ImagineFX - 14 April 2023

Editor’s letter
Welcome to… EDITOR’S CHOICE Three of my top

picks this month…
32
Hello and welcome to issue

224 of ImagineFX. This month
we cover a lot of ground,
starting with our fantastic cover
art and its accompanying
workshop, where Acky Bright Artist in Residence
Illustrator Adrian Smith gives us a tour of his studio,
shares his process for creating and introduces his trusty companion Goblin.
stunning black and white art.
Sometimes optimising your 50
creativity can be hard, so head to our news feature
where we talk to four artists to get fantastic insight
into how they boost their design skills, which you
can apply to your own projects.
We also have a wealth of training to help you
improve your art, starting with a collection of tips
that will raise your characters to the next level.
Then we’ve got a great piece on combining your
traditional and digital skills into one workflow, Thomas Elliott’s sketchbook
helping you reap the rewards of both. Delve into the pages of Games Workshop artist Thomas
For some inspiration we have the awesome Elliott’s sketchbook for a wealth of wild creatures.
Adrian Smith giving you a guided tour of his attic
studio, as well as a wonderful interview with
60
concept art veteran Colie Wertz, where he shares
his thoughts on everything from Star Wars to Dune.
Enjoy the issue!
Editor Secrets of black and white art

Rob.Redman@futurenet.com Learn to master your monochrome artwork with our
inspirational tutorial from Acky Bright.
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Your art 10 24
10 FXPosé
A round-up of digital art, submitted by you.
News and events

24 Boost your design skills
Top tips from four artists on improving
the design principles in your artwork.
30 A day in the life of...

Josh Herman
The Dungeons and Dragons studio art
director guides us through his busy day.
32 Artist in Residence:
FXPosé Boost your design skills
Adrian Smith
We sneak past the Goblin on guard to
take a tour of the nocturnal artist’s studio. 40
Features
40 The Art of Colie Wertz
The veteran concept artist talks about his
career working on Star Wars and more.
50 Sketchbook: Thomas Elliott

Creature combinations of flesh and steel.
56 Sketchbook: Iain Thody

A love for all things sci-fi shines through.
Regulars
6 Next month The Art of Colie Wertz
8 Subscriptions
22 The Rookies
39 Letters 50 56
48 Recent editions
32
Artist in Residence:
Adrian Smith Sketchbook: Thomas Elliott Sketchbook: Iain Thody
4
Issue 224
64 66
Workshops
60 Secrets of black and white art
Monochrome specialist Acky Bright
shares the approach to his fabled style.
64 Simplicity in shapes
Learn the base foundations that underpin
Richard Anderson’s creative process.
66 Sharpen your drawing skills

with Gesture VR
Simplicity in shapes Introduction to Gesture VR
Strap on your headset and get going with
the basics of the at-home life drawing app.
60
72 Add impact to your fan art
Evan Liu details the small touches that
bring extra life to his video game tribute.
74 17 tips to develop characters

Writer Isabel Armitage explains the tricks
she uses to bring her characters to life.
80 Embrace your inspirations

Combine references like Adrien Cantone’s
epic mech vs monster battle render.
Traditional Artist
84 Traditional FXPosé
Discover this month’s selection of the
finest traditional art, sent in by you!
88 Workshop: Draw an ethereal

fantasy character
Cameron Scott Davis creates a character
from his personal IP SleepWalker.
Secrets of black and white art 94 Tending to a floral vision

Find out how Jason Mowry’s mysterious
art blossomed from its botanical roots.
74 96
96 First Impressions:
Jacob Walker
The fantasy artist on how a convention
visit kick-started his illustration career.
Character development tips GET YOUR

80
RESOURCES
1 Go to the website
Type this into your browser’s address bar.
https://ifxm.ag/ackybright
First Impressions:
2 Open the Dropbox link
Find your files ready for download.
Embrace your inspirations Jacob Walker

3 Download what you need…
Save the files or watch the videos.
5
Next month
Editorial
Editor Rob Redman rob.redman@futurenet.com
Art Editor Daniel Vincent
CHARACTER
Production Editor Henry Burridge
Contributors
Tanya Combrinck, Josh Herman, Adrian Smith, Dominic Carter,
Thomas Elliott, Iain Thody, Acky Bright, Richard Anderson,
Nick Ladd, Evan Liu, Isabel Armitage, Toby Hawksley, Adrien
Cantone, Cameron Scott Davis, Jason Mowry, Jacob Walker
DESIGN SKILLS
Advertising
Media packs are available on request
Chief Revenue Officer Zack Sullivan
UK Commercial Sales Director Clare Dove
Advertising Sales Manager Mike Pyatt
michael.pyatt@futurenet.com, 01225 687538
Account Sales Director George Lucas
Learn to draw striking humanoid beasts george.lucas@futurenet.com, 01225 687331

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with artist and tattooist ZIUK

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We speak to the Get in-depth Canadian artist

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sci-fi concept art vehicle designs her career to date
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9
THE PLACE TO SHARE YOUR DIGITAL ART
10
Brahim Bensehoul
LOCATION: Germany MEDIA: Clip Studio Paint, Photoshop WEB: https://ibralui.art/
Character and creature designer Brahim grew up

inspired by the few cartoons and games he had
available in his small town, and hopes to make art
that would make his 10-year-old self smile.
2
1 MONSTER OF WAR
“This image depicts my idea of a
mind-controlled giant that people
2 EMOJI CHALLENGE
“This was a personal challenge to
create a piece of artwork inspired by
use to fight in a war.” three random emojis, namely the
snake, an oni and a chair.”
3 DARKENED BEAUTY
“Another image based on three
random emojis, this time it was a
4 CATWALK TECH
“This piece is based on the idea
of a world that has robotic models
sheep, swords and a violin. I wanted that don’t age. They do, though, have
to portray beauty within darkness.” exchangeable parts, sizes and skins.”
11
2
Gabriel Gomez
LOCATION: Belgium MEDIA: Photoshop WEB: http://gabriel-gomez.com (under construction)
Originally from France, Gabriel moved to Belgium to study illustration and

comics. He has now worked within animation for 12 years as a background
and visual development artist for Netflix, Disney and Paramount.
© RodeoFX
3
© 2018 Sergio Pablos Animation Studios S.L. and Atresmedia Cine S.L.U All rights reserved
12 Want to submit your work? Visit http://ifxm.ag/getinifx

4
1 CANARY MINE
“An image for the short movie
Canary made by Rodeo FX, and
2 FACADE
“A personal work. In this one
we can see a lot of my references
3 KLAUS
“This is an image I made
while working on Klaus. It was
4 MOWGLI
“Another personal piece.
One of the elements that I like to
directed by Bénoit Theriault and and inspirations: Wes Anderson from the early days, designing paint and play with is light. This is
Pierre-Hugues Dallaire. The short for the symmetrical composition, the suburbs of the town where a good example of that in an
is currently being presented at and Ken Anderson for the the story happens. The movie is interpretation of an image from
festivals around the world.” stylisation of the architecture.” available on Netflix.” The Jungle Book.”
Want to submit your work? Visit http://ifxm.ag/getinifx 13

Alix Harris
LOCATION: US MEDIA: Procreate, Photoshop WEB: www.cyanaliart.com
Alix is a digital illustrator and character artist whose inspirations

include pop culture, manga and fashion. She loves creating
expressive characters and using bold and bright colours.
1 2
1 HELPFUL HANDS
“I love the idea of a
helping hand. I used a limited
colour palette with a bright
accent colour to add a level
of magic to the illustration.”
2 NOON ENCOUNTER
“An illustration of some
friends stopping to chat
during a busy day. I wanted
to capture a quick break in a
cosy, natural spot.”
3 A WISHFUL STAR
“I wanted to create
something that felt both
magical and whimsical with
my favourite colour palette
and an original character of
mine. She is a space-age
magic girl, who is inspired by
my love for astronomy.”
4 RED GLAMOUR
“This illustration started
out as an experiment in
painting in greyscale. My
inspiration was an old
Hollywood glamour shot
with some soft lighting, yet
defined values.”

4

1
Eunbi Kang
LOCATION: US MEDIA: Photoshop, Blender WEB: www.eunbikang.com
Eunbi Kang is a Korean visual development artist and illustrator who won
the Independent Environment category at the 2022 Concept Art Awards.
She has a fascination for vibrant colour palettes and fantasy themes.
2
1 VESPA
“One of my reasons to redesign the
film Roman Holiday was the Vespa and
beautiful Roman buildings. Their shape
languages are always intriguing, and
they also allow me to think about
dynamic layouts.”
2 ON ROOFTOP
“One of my dreams when I started
out in my art career was to create
scenes that look like paused moments
in animations. I focused on capturing
the mood and colour for this piece.”

3
3 DEPRESSION
“This is one of the
key scenes for my Roman
Holiday redesign. Since
the original film was in
black and white, it was
interesting to imagine the
scene with colours.”

2
Krzysztof Maziarz
LOCATION: Poland MEDIA: Photoshop, Procreate, Unity3D, Blender WEB: https://bit.ly/3GeGOZp
Krzysztof started drawing after meeting professional artists

while studying game development. “I bought a tablet and
started to draw after hours. That was almost 10 years ago.”
1 THE TINKERER GIRL

“Junky hardware is one of my favourite
things to draw. This is part of a small
2 INVESTIGATION
“I just wanted to draw a filthy
apartment with computers. The idea with
postcard collection where junky hardware the detectives came spontaneously after I
meets pin-up girls.” drew the knife stuck in the sofa.”
3 THE ROOM
“This is based on an AI-
generated photo. I used AI
for the first time here to find
out if it could be useful as a
rapid idea generator.”
4 THE CHAPEL
“I really love drawing
small dioramas such as this
one. I found it fun to create
something tightly packed
with a lot of details.”

3 4

Ömer Tunç
LOCATION: Türkiye MEDIA: Photoshop WEB: www.artstation.com/mertun
Ömer has been interested in painting since a young age, and has been
creating digital paintings for 12 years. He often draws on fantasy themes,
such as an ordinary, powerless character fighting a dragon or demon.
2
1 GALADRIEL VS SAURON
“A fan art from the world of The
Lord of the Rings. Even though
2 EXODUS
“Sometimes I start a drawing
randomly and go wherever the line
Galadriel isn’t a warrior, I wanted to takes me. This is an example of one
pit her against Sauron.” of those drawings.”
3 BACK TO HOGWARTS
“The return of three characters I
love to where they belong. But are
4 EVERYONE FALLS ALONE
“What you see is exactly what
you get with this image. We all fall
they here to save Hogwarts or alone in this life, so I thought that I’d
destroy it? Who knows…” capture that feeling.”
Do you want to see your art on these pages? Then email five pieces of your work and a short explanation
about each artwork, along with a photo and a few details about yourself, to fxpose@imaginefx.com

4

The Rookies is a platform
to help digital artists
get discovered without
having to compete
with professionals for
attention. You’ll get to
the front page of those
sites one day, but for now,
we’ve got your back and
want to help turn your
passion for creative media
into a successful career.
WWW.THEROOKIES.CO
Sun Warrior
YEAR CREATED: 2022
MEDIA: Clip Studio Paint
“This character design sheet was a

school project where the goal was
to design a character with three
alternative outfits. Prior to this
project, I had to create a level
design on which the character for
this project would be based. The
goal was to depict a powerful
Aztec sun warrior, carrying the
pride of his people with cultural
symbols, who could also blend in
for discreet missions. He would rely
on his powers granted by the gods
in difficult situations.”
22
The Rookies
Artist
PROFILE
Sonia Martin
LOCATION: France
Sonia is a 3D animation and game
art student at Brassart, who is
passionate about concept art.
She chose this direction for her
studies to broaden her creative
possibilities in order to keep creating better
concepts. Deeply interested in stylised game
art, she tries to develop her style accordingly.
www.therookies.co/u/MartinSonia
23
ARTIST NEWS, SOFTWARE EVENTS
AT THE CORE OF THE DIGITAL ART COMMUNITY
“Giving yourself design challenges, or

finding them online, is a great way to build
your design muscles,” says Nika Lemut.
Boost your
design skills Lauren Brown
suggests modelling
characters on people you
know. “Study people from life,
not just from photos, but their
movement as well.”
The art of storytelling Tanya Combrinck talks to four

artists about practical options for boosting creativity
Whether you’re looking to give downwards, or select the nose and try
stronger personality to your making it wider.”
characters, or perhaps make your Keep tinkering until you feel you’ve
environments more atmospheric, captured a character’s essence. “This
applying design principles to your has been a great method for me, as it
compositions is a tried and tested helps me see when I haven’t pushed
way to make them stronger. Not only features far enough in my original
that, there are many design-related concept,” says Nika. “I recommend it if
exercises you can try that will hone you’re someone that has trouble being
your skills and train your eye. bold with their original choices.”
When designing characters, the
advice from illustrator and character IN THE MOOD
artist Nika Lemut is to Like many artists, Nika is a strong
identify their defining proponent of the mood board. “It
“You want to reach a point where
features and then helps with creating an overall no brushstroke can be taken away
emphasise them strongly. understanding as opposed to trying to and none needs to be added,”
says Titus Lunter.
“When in doubt, try to simply Frankenstein different
think of it like you’re playing around elements together. I also look for
with the sliders in the character
creator section of a video game,” she
recurring shapes, colours and patterns
that are a common denominator in the
Try to think of it like you’re
says. “Move or resize some features to
see what kind of feeling they evoke.
references. I can then use that kind of
pre-established recognition to add to
playing with the sliders in the
Grab the brows and push them my own designs.” character creator of a game
24
A DAY IN THE NIGHT LIFE YOUR VIEWS,
LIFE OF... IN THE LOFT YOUR ART
D&D art director and Discover the treasure We check out the best
former Marvel Studios trove of miniatures and of your art that caught
artist Josh Herman more that veteran artist our eye on social media.
introduces us to his Adrian Smith keeps in Plus, discover the latest
busy day of meetings his attic studio space to talking points from your
and artwork, with a bit inspire his late-night fellow readers in our
of DIY sprinkled in. painting sessions. latest round of letters.
Page 30 Page 32 Page 39
“Mood boards are one thing that I

swear by. Having a lot of different
references helps with not getting
stuck in one lane,” says Nika.
25
ImagineNation News
“Research is all about time management,

which in turn is all about understanding
exactly what is asked of you,” says Titus.
“Think about how your character emotes and

walks, the differences between two characters in
the same world, and how their personalities and
looks feel distinct,” says Lauren.
A design principle that has solidify my own choices later on.

worked well for Nika is the Big/ Seeing something work in practice
Medium/Small theory, which is the helps me become more confident in
idea that good designs usually contain implementing it in my own work.”
one large main shape, some medium- Titus Lunter is an illustrator and
sized shapes and some small shapes. concept artist specialising
“There are resources explaining this in both worldbuilding
in greater depth online, but in its and environmental
essence, the theory is about switching storytelling. Large scale
between different sizes of shapes to scenes that make the
create appealing visual hierarchy,” she viewer feel tiny in the face of an
says. “This shifted my perspective and immense structure or vista are a big
helped me be more intentional when theme in his work, and he uses various
approaching design.” design tricks to achieve this sense of
size and distance. One of the most
LEARN FROM OTHERS important is atmospheric perspective.
Analysing the artwork of others is a “The further into the distance you
powerful way to learn about design go, the more the atmosphere will
techniques and see how they work in block the scenery and landscape, and
the wild. “I find highly stylised as such they become lower in contrast
artworks especially helpful, since they and pick up more of the atmosphere
tend to push all aspects of visual colour,” he explains. “This works even
language to the extreme,” says Nika. better if some forms overlap with
“I try to dissect them and see what each other, think about one mountain
type of design elements they receding behind another.”
incorporate. What shapes and colours Another tip is to add scale elements
do they use? When do they use them such as trees and buildings. If these
and why does it work? Making notes are tiny, they will look further away
of these types of things can help and your scale will seem even
Seeing something work in practice

helps me become more confident in
implementing it in my own work
26
© 2022, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. All right reserved. Artist news, software & events
“Once you develop an eye for design, it feels

more like chipping away at a block of marble until
the sculpture presents itself,” says Kiana Hamm.
“Reference is super important. It makes

sure that what we design or paint looks
like something others have seen before
and recognise,” Titus explains.
27
ImagineNation News
INDUSTRY INSIGHT
LEARN TO ASK
QUESTIONS
Titus Lunter explains why
curiosity builds design skills
Do you consciously apply

formal design principles or is
your work more intuitive?
It's something that has become
more intuitive, but it was a
conscious part of my decision-
making process for a very long
time! When something doesn't
click, I always go back to these
rules to check my process. These
“Shapes, colours, and the relationships
fundamentals don't make an between these two have such strong bonds
image good by themselves, but for us and how we communicate; it's
impossible to ignore them,” says Titus.
they are some of the most
important ways by which others
© 2022, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. All right reserved.

can recognise what you want to
both do and say.
What advice would you give

to someone who wants to
work on their design skills?
Learn how to ask questions and
be curious. Your main tool for
becoming a good designer is
developing a skill for
understanding the world that
you're working in. Learn how to
fill in blanks and how to work
with extremely limited amounts
of information. Figure out how
you can find out stuff that you
don't know by asking various
sets of questions. "I look for good visual balance, making sure
there are strong focal points and detailed
areas balanced with areas of rest,” Kiana says.
What is your approach to
critiquing and developing
your own designs? bigger. “The best advice however
Just like all the other steps, this will always remain 'look at reference'.
is all about finding the right Really take a close look at what makes
questions, answering them in it look big. Take elements away, add
the context of your goals, and some, see what happens.”
then looking back to see how Titus’s design process centres
you did. Never critique yourself around the principle of 'form follows
while you're working, just keep function', which is something he
following the process! In short, achieves by asking “a series of
once you learn how to ask questions following the logic of the
questions, a lot of the hardship world”. You can make up any rules
in design will begin to fall away, you like for the world in which your art
including the dreaded art block exists, but there needs to be an
– have you ever heard of a internal logic that is consistent within
question block? that world. Once you know what the
rules are, you can ask questions that
Illustrator and concept artist will tell you how what you are
Titus Lunter's credits include designing will fit into that world.
Magic: The Gathering and
Dungeons & Dragons. “I love to play around with different colour “Designing really is all about
https://tituslunter.com
harmonies, such as complementary or problem solving by finding the right
triadic colour schemes,” says Nika.
questions,” he says. “The more in
28
Artist news, software & events
“I sometimes pull in "Taking on the role of an industry

a friend to make
sure the viewer's artist and working within limitations
eye lands where I while bringing your own perspective
want,” says Lauren.
to the table is great for junior artists.”
EVALUATE YOUR WORK

Lauren Brown is a fantasy illustrator
whose work is based
around natural elements.
She’s a believer in life
drawing as an exercise
that will strengthen the
skills you need to be a better designer.
“I recommend it to everyone,” she
says. “Don't just practise it idly, do it
with intention. Start a lesson with a
goal in mind: 'I want to improve my
observational skills' or, 'I will work on
my rendering today'. This way, you're
more focused and you know what
you're trying to get out of the study.”
Lauren has a particular process for
“Certain facial features or
outfits can immediately critiquing her design during the final
signal a certain character stages to keep everything on track
archetype,” Nika explains.
and make sure that the image
Being right
doesn't always
© 2022, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. All right reserved.
mean something
is interesting
achieves what she set out to do. “I
always ask myself questions: ‘Is this
reading how I intended?’; ‘Is this mood
working?’; ‘Does this detail clutter my
composition?’,” she says.
“Sometimes you may need to
sacrifice a detail like for the sake of the
whole piece. Try not to be precious.
depth you can get with these “In the early stages of a within the constraints of a video game I've erased solid hours of work to
design, I'll find ‘motifs’
questions and their answers, the that communicate the does wonders for developing make an entire piece more successful.”
better the design will become.” right theme and creativity and problem solving skills, She also runs through a number of
personality, and they
This principle is closely followed by guide the rest of the so imposing limitations upon yourself technical checks. “I always flip the
process,” says Kiana.
‘The Rule of Cool’. “If there is no is a great exercise for pushing your canvas horizontally, which, as a lot of
practical solution, make it cool,” says abilities on further. artists know, can be a heart-wrenching
Titus. He also notes that sometimes “Blue sky designing can be fun, but process as you see that eye in the
the rule of ‘form follows function’ has in a real video game industry setting wrong position on the face. I check my
to take a back seat if its results are not there are a lot of thematic and values using grey tones, using a Hue/
exciting enough. “Being right doesn't technical limitations that you need to Saturation layer that I keep on the top
always mean that something is be aware of, not to mention the tight of my file. I also zoom very far out or
interesting. Should all your hard work deadlines,” she says. have the Navigator open as a guide.
only lead to a functional design that's “We have to account for things like It's easy to lose sight of your piece
in no way cool, change it.” animation and rigging restrictions, when you're always zoomed into it at
game design mechanics, narrative 300 per cent.”
CREATING WITHIN LIMITS consistency, player perspective, and Lastly, getting a second opinion is
Kiana Hamm is a senior more. This often requires a lot of always valuable. “We artists need to
concept artist currently creative problem solving, which really utilise our communities more
working on New World at pushes you as a designer and can effectively,” says Lauren. “It can be
Amazon Game Studios. sometimes be the most fun part of scary to put your unfinished work up
She finds that designing creating concept art. for critique, but it's always worth it.”
29
ImagineNation News
A day in the life of… A character called The

Caregiver that Josh
After that we had a design leads
Josh Herman
created while he served meeting, followed by a meeting with
as chief creative officer production about long-term planning,
at the Gnomon school.
and then our weekly stand-up on the
upcoming project to remove any
blockers teams are having. I checked
Ready to roll Join the D&D studio art director and in with my department manager and
former Marvel Studios artist for a non-stop day then headed home around 4:30pm.
DIY DUTIES
“I wake up at 7am, make my son taking lunch at noon, I met a business I come home around 5pm and hang
breakfast, and get us both ready for lead to let them know how a project out with my family. My wife normally
the day. I drive him to daycare and was going, had three one-on-ones cooks dinner and I’ll make a side or
then get to the office around 9am with my team, and went to an art help, or we all go to a restaurant. Then
after picking up a green tea or department pitch session where I we’ll start the bedtime routine and
protein shake on the way. gave direction on where we should be Concept Art have my son down around 8pm.
I catch up with my team and jump going. I checked more emails, headed Association is an I’m pretty much on Teams or emails
organisation
into emails for an hour. Most of my to lunch for an hour, and then came 24/7, and two or three nights a week,
committed to
meetings are from 10am-4pm. Every back to do paintovers and gave some elevating and my wife and I will go back to work till
day is different depending on the feedback on the team’s work for a raising the profile around 10pm, when I’ll do more art
of concept artists,
priorities and projects. Today, before couple of hours. their art and their
creation and paintovers. We do a lot
involvement in the of DIY projects, so on nights we’re not
© Marvel Studios
entertainment working, we’re usually ‘working’. Then

industries. Its
annual Concept we unwind by watching a show or
Art Awards Show playing a game and go to bed.
showcases and
Watching movies and shows is one
recognises
behind-the-scenes of the main ways that I consume
individuals reference outside of travelling a lot,
working in
entertainment
experiencing nature, and having
concept art. authentic experiences.
conceptart When I look at art online, I find that
association.com.
it’s toxic to my creative instincts and
We do a lot of DIY projects,

A model of the Star-Lord helmet
designed by Josh, before being
so nights we’re not working,
painted over by Charlie Wen.
we’re usually ‘working’
30
© Marvel Studios
In partnership with
© Marvel Studios
Early concept art produced by Josh
for Groot in Guardians of the Galaxy.
During his time at Marvel Studios, Josh was involved

in work on Tony Stark’s suit for Iron Man 3.
Josh’s fan art tribute

to the Silver Surfer.
draws me towards what has already

been done, and I don’t like seeing that
reflected in my visuals.
The main advice I have, other than
trying to find inspiration outside of
the internet, is to work hard – there
aren’t a lot of shortcuts. And, most
importantly, be kind.”
Josh is an artist living in
Seattle. He has worked on
projects like Iron Man 3,
Guardians of the Galaxy, and
all of The Avengers movies. See more of
Josh’s art at http://droidsforsale.com.
31
ImagineNation Artist in Residence
I’d be lost without my scanner. It

My iMac. I still don’t fully know how means I can go totally traditional
to use the infernal machine. I’m and still get the image quickly
from a different era and my brain is and easily via email.
just not made to deal with the
This is a page taken from one of my Chronicles of language necessary to use these
HATE comic stories. things, but I realise they are useful.
Adrian
Smith
Mind the Goblin Head
up top for an attic studio
tour, but watch out for
the chihuahua on guard
Welcome to my
studio; this is the attic
room where I spend
most of my waking
life. It’s the room I can
sit down and feel safe from that scary
thing people call real life.
Yes, it gets cold in winter and too
hot in summer up here, but when I’m
engrossed in a project, I don’t tend to
notice. Music is usually playing, or
maybe an audio book, and sometimes
I might play a movie on the laptop.
I know that sounds strange and you
may wonder how I can look at what
I’m working on while watching a
movie, but it’s usually just a bit of
company in the early hours. I’m usually
working until at least three in the
32
I’ve had a lot of drawing

boards in my life. This
one I made myself from
spare parts.
As most artists will attest, bad
back can become a problem
Brushes! I never seem sometimes. So I invested in an
to have enough and expensive, fully adjustable chair.
yet I rarely use more
than two or three
different sizes. I just
can’t resist them.
Yes, I should look into a way of

storing my finished art in a better
fashion. But it’s always good to
finish something and put it away,
because that means I can get on
to something new!
The queen’s throne.

Goblin basically runs
my life. Enough said.
33
My new studio! Pretty much ready to move in my
home studio and merge it with the film studio.
This is where friends, crew and I will work in the
evening. We’re working on a film adaptation of
my first two Chronicles of HATE graphic novels.
I’m usually working until

at least three in the morning,
nice and quiet, the world
around me sleeping. Bliss
34
35
A couple of the hundreds of

sculptures and miniatures created
using work and concepts of mine. I
never get tired of seeing the end
result, especially when working with
some of the best sculptors around.
morning, nice and quiet, the world

around me sleeping. Bliss.
time. Now that she’s older, she only
hangs around if I’m eating, if she
To avoid daydreaming any
I assure you it’s not usually as tidy as
you see here, but the older I get the
misses me, or because I’m playing
music she actually likes. She’s one of
more than I already do, I sit
more careful I am to not leave rubbish my main muses. away from the window
lying around. Over 20 years of my wife
telling me to tidy up is finally working. SEPARATE WORKSPACES This has helped me combine the
My best mate, Goblin the chihuahua, In my studio, I’ve learned to keep the traditional way of working with digital.
is not always present. In the early days digital work area separate from my With this, I can start an image
she’d sleep at my feet or chew stuff in traditional working area. My most traditionally, drawing and painting.
a corner and be around most of the useful bit of tech is my A3 scanner. Then I can scan and finish the image in
Photoshop and email the file off easily.
One of the many villains
in my graphic novels. The scanner also means I can do the
This one is the Tyrant
from my Chronicles of
image 100 per cent traditionally, then
HATE comic stories, scan and email, rather than rely on
and this particular
image was used for the postal services.
miniatures game HATE To avoid daydreaming any more
by publishers CMON.
than I already do, I sit away from the
window. The view is very nice, and
very distracting.
Adrian is an experienced freelance artist.
He first entered the world of art at around
age 19 with the then fledgling Games
Workshop. Since then, he has worked for a
number of big companies and many smaller
ones. His main work now is with miniature
and board game company CMON.
36
The right-hand side of my A rare occasion I’ve done My comfort zone. The place
painting table. It’s not always any Chronicles of HATE to hide. The place to forget
as tidy as this, I must admit. work in colour. One of that I’m supposed to be an
many concepts for the adult. The good place.
CMON game HATE.
The cupboard, where art

materials are stored and
usually forgotten. It’s always a
treat starting a new project
and looking here to see
what I’ll work with.
Scanner corner. I love my

scanner. I love my axe too.
When they inevitably arrive,
no zombie will be safe.
37
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38
Letters
New works that have

YOUR FEEDBACK & OPINIONS grabbed our attention
Contact the editor, Rob Redman,
on mail@imaginefx.com or write
to ImagineFX, Future Publishing,
Quay House, The Ambury,
Bath, BA1 1UA, England
Follow us on Twitter: Our last issue was a Sketchbook Special, which has
twitter.com/imaginefx proved hugely popular. There’s still time to get yours!
Find us on Facebook:
facebook.com/imaginefx Please do more specials like that and
Share your artwork via #imaginefx: keep up with the monthly sketchbooks.
instagram.com/imaginefxmagazine All the best.
Jenny, via email
Joel Serrano
Rob replies Hi Jenny. Thanks for the kind @joelserranoart
words! We’re big fans of the Sketchbook
section too and it felt like just the right time to
do a special. I’m glad you liked it. Not to
worry, we have plenty more coming, including
this issue, where we focus on the stunning art
of Thomas Elliott and Iain Thody.
With regards to other specials, are there
topics you’d like to see? We’re always looking
for ways to give you what you’d like to see, so
write in with your suggestions.
Stop the AI
Hello, I’m sure you are aware of the
The Artist in Residence
Artists’ studios section gives great backlash against AI in the art
Hi ImagineFX team. I’m writing to behind-the-scenes insights community. I’ve noticed ImagineFX has
into an artist’s life.
thank you for all of the studio tours that given some coverage to AI art and all I
you do. This is always so inspirational can say is PLEASE STOP!
to me, but also scratches that ‘Through Thanks Britt Berg
the Keyhole’ itch. Claire, via email @zpurplex
It’s fascinating to see what these big
names surround themselves with, or Rob replies Hi Claire, and thanks for
whether they are tidy and clean, or writing in. We have definitely given some
messy and chaotic like me. Keep them coverage to AI tools and how to integrate
coming, please! them into your work over recent months.
Jared, via email While I do see some positive opportunities,
I completely agree that there are some big risks
Rob replies Hi Jared, thanks for writing as well, and every artist should be both
in, and so glad you like the Artist in Residence acknowledged and compensated when their
section. I’m a big fan of that too and totally work is used. On top of that, artists should
agree, it’s a fantastic insight into the working always be asked for permission for their work
lives and styles of different artists. Check out to be used, in any way.
this month’s feature where Adrian Smith ImagineFX is on the side of the artist in
shows us around his studio. this debate and in our next issue we’ll be
looking a bit more closely at this. For now,
Sketchbook spectacular DID YOU MISS check out the campaign that’s been pushed by
Wow! I just picked up the latest issue THE PREVIOUS our friends at Concept Art Association to find Jason Rodriguez
and it’s one of my favourites yet. The PACKED ISSUE? out more about this contentious topic. @jdr_pictures
Don’t worry –
idea of a sketchbook special is so good. I There are definitely going to be ways that
you can get hold
love that section of the regular mag, so of issue 223 AI can benefit artists, but for now the If you’ve created art that you want us to
seeing such a huge array of awesome industry and community needs to be listened shout about simply tag us on Twitter or
at ifxm.ag/ Instagram, and use the hashtag #imaginefx
sketchbooks in one place was great. single-ifx. to and artists’ rights need to be recognised.
39
Interview
PICKUP
“An interplanetary hauler picks
up goods by the sea. I enjoy
designing vehicles with modular
parts that govern some of their
shapes. Pencil and pen sketch
finished in Procreate on iPad.”
Dominic Carter talks to the concept art veteran about his time on
Star Wars, work on Dune and his recent contribution to Bullet Train
40
Colie Wertz
hen you try to Tell us about your background as an I got into modelling, painting,
W
imagine what the artist. How did you get started and animation, and shaders while there.
future looks like, the what has your career been like so far? I went to a lot of movies in
chances are it’s got I was educated as an architect in the Hollywood, and maybe the motion
Colie Wertz’s Southeastern US. I loved doing the picture industry being there fostered
fingerprints all over drawings and practical models in and my interest in the underlying process
it. That’s because for the last 20 years out of school. I had an out-of-left-field and art form of building a film.
he’s been shaping the look and feel of opportunity to train on Photoshop for Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) VFX
some of the biggest science fiction a project in LA early in my career, and supervisor John Knoll noticed my
franchises around. that pulled me away from architecture. work, as we were using similar software
Outer space is a long way from his in the late 90s. He asked me if I’d like
beginnings as an aspiring architect
however, so we caught up with Colie to
[John Knoll] asked me if to help him out at ILM on Star Wars. I
said yes! That led to a nearly 20-year
learn more about the path of his
impressive career as an industry-
I’d like to help him out at ILM VFX run in the San Francisco Bay Area.
I moved into more up-front concept
leading concept artist and modeller. on Star Wars. I said yes! work through my modelling and
41
Interview
sketching skills on 2021’s Dune, Being a modeller helped, as I included LANDING PAD Today, what I’m being asked to do,
alongside George Hull and production clues in all my sketches that I’d need “Working at ILM for on a per-show basis, is understand
many years as a
designer Patrice Vermette. for myself to attack the design as a modeller and texture what will help the production designer
modeller. I used my job as a modeller painter filled my head best communicate an idea to whoever
with a simple-yet-
What originally attracted you to at ILM to improve my sketching and complex shape they’re communicating with. Getting
language to pull
becoming a concept artist? vice versa. I let one inform the other. from. Made using
on the same page, and getting a feel for
I’ve always drawn. It relaxes me. My Procreate on iPad.” who they’re presenting to and when, is
goal as an employee at ILM was to get How has your art developed over the paramount to executing the task at
to a point where I was generating years, and what has been behind hand for me, and determines the
sketches that I could hand off to a those changes? deliverable form of my ‘art’.
production modeller and they could My art over the last five years has
more or less build it off my sketches. changed in a few ways. Primarily, Star Wars has been a huge chapter in
those changes are rooted in ‘what is the your career. How did you come to be
Artist deliverable?’ To explain, working for a involved with it, and what did you
PROFILE big post-production house like ILM for

so many years, I aimed for the perfectly
make for those films?
I hit the ground running with Star
Colie Wertz constructed model. Those traits, while Wars in 1998. John Knoll needed a
LOCATION: US useful in post, aren’t necessarily your
FAVOURITE ARTISTS: Joe
Johnston, Ron Cobb, Syd Mead
MEDIA: Maya, 3DCoat, After
friend in pre-production. Good to
know you have them if the situation
I included clues in all my
Effects, MoI 3D, Blender, Unreal
Engine, Substance Painter, Photoshop
calls, but you have to remind yourself
those are post-production deliverable
sketches that I’d need for
WEB: www.coliewertzdesign.com
checkboxes, part of a different budget. myself to attack the design
42
Colie Wertz
FILL ‘ER UP
“My father was a fuel depot
engineer for military helicopters.
I never thought that gig was as
‘cool’ as flying jet fighters, but
over time I saw the beauty that
infrastructure brings to stories.”
generalist who was working in the

same software he was at the time. A
small group of us were assembled at
ILM outside the traditional pipeline,
called the ‘Rebel Mac Unit’. We were
using off-the-shelf software on Macs at
ILM, which was totally off-centre there, BIVOUAC
“A short-range vehicle
where a heavily modded version of used to hop between
spacestations. Two of
SoftImage ran on Unix on SGIs. these back-to-back
I was one of the modelling pivots in create a tent structure
serving as a rest area
the little studio within ILM, so I got to on long trips. Modelled
touch a lot of the hard-surface stuff for and textured in Maya,
rendered in Octane.”
the Star Wars prequels, like the Naboo
starfighter, a bunch of pod racers, and
the Sith Infiltrator to name a few. As
the films rolled out, the little Mac
boutique fell victim to industrial
practices and got rolled into the main
pipeline at ILM. RIP.
IN THE CLEARING
“A ship in a clearing,
I learned Alias modelling and Maya, inspired by my father’s
time in the military
as well as all the other ILM specific supplying fuel to
stuff from some really slick users. I helicopters. A simple
exercise in composition
borrowed their eyes and minds, and lighting.”
43
Interview
PASTFUTURES
“A spaceport of bygone corporations and
beautiful logos that get a chance to shine again
on a futuristic stage, in a style suggesting 70s
art that influenced me at a young age.”
and learned what essentially

remains my skillset today. The biggest thing to take set builders and VFX. I saw, for the first
time in my career, where I fit in. At
The demise of the Mac Unit was a
blessing in disguise. I’ve built and
away from this is that I was least on that show. And that’s the
beauty of it, every show is different,
contributed to so many models in the never alone in any of it and how I’m able to mesh is fun to
Star Wars universe over 20 years. The determine and develop per show!
U-wing fighter, Shield Gate, and the Of all the work you’ve created so far,
Death Star in Rogue One, paintjobs on what are you most proud of and why? You recently worked on Bullet Train.
others, and I helped out on the Razor Dune, by a long shot. I worked with Can you tell us about what you
Crest. All fun. my mentor and friend George Hull on created for the film and what that
The biggest thing to take away from the Ornithopters that he’d penned. I experience was like?
this is that I was never alone in any of brought what I was good at to the I worked with production designer
it. Someone else before me touched table: modelling and engineering David Scheunemann and other artists
these things, and someone after me development of pieces and parts and to develop the look and feel of the
took it further. It ends up on screen, their relationships to the whole. train, some of its passenger car
and I get to see the evolutions. I learn The production designer (PD), interiors, and a few of the train
from the befores, the durings, and the Patrice Vermette, introduced me to stations. For me, this project started in
afters. That’s my big takeaway from London fabricators BGI, as they were the midst of COVID, and it was
Star Wars: passionate artists really manufacturing the Ornithopters. The interesting to hear how the show was
advanced, appropriately, a look that relationship helped get that vehicle planning on pushing a production
had been established decades before, on-screen. I saw this thing happen! forward in the midst of a pandemic.
or took suggestions to adjust them in I was actually on the front-end of a ‘Volume shoots’ were coming into
different directions as needed. show. My models were going to both their own at the time, with The
POST-IT TO PROCREATE
“Blue-line pencil sketches
with black ballpoint pen
and a grey marker. The
Post-it notes help because
I can stick them anywhere
and pick them back
up to finish.”
44
Colie Wertz
SKIMMER: LANDED
“A crew arrive back at their
ship as the squadron takes off.
Developed from exploration
of the images below.”
(LEFT) SKIMMER: SKETCH

“I explored the skimmer from a
top three-quarter view on a
Post-it. That view is how I tend to
think when I’m modelling in CG. I
seem to end up there as my
‘home view’.”
Mandalorian having proved their

value, especially with strict logistics
presented inside the pandemic. The
designs and planning reflected that
learned knowledge.
Design-wise, David wanted the train
to be contemporary, with some
modifications more conducive to
soundstage sizes. We were biassed SKIMMER: SKIMMING
towards a new-generation Shinkansen “I finished the Post-it sketch on my
iPad in Procreate. It’s fun to come up
train with its long nose. I did a good bit with the paint schemes, logos, fonts,
of research on the functionality of that and panel cuts. I’m able to work back
and forth with the top image as I go!”
nose, and modified it in a
45
Interview
LADYBUG QUEEN
“Proof that you don’t
need an entire studio
setup, or even a laptop,
to play and practise
your artistic craft.”
MAKING A MECH
Colie reveals how he whipped up this
Ladybug Queen robot on his phone
CATTLE DRIVE
I started this sketch on my phone as pure folly in “In architecture school, I enjoyed making
cultural statements. This group is
Procreate Pocket. I do this organic sketching a lot for heading off to work, again, on the bus,
no reason. As it’s on my phone, it’s not precious. To again. Made with Procreate on my iPad.”
start with, I threw down a cool grey background,

then a big, circular, shadow-value blob. Procreate
Pocket is great for this kind of pulled-back massing
of shapes. I sampled a few values that came from the
mix, then added highlights and shadows in the
simple hue range to start composing the form of the
mech. I’m thinking about where light is coming from
out of the gate, which allows me to craft an
environment in reverse. I do this to force myself to
commit to shapes and stay loose moving forward.
I’m in a juggling phase at this point. I thought,
‘Cool, a mech. Maybe it’s got a master and they are
having a dialogue’. I now have a challenge to keep
myself to that story. The next steps are me refining
that thought. I put on some good tunes, and push the
mech, then push the surrounds, developing scale but
staying true to the original colours. Then I’ll put it
away and return later in the day when I get a second.
Without fail, I see something differently when I
revisit it. I love that. I opened it and saw the mech as a
ladybug. And maybe who it’s talking to is its queen! I
determine a good time to send it to Procreate on my
iPad to get more details piled on, and do that over
dinner. It’s very relaxing, and I can call it done
whenever I like.
46
Colie Wertz
the next task. Forward momentum.
Being a concept artist requires you to
think up new ideas all the time.
What’s one thing people should

know about being a concept artist
that isn’t often talked about?
Communication is everything. Your
job is to provide a deliverable that will
stand on its own when you’re not there
to present it. So be humble and take
criticism constructively. Getting on the
same page as the people that you’re
communicating with, and on behalf
MIKOYAN X-PLANE of, is half the job.
“An experimental Russian plane
from the 80s that I made up.
Surely it exists! Pencil sketch to What are you working on right now?
Procreate on my iPad.”
I’m finishing up on Marvel’s film The
Marvels with PD Cara Brower. A
fantastic experience, and my first time
working with Cara. Her design
sensibilities are so sharp. How she
navigated the demands of that show
was such an inspiration.
Getting on
the same page as
the production
All images © 2021 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All rights reserved.
designer. Period.
It’s the best
I’ve got a few industrial design
projects I’m involved with. I love
industrial design, as it’s fractal. I
usually learn something about
manufacturing during the design
processes that can spill over into my
vehicle design contributions for shows.
What advice would you give to other

artists hoping to become concept
artists themselves?
Draw a lot, watch commentaries on
believable way that didn’t require it HARKONNENS best. Every PD is different, comes from movies, learn the industry lingo by
to be so long in the set build, since a lot “Long before I was a different background, has a take on getting near a production, study basic
asked to be a part of
of the shots were going to be on an Dune, I sketched this on the show that they’ve hashed out with composition, study colour, learn a
LED volume soundstage. my iPhone, based on the director. Each also likes to primary 3D package (Blender, it’s
the Harkonnen ships
The train station platforms were a lot from the 80s version of communicate to the director or their free!), watch trends on social media.
the film, then layered
of fun to research and develop, too. with my tech.”
art department differently. Be true to yourself there, don’t get too
Each had its own particular vibe and They’re juggling a ton of different bandwagon-esque.
aesthetic that was required to be tasks and have a much, much broader Your opinion and perspective
recognisably different per stop. David’s view of the show than I do, and they’re matters, embrace and foster
art directors and set designers did a hiring you to be a medium for them. relationships with similar artists with
fantastic job of executing the designs! They’ll know your art, but how you similar personalities to you in the field.
Once again, it was a lot of fun to integrate that into the vibe of how Ask questions, be humble, be someone
research and develop. they’re going to use it or present it is others want to work with.
like a dance. Most importantly, don’t let this be
What are the best parts about being Submitting pieces and having the your life, pick up other hobbies to give
a concept artist? PD say, ‘Yeah, they liked it... can you your creative mind a break, you’ll be
Getting on the same page as the pack up the model and send it to so- surprised how those hobbies will feed
production designer. Period. It’s the and-so?’ is great. A few words, on to your creativity. Be you.
47
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49
Artist
PROFILE
Thomas Elliott
LOCATION: England
Thomas is a professional
illustrator who is currently
working in-house at
Games Workshop. When
not making epic battle
scenes and book covers at work, he
the
loves to create personal art, drawing
nd steel as
inspiration from a range of subjects.
ix f lesh a
ns
Dark sci-fi, Wild West characters,
m
creature concoctions sk etchb ook creatio
giant robots, mutant tentacle
is
Fascinating es a unique spin to h
monsters, fantasy characters, and
everything in between rub shoulders
iv
illustrator g
in his sketchbooks. Thomas has a
background in classical oil painting
and likes to make use of traditional
INK STUDY and digital mediums in his work.
FROM THE LIGHTHOUSE

“This ink painting is of Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson in
www.artstation.com/thomaselliott
Robert Eggers’ The Lighthouse. The film is black and white and
has beautifully composed shots, so it was the ideal movie to do
studies from. In this painting, I was focusing on trying to
get depth and subtlety into the darks
of the picture.”
CYBORG
SKULL NINJA
“An ink painting FLOATING
experimenting with
showing different SPACEMEN
“Sometimes when I want to draw but I
colours, textures
and materials.” don’t know exactly what it is I want to do, I
start with a detail and grow the picture out
from there with no planning. This was one of
those pictures. I think I started with the
buckle on his shoulder and went
from there, and this is what
came from it.”
50
Sketchbook Thomas Elliott
CENTIPEDE
CYBORG
“I don’t think this guy wanted to be a
cyborg. I kept adding pipes, limbs and
details until it seemed done, much
like what his creators did to
him, I guess.”
Sometimes I start with

a detail and grow the
picture out from there
with no planning
51
BONE MECH
“I love a good mech
design and find it really
interesting seeing just how
many takes on the concept of
a robot are out there. Here I
wanted to put my own
original spin on the idea by
introducing organic
elements to the design.
Humans can be
mutants, but what
about robots?”
52
Small details can
add interesting angles to
pictures with narrative
ALTERNATIVE
MERMAID
“Mermaids always seem incredibly
idealised, but if they were real they would
be very far from our concept of beauty.
Here, I put my own take on the idea
by introducing crustacean
elements to her.”
WILLEM WILD WEST

DAFOE, AGAIN
“Who doesn’t love an
“Small details can add interesting angles to
pictures with narrative. In this drawing, our hero
stands proud and triumphant over the would-be
expressive lined face? This is bandits. He reloads his revolver with an unhurried
another study created from air, but something has caught his eye.
The Lighthouse.” What might happen next?”
53
DOOM GOUACHE PAINTING
“I’m a huge fan of Doom, so when I got a set of gouache
paints to play around with, there was no doubt about what I would
be painting first. In this picture, I really wanted to give a
hard, metallic feel to the armour.”
BARON
HARKONNEN
“Dune has been depicted
by generations of artists, each
putting their own interpretation on
how it would look. This is how I’ve
always pictured Baron Harkonnen:
arrogant, gross, and studded
with jewellery and other
augmentations.”
When I got a set

of gouache paints
there was no doubt FARMER HIGGINS
about what I would “This unfortunate guy was a farmer
in the Old American West, that was until
a strange object fell from the sky onto
be painting first one of his fields and wrought terrible
mutations on him and
his livestock.”
54
ALABAMA
METAL MAN
“I find cryptids and real-life
unsolved mysteries fascinating. This
picture was inspired by the story of a
cop in the 1970s encountering a strange
being in a field when investigating UFO
sightings in the area. The cryptid
became known as the Alabama
Metal Man, and he has yet to
be spotted since.”
55
Artist
PROFILE
Iain Thody
LOCATION: England
Iain is a senior concept

artist working in the video
games industry. He first
studied graphic design at
Norwich University of the
Arts and after graduating, a brief stint
in exhibition design moved him
gh
hines throu
towards illustration. He then started a
d comics s career in game development where he
for sci-fi an ughout his sketches

has combined both illustration and
’s passion graphic skills into concept ideas. Iain
t artist nd thro
The concep s, tech and more fou
loves all things comics, games, movies
and sci-fi fantasy.
h
in the mec
www.artstation.com/iant
FEMALE
CHARACTER IN BLUE SUIT
“One of many characters tooled up in some space tech suit.
This one was female figure practice. A badass action
woman ready to leap off a drop ship.”
CHARACTERS
AND ALIENS
“These doodles are a
familiar go-to theme of
mine; sci-fi and creatures,
ideas for video games I
fancy playing, and goofy
aliens and chunky
soldier characters.”
DIGITAL
SKETCHES PROCREATE
BRUSH PRACTICE
“Warm-ups and whimsical
ideas; cyberpunk stuff and
dieselpunk. A large, clunky- “A Chris Foss-inspired sci-fi
looking sidekick robot is scene. A flying salvage
featured, plus flying future craft in a post-apocalyptic
tech and a hero setting.”
traveller.”
Here we have some hero escaping

undead creatures and a Mexican
wrestler fighting bugs
56
Sketchbook Iain Thody
TECH
MECH STUFF
“A return to an ongoing game idea
of fun worldbuilding and anything-
goes combat tech. Flying military
machines in a goofy world
of conflict.”
PENCIL
SKETCH OF MECH
“Early pencil and pen design
from my sketchbook. Part of my
escapism into worldbuilding.
A scavenger mech that
wonders the desert
wastelands.”
GOOD OLD
SKETCHBOOK AND PENCIL
“Game ideas and characters. Being a fan of comics,
my work has a bias to comic style. Here we have
some hero escaping undead creatures and
a Mexican wrestler fighting bugs.”
57
LEARN FROM THE EXPERTS AND
BECOME A BETTER ARTIST TODAY
Whether you’re a budding creator or a seasoned pro, ImagineFX Art School has
something to offer every artist, from improving your doodles and generating
new ideas to painting skylines, sketching animals and drawing fight scenes.
ON SALE
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you can watch the artist in action, too.
Advice from the world’s best artists

60 72
66
This issue:
60 Secrets of black
and white art
Expert insight from Acky Bright
on his distinctive artistic style.
64 Simplicity in
your shapes
The building blocks that support
Richard Anderson’s artwork.
66 Sharpen your life

drawing skills with VR
Gesture VR creator Nick Ladd
introduces us to his art app.
74
72 Add impact to
your fan art
Evan Liu gives dynamism to his
God of War Ragnarök homage.
74 17 tips to develop
new characters
Writer Isabel Armitage on how
she devises coherent backstories.
80 Embrace your
inspirations
Learn how to expand on your
references with Adrien Cantone.
59
Workshops
Procreate
SECRETS OF
BLACK AND
WHITE ART
Go in depth with Acky Bright as he explains
ACKY HITS
THE STORES
Brighten up yo ur collection
with Acky’s artbook
the approach behind his synonymous style debut, available at
pie.co.jp
The major theme of sense of innocence, but she is also

Artist
PROFILE this artwork was to
paint using nothing
sure of herself, and looks to the
future with a feeling of hope. In
Acky Bright more than black and particular, her deep, black eyes
LOCATION: Japan
white. This time I used emphasise that confidence.
Acky has created Procreate, for which I have provided Check out the details, bold
artwork for DC Comics
official tutorial art in the past. brushstrokes, and technique that I’ve
and Hasbro, as well as
vehicle manufacturer I set out to use only one default used. Through these tools, you get
BMW, among others. brush and a single colour, black, to more of a feel for her personality,
acky-bright.com
create cover art that is stronger and while you can also imagine the world
richer than a full-colour illustration. that she resides in from just this
The character I’ve painted retains a single, monochrome picture.
Top tips for…

BUILDING YOUR IMAGE
1 Sketch
First, I sketch a rough shape in blue. I
use blue because I used to sketch analogue
2 Line work
The outer lines should be thicker and
the inner lines thinner, so I draw with that in
3 Grey tones
To further increase the three-
dimensional effect, I pay attention to the
drawings in blue pencil, though sometimes mind while remaining aware of the pressure light source and add shadows in grey.
I’ll use black when I’m in the mood. Since used. The important thing here is to draw Shadows are sometimes created by
this is a piece of cover art, I wanted to draw the lines with confidence. If there are too hatching, but in this case, they are painted
a fearless character, which is expressed by many stray lines, I sometimes delete and in grey as I wanted to emphasise the
her looking straight ahead. redraw all of them. softness of the woman’s skin.
60
In depth Black & white
61
Workshops
BLACK AND WHITE ARTWORK FINAL IMAGE

Background
By using a grey background, the main
character can be highlighted and
emphasised. Here, a Noise adjustment
was applied to the grey to add depth.
Hair, skin and shadow
Readability Paint the hair and shadow areas with
This piece was created using only the binaries of grey tones. The hair is painted solidly
black and white. The complexity and volume of its because the texture is expressed by the
details are made easy to read with only precise usage lines, while the skin is painted with the
of hatching and line intensity. Smudge tool to maintain its soft
appearance as it’s blended in.
Storytelling
The story depicted in black and white artwork comes from
scattering information in the characters’ facial expressions,
the situations they are in, and the background.
Contrast
This artwork uses a lot of
black. You draw with the aim
of carving out white areas
from the silhouette. Done
correctly, it looks sharp. Halftone filter
Her tattoo is a line drawing on a new
layer. I also added the Newspaper effect
found under Adjustments>Halftone.
62
In depth Black & white
Detail
The mechanical part is given realism by drawing it while
also considering its structure. The hair, on the other
hand, is carefully drawn with a soft touch, given its
softness and lightness. This attention to detail makes
the artwork much more believable.
PROCREATE
DEFAULT BRUSH:
TECHNICAL PEN
The settings are almost

the same as the defaults,
Hatching but with the Stabilization
Rust on the machinery, the uneven attribute instead set to
surface of the bones, and fine hatching ‘None’. The intention is
on the clothing give texture to the work. to make the lines feel
I believe that the hatching is where the more natural by making
artist’s individuality resides. them less smooth.
63
Workshops
Technique focus “Besides my love of The second factor is my tools. I
SIMPLICITY IN
sketching, my process learned traditionally with brush
comes down to two pens, ballpoints, and markers. I
factors. The first is to moved into digital, with Procreate
YOUR SHAPES simplify, simplify,

simplify. In the world around us, we
see shapes and the contrast between
and Photoshop, and tried to mimic
those tools digitally, which allows
me to quickly block in shapes I see in
Richard Anderson on the foundational them. We subconsciously look for reference or from my imagination
philosophies behind his creative process patterns. People draw with outlines, with muscle memory. That only
but we don’t see the world that way. comes from practise, and if you love
Naturally, we want to see shapes. sketching, it comes fairly easily.”
64
Tech Focus Creative foundations
Artist
PROFILE
Richard
Anderson
LOCATION: England
Richard is a senior artist

in the entertainment
industry who has
worked for the likes of
Marvel Studios, Warner
Bros., Universal Pictures
and many more.
www.flaptrapsart.com
65
Workshops
Gesture VR
SHARPEN YOUR
DRAWING SKILLS
Nick Ladd showcases how you can practise figure
drawing in the virtual world using VR technology
Anybody who has Life drawing has always been a

Artist
PROFILE attended an art school
is familiar with figure
great way to learn as a 2D artist, so
that same principle should apply in
Nick Ladd drawing. It’s a VR. VR and augmented reality (AR)
LOCATION: Canada
fantastic way for are growing industries that will
Nick is a VR artist with a students and professionals to shake the art world. It’s important
history in illustration and sharpen their skills. But for many, artists entering these realities have a
3D animation. He first
created Gesture VR to life drawing can be expensive and comfortable app where they can
make life drawing a hard to commit to. In addition, some sharpen their skills.
more accessible hobby.
cities may not have access to good The software comes with over 140
nickladd.tv
classes, and some people may feel unique poses 3D scanned from real
GET YOUR pressured drawing around others. models, and even includes proxy box
models. Although most models are
RESOURCES
See page 5 now!
Gesture VR is a new virtual reality
app that enables artists to practise your typical life drawing poses, the
life drawing at home. Artists can app also contains miscellaneous
draw in 2D on virtual paper, in 3D models, including Michelangelo’s
space, and in mixed reality using the David and fantasy goblins. Users can
headset cameras to superimpose the adjust the light, rotate the poses, and
model into the real world. adjust the timers to customise the
As technology advances, more and drawing experience in ways that are
more traditional artists are starting impossible in a studio.
to venture into the 3D and This tutorial will teach you key
VR worlds. Gesture VR tools and techniques to take your
was created as a way drawings to the next level, both
to bridge that gap. inside and outside of VR.
66
In depth VR drawing
67
Workshops
Enter the studio Choose a model

1Gesture VR has four studios to choose from, each with different advantages. 2 Gesture VR has over 140 models, most of which are
The default replicates a real studio, like what you might find in an art school. The 3D scans of real people. There are also anatomy study
alternate sets include both a black void and a white void, which are helpful if you models like skeletons and offbeat figures like goblins or
want to draw with the 3D brushes, but also provide a nice distraction-free space. horses. You can browse the collection and filter from the
Lastly, there’s a passthrough studio for artists working on a Quest, which allows model picker until you find a pose you like. The nudity
you to draw in your home or play-space using the front-facing cameras. You can can be toggled on or off, and proxy box meshes are also
also use mixed reality mode to sketch the virtual model on physical paper. available for most models.
Lights and fine tuning

3 Once you’ve chosen your preferred model, you can adjust the lighting. This can be done by holding the trigger on your off-hand controller
and then dragging it in any direction to create a directional light source. This can be used to help you emphasise the forms. By default, the 3D
model is given a randomised rotation to begin with, but you can also manually rotate the model by holding and dragging the off-hand grip
button. Sometimes the right angle and lighting can make a pose feel completely different.
68
In depth VR drawing
Set the clock

4 The last step before drawing is to ensure you’ve
given yourself a comfortable amount of time. You can
adjust the timer duration in the Draw tab. Your options
Multiple ways to draw
are 30 seconds, one minute, two minutes, five minutes or
endless poses. Short poses can be great for fast and loose 5 There are many ways to draw in Gesture VR. If you’re taking the 2D
gestural sketching, while the infinite timers are better if approach, all you need to do is touch the virtual paper with your virtual pencil.
you want to sit down and take the time to study the pose. The more pressure, the darker and thicker the line will be. You can draw with the
If you’re new to life drawing, doing a lot of short poses right trigger while your hand is floating slightly above the page or enable the lazy
can help you quickly build your confidence and skills. brush, which gives a slight delay to your strokes for greater precision.
Colour changes
6 Some artists like to begin with a different colour for
The gesture line
their base sketch. Starting with a light colour before
switching to something darker can help separate the 7 Many artists will start their life drawings with a single, confident line known
rough sketch from the final drawing. To change colours, as a line of action, or a gesture line. It should be done quickly and powerfully, and
tap on any of the palette swatches in the Draw tab. If you should capture the energy and life of the pose, often bending to follow the
long-press any swatch, it brings up a colour picker. You curvature of the spine. This line will be the first building block for your drawing.
can have up to five colours in your palette at once. Don’t be afraid to erase or undo the line until you get it just right!
69
Workshops
The sketch Continue to detail

8 Once your gesture line is drawn, it’s time to start sketching the details. Use 9 Keep observing and correcting your drawing as you
this time to get a sense of where all the key areas are. Draw a circle for the head, a spot inconsistencies between the page and model. At this
line to represent the shoulders, and some quick lines to represent the arms. This early stage, it’s recommended that you continue drawing
step shouldn’t take too long, and should still be loose, don’t worry about perfect light, quick strokes. Unless you’re doing a short pose,
lines yet. Carefully observe the model and then try to capture the pose with fast these lines will likely be drawn over later in the process,
strokes. Teleport around the room and view the model from different angles if it so don’t get too attached. Feel free to use the undo or
helps you visualise the forms better. eraser as you tighten up the drawing.
10 Darker lines
At this stage, your loose sketch should
be finished, and you can start to work darker
with more confident lines. There are a few
good tools to help with this. One is drawing
Face
with the trigger while hovering your hand
slightly above the page. This will let you 11 At this stage, I like to start working into
control the pressure with the trigger rather the face. This is a tricky process no matter
than physical touch, which gives you better
control over the darks. And for precision, the
what medium you’re using, but it’s especially
tricky in Gesture VR because of the small 12 Shadows
Shadows are a fun way to add realism
lazy brush is useful. Set this tool to a lower scale. You can make it easier by grabbing your and form. To do this, I scale my pen up a bit
value, such as one or two, and then slowly paper and scaling it by using the grip on both and press lightly against the paper. With a
drag out your lines. In real-life drawing, you hands, making the head larger and easier to large pen, you can subtly add large gradients
can get dark lines by pushing hard and work with. The pad has a finite resolution and then use the eraser to carve shapes out of
dragging slowly. Without the physical surface, though, so making the head larger won’t the shadow to give the illusion of light and
the lazy brush can help emulate this feeling. necessarily allow you to draw extremely shadow. If the shadows on the model aren’t
You can add form to your model by using a small details. This process involves trial and suiting your needs, you can always change
combination of thin and thick lines. error, and switching between drawing modes. the lighting again.
70
In depth VR drawing
13 Background
This step is optional, but I like to add a solid
background to really help make the model pop. This is a
good chance for me to clean up my edges one last time, 14 Finishing touches
By now, your drawing should be pretty well finished. Make your final
carefully tracing the model and using the eraser to carve observations and add any last strokes and details to your shadows or lines. It’s also
out the blackness when I go too far. Observing the a good opportunity to take some artistic liberties that will help guide the eye to
silhouette of the real model can inform this stage, and focal points in the scene. Try making areas fall into shadow, even if it doesn’t
switching to the black environment can help. necessarily match the lighting.
15 Export your drawing

Once your masterpiece is finished, you can share it
in several ways. The Camera tab is where you’ll find all of
the export options. For 2D drawings, you can press
Export to render the canvas as a 2D PNG file. You can
choose to export with or without a transparent
background. Alternatively, you can use the camera 16 Sketchbook
This drawing is just one of the many that you’ll create in your sketchbook.
snapshot to capture an image of your drawing next to the You can always return to your old sketches in future sessions, and even show off
model. It’s also an excellent way to capture a picture of your drawings in multiplayer! If you’re not satisfied with your work and want to get
your 3D drawings, as there’s no export functionality for rid of any sketches, you can simply press the bin icon to clear off the page, or long-
those drawings at this time. press the bin to delete it for good.
71
Workshops
Technique focus
ADD IMPACT TO
YOUR FAN ART
Evan Liu explains how he added dynamic
edge to his God of War Ragnarök tribute
“This image depicts a most wanted to achieve. By thinking

fictional boss battle of the human body as simple shapes,
that pits Kratos and it’s easy to find dynamic lines. Then
Týr against Thor. Týr’s I added a little force to those lines,
spear and his right which results in them taking on
arm, along with Kratos’s right arm, new shapes. This in turn creates a
form an arrow symbol that creates dynamic sense of force and thrust
huge visual impact, which is what I within the characters.”
72
Tech Focus Visual impact
Artist
PROFILE
Original concept by Sony/Santa Monica Studio
Evan Liu
LOCATION: China
Evan Liu is a senior

concept artist and art
director at Concept
Labs, and has previously
worked at Concept Art
House. Alongside this,
he is also the co-founder
of 3rd Visual Studio.
https://bit.ly/3XkQYyx
73
Workshops
Artist insight
17 TIPS TO DEVELOP
YOUR CHARACTERS
Writer Isabel Armitage shares her advice on building coherent
characters for your artwork – Art by Toby Hawksley
Artist I kind of stumbled been lucky enough to collaborate These tips will guide you through
©Robin Clewley
PROFILE upon my career in art.

Way back when I
with artists across the globe.
I believe there is a lot of merit in
exercises that can help your art in a
way you may not have considered
Isabel worked at a brewery in making and creating away from your before, detached from a visual
Armitage Yorkshire I met the workspace, and in terms of character, process, pushing you towards a
LOCATION: UK
gallery director of RedHouse where better place to explore that broader outlook on how a good
Isabel is the current Originals, who took a liking to my than the real world. Curiosity is an character is made. I hope they help
in-house writer for
RedHouse Originals, a relationship between art and words. underrated attribute and I hungrily you and can become an enjoyable
Harrogate-based gallery The combination of literate consume as much information as part of your creative process that
specialising in modern
descriptions with visuals is a winner, possible in life; catching knowledge doesn’t necessarily involve a drawing
and contemporary art.
https://bit.ly/3Y0QvBZ and since working at the gallery I’ve within a metaphorical net. tablet and Procreate.
2 MAKE A PLAYLIST.
YOUR CHARACTER LIKES
MUSIC TOO!
I’ve always been a serial playlist
maker and I often like making them
for my friends, tailoring music to how
I perceive them as a person. Almost
all of us have some form of
subscription to a one music sharing
platform or another and, in theory,
1 TRY FREE WRITING effortlessly in a less pressured, less calculated your character might too.
It’s undeniable that the creative industry is a manner. I often develop a character in my head to So why not craft them a playlist of
stressful one. I find the pressures of freelance and the point where my vision becomes far removed their favourite songs? This can be a
working for myself a tough career path from my original idea. Free writing can literally great tool to help you understand
sometimes, and one tip I find extremely useful free up the mind for a moment and allow you to the emotions of your character and
when I’m beginning the character development create more openly. begin revealing their likes, dislikes
process is free writing. You can really experiment here and work in a and guilty pleasures, all of which will
Free writing is when you set a timer for five location that you might not normally work in. I help you layer on a good narrative.
minutes and continuously write on a page like to get set up in coffee shops and natural Not only will this help your art, but it
without a second thought. I find this stream of environments the most. Take it in, write it down, is a fun activity that I find is a great
consciousness an opportunity to write and the best part is that you don’t think. way of breaking up my day.
74
Artist insight Character development
3 TAP INTO YOUR A few emotions I’ve thought

EMOTIONS of include the following:
Characters are emotional and Elated
your artwork will illustrate a Concerned
static emotion in time, so I find Distraught
it best to write these emotions Irate
down. Think of as many Confused
emotions as you can and write Muddled
a list of them. Ecstatic
I often spend a good 10 Sorrowful
minutes doing this so that I Bashful
can really get into the Embarrassed
intricacies of a specific feeling.
It’s great to take yourself away You can be as simplistic or
from drawing with exercises elaborate as you like, the
like this, so that your mind has Seven Dwarfs aren’t famous
some space to breathe. for nothing.
It becomes easier to figure

out the kind of characteristics
the individuals might have
4 RELATIONSHIP two people, with their specifics In Rooney’s case, she thought
MANAGEMENT coming in later. about taking the nerdy girl in
I like looking to literature in By thinking about how two of school and pairing her with one
these situations and Sally your characters interact with of the popular boys, and went
Rooney, author of best-selling each other, I find it becomes from there. Whether it’s a
novel Normal People, certainly much easier to figure out the mother-daughter dynamic or
has a sound understanding of kind of characteristics the the love between a boy and his
character development. She individuals might have, thus pet, developing the relationship
describes her process by first developing that richness we’re first can be a great way for your
creating a relationship between so striving for. character to form later.
75
Workshops
5 DISTINCTIVE MANNERISMS
We all have our unique quirks in life. In 6 USE YOUR OWN RELATIONSHIPS
my case, I like textures and often find A spiders web, our relationships are what define us as humans and your
myself feeling the softness of my jumper characters can be relayed in the same way. Use your relationships to show
between my thumb and index finger to this and use people you know to inspire how a character acts.
calm me. Your character can possess These relationships don’t have to be restricted to close family and friends;
these kinds of unique qualities too, so remember that we build relationships daily, no matter how small. The shop
have an exploration of mannerisms. keeper, the postman, or the doctor all have some form of relationship with
You can achieve this in a multitude of you as an individual, and can be used to inspire the life in your work.
ways. I enjoy various forms of media and
like watching a film I know well to try to
figure out what unique mannerisms each
character possesses, and use them in my
work. Absorbing as much information as
possible from the world we live in can
help within your art by making it seem
more authentic. Most of my journalistic
ideas come from experiencing life, the
news, films, art; anything with substance.
It may be daunting to start

drawing a stranger, so why
not take it easy, perhaps by
drawing someone’s dog first
76
7 USE SURROUNDINGS TO YOUR ADVANTAGE

How to utilise your environment when creating a sense of character
Choose your place Draw people around you Write about them
A When I’m creating a new character, I
B It may be daunting to start drawing a
C I like to then write 50 words about
like to choose a nice coffee shop. There’s stranger, so why not take it easy, perhaps them, a sort of synopsis of their entire life
no greater joy than an oat flat white, fast by drawing someone’s dog first, and see that I’ve invented in the space of five
wifi and a dimly lit, furniture-studded spot. where that path takes you. Use their minutes. Develop a backstory, a family tree,
Choose somewhere you love, somewhere features, watch their mannerisms, and write as much down as you can within five
you’ve been before, it doesn’t matter, but study them to create a piece of artwork minutes and by the end of it, you should
make sure it’s full of life and vibrancy. that reflects how they look. have formed some kind of character.
8 EVERYONE 9 GO FOR THE SLOW

HAS THEIR OWN REVEAL PROCESS
WEAKNESSES With all this new information it’s easy
As much as I don’t care to to get caught up in the complexities
admit it, I have weaknesses of character. Relax. The best way to
and so do you. Even reveal your character is slowly. No
superheroes, the characters one walks into a room and speaks
who are often viewed as about every aspect of their life.
untouchable within a Take it slowly and reveal your
narrative, possess some character in parts, showing their
form of weakness, so have attributes and feelings across a
a look into what that might be. A weakness could be physical breadth of pieces. For a standalone
or mental, and are often aspects of character that make piece, choose your favourite
someone seem more real, more relatable, and ultimately able expression and view the work as a
to carry a better story. No one is perfect, and your character snapshot of their life rather than a
doesn’t need to be either. reveal of the entirety all at once.
77
Workshops
10 THAT’S ALL ANCIENT HISTORY 11 SKETCH FIRST AND SKETCH SMALL

As you can see, a sense of character is The procreate ether can often be a daunting concept, I find there is a
achieved through layering and adding as multitude of brushes, colours, depths and tones that can bring richness to
much information as possible to make it your painting later on. Taking a step back and thumbnail drawing can be a
feel believable. For me, history is integral great way to initially gauge the facial features of your character. Use a pencil
to anything I write or draw about, so why or go for the digital approach, but starting off small can be a great way to
not make a family tree and get creative quickly visualise the character you’re focusing on.
about it? The history of your character
will affect the way they act, so if they
come from a family with 10 siblings they Spend a day researching with your
are bound to have a series of character
traits that will relate to this.
friends – artists or not – to see how
It’s up to you how far you go with this, they react to a set of characters
whether you opt for my technique of
using an old scrap of paper and a trusty
uni-ball pen, or if you want to go to town
on Procreate and customise the tree to
be a beautiful, tea-stained tapestry of
times gone by.
12 DEVELOP A STRONG LINE OF ACTION

A great way of developing your character is with a strong line
of action. Start by drawing a series of lines you think associate 13 LINES, LINES, LINES Naturally we associate softness
with a certain action. The slam of a hammer on a brick, for Speaking of lines, there are a with a sweeter character, whereas
example, may be a fast movement with an explosive tailend, number of ways you can use your harsh lines can correlate a tenseness
whereas an embrace between two long lost comrades will drawing line to associate your or anger. Use this to your advantage
possess a soft curvature. character with the concept you’ve by exploiting line shape and length
Fast drawings can allow your subconscious to speak up, developed in your head. Think about for the character in question, using
and drawing a collection of strong lines of action can be a the meaning of soft curved lines in certain lines to reveal characteristics
great way of understanding your character on a deeper level. comparison to sharpness. you’ve worked hard on so far.
78
14 TIME TO ACCESSORISE deeply into gardening and never

YOUR CHARACTERS found without a trowel, or your
You’ve added the lines, the colours, mad uncle seems to be stuck with
the gestures and movements. Now a beer in their hand. Your
it’s time to accessorise. If you really characters have these quirks too.
think about it, do we as humans So accessorise and choose wisely,
ever leave the house without the because they might end up
addition of some form of holding a specific item every time
accessory? Maybe your mum is you wish to draw them.
15 THE IMPORTANCE OF COLOUR

Books have been written about the importance of
colour. There is a universal scientific understanding
of how colours interact with each other, so taking
this into consideration, your colour palette is vital.
Your use of colour can link back to building a
relationship with another character before you
develop the character themselves. I like using
complimentary colours for characters who are in
love, or contrasting colours for characters who
hate each other. You can really lean into colour to
develop your character and reinforce the viewer’s
association with colour and emotion.
Read up about how different emotions can
relate to different colours and keep that in mind
when choosing your palettes. If you’re stuck for
palettes, take to the web. You can find a plethora of
different options and even use websites to
randomly generate a palette for you.
17 ASK AROUND
One of my most important tips is to
ask around. Your friendships are
invaluable research to understanding
16 BE HONEST Admitting that a feature isn’t how others interact with your
One of the hardest parts to any quite right is difficult, but a good character and whether or not it’s the
form of creative outlet is to be way to get over this is practising reaction you want.
honest with yourself about how drawing a multitude of eyes, for Spend a day researching with your
the artwork is going. Self criticism example, to see which one works friends – artists or not – to see how
is an art in itself and takes years to best. Even if you do ultimately they react to a set of characters. Ask
master, but openly engaging in return to your original drawing, them their favourites, their problems,
your own flaws and recognising there’s nothing wrong with you could even do this in a cafe with
that something isn’t working out experimentation. Just don’t get strangers. Being bold and fearless of
is a tough but necessary part of too attached, as the separation your artwork is an essential element
character development. will hurt too much. to developing a good character. You
need to back your work.
79
Workshops
Technique focus
EXPAND ON YOUR
“This piece is based on
a character design by
concept artist Soanja
SOURCE MATERIALS Connac, who designed

a little beetle robot for
a project we’re working on. I designed
Discover how concept artist Adrien Cantone embraced the a mecha version of her robot and a
references that inspired his epic Mecha vs Kaiju battle render kaiju based on a mantis crab.
80
Tech Focus References
Artist
PROFILE
Adrien
Cantone
LOCATION: France
Adrien is a 25-year-old
freelance concept artist.
He earned a master’s
degree in illustration in
2021 and has since
worked with studios
such as Sony Pictures
Animation, Amopix and
Classics F5.
https://bit.ly/3iz2asR
I modelled the two characters in I then used the 3D renders in

Blender and assembled the scene combination with Photoshop’s
using some assets from CGTrader. blending modes, including Multiply
Once the scene was modelled and and Soft Light, to add shadows and
the camera angle and lighting highlights. Finally, I added some
chosen, I imported my grey render noise to my illustration to create a
into Photoshop to work on the line- vintage rendering typical of the early
art, colours and textures. Tokusatsu genre.”
81
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Traditional Artist
Inspiration and advice from the best pro artists
88 84
94 96
This issue:
84 Traditional FXPosé
Discover this month’s selection
of the finest traditional art,
which has been sent in by you!
88 Workshop: Draw an
ethereal fantasy character
Cameron Scott Davis keeps the
traditional vibes in his artwork.
94 Tech focus: Tending

to a floral vision
The first shoots that sprouted into
Jason Mowry’s botanical art.
96 First Impressions:
Jacob Walker
Learn how a trip to Gen Con
kickstarted the artist’s career.
83
Traditional Artist FXPosé
SHOWCASING THE FINEST TRADITIONAL ARTISTS
Sean D. Price
LOCATION: US MEDIA: Coloured Pencil WEB: www.artofprice.com
Sean is a self-taught illustrator who has previously

worked within the tattoo industry. He loves to mix
fantasy-inspired imagery with bold shape language.
1 2
1 P.L.A.Y.E.R. 2
“Based on my sister and I
when we were kids playing video
2 THE BROWN BEACON
“One of my personal
favourite pieces. It has a lot of
3 A PLACE FOR ME
“This is my interpretation of
a lovely childhood memory that I
4 YOU SHOULD THANK
THE PLACES YOU KEEP
BURIED DEEP...
games. She always beat me, but I Easter eggs that reference my hold very near and dear.” “This piece represents a feeling
still love her just the same.” earlier work. I plan to do more of spiteful anger being used both
pieces like this in the future.” with you and against you.”

Inspirational art

Traditional Artist FXPosé
Ashleigh Izienicki (aka MissUpacey)

LOCATION: US MEDIA: Ink, watercolour, gouache, coloured pencil WEB: missupacey.com
Ashleigh developed her style from a love of fantasy themes, combined with
an interest in all things macabre. Her work focuses on female figures that
are frequently based on mythology and legends from other cultures.

Inspirational art
3 4 1 BLACK WIDOWS
“An illustration that
symbolises the nature of
death, which I made during
my tattoo apprenticeship.”
2 TRANQUILITY
“This is a sister piece to
Ignorance. It shows a demon
that is sleeping peacefully,
representing the truth
setting someone free.”
3 BLOOD
“I like leaving my original
pieces a little messy and a
little sketchy. I think it evokes
more emotion that way.”
4 IGNORANCE
“This piece depicts an
angel covering skulls with
gold. This concept is a visual
representation of the saying
‘ignorance is bliss’.”

Traditional Artist Workshop
88
In depth Draw a fantasy character
Pencil Photoshop
DRAW AN ETHEREAL
FANTASY CHARACTER
CAMERON SCOTT DAVIS shows how to maintain a traditional feel when
transferring your drawings to digital software for finishing touches
T
hat feel of traditional MATERIALS lines, before putting away the to illustrate a character named Luci
media is something I’ve reference and going in with darker from my original IP Sleep Walker,
PENCILS
always loved, but is Col-erase animation
lines when everything feels right. about lucid dreamers who possess
challenging to maintain pencils The final line-art is spray fixed the ability to physically travel
in the digital world. In Mars Staedtler before being scanned and cleaned up between worlds through dreams.
this tutorial I’ll take you through my Lumograph 4H further with Photoshop. From there, Luci is trapped in a lighthouse in a
step-by-step process for creating an Pentel .05 it’s a game of pushing and pulling world known as Hypnogogia,
illustration coloured with the speed mechanical pencil values and hues beneath the line somewhere between the Dream
and freedom of digital, while Artist’s Loft black layer, and defining forms until all Universe and the Waking World.
keeping the classic traditional vibe. watercolour pencil feels balanced and lit naturally. Then Isolated in a world void of time, the
I’ll demonstrate how starting loose OTHER I’ll be painting over the top in certain only indication of her true age is the
and messy will free you up creatively, Kneaded eraser areas I want to draw the eye and length of her once ginger hair. She’s
as well as make it easier to compose 12-inch ruler focus of the viewer. an old soul and going straight in
Photoshop
accurately. From here, I’ll sketch with A digital painting is never ‘done’, with digital didn’t seem like the right
different coloured animation pencils so I may go in and add another level fit for conveying her personality.
and build the image up using of detail at a later stage. Though it Cameron has worked in
multiple layers and passes, focusing should be mentioned that over- entertainment for 15 years,
on angles and proportions observed rendering an image can squash the and served as a character
from a reference photo. I’ll slowly life and human touch from it. designer on the Guitar Hero
sneak up on the major shapes, Story, for me, is the most vital franchise and Tony Hawk’s games. See
smudging with fingers and erasing aspect of image creation. I’ve chosen more of his work at bit.ly/3EMqM8C.
89
Keep on sketching
2 I want to keep it loose to avoid getting too
precious early on and allow for happy accidents to
present themselves. Here, I’m focusing on proportion
Rough layout
1 I start loosely working from reference using a Col-erase animation pencil,
and angles of the anatomy, and making sure the
character feels like they’re in a natural position. The
holding it with an overhand grip so as to not get too tight too quickly. This stage is reference is then put away so I’m not tied to it and am
a purposeful mess. I’m exploring, working out angles, composition, and so on. more open for imagination and play.
Define details
3 Next I’ll make another pass with a different
coloured animation pencil, typically something darker
than the initial sketch. Here I’ll begin to pull out details
Clean up
using a tighter grip on the pencil and define edges and
different materials. What makes these Col-erase
4 For this, I’ll use a kneaded eraser. I can press it over the entire image, pulling
animation pencils special, or different, from Prismacolor up excess pencil, or shape it with my fingers to create a sharper edge and pull out
is their ability to be erased, hence the name! highlights, and completely get rid of the pencil lines.
90
Smudging
5 Spray fixing
Through the sketching process, I’m often rubbing
and smudging the rough layout lines with my greasy little
6 Once I’ve laid in a series of passes that I’m happy with and cleaned up some
fingers. This will start to create value as well as a nice, of the lines, I’ll spray down the drawing using a Workable Fixatif from Krylon. Make
traditional texture that will be useful in preserving that sure to do this outside or in a well-ventilated space. I assume this stuff is pretty
traditional feel when it has gone digital. nasty for your health if inhaled!
Let it dry completely

7 Allowing the image to fully dry will fix the pencil to the page, but still let you go over the top with more layers of pencil. Note that you
won’t be able to erase after spray fixing, but it also won’t smudge, so make sure the image is where you want it. Wash your hands after working
with the artwork as well, so you don’t ingest it when you’re reaching for your snacks of choice.
91
Scan the image

9 Next I’ll scan the image and bring it into
Final traditional step
8 For the traditional process, I’ll go over the top with a black pencil. I used a
Photoshop for a clean-up and value adjustment. You can
totally use a high-resolution photo from a smartphone if
watercolour pencil in this case, but it isn’t necessary. This is essentially the inking the lighting is sufficient. I use Levels and have the Dodge
stage if you want to make a comic book analogy. tool set to Highlights for digital clean-up.
Layers and blocking

10 At this point I’ll block in basic values and separate each material onto its own layer. I’ll loosely block in local colour and begin to light it
with value, locking down the layer and using an Airbrush with lowered opacity.
92
Search for details

11 This is one of my favourite parts. I love to zoom in
on a particular area and be surprised by what the
traditional texture of the pencil on paper will present. At
Filter
this stage it’s all about making things ‘bump’, that is in
this case adding highlights to the top of edges and
12 For large, flat areas such as the thigh where line-work and texture is void, I’ll
shadows to the underside. throw a Noise filter over the layer. This will help once again with feeling less digital.
Make elements glow

13 Finishing touches
For this, I may paint over the top with a layer set
to Overlay or Screen. Alternatively, adding a layer set to
14 Eventually I’ll paint digitally over the traditional line layer in certain areas
Color Dodge and filling it with black, before airbrushing where I want the viewer to look. This is when the painting really begins to sing and
on it with a saturated colour, will really make things glow. the ugly duckling stage begins to fade away. I’ll continue this stage to my heart’s
It’s like painting with a Glow brush in Corel Painter. content, or until the client pulls the plug on my time.
93
Technique focus
TENDING TO A
FLORAL VISION
JASON MOWRY talks us through the evolution that
bloomed in his botanically inspired artwork
T
he early seed for this painting I made several simple gestural
started as a garden of symbolic studies and worked with a model for
ciphers. The floral forms speak reference. Arriving at the final pose
to the central figure and are collected for the central, emotionally charged
around the character. figure was a confluence of study and
Many shapes have origins in serendipity. A solid line drawing was
botanical forms, but I wanted to helpful when starting the painting,
avoid recognisable representations or but I left room for the garden to
studies, so I let the flowered forms bloom spontaneously.
evolve. Some started as ghost flowers Jason has exhibited globally
and bloomed big, wet eyes. Many of in fine art galleries including
the flowers are nods to Hieronymus Arcadia Gallery and Outré,
Bosch and his painting The Garden and in 2019 and 2021
of Earthly Delights, with soft and illustrated Thomas Harris’s Red Dragon
spiny elements making their way and Hannibal books. His third solo show
into the final artwork. for Haven Gallery opened in January.
94
Tech focus Floral visions
95
Traditional Artist Interview
First Impressions
Jacob Walker
The fantasy artist
introduces his
favourite work and
early influences
Where did you grow
up and how has this
influenced your art?
I grew up in rural
Indiana, in the US
Midwest. I spent much of my time
outside in the woods and have a
love of nature. Many of my early art
influences had great representations
of nature in their work, such as
Maxfield Parrish, Roger Dean and
Alphonse Mucha.
What, outside of art, has most

influenced your art over the years?
Music! It’s not visual but somehow
seems relevant. Music puts me in
the right space to paint, as if it can
put me in the space I’m painting.
You’re a child, you see a piece of art

that changes everything. Where are
you, what are you looking at, and
what effect did it have?
I remember looking at my mom’s THE GREEN SEER
This creature sees all that nature
album covers for the band Yes. She sees. This piece came from a
doodle in my sketchbook.
then showed me a book by the same
artist, Roger Dean. I was glued to
that book for a long time.
Music puts me in the right

space to paint, as if it can put
me in the space I’m painting
What was your next step? Did other
interests vie for your attention?
What was the deciding factor?
I found comic books and fell in love
with that medium for a while. Then
when I was introduced to Magic:
The Gathering, I found fantasy that
felt fresh and weird, and I loved it.
Anson Maddocks and Mark Tedin MUNINN
were my favourites in those days. I love Odin’s quest for
knowledge and the part that
They changed my direction. his ravens play in it.
96
Jacob Walker
LINK VS GOHMA FAN ART
Sometimes I get private commissions
that make me wonder, ‘Why didn’t I
paint that sooner?’
97
Traditional Artist Interview
CALL OF CTHULHU
When the pandemic hit and we were in lockdown, I
channeled madness into it for three months.
Tell us about your first paid

commission, and does it stand as a
representation of your talent?
I went to Gen Con for the first time
in 2002. I took a bunch of xeroxed
copies of my pen and ink work and
hit up some third-party Dungeons
and Dragons publishers. I can’t
remember the first gig that I
received, but it came from that. I
cringe at the very thought of seeing
those early pieces again.
What is the last piece that you

finished? How do the two differ?
My new work is on par with a lot of
what I wished I could do back when
I started out. Seeing that growth
makes me hopeful that I can
continue to grow and not get
burned out or too stagnant.
What advice would you give to your

younger self to aid you on the way? HARVEST HULK artist. It’s such a roller coaster of desirable than making creator-
‘Draw more’ seems to be the answer A witch’s construct made for finances and emotion. owned content instead.
their protection during the
to almost every problem. It seems harvest ritual. Workshops and schools focus on
like a boring answer, but it’s the teaching art, but very few actually What character or scene that you’ve
seed that everything grows from. address how to make a living or a painted do you most identify with?
Draw with the intent to learn. life out of it. I love discussing this My Call of Cthulhu poster probably
topic with other artists. has the biggest intersection of
Is making a living as an artist all interest. I love poster art, Art
you thought it would be? How has the industry of art Nouveau, cosmic horror, and
I don’t think I had the foresight to changed for good since you’ve been painting monsters. None of my
even ask myself what it would be working in it? work says much about me, just the
like when I was a starry-eyed young Ways to make money have things that I like.
blossomed thanks to both the Jacob Walker is an illustrator and artist
Seeing that growth makes internet and conventions. Now,

illustrators are no longer tied to or
who primarily paints monsters using
traditional materials. Outside of personal
me hopeful I can continue to limited by what freelance work they
can get. In many cases, freelance
projects, he works for tabletop game
makers and book publishers. See more of
grow and not get stagnant rates have made it much less his art at www.jacobwalkerart.com.
98
9000 9021

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Editor’s letter

Welcome to… EDITOR’S CHOICE Three of my top

Hello and welcome to issue

Editor Secrets of black and white art

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SUBSCRIBE & SAVE!

News and events

30 A day in the life of...

50 Sketchbook: Thomas Elliott

56 Sketchbook: Iain Thody

66 Sharpen your drawing skills

74 17 tips to develop characters

80 Embrace your inspirations

88 Workshop: Draw an ethereal

Secrets of black and white art 94 Tending to a floral vision

Character development tips GET YOUR

Embrace your inspirations Jacob Walker

Learn to draw striking humanoid beasts george.lucas@futurenet.com, 01225 687331

with artist and tattooist ZIUK

Distributed by Marketforce, 5 Churchill Place, Canary Wharf, London, E14 5HU

All contents © 2023 Future Publishing Limited or published under

Deak Ferrand Create stylised Life, art and

We speak to the Get in-depth Canadian artist

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Character and creature designer Brahim grew up

Originally from France, Gabriel moved to Belgium to study illustration and

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

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

Alix is a digital illustrator and character artist whose inspirations

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

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Krzysztof started drawing after meeting professional artists

1 THE TINKERER GIRL

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

Want to submit your work? Visit http://ifxm.ag/getinifx 21

“This character design sheet was a

AT THE CORE OF THE DIGITAL ART COMMUNITY

“Giving yourself design challenges, or

The art of storytelling Tanya Combrinck talks to four

“Mood boards are one thing that I

“Research is all about time management,

“Think about how your character emotes and

A design principle that has solidify my own choices later on.

Seeing something work in practice

“Once you develop an eye for design, it feels

“Reference is super important. It makes

Do you consciously apply

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What advice would you give

“I sometimes pull in "Taking on the role of an industry