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WORKSHOP ISSUE 196
BLENDER SKILLS
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NCEPT ARTIST
PETER POPK EN ! INSIGHTS FROM THE BLADE RUNNER 2049 & DUNE CO
Editor’s letter
Welcome to… EDITOR’S CHOICE Three of my top

picks this month…
38
Most of you will receive this

edition as we nudge a little
further into 2021. All I can say is
– and I know you’ll agree –
thank goodness for that! It was
the strangest year and there has The art of Peter Popken
Feast your eyes on the film art painting from this
been so much to deal with. I incredible German concept artist.
started 2020 with high aims and
aspirations, but ended the year 62
with simple, but humble thanks and gratitude for
things I took for granted: family, friends, my health
and a roof over my head. I’m truly thankful for
what I have.
I’ve been astounded at the resilience and strength
of not only my colleagues here at ImagineFX, but
also with artists whom I know and have worked
with over the past 12 difficult months. Many
have persevered through tough times. Therefore, Grease lightning
every day I take time out to appreciate the little See the informative step-by-step Blender workshop and
things in life, which has really helped me focus video from James Lewis-Vines.
on what’s important.
A new year always brings a new hope and I’m
72
very much looking forward to what it brings.
Take care and thank you for your support of what
we do. Here’s to 2021!
Editor in chief
[email protected] Matte painting masterclass
Saby Menyhei is a world-renowned matte painter, so
make quick tracks to page 72 for his insight.
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Contents
Your art 38
SUBSCRIBE & SAVE!
10 FXPosé
You submit your work to us and then
we show your gorgeous art to the world!
News and events

20 Online concept art schools
We reveal eight great places to boost your
concept art skills by remote learning.
30 Artist in Residence:
Colleen Doran
The award-winning US artist-writer often
gets visited by wildlife in her rural studio.
Features
38 Artist Portfolio:
Peter Popken
The German concept artist tells us how a
long and varied apprenticeship led to
success in the film business.
50 Sketchbook: Thomas
Chamberlain-Keen
This artist embraces community design
challenges as a way to hone his skills and
unfurl his imagination. Artist Portfolio “Inspiration usually
Reviews PETER comes unexpectedly.
Most likely when you
POPKEN
82 Hardware
Apple’s latest MacBook Pro, with the new don’t need it”
M1 processor, has got us very excited. Peter on dealing with his muse
84 Books
Pernille Ørum’s latest how-to book, plus 20 30
titles on manga and The Dark Crystal.
Regulars
3 Editor’s letter
4 Print subscriptions
8 Resources
28 Digital subscriptions
37 Letters
48 Recent editions
70 Next month The best online Artist in Residence:
concept art schools Colleen Doran
80 Sign up for our newsletter
6
Issue 196
50 84
Workshops
58 Use contrast in
your concept art
Lane Brown composes two characters with
an interesting balance of contrast and
harmony to achieve greater impact.
62 Sketch with the Grease Pencil

James Lewis-Vines quickly visualises an
immersive underwater environment.
Sketchbook:
Thomas Chamberlain-Keen Book reviews
72 15 tips for better
matte paintings
58 Saby Menyhei shares key techniques to
improve your matte painting skills.
92
Fantasy art
98
Concept art
62 72
First Impressions:
Craww
Traditional Artist
88 Traditional FXPosé
Discover this month’s selection of the
finest traditional art, sent in by you!
92 Workshop: Draw fantasy art

from reference
Patrick J Jones draws a character using his
anatomy knowledge to go beyond what
was originally captured in-camera.
98 First Impressions: Craww

Exploring art on his own terms is
Grease Pencil Matte paintings
important to this English artist.
7
Resources
Editorial
Editor in Chief Claire Howlett
[email protected]
Art Editor Daniel Vincent
Operations Editor Cliff Hope
Contributors
Lane Brown, Dom Carter, Thomas Chamberlain-Keen, Colleen
Doran, Gary Evans, Matt Hanson, Patrick J Jones, James Lewis-
Visit http://ifxm.ag/concept196art to download Vines, Tom May, Saby Menyhei, Gary Stuckey
Advertising
this issue’s workshop videos and custom brushes Media packs are available on request
Chief Revenue Officer Zack Sullivan
UK Commercial Sales Director Clare Dove
Advertising Sales Manager Mike Pyatt
[email protected], 01225 687538
WORKSHOP VIDEOS Account Sales Director George Lucas

[email protected], 01225 687331
International Licensing
ImagineFX is available for licensing. Contact the Licensing
team to discuss partnership opportunities.
Head of Print Licensing Rachel Shaw [email protected]
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Turn a Grease Pencil sketch into dynamic artwork rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be used, stored, transmitted or
reproduced in any way without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Future Publishing Limited (company number 2008885) is registered in
See how James Lewis-Vines uses Blender’s Grease Pencil to create elements of an underwater England and Wales. Registered office: Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1
scene, before adjusting the camera for the strongest composition. His workshop’s on page 62. 1UA. All information contained in this publication is for information only and
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Use references as a basis for your character art Future plc is a public
company quoted on the
London Stock Exchange
Chief executive Zillah Byng-Thorne
Non-executive chairman Richard Huntingford
!ǝǣƺǔˡȇƏȇƬǣƏǼȒǔˡƬƺȸ Rachel Addison
Watch Patrick J Jones as he draws a fantasy figure using charcoal, based on reference photos. (symbol: FUTR)
www.futureplc.com Tel +44 (0)1225 442 244
Patrick applies his anatomy knowledge to modify the source material – read how on page 92.
8
In association with
PLACE TO SHARE YOUR DIGITAL ART
Qistina Khalidah
LOCATION: Malaysia MEDIA: Photoshop WEB: www.artstation.com/qissus
“I’m inspired by the gold textures in Gustav Klimt’s

paintings,” says Qistina. “My core value is to always
effectively tell a story in just one painting.” 3
2
1 TEARS
“I wanted to portray the sadness of women
who have lost their loved ones in battle for
the sake of glory.”
2 BEAUTY
“This is an elf prodigy whose senses were
robbed by envy due to his status and beauty.”
3 BLEAK WALKER PALADIN

“A fan art of my character in Pillars Of
Eternity video game where I get to roleplay as
an intimidating Bleak Walker paladin.”
4 WAX QUEEN
“I envisioned this unmoving monarch
made of wax and gold for months and it took
me several attempts to realise it.”
10
4
Congratulations
Qistina, our Artist of
the Month who
receives a copy of
Corel Painter 2021,
together with
an Ultimate Brush
Pack containing
over 600 unique
brushes, worth over
£1,500, courtesy of
our friends Corel!
Submissions for Artist

of the Year are now
closed. We’ll reveal
our Artist of the Year
at Vertex 2021 – visit
www.vertexconf.com.
You can still submit
your work to FXPosé,
see below for details.
HOW TO SUBMIT
YOUR WORK
Please send us:
• Five high-res
(300dpi) images of
your work, with a title
and a 30-word
caption for each.
• Your name, the
software you use,
location and website.
• 50 words about you.
• A photo of yourself.
Email this information
to: fxpose@
imaginefx.com.
Submit your work: http://ifxm.ag/getinifx 11

In association with
12 Submit your work: http://ifxm.ag/getinifx

Ron Sanders
LOCATION: US MEDIA: Photoshop WEB: www.RonSandersArt.com
Ron is a fine artist whose paintings hang in private and public collections. He’s
created historical illustrations for limited edition prints, textbooks, and the US
Mint. Currently he’s pursuing the book cover and game markets.
3
1 TREASURE ISLAND
“In Robert Louis
Stevenson’s classic tale, Will
Hawkins must outwit Long
John Silver and his band of
pirates to stay alive and find
the treasure.”
2 TORCHFIRE AND
LIGHTNING
“A young vampire warrior
marches across the castle
wall, his blades prepared for
battle in a night lit by torches
and the flash of lightning.”
3 LITTLE RED -
WOLF HUNTER
“Little Red Riding Hood is all
grown up and taking her
vengeance on the wolves
that stalk the forests near her
grandmother’s home.”

In association with
Alexandra Curte
LOCATION: England MEDIA: Photoshop WEB: www.artstation.com/alexandracurte
“I’ve been painting my whole life and the fantasy genre is my favourite,”
says Alexandra. “I’ve always loved fairy tales and all things magic and
folklore, which can be found in a lot of my paintings.”
1 2
1 CRYSTAL MAGE
“This was inspired by my
love of crystals, particularly
amethysts and the beautiful
way crystals reflect the light.”
2 DOE
“My doe painting was
inspired by the arrival of
spring after a long and
dreary winter.”
3 KIDA
“Kida was always my
favourite Disney princess.
I wanted to depict her
protecting that which is most
important to her: the
legendary Atlantis.”
4 DEMONESS
“This is a self portrait
exercise that took on a life of
its own and ended up as a
tiefling/demoness portrait.”

4

In association with

Ariadne Concha
LOCATION: Australia MEDIA: Photoshop WEB: www.instagram.com/arimaniia
Ariadne is a self-taught artist who draws her inspiration from video

games and films. In her work she wants to replicate the same
dynamic visuals and storytelling found in these mediums.
2
1 NO FURTHER
“This piece is a
representation of vengeance
being the ultimate payment
for disrespect. So make sure
you tread lightly!”
2 WHATEVER IT TAKES
“This concept reflects on
the age-old saying ‘Never
give up’. Whatever the battle,
do whatever it takes to win.”
3 WITH MY LIFE
“I wanted to explore the
lengths that a person would
go to in order to protect the
ones they love.”
4 CONQUER HELL
TOGETHER
“This is my take on close
relationships and friendships.
I chose to picture them
fighting side by side, facing
life and death together.”
3 4

In association with

Anna Orlova (SpaceLaika)
LOCATION: Russia MEDIA: Photoshop, Daz Studio WEB: www.artstation.com/spacelaika
3 WHISPERER
“I love to paint
characters with their
animal companions.
Anna is a freelance concept artist and illustrator who previously These two understand
worked in the game development industry. “I enjoy painting each other without
fantasy characters, playing D&D and reading fantasy and sci-fi.” saying a word.”
3
1 FA-DEYK
“This piece was inspired by
the book An Orange Portrait
2 DRIDER
“My tribute to a drider, a
D&D creature. He’s a dark elf
With Dots, written by Russian who turned away from his
children’s literature author goddess and was punished
Vladislav Krapivin.” by a hideous transformation.”
4
4 GRIFFIN’S SONG
“The Harpers are
musicians, and the keepers
of knowledge and balance in
one of my favourite D&D
settings: Forgotten Realms.”
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ARTIST NEWS, SOFTWARE EVENTS
AT THE CORE OF THE DIGITAL ART COMMUNITY
The best online

concept art schools
Class acts Lockdown needn’t stop you learning concept art or extending
your skill-set. Tom May presents eight great places to study online
Online courses in concept art have

been growing in influence and
importance for the past few years
now. And in 2020, for obvious
reasons, they’ve come into their own.
But choosing between them can be INSTRUCTOR: BOBBY PONTILLAS
tricky. Different concept art schools
don’t just specialise in different
areas, but also offer very different
approaches to learning in general.
Some are similar to YouTube
channels, offering prerecorded videos INSTRUCTOR: IRIS COMPIET
that contain exercises for you to

complete after the lesson. This type of You’re sent
course tends to be cheaper and easier
to fit into your schedule, but offers less a video of the
in the way of feedback, and you’ll need
to be more disciplined to complete it.
instructor painting
Other schools feature live classes that over the top of
are more like traditional education,
with greater interactivity and your work
opportunities to ask questions. These,
in turn, tend to be more expensive, and
you’ll need to keep to a rigid schedule.
In this article, we’ve selected our
eight favourite online schools for
concept artists. We’ll explain what
each one offers and how they differ,
to help you choose the right one for
your needs.
Esther Wu is part of Schoolism’s alumni,

and will also be an instructor in 2021,
INSTRUCTOR: IRIS COMPIET teaching Mech Design.
20
DAILY ART CLUTTER YOUR VIEWS,
JOURNEY COLLECTOR YOUR ART
Art director Carolina Illustrator and writer Readers write in with
Tello Zeleski reveals her Colleen Doran shows us their art news and
typical working day at around her rural studio. opinions on what we’ve
Sanzaru Games, while Visiting bears and deer covered in ImagineFX.
working from home are certainly interested Plus we feature art
and looking after her in the artist’s eclectic that’s caught our eye
young son. memorabilia collection. on social media.
Page 29 Page 30 Page 37
INSTRUCTOR: BOBBY PONTILLAS INSTRUCTOR: IRIS COMPIET
Schoolism
www.schoolism.com
Schoolism was set up by concept artist

Bobby Chiu, and tutors include well-
known artists such as Craig Mullins, Iris
Compiet, Ian McCaig and Nathan
Fowkes. It offers two ways of taking its
courses in drawing, illustration,
sculpting and painting.
The cheaper option is to follow pre-
recorded videos, which you can watch
whenever you like. Alternatively, you
can pay more for Critiqued Sessions.
These have set start dates, and run
from nine to 14 weeks.
One lecture is activated every one
to two weeks, and includes an
assignment that you have to complete
within a week. After you’ve submitted
it, you’re sent a video of the instructor
painting and drawing over the top of
your work, while discussing what you
did well, what you can work on, and
how they might have handled certain
elements of the assignment differently.
You can also view your fellow students’
feedback videos.
A subscription to Schoolism will get
you a year’s access to all prerecorded
videos for $299.40 (or $198 before
18 January 2021), while the Critiqued
INSTRUCTOR: ESTHER WU Sessions cost $998.
21
ImagineNation News
STUDENT: THEO NARDI STUDENT: ALEX WINKLER
INSTRUCTOR: PABLO DOMINGUEZ
Brad’s Nielsen created this

artwork under the tutelage
of Patrick O’Keefe for Learn
Squared’s 2D Sequence
Illustration mentorship.
STUDENT: BRAD NIELSEN
Learn Squared
www.learnsquared.com
Founded by industry-leading artists in free account, you can access the entire
2015, Learn Squared offers dozens of first lesson of each course, which is
courses totalling more than 300 hours over 60 hours of content in total.
of training materials. These cover Learn Squared has recently launched
concept art, environments, character an option where, like at Schoolism, you
design, matte painting and animation. can pay more for professional
Tutors include well-known industry feedback on demand. The difference
names such as Tran Nguyen, Jan here is that you pay only for the lessons
Urschel, Ash Thorp, Maciej Kuciara and you want feedback on. It’s early days,
Patrick O’Keefe. though, with this option only available
Learn Squared’s courses are based with Pablo Dominguez’s course on
on pre-recorded videos, which you can Vehicle Concept Art.
watch whenever’s convenient. You also More mentors are promised for the
receive downloadable project files that second quarter of 2021, as well as new
enable you to work alongside the video courses from some notable industry
lessons. Courses cost between $99 names. Many existing courses also
and $249, and consist of between four include bonus recordings of past
and 12 hours of training. If you open a mentorship meetings. INSTRUCTOR: TRAN NGUYEN
22
Artist news, software & events
Award-winning artist STUDENT: SHANE CLUSKEY INSTRUCTOR: LAKE HURWITZ

Audrey Benjaminsen
instructs Process: Skill &
Craft at Visual Arts Passage.
Visual Arts
Passage
www.visualartspassage.com
Not keen on recorded lessons? At

Visual Arts Passage, students are
INSTRUCTOR: AUDREY BENJAMINSEN INSTRUCTOR: DALE STEPHANOS mentored by industry pros and have a
live, fully interactive class every week
that lasts three hours. There are also
mid-week meetups online. They’re a
chance to share progress, receive
extra guidance from other instructors
in the programme, and stay on course.
Students are also encouraged to
connect with instructors and
classmates via Slack between classes.
Each class is recorded and available
on-demand, so even if you miss
attending a live lesson you can catch
up later, and your submitted work
will still be critiqued. As well as
illustration courses, there are four
concept art courses on offer, each
lasting 10 weeks and costing $999:
Intro to Concept Design. Advanced
Concept Design, World Building, and
STUDENT: KATE MEYRICK Career Development.
Visual Arts Passage is also launching
Students are a new subscription platform this
January, for $29/month, called Studio
mentored by pros Bridge. Running parallel to its
and have a live, Raymond Bonilla is a

nationally recognised
mentorship programme, Studio
Bridge involves virtual visits to the
fully interactive illustrator and fine
artist who instructs
Painting the Head at
studios of new artists every week,
along with weekly digital drawing
class every week Visual Arts Passage. INSTRUCTOR: RAYMOND BONILLA meet-ups and challenges.
23
ImagineNation News
STUDENT: CRAIG Stan Prokopenko aims to

RICHARDSON make his tutorials
entertaining while still
keeping them educational.
Students of all skill

levels have been
using Stan’s courses
to improve their
figure drawings.
STUDENT: SEBASTIAN SZMYD
Proko INSTRUCTOR: STAN PROKOPENKO
www.proko.com
All the schools we’ve featured so far are provided, as a premium student
have been focused on specific concept you receive high-resolution versions
art skills. But maybe you’re a concept that you can download and print for
artist who needs to refresh or build on your reference. For those who like to
your fundamentals, such as anatomy work offline all the videos are
or figure drawing. In that case, you downloadable, so you can watch them
should check out Proko, the online later at your leisure.
school of Stan Prokopenko. Along with the educational content
To get a taster, there are plenty of that Stan’s been adding to Proko.com,
free videos on Stan’s site. Then, if you he’s also been inviting other pro artists
want additional instruction, you can to create lessons and courses for the
upgrade to his paid Premium videos. site. There’s already a caricature course
Premium content can include
extended lessons, additional
and high-quality demos from
professional artists that you can learn
Stan’s been inviting other
demonstrations, 3D models, eBooks,
critique videos and premium-specific
from. Finally, there’s now a monthly art
challenge that anyone can participate
pro artists to create lessons
videos. Whenever diagrams or photos in with prizes awarded to the winners. and courses for the site
24
Alice Yang’s environment

concept from the WB3
(advanced world-
building) course. STUDENT: ALICE YANG
STUDENT: AIRI PAN
STUDENT: CORNELIUS COCKROFT
Gnomon
www.gnomon.edu
Looking for a course with real

academic rigour? Then meet
Gnomon School of Visual Effects,
Games and Animation. A
Hollywood institution established
in 1997, its online courses closely
parallel the learning environment of
its on-campus, physical ones. Brainstorm School STUDENT: KEVIN KRUSE
All of Gnomon’s classes are www.brainstormschool.com

delivered live, putting you in a
virtual classroom with pros and Based in California, Brainstorm School delivered live, and to a schedule based
your peers. They range from specialises in foundation, digital on Pacific Standard Time (European
specific topics like compositing and painting and design courses, focused artists, be warned!). These sessions
digital matte painting to core art around character design, environment variously include demos, guest
skills such as figure drawing and design and prop design, and led by lecturers, reviews, critiques, paintovers,
perspective. Every class has a working professionals in the and solo and group activities.
message board that enables entertainment industry. There are four types of courses on
Character design
students and the instructor to Different courses are suitable for development by Tuncer offer, which take place during three
communicate with one another, beginner-, intermediate- and Eren for an IP project in terms per year. In the Mentorship
the Entertainment
share ideas, and ask and answer advanced-level artists. All classes are Design course. programme, you’ll be guided along a
questions. Courses are led by some personalised intensive programme.
of the best-known names in the You’ll meet with your mentor weekly to
industry, including Maddie Scott have private learning time specific to
Spencer and Kevin Hudson. you. Mentorships cost from $4,500
Note that even though they’re and are led by Jonathan Kuo, Joon
online, Gnomon’s courses are only Ahn, Saiful Haque and Brainstorm
available to students physically School co-founder John Park.
located in California, or outside of Meanwhile, Bootcamps usually run
the US. In other words, if you’re a for five to eight weeks, and cost from
US resident who doesn’t live in $400 to $685. There are also Storm
California, your luck’s out. Courses courses, which run for five weeks, and
last for 10 weeks and tuition costs cost $259, and 10-week courses,
range from $699 to $2,133. STUDENT: TUNCER EREN costing from $700.
25
ImagineNation News
CGSociety
www.cgsociety.org
CGSociety is a venerable global

organisation for creative digital artists.
Focusing on landing you a career in
the art, games and VFX industries, its
CGWorkshops arm offers expert
training for industry professionals in
subjects including character design, STUDENT: JD GARDNER STUDENT: JESS O’NEILL
matte painting, drawing foundation
and environmental design. This piece by alumnus
Courses last between six and 10 Justyna Gil depicts a
lonely girl trying to protect
weeks, and range from $599 to $998, herself from seven demons
with discounts for those who buy two using a magical artifact.
or more classes at one time. The

lessons are based on pre-recorded
videos, but you do need to keep to a
schedule, with weekly homework
deadlines. You also receive
individually recorded feedback on
your work, as well as regular live Q&As
with your instructors.
Recently it was announced that
CGWorkshops was merging with CG
Master Academy. Eventually, students
of both schools will be able to socially
interact via CGMA’s virtual classroom.
However, the two websites remain
separate for now and we’ve been
assured that will continue to be the
case until at least mid-2021.
You’ll receive
individually
recorded feedback
on your work STUDENT: JUSTYNA GIL
Neo Tokyo by CG Workshops

student Edward Chan,
created by painting over
STUDENT: EDMUND CHAN 3D kit-bashed elements.
26
STUDENT: BRANKO DANIC STUDENT: TIMO PETER
An evocative piece
by CGMA alumnus
Martin Fargasso
entitled Street Corner.
STUDENT: GUE YANG STUDENT: MARTIN FARGASSO
CG Master Academy (CGMA)

www.cgmasteracademy.com
Founded in 2010 and based in Los and 3D for 2D Artists, and their tutors
Angeles, CG Master Academy (CGMA) have worked for most major studios,
offers online courses in 2D, 3D, VFX, including Disney, Blizzard and Pixar.
games, software and storytelling, to Like CGWorkshops, with which
help you develop the skill-set you need CGMA is currently merging, courses
to launch a career in the entertainment run for six to 10 weeks, and cost
industry. It’s continually adding new Hero vs Harpies, a from $599 to $998, with discounts
courses, the most recent of which keyframe illustration on two classes or more. And like
by CGMA alumnus
include Acting for Visual Storytellers Andrew Collins. CGWorkshops, they’re based on pre-
recorded videos that include weekly
assignments, individually recorded
feedback on your work, and live Q&As
with your tutors. You’ll enjoy over 365
days of access to the full course,
including feedback and live Q&A
recordings, and a Certificate of
Completion on finishing the course.
It’s worth noting that CGMA offers
complimentary portfolio reviews for
prospective and current students. This
provides guidance to help you enroll
in courses that are appropriate for
STUDENT: ANDREW COLLINS your skill level. STUDENT: JASON CHAN
27
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28
In partnership with
Carolina helped to
shape the look of the
VR game Asgard’s
Wrath, which is based
on Nordic folklore.
A day in the life of

a concept artist
Creative talk Carolina Tello Zeleski, an art director at California- Carolina’s character concept for Ingrid,
a shieldmaiden in Asgard’s Wrath that was
based studio Sanzaru Games, takes us through her typical day… published by Oculus Studios in 2019.
“I believe in video games classes and responding to questions photo-bash or paint-over, and then
as an art form. I love to from my producers and artists. Then 30 per cent is verbal. I’ve turned a
create experiences for it’s time for lunch and a chance to get lot of my team meetings into a
people. But these past outside for a bike ride, walk or a creative, morale-boosting time to
nine months, my day has lightsaber battle in the park. counterbalance the emotional toll of
looked a lot different than normal. The afternoon is back-to-back Zoom the pandemic. After dinner, it’s back
Not only am I juggling being a full- meetings with my team until dinner to work until 10pm when I end the
time art director, but my young son time. I split my week between the night with something mindless playing
is being schooled remotely, too. character art, environment art and the on the television.
Things get going at 7am when concept art teams, and give tailored Whenever somebody complains or
I get my son ready for the day – his feedback to each artist. tells me that they’ve had a bad day, I’m
first class begins at 8am. Next, I’ll I’d say 70 per cent of my feedback is Carolina’s early concept like, ‘I don’t know, you’re still making
design for Thor, from
check emails while multi-tasking his in the form of some sort of either Asgard’s Wrath. awesome artwork, and getting paid for
it. That’s amazing.’ Just growing up in
a country where there is no industry,
I never dreamed that I could do this.
Just keeping the perspective that art
making is a really cool thing. We’re
trying to delight people and that’s
such a privilege.”
Carolina is an art director for Sanzaru
Games, an AR/VR Studio @ Facebook. Visit
www.artstation.com/carotello to see more
of Carolina’s concept artworks.
Concept Art Association is committed to
raising the profile of concept artists and their
Carolina’s home studio includes an involvement in the entertainment industries.
example of Brian Froud’s Labyrinth art!
See www.conceptartassociation.com.
29
ImagineNation Artist in Residence
The Vampire Lestat I’ve lost count of how many I don’t have much original art by me on the walls, but I do
doll. Don’t judge me. salt lamps I have in here. have this original Donato Giancola oil painting. Go me!
Afternoon tea made

fresh every day.
Published by DC Comics/Vertigo. Copyright Colleen Doran and Warren Ellis.

Colleen Doran
Collector’s items The award-winning US artist-writer
wants her studio to be as comfortable as possible.
She tells us that it’s not work to her, it’s oxygen!
I’d declutter, but my mediums and to try different things,
clutter is all fun, and but it’s easy to lose track of it all, so
I’m keeping it. I stay organised.
My setup has three Some of my art supplies are over 100
stations that I access by years old, inherited from the studios of
swivelling my chair. Since I work on Frank Kelly Freas, Nick Cardy and
multiple pieces at a time, I have Marie Severin. I have Marie’s office
portable boards I swap out and place name stamp and Nick’s casein paints.
on the main board, or place on my I drew the art for Amazing, Fantastic,
computer desk where I can work flat Incredible Stan Lee with Marie’s pens.
or get natural light. There are flat files John Romita Sr also kindly gave me
behind the drawing board, more in the brushes, stacks of vellum, old Marvel
next room, and files in the closet. My paper – even his mini-transparency As a space enthusiast,
getting to do this book
studio is spread over two rooms, with lightbox. It belongs in a museum! was a career highlight.
more storage in an outbuilding. I have to stay disciplined or else I’ll I was thinking of John
Glenn when I drew that face.
There’s space to work in many just wander off into a fog. I use apps
30
I not only have a Harry Potter wand, I’m a Signed photo of my first big crush, Walter My Epson Expression 10000 XL Photo Edition scanner This film poster is signed by the
Hufflepuff and own a Hogwarts uniform. Koenig, aka Mr Chekov from Star Trek. scans slides and negatives, too. It’s beautiful, man. director and producer.
So many supplies
crammed in here: oils,
Genesis oils, pastels,
watercolours, many
bottles of ink…. so
many brands.
These narrow black My laptop is perched on

paper files measure a rack, which keeps it
about 10x14 inches. from slipping. It’s for
Modular and stackable, reference, and for
with eight drawers streaming videos or
each, they’re great for Netflix. I also watch a
organising scripts and lot of tutorials on this.
reference, right next Even if I know the
to my board. Even material, I like to watch
though I have all this other artists working.
on computer, I like to Playing on the TV in the
have hard copies at background is my
my work space. fireplace DVD.
Kitchen utensil trays Another tray balanced

make great art supply on my drawing board
organisers. I may be the and secured with
last cartoonist in North double-sided tape. Also
America who still uses here is my favourite
drafting dots. electric eraser, which is
the greatest invention
known to artkind.
A matching flat files/

map chest combo.
One’s next to the
drawing board, the
other behind it. Great
for organising art I have multiple portable
supplies, and the boards, as well as this
smaller map chest next Alvin board I swap out
to the drawing board is to use on top of my
exactly the right size for main drawing board.
11x17-inch comic book I keep about five pages
art, too. of art going at once.
31
Original art from Neil Original art from The My heroes Aragorn
Gaiman’s Snow Glass Silver Metal Lover. It and Chuck Yeager.
Apples graphic novel was my favourite book Also, a The Lord of the
I based the style for when I was a teenager, Rings poster signed
this on the work of so doing this cover by the cast and crew.
Irish Arts and Crafts made me swoon. Some of the notes are
master Harry Clarke. hilariously naughty.
Adapted from the Tanith Lee novel by Trina Robbons. Copyright Colleen Doran
Published by Dark Horse. Copyright Neil Gaiman and Colleen Doran.
There’s space to work in many

mediums and to try different things,
but it’s easy to lose track of it all…
My computer work space. That’s a Kinuko Y

Craft print from a favourite book on the wall,
and at the far right, a poster from my
residency at the Smithsonian Institute.
32
I’m a space exploration

enthusiast, and many of
these books are
autographed by
astronauts. I was also
privileged to be chosen
by NASA Social to be a
social media
correspondent for a
launch at Wallops
Island. Can’t wait to be
able to get back out
there again!
I shamelessly display
some of my awards on
the windowsill, and tell
myself it’s because
they’re shiny and
Copyright and trademark DC Comics.
decorative, and
not because I’m
inordinately proud.
I absolutely love
Wonder Woman and
do whatever I have to
do to squeeze in every
Some of the pens, pencils chance for a gig.
and brushes from the studios Recently, I’ve had
of Marie Severin, Nick Cardy the opportunity to
and John Romita Sr. write her as well, so
achievement unlocked.
33
Behind my computer is
a book on day trading,
which I don’t actually
do, but until I read it I
found the stock market
confounding. All
freelancers need to
understand investing
since we don’t receive
employee benefits.
I live in the country. It’s very peaceful

and many animals wander by.
Sometimes they try to break in
such as RescueTime, Todoist and I have an old Mac Pro Tower and a
Freedom. I either overwork or MacBook Pro laptop, an Epson
underwork. I don’t know what that Expression 10000 XL, a Cintiq and a
says about me, but ‘happy medium’ is back-up XP-Pen for travel or working
not in my skill set. in bed when I’m sick. I’ve done the
better part of entire projects while sick
PUTTING ART FIRST in bed. I do some digital painting and
It’s easy to let admin tasks become a computer colour, but most of my art All of nature wanders The only drawback to living in the
by my window. We
procrastination ritual, so I try to delay – especially the drawing – is by hand. have a friendly herd of country is the lousy internet. When
admin so art gets made first. However, My next graphic novel is going to be deer here. Bambi and I first moved out here, it took an entire
friends have decimated
if I exercise first then I feel more all watercolour. my gardens. I no longer day to upload a painting to a client.
fight with them and
relaxed and able to get art done. My I live in the country. It’s very peaceful now do most of my
We’re still on satellite broadband. Woe
day ranges from 10am to about 1am, and many animals wander by. gardening in pots on unto the cartoonist.
the second floor deck.
with breaks in between. Sometimes they try to break in. You This mama bear could This year comic illustrator Colleen won the
Whatever I’m doing at this time have to be careful about leaving the probably smell the Eisner, Bram Stoker Award and the Ringo
pistachio nuts I was
might be thrown out in a year. I’m window open, especially if you’re eating, so followed her Award for her graphic novel adaptation of
constantly searching for Plato’s perfect eating. Raccoons try to steal my food nose to take a peek. Neil Gaiman’s Snow Glass Apples. See more
form for Colleen’s work habits. off my desk. of her art at www.colleendoran.com.
34
There’s stuff from

The Lord of the
Rings all over the
place, in part
because an old
client couldn’t cover
their debt. So I got
paid in Sideshow
Weta Collectibles.
There are worse
things to get paid in.
My library and storage area. All my

exercise kit is in here so I don’t
make excuses for not keeping fit.
There are also flat files, stackable
modular plastic storage cases and
old metal files for photos.
35
Letters
New works that have

YOUR FEEDBACK & OPINIONS grabbed our attention
Contact the editor, Claire Howlett,
on [email protected] or write
to ImagineFX, Future Publishing, Jennifer Wuestling of Riot Games is another of Kevin’s
favourite artists. We interviewed her in issue 195.
Quay House, The Ambury,
Bath, BA1 1UA, England Claire replies I really enjoyed our recent
Follow us on Twitter: video game issue as well! (Is it wrong for me to
www.twitter.com/imaginefx say that?!) I found Lixin via his YouTube
Find us on Facebook: channel, too. He was fantastic to collaborate
/imaginefx with on the workshop because he’s very
Post your art or photos on Instagram: engaged with what he creates. Jennifer is an
www.instagram.com/imaginefxmagazine artist who I’ve admired for a while, so I was
overjoyed to put her art and insight in the
Encourage and support magazine. Thank you!
I just wanted to say thank you so much
for what you’re doing at ImagineFX to Finally!
encourage and support artists during this At last! I’ve received my copy of Danitapintamonos
difficult year. Always love getting my ImagineFX in a paper envelope! @dansmendoart
issue in the mail. It makes me smile Honestly, I still think you were a little late
amidst all the chaos. in making the change from plastic
Hannah wrapping to a more environmental
paper version, but I’m glad that you
Claire replies That’s very good to hear, finally decided to do this. I considered
Hannah. Our aim is entirely to encourage and stopping my subscription because of the
support not only in art skills but also in plastic waste. Thank goodness you have
wellbeing and practical matters that aren’t made the switch.
taught in art school. 2020 was quite a year and Jon, Edinburgh
I’m delighted to hear that we may have helped
you through this. Stay safe and I’m sure we’ll be Claire replies Hello Jon and thank you for
back to normal very soon. your email. I remember you emailing me about
this a while back. I forwarded your complaint
Fun and games – along with many others – to the relevant
Thanks for featuring Lixin Yin (issue department. As you know it’s taken a while for Will-Helm Arts
195) as he’s one of my favourite artists. this more environmentally friendly change to @will.helm.arts
His YouTube channel is very informative take effect, but I’m very happy that it has. The
and I often log on to watch him paint environmental benefits are clear and obvious.
when I’m stuck on my own work. The company I work for is the largest UK
I also enjoyed Jennifer Wuestling’s magazine publisher so it absolutely needs to
interview. She came across really well and take a stand about the waste that it produces.
her work is something I aspire to. I love This change is currently for UK subscribers, but
anything related to game art. Cheers! we expect to make the swap for our overseas
Kevin Li subscribers very soon.
I’ve got an idea…

I liked your article on how artists
generate ideas (issue 195), particularly
Kofi Ofosu’s approach of revisiting old
sketches. I have already gone through my
all of my sketch books – I keep
DID YOU MISS everything! – and started coming up
THE PREVIOUS with new ideas, so thanks to Kofi. Madalyn McLeod
PACKED ISSUE? Alan, England @madalynmcleod
Don’t worry –
you can get hold
of issue 195 at Claire replies Being inspired by past work If you’ve created art that you want us to shout
makes sense to me, Alan. Please share your about simply tag us on Twitter or Instagram,
Reader Kevin keenly follows Lixin Yin’s work on http://ifxm.ag/ and use the hashtag #imaginefx
YouTube, so was glad to see him in the magazine. single-ifx. new work and ideas with us!
37
Interview
MOUNTAIN PASS
“This was a personal
piece that I put
together back in 2010.”
© Warner Bros.
SUSHI DELIVERY SERVICE

“I created this vehicle design
in 2016 for Blade Runner 2049.
I based it on a Trabant 601.”
38
PETER POPKEN
ARTIST PORTFOLIO
PETER
POPKEN
The concept artists tells Gary Evans
how a long and varied apprenticeship
led to success in the film business
C
oncept artists typically of Grindelwald. Veteran concept artists
work with two types of like him secretly call this second type
client, Peter Popken “shoppers.” These are the clients who
explains. First, there’s prefer to wait and see where the
the client who knows process leads them; shoppers go with
exactly what they want. They’ve done a the flow. Both of types of client have
lot of preparation, they’ve got the their downsides.
concept in their head and they just With the first client, the concept on
need the concept artist to put it on the page will never live up to the idea
the page. Then you’ve got the second in their head. In contrast, the shopper
type of client… has no idea, and will usually put off
Peter has over two decades of making a decision for as long as
experience working on big-budget possible. Perhaps unsurprisingly, both
films such as the Marvel and Star Wars clients expect things done quickly,
series of movies, and Blade Runner so Peter usually gets half a day for a
2049 and Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes rough sketch, then a day to finish it.
“This,” the German artist says, “is
PIRANESI-INSPIRED accompanied by extensive changes and
“This set design – for a adjustments. Very often we don’t get
canned period film
– was inspired by the time to do a proper illustration, just
Italian artist Giovanni enough time to deliver the message.”
Battista Piranesi.”
Peter once described film concept art
as translating the script into visuals, as
if each visual were a still from the
finished film. Essentially, the concept
artist has to adapt words to pictures
without losing the message, and
Artist
PROFILE
Peter Popken
LOCATION: Germany
FAVOURITE ARTISTS: Ron Cobb, HR Giger,
© Myriad Pictures
Syd Mead and Ralph McQuarrie

MEDIA: Photoshop, Blender, SketchUp
and KeyShot
WEB: www.peterpopken.com
39
Interview
GOLEM
“This is a personal piece
that I completed earlier
this year.”
© Warner Bros.
they have to deal with clients who WALLACE TOWER

either have too fixed an idea or no idea “From Blade Runner
2049, the view from
at all, and they have to all this quickly view from Wallace
and efficiently. How is it achieved? Tower in Los Angeles.”
APPRENTICESHIP YEARS
One day, back in the 1990s, Peter had
to deliver storyboards to an advertising
agency. The agency happened to be on
the same floor as an animation studio.
Peter bumped – literally – into a film Peter grew up in the Black Forest He studied communication design at
director. The director saw Peter’s region of Germany (“a beautiful university in Munich. This was 1990,
storyboards and asked him to come for childhood”), but his dad’s job meant before computers: “Or at least what we
an interview. A few days later, Peter got they relocated several times, finally call a computer today. Bulky monitors
his first job in film. This sounds like he settling in Munich. His parents and and cryptic code is what I remember.”
lucked his way into movies. But it came brothers and sisters encouraged his Peter preferred the illustration side of
at the end of a kind of modern version creative side. Growing up, he took the course, life drawing and anatomy
of the apprenticeships served by the drawing courses and got into lessons – he even considered becoming
Old Masters like Leonardo da Vinci. Renaissance art. He studied the a medical illustrator. Illustration was
drawing and painting techniques of by now an obsession.
the Old Masters. A big favourite was
Enlightenment came da Vinci. Peter would copy his THE APPEAL OF THE ABSTRACT
finally when I discovered drawings, and even had a crack at
replicating the Mona Lisa: “After that I
Peter experimented with traditional
painting techniques – oils, gouache,
the work of Syd Mead guess, I respected him even more.” markers, even airbrush – then
something changed: “I found out that
academic art can be rather static, and
discovered the expressionist force of
abstract painting.” The painters who
really interested him then – and
continue to engage him now – had
elements of both, and most are in
some ways related to film-making:
HR Giger (Alien), Ralph McQuarrie
(Star Wars), Ron Cobb (Alien and Star
Wars)… “But enlightenment came
finally when I discovered the work of
Syd Mead. Each picture of his is a great
lesson in design, and I recommend his
books to anyone who strives for a
career in concept art.”
© Warner Bros.
HOVER TRUCK Da Vinci’s seven-year apprenticeship

“This vehicle design is from would have exposed him to all sorts
the 2011 film Cloud Atlas.”
disciplines – drafting, plaster
40
PETER POPKEN
VARIETY IN SHAPES AND VOLUMES

Peter explains how he put together this piece, a masterclass in the fine art of contrasts
idea unless I find a better solution (2D colours versus bright colours: the trick
drawings don’t always translate well is to use only one bright colour as an
into the real world). Instead of drawing accent among many grey tones. A
a perspective I use a 3D model as a neutral colour would be a pale mix of
basis for my paintings. This provides a warm and cold tone. Busy versus
solid volumes and the perfect empty space: a pattern works best
foreshortening for my painting.” next to an empty space; heavy texture
can draw a lot of attention to a
3 Generate contrasts designated area.”
“I’m striving for a variety in shapes and
volumes. Everything that can cast 4 Finishing in Photoshop
shadows improves on the depth “Usually I’d render a few different
effect. But light and shadow aren’t the passes of my 3D model in KeyShot
only contrasts. Big versus small is a and later combine them in Photoshop.
1 Start sketching great way to bring scale and Parts that don’t work can be adjusted
“When developing my own paintings dimensions to an image. Cold versus and painted over easily. To master
I always start with a thumbnail sketch. warm is often used as a so-called lighting and mood, you need a lot of
Working in a small size gives me more ‘colour perspective’. Blue tones seem experience. Alternatively, a good
control over each element of my to fall back into the distance while reference image can help to achieve
image. At the same time I’m avoiding reds push into the foreground. Cold the perfect outcome. That’s why some
getting into detail too early, and focus light from the outside against warm illustrators pick their colour key even
on the greater picture first. It doesn’t light bouncing back from the interior before they start sketching. This
matter if the sketch is rough and only adds great three-dimensionality and allows for faster rendering and easier
suggestive in areas. What’s important plasticity to a painting. Neutral, cooler handling of values and tones.”
are the big shapes – building the
megastructure of my image. While
developing my silhouettes, I keep an
eye on the negative spaces as well.
Together they form the rhythm and
dynamic of the composition.”
2 Work with solid volumes

“In this early stage, I’m trying to nail
design, composition and proportions
because things are likely to be
watered down once I start working on ROBOT DESIGNS
“These various robot
individual elements. While I progress designs are personal
I’m constantly flipping back and forth pieces that I’ve been
working on this year.”
to my original sketch, to check if
things develop for the better or worse.
I try to stay as close as possible to my
RIFLES
“Prop design for
the film Aeon Flux,
created using pencil
and marker in 2004.”
© Starz Originals
VIRUS CRATE
© Paramount
“This is a prop design

for the sci-fi TV
series Counterpart.”
41
Interview
K’S SPINNER
© Warner Bros.
“Another vehicle design from Blade
Runner 2049, this time showing the
police car that Ryan Gosling’s
character K drives – or flies.”
casting, leather working – THE BIGGEST STEP

“Anatomy studies for creature design
alongside drawing, painting, and based on the Deinotherium, a relative of
sculpting. Still at university, Peter today’s elephants.”
started picking up freelance work. First,
it was favours for friends, or helping
out professors in their personal
studios. Then he found commissions
in comics and book illustration, and
pretty soon he was doing everything
from renderings for high-speed trains
to pet-food designs. Peter graduated in
1994, but continued his self-initiated
apprenticeship, learning the principles
of numerous art-related fields,
© Fox Television
including advertising, architecture and
theme-park design.
During this time, Peter became
aware of ‘art of’ books about films
such as Alien and the original Star
Wars trilogy. Before then, he hadn’t
pages. I wanted to learn the skill set
before applying for a film position.
To create the perfect
even realised there were jobs for artists
in the film industry. But he didn’t want
“Only concept art combines so many
disciplines. You get to design space
illusion, concepts need to
to apply for a job in movies before he ships, and paint landscapes, characters be grounded in reality
was ready, and this seems to be a big and costumes. Concept art is the most
part of the idea behind his long and creative profession I can think of.” to have a certain level of credibility
varied apprenticeship. Peter continues: “In order to create before you start adding fantastical
“I basically took on any job that the perfect illusion, concepts need to elements. You learn this grounding in
would involve drawing, such as be grounded in reality – something
SHIELDS reality by drawing from life. On the
“These prop designs
storyboarding for commercials, layout familiar the audience can relate to.” He are from the 2004 film job, Peter uses reference (“And I mean
King Arthur, directed
for animation, and drawing comic goes on to explain that concepts have by Antoine Fuqua.” a lot!”). He keeps collections of
references – specific things like skies,
clouds, explosions – but also images
that have a “perfect colour palette.”
INSPIRATION COMES UNEXPECTEDLY

Peter got into the habit of writing
down his ideas (“Inspiration usually
© Touchstone Pictures
comes unexpectedly. Most likely when

you don’t need it.“). He goes back to
his notes and translates words to
pictures. He starts with a little pencil
sketch, roughing out dimensions,
42
© Constantin PETER POPKEN
TARZAN
“Development art for the animated
feature film Tarzan from 2013.”
43
Interview
TRASH MESA
“Another from Blade Runner 2049
– this is a concept illustration for the
Trash Mesa sequence.”
© Warner Bros.
the basic shapes of an idea: “I think existing artwork, or even copy it – to

a good composition makes half of the the point that permission is needed
image.” Thumbnails help him find “a from copyright holders. This is where
cinematic frame” – the visual that you need skills in diplomacy.
KING ARTHUR
“Costume
looks like a still from the finished film. Sometime’s it’s impossible to make development
art from the King
But sometimes he starts off in 3D. the image match the idea in his head, Arthur film.”
It’s not uncommon for him to get or the idea in his client’s head. Often
stuck, or for an image to fail. He keeps it’s about “finding the middle ground”
trying, keeps making adjustments – doing the best he can in the time
until the artwork clicks. that he has.
Concept artists are often asked to Peter is capable of working quickly.
produce something that’s similar to He has to be. But he finds that the
It’s an advantage to work fast and

use the spontaneous energy, the
sensation of the moment…
“deeper I dig into something, the
slower I become.” A painting can take
up to two weeks – although he usually
doesn’t have that luxury when creating
concept art for films.
“There used to be a rule: one a day.
But even that doesn’t apply to every
image or task. It’s an advantage to work
fast and use the spontaneous energy,
the sensation of the moment,
especially in the beginning of a project
when you’re enthusiastic about it. I
think I make the best stuff in that early
phase of production.
“We have a variety of techniques at
© Summit Entertainment
© Touchstone Pictures
our disposal, which can deepen or

enhance the experience of an audience,
REPEATER GUN including composition, lighting,
“This is a prop design
from the 2011 film mood, colour and dynamic shape
The Three Musketeers.”
language. Perspective is essential
44
PETER POPKEN
PROP DESIGN
“I modelled this personal
piece in SketchUp and
then rendered it with
KeyShot’s Toon Shader.”
FIXING AN IMAGE THAT’S NOT WORKING

Peter often finishes a piece, only to find he doesn’t like it. Here he reveals his next steps…
“I often don’t like my own paintings, I think it’s crucial for students to can see. For inspiration, I also used to
when I realise that the result is nothing look at other people’s work and learn watch silent movies by Murnau, Lang,
like I intended in the first place. But from it. But, later, you want to develop Wegener and Eisenstein. I learned so
what to do about it? I begin editing your own marks, a style to express much from these films about
out all the things that are unnecessary, your ideas. I remember a point in my cinematography and the play of light
not significant enough, or are just life when I stopped buying art books and shadow. Without music and
distracting from the narrative. At because I wanted to find out what I colour they had to rely on the impact
times, this process is frustrating and could come up with. I had no clue my of the images alone. But I find the
time-consuming, but it’s very own paintings would be published in other arts very inspiring too, especially
rewarding afterwards. What I’m some of those books one day… theatre and opera – they’re mental
basically trying to say is: for one good When I get stuck, I force myself to karaoke for the brain. And, rule #1,
image I throw away nine. There’s no observe my environment, convinced something that always applies: never
easy way to develop a style of your that the solution is out there right now. start a painting without the perfect
own – it takes time and dedication. Try it – you’ll be surprised what you soundtrack on your earphones!”
45
Interview
for depth and our experience of KHARON
space and motion; foreshortening and “A character design
for a comic project
repetitive elements create the rhythm of mine.”
and suggest a sense of dynamic and
motion. Colour sets the tone for the
mood and emotions. Composition
and framing give weight to each
element of the picture. Characters
want to be staged clearly with
expressive silhouettes.
“Finding the right atmosphere and
lighting effects can cause the loss of
unnecessary detail and provide more
space for the viewer’s imagination. DEV ART
Also, patterns and textures will help “I drew this collection of personal pieces in 2019.
I was working through the development art for
bringing special areas to our attention. prop design on a project.”
You’ll be asked to illustrate other

people’s ideas a lot, and changing tasks
will often challenge your flexibility
This is like a checklist. I can work which he was on The Bourne
through this to find out how much Supremacy. He might be asked to do
thought went into my painting!” 20 illustrations, or 200. He often has to
relocate to another state or country.
TWO TYPES OF CLIENT That means new colleagues and a new
Peter’s IMDb page is an impressive working environment, but Peter isn’t
read: since 1997 – when he bumped complaining when he relocates to
into that film director – he’s averaged places like Morocco, Hungary or Italy,
two or three movies a year, including as on previous films.
Thor: The Dark World, Avengers: Age Regardless of the aforementioned
of Ultron, Blade Runner 2049, Star client type, Peter’s work generally
Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, and the comes down to two main challenges:
eagerly anticipated Dune. he has to constantly has to come up
Concept artists normally work in with ideas, and he has communicate design and typography can help to
pre-production, before shooting starts. these ideas visually. develop a sensitivity for style and form.
An average job can take anywhere “Solid skills like drawing, painting Many concept artist have a background
from six weeks to 11 months. Peter and 3D modelling are important, as is ROBO DESIGN in industrial and transport design,
“A recent 3D robot
could be one of a dozen concept artists a knowledge in a variety of fields such design, modelled in where these disciplines are part of the
working on a movie, like he was on as fashion, architecture ,science, SketchUp with a dash education. As mentioned before, I
of retro rendering,
Speed Racer, or the only concept artist, engineering and anatomy. Graphic marker style!” would recommend life drawing, and
plein-air painting. It also helps if you
like to work in a team and you’re open
to different views. You’ll be asked to
illustrate other people’s ideas a lot,
and changing tasks will often
challenge your flexibility.
“Good concept art is what works for
your client and for the project. Ideally
you’re happy with the outcome, too.
Then again, everybody follows their
own standards, which is a good thing.
After all, artists are hired because of
what they do. Film artists in particular
need to be team players and be
receptive to different opinions. The
job requires a maximum of flexibility
and versatility.
“Great films are achieved because of
the diversity and ideas of the people
working on them. As designers, we
create worlds that don’t yet exist… it’s
not everyone’s cup of tea.”
46
PETER POPKEN
TREEHOUSE
“An example of my
development art for
the animated feature
film Tarzan.”
© Constantin
CRASHED SPINNER
© Warner Bros.
“Work-in-progress piece for a Blade

Runner 2049 production painting,
created for the Trash Mesa sequence.”
47
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49
PROFILE
Thomas
Chamberlain-Keen
LOCATION: England
Thomas is a concept artist

and illustrator, currently
working on Fable at
Playground Games in
England. After neglecting
sketchbooks and paper in favour of
digital, he started to discover how
special traditional sketching was again
allenges
after starting his first job. Thomas
d esig n ch continues to find the traditional route
com m unity rewarding, because it enables him to
tist emb ra ce s
is im a gination tackle design problems.
over ho w this ar il ls an d unfurl h

www.artstation.com/tck
Disc h one his s k

as a way to
TESLA MYSTERY BOX
CHAN – MISCHIEVOUS
“The final design for my
entry to the fourth ART
‘THE SUMMONER’
“I built his design around
WAR challenge: a war of ‘conjuring up an idea’.
the elements. She He’s a compulsive,
controls huge arcs chaotic trickster.”
of electricity with
her suit.”
INKTOBER
2019 -
‘PATTERN’
“Lizards are wonderful
things and never stop
being enjoyable to draw;
especially if they
are 100 times their
ordinary size.”
BOK
“A devilish critter
inspired by the
shapes of the pak
choi cabbage.”
50
Sketchbook Thomas Chamberlain-Keen
MYSTERY BOX
– WILD ‘THE HEALER’
“Wild is based on the incredible designs we
see in nature. She’s resilient, nimble,
and instinctive.”
MYSTERY A FLIGHT TO
BOX – JOYFUL BILLUND
‘THE CHEF’
“The glue that holds the
“These pages come from a mini Lizards are wonderful
pocket sketchbook that was given
mystery box team together
with cheer and food. A
well-intentioned
out as a freebie at IAMAG 2019. I
drew these while waiting for my
flight, so some of the faces are
things and never stop
manipulator of
the emotions.”
based on people in
the airport.”
being enjoyable to draw
51
MYSTERY BOX –
BRAVE ‘THE TELLER’
“I built her design around the idea of insight; qualities
that are invisible to our standard vision.
The Leader is her equal and opposite
in this regard.”
I started to play with the

idea of mental stability; a
strength outside the body
MYSTERY BOX – LEADER

‘THE ARCHITECT’
“Has a total grasp of all things material; is a
manipulator of dimensions and
creator of an impenetrable
holistic view.”
MYSTERY
BOX – SERIOUS
‘THE ABACUS’
“The original idea for this
character came from
brainstorming. I then started to
play with the idea of mental
stability; a strength found
outside of the physical
human body.”
52
VEG KINGDOM
“Sticking limbs on to inanimate objects
is always fun and really doesn’t seem to
matter what you choose
to start with.”
CORMORANT
FISHERMAN
“Sketches I made for the Character
Design Challenge. I was keen to
lean into the relationship shared
between the cormorant and its
friend and master.”
53
INKTOBER 2020
“This was a huge undertaking
since I was trying to complete one of
these drawings every day throughout
October. I was also trying to improve
my storytelling, so the full set of 31
drawings are sequential.”
I was trying to improve my

storytelling, so the full set of
31 drawings are sequential
54
BLIND
NINJA CAT
“Another Character Design Challenge entry.
DRAWINGS
“I love to draw portraits
This time I focused on designing clothing and without looking at the page
accessories that the character would choose for and then touch them up
themselves. It might seem odd if a cat were wearing afterwards. You find
clothing covered in cat designs, but you can proportions and expressions
totally see them going for the that you simply could
fish theme.” never invent were you
to deliberately try.”
Do you want to share your sketches with your fellow ImagineFX readers? Send us an email with a
selection of your art, captions for each piece and a photo and bio of yourself to [email protected]
55
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Workshops assets
are available…
Download each workshop’s resources by turning to
page 8. And if you see the video workshop badge,
you can watch the artist in action, too.
Advice from the world’s best artists

58 62
72 This issue:
58 Use contrast in
your concept art
Lane Brown balances contrast
and harmony for visual impact.
62 Sketch with the

Grease Pencil
Develop an underwater scene
with James Lewis-Vines.
72 15 tips for better

matte paintings
Saby Menyhei shares his key
advice to improve your skills.
57
Workshops
Photoshop
USE CONTRAST IN
YOUR CONCEPT ART
Lane Brown shares his process for composing two characters with an
interesting balance of contrast and harmony to achieve greater impact
I’m fascinated by contrasting and harmonising shape Rather, I allowed my imagination to

Artist
contrast. This hasn’t language that often generates run free with any ideas that the
PROFILE always been the case, appealing relationships, regardless of initial marks suggested. The specifics
Lane Brown but over time I’ve the subject matter. of the subject weren’t important to
LOCATION: US realised that one This concept illustration began by me at the beginning, because I was
Lane is a professional effective method to create interesting composing big simple shapes, the more focused on creating a strong
illustrator and concept compositions is to focus largely on aim of which was to find an composition of shapes from an
artist. He has a deep love
of digital painting and
the abstract design beneath surface appealing relationship between abstract perspective. It’s that
charcoal drawing. details. What’s abstract design? Well, them. As is the case with most of my exploration and focus on abstract
www.lanedraws.com there’s a lot to be said about that, but personal work, I didn’t have a clear design and contrast that I want to
for me, it’s the thoughtful interplay of vision or direction at the onset. emphasise for you here.
How I make use of…

BIG SHAPES TO ESTABLISH COMPOSITION
A rough sketch A notan study A strong profile

1 I begin with a rough sketch,
2 At every stage, I simplify and merge
3 I transition quickly from loose drawing
practically a doodle, in order to explore the similar values into large shapes. This into painting because it’s easier to push and
contrast of a tall character next to a shorter method of composing an image with light pull large shapes with broad strokes. Once
one. The scale of their shapes needs to be a and dark shapes is called ‘notan’. Even tones and colours are blocked in, I move to
pleasing, unequal ratio such as 70:30. I though I enjoy painting details, I’m always the heads and faces because expressions
overlap their shapes to make them feel mindful of the underlying notan so I don’t set the tone for every following detail. A
closely associated. inadvertently weaken its design. strong portrait creates a solid focal point.
58
In depth Concept art
59
VIRTUAL
25 FEBRUARY 2021
INSPIRING TALKS & PORTFOLIO COLLABORATIVE

WORKSHOPS REVIEWS DRAWING
LIFE DRAWING EXHIBITION AREA ASK AN ARTIST
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In depth Concept art
Dense atmosphere RESOURCES
USE CONTRAST Particles of sand fill the air, reducing visibility of the environment.
This makes it easier to focus on the two subjects and enables the
viewer’s imagination to generate the world.
PHOTOSHOP
Strange outfits
I use the bulky enveloping cloaks and odd CUSTOM BRUSHES:
ornamentation to hint at a harsh SARGENT MASTER
STROKE
environment and peculiar culture. Perhaps
they exist in a climate that rapidly cycles
from one extreme to another.
Inspired by the
brushwork of John
Singer Sargent, this
brush provides bold
strokes and texture.
Acknowledge the viewer
The action of the kid lowering his hood pulls the viewer MORWENNA
into the scene to connect with the subject.
This is a smooth brush

that’s great for both fine
edge control and detail.
GET YOUR
RESOURCES
See page 8 now!
Contrast
of scale
I place the shorter
kid next to the
woman, in order to
make her feel taller
by comparison. I use
variation in scale to
add interest.
Big strokes
Many strokes of the same size and
texture become monotonous, so I
vary them often. An intermingling
of large and small strokes creates
an appealing contrast. I’ve
included two of my favourite
brushes with this workshop, to
help you with this!
Value grouping
I merge similar values across both characters Create with contrapposto
to create large graphic shapes. The two feel I vary the articulation of limbs. For added contrast, I
more connected because their cloaks and make the straight leg jut out into the light, while the
shadows group together. bent leg recedes into shadow.
61
Workshops
Blender
SKETCH WITH THE
GREASE PENCIL
James Lewis-Vines uses Blender’s acclaimed Grease Pencil tool to
help him quickly visualise an immersive underwater environment
62
In depth Grease Pencil
63
Workshops
Drawing has always and virtual reality, drawing has submersibles scouring a surrounding
Artist
been one of the most transcended pen and paper and can coral canyon. After creating the
PROFILE useful communication now exist as a digital creative outlet. environment I’ll then explore it, like
James skills for creative I’ll show how I’ve started to use the a photographer, and snap some
Lewis-Vines minds. Henri Matisse free software Blender, specifically interesting compositions and angles
LOCATION: England
once said: “Drawing is putting a line its Grease Pencil tool, along with of the digital world.
James is a concept artist around an idea.” Every master other basic modelling tools to sketch This workshop assumes basic
at Electronic Arts who painting starts out as a doodle, a way out environments and then explore knowledge of traditional drawing
loves to explore new
techniques and tools to to bridge the gap from the them in 3D. fundamentals such as contour line
apply them in his work. imagination to something real. In this workshop, I’ll sketch out an work, as well as an understanding of
https://ifxm.ag/jameslv
With technological leaps in digital idea I have for a future deep-sea basic 3D terminology and familiarity
GET YOUR
drawing tablets, innovative software cruise ship with multiple tiny tourist with Blender’s native tools.
RESOURCES
See page 8 now!
Visualise my ideas in an initial sketch

1I always like to start any project with a 2D sketch, on paper or digitally in Photoshop or Procreate. This serves as a basic blueprint of what I
want to achieve in 3D. By creating a quick planning sketch I decide on the large and medium shapes that I want to use, which means I can then
block in quickly when I get into the 3D space.
Set up the scene

2 in Blender
I jump into Blender and start by
pressing A on the keyboard to
select the default cube scene,
and then hit Delete. Now that
I have a blank slate, I press
Shift+A and select Menu>
Mesh>Plane. This creates a
ground plane in the scene that
can be scaled by pressing S and
then dragging the mouse.
64
Basic poly modelling techniques

3 I create basic forms with the same Shift+A command I used for the plane and then experiment with the other mesh types. Because I’m
building a sketch, the topology isn’t that important in these models. When modelling, most forms can be broken up into simple shapes, such as
cuboids or spheres placed alongside each other that I’ll then scale or rotate. It’s also possible to move individual vertices or groups of edges by
selecting the Edit mode from the tabs on the top left of the screen, or press Alt.
Refine my shapes and start sculpting

4 Once I’m happy with the structure of the shapes, I select them, right-mouse click and pick Join from the menu to merge the selection into
one object. For an additional sculptural or handcrafted look, I apply a Remesh modifier using the spanner tab on the right. I can then sculpt on to
the shape with a variety of brushes by selecting Sculpt Mode from the drop-down list found at the top left of the screen.
65
Workshops
Create a Grease Pencil object

5 Now I start adding some drawing. I begin by hitting Shift+A, then select Add ink line-work and shading
Grease Pencil>Blank. This creates a blank Grease Pencil object. Then I go to the 6 I can draw on the object surface by first selecting the
Object Data Properties tab on the right side of the screen and hit New Layer. I go to Origin drop-down tab in the top middle of the screen and
the top left of the screen, click the Object Mode drop-down menu and select Draw. then picking Surface instead. Now when I draw on the
Now I’m ready to draw. surface I’ll see some white lines.
Choose my Grease Pencil materials

7 The drawing is white at the moment because there isn’t a material attached to the object. To fix this, I find the tab with the chequerboard
circle on the right of the screen, then I go into its menu and hit + New. This creates a standard black material. For an interesting block shape effect,
I check the Fill box in the menu, which can be great for blocking in graphic details.
66
Set up some graphic shaders for the model

8 Once I have some interesting sketched line-work on the object, it’s time to make my underlying model look more sketchy. First, I create a
material for the object by selecting the surface object, then going to the chequerboard circle tab on the right again and hitting + New. Now I have
a shader that can be edited using the Shader Editor, found by clicking the drop-down menu in the bottom left of the screen and selecting Shader
Editor. Once in the Editor, copy the nodes shown in my example image by pressing Shift+A and typing the names in Search until they appear.
This will create a graphic ramp shader and helps to give a high-contrast inked look to an object.
Use the World Shader to develop

9 the environment
My next task is to develop a graphic backdrop to the
scene. I open the Shader Editor and change the drop-
down menu from Object to World. You can copy the
nodes shown in my example image by pressing Shift+A
and typing the names in Search until they appear. Then
simply add them, connect them correctly and enter the
same information.
67
Workshops
10 Light the scene by establishing the sun’s position

Lighting the scene is based on personal preference. By pressing Shift+A and selecting from the Light drop-down menu, I can access several
options. However, the simplest method is to create a sun. This now positions a sun emitter in the scene that I can use to change the direction of
the light by selecting and moving the small dot on the line running below it.
Duplicate elements
11 I want to add to my scene and a good solution is to
duplicate existing elements. I do this by Shift-selecting
elements and then pressing Shift+D to create duplicates to
drag somewhere else in my scene. Another cool option is
to redo all previous steps in a new Blender scene and
when I have a new element sketched up, I simply press A
to select everything in that scene, then Ctrl+C to copy. 12 Adjust my shaders
To get everything looking right, I find it’s always a good idea to tweak the
I open the older scene and press Ctrl+V to paste into it. numbers for light intensity and the colours of the ramp swatches in the Shader
Blender can handle multiple instances, which makes Editor. This can yield interesting results and enables me to either increase or
exchanging elements quick and easy. decrease contrast in different areas of the scene.
68
13 Explore the scene to achieve the strongest composition

I now move around the scene to search for interesting angles and reposition elements to get everything looking just right. I find a good way
to explore a scene is by selecting View>Navigation>Fly/walk from the top-left menu. I then use the W, A, S and D keys to traverse my
environment as I would in a first-person shooter, which helps me feel immersed.
14 Introduce a camera to capture a scene

I move my camera to the angle that works best and from that
I often use the Windows Snipping tool to screen capture from the
scene to ensure the image I see in my viewport is identical to the one
place, I hit Shift+A and pick Camera. I select the camera in my scene that I export. However, for higher resolution exports I use Output
and then go to View>Align View>Align Active Camera to View, which Properties. From here I can specify the image resolution, then go to the
is accessed from the drop-down menu in the top left of the scene. top-left menu and press Render>Render Image. This sets my image to
I repeat this if I want multiple scene cameras. render and once it’s finished, I use Image>Save As to export.
69
Next month
Artist Karmen
Loh (aka
Bearbrickjia)
showcases her
dreamy art
70
Next month
Make 2021 your

year in art!
Freshen up your skills, make new resolutions
and aim high for your best artistic year ever!
All this… and more!

Everyday objects Create digital How to set and Fatemeh
workshop brush strokes achieve goals Haghnejad
Follow Spacegooose Animation artist We speak to artists An inspiring
as he paints a scene Drew Hartel on about how to plan conversation with
after getting how to concept your next steps to the artist known
inspired by life. painterly finishes. artistic success. as BlueBirdy.
ISSUE 197 ON SALE 22 JANUARY IN PRINT & DIGITAL

71
Workshops
Artist insight
15 TIPS FOR BETTER
MATTE PAINTINGS
Saby Menyhei is a renowned digital matte painter and concept artist in
the film industry. Here he shares key techniques to improve your skills
Ever since I was a I can be immersed in them. I can well as a strong understanding of
Artist
child, I’ve been spend hours mapping out locations compositing and experience in 2D
PROFILE attracted to distant and being part of the adventure. painting. Digital matte painting
Saby Menyhei lands; places I might Although I studied fine art for involves working with live action
LOCATION: England never get to visit or many years, I’ve acquired digital art footage, digital still photography,
Saby is a traditionally that don’t even exist. I feel so lucky skills from my wonderful colleagues rendered CG elements and digital
trained fine artist and has that making art is my profession. It’s working in the film industry. I’ll painting in order to create believable
been part of the film
industry since 2011.
such a competitive and challenging share some of these techniques to environments that can be seamlessly
He’s worked on many industry to be part of. Also, it’s help make you a better matte painter, integrated into the film. As a matte
blockbusters such as Star perhaps the closest thing to but these tips are also useful if you’re painter, you have to be proficient in
Wars, The Avengers and
Tenet. Today he’s a lead
childhood for me. I’m like a kid a concept artist. Photoshop, Nuke and Maya.
artist at DNEG’s Feature playing with his favourite toy Today, as a digital matte painter, Knowledge of ZBrush and Mari or
Animation division. whenever I’m working on a new you need CG generalist skills such as Painter is also required, as is
www.menyhei.com
piece. Even if those places don’t exist, 3D modelling, texturing, lighting, as experience with 2.5D projection.
1 LEARN THE BASICS!

To quote Michelangelo: “The science of design, or of line-drawing, if you like to
use this term, is the source and very essence of painting, sculpture,
architecture.” I believe traditional art training is vital, even if you’re a digital
artist. It’s certainly an advantage if you’re a matte painter! Perspective,
anatomy, colour theory – these are the skills you’ll have to master to be
successful. If there’s no art school near where you live, look online. Once you
have a solid foundation you’ll have the confidence to tackle any task.
2 PAINT PLEIN AIR

The best way to learn
about colours is to paint
frequently. Painting
outdoors (plein air) is a
great way to build skills.
You have to be quick:
lighting conditions
change rapidly. Use
pastel, watercolour or
acrylics because they
dry quicker than oil.
Don’t get bogged down
by small details. Capture
light and shadow as
quickly as possible. You’ll
learn you can often
suggest detail; you don’t
have to paint everything!
72
Artist insight Matte paintings
3 STUDY THE OLD MASTERS

While you can learn the most from observing nature,
there’s a lot to be gained from studying other artists.
Learn art history and closely examine how the artists
of the past used to work. Creating master copies will
not only help you notice details you haven’t seen
before, but you’ll also find solutions to some of your
problems – solutions you won’t have thought of before!
While making a copy, you’re also talking to an artist
who lived centuries ago; you’re not just a passive
observer. Check to see if your local museum allows
artists to draw or paint in the building (usually drawing
is permitted, but you need permission to paint).
4 USE SILHOUETTES TO DESIGN ENVIRONMENTS

When you start designing your own environments, keep it simple. Silhouettes always come first. Bigger shapes and compositions have to be
solid. It’s a good exercise to experiment with simple, 2D buildings blocks. Create shapes that are interesting to you and make sure the edges are
clean. Once you have a few buildings, try to create quick compositions using those shapes. Use the Free Transform tool to move and scale your
elements. It’s very easy to create backlit scenarios and you can come up with new compositions in minutes!
73
Workshops
5 PHOTOMANIPULATION TEST taken at night? You can also try taking a photo in
Give your skills a workout by trying these your town and imagine how it looked 200 years
standard matte-painting exercises. Take a photo ago. Even if you don’t paint something from
that was shot in the summer and turn it into a scratch, you’ll learn a lot about colours, tones and
winter scene. Or how about transforming a detail. Remember that whatever you replace on
daytime shot into one that looks as though it was the original image has to look photorealistic.
6 DEAL WITH IMAGES FROM DIFFERENT SOURCES

When you work with images from different sources, ensure the sharpness is consistent. Ideally, you want to keep your image as sharp as possible
and defocus and blur the matte painting when you’re compositing elements together. In addition to sharpness, you also have to make sure that
black levels and colours are consistent. If you start with images taken on the same day at the same location, you’ll have an easier job. You’ll still
have to tweak your photos, but the process will be a lot easier.
74
7 BUILD ELEMENTS IN 3D
Establish new worlds quickly by constructing simple 3D elements
Start simple
A After practising 2D matte
painting and photomanipulation,
try building a scene in 3D. A good
exercise is to create all the
elements yourself. Start with
building something simple.
I assure you that it’s possible to
make something very complex
very quickly! While modelling,
I pay attention to the UVs so I can
quickly apply textures later on. If
you’re confident in your skills then
you can try to recreate something
that exists in real life.
Stay simple
B I can create a complex
scene from scratch. I start with a
cube that I then turn into a little
temple-like building. I keep the
polycount low. If you create
something complex to start with,
you’ll experience problems
managing your scene later on.
Build the scene

C I extend the building and
turn it into a building block. I try to
keep the number of polygons
down, but I also want to create
unique shapes. The aim is to make
the place feel a little alien. Ralph
McQuarrie has had a huge
influence on me.
Make things easier

D I export the building blocks
as stand-ins, so in the final scene
I don’t have any live models. This
makes lighting and rendering a lot
easier. I render several arbitrary
output variables (AOVs) to create
a final composite – specular,
z-depth, albedo and so on.
75
Workshops
8 EXPERIMENT WITH STYLISED MATTE PAINTING

If you’ve been creating photorealistic images for a while, spice things up and try something a little different. How about a matte painting for an
animated film? You can find a lot of good examples online. Search for matte paintings or inspiring still shots from a great animated movie you
like. Study the style of the backgrounds and analyse what makes them unique to a particular project. I used Kung Fu Panda as an example here.
Learning the language of a stylised world is trickier than it seems, making this is a great exercise in expanding your imagination.
The beauty of kitbashing is

that you don’t start from scratch
and you can add tons of detail
9 GET CONFIDENT IN KITBASHING

When you’re confident in your 3D modelling
skills, try reusing existing 3D models to create
new environments. But don’t forget, you can
change everything – be brave and experiment!
The goal is to create something completely new.
The beauty of kitbashing is that you don’t start
from scratch and you can quickly add tons of
detail. It’s a lot of fun to kitbash, but try to find
the balance: sometimes you have to design
something from scratch, such as a hero building.
You can use kitbash techniques for detailing or
less-important assets.
76
10 LEARN TO EXTEND SETS 11 KNOW HOW TO EXTRACT

Creating a set extension based on an existing plate is an everyday part of a Extracting photographic elements speeds
matte painter’s job. The aim is to make a set extension that’s seamless and as up the matte painting process. You can
photorealistic as possible. Find a photo of a building and imagine the use pretty much anything – CG, photos,
filmmakers didn’t have the budget to build more sets. It’s now your job to painting – what matters is the end result.
make the scene bigger. You can set up the perspective yourself manually, or To extract an element, you’ll have to
you can use the Vanishing Point tool in Photoshop. The perspective lines will simplify the image and increase the
be your guide to sketch in the new buildings. Once you have a solid concept, contrast, so you end up with a solid black-
you can switch to 3D. I bring in the plate/concept as an image plane into Maya and-white image. Then in Photoshop’s
and then reconstruct the camera in 3D space. Channels panel, click the Load Channel as
Selection icon so you have a mask. Save
your image with transparency or an alpha
You can set up the perspective channel, as an EXR, PNG or TIF. Buildings,
yourself, or you can use the Vanishing trees, bushes, clouds and mountains are
all elements you’ll need often!
Point tool in Photoshop
77
Workshops
12 POPULATE AND ORGANISE YOUR IMAGE LIBRARY

It’s important to create your own library, for both 2D elements and 3D assets. Organise the photos you’ve taken, the elements you’ve extracted
and all your 3D models. I categorise my photos and the packs I’ve purchased by putting them in separate folders. I also have a database that
enables me to search for images. When it comes to 3D assets, my main categories are environment, creature, props and vehicles. I also
differentiate between real, fantasy or sci-fi.
13 CHECK COLOUR AND TONE

Common mistakes in matte paintings are
incorrect black levels, mismatching colours
and inconsistency in tones. There are some
simple tricks to check mistakes. Keep a few
adjustment layers in a QC (quality check)
set that you can quickly turn on and off.
Boosting the saturation enables you to
judge your colours better. Desaturating an
image displays the tonal values. Moving the
exposure/gamma up and down reveals if
you have issues with your black levels or
highlights. For colour correction, I use the
Curves tool. You can easily adjust the black
point, white point and grey point and also
tweak the colour channels separately.
78
14 CREATE PROJECTIONS OF YOUR PAINTINGS

Static shots are rare these days. Even a small camera move can breathe life into a shot, so it’s important you know how to project your matte
painting on to 3D geometry. You can establish projections in the 3D package of your choice, but it’s important to know how to create
projections in Nuke, because this is the software that most VFX companies use for compositing. You’ll need to save out the layers of your matte
painting (keep it simple), a projector in your scene, 3D geometry and a shot camera. Don’t forget to turn motion blur on at the end.
As a matte painter, you have to be able

to take images from different sources
and create a new, believable picture
15 BECOME FAMILIAR WITH COMPOSITING TOOLS

As a matte painter, you have to be able to take images from different sources and create a new, believable picture. You might be working with
photos, CG renders or hand-painted elements. Spend time studying what makes an image look photorealistic. Lens distortion, chromatic
aberration, vignette, noise and camera shake are all ‘imperfections’ that make your work look like an actual photo. Learn how to recreate these
effects in different software such as Photoshop or Nuke. In Photoshop, you’ll find suitable tools in the Lens Correction filter.
79
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80
Artist’s
Choice Award
Art resources with a five-star
rating receives the ImagineFX
Artist’s Choice award!
The latest art resources are put to

the test by the ImagineFX team…
PRODUCT
4
ON TEST S
HARDWARE
82 MacBook Pro 13-inch
Discover why designers and video editors
should be glad that Apple’s latest MacBook
has given Intel’s chip tech a miss this time.
BOOKS
84 The Art of Pernille Ørum
After being kickstarted into life in less
than a day, expectations are high for
Pernille Ørum’s latest book…
85 The World of
85 Sketching from the the Dark Crystal
Imagination: Anime & Manga Rediscover Brian Froud’s concept art from
Artists from around the world provide The Dark Crystal, which helped to fill the
manga sketches, line-art and colour studies. 1982 film with its distinctive characters.
RATINGS EXPLAINED Magnificent Great Good Poor Atrocious
81
Reviews
© Apple
MacBook Pro 13-inch (M1, 2020)
NEW LEAF Discover why designers and video editors should be glad that
Apple’s latest MacBook has given Intel’s chip tech the cold shoulder
Price From £1,299 Company Apple Web www.apple.com
© Apple
he new MacBook Pro 13-inch any existing Mac application to run on
T (M1, 2020) is one of the

most exciting laptops
Apple has ever made for
the M1 MacBook Pro.
Perhaps most exciting of all, though,
macOS Big Sur can also run iOS apps.
designers. For the first time ever, the This gives you access to thousands of
company is using its own chips for a apps and games, including many of
MacBook – the M1 chip. the best iPhone apps for creatives.
By having control over the hardware
and software of the MacBook Pro 13- BANG FOR NO MORE BUCKS
inch (it runs the new macOS Big Sur, One thing we’ve liked seeing Apple do
which has been built to take full recently is launch new versions of
advantage of the M1 chip), Apple is products for the same price the
promising big things, including previous model launched for, and it’s
increased performance, faster boot done it again. This MacBook’s starting
times and longer battery life. price of £1,299 is the same the earlier
It also promises that the new MacBook Pro 13-inch launched for. So
MacBook Pro can run all of your for the same money, you’re getting
favourite creative applications, either new and improved hardware. The base
with new versions made for the M1 model of the MacBook Pro 13-inch (M1,
architecture (Apple’s Final Cut Pro, 2020) has the M1 chip, which
GarageBand and other creative comprises an eight-core CPU and
programs all have M1 versions, while eight-core GPU, along with a 256GB
Photoshop has been updated with an SSD and 8GB of unified memory.
M1 version), or via Apple’s Rosetta 2 You can also get this model with The Touch Bar enables you to quickly access shortcuts in creative programs
tool, which effectively enables almost 512GB storage for £1,499, as well as a such as Photoshop, and is intuitive once you get used to it.
82
Art tools Hardware
battery life blew us away. We ran a

looped 1080p video with the screen at
50 per cent brightness until the
battery died, and it lasted just over 13
hours. This is a huge five-hour increase
over the previous model in the same
test. Of course, using this laptop for
more intensive tasks will deplete the
battery faster, but you’re still likely to
see two workdays of battery life.
Some things have been left
unchanged, however, the display being
© Apple
one of them. You’re still getting a 13-
inch Retina display with a resolution of
The Retina display
offers LED backlighting, 2,560x1,600, with True Tone
P3 wide colour and True
Tone technology, all of
technology (which changes the colour
which deliver high temperature of the display depending
colour accuracy.
on the ambient light), and P3 wide
colour gamut support. This last bit is
The Magic Keyboard is incredibly important for projects that
a joy to use – especially
the Touch ID button, require accurate colours.
which enables you to As with previous models, the
make swift payments
and log in securely. MacBook Pro 13-inch (M1, 2020)
comes with the Touch Bar. This is used
by various applications to show
Benchmark tests showed

the M1 chip can easily rival
11th generation Intel CPUs
The two Thunderbolt/ context-sensitive buttons and tools,
USB 4 ports are and several creative tools, such as
impressive in what they
do, but does mean that Photoshop, use it.
an adapter is needed Speaking of the keyboard, Apple
for devices using the
older USB inputs. includes the new and improved Magic
Keyboard, which is reliable and
version with the same M1 chip, but a integrated graphics, rather than using comfortable to use. A Touch ID button
2TB SSD and 16GB of RAM for £2,299. a more powerful – and expensive – is included next to the Touch Bar,
dedicated graphics card, is incredible. enabling you to log in to macOS Big
NEW CHIP, NEW PROBLEMS? When it comes to new M1 versions Sur and pay for things using Apple Pay
When Apple first announced it was of programs and older versions made via a quick scan of your fingerprint. It’s
moving away from Intel and for Intel-based Macs, the performance fast and reliable, and we love it.
developing its own chip, many people is equally impressive. Our synthetic There are only two Thunderbolt 3
were concerned about how this might benchmark tests showed that the M1 ports, so if you have devices that use
affect performance. The good news is chip can easily rival 11th generation the older USB ports, such as drawing
that the MacBook Pro 13-inch (M1, Intel CPUs, and we were seeing tablets or memory sticks, you’ll need
2020) is a brilliant performer. In day- performance that at times compared an adaptor. For a laptop aimed at
to-day use, macOS Big Sur feels fast with the 16-inch MacBook Pro – a professionals who often need to plug
and responsive, and we were able to much more expensive device. Features in hardware, this is a shame.
Q13-inch Retina
quickly open and run several intensive The laptop did get a little warm display with True Tone
However, there’s no doubt that the
applications at once. towards the back, and we’d sometimes QApple M1 chip MacBook Pro 13-inch (M1, 2020) is a
Q8GB unified memory
When it came to putting it to work in hear the fans kick in, but this was after QUp to 16GB memory fantastic laptop for creatives. The M1
Final Cut Pro X, we were mightily sustained high-intensity use. For most QUp to 2TB storage chip is particularly impressive – the
QUp to 20 hours
impressed. We used an 8K video of the work we did on the new battery life fact that we were able to easily edit
QTouch Bar and
project and could quickly and easily MacBook Pro 13-inch, the fans weren’t complex 8K projects still astounds us.
Touch ID
scroll through the footage, with the needed, so the laptop was silent. QForce Touch It’s also competitively priced, and with
trackpad
thumbnail preview showing what we support for new and legacy Mac
BELTING BATTERY
QTwo Thunderbolt/
were editing. Chopping, changing and USB 4 ports programs, as well as the huge iOS app
adding effects was a smooth process. Not only was the day-to-day store, this is a versatile laptop. In fact,
Rating
The fact we were able to edit 8K performance of the MacBook Pro 13- Apple has produced one of the best
footage using a laptop running inch (M1, 2020) impressive, but the
+++++ creative laptops ever made.
83
Reviews
Pernille painted this
The Art of Pernille Ørum

character using
gouache, revealing that
the way she works
digitally is based on
her knowledge of
traditional media.
CHARACTER BUILDING After being kickstarted into life in less
than a day, expectations are high for Pernille Ørum’s latest book…
Author Pernille Ørum Publisher 3dtotal Publishing Price £24 Web www.3dtotalpublishing.com Available Now
ith Pernille Ørum’s (1989-99) led Pernille to study
W Instagram followers
edging towards the one
million mark, there’s clearly
animation at college. Yet the craft
didn’t quite gel with her aspirations, so
the artist shifted her focus to visual
an appetite for the work of the development and character design.
Danish character designer and She hasn’t looked back since.
illustrator. But rather than publish Accompanying this first chapter are
another collection of her art from the older examples of Pernille’s art. Some
past few years, Pernille’s third book of the pieces feel far removed from her
takes a more ambitious approach. current work, but it’s still possible to
The opening chapter has the artist see depth and story in her characters.
discussing her childhood inspirations, As she takes the reader through the
education and early career. Her early days of her career, Pernille passes
enjoyment of films from Disney’s Silver on advice that’s come from her
era (1950-59) and Renaissance era experiences of breaking into the
The artist takes the reader

on a journey through the
creation of her art An example of Pernille’s clean character design,
which makes up another of the book’s walkthroughs.
industry. Her writing style is clear and close examination as she takes the
direct, and it’s easy to pull out salient piece to completion.
points for future reference. There are also galleries of finished
The majority of the book focuses on character designs, arranged into
the painting techniques that are at the chapters that complement the artist’s
heart of Pernille’s distinctive designs. technical advice. Therefore the book
Colour, gesture and more are covered works on two levels: as a lovingly
in standalone chapters, and in some designed showcase of Pernille’s
cases the artist takes the reader on a captivating artwork, and an
step-by-step journey through the intermediate ‘how to’ title that
creation of her art. This is gold dust for provides the reader with insight and
This illustration is the aspiring character artists keen to advice. It’s a win-win.
basis of a step-by-step
workshop on creating
follow in Pernille’s footsteps. The WIPs
dramatic lighting. are printed large on the page, enabling RATING ++++
84
Inspiration Books
Sketching from the Imagination:

Anime & Manga
CREATIVE COLLECTION Illustrators from around the world provide
loose sketches, tight line-art and colour studies of manga art
Editor Marisa Lewis Publisher 3dtotal Publishing Price £22 Web www.3dtotalpublishing.com Available Now
anga is a popular activity starting with a self-penned bio and
M for hobbyist artists looking

to develop their skills. The
latest entry in the
their career path. Readers will likely be
more interested in the advice given in
each entry under three headings:
Sketching from the Imagination Inspiration and Ideas, Materials, and
series aims to provide inspiration and Techniques. It’s interesting to analyse
insights to help on that journey. what’s being said by the artist and
The work of 50 diverse illustrators connect it with their work.
fills the 320-page book. Each artist’s Yet it’s the artwork that’s the book’s
section follows the same format, stumbling block. There’s a lot of scope
in anime, so it’s disappointing that the
majority of sketches feature teenage
girls and young women. Not all are of
the classic big-eyed, pointed chin
variety, and there’s certainly a range of
South Korean artist drawing styles on show, but a greater
NESSI reveals she mix of figures and settings would have
enjoys sketching
because it’s “exciting earned this book an extra star.
to let your imagination
RATING +++
run through the Japan-based artist Wataboku was keen to maintain
different possibilities.” a degree of realism for this particular character.
The World of the Dark Crystal

GLOBAL TOUR A welcome opportunity to rediscover Brian Froud’s concept art from
The Dark Crystal, which helped to fill the 1982 film with its distinctive characters
Author JJ Llewellyn Publisher Titan Books Price £35 Web www.titanbooks.com Available Now
enewed interest in Jim Aughra, a key character from the 1982
R Henson’s fantasy saga has

led to this reprint of The
World of the Dark Crystal,
film. This two-handed approach
becomes an exploration of the Dark
Crystal universe. Woven throughout
which first came out in 2003. So JJ’s writings is Brian’s artwork. His
while it’s not a new release, any timeless visions were key to shaping
chance to examine the artwork of the film’s look. There are drawings and
Brian Froud is always welcome. paintings in equal measure, all created
The book goes well beyond the with a confident hand working in
standard ‘art of’ format. Author JJ subdued colours. Brian’s art was used
Llewellyn takes on the guise of an by the film’s costumers and
academic, analysing the writings of puppeteers as reference, which
explains its high degree of finish.
A facsimile of the 20-page booklet
of Brian’s art, presented to the film’s
early financial backers, rounds off a
handsome publication that will please
Dark Crystal aficionados, and serve as
an inspiration to artists seeking to
Brian Froud captures populate their own fantasy world.
Aughra’s intimidating
RATING ++++
appearance in this The large-format hardback book means Brian’s
detailed artwork. gorgeous illustrations can be studied in detail.
85
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GET YOUR
RESOURCES
See page 8 now!
Workshops assets are available…

If you see the video workshop badge then you can watch the artist
in action. Turn to page 8 to see how you can get hold of the video.
Traditional Artist
Inspiration and advice from the best pro artists
92 98
This issue:
88 Traditional FXPosé
Discover this month’s selection
of the finest traditional art, which
88 has been sent in by you!
92 Workshop: Draw
fantasy art from reference
Patrick J´Jones draws a character
based on a photoshoot and uses
his vast anatomy knowledge.
98 First Impressions:
Craww
Exploring art on his own terms is
important to this English artist.
87
Traditional Artist FXPosé
SHOWCASING THE FINEST TRADITIONAL ARTISTS
Jason Mowry
LOCATION: US MEDIA: Graphite, watercolour, gouache, colour pencils, Sumi Ink
WEB: www.jasonmowryart.com
Jason cites folktales and cinema as his influences.

Alongside his illustration work he also teaches the
importance of observational drawing.
1 2
1 REBA
“Reba’s character in Thomas Harris’s Red
Dragon is blind, and strokes a sedated tiger.”
2 THE PRINCESS AND THE TROLLS

“Inspired by Nordic folklore and the art of
Swedish painter John Bauer.”
3 FAR AWAY TENDED IN DARKNESS

“Here I wanted to convey the dream
sensation, which Joseph Conrad says is the
notion of being captured by the incredible.”
4 THE NUDGE, THE TOUCH, AND

A WHISPER
“Narrative imagery grounded in rich
symbolism is at the core of my fine art.”
88 Want to submit your work? Visit http://ifxm.ag/getinifx

Inspirational art
Want to submit your work? Visit http://ifxm.ag/getinifx 89

Traditional Artist FXPosé
Antonio Sandoval
LOCATION: France MEDIA: Inks, pencil, colour pencils, watercolours WEB: www.artstation.com/tonysandoval
As a kid, Antonio loved listening to scary folk stories. And it’s these tales that
taught him to make his own dark work. Having worked for design agencies,
Antonio has progressed into comics and children’s books.
2
1 WHITE DREAM
“There’s a special place in my stories: the
secret garden after death. This character has
2 SECRET GARDEN AFTER DEATH
“I did these pencil sketches while sat on a
plane – random ideas that led to the idea of my
been put there by accident.” aforementioned secret garden.”
3 ORGANICA 15
“One from my series exploring
these charming ladies. I might continue
the series, but I mainly want to improve
my watercolour skills.”
90 Want to submit your work? Visit http://ifxm.ag/getinifx

Inspirational art
Want to submit your work? Visit http://ifxm.ag/getinifx 91

Traditional Artist Workshop
92
In depth Draw from reference
Charcoal
DRAW FANTASY ART

FROM REFERENCE
PATRICK J JONES draws a fantasy character based on a photoshoot, using his
anatomy knowledge to go beyond what was originally captured in-camera
M
y painting Princess of So what are the pros and cons of a my artistic collaborator and life
Mars is the result of a virtual show? There were substantial model, Alana Brekelmans, and we
live demo… of sorts. A savings on travel costs and were all set for the virtual workshop.
year before this demo accommodation, and the gruelling On the day everything felt familiar.
I booked a hotel and 24-hour flight from Australia was I met Pat and Jeannie Wilshire before
booth for my biannual visit to the US avoided. The big loss for me was the event on Zoom, then drew and
for my beloved IX symposium another year of not seeing old talked as Pat hosted questions. It all
(previously IlluXCon). By early 2020 friends, and also the experience of went surprisingly well.
the coronavirus was declared a walking on stage and interacting with That brings us to our Princess of
pandemic and the show was duly a live audience. Mars workshop, now presented in
cancelled. Pat and Jeannie Wilshire The final problem was navigating written form, with advice on finding
the co-founders of the event, as the lockdown and making a living free photo references, interpreting
always, found an answer with an from home. It was a time to get and making changes based on those
online event featuring demos and live creative. I spent the first quarter of photos, and how anatomy skills can
booth interactions. The show was, the pandemic writing a book on set us free to create fantasy art
virtually, back on. drawing from and interpreting photo without leaving home.
I was already teaching virtual reference entitled The Lying Eye: Patrick is an artist and
classes via Zoom with CGMA in Los Drawing from Photos, and released a teacher. His books are award-
Angeles and also Syn Studio in digital version on my web store. So, winning best sellers, and his
Montreal, Canada, so I wasn’t although I couldn’t hire live models latest title, Oil Painting
unprepared. With empty schools and
GET YOUR I still had a catalogue of poses from Masterclass, is available worldwide.
RESOURCES
offices worldwide we had all retreated previous photoshoots to draw and Patrick teaches online at CGMA and
to our home trenches, determined to paint from. Before the event I Syn Studio. You can see more of his work
See page 8 now! by visiting www.pjartworks.com.
find a way forward, virtually. discussed some photo choices with
93
2 Capture basic shapes in charcoal

The good news is we now have great figure-
1 Select suitable reference photos

Here’s a pose befitting a princess. I couldn’t always afford a model and by
drawing reference resources on the internet provided via
the generous nature of such luminaries as the New
necessity cobbled photos to ‘Frankenstein’ the pose I needed. It’s easier with a Masters Academy, Croquis Café and Proko. With my
hired model, but my salad days taught me something invaluable: how to use photo reference next to me on my iPad I draw in basic
anatomy skills to change poses. I study the pose and consider the changes ahead. shapes with a small sharpened piece of willow charcoal.
1/3
1/3
MATERIALS
1/2 1/3
PENCILS
Q General’s Soft
Charcoal pencil
Q Faber-Castell Pitt
Charcoal Soft pencil
CHARCOALS
Q General’s
Compressed Charcoal
sticks
ERASERS
Q Kneadable eraser
Q Mono eraser
Q Grip eraser
Q Electric eraser
Q Pencil eraser
MISCELLANEOUS
Q Paper stumps
Q Tissue
3 Take big measurements
I block-in a rough eight-heads high figure, but
4 Introduce variation
I make my princess shorter, which adds gesture to
Q Washed and dried I only refer to heads as the drawing progresses. I prefer her figure. It also sets her apart from the average eight-
shammy leather cloth big measurements such as half to the hip bone, and then head high fantasy figure. I reduce the leg length – this is
Q Newsprint equal thirds from the head to the pit of the neck, then the the body part that varies the most. I also draw the head
navel, then to the bottom of the gluteus. bigger because it’s distorted in size by the camera lens.
94
5 Avoid symmetry in the pose

I lose a leg to remove the symmetrical scissor
6 Drawing on a dirty surface
With my willow charcoal I lay down a mid-grey as a basis for the dark-to-
structure, and bend the straight arm at the wrist and light values ahead. I don’t spray-fix the charcoal because I like to keep the drawing
elbow to find more fluidity. When we learn anatomy we ‘live’. To prevent smudging I’ll use some paper under my hand, but mostly I don’t
can change what we see, and draw with confident lines. worry because I like the organic nature of a dirty surface.
7 Thinking like a painter

Using a paper stump and kneadable eraser I work
‘painterly’. The stump acts like a blending brush and the
eraser like a rag for pulling paint off. I remove the hand
8 Eliminate the machinery to focus on gesture
Here I’m using a soft shammy leather to ‘ghost back’ the image. I’m also
coming out of the chest because of the strange tangent it wiping away the construction lines. By doing this we eliminate the machinery and
creates. People might forgive some strangeness in a become more focused on the gesture, which leads us to create more fluid lines.
photo, but never in a drawing. Construction and structure are important, but they shouldn’t rule the drawing.
95
10 Staying humble
9 Making changes has consequences
During the live demo I was asked, “Why did you make the arch of the back
I fade the drawing slightly with tissue. With all the
mechanics of the figure’s structure behind me I don’t
less arched?” Having removed the tip-toe leg, which in part created the over-arch, want to show off my rendering skills and risk losing the
meant I had to, otherwise she would have looked strange standing that way. One joy of the drawing among too many values. Staying
change affects another, which we must be aware of when changing the reference. humble works its magic, but ego steals it away.
12 Tackling the forearm and hand

With the ‘big picture’ idea in the bag I attend to
details. The photo-reference has little detail in the
11 Being aware of the body’s light and dark side

I use the point of my pencil for details and the broad side for tone. I’m aware
forearm so I add rhythms to the muscle groups. I’m in
double trouble here as the pronating forearm (thumb
of the contrast of the dark and light side of the body. I keep the light side fresh by turned toward the body) and the hand are the two most
reducing the values down to three and limit the shadow side to two. difficult pieces of human anatomy, but it’s also fun.
96
13 Draw rhythmic shadows to continue the gestural movement

I continue the rhythms of the breasts and arms by echoing their shapes with jewellery. I use a mono eraser for fine highlights. Rhythmic
shadows help to accentuate the curve of the rib cage. This kills the sudden stop of the breast by continuing the gestural movement downward.
14 Apply blacks during the final pass

I draw in the darkest darks. My Pitt charcoal pencil
lays down blacks as smooth as ink and I reserve it for the
15 Finishing with a dramatic line
For the palace background I use my sharpened charcoal stick with all the
final pass. I also redefine and sculpt the overall light areas gesture I can muster. I use its broad side for big swathes, and its edge for sharp
rhythmically with a kneadable eraser. The main thing I’m lines, drawing from my shoulder down to the pivot of my wrist. As a finale I draw
mindful of is improving the drawing’s gesture and life. one last dramatic line to huge virtual applause.
97
Traditional Artist Interview
First Impressions
Craww on. I only started working in oils six
Exploring art on or seven years ago, and I’m only now
finding the confidence to work with
his own terms is them on some of the more
important to this complicated ideas I have. In some
ways I think these new paintings are
English illustrator very different to the work that I was
doing 10 years ago, but more as a
Where did you grow development. There’s a link – you
up and how has this can still see a connection with my
influenced your art? earlier work.
I grew up in Leicester,
which I have to say What character or scene that you’ve
had no influence at all on my art! painted do you most identify with?
We moved to just outside of All of them! I feel very connected to
Sheffield about 25 years ago, and the characters in my works. The
living on the edge of the Peak narratives come from a very
District has been much more personal space, but in ways that are
influential. My work reflects an hard to define.
ongoing fascination with the natural
GRACE
“I painted two versions of
world, so being surrounded by this, and felt this version Is your art evolving? What’s your
had a stronger narrative.”
hills, woods and open moorland most recent experiment?
provides the perfect environment I do like to experiment with new
to draw inspiration.
I’ve worked on wood panels mediums and surfaces. I love to
draw and recently I’ve been using a
What, outside of art, has most
influenced your artwork?
and weathered them with dip pen and working on clapboard.
In the past I’ve worked on wood
I’m a keen mountain biker and old leaf mould and mud panels and weathered them by hand
being out in the hills, exploring with old leaf mould and mud. I’m
trails and just playing in the woods What was your first paid very analogue in my approach.
really helps me feel connected. commission, and does it stand as
It gives me a buzz that translates a representation of your talent? Is making a living as an artist all
very well to my art. Nature plays a It’s a long time ago, so I’m not sure you thought it would be?
large part in my work and when I’m I can remember! I’m not really a It’s the best, and the worst. There’s a
out on the bike I’m always stopping RECKONING working illustrator – most of my lot of enjoyment and satisfaction in
and taking reference photos for “This is a 100x80cm oil on work is for gallery shows. I do take being able to express myself
canvas piece for my show Woven,
future use. at New York’s Haven Gallery.” on commissions, but mostly they artistically and on my own terms.
reflect a very personal approach. But it’s also the old cliché: lots of
I’m not great at working to a brief, soul-searching and agonising over
so with most commissions if we the validity of what I’m doing. There
can agree a general approach, I’m can be some very dark moments. But
much happier exploring ideas on I wouldn’t change it for the world.
my own terms. I guess from that I’m pretty much unemployable now!
perspective all of my work is a true
representation of my talent, because What does the future hold for you?
there’s no one else to blame! I have a couple of shows lined up for
2021. One I’ve just completed the
What’s the last piece you finished, work for, the other I’ve yet to start
and how does it compare to your on, so that will keep me busy for the
earlier work? first six months or so.
The piece I’ve most recently finished Craww’s work, which has been exhibited
is Reckoning for my show at Haven around the globe, reflects an ongoing
Gallery in January. It’s one of a series fascination with the natural world and the
of oil paintings that are the largest relationships we have with it. Discover
and most detailed pieces I’ve worked more of Craww’s art at www.craww.com.
98

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What are some of the artist's influences?

What are some of the artist's influences?

What mediums has the artist experimented with?

What mediums has the artist experimented with?

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