ImagineFX 08.2021

BECOME A

FREE
+ CUSTOM BRUSHES

How to draw and paint

your best-ever fantasy
manga art today!
WORKSHOP
GET BETTER AT
PAINT TOOL SAI
Follow our simple
steps to create
ethereal portraits
BEFORE AFTER
PAINT
THIS COVER
IMAGE!
CLIP STUDIO PAINT
ALSO INSIDE
COLOURING ZEEN CHIN ON HIS
TECHNIQUES
UNIQUE STYLISED ART
CREATE ANIME-STYLE
SCENES IN SKETCHUP
Advice on shadows and PAINT AGGRETSUKO
light with Asia Ladowska ISSUE 202 IN WATERCOLOURS
ERE ARTISTS MEET

NETWORKING FROM DISCORD TO TIKTOK, WE REVEAL WH
Editor’s letter
Welcome to… EDITOR’S CHOICE Three of my top

picks this month…
26
Staying connected online is

vital for the art community
to have a place to share ideas,
get helpful critiques and to
network. Recently, many artists
have eschewed the old social Sugar and spice and all things nice
I enjoyed reading about how artist Sugarbones is
media stalwarts, such as reclaiming her unapologetic love of sparkles and pink.
Facebook and Instagram, and
are joining new online 46
networks in the hope of finding bespoke groups
that are better spaces for artists. Turn to page 18 for
our full story.
On another note, it’s the end of an era for me
because this is my final edition as editor of
ImagineFX. What an honour and a privilege it has
been to be at the helm of ImagineFX and also a
part of this supportive and wonderful art
community for so many years. I have travelled the A colourful deep dive
world, met countless numbers of talented artists Immerse yourself in the colourful sub-aquatic creations
and have worked with the most amazing people. from Argentinian-based artist Gretel Lusky.
I’ll cherish my time here and have so many
incredible memories, but it’s time for me to
66
embark on a new adventure. My final request is to
ask you to keep on creating and following your
passions. Good luck and believe in yourself!
Editor in chief
[email protected] Inviting illustration
FeiGiap creates environments so detailed that you
almost feel like you’re stepping into the scene.
@imaginefxmagazine Subscribe
@imaginefx today!
Sign up to ImagineFX
facebook.com/imaginefx and receive a copy of
imaginefx.creativebloq.com traditional media art
software Rebelle 4!
http://ifxm.ag/ifxnewsletter-v2 See page 4 for details.
Sign up for our newsletter!

3
Subscribe and save!
SIGN UP TODAY!
SUBSCRIBE AND GET YOUR

COPY OF REBELLE 4!
Artwork by Simon Lovell

W O R T H
$ 8 9.9 9!
Artwork by Scott Bowlinger
USE TRADITIONAL MEDIA IN YOUR ART WITH REBELLE 4

Watercolours, oils, acrylics and more wet and dry media are at your fingertips in the latest
version of Rebelle, enabling you to explore all kinds of realistic painting techniques!
4
Worldwide offer
CHOOSE YOUR PACKAGE

INCLUDES INCLUDES
RWEORBTHE$8L9.9L9E! RWEORBTHE$8L9.9L9E!
PRINT PRINT & DIGITAL
SAVE UP TO 29% SAVE UP TO 59%

on a 12-month subscription
OR
on a 12-month subscription
INCLUDES Text-free covers • Never miss an issue

• Delivery direct to your door • Receive 13 issues a year
PLUS! Receive a copy of Rebelle 4
DIGITAL EDITION
SAVE UP TO 65%* ON A 12-MONTH SUBSCRIPTION

Please note: Rebelle 4 is not included with a digital subscription to ImagineFX
VISIT WWW.MAGAZINESDIRECT.COM/IFX/REBELLE
*Terms and conditions: Offer closes 31 August, 2021. Offer open to all new subscribers only. Percentage saving may vary slightly depending on region. This saving is based on UK pricing. Offer available online only. Gift is not available with a
digital-only subscription. You’ll receive an email after your purchase with your unique product code for a downloadable copy of Rebelle 4 and instructions on how to redeem. Code must be redeemed by 31 August, 2021. (RRP: $89.99). One
code per subscription. Pricing is guaranteed for the first 12 months and we will notify you in advance of any price changes. The full subscription rate is for 12 months (13 issues) and includes postage and packaging. If the magazine ordered
changes frequency per annum, we will honour the number of issues paid for, not the term of the subscription. For full terms and conditions, visit www.magazinesdirect.com/terms. For enquiries please call: +44 (0) 330 333 1113.
Lines are open Monday-Friday 9am-5pm UK time or e-mail [email protected]. Calls to 0330 numbers will be charged at no more than a national landline call, and may be included in your phone provider’s call bundle.
5
Subscribe to ImagineFX and save up to 59 per cent, plus
receive the latest version of Rebelle! See page 4 for details
Contents
Your art 34
SUBSCRIBE & SAVE!
10 FXPosé
You submit your work to us and then
we show your gorgeous art to the world!
News and events

18 Alternative social
networks for artists
Discover how artists are finding new
places to chat, meet new people and
promote their work online.
26 Artist in Residence:
Sugarbones
The Canada-based artist discusses her love
of illustration and product design.
Features
34 Artist Portfolio: Zeen Chin
The Malaysian illustrator mixes familiar
styles and themes to make art that’s
unusual, unsettling and uniquely his own.
46 Sketchbook: Gretel Lusky

We dive into the marine-themed art
created by the Argentine illustrator.
Artist Portfolio “Go outside, travel and
Reviews
82 Hardware ZEEN watch films. That’s the
way I observe”
CHIN
The performance of XP-PEN’s Innovator
16 display tablet matches its sleek looks. Zeen reveals how he builds up his
visual reference library
84 Books
We assess titles on concept art from
The Mandalorian, plus painting manga 18 26
using watercolours and human anatomy.
Regulars
3 Editor’s letter
4 Print subscriptions
8 Resources
24 Sign up for our newsletter
32 Digital subscriptions
33 Letters
44 Recent editions Alternative social Artist in Residence:
networks for artists Sugarbones
73 Next month
6
Issue 202
46 58
Workshops
54 Draw & paint fantasy manga
Yueko shares her process for painting a
female knight in an anime-inspired style.
58 Colour a manga portrait

in Clip Studio Paint
Essential advice on sketching, shadows
and lighting, with Asia Ladowska.
66 Create anime-style scenes

Sketchbook: Gretel Lusky Colour a manga portrait
FeiGiap uses SketchUp’s 3D modelling
tools with Photoshop.
54 Draw & paint
fantasy manga 74 Get better at Paint Tool SAI
Angela Wang (aka awanqi) composes
figures from Greek mythology.
92
Illustrate Aggretsuko
98
66 74
First Impressions: Nashimanga
Traditional Artist
88 Traditional FXPosé
Discover this month’s selection of the
finest traditional art, sent in by you!
92 Workshop: Illustrate
Aggretsuko in watercolour
Anna Sokolova paints a character from
the popular Netflix anime series.
98 First Impressions: Nashimanga

The German manga artist reveals how she
Create anime-style scenes Get better at Paint Tool SAI
taps into the power of the sea.
7
Resources
Editorial
Editor in Chief Claire Howlett
[email protected]
Art Editor Daniel Vincent
Operations Editor Cliff Hope
Contributors
Ben Brady, Dom Carter, Gary Evans, FeiGiap, Asia Ladowska,
Gretel Lusky, Tom May, Anna Sokolova, Sugarbones, Angela
Getting hold of this issue’s resources is easy. Wang, Yueko
Advertising
Just visit http://ifxm.ag/manga202artist Media packs are available on request
Chief Revenue Officer Zack Sullivan
UK Commercial Sales Director Clare Dove
Advertising Sales Manager Mike Pyatt
OVER [email protected], 01225 687538
WORKSHOP VIDEOS 5 HOURS

Account Sales Director George Lucas
[email protected], 01225 687331
of video tuto International Licensing
from pro artrials ImagineFX is available for licensing and syndication. To find
our more contact us at [email protected] or view our
ists
to watch and available content at www.futurecontenthub.com.
Head of Print Licensing Rachel Shaw
learn from! Subscriptions – turn to page 4!
Online orders www.magazinesdirect.com
Customer service
Email: [email protected]
Telephone +44 (0) 330 333 1113
Group Marketing Director
Magazines & Memberships Sharon Todd
Circulation
Head of Newstrade Tim Mathers
Production
Head of Production Mark Constance
Production Project Manager Clare Scott
Advertising Production Manager Joanne Crosby
Digital Editions Controller Jason Hudson
Production Manager Vivienne Calvert
Management
Editor in Chief, Creative & Design Claire Howlett
Group Art Director Warren Brown
Content Director Chris George
Brand Director Matthew Pierce
Chief Content Officer Angie O’Farrell
Commercial Finance Director Dan Jotcham
Printed by Wyndeham Peterborough, Storey’s Bar Road,
Peterborough PE1 5YS
Distributed by Marketforce, 5 Churchill Place, Canary Wharf,
London, E14 5HU www.marketforce.co.uk Tel: 0203 787 9001
ISSN 1748-930X
All contents © 2021 Future Publishing Limited or published under licence. All
rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be used, stored, transmitted or
Learn new art skills using Paint Tool SAI reproduced in any way without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Future Publishing Limited (company number 2008885) is registered in
Watch as Angela Wang paints two figures from Greek mythology using colour to set the tone England and Wales. Registered office: Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1
1UA. All information contained in this publication is for information only and
and lighting to support the story she’s telling. Turn to page 74 for her workshop. is, as far as we are aware, correct at the time of going to press. Future cannot
accept any responsibility for errors or inaccuracies in such information. You
are advised to contact manufacturers and retailers directly with regard
to the price of products/services referred to in this publication. Apps and
websites mentioned in this publication are not under our control. We are
not responsible for their contents or any other changes or updates to them.
This magazine is fully independent and not affiliated in any way with the
companies mentioned herein.
If you submit material to us, you warrant that you own the material and/
or have the necessary rights/permissions to supply the material and you
automatically grant Future and its licensees a licence to publish your
submission in whole or in part in any/all issues and/or editions of publications,
in any format published worldwide and on associated websites, social media
channels and associated products. Any material you submit is sent at your
own risk and, although every care is taken, neither Future nor its employees,
agents, subcontractors or licensees shall be liable for loss or damage. We
assume all unsolicited material is for publication unless otherwise stated, and
reserve the right to edit, amend or adapt all submissions.
We are committed to only using magazine paper which is derived from

responsibly managed, certified forestry and chlorine-free manufacture.
The paper in this magazine was sourced and produced from sustainable
managed forests, conforming to strict environmental and socioeconomic
standards. The manufacturing paper mill holds full FSC (Forest Stewardship
Council) certification and accreditation
Paint over a 3D base Explore watercolour effects
See how FeiGiap builds an anime-inspired In her video Anna Sokolova paints a kawaii
scene using SketchUp. More on page 66. character from a Netflix show. See page 92.
PLUS 11 CUSTOM BRUSHES, INCLUDING…
TEXTURED BRUSH LEAF BRUSH PEN

Future plc is a public Chief executive Zillah Byng-Thorne
Yueko uses this Photoshop brush This custom Photoshop brush Angela Wang uses this custom company quoted on the Non-executive chairman Richard Huntingford
to soften edges, which helps give enables FeiGiap to paint a range Paint Tool SAI brush on a low London Stock Exchange !ǝǣƺǔˡȇƏȇƬǣƏǼȒǔˡƬƺȸ Rachel Addison
(symbol: FUTR)
her art a painterly feel. of foliage into his environments. opacity for sketching her ideas. www.futureplc.com Tel +44 (0)1225 442 244
8
1
THE PLACE TO SHARE YOUR DIGITAL ART
Mandy Jurgens
LOCATION: US MEDIA: Photoshop, Procreate WEB: www.mandyjurgens.com
Mandy is fascinated by how colour and texture can

influence our emotions: “I aim to create a little magic
through portraits of people both real and imagined.”
2
1 TANYA CHUDNOVSKAIA
“The perfect excuse for
yellow and purple. I was
taken in by her gorgeous
eye(s) in the sunlight, and
wanted to make that the
focus in this piece.”
2 STUDY
“My focus here was
studying textures – how to
simplify the lace and the
shadows it would cast on the
face, without rendering out
every detail.”
3 4
3 GAZE
“Just having fun with the
Mixer brush. I really liked the
gold strokes, so I made them
a major feature in the form
of jewellery.”
4 PASHA HARULIA
“I chose a high-key value
scheme to go with the
playful expression. It reminds
me of spring, so I tried to
capture that vibe.”
5 CAMILLE MUNN
“I wanted to do justice to
her hair. The goal was to
convey the texture without
overworking the image.”
10 Want to submit your work? Visit http://ifxm.ag/getinifx

5
Want to submit your work? Visit http://ifxm.ag/getinifx 11

Heraldo Ortega
LOCATION: Chile MEDIA: Photoshop, Procreate, Clip Studio Paint WEB: www.artstation.com/heraldoortega
Heraldo is an illustrator, graphic designer and musician. From a young

age he has painted using traditional media, but now works digitally,
too. “I’m inspired by fantasy and try to create little stories,” he says.
1
1 DARK DRAGON
“A speed paint of a
creature that’s a mix of bat
and dragon. It’s ridden by a
spectre who’s fleeing the
fury of the mountain.”
2 VIKING
“An old Viking finds
himself alone in his
shipwreck. When he’s
attacked by a Kraken-like
beast he flees for his life.
3 LORD OF FIRE
“I created this warrior,
who’s capable of creating
fire with the single
movement of his sword, for
my personal portfolio.”

Tom Cross
LOCATION: England MEDIA: Photoshop WEB: www.instagram.com/tcross.design
Previously an artist for a major Formula One team, Tom decided

to hang up his airbrush in pursuit of his real passion; fairies,
goblins, swamp monsters and giant alien mechs!
1
1 WRAITH
“This was based on a
Design Cinema tutorial from
FZD School of Design.”
2 SPRITE
“I like the idea of a being
who can blend in with their
surroundings. Moments after
this painting was completed,
he turned green to match
the foliage.”
3 H’KHAAAR THE WISE’

“This piece was the
result of a combination of my
favourite childhood stories. If
you’re getting a Jungle Book
vibe I’m more than happy!”
4 OKJA
“A piece of fan art based
around the Netflix film.”
2 3

Dan Volbert
LOCATION: Germany MEDIA: Photoshop, Procreate, Blender WEB: www.cooperativacreativa.com
As a lead artist at Cooperativa Creativa, Dan has been driven to

reach a harmony of colours and shapes ever since he entered
the industry. “It’s a spectacular ride,” he exclaims.

2
1 DRAGON ROCK
“This is a piece of unused
marketing art for a Viking
tabletop game, which was
illustrated in Photoshop.”
2 DRAGON CHAOS
“Illustration for an
upcoming book project set
in a Viking universe. It was
painted in Photoshop with a
bit of help from Blender.”
3 THE BEAST
“This is a book
illustration of a creature for
an upcoming sci-fi project,
done in Photoshop. Enjoy the
sneak preview!”

Barret Frymire
LOCATION: US MEDIA: Photoshop WEB: www.barretfrymire.myportfolio.com
Barret is a freelance illustrator and concept artist who works on indie video
games and fantasy art commissions. He hasn’t let growing up on a farm
with moonshine-powered internet stop him from creating.
1 2
1 KING BALDWIN IV
“A love letter to one of my
favourite movies of all time,
Kingdom of Heaven..”
2 TAID’R
“This character piece is
just me trying to do my best
emulation of Frazetta’s killer
shapes and shadows.”
3 PIRATA MUERTA
“I drew this to break out of my
comfort zone of colours. The
awesome character is also inspired
by my Mexican wife.”
4 ANARCHY
“Continuing the theme that my
wife is incredible, I ran with her idea
to create something about cats.”

4
Do you want to see your art on these pages? Then email five pieces of your work and a short explanation
about each artwork, along with a photo and a few details about yourself, to [email protected]

ARTIST NEWS, SOFTWARE EVENTS
AT THE CORE OF THE DIGITAL ART COMMUNITY
Alternative social
networks for artists Platform game With Facebook, Twitter and Tired of Twitter trolls, vile comments
on YouTube and Instagram
Instagram on the wane, artists are finding new narcissism? You’re not alone.
places to chat, meet new people and promote Thousands of artists are flocking to
alternative social networks that offer
their work online. Tom May finds out more something a little different.
Take Discord. Founded in 2015,
this web and mobile app is focused
on hanging out with specific
communities, rather than just a sea of
random followers. And in the Covid
era, it’s really taken off.
“I became an avid Discord user
once everyone started working from
home,” says LA-based concept
“Through Twitch I’ve met artists

I probably wouldn’t have been able
to meet otherwise, given location
and schedule,” says Nicolas Vallet.
18
Artist news, software & events
designer and illustrator

Airi Pan. “It offers voice,
text options and
streaming options, so it’s
perfect as a ‘virtual hang
spot’ for friends or coworkers.
“I use it in voice format, to mimic
working alongside them, as we hunch
over our tablets drawing. It’s like a
virtual common room! It also acts as a
community hub for events such as
LightBox Expo, Weekend Warrior
Painters, or small groups of artists
who are just trying to get better.”
LIKE-MINDED PEOPLE
Spiridon Giannakis, a German
designer and publisher of art books,
recently launched a
Discord server to chat
about his projects, as well extremely valuable. It’s a bit like the Discord’s positive server now has over a thousand
atmosphere appeals to
as mental health issues feel of a forum, with the addition of Spiridon Giannakis, a people: I never expected so many.
(visit Artbook News at newer tech aspects.” designer and publisher. I always thought art books are very
http://ifxm.ag/artbook-news). “The He hasn’t had a single negative niche, but it’s shown me that the
environment on Discord is really encounter on Discord so far. “Unlike interest is there.”
positive,” he enthuses. “With the help most social media, which just makes
of moderators, everything can be kept me wonder every day if I really need it. STREAM YOUR ART
very tidy, and conversations are It’s all been positive,” he says. “My Discord is great for select groups, but
what if you want to build a wider
I became an avid Discord audience for your art? Take a look at

Twitch. Launched in 2011, this live-
user once everyone started video platform was originally
developed for gamers. But artists
working from home are also using it to live-stream their
19
ImagineNation News
“My TikTok channel is for

anyone who needs to learn
art tricks and basics,” says
Miranda Pavelle.
“Twitch is quite hard to navigate

sometimes and borderline opaque
for casual creators,” says Nicolas.
“I try to keep my Twitch

stream relaxed and not
front-load it with too many
expectations,” says Nicolas.
Nicolas’s Twitch channel (available

at www.twitch.tv/utopieselective)
stayed small for a while, but the
pandemic meant he had more free
time. “So I added extra days, and my
audience began to grow. I’d ask
process, make new contacts and questions to know people better, and
grow their personal brand. let them share their own experiences. I
Montreal-based art director and started to attract regular viewers, and
lead concept artist Nicolas Vallet is some of them are friends now.” He has
among them. “Long story this advice to anyone live-streaming
short: I wanted to on Twitch: “People like energy and
connect,” he explains. passion, so share that first and
“Living in China at the foremost. And be consistent: a regular
time, I was very focused schedule will help people to find you.” Miranda says, “Get on Yet the short-form video app, which
TikTok to share your
on my day-to-day work, but quite bad has almost 700 million active users, is
SHORT AND SWEET
love of your craft, to
at publicising myself. Art streams are a make cool stuff, to attracting artists too.
connect with people
nice way to split the difference. I get to Just as Twitch is mainly known for and interact with “I was introduced to TikTok by a
your audience.”
draw and talk to people, at the same gaming, most people associate TikTok friend and saw the potential for high
time as practising my technique.” with lip syncing and daft challenges. exposure,” says Ohio-based animator
and illustrator Miranda Pavelle
My first ‘viral’ video was just a sketch (@mirandathehybrid on

TikTok). “My first ‘viral’
of my Miata, and it received 6,000 likes video was just a sketch
of my Miata, and it
and 20,000 views in a day or two received 6,000 likes
20
“I don’t have time for lengthy

streams on Twitch, so totally
see the appeal of TikTok’s
clips,” says Airi Pan.
Nicolas reveals that, “The

goal of my Twitch channel
is to vibe out on art, in a
chill atmosphere.”
“Posting images, gifs, and

fun emojis and stickers is so
simple in Discord, and so Alex Konstad’s art book Obliskura was
much fun,” says Airi. published by Spiridon via Kickstarter.
21
ImagineNation News
INDUSTRY INSIGHT
MIRANDA “I first heard about
Clubhouse through the art
community – Bobby Chiu
THE HYBRID was the one to invite me
on-board,” says Airi.
The artist has harnessed TikTok
to build her personal brand…
Who should watch your

TikTok channel and why?
Anyone with a knack for
silliness and art learning should
watch my channel, especially
people who need to learn art
tricks and the basics.
Has anything surprised you

about using TikTok?
The sheer potential for going
viral. I have never, ever seen
anything like it on any other
platform. Also, the sheer
unpredictability of whether a
video will go viral or not. There
are a few things I’ve found to be
steady view-getters, but for the
most part the algorithm is still
a bit of a mystery. I have
550,000 followers, and for the
most part, my videos don’t get
above five to 15,000 views. The
view count is not based on your
follower count, but on your
exposure in the algorithm,
which makes it unpredictable.
“I try to be down-to-earth
What do you like most about and help people realise
they’re not alone in their
the platform? struggles and insecurities,”
The potential for exposure and says Miranda about her
TikTok videos.
helping others, spreading
knowledge, and how it’s made
previously invisible people and 20,000 views in a day or two, Artists from LightBox something else. What never dies is
Expo discuss industry
successful for their creativity. which is more attention than I’d ever topics on Clubhouse, people connecting to you as a person:
gotten on other social channels.“ but you’ll need an invite your quirks, your process, you getting
to listen in.
And the least? Miranda now has more than half a bubbly over what you’re passionate
The addictiveness of it all. In the million followers, and likes how the about. Gen Z and millennials are
beginning, I was emotionally brevity of TikTok videos forces you to pretty darned tired of being
dependent on my view count be snappy and to the point. “I love advertised to; so don’t jump on the
because you think, at first, that a teaching and sharing my knowledge in app with the intention of starting a
ton of people love you. Then, bite-sized, light-hearted form,” she business or getting views, because
suddenly, the views go away says. “My art videos are miniature people will be able to tell.”
and you disappear again; if versions of full tutorials, so if you see
you’re not used to seeing those something useful, you can go to my JOIN THE CLUB
numbers/patterns, then it can YouTube and get the full lesson.” Finally, there’s Clubhouse. The app
take a toll on your self worth. Her advice for launching a TikTok was launched in 2020 and is a voice-
This is especially something I’m channel is simple. “Be yourself,” she based social platform that hosts
worried about for younger stresses. “Trends rack in views, but virtual rooms for live discussions. It’s
artists and kids. they eventually die and make way for an iOS and Android app that at time
of writing was invite only.
Miranda is an illustrator and
animator who shares tutorials Depending on the talk, it Being audio only, you might not
think visual artists would be interested
and art critiques on her
YouTube and TikTok channels. can feel like people conversing in Clubhouse, but in fact there’s quite
a bit going on. For instance, LightBox
http://ifxm.ag/tt-miranda
right next to you… Expo hosts a regular discussion there
22
“Clubhouse feels like a
livestream version of
podcasts, which the art
community doesn’t have
many of anyway,” says Airi.
“Think of streaming as like a

marathon rather than a sprint,” says
Nicolas about his Twitch channel. “I drew for about
“You’ll get results in the long run.” three to four months
for the same two viewers, until
the stream started getting
traction,” recalls Nicolas.
every Tuesday at 9am PST, with big- moderators such as Bobby Chiu.”
name creatives such as Karla Ortiz, Normally though, she uses Clubhouse
Brynn Metheney, Lorne Lanning and as more of a podcast app, as
Elsa Chang taking part. If you’re not something to listen to while she works.
on Clubhouse, you can listen in at “You can hear veteran industry
http://ifxm.ag/lb-discord. professionals speak, and hear great
Airi, who’s called @pix_bun on tips you won’t get from a scripted
Clubhouse, recently participated in a interview,” Airi says. “Depending on
LightBox session called ‘Fake it till you the talk, it can feel like people
make it, but keep it genuine’. “It was conversing right next to you, which
delightful!” she recalls. “The discussion makes working from home a little
was well-paced thanks to the less lonely.”
23
GET INVOLVED!
Sign up for the
newsletter today!
Get weekly news, reviews, tips & inspiration
Out every Tuesday
As a thank you, receive a free 148-page Animation

Artist eBook when you sign up to our newsletter
SIGN UP NOW!
https://ifxm.ag/ifxnewsletter-v2
24
In partnership with
Mushk was born in Fan art of Terra Branford from

Pakistan, but moved to Final Fantasy VI, which Mushk
the US to study at San created as her entry for a
Francisco’s Academy Character Design Challenge.
of Art University.
A day in the life of…

Mushk Rizvi
Further learning The Marvel Studios’ vis-dev artist tells
© Tencent Games
how sketching exercises help to improve her skills…
“I wake up at 9am and find a workout At 9:45am I sit down at my

online to keep my upper body computer and dive into whatever I
moving. Working out is very need to work on. If it’s something that
important because I can suffer from I have a lot of experience with, I can
carpal tunnel syndrome in my arm, quickly get into the flow. If not, then I
as well as tinnitus, so I try to have to spend some time gathering
structure my day around what’s best reference. I work until noon, then stop
for my body as well as the amount of and I take a quick walk in our
work and art that needs doing. I’m neighbourhood. Then I settle back in
always looking for ways to become until 6:30pm unless there’s a deadline
more efficient. to be met – then it’s overtime.
I structure my day around what’s best

for my body as well as the amount of Concept Art
Association is an
Mushk’s take on Daji,
a character from
Tencent’s Games’
work and art that needs doing organisation

committed to
Arena of Valor.
elevating and
My husband and I eat dinner and raising the profile that I wasn’t able to get the most out
of concept artists,
then go for a long walk together. their art and their
of my classes. Sometimes when I
Afterwards I do my physical therapy involvement in the struggle with my work, I kind of
exercises and unwind with some entertainment regret that I started working too
industries. Its
personal sketching before bed. I try to annual Concept early and didn’t spend more time
focus my sketching on areas that I Art Awards Show focusing on my fundamentals. Take
showcases and
want to improve in. the time to learn.”
recognises
My main advice for students is that behind-the-scenes Mushk is from Karachi, Pakistan and
I know we all want to get a job and individuals currently lives in Los Angeles, US, where
working in
work in the industry as soon as entertainment
she’s worked on projects such as Ms. Marvel,
possible, but it’s probably better to concept art. She-Hulk, and Heroes of Might and Magic.
focus on your skills first. Because I was www.conceptart You can see more of Mushk’s work at
Mushk works digitally, but also maintains her association.com.
traditional skills by sketching daily. hired while I was still a student, I feel www.artstation.com/noirmutaon.
25
ImagineNation Artist in Residence
My cosy setup where

I spend most of my
days, dreaming up new
artwork and designs!
26
Sugarbones
Everything’s rosy The Canada-based
artist discusses her love of illustration
and product design, and why she didn’t
always have such a passion for pink
It’s always been such a

vital part of my
process to be
surrounded by the
aesthetic and energy
that I want to siphon into my own
creations. I want to feel joy no matter
where I look in my studio, and bright
and colourful spaces energise me.
I spend a lot of time in this spot, so
some of my favourite items reside
here. I love plushies and figurines,
especially of the mascot Rilakkuma.
There aren’t many places in my home I love creating artwork
where you won’t find his face based in nostalgia, and
the joyful feeling of
somewhere! My walls feature some of unlocking memories
my favourite art, as well as illustrations that you may have
once forgotten.
from my friends and fellow artists.
Some are gifts, some are notes of
encouragement – they all uplift me in
my own creative practice.
I’ve always loved drawing bad girls with pink weapons. I love pink in unexpected
places – it creates a fun juxtaposition not usually associated with the colour.
27
My little son, Peachy,

I make enamel pins for my shop and pin club, loves to shred and
and I keep my favourites on a pinboard so destroy paper. His bad
I can reference them as I design new ones. behaviour has earned
Which one is your favourite? him a lifetime ban
from the studio.
I’ve saved a lot of plants from certain

death by swapping to fake ones! No
green thumb for me, just a pink one.
Growing up I actively distanced

myself from anything that could be
considered girly or feminine…
I share the space with my
boyfriend, who has his own desk
opposite to mine. He works as an
electrical engineer, and his setup is
very technical and full of schematics,
so we like to joke that the room is like
the left and right side of the brain.
I’m a very social creature and
working from home can get lonely
sometimes without any coworkers, so
it’s nice to have my boyfriend around
to liven things up! He’s also a valuable
asset when it comes to feedback for I use a bar cart while I’m painting for my brushes
and supplies. It has wheels, which makes it easy to
my designs, especially when it comes roll around while I work. Super convenient!
to decision making or noticing things
I may have missed with fresh eyes. how society viewed girly girls. Often
written to be materialistic, vapid and
REASSESSING MY IDEA OF PINK cruel, my inner Barbie was abandoned
I didn’t always love pink as much as I in favour of the cool, tomboyish
do now. In fact, growing up I actively counterpart. As I grew, I began to
distanced myself from anything that question my flawed understanding
could be considered girly or feminine and confront my internalised
in the slightest. As a 2000s teen, the misogyny face on. Why would I need
dawn of teen vampire dramas and the to shed the feminine aesthetic, For a lot of my digital illustrations I used to use a digital calendar, but
I use this Wacom Cintiq 22. Stickers seeing it physically helps me grasp
era of Mean Girls made it crystal clear hobbies and community that I felt always make things cuter. what the heck is going on.
28
I love figurines and

hope to make my own
one day. I won this one
at an arcade while I was
visiting Tokyo.
Sailor Moon has been a

huge inspiration to me
since I was very young.
I love taking the
themes, colours and
I love collecting anything Rilakkuma, and have a elements that
collection of miscellaneous products he’s been influenced me from
featured on. His face can make anything cute! that series and putting
This box of condoms is no exception. them into my work.
Some of my favourite vinyl figures!

They sit on top of my framed How To
Be Bad bunny design, who’s become
sort of a mascot of my shop! He shows
up in a bunch of my products, and
people seem to love him!
I found this bow shelf at

a thrift store and was
able to breathe some
life into it with some
sanding and a fresh
coat of paint. It has the
honour of holding up
an illustration I made of
Medusa, and a little
pink Godzilla sculpture.
I use the Microsoft Surface Studio as my desktop PC . I love listening to music while I My Copic market collection! I haven’t used When I was visiting Japan for Design Festa, I
It’s got pen and touch, and it’s easy to switch between work, especially anything fun and them in a while, which can be seen by how got this commission from a girl who drew
the two if I don’t want to boot up my drawing tablet. upbeat to keep me energised! neatly they’re sorted and not in total chaos. you as a hamster. It’s now a family heirloom.
29
Over the years I’ve

collected a ton of art
and reference books.
My favourites are the
ILLUSTRATION
series, featuring
artwork from artists
all over Japan. It’s
released annually.
I’m good with routine, so being able Whenever I make pins,

I print them out so I can
really see what it’ll look
to bounce between different artforms like. It’s so important

to take things off
the screen when
like this keeps me from getting bored designing products so
you can better
understand them.
connected to in order to appear make this computer the centerpiece
smart, strong, when both can coexist. of my desk, tucked away in the corner
There was never a problem with pink. in a comfortable spot. For illustrating,
Realising the potential behind my I shift between an iPad Pro and my
own agency, I reclaimed my Wacom tablet.
unapologetic love of sparkles, pastels While I’m often primarily creating
and heart-shaped things. Being able digitally when designing for my shop, displays them all close by as I design
to incorporate them into my artwork I still love exploring traditional arts and new ones. I use it to compare sizing,
was life changing, and I haven’t crafts and making things with my shapes, and also to remind me what
looked back. hands. I’m good with routine, so being worked in the past and what didn’t. It’s
able to bounce between different always a learning experience!
A TRIO OF DIGITAL TOOLS artforms like this keeps me from Sugarbones is an artist and product designer
Typically, I bounce between three getting bored and keeps things fun. who lives in Ontario, Canada. She
computers throughout a work day. My Over the past year I’ve gotten into transforms her illustrations into fun
main computer is a Surface Studio making punch needle rugs, and products for her web shop, as well as run a
Pro, which I use for the bulk of my recently made my own mirror for the monthly enamel pin subscription club. Her
I drew this little bear
website design, product drafting, studio. That turned out pretty cute! when I was feeling inspirations included bad girls, pop culture
tending to my shop or connecting I make a lot of enamel pins for my down. Every time I look and deceptively cute animals. See more of
at his little face, I know
with customers. It only made sense to web shop, and have a pin board that he gets it. her work at www.sugarbones.net.
30
I spent more money

than I wish to disclose
on a realistic Gizmo
doll, but I’m not
ashamed of it.
Over the past year

I’ve gotten into
making punch needle
rugs, like this one. It’s
time-consuming, but
really relaxing and
the results are so fun.
Although my walls are pretty busy, I try to

keep my desk space as organised as
possible. When I work it can get cluttered
pretty quickly, so I try keeping on top of
things so it doesn’t become overwhelming.
31
GET IMAGINEFX
DELIVERED DIGITALLY!
GO
DIGITAL!
iPad is a trademark of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. App Store is a service mark of Apple Inc.
Our digital editions

come with the same
resources included in
the print edition!
Available via our online shop

www.magazinesdirect.com/imaginefx-magazine
Available on iOS or Android
32
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,
Quay House, The Ambury,
Bath, BA1 1UA, England
Follow us on Twitter:
www.twitter.com/imaginefx
Find us on Facebook:
www.facebook.com/imaginefx
Share your artwork via #imaginefx: Appearing in our FXPosé section helped encourage
www.instagram.com/imaginefxmagazine reader Darren to develop a full-time art career.
Easy access to the mag Claire replies Hello Barry and welcome
Great mag! I’m not even an artist, in fact to ImagineFX. I’m so pleased that you found
I work in telecoms, I just enjoy the us. We did feature Anne Stokes quite a whole
magazine because it gives me a back (issues 50, 57 and 101, fact fans!). She
fascinating insight into the world of is an incredible artist and it’s high time we David Hoffrichter
digital art. featured her again so thanks for the reminder @davidhoffrichter
I was wondering, in the Book Reviews of her glorious work.
section of your magazine, is there any As for The British Fantasy Society, they
way I can access this without buying a seem very much alive and can be visited at
ton of back issues? DID YOU MISS www.britishfantasysociety.org.
THE PREVIOUS
Will, via email PACKED ISSUE?
Don’t worry – Mind-blowing moment
Claire replies Nice to hear from you Will. you can get hold My name’s Darren and you can see my
Our book reviews are great aren’t they? They of issue 201 at art at www.darrengoldman.com. I’m a
sometimes appear on our website over at http://ifxm.ag/ long-time reader and was once
www.creativebloq.com, so check there for single-ifx. highlighted in your magazine at the
other book reviews you may have missed. As beginning of my digital career (July
for them being available elsewhere, I’m afraid 2018). I went from record store
that’s a no, but we are available as digital manager/freelance artist to obsessed
editions, which are very cheap (see page 32 for Procreate artist and now art director.
more), or you can get hold of us via a print It’s been a life-changing experience for
subscription from www.magazinesdirect.com me, and honestly being in ImagineFX Giulio D’Amico
or via a Readly subscription. was a huge inspiration! To appear in the @giulio_ocimad
pages of a magazine that inspired me
Anne Stokes please! daily was mind blowing. Now I use
I’ve just discovered your fabulous Procreate daily and design four to six
magazine and having an interest in wearable designs a week for myself or
fantasy art. I was wondering if you’ve freelancers to finish. See www.zox.la to
ever featured Anne Stokes, as she is my see examples of what I mean. It’s been a
favourite artist. Her artwork of Dragons wonderful journey and now I get to
and Unicorn is unique. Lastly, do you search out other artists, giving them
Reader Barry is a big fan
know whether the British Fantasy of Anne Stokes’ fantasy opportunities to freelance and hopefully
Society Ltd is still in existence? and Gothic art, which inspire them to follow their dreams!
we’ve featured in
Barry Twomlow, Portsmouth ImagineFX in past issues. Thanks so much!
Darren Goldman
Claire replies Well, isn’t this a lovely

letter, Darren! Thanks for writing in and I’m Kait Matthews
so pleased that you’re experiencing such @kaitmatthewsart
success. I hope this letter spurs other readers
on to follow their dreams. If anyone reading If you’ve created art that you want us to
this wants to feature in ImagineFX, see shout about simply tag us on Twitter or
Instagram, and use the hashtag #imaginefx
http://ifxm.ag/getinifx for what’s required.
33
Interview
ARTIST PORTFOLIO
ZEEN CHIN
The Malaysian illustrator and concept artist mixes
familiar styles and themes to make art that’s unusual,
unsettling and uniquely his own, learns Gary Evans
34
ZEEN CHIN
Z
een Chin was brought up Zeen would sit down on a stool LOST – but he’s not in it for that. Zeen just
by his grandparents in a brought from home to watch old “Some of us are like wants to draw.
a lost soul in the
small town in the south Hong Kong horror films. world,” says Malaysian His little story about the temple and
of Peninsular Malaysia. In recent years the Malaysian has illustrator Zeen Chin. the horror films contains all the
Behind their house in illustrated card art for Applibot’s themes you’ll find in Zeen’s art:
Kulai was a lake where Zeen and his Legend of the Cryptids and Galaxy nostalgia for childhood; Southeast
friends went fishing and built dens. Saga, and contributed illustrations Asian folklore and religion; the
Opposite the lake was a temple where and concept art to the board game contrast of humour and horror, light
they played. During festivals, the Kingdom Death. He’s got a big and dark, good and evil. His work is
temple staff would set up a projector following online. He’s pretty famous weird, often unsettling, but never
and a makeshift outdoor screen, and – at least, in the world of fantasy art boring. Zeen’s pictures reward
35
Interview
WITCH STORE
“I tried to draw the place I lived
when I was a kid based on memory.
I combined the home with the
temple that was opposite my
house. It was also a playground for
the kids who lived in the village.”
careful study. A cursory glance is Artist

never enough. There’s always
something more to see, something PROFILE
unusual, unsettling or unexpected Zeen Chin
LOCATION: Malaysia
hiding beneath the surface of the –
FAVOURITE ARTISTS: Phil Hale, Taiyo
everyday – much like seeing a horror Matsumoto, Katsuya Terada, Kent Williams
film in a temple. and Ashley Wood
MEDIA: Photoshop
TERADA AND NINJA TURTLES WEB: www.artstation.com/zeen
Growing up, Zeen’s parents worked

and lived faraway in the city, which Hong Kong horror films and Japanese
wasn’t uncommon back then, but he manga – influences you can still see in
got into art with the help of his his work today. The artist who most
mother. She wasn’t a professional influenced him was Katsuya Terada. If
artist, but she knew enough to teach Zeen could meet one person, living or
him the basics. He always enjoyed dead, then it would be Terada – the
getting compliments from family Japanese illustrator who works in
and teachers about his drawings, so comics, games and films: “I like the
art quickly became something more creativity in his character designs and
than a pastime. how he uses certain elements, how
His first big artistic influence was imaginative he is,” says Zeen.
the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. He “In the beginning, when you first
loved drawing them. Then he got into start creating your own art, it’s hard to
avoid imitating other artists’ work.
What I did was study and analyse and
In the beginning break down Katsuya Terada’s artwork.
it’s hard to avoid I tried to work out which elements
really caught my eye.” I KNOW YOU CAN SEE ME
imitating other Zeen particularly liked how Katsuya
drew women, and how he avoided
“I’ve heard a lot of ghost
stories. This painting is
inspired by the most scary
artists’ work clichés or stereotypes by adding

story I ever heard.”
36
ZEEN CHIN
THE PUPPET MASTER

Zeen explains how he strings together a piece based around a specific idea
Money Coin
Hypocritical Puppet Line
THEME
Manipulated
Expression Needle Bondage
by work
Suffer
Mask pain
Skull
Death
1 MIND MAPPING
“I begin by coming up with a strong idea. I need to know what
story I want to tell. I felt like a puppet once I’d grown up, controlled
by work. I wished I could go back to being a kid. That’s my idea.
I create a mind map and think of all the elements I could use.”
2 CREATE LINE-ART 3 BUILD UP ATMOSPHERE

“Once I’ve identified my elements that make up my idea, I start “During this step I use design, lighting and colour techniques to
with line-art to get down the correct design and composition.” create a strong atmosphere and effective visuals.”
4 POLISH AND TWEAK THE CHARACTER 5 DETAILING AND FINAL TOUCHES

“Then I start to polish the character until I’m happy with the “The last thing do is enrich the details and generally improve the
proportions and shape, and also tweak the values of the image.” overall atmosphere of the illustration.”
37
Interview
INCANTATION
“This one talks about how why I love
drawing, how it’s almost incantatory.
The girl in the drawing represents my
mum, who taught me how to draw (the
head the girl is holding is not my dad’s!).”
“super crazy elements”. Zeen has find their way into my art. In my
tried to do this in his own figurative THEURGY opinion, every artist creates things
“If I were a witch, I would
work, which is why a lot of his female create a spell to make people that are relatable to them.”
return to childhood. I want to
characters contain an element of the
fantastic. It’s the same with all of
cast that spell on myself.”
FROM ANIMATION TO ART
Zeen’s paintings. He tries to mix Zeen briefly studied graphic design
familiar art styles and underpinning and 3D animation, but never
themes in a combination that creates graduated. His first job in art, as an
something the viewer hasn’t seen assistant to an advertising illustrator,
before, something that could only was drawing storyboards for TV
have been drawn by Zeen. commercials. That lasted three
“I believe that each artist has their months. He spent the next five years as
very own preferences and life an animator in an animation studio.
experiences, which slowly gather and Throughout this time, Zeen wanted
build up in their mind inside their to be an illustrator – to do the sort of
own ‘image storage’. Creativity comes work he’s doing now – but he didn’t
from daily life. For example, in my have a good-enough portfolio.
artwork you’ll notice a lot of Animation was what he did to survive.
Southeast Asian folk beliefs and The work was okay. He liked some of
Taoism elements. Those elements are his colleagues. But it wasn’t what he
the elements I grew up with, so really wanted to be doing. So every
eventually they were always going night he came home from the
animation studio and worked on his
illustrations. He practised (“I practised
In my opinion, a lot”) and slowly built up a portfolio
every artist creates that was good enough to get him
illustration commissions.
things that are Zeen used to regret spending so
much time in animation. He thought
relatable to them it was time wasted. Now he realises
38
ZEEN CHIN
REDEMPTION
“My process starts with line-art, and I check
the composition, character design and
environment are strong. Next, I apply lighting
and colour to make sure the atmosphere is
correct. Then I polish form and shape, and do
a final touch-up to enrich the entire image.”
39
Interview
DISGUISE
“In this piece I wanted to
show something that
I couldn’t express in real
life. Grown-ups have to
hide their emotions once
they’re older – unlike
children, who are free to
express their emotions.”
SECRET HIDEOUT
“I think every child has a secret hideout – or maybe it’s a boy thing? I did have a
secret hideout with my friends, where we’d gather and play after school.”
You can just Google to look for

references, but go outside, travel and
watch films – that’s the way I observe
he wouldn’t be the artist he is teaching, when can he concentrate
today without his apprenticeship in solely on personal work.
animation. It helped him hone the He works from home in Kuala
attention to detail that’s so important Lumpur. His setup is simple: a
to his work. It was where he learned MacBook Pro, a Wacom Cintiq, two
how to give characters the right dogs and a baby. The best thing about
expression, the right body language – being a freelancer is he’s free to
all the little things that make pictures manage his time however he wants. Of
tell stories. It was the same thing with course, the worst thing about being a
his boss in advertising: Zeen learned freelancer is he’s free to manage his
so many tricks and techniques that he time however he wants. So he can WHO’S THE KILLER? making his SKEEN series into a
still uses today. He wishes he could go easily become lazy or completely “I’m inspired a lot by clothing range. Zeen says to be a good
Hong Kong horror films
back and thank him. consumed by his personal work. Being and folk beliefs and so illustrator – besides being proficient at
I try to create a creepy
Zeen’s main job is teaching art a freelancer, for Zeen, is an exercise in atmosphere by using
drawing – you need to think creatively.
classes online. He still takes on the self-discipline. similar lighting in some You need to bring something to your
of my work.”
occasional commercial illustration art that’s uniquely yours. The artist
commission. But when he can afford UNIQUE IDEAS believes the best way to do this is by
it, he takes time off teaching and Zeen is busy developing his latest art observing the world around you: “Of
commissions to work on his own art. book, titled 21, which he hopes to course, you can just Google to look for
A perfect day is a day with no release next year. He’s also working on references too – it’s very convenient
40
ZEEN CHIN
BLOODY MINDED
Zeen on his love for Hong Kong horror
and how it influences his work…
Zeen has always watched Hong Kong horror films. It
was that, or a blank screen. “Growing up, the reason
why I watched a lot Hong Kong horror was because,
back to the old days, the only thing I could watch was
Hong Kong horror. There were no other choices!”
The artist has always received a lot of compliments
about the lighting in his work. He typically uses top-
down lighting, which gives his imagery a moody, creepy,
cinematic look. This is one of the many ways Hong Kong
horror films have influenced his work: “I want to create
dramatic lighting with a creepy atmosphere, which is
most suited to my themes.”
It’s not just the aesthetics Zeen has incorporated into
his work. He says Hong Kong horror tends to be quite
funny – both intentionally and unintentionally. This is
something else you’ll often find in his work; darker
elements counterpointed with a touch of humour: “As
you can see, I draw a lot of spooky characters. At the
same time, I also like to include some cute and happy
elements, so I choose to use vibrant colours.”
But the biggest influence Hong Kong horror has had
on Zeen’s work is in the way he tries to build a piece
around an idea. Hiding beneath the surface of his
favourite old horrors movies – under all that blood and
guts – there are occasionally some pretty interesting
themes. Similarly, Zeen tries to mix striking visuals with
more subtle ideas: “Although those old movies look
DESIRE funny and low-budget when you watch them back, they
“We have so much desire in our lives.
It’s like bondage, tying us up. I’m
influenced me a lot.”
influenced a lot by Japanese culture. For anyone looking to get into the Hong Kong horror
I fused elements including
everything from the art movement film genre, Zeen recommends Out of Dark (1995) and
Ukiyo-e to the Japanese bondage the TV series Vampire Expert (1995).
style known as Kinbaku.”
LANTERN
“When I was a kid, I would
carry lanterns with my friends
and play on the streets.”
CHILD HEART
“The idea behind this drawing is that
I want to keep my child’s heart. I wish
I could have kept that innocence.”
41
Interview
nowadays. But go outside, travel,

and watch films – that’s the way I
observe. Travel is one of the best way
to collect references.”
The temple beside Zeen’s
grandparents house is rundown now,
but he goes back to it again and again
in his work. A trademark of Zeen’s art
SKEEN
“I created this series
is the lighting. He uses cinematic because I like streetwear
and 80s and 90s fashion,
lighting to create atmosphere and so I wanted to create my
highlight themes. His imagery, in his own fashion by using
Southeast Asian
own words, is “spooky” and “creepy,” folk-belief elements.”
but beneath the surface you’ll usually
find “cute and happy elements,” or
vice versa. It’s the same way that Hong
Kong horror films often contain as
much comedy as they do horror.
VIBRANT COLOURS
Another contrast to the dark,
disturbing side of his art is the bright,
vibrant colour palette he uses to paint
them. SKEEN mixes contemporary
streetwear with ancient Asian folklore.
For example, Disguise shows an adult
concealing their emotions and
children overcome by them. Kill
Monday, Long Live Sunday was
inspired by both his love of the
weekend and the creeping dread he
feels on a Sunday night as Monday
morning looms. Zeen’s art often
shows one thing that’s also another,
like a temple that’s both a playground emotions, life experiences, or the
and a cinema screening scary movies. circumstance I’ve lived through. As for
“Creativity comes from our daily life the elements, these come from
and experiences. The way I create my personal preferences, a lot of reference
artwork is by combining ideas and from Southeast Asian religions.
elements. The ideas could be my “For me, of course drawing skill is
very important. It makes the
Artwork that combine illustration come out nice visually. But
at the same time, I hope my artworks
skill and ideas will get also contain interesting ideas. I think
artwork that combines skill and ideas
people’s attention will get people’s attention.”
42
ZEEN CHIN
KILL MONDAY,
LONG LIVE SUNDAY
“I’ve always hated Monday –
as a kid and an adult. I used
the elements of the Chinese
lunar calendar: it will be red
on weekends and public
holidays, and green
on weekdays.”
43
Complete your collection!
Recent editions Missed an issue? Here’s how you can order

previous print or digital editions of ImagineFX
Recent print editions
Visit www.bit.ly/ifxbackissues.
Apple Newsstand
Download us from the Newsstand app on your
device or visit http://ifxm.ag/apple-ifx.
Android, PC or Mac
Pocketmags: www.pocketmags.com/imaginefx
Zinio: www.zinio.com/gb/imaginefx-m2956
Other devices
We’re available via nook on Barnes & Noble
Only the
and Amazon’s range of Fire tablets. most recent
editions are
available in print
WHILE
STOCKS
PRINT AND DIGITAL BACK ISSUES LAST!
Issue 201 Issue 200 Issue 199 Issue 198

July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021
Explore cover artist Bobby Chiu’s Cover artist Pernille Ørum helps Get started in animation! Learn Artist and author Tony DiTerlizzi
colouring and lighting methods, us to celebrate our 200th issue, in from artists at Sony Pictures, provides this month’s cover art,
create engaging characters with which we look back at our many Disney, Netflix and more! We also plus gives advice on how to
David Melling, and get better at highlights. There are workshops have 15 tips on how to break into become a book illustrator. Angela
inking with Jeff Miracola. We also from Kekai Kotaki, Will Murai and the animation art industry. Plus, Sung reveals her colour
look at rejection, and how to turn Paul Bonner, plus we delve into get better at keyframes, colour techniques, we reveal how to get
a ‘no’ into something positive. Donato Giancola’s sketchbook! sketching and watercolours. your dream job in art, and more!
BUY PRINT EDITIONS

OF IMAGINEFX AT: www.bit.ly/ifxbackissues
44
Recent editions
RESOURCES ARE INCLUDED WITH PRINT AND DIGITAL EDITIONS*

March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 Christmas 2020

December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020

August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020
GET YOUR DIGITAL EDITION
THROUGH THESE OUTLETS:
*Resource files are available from issue 85 onwards.
45
PROFILE
Gretel Lusky
LOCATION: Argentina
Gretel is an illustrator who

worked in animation for
several years before
moving into the comic
book industry. Her clients
include DC Comics, Marvel, IDW
Publishing, 3dtotal Publishing and
Netflix. Between freelancing, she loves
he m e d ar tworks to create her own stories and
rge ou s marine-t trator

illustrations inspired in nature, marine
n to the go n tin e illu s imagery and fantasy characters.
ep dive i he Arge
www.gretellusky.com
take a de ea ted by t
We
aracter stu dies cr
and ch
SEA OF STARS
“This is a small whale design
with a tiny cosmos inside that
I created for a marine
themed sticker sheet.”
OVERGROWN BLOOM
“Mermaids and sea-related
“An idea based on the word stuff are some of the subjects
‘overgrown’. My process usually starts I enjoy drawing the most. I created
with a word or a short phrase that this one for the Mermay 2020
I like to translate into a drawing. challenge and I had fun using pinks,
There’s a lot of symbolism and yellows and greens – one of
elements that I repeat my all-time favourite
throughout my work.” colour palettes.
46
Sketchbook Gretel Lusky
ATLANTE
“One day I discovered a mermaid
statue named Atlante located at Port
Canto in Cannes, by French sculptor
Amaryllis Bataille and I had the urge to
create a character design-sheet based on
it. I used watercolours and then
scanned the pages to add some
digital touch ups here
and there.”
UNIVERSE
“I love experimenting with
different media in my sketchbook. Here
I was playing around with black ink and a
blue acrylic marker to create all the
tiny stars and galaxies.”
STUCK
“An idea that came out of the
words ‘snow’ and ‘happiness’. I love
creating conceptual illustrations that
usually carry hidden messages or
stories that the audience can
reinterpret and read however they
want. There’s always something
very special about that!”
47
GOUACHE
STUDY
“Practising painting nature
and scenery with gouache is
always so much fun. Here’s a
study based on the film The
Secret World of Arrietty
from Studio Ghibli.”
48
COLIVIA LOOMBA
“This is one of my most beloved characters:
MISPLACED
“This was a combination of
a witch named Colivia with her little pigeon traditional and digital art. I think I have a
companions. The part I enjoy the most about thing for drawing characters in places
designing characters is doing a bunch of where they don’t really belong; it’s a
different expressions and poses that concept I’ve been coming back to
help the character become for the past couple of years.”
truly alive.”
MOODY
“Another mermaid – this
was just an excuse to paint a
sketchbook page using only
alcohol markers.”
OCTOPUS
“Octopuses are so
majestic. They can be a little
Octopuses are so
bit scary, too. I love to
incorporate them into my work
whenever I can – there’s a
majestic. They can be
lot of beauty in their
flowing shapes.” a little bit scary, too
49
SWING
“Here I was experimenting
with black ink and contrasts.
I wanted to create a piece that
could be very happy and innocent
at first glance, but once you start
looking more closely you’ll find
something very dark and
creepy lurking behind.”
50
STYLES
“I love mixing fashion
and colours. I always find
myself searching for different
styles and gathering a bunch
of references to create
huge sketchbook spreads
of cool, fashionable-
looking characters.”
FISH
FRIENDS
“These little ones were
also intended for a
marine-themed
sticker sheet!”
EMERALD
“I’m, of course, a huge fan of using a lot of colour, but
sometimes I also like to challenge myself to create
sketchbook pages that have a more limited colour palette.
Here I was trying a monochromatic approach
with alcohol markers.”
WARRIOR
“Antique diving helmets
are another element that’s
always present in my work.
This mermaid came out of the
idea of a warrior creature and
it was incredibly fun to
mix different mediums
such as watercolours
and gouache.”
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]
51
GET YOUR
RESOURCES
See page 8 now!
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

54 58
66 This issue:
54 Draw and paint
fantasy manga
Yueko shares her process for
painting a female knight.
58 Colour manga in
Clip Studio Paint
Tips on sketching, shadows and
lighting, with Asia Ladowska.
74
66 Create anime-
style scenes
FeiGiap uses SketchUp’s 3D
modelling tools with Photoshop.
74 Get better at
Paint Tool SAI
Angela Wang paints figures
from mythology.
53
Workshops
Photoshop
DRAW AND PAINT
FANTASY MANGA
Yueko shares her process for painting a female knight in an anime-
inspired art style, paying particular attention to the hair and face
This artwork was I like a lot, which is why I often turn I added similar embellishments on
Artist
commissioned by the to the theme of female knights for her sword and armour because I
PROFILE ImagineFX team for my original character designs. In the thought the crystal would look a little
Yueko their cover! I was past, I found armour quite difficult out of place if it were only on her
LOCATION:
New Zealand given a reference for to draw, but I’ve always tried to push horns, especially as this character’s
the pose they wanted, based on a myself through challenges instead of hair is warm and bright. Because it’s a
Yueko likes to drink tea
sketch I had previously drawn and avoiding them. close-up of a character and the team
and contemplate how to
draw cuter girls. some ideas for the character. Crystal horns from a past artwork wanted the focus to be on her face,
www.yue-ko.com The idea of beauty and strength of mine caught the team’s eye, so I I spent extra time painting the details
being non-exclusive is something incorporated them into this design. and softening her features.
How I create…
A STYLISED MANGA HAIR LOOK
Create an interesting base Build up texture Refine the hair’s shape

1 I start the hair by laying down a base
2 For the next stage, I flesh out the
3 In the final stage I focus on cleaning
gradient, then applying some shading using overall shape of the hair and add more up the smaller details and flesh out the
a Linear Burn layer. By locking that layer, strands around the edges to hint at the strands around the face. I decide to break
airbrushing lighter tones within it and then texture. I blend the shading of the hair apart the large strand in front of the ear to
adding a soft Overlay layer to brighten it down, because hair doesn’t often cast soften the hair and make it appear less
up, the base becomes more interesting. harsh shadows on to itself. thick and solid.
54
55
SUBSCRIBE TO
Buy now at
Digital editions available on desktop, iOS or Android

In depth Fantasy manga
BRING A KNIGHT TO LIFE Shaping the hair

One of my favourite things to
draw is hair. Hair is especially
useful in guiding to and
Focus on the face complementing a character’s
face. I like to think of hair as a
Faces tend to draw a lot of attention and
compositional tool sometimes,
can hold the key to whether someone
as opposed to real hair. This
finds an image appealing or not. Thus
removes the consideration for
I like to spend extra time refining the
how hair works in reality and
details here, to make sure that it looks
can result in interesting shapes.
the way I want it to. For anime-inspired
art, I keep the features subtle and soft.
Make it pop!
I decide to use brighter colours
than usual for this artwork. This
ensures the image ‘pops’ and is
eye-catching on the cover!
RESOURCES
PHOTOSHOP
CUSTOM BRUSHES:
TEXTURED BRUSH
I use Photoshop’s
textured brushes to
soften edges and give
my art a messy, painterly
feeling. Any textured
brush will do for this.
HARD ROUND BRUSH
The main brush I use for

everything. I turn on
Opacity with Pressure
and blend with the help
of the Color Picker tool.
AIRBRUSH
Basic tools
Soften edges For most of the artwork I use
I use textured brushes at the Photoshop’s basic hard Round
bottom of the artwork along the brush with Pressure with Opacity
My second most-used edges of the character to lessen turned on. Occasionally I’ll use
brush. I use this to apply the amount of detail at those an airbrush to apply lighting with
lighting effects with locations. Softening the edges layer modes. In the final stages
layer modes such as also gives a traditional, painterly I use painterly brushes to apply
Overlay and Soft Light. feel to the artwork. texture and soften edges.
57
Workshops
Clip Studio Paint

COLOUR MANGA IN
CLIP STUDIO PAINT
Asia Ladowska reveals her process for creating a manga portrait, while
passing on essential advice on sketching, shadows and lighting
Painting digitally isn’t much? What if I change this? I’m Art is a journey, not a destination.
Artist
an easy thing to do, sure many of you feel the same at the If you check the number of my
PROFILE especially when you’re beginning of your art journey, so to Instagram posts, it’s above 900. If
Asia Ladowska staring at a blank help you out I’ve prepared some tips you take away 10 per cent to be on
LOCATION: Japan
canvas and the that you can refer to ‘find yourself’ if the safe side, that’s at least 800
The Polish artist, who is possibilities are endless. I always feel you ever feel lost when painting. portraits, and I keep making new
currently residing in
excited about creating a new For this workshop I created a ones! Sometimes instead of asking
Japan, is the author of
the best-selling book illustration, but with this joy comes character: Mai. This simple name yourself too many questions about
Sketch with Asia. many fears and a lot of self-doubt. comes from the name of the month your own drawing, all you need to
www.ladowska.com
Apart from being unsure where to I painted her in. I started this do is finish it and then start another.
start, I used to ask myself questions. illustration in May 2020 and didn’t Painting is incredibly enjoyable, so
Is my illustration looking good? open the file until May 2021 when I as a final word I want to say keep
What else can I add? Did I add too finally finished it. creating, have fun and don’t give up.
Sketch quickly
2 I always try to draft a sketch in under 15 minutes.
Choose an interesting angle Let’s face it – it’s just a sketch. I need to visualise my idea
1The most difficult angle to work with when drawing a portrait is the frontal before I forget it! My favourite tool to use in Clip Studio
view. It needs careful symmetry, balance and well-measured proportions, and Paint is the Darker Pencil. It’s good for sketches, line-art
when you put all of this together it looks a little… boring. I always struggle to make and even shading. I mainly use the software’s default
frontal poses look interesting, and end up trying to second-guess myself. Even if I brushes, but adjust their settings slightly. For the Darker
push through the process, the result doesn’t look very attractive. However, if you Pencil I always untick the Adjust by Speed option and
choose a slightly more dynamic angle then you’ll be off to a good start! change Stabilization to around 15.
58
In depth Clip Studio Paint
59
Workshops
Colour your sketches to bring out the character

3 I usually add a splash of colour to my sketches at this stage. Some mistakes can’t be spotted when there are just lines in place (and on top
of that, many messy lines!). It helps to see the illustration as a shape, and colours help to shape sketches. When you squint you can already see
the character. For the lines of this sketch I used a dark navy colour rather than black, and when I changed the layer mode to Color Burn it
resulted in beautiful hues that I can use later for shading my character.
Don’t rush the line-art

4 I can break down my process into sketch, line-art, colours and post-processing. Yet each of these steps can become complicated. By saying
“don’t rush the line-art” I don’t mean draw slowly, but rather refine the sketch as many times as it takes for the line-art to become easier to draw.
Save time using Clip Studio Paint’s Smart Bucket tool

5 Before I knew Clip Studio Paint, I used to waste countless hours drawing flat layers manually. Luckily, you don’t have to make that
mistake! The software’s Smart Bucket tool is very good at recognising line-art and with one click I can fill in most of the areas. If you play with
its settings it can be identify lines that have gaps in them, or even textured lines. To make sure all the pixels in my character are selected, I colour
the background first on a separate layer. Then I switch off the line-art and colour the reverse on another layer.
60
BEFORE AFTER
CLIP STUDIO PAINT
DEFAULT BRUSHES:
DARKER PENCIL
This is the brush that

I use for almost
everything: sketching,
line-art and painting. All
I have to do is change the
size and colour.
COOL BRUSH
This is a tweaked
transparent Watercolor
Brush. Ideal for painting
and blending colours.
SPARKLE
This brush is good for

creating magical and
sparkling effects.
AIRBRUSH
It’s rather difficult to add

Use a hard brush rather than everything. I always use a hard brush first and then blend blush with all the other
6 a soft airbrush selected edges into soft ones if necessary.
brushes, so this one
comes in handy.
Good drawings have both soft and hard shadows in In this step I’ve added some shading to all of the colour
place, but if you’re not sure what and where they should layers. Much like artists who use ambient occlusion, this
go, choose the hard edge. Drawings look much better shading doesn’t define any light source. Rather, it adds
with flat cell shading (just look at all the anime ever some depth to the character and makes her look more
made!) rather than mellow soft airbrush shading for interesting. Let me show you how I do it in the next step.
BEFORE AFTER
You can use the Transparent Watercolor brush as a blender

7 For me, a much more powerful tool than the Blending brush or any other paint brush is the Transparent Watercolor default brush in Clip
Studio Paint. You can see the settings I use in the screenshot, but I change them as I paint. If you set Amount of Paint to a low value, it blends
the colours together, depending on the direction of your strokes and the pressure you put on your pen, and it doesn’t matter what colour you’ve
chosen for your brush. If you set that value to a high number, it’ll blend the colour of your brush with the existing colours. This tool has so
much versatility, and surprisingly the results doesn’t even look like watercolours…
61
Workshops
Experiment with colours

9 I can never decide what colours to use! I love
Did you know you can adjust your line widths? playing with colours and changing them to see “what
8 Clip Studio Paint is made for painters, illustrators, animators and manga if…”. There are multiple ways you can do it yourself. You
artists, and is packed with functions to help us work faster and more effectively. can either select the coloured area in question (or apply it
One of those functions that I can’t live without is being able to adjust line width. to a whole layer) and use Edit>Tonal Correction>Hue/
You can access it under Filters>Correct line>Adjust line width, and it enables you Saturation/Brightness filter and adjust the sliders, or clip
to thicken or narrow the line-art. On the left you can see the lines I drew originally, a layer to the one you’re editing and set it to Color mode,
and on the right are my corrected lines. Thanks to this function my illustration then add colour with the Bucket tool. You can also add
became even more delicate. However, if your art now looks rough and pixellated, new colours using functions such as Multiply, Color
I’d recommend duplicating the layer of edited line-art, blurring it a little with Dodge, Divide… you name it! You can also mix colours
Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur and setting the layer mode to Multiply. and use gradients, too.
10 Put a whole world into the eyes

I do believe that eyes are the window to the soul and I paint them with this in mind. I love painting eyes! It might actually be the eyes that
made me fall in love with the manga style art. I endlessly experiment with how I paint them, using a variety of styles, shapes and colours. I often
take inspiration from other artists as well, and mix their styles with mine. I wonder if you can see my inspirations in my drawings.
62
11 DEFINE THE LIGHT SOURCE AND ADD SHADOWS

Learn how to quickly paint shadows to enhance your manga characters
Create a base for your shadows

A I start by adding basic and delicate shading to my character,
without defining any light source. This stage adds depth to flat
colours and creates a strong base for the actual shadow.
Paint flat shadows Make your shadows glow

B I imagine my light source, then add a layer set to Multiply
C To breathe some life into the flat shadow, I add another layer
above the Color layers. Next, I paint a shadow with just one colour above my earlier Multiply one and set it to Color Dodge. Now with
on this new layer. It’s usually greyish purple, but depending on a soft brush I paint the areas that I want to glow, using a colour
what effect you want to achieve, you can use any colour. that’s low on value and high on saturation.
63
Workshops
AFTER AFTER
BEFORE BEFORE
12 Ignore the rules and just paint!
Everything you’ve just read? Sometimes I don’t want to do any of it! To be honest, it’s a lot to remember and think about when painting.
When I just want to relax while creating art I get my illustrations as far as I can with a coloured sketch, and then add a layer on top of it (or
sometimes not even that) and just paint. My favourite tools here are the Darker Pencil and the multifunctional Transparent Watercolor Brush.
Red is reflected in
the shadows
Reflections
from the blue
sky are visible
in the hair
Warm skin colour

is reflecting on the
hair around the face.
Violet reflections are
also visible on
the skin
Reflected light
off the violet hair
affects the clothes
13 Use coloured reflections in your art

Here’s a cool technique to bring your illustrations to life: add reflected colours in the shadow areas or on the edges where different colours
meet. Colours often reflect each other in nature. If the character is placed in an environment with strong red elements for example, red is likely
to reflect in some darker colours .The same goes for the blue of the sky or green from the grass. In illustration it can be exaggerated; manga
artists often use skin hue around the face on clothes and hair to make the character’s skin look soft, almost appearing to glow.
64
14 You don’t have to be amazing at everything!

I’m really bad at drawing backgrounds. I know that I’ll get good at this when I start practising, but I haven’t found the drive to do so just
yet. That doesn’t mean I can’t create illustrations with backgrounds. I just need to be a little more creative about the fact that I can’t paint them!
For this illustration I’m using photos I took myself and adjusting them using my photo-editing skills. I crop them, blur, brighten, overpaint and
add effects to the point where it’s not easy to tell that these are photos in the background.
15 Know when to walk away from the drawing

Often I’ll blast through the entire illustration process, then sit in
list of things I can do to help close the chapter. These steps are: adding
a little more Color or Glow Dodge (like the bokeh lights you can see
front of the canvas adding and deleting layers for hours, only to end in the picture; adding a Color Balance Layer; and adding a signature.
up exactly where I started. Am I finished? Should I add more? Does it And unless I upload the drawing online it’s likely that I’ll come back
look good? Can it look better? to it and waste more time. Posting online gives me closure. My social
What helps me to walk away from the drawing (when I’m unable to media platforms are a journal of my artisti c journey. A trip full of
grasp that I don’t need to create a masterpiece every time I draw) is my learning, discovering, creating and of course, mistakes as well.
65
Workshops
SketchUp & Photoshop

CREATE ANIME-
STYLE SCENES
FeiGiap combines SketchUp’s 3D modelling tools with Photoshop
colouring techniques to create an anime-style background illustration
A small, cosy café in makes the city looks slightly accurately. I think it’s easier to use
Artist
the middle of the different from our daily compared to other 3D modelling
PROFILE town, surrounded by environment, which helps to make it software. I build the main building
FeiGiap plants and trees – like feel more interesting. structure in SketchUp and then
LOCATION: Malaysia a scene from a Studio After gathering some related photo output it as a clean line-art image.
FeiGiap’s the co-founder Ghibli or Makoto Shinkai film. This references, I’ll start by sketching out My colouring technique is
of Running Snail Studio is my initial idea as I plan an the composition in Photoshop until influenced by Japan 2D animation
and creative brand Loka
Made. He’s best known
environment workshop. Here, I’ll I’m happy with the design of the film backgrounds, like those seen in
for his detailed anime- share how I use SketchUp’s 3D scene. Then I’ll move on to Studio Ghibli, Makoto Shinkai and
style illustration of modelling tools to help me create an modelling in SketchUp. The program Hosoda Mamoru films. I love to
Asian cityscapes.
http://ifxm.ag/feigiap-da
interesting background illustration. I comes in handy when I want to draw study how they use colour and
always like to see buildings at a range slightly more complex buildings. It capture light and a certain mood. In
of heights, with people having to use enables me to explore different this workshop, I’ll share some of my
stairs to reach different levels. This camera angles and cast shadows own colouring techniques and tips.
GET YOUR
RESOURCES
See page 8 now!
Composition sketch
1 Before I start sketching I gather photo references of Modelling in SketchUp
buildings and streets to make sure I understand the 2 Instead of drawing the outlines in Photoshop, I’m using SketchUp to build
designs. I’m using my Sketch pen in Photoshop for my the basic structure based on my composition sketch. Using 3D modelling can help
composition sketch. I usually keep the paper size small to me skip on the perspective construction process. The models I’m building here are
avoid drawing too many details. The sketch helps me to basic, but clear enough to suggest the underlying forms of the buildings. Details
finalise the composition, and plan my light and shadows. such as textures and plants will be added later, during the colouring stage.
66
In depth Anime-style scenes
67
Workshops
Casting shadows in SketchUp

3Another useful tool in SketchUp is the Shadow setting. It enables me to set different angles of light source, based on a particular timezone
and time of day. To create a larger area of cast shadow, I build a high structure outside the camera and use this to cast my shadow. After this, I
export the models as two different JPEGs: one with the shadow and another without.
RESOURCES
PHOTOSHOP
CUSTOM BRUSHES:
PAINT BRUSH
I use the Paint brush for

most of the plain
surfaces. It can blend
colours easily.
SKETCH PEN
The ideal tool for

sketching and outlining.
It can create natural-
looking line-art.
LEAF BRUSH
I use this brush to paint

bushes and plants. It Generate surface textures
enables me to recreate
Colour planning 5 I normally start my colouring on the focal point.
realistic plant silhouettes.
4 I open the modelling JPEG in Photoshop and start I create plain surface textures such as wood or zinc that
DRY TEXTURE BRUSH my colour planning. Here I’ll use an opaque paint-over I can duplicate and mask on the target surface. Keep the
method and again I’ll work at a small size to avoid over- original plain copy so that you can use it in the future.
This brush can create
detailing. This stage is mainly about capturing the key For the shadow area I simply select the area and use
rust and stain effects on colours of the background. I’ll use warmer colours on Image>Adjustment>Hue/Saturation>Lightness to darken
surfaces, to enhance the light areas and cool colours on shadow areas. Tonal value the tone. I then touch up them with a brush to make
level of realism.
is important if I’m to create an effective depth of field. them look more natural.
68
Painting overhanging foliage

6 I want to depict the café surrounded by various plants, and my custom leaf brush tool comes in very handy for this step. I start to paint the
silhouette of the foliage, then on a second layer I add a slightly darker tone and follow this with a lighter tone. Once I’ve achieved the basic form
I blend some parts to make it look less stiff, then paint some cast shadow between leaves so that they looks more natural.
Populate the café’s shelves with objects

7 The café’s interior needs to contain lots of different objects, so I create a few stock items such as mugs, drinks and containers. Then I edit
some of their colours to add variety. I place those objects on different cabinets and darken objects at the back of the café to create depth.
69
Workshops
A C
Detailing the focal area

8 I continue colouring the focal area, because the
3D outline is just the basic form (A). During this stage
I refer to some photo references of café interiors so that I
know what objects to add (B). I also need to take care
with the depth of the building. The light and shadow
play an important role here, and I want to avoid the
entrance and exit looking the same (C). Once I’m
happy with my progress here, I can continue with
the rest of the background.
Varying the foliage

9 The plants in front of the café are one of the most
important elements in this drawing. I want them to
make the building visually interesting and grab the
viewer’s attention, so their design needs to be more
varied. I use different brushes for each of the plants to
alter their leaf shapes, and adjust their colour and tone
slightly to highlight their differences.
10 Fill up the vending machines and blend them into their surroundings
One of the most challenging parts of this scene is painting the vending machines. I start by creating various can and bottle designs, and
colour them differently to suggest a range of drink flavours. Then I place them inside the vending machines. To create depth, I lighten the tone
of the drinks and add a light effect inside the cabinet. The cast shadow on the two vending machines helps to blend them with the background.
70
A B
Introduce an apartment block to evoke feelings of nostalgia

11 In Malaysia, there are some old three-and four-storey apartments that I feel nostalgic about, so I want to put one into the background. I
use the base colour to define the 3D structure (A). Because the building is a slight distance away from the viewer, the tonal value can be less of a
contrast (B). Then I add cast shadows and more details on the windows and balcony to capture that feeling of nostalgia I’m after (C).
71
Workshops
12 Painting distant buildings in the composition

When come to painting background buildings, I’ll blend them with the colour of the sky and using less contrast tonal values without
compromising the clarity of their design. Here I keep their designs simple compared to the apartment and café so that the viewer’s attention
remains on the focal areas. Applying a little Gaussian blur (Filter>Blur>Gaussian blur) on the background buildings will create depth of field.
14 Adding characters and final touches

Once the background is finished, I carry out some
general colour and tone adjustments. To make the
13 Generate mist between buildings and objects

The overall colouring process is almost finished. I group my layers based on
scenery looks more lively, I get a little help from Running
Snail Studio’s character artist Jia Yee, who draws some
their depth distance, which helps me to quickly adjust their tone by using characters into my artwork. I’m quite happy with the
Image>Adjustment>Levels. To enhance the depth between buildings and objects, final outcome and Jia Yee’s manga-style characters make
I create a Screen layer between the group and use a soft brush to paint a mist effect. this artwork looks like a screenshot from a Japanese
This is a common painting technique used to create anime-style backgrounds. animation. I hope you’ve enjoyed this workshop!
72
Next month
Illustration skills
Take inspiration from world-leading professionals
to help sharpen up your artistic tool kit
Bryn Jones
reveals his
Blender art
techniques
All this… and more!

40-minute Fluffy little Len Nicholas’s Interview:
sketch studies clouds… sketchbook Maruti Bitamin
Learn how to Justin Donaldson’s Prepare for a Dive into the
quickly build a masterclass on riot of inked-up sublime artworks
scene with artist painting different bots, mechs and of this Toronto-
Gillian Galang. types of clouds. character doodles. based illustrator.
ISSUE 203 ON SALE IN PRINT & DIGITAL 9 JULY 2021

73
Workshops
Paint Tool SAI

GET BETTER AT
PAINT TOOL SAI
Artist Angela Wang (aka awanqi) shows how to compose figures from
mythology using symbology coupled with a sense of refinement
Illustration is driven many of the gods from antiquity, together a new story from these
Artist
by storytelling, and certain symbols are associated with older structures.
PROFILE stories are built up each one. They’re specific enough to In my effort to create a memorable
Angela Wang with certain artistic enable the viewer to identify them piece of art that’s also recognisable to
LOCATION: US “building blocks” using a single icon. those familiar with the mythological
Also known online as such as motifs, symbolism, gestures, I’ll be explaining the processes figures, simplicity is the key to
awanqi, Angela is a poses and so on. In this workshop I use to create an illustration, as well understanding what’s taking place in
freelance illustrator who
has a penchant for
I want to express the characteristics as giving tips and techniques that I the piece. Therefore, I’ve chosen to
history and fantasy, and of the Greek gods Hypnos and find useful to my artistic practice. illustrate universal symbols for what
has worked for clients in Thanatos, using colour to set the Since many of the symbols have each god represents. This makes my
publishing and comics.
www.awanqi.com
tone, lighting to direct the focus of already been established throughout job as an artist easier, and also
the story and more, all while history, as an artist I’m able to use enables the viewer to quickly grasp
retaining their personalities. As with my preferences and abilities to piece the theme of my artwork.
RESOURCES
PAINT TOOL SAI

CUSTOM BRUSHES:
PEN
I use the Pen tool just for

sketching. I set it to a
slightly lowered Opacity
to it so it appears softer.
AIRBRUSH
I use the Airbrush tool for

painting soft edges, and
usually for creating
subtle layer effects.
BRUSH
One of my main two

painting tools, I use
GET YOUR
Brush for harder edges
and details, such as hair.
WATERCOLOR RESOURCES
See page 8 now!
Testing out my ideas

Watercolor is the softer
of my two key tools. I use
1 When coming up with a sketch, I’m less concerned with the aesthetics of neat lines. I usually start with straighter
it for blending colours and more rigid lines that are borne out of quick movements, because I’ve found that this helps me to decide if I’m on
and general painting.
the right track. I don’t want to waste time guessing what I’ve just drawn.
74
In depth Paint Tool SAI
75
Workshops
Final sketch, ready for painting

3 I like to be neat with the sketch in the end; it makes
the painting process less confusing. Once I’m happy
with the results, it’s time for me to fill in the base layers.
Refining parts of the sketch Before that happens, though, my next step is to change
2 I’m starting to settle on the decisions I’ve made, which enables me to refine the sketch layer to Multiply and reduce the Opacity
the more ambiguous parts of the sketch. What really gets the ball rolling is when until I can still see my sketch, but it’s not overpowering
I start detailing faces – this usually tells me that things are working out so far. the composition.
Filling in the base of the illustration

4 Before starting the painting stage, I fill in each section with a neutral colour (often shades of grey, nothing too saturated) and lock the
Opacity. This enables me to paint freely, albeit roughly, without worrying about losing the shapes.
76
Establishing light and colour

5 I’m not detailing anytime soon, which means I can go wild with colours. I usually try out different variations of value and colour until
I find something I like. I want the piece to have a dreamy feel, so I have blues and purples in mind as I lay down my colours.
Going in headfirst
7 I enjoy painting faces, so I always start here. This
also helps me to build up momentum during the creative
Starting the painting process process. Whenever I start to lose steam, I can look at the
6 As I begin painting more of the details, I further reduce the sketch layer’s face that I’ve just visualised to remind myself that yes,
Opacity so it’s barely visible. This means I can focus on the values rather than the I can actually paint. I paint with the Brush tool for harder
lines in order to establish forms. The sketch becomes more of a distraction rather edges and details, as well as the Watercolor tool for
than an aid as the rendering goes on, so it’s always freeing to finally turn it off. softening the edges where necessary.
77
Workshops
Working section by section

8Once one section (for example, the head) is finished, I can move on to the next. Doing so basically generates a checklist in my head on
what comes next. My usual order is head, followed by the shoulders, torso, legs and so on. I also work from the inside out, such as from the face
to the hair, or from a bare arm to the fabric on top of it.
Rendering clothing and fabric

9 I start loosely with the rendering before tightening it up later. This especially 10 Make use of layer effects
I like to use Overlay layers for glowing objects, such
applies to fabric because I find it difficult to form the shapes, ruffles and folds at as the candle here. When doing so, an even and gradual
first, so I spend a lot of time establishing what comes next. Because I’m working spread is necessary, so I use the Airbrush tool for a super-
from loose to detailed, my brush usage follows in a similar manner: from Brush soft placement of colour. It’s a small detail, but minor
(hard, simple edges and messy) to Watercolor (soft and blendable). effects can sometimes add so much!
78
Extreme zoom-outs
11 Remember in art class when your teacher told you
to step back from your artwork to see how it looks from a
distance? It’s the same concept here. I zoom out so the 12 Painting the wings
I find that light and shadow help to shape objects that are flat, such as
image is tiny and I can gauge the overall feel. I don’t care feathers. Using the sharper Brush tool for detailed edges and the Watercolor brush
much for the original greener background colour, so I test for blending and softening shadows or edges, I shape the wings with shadows first,
out new colours with an Overlay layer over the followed by light and then details. I enjoy creating subtle colour variations, so
background layer. It helps to see the results from afar. I make sure to include those at the edges where different colours or values meet.
13 Finishing details
As I paint the butterflies, I make sure that they
either stand out against or fade out from the background. 14 Refining the background
Now I move on to the background. Because the two gods are flying, or at
The general lighting should affect them in the same way, least floating in the air, I decide that an environment of clouds and stars is
too, so the further they are from the light source, the appropriate. I set the Watercolor tool at a large size and make soft marks, gradually
darker and less colourful they become. building up the clouds to convey a sleepy, relaxing atmosphere.
79
GET YOUR
BINDER TODAY!
FEATURING
ARTWORK BY
LOISH
This sturdy binder, featuring cover art from our 150th issue, will store and
protect 13 issues of ImagineFX. Prices start at £10.99, which includes delivery!
ON SALE NOW! http://ifxm.ag/binder
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 Innovator 16
The performance of XP-PEN’s mid-range
display tablet matches its high-end looks
and solid build quality.
BOOKS
84 The Art of Star Wars:
The Mandalorian
While the hit show might be about an
intergalactic loner, this art-of book reveals
how The Mandalorian was a team effort.
85 Manga Watercolor 85 Anatomy for Artists

Want to master watercolours? Keen to Successful character art depends on the
apply that knowledge to creating manga? anatomy being present and correct. This
Then this book might be for you. book has a fresh take on the topic.
RATINGS EXPLAINED Magnificent Great Good Poor Atrocious
81
Reviews
With its 15.6-inch HD

screen the Innovator 16
is large enough to act
as a second monitor.
Innovator 16
SLIMLINE STYLE The performance of XP-PEN’s display
tablet matches its high-end looks and solid build quality
Price £450 Company XP-PEN Web www.xp-pen.com
Artwork by Karmen Loh

he XP-PEN Innovator 16 is a enough in terms of colour accuracy.
T great example of a mid-

range pen display that, at
£450, sits between the
Our only qualm with the XP-PEN
Innovator 16’s display is that it could
be a touch brighter. However, this may
Wacom’s Cintiq 16 (£530) and be a result of the laminated matt
Huion’s Kamvas Pro 16 (£418). It’s screen – a small price you pay for its
slimmer and more compact than ‘tooth’, which emulates the feel of Eight programmable slick and responsive, too, and once
buttons and a dual
either of these rival tablets, has paper when you draw on it. control dial enable you calibrated it’s about as accurate in
marginally better colour to customise your terms of hand/eye coordination as
reproduction, and is equal if not MINIMAL SCREEN GAP creative process when
using the display tablet. you’d hope – there’s no discernible lag.
slightly brighter, too. If you’re Overall, drawing with the XP-PEN Note that the Innovator 16’s screen
planning to upgrade from a smaller Innovator 16 is a pleasing experience. doesn’t have touch capabilities and
tablet then the XP-PEN Innovator 16 The screen is close to the glass, much only works with the stylus.
is well worth a look. like a high-end phone or iPad Pro, and The eight programmable shortcut
First off, the 15.6-inch display is so reduces a gap that sometimes buttons on the left of the device come
something to be excited about. Yes, makes the whole experience of using When not in use, the in handy, but the dual virtual (the
there are bigger displays out there, (a not much older) pen display battery-free stylus is black centre) and moveable (the silver
stored in a robust
priced accordingly, but this is what somewhat ‘clunky’ in nature. It’s very protective holder. surround) dial is the standout
we’d call a (more than) happy configurable control. It’s perfect for
medium, and certainly not a zooming, scrolling or changing your
compromise. Full HD is about right for brush sizes.
All photos © XP-PEN
this too. There were no signs of XP-PEN’s range of styluses are

pixellation, and for the majority of pretty standard. They’re a little on
artists the 92 per cent Adobe RGB the lightweight side, especially if
colour gamut should be more than you’re accustomed to Wacom’s
82
Art tools Hardware
into a rucksack and hit the road. On

the ‘pack up and go’ scale, it’s not up
there with an iPad, for example.
We did have to buy an extra HDMI-
to-Thunderbolt cable in order to link it
up to a late-2013 iMac. Along with the
HDMI there’s a USB-A so even if you
have a newer Mac you’ll still need an
adaptor for both connections to go
into a USB-C. However, if you’re a PC
user, you’re probably good to go.
The Innovator 16 also has another
USB-A that connects to an AC power
adaptor. All in all, it’s not a huge
amount of wires. Yet it is puzzling why
XP-PEN doesn’t supply a standard
USB-C-to-USB-C cable, which it does
for its 24 Artists Pro (see our XP-PEN
Artist 24 Pro review in issue 201), and
have it as standard across the board. If
you wanted to take it outside to work
with your laptop, then of course you
don’t need the AC adaptor. However,
the trade-off is a further reduction in
Depending on the age screen brightness.
of your computer you
BEST IN CLASS
may need to purchase
extra cables to connect
everything up.
If your pen display budget is under
£500, you’re not going to find another
device as good in terms of size and
technology as the Innovator 16. Its
main competitor, Wacom’s Cintiq 16,
isn’t much more expensive at £530,
but XP-PEN’s display is lighter, boasts
The Innovator 16 better colour accuracy and has a
measures just 9mm
thick, which helps to superior body build. It’s also a worthy
emphasise its luxury alternative to an iPad Pro, but of
look and feel.
course Apple’s device costs at least
If your budget is under £500, you’re twice the price, doesn’t come near to
the Innovator 16’s screen size and
not going to find another device as good there’s no battery-free stylus included.
If you’re looking to upgrade your
in terms of size and technology drawing tablet to a display model,
then both the price and quality of the
styluses, but feel comfortable in the chic holder that holds plenty of spare Features XP-PEN Innovator 16 should convince
Q15.6-inch screen size
hand. Furthermore, they’re battery- nibs and bears more than a passing Q1,920x1,080 you of its suitability. It’s compact in
resolution (full HD)
free, which is becoming an industry- resemblance to a lightsaber. QColour gamut: 92
design, portable (after a fashion), and
standard feature. Perhaps a weighty per cent Adobe RGB, serves very well as a second monitor,
stylus would help convince you that LUXURY APPEARANCE 88 per cent NTSC, 125
per cent sRGB too. The included stand may be too
you’re using something of quality, but This is a good-looking pen display. It’s Q250cd/m2 low for some people, though.
brightness
if you’re new to drawing digitally then extremely slim at just 9mm thick and Q1,200:1 contrast This pen display offers remarkable
QBattery-free stylus
just remember that ink pens or pencils looks as stylish as anything else in its quality for a more-than-reasonable
Q8,192 pressure levels
aren’t heavy! price range, if not more so. There’s Q178 degrees viewing price. While those artists new to digital
angle
Nevertheless, it’s a good-quality also a nice weight to it, and couple this QDimensions:
art may want to hold off before
pen/stylus, with two sensitive with its metal and glass exterior, it 43x256x9mm spending a sizable amount on a
QWeight: 1.4kg
programmable buttons. These are looks and feels like a luxury device. QHDMI and USB ports display tablet, we’ve no hesitation in
useful for, say, switching to an eraser XP-PEN has done a great job with recommending it for more
System
or activating an undo/redo combo. It the Innovator 16’s build quality, Requirements experienced hobbyist artists. It’s more
also boasts a 60-degree angle of tilt, especially considering the price. PC: Windows 7, 8 or 10 than suitable for professionals, too.
Mac: OS X 10.10 or
which enables you to make a wide However, although it’s touted as higher XP-PEN’s main draw is it gives those
variety of marks. XP-PEN has made a portable, the tablet’s 15.6-inch screen Rating
artists on smaller budgets access to
real effort in build quality and (one of the best things about it) means good-quality creative tools. The
packaging here. The pen comes in a that it’s a little too large to just slide
+++++ Innovator 16 is no exception.
83
Reviews
Baby Yoda demonstrates

his powers in this
dramatic keyframe by
concept supervisor
Christian Alzmann.
All imagery from The Mandalorian © & ™ 2020 Lucasfilm Ltd

The Art of Star Wars:
The Mandalorian
ART BOUNTY While the hit show might be about an intergalactic
loner, this art-of book reveals how The Mandalorian was a team effort
Author Phil Szostak Publisher Abrams Books Price £30 Web www.abramsandchronicle.co.uk Available Now
y now most people with and accessory designs. There’s also
B even a passing interest in

events from a galaxy far,
far away will be familiar
the occasional set design. The latter
relates to The Mandalorian’s ground-
breaking use of The Volume: a huge
with The Mandalorian. This art-of LED wall that can display CGI
book reveals the ideas and visuals backgrounds, enabling actors to be
that enabled the series to make such filmed against it in real time. The book
a big impact on the small screen. touches on The Volume, but
Veteran Lucasfilm collaborator Phil understandably holds back on giving
Szostak structures his book around too much technical information – it’s all
the eight episodes that make up the about the art, after all.
show’s first season. But he also takes And when that art is being created
Concept artist Brian Matyas captures an early
care to provide some background to by the likes of Doug Chiang, Ryan version of the Mandalorian in an action pose.
the series and its development at ILM,
so as not to drop the reader straight
into the familiar setting filled with
Executive producer Dave six or so pages that detail his
development. Here, Christian Alzmann
unfamiliar characters.
The art is a mix of keyframes,
Filoni’s scratchy sketches often cites JC Leyendecker’s illustrations of
children with big cheeks, as well as
character orthographics, and vehicle stand out on the page… characters from Warner Bros.
cartoons, as part of his inspiration for
Church, Jama Jurabaev and Colie the alien child. Indeed, most of the art
Wertz, the quality bar is set high. Yet on show is captioned with insights
it’s executive producer Dave Filoni’s from ILM’s creatives. This ensures The
scratchy sketches that often stand out Art of Star Wars: The Mandalorian is
on the page – not necessarily because not just a collection of gorgeous
of their technical merit, but of the visuals, but also an invaluable source
ideas they so efficiently convey. It’s of advice for budding concept artists
concept art in its purest form. hungry to learn from some of the best
Given his impact in popular culture, in the business.
it’s a little surprising that Baby Yoda
The Mandalorian meets Greef Karga, before Carl Weathers was cast in the role. isn’t given more coverage, beyond the RATING +++++
84
Inspiration Books
Manga Watercolor
MIXED PALETTE Want to master watercolours? Keen to apply that
knowledge to creating manga? Then this book might be for you
Author Lisa Santrau Publisher David & Charles Price £15 Web www.davidandcharles.com Available Now
s manga and comic book wrong with taking beginners through
A artist Lisa Santrau says in

her foreword, watercolour
is all about capturing a
core tools and techniques. However,
those illustrators who already have a
handle on the medium will see this as a
feeling. Combining this medium with useful recap at best; at worst, a missed
manga and its many tropes is a opportunity to fill those pages with
tantalising prospect. manga-specific advice.
It’s therefore disappointing to Things get back on track with Lisa’s
discover that the first 70 or so pages 12 tutorials. With titles such as ‘Chibi
– half of the book – cover the basics of sorcerer’s apprentice in a flying
watercolours, much of which isn’t teacup’, these exercises will appeal to
related to manga. There’s nothing younger fans of the genre. Lisa
explains her painting process in each
project, although some drawing
knowledge is assumed.
If you’re a manga enthusiast who’s
new to watercolours, this book is
worth considering. More experienced
traditional artists keen to tackle manga
For this tutorial Lisa
Santrau explains her should look elsewhere.
painting approach that
ensures the eyes are an Lisa uses watercolour’s wet-on-wet technique to
effective focal point. RATING +++++ paint this figure posed against an evening sunset.
Anatomy for Artists

SHAPE SHIFTER Successful character art depends on the anatomy being
present and correct. This reference book has a fresh take on the topic
Author Jahirul Amin Publisher 3dtotal Publishing Price £35 Web www.3dtotal.com Available Now
uman anatomy can be accurately portray the underlying

Jahirul Amin’s book
H daunting for artists,

whatever their ability.
Where do you start? Not
musculature, tendons and bones, or
simplified 3D shapes.
It’s the application of those 3D
describes how the
body’s muscles work,
enabling artists to
draw characters with
greater realism.
with the hands, some might say. shapes that help make the book stand
Anatomy for Artists goes some way out from the crowd. This approach
towards making the subject easier to enables the reader to quickly grasp the
understand. It achieves this by overall forms of the body, before
combining high-quality photographs referring to the source reference
and clear line-art with overlaid photos and traditional anatomy
graphics. The latter are either in the overlays, which are printed alongside.
form of coloured 2D shapes that No-nonsense face and body studies
across 126 pages make up the majority
of the book. There are also 40 pages
of more dynamic poses.
The exceptional visuals, coupled
with clear explanations of the
underlying human physiology, make
this a worthy investment for artists
Simplified 3D graphics
overlaid on the keen to develop their anatomy skills.
reference photography
help artists understand
the shapes of the body. RATING +++++
85
The number one destination
for digital art news,
views and how-tos
EcrApc_rgtc
@jmobgpcarrm
wmspgl`mvugrf
mspuccijwbgegr_j
_prlcuqjcrrcp
Graphic design Art Web design 3D Digital art
www.creativebloq.com
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,
88 which has been sent in by you!
92 Workshop: Illustrate
Aggretsuko in watercolour
Anna Sokolova paints a character
from the Netflix anime series
using watercolour effects.
98 First Impressions:
Nashimanga
The German manga artist on
tapping into the power of the sea.
87
Traditional Artist FXPosé
SHOWCASING THE FINEST TRADITIONAL ARTISTS
Zack Rock
LOCATION: Germany MEDIA: Watercolour WEB: www.zackrock.com
Zack is the writer and illustrator of two children’s

picture books. His surreal watercolours often feature
animal characters in detailed environments.
1 THE WILD RIDE

“I always keep a
sketchbook on me.
3
Sometimes the drawings
lead to larger stories,
sometimes they’re just
squirrels on Vespas.”
2 A GOOD STORY
“Picture books are all
about giving space to the
readers to inject their own
imaginations into the story.”
3 CURIO MUSEUM
“Part of the fun of my
first book was designing
over 100 artefacts for Homer
Henry Hudson’s museum.”

Inspirational art
4 THE BARKING
BUSKERS
“Nostalgia for bygone eras is
an essential element of my
work. My illustration style
even harkens back to
Arthur Rackham and
Gustaf Tenggren.”
5 THE TRASH ARTIST

“Art has a capacity to
elevate even the most
mundane aspects of life.
Even literal garbage can
be transformed into
something miraculous.”

Traditional Artist FXPosé
Abraham Matias
LOCATION: US MEDIA: paper WEB: www.abrahammatias.com
Abraham creates 3D scenes by designing and building sets and

puppets from paper. Miniature sets are lit and creatively shot to
create atmospheric, graphic and hand-drawn scenes.
1 2
1 LASCAUX
“This piece was inspired
by two French boys who
3
discovered thousands of
cave paintings while looking
for their dog in 1940.”
2 LOS MÚSICOS
“As its name suggests,
this piece depicts musical
rooftop cats playing their
tunes downtown at night.”
3 PROMETHEUS
“Disobeying Zeus,
Prometheus climbed Mount
Olympus to steal fire and
gave it to humans.”
4 THE MINOTAUR
“In the labyrinth deep
below Crete, Theseus
confronts the terrible,
merciless Minotaur.”

Inspirational art

Traditional Artist Workshop
92
In depth Illustrate Aggretsuko
GET YOUR
RESOURCES
See page 8 now!
Watercolour Gouache
ILLUSTRATE
AGGRETSUKO IN
WATERCOLOURS
Discover how ANNA SOKOLOVA paints a kawaii character from the
Netflix anime series Aggretsuko using a range of watercolour effects
T
he first time I met museum in St Petersburg. Naturally, that originated in Edo-period Japan)
Retsuko, a 25-year-old I turned to my biggest inspiration – and adding intricate patterns and
anthropomorphic red a tiny home library that I’ve built up bold strokes for contrast.
panda, was when I worked over the years. When working on the background,
on my dream project for For this project, I browsed through I’ll consider it not just a space to be
Netflix. I created a series of murals an arrangement of Japanese filled, but as an essential element of
featuring original films and series in woodblocks and an anthology of the composition. I experiment with
the hand-painted Delft Blue style. patterns from the English artist textures by adding salt or citric acid
Aggretsuko, aka Aggressive Aubrey Beardsley. I inspected the (especially with pigments such as
Retsuko, is an animation based treatment of drawing fire and ultramarine). Working with a wax
on the character created by Yeti magical effects by Danish illustrator pencil to preserve the paper’s white
for the mascot company Sanrio. Kay Nielsen. I even read a few La enables it to hold a few wash layers.
Frustrated with her job, Retsy lets out Fontaine tales searching for cues Granulation can add a grainy effect
her emotions by going to a karaoke about how various animals are either naturally or by using a special
club and singing death metal. perceived in fables. granulation spray. I’ll also use the
No matter the subject or brief, I In this workshop, I’ll be using Old Masters technique that involves
always try to experiment as much various watercolour effects to add a transparent paper and masking.
as possible. Japanese art has a unique look while keeping the Anna is an artist and
particular appeal to European musical comedy vibe of the original. illustrator who’s inspired by
artists, and I was amazed by I’ll be leaving the simplicity of design merging the traditional and
coloured woodblocks the first and compositional aspects inspired innovative approach in arts.
time I saw originals in the by the term ukiyo (“floating world”) See her art at www.annasokolova.eu.
93
2 Preparing the materials

Choosing the right materials makes a huge
difference. Over the years, I’ve discovered my favourites,
MATERIALS
PAPER
1 Inspiration and ideas
This preparatory step is one of the most crucial
which also helps to save some time and effort when
going to the art supply store – naturally, you want to buy
Q Expression for creating unique artwork with an individual vision. I everything that’s on the shelves! I love working with a
Hahnemühle 100 per gather various sources including traditional pottery real pencil; however, for larger pieces I use a mechanical
cent cotton paper motifs with imagery by Aubrey Beardsley and the magic pencil with an automatic “shaking mechanism,” which
(matt), cold pressed, treatment of subjects in fairy tales. advances the lead.
300 gsm
Q Doreé transparent
A3 drawing paper,
60 gsm
BRUSHES
Q Mop (“French”)
brushes nos. 1 and 2
Q Rounded synthetic
watercolour brushes
nos. 2, 3 and 6
WATERCOLOUR
PAINT
Q St Petersburg
White Nights
Q Schmincke Horadam
GOUACHE PAINT
Q Linel Extra Fine
PENCILS
Q Tombow MONO
Graph HB
Q Tombow MONO
Graph, mechanical
Q Stockmar wax pencil
no. 16, white
ERASERS
Q Faber Castell
kneaded eraser
MARKERS
Q Molotow One4All
acrylic
MISCELLANEOUS
Q Olfa cutting knife
4
Q Schmincke Aqua
Apply granulation spray and citric acid
granulation spray
I experiment with various effects and decide what
Q Dr. Oetker citric acid
3 Sketching and exploring
I try various compositions and create some simple
to use for the background. Granulation spray applied to
wet paint creates an interesting texture. Adding citric
tonal drawings. Working at a small scale enables me to acid disperses the pigment and reveals the white of the
see if the image works and has a dramatic impact, paper (salt has a similar effect when creating the intricate
quickly drawing the viewer in to take a closer look. shape of ornaments).
94
5 Wax, masking and spatter effects

A wax pencil is ideal for preserving the paper’s
white. It also holds a few layers of washes. Another way
to protect part of the painting is to use a sheet of
transparent paper that’s cut into the required shape.
I splatter the slightly watered-down paint by knocking
6 Refining the sketch idea
I create a detailed sketch on a large sheet of watercolour paper and secure
the brush against my fingers to achieve a spontaneous it to the polymer panel using light paper tape. Knowing that the composition is
visual effect. I love how it looks, so this is what I’ll use for taken care of means that I can concentrate on the painting process. I lighten the
creating a starry sky effect. sketch using the kneaded eraser, to ensure my lines are subtle.
7 Painting the sketch outlines

I use the synthetic Rounded brush to apply paint
and begin with the first ornamental parts of the artwork,
just to get comfortable. After my confidence grows, I
8 Adding a wax pencil reserve
I make some chaotic marks with a wax pencil in the background’s magical
reinforce the focal areas of the painting by paying special areas. I add stars and lightning flashes, keeping in mind the variety of the pattern.
attention to the lines and shapes on the face. The wax is barely visible, but it shines if you hold the canvas at certain angles.
95
10 Applying subtle layers

I wait until the background is dry before covering
9 Laying down the sky wash

I use a French brush to cover the whole sky area with the main colour. Then,
the whole area with a subtle wash of highly diluted paint.
I repeat this process two more times, focusing on certain
while the paint is still wet, I add some bigger dots of almost neat paint here and areas which makes them darker. The variety of a few
there. This creates an irregular field of stars. washes helps to add depth and interest.
11 Making a transparent paper mask

I place a large sheet of transparent paper over the painting and plan the area that I want to cut out afterward. It’s almost like working in
Photoshop, but far more satisfying. I take an HB pencil and outline the area of the sky with subtle lines.
96
12 Cutting out the shape

I take a cutting knife and cut out the shape of the
sky, leaving the rest of the artwork protected from the
spatter technique, which I’m planning to use in the next
13 Create a splatter effect with gouache
I carefully put the transparent paper back into place. The magic is
step. There’s no need to be extra precise for this happening with white gouache over a much darker background. I knock the
particular background. synthetic brush loaded with paint over my fingers to create a starry sky effect.
14 Adding the final touches with white

I love adding hard lights and always try to test
which materials work best on the current surface. I’m
using an acrylic marker and white gouache to add the
15 Wrapping things up
I check everything once again, ensuring all the nuances, shadows,
brightest whites over the paint. It’s tempting to add white highlights and patterns are fulfilling my initial vision. I then wait until the paint is
sparkles all over the place, but it can make an image look dry and then scan the artwork at 600dpi for future production. The painting will
flat. It’s important to remember that every brush stroke is be transferred to the special tiles by experts, so I enhance brightness and contrast
intentional and is contributing to the main idea. in Photoshop slightly and then send the hi-resolution file to the atelier.
97
Traditional Artist Interview
First Impressions
Nashimanga character’s body and strength. The
The German manga two pictures are indeed very
different from each other.
artist on tapping into
the power of the sea What character or scene that you’ve
painted do you most identify with?
I love my watercolour illustration
Where did you grow Leinie and the Oranges. It always
up and how has this gives me a warm, summery feeling.
influenced your art? The picture embodies my favourite
I grew up in the season and I really want to visit an
picturesque region of orange grove one day.
Mecklenburg in northern Germany.
Every year many tourists come to Is your art evolving? What’s your
visit our coastal towns and castles. most recent experiment?
This scenery influenced my art and I’m working with stronger lights and
my drawing style. The city of shadows like the Old Masters. I
Schwerin and its fairytale castle want to paint an emotion in the
inspired me to write my manga form of colour and light so I’ve
Sometimes She’s the Light, which started exploring that approach.
also takes place in Schwerin. And I’ve integrated more tools in my
traditional workflow, such as using
What, outside of art, has an airbrush and oils in certain areas
influenced your artwork? to create effects and more depth.
Activities like travelling and hiking
have inspired my work. But on top How has the industry changed for
of that the biggest influence is the good since you’ve been a part of it?
sea, which is just around the corner. Since becoming a freelance artist,
When I walk on the beach and I’ve noticed that there are more
listen to the waves, it fills me with LEINIE AND THE ORANGES wanted me to create a strong, opportunities to work with
energy and ideas. “Here’s my original character muscular fighter. I drew him companies in the industry. It’s easier
Leinie from my latest adventure
manga story.” roughly and it looked a bit clumsy, to get commissions in my preferred
What was your first paid but I remember that it was a lot of field of art (manga). There are also
commission, and does it stand as a fun. I realised that I could new ways to reach far more people
representation of your talent? empathise with new ideas and through the internet and my social
I did my first paid commission for topics, which helps me nowadays media platforms. Conventions have
someone from my school, who when working with companies. also improved. There are now
special areas for artists to showcase
ANGEL What’s the last piece you finished, and sell products.
“I wanted to draw this artwork,
even if it turned out kitschy. It and how do the two works differ?
was a great experience to work
in all the light with an airbrush.”
My latest artwork is a portrait of an What does the future hold for you?
angel in a cathedral with rays of I plan to finish volume three of my
light shining down on to her, with manga series Sometimes She’s The
the character surrounded by roses. Light. My other project, Leinie, will
The angel picture is spiritual in its be an online manga and I’m working
presentation. The muscular fighter on the first volume. Alongside my
was drawn in a straightforward projects I still have a lot to learn a lot
and rough way, which represented and will be focusing on the art
the physical manifestation of the basics over the coming year.
Nashimanga is a traditional manga
When I walk on the beach illustrator, and official Bob Ross and Gary
Jenkins Art instructor. She’s published six
and listen to the waves, it fills books, and has created art and mascots for
international companies. See more of her
me with energy and ideas work at https://beacons.ai/nashimanga.
98
9000 9001

ImagineFX 08.2021

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

ImagineFX 08.2021

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

ImagineFX 08.2021

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

BECOME A

How to draw and paint

ERE ARTISTS MEET

Welcome to… EDITOR’S CHOICE Three of my top

Staying connected online is

Sign up for our newsletter!

SUBSCRIBE AND GET YOUR

Artwork by Simon Lovell

USE TRADITIONAL MEDIA IN YOUR ART WITH REBELLE 4

CHOOSE YOUR PACKAGE

PRINT PRINT & DIGITAL

SAVE UP TO 29% SAVE UP TO 59%

INCLUDES Text-free covers • Never miss an issue

SAVE UP TO 65%* ON A 12-MONTH SUBSCRIPTION

News and events

46 Sketchbook: Gretel Lusky

58 Colour a manga portrait

66 Create anime-style scenes

First Impressions: Nashimanga

98 First Impressions: Nashimanga

WORKSHOP VIDEOS 5 HOURS

of video tuto International Licensing

We are committed to only using magazine paper which is derived from

PLUS 11 CUSTOM BRUSHES, INCLUDING…

TEXTURED BRUSH LEAF BRUSH PEN

THE PLACE TO SHARE YOUR DIGITAL ART

Mandy is fascinated by how colour and texture can

10 Want to submit your work? Visit http://ifxm.ag/getinifx

Want to submit your work? Visit http://ifxm.ag/getinifx 11

Heraldo is an illustrator, graphic designer and musician. From a young

12 Want to submit your work? Visit http://ifxm.ag/getinifx

Previously an artist for a major Formula One team, Tom decided

3 H’KHAAAR THE WISE’

Want to submit your work? Visit http://ifxm.ag/getinifx 13

As a lead artist at Cooperativa Creativa, Dan has been driven to

14 Want to submit your work? Visit http://ifxm.ag/getinifx

Want to submit your work? Visit http://ifxm.ag/getinifx 15

16 Want to submit your work? Visit http://ifxm.ag/getinifx

Want to submit your work? Visit http://ifxm.ag/getinifx 17

AT THE CORE OF THE DIGITAL ART COMMUNITY

“Through Twitch I’ve met artists

designer and illustrator

I became an avid Discord audience for your art? Take a look at

“My TikTok channel is for

“Twitch is quite hard to navigate

“I try to keep my Twitch

Nicolas’s Twitch channel (available

My first ‘viral’ video was just a sketch (@mirandathehybrid on

“I don’t have time for lengthy

Nicolas reveals that, “The

“Posting images, gifs, and

Who should watch your

Has anything surprised you

“Think of streaming as like a

Sign up for the

As a thank you, receive a free 148-page Animation

Mushk was born in Fan art of Terra Branford from

A day in the life of…

“I wake up at 9am and find a workout At 9:45am I sit down at my