spots brush I paint
bubbles on a separate layer. To create a simple lighting effect I use
Inner Glow and Inner Shadow in the bubble layer style.
colour correction
14 Final
I do some overall colour adjustment. I try different colour
gradients and blending modes until Im happy. When the image
is done, I select all and copy (Ctrl+Shift+C) to a new layer. Then
I apply Unsharp Mask to this layer to make the details pop. And
this is it! I hope youve enjoyed this workshop and learned
something new. Cheers!
November 2015
I use Inner Glow for an

outline effect instead of
Stroke. Go to Layer>
Layer Style>Inner
Glow>set Blend mode to
Multiply or Normal and
pick a darker colour.
Adjust Choke, Size and
Range to get a nice thin
outline around the
brushstroke. This will
give you a smoother
outline than a standard
Stroke. It also creates a
shading effect if your
brushs opacity is set to
the pen tablets pressure.
83
21st Century Ta
nk
Girl artist Brett
Parson brings th
e
anarchist to the
IFX cover!
84
November 2015
Indie Comics
Enter the highly personal world of creative
comics beyond the mainstream
All this and more!
Ken Lashley
The DC artist reveals

his quirky side, with
sketches a world away
from average supes.
Hellboy
French caricature artist

Jean-Sebastien Monge
takes on the little devil,
in his own unique way.
Fables of Tintin
Belgians most famous

blonde gets a makeover
by Fables cover artist
Nimit Malavia.
Fiona Staples
The Canadian all-rounder

speaks about developing her
style, the ongoing Saga and
winning all the awards!
Lewis LaRosa
Interpret scripts and lay

out pages to maximise
clear storytelling and
dramatic impact.
Issue 128 on sale Friday 9 October

November 2015
85
Workshops
86
November 2015
In depth Boss character
create a video
game boss
character
Jie gao uses a range of lighting and colouring techniques
to illustrate a Blizzard-style end-of-level video game boss
hen I receive an invitation
from a commissioning editor
I begin thinking of what
I want to show and what are
the best aspects of my art. Out of all the
styles I draw in, fantasy is my favourite.
I always really enjoy the process. In this
case I really want to show how to use
Photoshop to make a fantasy illustration.
Illustration is used everywhere in the

game industry and most of the time
designers and illustrators use Photoshop
to create this art as do I!
This example here took me around
20 hours. I was aiming to paint a boss
character standing in front of the Holy
Well, which produces some mysterious
liquid. The boss is tasting the liquid,
while some of the crows are also

interested in sampling it. The liquid is
made from the bodies of another species
he defeated in battle.
A night-time setting helps make the
atmosphere look more mysterious. I used
the green, blue and orange lighting to
build this image. Most of the shadows
are produced with these colours.
Jie gao
country: US
Previously
lead concept
designer at
Beijings
NetEase, Jie
is currently an intern at
Ubisoft in San Francisco.
http://ifxm.ag/jiegao
get your
resources
See page 6 now!
Line sketch
I try various compositions before selecting this one, which

Im most happy with. The basic ideas of the skin and details of
the boss are inspired by Blizzard Entertainments World of
Warcraft. The most important point about the sketch step is to
ensure every single line looks confident.
Adding basic colour
I add some basic colour, ensuring that all of the colours

look varied and yet also harmonious. I often try to make the
natural colours change gradually. In this case there are variations
depending on where they are on the characters body.
November 2015
87
Workshops
make a mirror
I often mirror my art in
Photoshop when I zoom
in to draw details.
Its a cool way to see
the changes in the
canvas as you zoom in
and out.
adjust colour
ctrl+b (Pc)
)
cmd+b (mac
really
I find this is a
to make
efficient way
s.
colour change
custom
brushes!
INCLUDING
Environment colour
Background details
Enrich the elements
I start to add more influence from the lighting and

shadow of the background to the main colours. I continue to
ensure the structures of the body look right, make sure there are
no glaring errors which will be hard to fix later on, and add more
details to the character for visual interest. Even at this early stage,
the final version of your vision should be taking shape.
In this step, I try to make the background look as credible

as the main character does. Every illustration tells a specific
story. Try to make everything you do to your painting help make
the story more engaging. I add some texture in the foreground
and a fantasy moon behind the main character.
Basic background
Back to the boss
Giving it some gas
I add some core details to the background. I take time

to think about the composition and ensure it better serves the
main character. The background should be lit differently to the
figure. I try to give it some more momentum and I add some
dramatic elements in the foreground. I add the Holy Well, which
also works as a light source.
I come back to the bosss body and continue to add more

details. The thing to keep in mind is to ensure every single detail
improves the overall image. The most important point in this
step is to make sure the details are as perfect as possible.
resources
PhotoshoP
custom brush:
hard round 40 1
This is the brush I use

most of time when Im
painting in Photoshop.
hard square 22
Pixels 1
I often use this custom

brush drawing stones,
bushes or trees.
88
To add visual interest, I add some crows into the mix and
some skeletal fingers poking out of the Holy Well. I also add
some liquid to the well and some skulls to the ground. Its a good
habit to zoom out regularly and stop playing with details, to sure
that the image is developing exactly as you want it.
November 2015
I add some vapours to make the liquid look more

mysterious. One thing you need to keep in mind is to use a new
layer for gas or other airborne particles. Its very convenient if
you need to change things later on. The gas should look natural.
If you dont have ideas about how to draw realistic gas, look for
some reference photos online.
In depth Boss character
Back to details
Most of the eye-catching art I see online is rich in detail,

and so I try to do the same here. It often takes a couple of rounds
to add all the details you often cant paint them in all at once.
You should use three to five steps to add all the details you think
the painting needs.
some particles
10 Introduce
I often use airborne particles, which is a good choice for enriching the image. In the
real world, there are many tiny particles floating in the air. The particles are more obvious in
unnatural lighting, and the background is darker than the foreground.
adjust balan
ce
ctrl+b (Pc)
cmd+b (mac
)
I find this sh
ortcut very
useful for ad
justing the
balance and
tone.
11
Adjust lightness and colour
After a couple of passes adding details, I come back

to the bigger picture to adjust the lightness and colour. In this
step, you should remember that the purpose is to create more
levels of lightness and darkness in your image. Keep in mind that
its better to minimise the use of photo textures.
to details again
12 Back
Even though its a digital piece of art, I often try to imitate
textures from the real world, such as an oil painting. I would
rather do some brushwork on the image. Its better that all of the
image looks smooth. In this step, I mainly focus on brushwork
and making my strokes look confident.
Flip the canvas
the quirks
13 Find
In this step, I flip the canvas and continue to adjust
the image. When were very used to seeing an image in one
way, we struggle to see any issues it may have easily. When I flip
the canvas though, its always refreshing to my eyes and I can
find more quirks and errors whether it be the proportions, the
composition or something else.
adjustments
14 Final
I check everything and ensure all of the elements and
details serve the overall image well. I sharpen parts of image
in the foreground and blur some parts of the image in the
background. I adjust the overall colour relationship and lightness
again. The key point is do it after a couple of days, ensuring you
have a clear and fresh mind when you do it.
November 2015
Whenever I have
become used to seeing
the image a certain way
I flip the canvas and
continue to make
adjustments. This
technique always
refreshes my eyes and
mind a lot. This way you
can find more issues
with the proportions,
construction, colour,
composition and others.
I do this throughout the
whole process.
89
essential art
resources
Videos, images, brushes

and more are available
with your digital
editions!
iPad is a trademark of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. App Store is a service mark of Apple Inc.
Get a digital subscription to

ImagineFX and save money!
Just search for ImagineFX on these selected platforms
90
November 2015
Artists
Choice Award
Art resources with a five-star

rating receives the ImagineFX
Artists Choice award!
The latest digital art resources are put

to the test by the ImagineFX team
producT
on TesT s
softWaRe
tRaining
92 Anime Studio Pro 11
95 Figure Fundamentals
Volume 1
The software is already well loved

we find out if the new tools and
features, tweaks and updates make
it a worthwhile upgrade.
94 Web Designer 11
How you can set up a bespoke

online gallery with Xaras software.
94 PaintShop Pro
X8 Ultimate
Corels image-editing software

receives its annual update but can
it now compete with Photoshop?
Ratings explained
Magnificent
Lowbrow artist Van Arno

uses his ability to freeze time in
a beginner-friendly guide to
drawing from life.
Books
96 New reads
Women of Wonder;
Out of Line: The Art
of Jules Feiffer; The
Big Bad World of
Concept Art for
Video Games.
Great
Good
Poor
November 2015
Atrocious
91
Reviews
Anime Studio Pro 11
Anime Studio Pro 11 has

some useful workflow
tools, and the split
2D/3D workspace is
high on that list.
Pro art The software is already well loved, but will new tools and
features, tweaks and updates make it worth an upgrade for artists?
Price 200 (upgrade from 96) Company Smith Micro Web http://my.smithmicro.com
nime Studio Pro 11 takes
what was already a wellloved and strong toolset,
and adds a number of
welcome new tools and features, not
to mention a raft of tweaks, updates
and enhancements.
The big new features and updates
to the toolset and workflow are layer
based. While Anime Studio isnt new
to a layered workspace, there have
been some areas that needed a bit
extra and version 11 doesnt disappoint.
XRef layers, or layer referencing, and
shape ordering Frame-by-frame
animation are all new, and alone make
the upgrade worthwhile. When
referencing layers, if a change is made
to one layer the changes flow through,
Depth and detail comes easily

to version 11, especially with the
new layer management tools.
92
November 2015
which can save a lot of duplicating.

Similarly, being able to quickly animate
the order of your shapes will make for
a less-cluttered workspace and a much
more navigable scene.
Improved camera movements mean
no warping and or stretching, and if
youre working within a 3D scene you
can display the axis handles. Now its
much easier to navigate and get your
bearings. This leads on to the 3D
aspects of the software. Its a simple
import job to load up any .OBJ file,
bringing in textures and UVs. Whats
more, understandably given theyre
both from the same company, you can
import Poser scenes directly, enabling
you to animate with Anime Studio. This
is a big plus for artists who like to stay
Art tools Software

Victor Paredes
artwork, created in
Anime Studio 11,
adorns the boxed
copy of the software.
Artist interview
Victor
Paredes
The artist and animator on what

he likes about Anime Studio
When did you start using AS?
I started with version 4 of Moho
the name Anime Studio had
those days. I was looking for
something better than Flash,
as I never felt comfortable with it.
What made you choose it as
your animation tool?
Bones. Bones were awesome, even
when they werent 10 per cent of
what they are now. But it was also
the subversive way Moho worked.
It was independent, with its own
philosophy. It didnt copy other
software. Nothing inside Anime
Studio is predefined, so you can
experiment. And people share new
tricks and techniques. That freedom
is one of its greatest features.
Various brush, vector and
asset styles make for a wide
array of render styles.
The bones system
comes complete with
labelling, making it easy
to navigate a scene
without digging
through menus.
This all adds up to a piece of software

that does as much to get out of your way
and let you stay creative as it can
within a given ecosystem, or who wont
be creating 3D assets themselves.
Along with the scene and camera
updates the preview render options
now make it possible to create a quick
preview that has no antialiasing. In
practice this is fantastic, as previews
are great for checking timings and flow.
In addition to all the creative tool
updates there are usability tweaks,
starting with a new pre-flighting
system that collates all your media into
a single directory. Improved exporting
options mean that rendering is a far

tidier experience than before, so you
can take a look at the huge, expanded
content library to start your next
project much sooner.
What this all adds up to is a piece of
software that does as much to get out
of your way and let you stay creative as
it can. Many of the laborious tasks have
been removed or reduced significantly,
and youre much more free to
concentrate on what matters: creating
art and telling stories.
Features
n Frame-by-frame
n 35mm camera
equivalent
n Bones system
n Comprehensive
inport/export options
n 3D workspace
n Layer reference
system
System
requirements
PC: Windows 7 or later,
64-bit OS, 1.3GHz,
Athlon 64, 2GB RAM,
1,024x768 display
Mac: OS X 10.8 or later,
64-bit OS, 1.3GHz Intel
Processor, 2GB RAM,
1,024x768 display
rating
Is there a feature you couldnt

do without?
There are many, but Frame-byframe is one. Yet I think the
softwares appeal comes from the
combination of the tools. Bone
rigging is extremely powerful, easy
to use and always improving. For
example, combining rigging with
Frame-by-frame gives you great
results and new workflows you
didnt imagine before.
Talk us through your process
It varies, but we often start with an
idea and make a simple animatic
for it, in Anime Studio. Then an
illustrator makes the characters and
backgrounds using Manga Studio
or Photoshop. I receive the
characters as images and redraw
and rig them inside Anime Studio,
then export animated characters as
MOV files with Alpha, then a
partner puts characters,
background, effects and so on
together, using After Effects.
Whats the key part of Anime
Studio 11 for your work?
There are two: Frame-by-frame and
References. A new version is good
when I ask: how did I survive for so
long without this feature? And I feel
that about both these features.
Anime Studio artist and
animator Victor was chosen
to create the cover art for
Anime Studio 11.
www.youtube.com/tazatriste
November 2015
93
Reviews
Artists will spend most of their time in
PaintShop Pros Edit workspace.
Create a neat showcase of your finest fantasy

art with the softwares gallery function.
Web designer 11
disPlay sPaCe Set up
a bespoke online gallery
with Xaras software
Price From 35
Company Xara
Web www.xara.com
ratinG
PaintShop Pro X8 Ultimate

GoinG shoPPinG Corels image editing software gets
updated but is it still aiming to compete with Photoshop?
Price 80 Company Corel Web www.paintshoppro.com
aintShop Pro has been
regarded by some as the
poor mans Photoshop, a
little unfair as its good
software in its own right. In fact, in
the late 1990s and early 2000s it was
immensely popular as it offered
powerful features such as clone tools,
picture tubes and animated GIFs.
Booting up the latest version, X8,
brings with it a pleasant tingle of
nostalgia for anyone whos used the
software before. The selection tools
and menu options havent changed
much in 15 years, even if the interface
has been given an Adobe-esque dark
grey makeover, and vector editing is
now available within the software.
New features include a Magic Move
tool. Select something you want to
shift in an image, move it, and
PaintShop Pro will automatically fill in
the gap. It works well, particularly on
images with nondescript backgrounds
such as beaches or fields. Its useful for
quickly rearranging non-layered
images and saves you aeons of fiddling
with the clone stamp in Photoshop.
Minor tweaks include a better
approach to layers, complete with a
search function, 4K monitor support
and camera lens correction. PaintShop
Pro has always lagged behind
Photoshop in terms of performance,
Complex images are

a cinch with the new
layers palette.
94
November 2015
but thankfully X8 gives it a 64-bit

boost so it can handle large images
and complicated brushes. While were
talking brushes, its compatible with the
masses of user-created brushes
available for Photoshop.
The Ultimate edition includes a raft
of additional software. Aftershot adds
non-destructive RAW photo editing,
Perfectly Clear is a one-click autotune
for your images, while Perfect Effects
acts like Instagram filters on steroids.
The royalty-free images and extra
brushes included make it worth the
extra 20 over the standard edition.
The core software is solid enough,
and definitely more suitable for digital
artists than the similarly priced
Photoshop Elements. It does feel
scrappier and more poorly organised
than Photoshop CC, but its far
cheaper. So yes, its still a poor mans
Photoshop. But thats really not
necessarily a bad thing.
Features
n 32- and 64-bit
versions
n Text wrapping
n Magic Move tool
n Batch processing
n 4K monitor support
n Lens correction
n Camera RAW lab
n Smart selection
brush
n Photoshop image
and brush file support
n Free software
including Aftershot,
Athentech Perfectly
Clear, Perfect Effects
Digital artists are spoilt for choice

when it comes to online galleries.
Behance and deviantART have
become popular hosts for sci-fi
and fantasy images, and even
social networking sites can
become repositories of your finest
works. Theres still something
to be said for having your own
professional website though, with
an easy-to-remember address and
bespoke design.
Xaras Web Designer promises
to take the headaches out of HTML
and make design straightforward.
A peek at sample sites shows wide
photos which stretch across the
site, minimalist navigation and a
responsive design to make it easy
to navigate on mobile devices
(though these are exclusive to the
70 premium version).
A team of coders would usually
be required to put together such
a site, but with Web Designer its
a doddle. Adding text and images
is as intuitive as any desktop
publishing or word processing
software, while specific features
include a neat overview of pages so
you wont lose that contact form.
Even with the most basic version
youll have a decent site and gallery
up and running in minutes.
system
requirements
PC: Windows 7 or
later, Intel/AMD 1.5
GHz or faster
processor, 2GB RAM,
1GB hard disk space
rating
Creating a site normally needing a team of
coders is easy (for a fee) with Web Designer 11.
Inspiration Software and training

Van explains figure
drawing from the
very basics, like the
use of the head size
to measure other
body proportions.
Freezing time enables Van to dwell on

crucial ideas like foreshortening, and to
show how they relate to what you observe.
In Figure Fundamentals, Van Arno sketches a model

in a series of poses to explain important concepts.
Figure Fundamentals Volume 1

TIME LORD Lowbrow artist Van Arno uses his ability to
freeze time in a beginner-friendly guide to drawing from life
Publisher The Gnomon Workshop Price $59 Format Download Web www.thegnomonworkshop.com
lenty of artists, particularly
those who are self-taught,
have never taken the
chance to draw figures
from life and if you havent, then
youre seriously missing out. Van
Arnos video takes the fear factor
out of what might seem like an
intimidating undertaking.
In this first volume, Van goes
through a series of poses with a female
model (a second volume with a male
model is also available to download).
Van keeps the video about as simple
as you can get, using each pose to
drum home the basics and build on
key concepts, referring to body parts
in plain English rather than
complicated anatomical terms.
Each drawing starts with a single
line: the gesture. Van uses this to
underpin the drawing with a sense
of life, with each subsequent line
supporting the initial gesture. Through
split-screen video, youre able to see
the model at all times while Van draws,
Topics covered
n Gesture lines
n Simple figure
construction
n Proportions and
foreshortening
n Finding landmarks
n Negative space
n Overlapping forms
n Shadows and
highlights
Length
172 minutes
Rating
so you can see how the creative

decisions he makes relates to the real
human form. (You could also try
drawing the on-screen model yourself.)
Van advises you to draw what you
see, not what you think you should see.
Occasionally he triggers a stop time,
to freeze the model so he can explain
effects such as foreshortening, where
not observing the model correctly can
lead to distorted proportions.
During later poses, Van also explains
how looking at negative space can
make some poses like a hand on the
hip easier to draw, and why its
important to pay attention to areas
where one form overlaps another.
Van returns to the same core ideas
with each pose, so experienced artists
may find the video a little simplistic and
repetitive. But for the less experienced,
the format enables you to see how
essential concepts apply in different
situations. Next stop: hire a model
yourself (or with a group of artist
friends). Youll never look back.
Artist profile
Van arno
Based in Los Angeles, Van Arno is
a figurative painter whose work has
been displayed internationally for
almost 20 years. His background
includes illustration, amusement
park design, game art, animation
and character design. Vans
paintings have frequently been
featured in the alternative art
magazine Juxtapoz and included in
a national survey of Lowbrow
painters. Van focuses on the figure
and its power to engage the viewer,
and he harbours an
ongoing fascination
with propaganda
imagery and its use of
the heroic figure.
www.vanarno.com
November 2015
95
Reviews
Women of Wonder
WondEr Vision A new collection of the finest minds currently
working in fantasy and sci-fi art irrespective of gender
Editor Cathy Fenner Publisher Underwood Books Price 16 Web www.underwoodbooks.com Available Now
that such a thing should
need to be pointed out at
all in 2015 is unfortunate,
but purely for any kneejerk genderphobes out there, theres
no need to fear. Cathy Fenner has
not put together this collection of
work from women artists as some
kind of unlikely attempt to finally
overthrow the patriarchy and end
the clueless domination of men
after millennia of civilisation
mismanagement.
Fenner states in her introduction
that this is a celebration of
contemporary women artists in
the fantasy field, people who have
triumphed in a competitive industry
irrespective of gender. And what a
96
November 2015
Fantasy paintings by
Laurie Lee Brom (left)
and LD Austin are
included in the book.
quality celebration it is, as we have

come to expect from Underwood,
the publishers that launched the
trailblazing Spectrum art collections.
Coming from those famous
supporters of fantastic sketchers, its
fundamentally a showcase for 60 or
so notable names. Many ImagineFX
regulars are included, such as Terryl
Whitlatch, Cynthia Sheppard and
Mlanie Delon in fact theres even an
ImagineFX cover in there!
Every name (or partnership) is given
a spread, so we dont get a wide array
of work from each, rather a single
image they feel best represents their
work and a quote varying from a
sentence to a manifesto on how they
feel about their place in the art world.
Long-gone female pioneers such as
Margaret Brundage, Queen of Pulp
Pin-up Art are also represented, with
carefully chosen quotes to show what
made them great.
Theres a wide array of practitioners
included, and many have hugely
opposing attitudes to their work, and
even to this book. Like most areas of
our culture, the male skew on fantasy,
folklore and sci-fi has barely been
questioned before, so its good to see
visual storytellers with different tales
to tell, telling them so expressively
be it Kei Acederas charming sea
American artist Rebecca Lveill-Guays tender

painting has clear Renaissance influences.
monster, LD Austins steel-plated

Warrior Queen (left), or Lisa
Falkensterns comical pig rider. Each
spread leaves you wanting more.
As a snapshot of women on the
visual fantasy scene in 2015, Women
of Wonder is the first such book to
focus on this one artistic group and
a collection many will cherish.
rATing
Inspiration Books
Out of Line: The Art of Jules Feiffer

LinE ArT The finest wit and cartoonist youve probably never heard
of Jules Feiffer is a relatively unheralded comic art legend
Author Martha Fay Publisher Abrams Books Price 25 Web www.abramsbooks.com Available Now
o the UKs detriment, there
are few people over here
who are fans of Jules
Feiffer, unless they were
lucky enough to stumble across his
most famous work: the illustrations
for the childrens classic novel The
Phantom Tollbooth.
His sophisticated milieu, of mid20th-century New York, particularly his
celebrated work for The Village Voice,
may not have any mainstream foothold
One of the many

drawing styles this
one being cleaner than
most that Jules
experimented with
during his career.
on this side of the Pond. But anyone

interested in the history of comics
should celebrate that Martha Fays
book enables them to gain a holistic
insight into his career in one fell swoop.
Jules started out after WWII,
providing bubbles for 10-a-penny hero
comic strips. Then he established his
own snarky series, Clifford, and went
on to be valued for his hip metropolitan
philosophy, with a loose sketchy style
and freedom to present his thoughts
however he liked. So theres a wide
range of artistic genres on display here,

the very best extracts from his archive
reproduced alongside Marthas easy,
personable prose, packed with insight
taken from the man himself.
This fascinating treasure trove strikes
one sad note, the foreword being
written by Mike Nichols (director of
Jules-scripted film Carnal Knowledge)
before his untimely death. That aside,
this is a hilarious collection for hip cats.
rATing
The Big Bad World of

Concept Art for Video Games
HoW To The pitfalls and pleasures of defining the look of the next
generation of gaming according to a triple-A games artist
Author Eliott Lilly Publisher Design Studio Press Price 20 Web www.designstudiopress.com Available Now
his is a personal guide to
the snakes and ladders
of the budding concept
artists lot. Eliott Lilly, who
also designed the book, has worked
his way up to shaping the look of
big names like Doom and Call of
Duty, and certainly knows his way
around the depiction of enormous
guns. But has this new venture been
worth his time?
Eliotts portfolio advice

includes ensuring
consistency between
the orientation
of your portrait and
landscape artwork.
Although not in any way a dense

book, Lillys text is friendly and honest,
and theres a sense of him looking over
your shoulder as he guides you from
the front door to the top floor. He
shares his failures as well as successes,
giving very practical tips on amassing
an unbeatable portfolio, working
alongside different art departments,
and just how tough it can be to make
it anywhere as a concept artist. Theres
some art advice, but the emphasis is
on what Elliots learned about the

industry over the years, which makes
the book more interesting. Hes also
gone out of his way to talk to some
of his best contacts in the business
including David Levy, Stephan
Martiniere and Sparth, and their
combined knowledge is a handy how
to for newbies, but also a fresh angle
for experienced concept artists.
rATing
November 2015
97
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inSpiraTion anD aDvice froM THe WorlDS BeST TraDiTional arTiSTS
This issue:
100 FXPos Traditional

The best traditional art revealed.
106 Dramatic lighting

James Gurney on location.
DiScover HoW To
PainT The
familiar afresh
Michael C Hayes uses movement and scale
to evoke a sense of awe Page 104
112 Colour and detail

Brynn Metheneys animal tips.
114 First impressions

William Stout talks dinosaurs.
November 2015
99
FXPos
showcasing The FinesT TradiTional FanTasy arTisTs
Linda Adair
LocAtion: Australia
Web: www.lindaadair.com
emAiL: info@lindaadair.com
mediA: Oils
Traditional oil painter Linda

specialises in imaginary
realism. I enjoy creating
a narrative in my work,
she says, suggesting
a story, but leaving it open to the
viewers imagination.
Having travelled a fair bit, Lindas
experiences help inform her art.
Getting out and experiencing life is
second only to practice when it comes
to educating your art and fuelling
creativity, she believes.
Im drawn to the tactile nature of
traditional media, and oils in particular
are so versatile. Some of her influences
are illustrators such as Cornwell,
Leyendecker, Pyle and NC Wyeth.
Linda is drawn to themes from
history, lore and legend things that
have some basis in reality. Often, its
simply a springboard for the
imagination, she says.
messengers
Oil on panel, 16x20in
This one is part of a triptych, set in the
waning autumn when the swans would
migrate. Their wings make them free,
but they arent. Earthbound and
trapped, beautiful and hunted. This man
is connected to them, can feel what
they feel and can control them.
the Queen of the north

I was trying to encapsulate the thrill
of the northern mountains and the
loneliness. My character is strong,
in command, and not afraid of her
precarious position.
the constAnt mAn 1920

This is part of a personal project and
is one of a set of 12 paintings chronicling
the adventures of the Constant Man.
Hes a robot Casanova-type character
who is the perfect man. Keep an eye out
for the Kickstarter launch soon!
necromAncer
I wanted to feel her intensity and
movement, capturing a glimpse into
this graveyard ritual.
100
November 2015
FXPos Traditional art

3
4
imagineFX criT
Linda certainly
knows a thing or
two about how to
do engagingly surreal.
Shes clearly very
competent at anatomy,
too, and her figures
are often in striking,
intriguing poses.
Clifford Hope,
Operations Editor
November 2015
101
FXPos
serena malyon
LocAtion: Canada
Web: www.serenamalyon.com
emAiL: serenamalyon@gmail.com
mediA: Watercolour, Photoshop
Serena graduated from the

Alberta College of Art and
Design in 2012, and since
then has been working for
various magazines, book
publishers and design firms.
Fantasy, young adult and childrens
illustration are my passion, says the
Calgary-based artist. I take a lot of
inspiration from medieval art and the
golden age of illustration. These eras
really influence my style and narrative.
Her paintings are done in watercolour
and edited in Photoshop, where edges
are cleaned up. This method allows me
to paint quickly and change elements
easily, she says.
VALAr morghuLis
Watercolour, Photoshop, 17x25in
This illustration follows the path
of Arya in A Song of Ice and Fire by
George RR Martin. It chronicles all
of the death that shes encountered
on her journey. Ive included every
target on her list and every person
that she has killed.
the PLundering of AirLie

Watercolour, Photoshop, 9x11.25in
This piece illustrates the Scottish
folk song, The Bonnie House of Airlie.
The song follows Lady Margaret, whose
castle is plundered by the Scottish
Lord Argyll and his army. Argyll takes
Lady Margaret to the top of the town
and then forces her to watch the
plundering of Airlie.
thumbeLinA
Watercolour, Photoshop, 18x12.25in
This is an illustration of the fairy tale
of Thumbelina. In the story, a tiny girl
gets abducted by several toads, who
wish to marry her to their prince. Shes
their prisoner, trapped upon a lily pad,
until some little fish free her.
102
November 2015
FXPos Traditional art

2
imagineFX criT
I love how
Serenas art
sucks you into
the painting, lured by
a combination of astute
lighting and wonderful
details that are a joy to
explore. Theres some
very strong storytelling
present, too.
Daniel Vincent,
Art Editor
submit your
art to fxpos
Send up to five pieces of your
work, along with their titles, an
explanation of your techniques,
a photo of yourself and contact
details. Images should be sent as
300DPI JPEG files.
email: fxpose@imaginefx.com
(maximum 1MB per image)
Post: (CD or DVD):
FXPos Traditional
ImagineFX
30 Monmouth Street
Bath
BA1 2BW, UK
All artwork is submitted on the
basis of a non-exclusive
worldwide licence to publish,
both in print and electronically.
November 2015
103
Workshops
Oils
Paint the
familiar
afresh
Michael c hayes uses movement and scale
to evoke a sense of awe in a familiar subject
ngels are a recurring

theme in my work. This is
certainly not the first,
second or even 10th time
Ive taken on this subject,
nor am I by any means the first artist in
history to do so. Because its such a
familiar subject, the challenge of
engaging my audience is even bigger, due
to their potential apathy.
I have to prove to them, in a split
second, that they should care about this
painting of an angel. I have to make it
more than just the sum of its parts.
Bearing this in mind, I set out to evoke
awe, by making the painting really be
about scale and movement. The angel

will become merely the vehicle by which
I portray these concepts.
From the very beginning I know that I
want to suggest scale by having the
angels wings envelope the entire frame
and have her emerging from an
atmospheric mist. I also think about how
I could suggest movement with strong
diagonals in the composition, an
acrobatic gesture and secondary elements
such as trailing hair and fabric.
atmospheRic peRspective
after painting the first layers with galkyd
lite, i layed down a semi-transparent glaze
of gamblin neo-megilp and transparent
white which blended into a transparent
earth tone glaze. While that layer was still
wet i worked into it with opaque paints.
104
November 2015
After several years as a

freelance artist Michael C
Hayes now paints entirely for
himself. www.artofmike.com
Radiating line composition

this entire composition is built from arcing
lines that radiate from the bottom-left corner
of the image. note how the gesture of the
figure, the flight patterns of the birds, and
even the feathers of angels wings bow towards
that single point.
Artist insight Paint the familiar

step by step: Getting the colours right
GatherinG reference
Often during a photoshoot with a model Ill take

plenty of pictures and experiment with different poses
and variations. This results in lots of extra reference, and
this image was created with recycled scrap reference
from past projects. As for the birds, I spend a lot of my
free time at the zoo. Stock photos fill in the gaps.
creatinG a detailed PreliMinary
diGital colour study
I usually make my sketches about a third to half the

overall size of the final. In this case the sketch was 12x18
inches and the painting was 20x30 inches. For these
I use tuscan red Col-Erase pencil, white charcoal and
either pre-toned paper or a cotton paper that I tone
with a wash of watercolour.
A digital study enables me to experiment with a

range of colour schemes. I scan in my pencil study and
then create a separate mask for all the different
elements. Its a tedious step, but I can then adjust
everything separately with adjustment layers such as
Levels, Color, Soft Light and Color Balance.
angellic gloW
applying the effect of a
bright light is as much
about using contrast
as it is about using
saturated colour in your
shadows. im using almost
pure cadmiums yellows,
oranges and reds in the
dark areas.
Materials
Brushes
n Royal Langnickel
Sabletek filberts
n Robert Simmons
white nylon #0 rounds
n Blick Wonder White
filberts and flats
indicating featheR stRuctuRe

With so many birds to paint, i wasnt
going to be rendering every feather. Bird
wings have a specific anatomy, and their
feathers group together in different layers
and positions. paint the larger feather
structures and indicate feathers with
brushwork, and itll go much quicker.
Paints
n Winsor Newton,
Rembrandt and Holbein
artist quality oils
MediuMs
n Gamblin Odorless
mineral spirits (OMS)
n Gamblin 1/2 Galkyd
Lite and 1/2 OMS
n Gamblin Galkyd Slow
Dry
n Gamblin Neo-Megilp
November 2015
105
Workshops
106
November 2015
Workshops
Casein
paint
dramatic
lighting
James Gurney shows how to create
a surrealistic townscape, on location
ho says you have to

copy mundane reality
when youre outside,
plein air painting?
Why not give the
facts a surreal twist? Ive always been
interested in the two realms: the banal,
commonplace stage on which we act out
our lives and the realm of dreams just
behind the veil. Here I want to explore
where those two worlds intersect.
To get the ball rolling, I scout a location
in a small town along the Hudson River
in New York State. I consider some ways
to transform the street scene in front of
me. Maybe a giant snake is coming out of
a manhole cover, or a 60-foot-tall cartoon
figure is stepping over buildings like some
sort of Toon-Zilla. If I bring a model car to
the location, I can use it as a maquette
and make it float up above the rooftops,
perhaps lifted by a tractor beam.
get your
resources
see page 6 now!
To add to the mystery, I choose a time

of day when the light is coming down at
45 degrees, but Ill limit the light to one
beam illuminating just one house like a
theatrical spotlight. This could never
happen in the real world, because only an
aperture in the clouds could frame a ray
of light at that time of day. Those rays
from clouds are not so focused. They
transition from full light to full shadow
very gradually over the space of at least
a city block. Smaller, more concentrated
local spots of light could happen around
sunset, but in that case, the light would be
travelling almost horizontally. So whether
the viewer is conscious of it or not, this
targeted downlighting communicates an
alien, strange feeling.
Why paint such a scene outside? The
answer is that when Im face to face with
Nature, there are a thousand colour ideas
and impressions that give my painting
added conviction. And being on location
is a huge kick in the pants for speeding
up the painting process. I can get done in
one afternoon what would otherwise take
me a week in the studio.
Ill be using casein, a water-based paint
with a milk protein binder that was
popular before acrylics. Its a lot like
gouache, ideally suited to fast, direct,
opaque handling. Its also the physical
paint technique most like Photoshop
except that theres no Cmd-Z.
James Gurney wrote Color and
Light and Imaginative Realism,
which both discuss the methods
used in creating the New-YorkTimes bestselling Dinotopia series. See Jamess
video tutorials at www.jamesgurney.com.
November 2015
107
Workshops
materials
paints
n Richeson Casein, 2-3
of each primary colour
and a big tube of white
Start with thumbnails
The yellow-blob underpainting
First of all, I sketch up some ideas to explore the composition. Should the floating car be above the rooftops
or below them? Should the light be coming from the right or the left? How dark should the sky be?
brushes
n Cheap synthetic
brushes, flats
and rounds
other tools
n A mixing tray made
from the metal lid of
pencil box
n Traffic cone (to keep
view open)
Even though I dont know the exact composition

yet, I prime the heavyweight illustration board with an
abstract underpainting in casein a yellow blob in the
centre of the panel, surrounded by a blue background.
108
November 2015
Ready-made maquette
I bring a small model of a Volkswagen Beetle to the

location to use as a reference maquette. By holding it up
against the sky, I can see how it looks in the same lighting
as the rest of the scene.
In depth Dramatic lighting
Get the drawing right
Paint
tiP
I carefully draw the scene with a red-brown watercolour pencil, paying careful attention to perspective.
I place all the forms into a grid that matches a corresponding grid in my viewfinder.
Give life to
dark colours
Mix optical blacks

(blue and brown) to give
more character to your
dark colours.
artist insiGht
Finishing area by area
I feel pretty confident about where Im heading now,

so I decide to paint this picture area by area, starting with
the car and the sky behind it. Note the value shift in the area
of casein thats still wet. As it dries, the paint lightens a value
step or two.
Next comes the house
The amoeba of finished rendering moves downward

to the house. I work out the shadow shapes by casting the
shadow of the toy car onto a piece of cardboard held at the
same relative angle as the house.
November 2015
underpainting
advice
Casein is opaque,
so it covers up the
underpainting, but
the colours of the
underpainting will still
influence the painting.
109
Workshops
artist insiGht
clever lighting
Lighting alone can create a sense
of fantasy. Heres an on-the-spot
painting I did where I spotlit one area.
Building the neighbourhood
Inspiration strikes
The painting advances outward, moving into the

zone lit by cool twilight. I mix these areas with darker and
cooler colours, so a white object becomes a grey-blue,
a fair darker than the warm whites in the illuminated area.
A lady appears in the doorway of the house to

talk on her cellphone. Shes the key to the picture. Only
a mobile phone could distract someone from the strange
incident going on above.
110
November 2015
In depth Dramatic lighting
art tiP
keep some contrast
The shadow area and the

lit area look best if theres
a contrast of colour
temperature as well
as of value.
Painting in the lady
11
Subordinating nonessentials
She stands there for five minutes and I paint her

into the scene. Casein works well for spontaneous changes.
Unlike gouache it dries with a closed surface, so previous
layers wont dissolve if you paint over them.
10
Home stretch
Heres what my painting and my setup look like

at this stage. The homemade sketch easel attaches to a
camera tripod. Neodymium magnets embedded in the
easel grip the water cup and the metal mixing tray.
The remaining areas play the role of supporting

actors on a stage when someone else is talking. They serve
only to support the central action, and they need to be
played down with darker values and cooler colours.
light tiP
accent areas
Just have one accent

area of light. Two areas
divides the power by half.
More than two drains
the life out.
artist insiGht
12
Water tricks
Three keys to success
in opaque water media:
use plenty of paint, lay
it down boldly and
dont be afraid to paint
across edges.
Filling in the final gaps
The parked car picks up the colours of the scene

around it. The up-facing planes catch the blue sky and the
sides reflect the warm road. The view through the car glass
to the house is tinted green.
November 2015
111
Workshops
Pencil
Pen
Marker
Painting colour
and detail
The animal kingdom is full of colour and unique ornamentations, and depicting
them is crucial to creating realistic animals, says Brynn MeTheney
ature is full of amazing

adaptations and traits.
Bright colours, fluorescent
patterns, tusks, horns,
dewlaps and much else
traits used for camouflage, attracting
mates, intimidation, battling rivals or
finding food. These details can make your
animal drawings pop and it all begins
with drawing, of course.
Ill start by finding the structure of
forms like crests and horns with pencil.
Its important to add in texture and an
indication of volume. Perspective is

important when it comes to horns and
antlers, so Ill break things into shapes
and planar views.
Youll want to map out where your
highlights and shadows will be. Working
in marker, Ill be building up from lights
to darks and plotting out my whites.
Layering colour is key, too. Nature
doesnt just come in 12 colours, there are
lots of colours in between. Dont be afraid
to throw a bit of green into that giraffe or
a bit of blue into that elephant. Itll help
I like to sketch in structure first. Im always

building animals from the inside out, and
wireframes and boxes help me see in perspective.
MaTerialS
n 2H and HB Caran
Dache Grafwood
pencil
n Kneaded eraser
n Canson Marker Pad
Paper
n Copic Markers,
various colours
n Micron fine-tipped
pen
keep the colour from looking flat and

make it feel like the animal could be in an
environment. Any type of marker youre
comfortable with will do for this. In fact,
almost any medium you use will abide to
the same principles of colour and design.
Only the method of application changes.
Brynn specialises in creature
design, fantasy illustration and
visual development for film,
games and publishing. She lives
and works in Oakland, California.
www.brynnart.com
Start light with your pencil and work up those textures.

Remember to keep them sparse and random looking.
Drawing chips to the horn and irregular textures

can add personality to your animal.
arTiST inSighT
get your
resources
See page 6 now!
1
Adding contour lines along the forms can help

you see where the forms are turning in space.
Find shape and structure
I start light and build up my drawing from boxes and wireframes. You can
break hard shapes such as horns, antlers and tusks into planar views. The planar
view helps find the perspective in shapes that might not be boxy. You can find
the planes and place them in space.
112
November 2015
Layering papers
Marker paper is
transparent and ideal
for building up studies
without losing your
work. You can always
take your planar
drawings and use a
sheet of paper on top
to complete them.
Indicate texture
and detail
I begin to add in textures, ridges,

damage and detail into the
ornamentations. Some animals, like
the iguana, have fleshy dewlaps so it
requires a different approach to detail
and texture, and reference becomes
important. Go to zoos, museums,
watch nature documentaries and
search hi-res images. Nature is seldom
perfect. Adding nicks, damage and
uneven edges enhances the drawing.
Artist insight Colour and details

I lay down a base of purple for
the cassowary, but also a bit
of yellow. This helps warm up
the base and keep the colour
interesting and deep.
Markers
Clean tips!
Sometimes your lighter

coloured markers will pick
up pencil lead as you
work. Wipe the tip
before you begin
to colour.
Its important
to hold off on
markings until
the end. Things
like stripes are best
saved for last
they can smudge
when drawn over.
I tend to use the broader side

of my marker for this step, to
cover more ground quickly.
Find your highlights
Now that were moving into

colour, I use my lightest marker to lay
in a base colour. This is mostly to figure
out where my highlights will be. Im
working light to dark, so its important
to keep my whites untouched. Markers
have the ability to layer on themselves.
Blending is all about going back

and forth with markers. Lay
in your base, then lay in your
mid-tones and revisit with the
base colour again to blend.
You can start

to gradually
add some
of the key
colours here too:
reds, purples
and blues.
Blend and block

in shadows
I use my mid-range marker to lay in

where I want my shadows. I begin to
go back and forth between my
lightest and my mid-range colour, to
blend shapes together. By adding
yellow to the cassowarys neck it
enhances the purple next to it.
You can also add in

a bit of background
indication to help pop
your final colour job.
Detail and sharp edges
Now, you can really get into those details and polish your colour piece.
Add in your darkest darks now so they wont become smudged by lighter
colours. This is also the time to add in markings such as spots and stripes or
anything that has a hard edge. Fur and scales can also be defined here, but
keep it sparse: too much rendering can make forms look flat.
November 2015
Things like pupils

and deep cracks
can be drawn
in using a finetipped pen, like
a Micron.
113
First Impressions
William Stout
How about doing one on dinosaurs?
Sure. I forgot this conversation. Two
months later he called. Bill, weve got
our book deal. Bantam wants to do your
dinosaur book! A gigantic project had
dropped in my lap. The Dinosaurs: A
Fantastic New View of a Lost Era became
the first book to illustrate every recent
dinosaur discovery. Ive been known as
The Dinosaur Man ever since.
The film, comics and

murals artist talks
dinosaurs and a
doubting wife
When did you realise
you had some talent
for painting?
I hit and missed with
oils, until I encountered
Norman Rockwells process and studied
Frank Frazettas painting techniques.
I built upon those foundations. My wife
often told me, Give up on oils youre
so much better with other media. Until
1989, when I began painting my first
museum one-man show. My chops
improved dramatically (and finally
made my wife a believer).
Did your distinctive comic book art
style develop naturally?
As a teen I copied Carmine Infantino,
Gil Kane and Murphy Anderson comics,
then discovered Frazetta, Jean Giraud,
Will Eisner and Robert Crumb. I was
fortunate in assisting Russ Manning on
the Tarzan of the Apes newspaper strips,
and Harvey Kurtzman and Will Elder
on Little Annie Fanny. Their mentoring
greatly increased my skills and taught
me what it took to be a professional.
Of the film projects youve worked
on, do you have a favourite?
Return of the Living Dead. It was brutal
to make, but now its a cult classic.
Masters of the Universe was fun.
Pans Labyrinth may be my best film.
Designing Jon Favreaus Magic Kingdom
was great until Disneys attorneys got
involved, killing that dream. I enjoyed
creating Disneys Dinosaur characters
though I wish theyd never talked!
How did your natural history work
come about?
Ive loved dinosaurs ever since watching
King Kong aged three. My pal Don Glut
was revising The Dinosaur Dictionary
because of all the new dinosaur
discoveries. The four pictures Don asked
me to draw became 44. I reasoned these
might be the only depictions ever of
these creatures, so accuracy was vital.
114
November 2015
Upper CretaCeoUs
antarCtiCa
This work depicts speculation

that creatures that dwelled on
Africa, South America and
Australasia during the Mesozoic
also existed on the land mass
between them: Antarctica.
I joined the Society of Vertebrate

Paleontology, using each dinosaurs
discoverer as my adviser. The
environments demanded accuracy, so
I studied palaeobotany. During a visit
my publisher asked, If you could do
your own book, what would you do?
Figuring he was just being
conversational, my brilliant reply was,
I dunno. He saw Dinosaur Dictionary
illustrations scattered about my studio.
Ive loved dinosaurs ever

since watching King Kong
at the age of three
Dirty spliff BlUes
Lately my career has come full

circle and Ive been creating lots
of CD/LP covers. This 2015
cover for the blues rock band
Left Lane Cruiser is intended
to help establish this distinctive
zombie as a form of branding
for the band.
Whats been the highlight of your career

so far? And, any low points?
Working on Theodore Rex was a definite
low. Starring Whoopi Goldberg in a part
written for Val Kilmer, the massive chest
pains I was suffering disappeared the
moment I quit this most expensive
direct-to-video movie ever made. A
career highlight promptly followed:
being awarded the National Science
Foundations 1992/1993 Antarctic Artists
and Writers Program grant. While
spending three months painting 130
field studies in Antarctica, I scuba dived
beneath the ice, camped in the Dry
Valleys and scaled an active volcano.
I then drove 1,000 miles through
southern Chile, documenting the forests
that have remained relatively unchanged
over the past 40,000,000 years.
Whats been your most challenging
commission to date?
The 12 prehistoric murals I painted for
the San Diego Natural History Museum
includes my largest canvas: 14x34ft.
While painting the murals I was
diagnosed with prostate cancer. So
I offered the museum the option to
replace me. To my amazement and relief,
they stuck with me, even though it
meant the murals would be behind
schedule. I owe a huge debt of gratitude
to Mick Hager, the museums visionary
director. Of everything I do, I enjoy
painting murals (and my Legends of the
Blues books) the most. Theyre big,
public and permanent. A real legacy.
What advice would you give to your
younger self?
Keep your big mouth shut, and, More
life drawing. I practise three hours of
figure drawing every Sunday: its the
quickest way to improve as an artist.
You can see plenty more of Williams work,
buy merchandise and read his blog, at his
website, www.williamstout.com.
9012

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Issue 127 November 2015

Utilise lighting and colouring methods

Understand how to take charge of

See how to capture the elusive quality

Use ample lighting on unusual shapes

See how the Lowbrow artist freezes time

16 CUsToM BrUshes, inClUding

GAsEr oiL brusH

the place to share your DIGItal art

Alix started her art career

compArtmentALize In this piece

HArvest of DespAir I wanted

AstrAeA rAtHeThis personal

Email your submissions to fxpose@imaginefx.com

Comic book illustrator, Adriana Melo sees

Email your submissions to fxpose@imaginefx.com

Email your submissions to fxpose@imaginefx.com

5tH eLement This illustration was

pAtHfinDer I was more than

The self-taught artist has

Jinx I started drawing in the

Email your submissions to fxpose@imaginefx.com

camp out Two of my characters