2019 08 01 - ImagineFX PDF
2019 08 01 - ImagineFX PDF
2019 08 01 - ImagineFX PDF
WORKSHOP
IMAGINATIVE
SOFTWARE REALISM
LIFE BEYOND Master abstract
mark-making skills
PHOTOSHOP
The alternatives
Learn to mix digital
and traditional art
you need to try techniques – page 68
HOURS OF PRO
VIDEO TUITION
INTERVIEW
BECOME A JAW COOPER TALKS
LIFE, DEATH AND MAGIC
FANTASY
ARTIST
Create texture and
meaning in your
works of art with
Chantal Horeis
ALSO INSIDE
BRING A FANTASY
CREATURE TO LIFE
BASTIEN LECOUFFE
DEHARME INTERVIEW
ISSUE 176
DISCOVER THE NEW
TOOLS IN PROCREATE
Editor’s letter
20
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4 August 2019
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August 2019 5
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Contents
Your art 38 56
SUBSCRIBE & SAVE!
10 FXPosé
You submit your work to us and we then
show your gorgeous art to the world!
30 Artist in Residence
Children’s book illustrator Christine
Kornacki has assembled a colourful oasis
for the perfect work-life balance.
Features
38 Interview: JAW Cooper
Life, death, magic and Rupert the
Artist Portfolio
BASTIEN
perverted chinchilla: we step into the
British-born artist’s alternate reality.
56 Interview:
Bastien Lecouffe Deharme
We get up close and philosophical with
the French illustrator who lives by his
COOPER
“My personal work
DEHARME
“Anatomy, curves,
own “personal code”.
is cathartic…” flesh and bones”
Reviews Cooper draws out her influences The touchpoints in Bastien’s art
90 Hardware
95 Training 20 30
96 Books
Regulars
3 Editor’s letter
4 Subscriptions
8 Resources
28 Digital subscriptions
37 Letters
54 Back issues
80 Next month Artist in Residence:
Photoshop alternatives Christine Kornacki
88 Sign up for our newsletter
6 August 2019
Issue 176 August 2019
48 74
Workshops
68 Mix traditional and digital tools
There are many ways to use traditional
techniques to enhance your digital
artwork, as Chantal Horeis explains.
82
Fantasy character
104 Workshop:
Abstract mark-making skills
Vanessa Lemen uses abstract mark-making
to conjure macro fantastical worlds within
her imaginative realism artworks.
110 Workshop:
Paint with pencil and acrylic
Tran Nguyen elaborates on the steps she
takes when creating an original work of
fantasy art for an exhibition.
August 2019 7
Resources
1 Go to the website
Type this into your browser’s
address bar (not the search bar):
https://ifxm.ag/fantasy176artist
8 August 2019
Issue 176 August 2019
WORKSHOPS Editorial
Acting Group Editor in Chief Claire Howlett
claire.howlett@futurenet.com
Art Editor Daniel Vincent
Operations Editor Cliff Hope
Contributors
Dominic Carter, David Cousens, Chase Curtis, Gary Evans,
Ruth Hamilton, Fatemeh Haghnejad, Richard Hill, Chantal
Horeis, Kerrie Hughes, Christine Kornacki, Vanessa Lemen,
Tran Nguyen, Max Ulichney
Advertising
Media packs are available on request
Commercial Director Clare Dove
clare.dove@futurenet.com
Senior Advertising Manager Mike Pyatt
michael.pyatt@futurenet.com, 01225 687538
Account Director George Lucas
george.lucas@futurenet.com, 01225 687331
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assume all unsolicited material is for publication unless otherwise stated, and
See Fatemeh Haghnejad bring a young faun to life in her video, then turn to page 82. reserve the right to edit, amend or adapt all submissions.
August 2019 9
2
Joel Holtzman
LOCATION: The Netherlands MEDIA: Photoshop WEB: www.joelchaimholtzman.com
1
1 GOOD MORNING
“A lot of dogs don’t
appreciate lazy Sundays.
My dog, who I based this
picture on, makes a
distinctive noise that goes
with her impatient stare.”
2
3 CAT FESTIVAL
“Cats are awesome. I like
how independent they are.
It’s almost like they have their
own secret society hidden
from our eyes. They deserve
a magical night festival where
we can celebrate them.”
4 IN FLAMES
“This one is about how
hard it is to go forward
sometimes. For example,
when we’re in the worst
possible place and
everything is falling apart.
But we can’t just stop, right?”
5 HER
“I drew my One [wife]
and tried to mix her
personality with her look.
She is the cutest and the
toughest person at the
same time. She’s just
pure awesomeness.”
4 5
1
1 SMOKE
“I put my own feelings into the
character. Waking up to find a super-
villain probably feels like waking up
to a fire drill with an exam the
following morning.”
3 ROOFTOP STUNT
“I tried to depict an epic chase
scene where cars (and motorbikes)
don’t necessary touch the ground…
A fine way to escape.”
1 SWAMP TRIBE
“A mood painting to show how the
swamp tribe looks at nighttime, with
2
2 BUTCHERY KITCHEN
“This shows the interior of the store
where butchers work. I blocked out the
basic form in SketchUp first, then added
details in Photoshop.”
2 EMERGE
“This personal piece was one of my first
breakthroughs. It explores the theme of
3 BOSSK
“A Star Wars: Destiny cover showing one
of the bounty hunters from The Empire
4 TAPESTRY: UNRAVELING FATE
“This was my first book cover. Art
director Tommy Arnold was instrumental in
emerging from hiding.” Strikes Back. The TV series Rebels explored guiding this piece and for teaching me what
his home world, where this illustration is set.” makes for an effective cover.”
Best Photoshop
Give your fantasy character
designs a traditional media
look with Rebelle.
alternatives for
digital artists
Money saver Look beyond Adobe’s big-hitter and
explore a range of low-cost tools, with Kerrie Hughes
20 August 2019
X-RATED KEEP IT REAL MAKE YOUR
ARTWORKS WITH TEAL VOICE HEARD!
Fed up of social media Children’s book This month’s reader’s
sites censoring erotic illustrator Christine letters page features
art, over 100 artists Kornacki’s favourite compliments on our
contributed to a colour adorns many recent interviews, and a
collection of sexy art, items in her studio, complaint about a slow
which was Kickstarted which even features postal service. You win
into book form. a vintage fireplace. some, you lose some…
Page 29 Page 30 Page 37
Rebelle
Platform: Windows 7, 8 and 10; OS X 10.11 or better
Price: £71 Pros: Authentic painting experience,
affordable, free trial version Cons: Limited brush presets
Use Rebelle’s Tilt tool
to alter the angle of
Web: www.escapemotions.com
the canvas and make
your paints run.
JULIJA LUBGANE
August 2019 21
ImagineNation News
Procreate
Platform: iOS 12.0 or better Price: £9.99
Pros: Excellent value, professional toolset, highly responsive
Cons: iPad only, no animation tools, no free version
Web: www.procreate.art
If it’s a painting app for iPad you’re that it even bagged itself an Apple
after, you’d be hard pushed to find Design Award back in 2013.
better performance and value than With an easy-to-use layout,
Procreate. What first started out as a Procreate is packed with features
basic drawing app back in 2010, has artists will love, from true-to-life
transformed over the years into a pencils, inks and brushes, to advanced MAGGIE ENTERRIOS
NIKOLAI LOCKERTSEN
22 August 2019
Artist news, software & events
TRENT KANIUGA
SketchBook includes
over 190 customisable
brushes, together
with pencils, inks
SketchBook
and markers. Platform: iOS 10 or later; Android OS 4.0.3 or better;
OS X 10.12 or better; Windows 7, 8 and 10
Price: Free for personal use
Pros: Full version is free, gentle learning curve, large
canvas Cons: Tools focus more on drawing than painting
Web: www.sketchbook.com
When you think about the tools you might use to create
your next piece of art, Autodesk’s SketchBook might not be
one of the first products that springs to mind. But there’s
The program’s plenty more to this nifty little drawing application than
Predictive Stroke meets the eye.
tool helps to smooth
out your lines. GENNARO GRAZIOSO SketchBook offers a varied toolset for artists, with a huge
choice of customisation options, especially when it comes
to brushes. The program also has an intuitive interface,
which remains incognito until you need it to help make the
most of the workspace, and a creative workflow that makes
it much more accessible than you might expect. That said,
SketchBook clearly places the focus on drawing tools, so if
you specifically want it for painting then you might find it
lacks some of the authentic functionality found in other
dedicated painting software.
One of the best things about SketchBook, however, is
that it’s free to absolutely everyone. And we’re not talking a
watered-down version either. It includes all the pro tools,
including perspective grids, layer effects, premium brushes
and the ability to create as many layers as you want. All you
have to do is create an Autodesk ID after the initial seven-
PARIS CHRISTOU day trial period and it’s all yours.
August 2019 23
ImagineNation News
As with traditional oils,
you can push, scrape
and blend your paints
on the canvas.
AJMAL MOHAMMED
Painter
Platform: Windows 7,8 and 10; OS X 10.11 or better
Price: £270 (new); £135 (upgrade from previous version)
Pros: Improved performance, modern-looking user-interface, large selection
of brushes Cons: Expensive if purchasing from new
Web: www.corel.com
24 August 2019
Artist news, software & events
Krita
Platform: Windows 7, 8 and 10; OS X 10.11; Linux
Price: Free Pros: Intuitive interface, customisable, free
Cons: Small user base, not much support
Web: www.krita.org
August 2019 25
ImagineNation News
Affinity Designer
Platform: Windows 7, 8.1 and 10; OS X 10.9 or better;
iOS 11 or better Price: £49 (desktop), £19.99 (iPad)
Pros: Excellent value, pro tools, free trial, desktop and
mobile version Cons: No Android version
Web: www.affinity.serif.com
MAN-TSUN TSANG
´ ŠUMSKI
IVAN BLAŽETIC
26 August 2019
Artist news, software & events
AT A GLANCE
NEIL EDWARDS
SAVE MONEY,
GET PAINTING!
Three more free art tools that
you may not have discovered…
Paint.Net
www.getpaint.net
Platform: Windows
SumoPaint
www.sumopaint.com
Platform: Browser
Artweaver
If comic book creation or manga art is your Clip Studio Paint provides access to 36 pre-
www.artweaver.de/en
thing, Clip Studio Paint has a toolset that lends designed comic panel pages as well as the Platform: Windows
itself perfectly. It’s available in two versions – Pro option to use the program to create your own.
and Ex – the main differences being the number It also offers a variety of assets, including A large brush selection and
of tools you have access to, such as being able to characters, backgrounds, props and effects that customisable interface, Artweaver is
create multi-page comics in the Ex version you can add to your panels, and advanced pen a great painting option if you’re on a
compared to single-page comics in the Pro pressure detection for natural, realistic-looking budget. Even the free version of this
edition. Yet if you’re on a budget, the affordable pen strokes. There are options to work with both full-featured software is enough to
Pro version still provides you with plenty of raster and vector graphics, and a range of let you bring even the most
painting and drawing tools to achieve brushes, markers and shading tools. Explore the complex of digital paintings to life.
professional-looking art. trial version and see what it can do for you.
August 2019 27
GET IMAGINEFX
FROM £2.10 PER ISSUE!
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Our digital editions
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28 August 2019
Artist news, software & events
of #hardcover
Under cover Over 100 leading artists take a stand
against censorship with this collection of X-rated work
People seemed excited – maybe even idols creating adult art without fear,”
says Spiridon.
relieved – to see so many of their idols If you want to get your hands on
#hardcover, priced £35, pre-order it
creating adult art without fear at https://ifxm.ag/hardcover.
August 2019 29
ImagineNation Artist in Residence
I’m often working on long-term projects that cover several This kneeling chair is one of the best
months. It really helps me to have a quick visual calendar to purchases I’ve bought for my health. It helps
keep track of things. I painted the wall with teal chalk paint my posture when I’m working between my
and an acrylic paint marker to create a chalkboard calendar. drafting table, computer and Cintiq.
Christine Kornacki
I’m almost always sipping on a cup of
tea. I have a couple of mug warmers
throughout the studio to make sure that
it always stays nice and warm.
When hunting for my complete with vaulted ceilings, working if I don’t have things well
first home last year skylights and a vintage fireplace (not planned out ahead of time (note my
I had one request: to mention a built-in bar). I’ve spent a large chalkboard calendar on the wall).
I wanted a big studio. lot of time over the years imagining That’s part of the reason I enjoy
Once I walked into a how I would set up a home studio to children’s books so much: it’s a large
house with this large, 500 square feet best streamline my creative workflow, puzzle and I love solving it. When I’m
addition in the back I immediately fell and with this house I finally had the working on multiple oil paintings at
in love with the room. chance to make it come true. once it takes some careful planning to
Most people would probably see I’m a very organised person. I love to stay on deadline.
this space as a family room, but I knew make to-do lists and schedules. It can I used to be a night-time worker,
that it was the studio of my dreams be hard for me to concentrate on staying up late every night after
30 August 2019
Artist news, software & events
This is Scout (aka Baby Scout), my studio assistant. She spends her In case you haven’t noticed, teal is my favourite colour. I often During the winter months you’ll usually find me
days sitting in the window watching for birds, trying to prevent me get comments from strangers pointing out that I match with the bundled up in multiple layers to stay warm. This
from working by sitting on my lap, and stealing my seat (despite the multiple teal-coloured items on me at any given time. Teal and free-standing fireplace keeps me toasty warm
many chair options in the studio). navy were also my wedding colours. while I’m working.
I use references for all of my paintings and when I want a unique All of my finished paintings are in oils, but I do most of my Throughout my studio you’ll find a foam roller to work out
outfit for my character to wear, I’ll sew it myself. In college I couldn’t preliminary work digitally. When I’m working on 15+ digital the knots in my back, small weights to strengthen my
afford to buy a dress for a Rapunzel painting, so I borrowed my sketches for a children’s book it can save a lot of time to back, a yoga mat and a small pedal bike under my desk.
mum’s sewing machine and taught myself how to do it. have a large Cintiq for thumbnails and sketches. Physical health is important for a working artist.
While lost in the woods, a young girl finds herself face to face with Winter, in this
children’s book story that I wrote and illustrated.
August 2019 31
ImagineNation Artist in Residence
32 August 2019
Artist news, software & events
August 2019 33
ImagineNation Artist in Residence
I got home from my day job to breakfast, make a cup of tea, and then
complete freelance assignments. get right to work. You can find me in
Working these extreme hours resulted the studio almost every day of the
in me suffering several artist injuries week (depending on my workload),
that have defined my studio setup. but I try not to work too many Although I have a lot of Once dinner time comes around I’ll
my artwork on display
After I met my husband and became a continuous hours doing the same throughout the house, finish up and spend the rest of the
full-time freelance illustrator, creating a thing throughout the day. I take several I wanted my studio night with my husband. I love cooking,
to be filled with
better work-life balance became tea breaks, with an hour-long lunch, inspiration. I’ve started baking and learning new things. Dinner
extremely important. and then do yoga or strength exercises a collection of prints often feels more like another fun
and original pieces by
for my back. Having a lounge area in artists I admire. My goal project for me and I rarely end up
THE DAILY ROUTINE my studio not only gives me the space one day is to fill my
walls completely.
making the same recipe more than
Every day I typically wake up naturally for, but also encourages me to take once. My goal is to really think about
between 6 and 7am, have some those all-important breaks. my life and career in the long run and
enjoy every part to the fullest without
34 August 2019
Artist news, software & events
August 2019 35
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BINDER TODAY!
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This sturdy binder, featuring cover art from our 150th issue, will store and
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36 August 2019
Letters
August 2019 37
Interview
ARTIST PORTFOLIO
JAW COOPER
Life, death, magic and Rupert the perverted chinchilla:
Gary Evans steps into the LA-based artist’s alternate reality
J
AW Cooper can tell you the exact Her mother also practised scientific
moment she got into art. Her illustration. Cooper, aged six years old,
parents worked in ecology and spent a summer at a research
evolutionary biology, specialising laboratory in the Sierra Nevada
in freshwater invertebrates. Her Mountains. Here she watched her
parents’ research took them around mother draw birds in great detail, and
the world, so Cooper grew up was “fixated.”
“somewhat nomadically.” “It seemed like such a mesmerising
She and her younger sister were free trick to make an image appear using
to explore their surroundings. In only a blank piece of paper and lines,
Ireland, she searched for oysters in the but I determined I could perform this CHILDHOOD DRAWING
caves of Oysterhaven. In California, magic too, if I took a methodical “Where it all started! Done as a bored six-year old.”
she fished mountain rivers with bare approach to learning.
hands till her fingers went numb. In “I drew grids on paper and then with drawing and improvement was
Kenya, she “bestowed unwanted drew a cat in each box, trying to the only one that caught hold and
attention” on all kinds of animals improve on the previous one each never let go of me.”
(“sorry, small wild tortoise who lived time and figure out what worked
in our front yard in Nairobi, that and what didn’t. I had many hobbies TOUGH TIME AT COLLEGE
I washed your shell every day”). as a young child, but this obsession Cooper attended Otis College of Art
and Design in Los Angeles. She doesn’t
remember her time there with any
I had many hobbies as a young child, great fondness. But the college was
but this obsession with drawing and expensive so Cooper felt that she had
to make the most of it, and worked
improvement never let go of me hard… too hard. She didn’t eat
properly and went without sleep. It’s
an environment she wouldn’t
recommend to others.
Artist
PROFILE
JAW Cooper
LOCATION: US
FAVOURITE ARTISTS: Norbertine von
Bresslern-Roth, Stepan Kolesnikoff, JC
Leyendecker, Harry Rountree, Sergio Toppi
and Hiroshi Yoshida
RUPERT
MEDIA: Photoshop, graphite, colour pencil,
gouache, acrylic, oil
“My chinchilla Rupert is a non-contributing sponge WEB: www.instagram.com/jawcooper
and has yet to ever pay his half of the rent.”
38 August 2019
JAW COOPER
STEALTH
“For this screen print the spots
of the leopard were printed
slightly glossy, so they appeared
or disappeared depending on the
angle you looked at them from.”
August 2019 39
Interview
WOODSTORK
“This Wood Stork was
drawn from taxidermy at
the Santa Barbara Natural
History Museum.”
40 August 2019
JAW COOPER
HUNGRY WITCH RISE
“This was the last in a
“I was frustrated with my work series of five paintings
after an inspiring trip to from 2013 about
Croatia last year. To break out overcoming self-
of my rut I tried forcing myself destructive tendencies
to be looser while doodling at and processing grief.”
my usual coffee shop every
morning, and made this along
with several pieces like it.”
TIDE OF EXISTENCE
“I love listening to Alan
Watts’ lectures and
this was one of many
pieces I made inspired
by his words. Also, I’m
enamoured with old
scientific illustrations
of vegetables.”
August 2019 41
Interview
“Each piece is quite different in process red (1). Next, I transfer the sketch to a value structure (4). I pick out the darkest
because I like to experiment at the last heavyweight printmaking paper, either areas with fluid black acrylic, then wash on
minute. Something inevitably goes awry, Stonehenge or Fabriano, using my massive gradients to create the vignette effect and
then I have to get creative to fix it. Painting lightbox (2), and then I mount the paper to introduce colour (5). Next, I seal the surface
feels like falling down a flight of stairs a rigid gesso-board using matte medium. using several thin layers of GAC 100 and
wearing rollerblades and trying to look as (I wrote a tutorial on this process over at when it’s dry I start glazing on deeper
graceful as possible on the way down. Here’s www.jawcoopertutorials.blogspot.com.) colours with oil paints (6). Once dry to the
just one flight of stairs I’ve fallen down… Once the painting is mounted I use thin touch I varnish with Gamblin Gamvar (7), let
I start with a sketch on cheap bond paper washes of waterproof India ink (3) to seal it dry and then remove the tape along the
with my trusty Colerase pencil in Carmine the drawing in and to begin to establish the edges (8). And the painting’s done! (9)”
1 2 3 4
5 6 7 8
commercial work. In turn, my for storage – a Cintiq tablet, a scanner, effects her work most is paper. She
commercial work enriches my and a printer. Next to that, an L-shaped sketches on Canson Recycled 50lb. It’s
personal work with new ideas and desk for drawing and painting. There cheap but feels nice, and it’s thin
visual influences – and it pays my bills are two other desks in the room, both enough to see preliminary sketches
so that I’m able to focus on other piled with “tons of bullshit.” placed underneath. For final pieces,
things in my free time.” “A lot of artists have these beautiful, she uses Stonehenge and Fabriano
chaotic, messy work areas, with Artistico papers.
CURIOS AND CHINCHILLAS photos, inspiration nailed to the walls,
Los Angeles is a good place for the paint on the floor, tools lying around CABINET OF CURIOSITIES
working artist. There’s a big creative in cans.... but I’m a control freak and One area that’s not upsettingly bare is
community and good resources. I like things tidy. So my work area is the cabinet that contains her curio
Competition’s tough, but there’s plenty upsettingly barren and I currently have collection. These are her most
work to round. It’s a town where an no artwork up on my walls.” treasured possession: skulls and
artist can “thrive economically.” Art is kept in flat files in the living taxidermy(“all natural-death and
Cooper has a studio at home. It’s a room, where three large cabinets run cruelty-free”), and the gems and
large, open loft with concrete floors, along one wall and contain all her minerals collected on camping and
big windows, high ceilings… and traditional art supplies: pens, pencils, road trips (“I love how they look like
Rupert, a “tiny, perverted, 16-year-old drawing paper, oils, acrylics, gouache tiny alien planets”). Cooper’s other
chinchilla who rules my life and paints, sculpture tools and power tools. favourite workspaces are the café, with
humps my fuzzy slippers.” She likes certain brands: Blackwing a chocolate croissant; and the couch –
She has a big, heavy desk, with two pencils and Winsor & Newton with a good documentary about
computers – new one for work, old one Designers paint. But the material that murderers playing on the TV.
42 August 2019
JAW COOPER
GIVE ME DARKNESS
9 “When I get stressed out by the minutia
of daily life, my mind inevitably drifts to
camping. I crave the cold, solitude and
darkness of sleeping alone in the mountains.”
August 2019 43
Interview
SHAPESHIFTER
“This piece was inspired by
the amazing life cycles of
animals in the class of
Hydrozoa, and by hydras
specifically, which are
biologically immortal.”
VISCERA
“The cover art for Viscera, one of
© Flesk
“RIGHT BACK
WHERE I STARTED”
Cooper doesn’t particularly like her illustration
work. Here’s why you shouldn’t like yours…
“My commercial work as an art achievement lasted for a week at
director is 100 per cent about most before I was right back where
fulfilling the needs of the project. I started: working hard to try to
Because my commercial work is so outrun my dissatisfaction again.
structured I avoid any outside No technique or commission, or
creative control in my personal award or job will fulfil you and no
work. I stopped taking commissions loss of a commission or award or
years ago and I’m extremely job will destroy you. In my
selective about what commercial experience fulfilment comes
projects I accept in my ‘free time.’ simply from making things and
I mostly make work for myself chasing your curiosity.
through gallery shows, releasing I don’t particularly like my work
prints and releasing books. and I hope I never do, because that
Releasing my first two books with dissatisfaction keeps me pushing.
August 2019 45
Interview
COWBOY FROG
BLOODHOUND
“I drew this in a coffee shop.
I remember a woman came
in with an enormous cat
riding on her shoulders.
The barista poured it some
water, which it politely
lapped up from a cup.”
strong and vulnerable, but without my work, but not in a negative, cruel
being weak or victimised. or destructive way. To me an
Typically, the humans in her work examination of death reveals the FRUITION
“This is the print we released with my latest art book Pastoral, and is a
are real, the animals symbolic. The beauty and urgency of life.” version of the artwork from the cover.”
46 August 2019
JAW COOPER
RATTLE
“A preliminary sketch from my 2013
series on overcoming self-destructive
tendencies. This stage was about the
feeling of hollowing out before you
can rebuild yourself.”
August 2019 47
PROFILE
Chase Curtis
LOCATION: US
Freelance visual
development artist Chase
is based in California, and
has always had a passion
for sci-fi worlds and the
supernatural creatures within them.
BARTENDER ALIEN
“This alien was injured in battle and
as a result has tank wheels for legs.
I was influenced by the Star Wars
dive bar scenes and the different
creatures that stopped by
for a drink or three.”
APOCALYPSE
HITCHHIKER AND HIS DOG
“For this sketch I was just messing around
with things to fill in the foreground of the
scene to the right. I think at the time I was
reading Cormac McCarthy’s The Road,
which really inspired me.”
48 August 2019
Sketchbook Chase Curtis
STREAK
THE BOUNTY HUNTER
“Inspired by Netflix’s Altered Carbon, this
bounty hunter is half-human, half-robot
and can switch bodies whenever his
killing streak ends.”
I combined animal
anatomy with the
geometric shapes
of weaponry
MILITARY
ELEPHANT
“I came up with this concept
during #marchofrobots. I was
trying to combine the organic
anatomy of animals and
geometric shapes
of weaponry.”
ERIC
“Eric is a lizard-like
alien that was raised to
be human. His diet
consists of apple cider
4001-6
vinegar and fish.”
August 2019 49
BRAIN
STORMING DOODLE
“I came up with this sketch
when I had bad artist block for a
character. It’s always fun when
you sketch something
and it turns out to be a
happy accident.”
50 August 2019
Sketchbook Chase Curtis
SCRAP-PARTS
ROBOT PET
“For this sketch I was thinking of
a character and his pet robotic
protector in a wasteland of
machine parts. The main
character would walk around and
scavenge the world to build
and upgrade his robotic
companion, which protects
him from any threats.”
I was thinking
of a character and
his pet robotic
protector…
August 2019 51
CORVIS
THE BANISHED
“Corvis is an alien serial killer whose radical
religious beliefs have led him to wipe
out everyone who disagrees
with him.”
BIOMECHANIC
SQUID SUBMARINE
“I wanted to draw submarines
with a likeness to sea creatures,
so that they could blend in,
observe and research animal
behaviours without
being attacked.”
52 August 2019
Sketchbook Chase Curtis
This character’s staff
shoots lightning bolts
into his enemies…
ROBOTIC ORB
“The robot’s floating orb
brain leaves its body to upload
information from other machines,
gaining access to codes that
benefit its masters agenda:
to break into highly
secured areas.”
THE MAN
SLICER DROID OF WAR
“This robot can cut his
enemies to smithereens and can
JELLYFISH
“Inspired by Finding
slice machines with his Nemo, this character is
blade-like arm. He uses the frequently misjudged
fallen scraps of his enemies because she’s
to remodel himself.” highly poisonous,
yet kind.”
INDIGENOUS
ROBOTIC WARRIOR
“This character lives on a mechanical planet
and is the finest warrior in his tribe. His staff
shoots lightning bolts into his enemies,
shutting down their bodies.”
Do you want to share your sketches with your fellow ImagineFX readers? Send us an email with a
selection of your art, captions for each piece and a photo and bio of yourself to sketchbook@imaginefx.com
August 2019 53
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August 2019 55
Interview
ARTIST PORTFOLIO
BASTIEN LECOUFFE
DEHARME Gary Evans gets philosophical with
the French illustrator who lives by
his own “personal code” – and
encourages you do to the same
T
he professor wore was into. It was more about conceptual
sunglasses in class and stuff, abstract painting. But Bastien’s
employed… unconventional professor taught him one lesson that
teaching methods. He would stuck. The art academic lay the
stand at the front, pick up a foundations of what the French
drawing or painting done by a student, illustrator would build into his
and destroy it. Not verbally. Not with “personal code.”
forthright critique. He would literally Bastien was born in Paris in 1982,
tear up the canvas. but his family moved to Auray in
Bastien Lecouffe Deharme was a Brittany when he was a boy. This was a
student at the University of Rennes. He small town in a poor region with few
didn’t learn much. The course had no jobs. There wasn’t much to do. But
time for the kind of illustration Bastien Bastien and his friends had the fields
and the forests. Breton myths and
Artist legends fascinated him – the many
56 August 2019
BASTIEN LECOUFFE DEHARME
THE SMOKES
“A figure stands alone in the
Temple of Death. I painted this
scene using references of
life-model McKenzie.”
August 2019 57
Interview
© GODS
IMPERATOR
“Sevire La Rouge, Imperator
of Avhorae, who renames
the five provinces after the
names of her ravens.”
© GODS
58 August 2019
BASTIEN LECOUFFE DEHARME
August 2019 59
Interview
THE BLUE DOOR OF TAMETH
“One of the first visuals I created for
my upcoming dark fantasy tabletop
role-playing game, GODS. This one
is for the gamemaster screen.”
© GODS
forests, where coyotes howled at Bastien has his own photo studio.
night and fireflies lit up the sky. PRIS He arranges a shoot with a model and
“I created this piece for
He has two studios at home: one for the 30th anniversary of takes up to 500 pictures. The shoot
Blade Runner.”
painting, another for everything else. usually leads to ideas he hadn’t
On the wall of his main office is Frank thought of: a pose, an expression,
Frazetta’s painting Death Dealer and a some new composition. He
portrait he drew of his wife when they “Frankensteins together” photographs
met in Paris. They remind Bastien why to create the perfect reference. This
he does what he does. reference is on one monitor while he
Bastien likes to wake up at noon and draws it on a second monitor in
work all night. He used to feel guilty Photoshop with an Intuos Pro.
about it. Now he accepts going to bed
at 5am as his “natural rhythm.” During CREATIVE PROCESS
the day, he teaches, exercises, looks Bastien starts with shapes, blocks, adds
after the land around the house. He detail, definition, then polishes. He’s
eats dinner with his wife. “Then I step not the fastest. He prefers to take his
into the night. Making images run.” time, slowly adding complexity. He
builds environments around the figure
TWIN APPROACH and blends them together using values,
There are two strands to his work: lighting, colour-work. He drops in
commercial and personal. He works textures and photographs, using masks
with clients like Random House, and layers to make sure these elements
National Geographic, and regularly only affect targeted areas. When the
with Magic: The Gathering, and he work’s going good, it’s like the image is
creates his own graphic novels and making itself – a “sort of digital
RPGs (Memories of Retrocity and alchemy.” But underpinning this magic
GODS). But, these days, the two is a sound knowledge of the
strands interact in interesting ways. fundamentals such as composition,
Bastien’s art is usually a “weird perspective, anatomy and colour.
composite” that mixes traditional “Those fundamentals are like a
and experimental techniques. frame that keeps everything in the
Composition is his big thing, so he right place during a process that tends
uses thumbnails to organise space, to be a bit crazy. A structure that allows
values, how the image will be read. me to have fun and experiment
There’s usually a story he want to tell. When the work’s going without turning everything I do into
The challenge is working out the best
way to tell it in a single image. This
good, it’s like the image is some kind of weird digital Pollock.
I love digital art for this exact reason:
means he’s also working out “narrative
hierarchy”: who will be the main focus
making itself – a ‘sort of the possibilities it offers.”
Bastien always has new things to say
of the piece, and why. digital alchemy’ in his work. He makes sure of it.
60 August 2019
BASTIEN LECOUFFE DEHARME
KHALISTAN
“This is a portrait of the people of Khalistan
who live in the Wildlands, from my
role-playing game GODS.”
© GODS
August 2019 61
Interview
62 August 2019
BASTIEN LECOUFFE DEHARME
3 INTENTIONAL
ACCIDENTS
“One of the truly essential aspects of
that process is that I intentionally
create accidents. I drop in random
elements (bits and pieces of
photographs, scans of textures,
brushes, and so on) over the image
and play with the layer modes to see
if anything interacts with the image in
interesting ways. If something does
then I tune it further and integrate it
into the painting process.”
August 2019 63
Interview
64 August 2019
BASTIEN LECOUFFE DEHARME
LE MÉPRIS
© Wizards of the Coast
MINISTRANT OF
OBLIGATION
ETRATA, THE SILENCER “I applied halos of
bright light here and
“This piece was nominated for
a Spectrum award this year.” there, to make sure the
gold would shine.”
August 2019 65
The number one destination
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GET YOUR
RESOURCES
See page 8 now!
Workshops assets
are available…
Download each workshop’s resources by turning to
page 8. And if you see the video workshop badge,
you can watch the artist in action, too.
82 This issue:
68 Mix traditional
and digital tools
There are many ways to use
traditional techniques to
enhance your digital artwork,
as Chantal Horeis explains.
82 Bring a fantasy
character to life
Fatemeh Haghnejad quickly
sketches a young faun on
paper, before using Procreate
to further develop the idea.
August 2019 67
There are many ways to use traditional techniques to enhance your
digital artwork. Chantal Horeis goes through her favoured approach
I love the tactile and custom textures and scanned-in traditional stages I’m going to use
Artist
sometimes random papers. Different textures can be a lot graphite and ink on paper, but you
PROFILE textures that occur of fun to play around with: they give don’t have to follow my lead. Just use
Chantal Horeis when working with your artwork a lovely finish. your favourite traditional medium
LOCATION: Sweden traditional tools. Furthermore, this approach enables and play around with the effects you
Chantal is a freelance I’m also fascinated by the endless you to describe surface textures of can create with it. This is really about
artist living in Sweden. possibilities that digital workflows specific elements in your artwork, or finding the most enjoyable process
When she’s not drawing
she enjoys cooking
have to offer, so I never want to emphasise certain shapes and objects for you. The following steps are
and caring for her choose one over the other. in your image, making them stand transferable to graphite, watercolours,
plant collection. A couple of years ago I started to out within the composition. oils… you name it! I would love this
www.chantalhoreis.com
experiment with different In this workshop I’m going to workshop to provide technical
GET YOUR approaches to drawing and painting. show you the process behind one guidance, but also inspire you to
RESOURCES
See page 8 now!
I began creating traditional-digital
hybrids and refined my process using
of my illustrations, and explain how
I create and preserve textures. For the
experiment with different tools to
create your unique painting process.
68 August 2019
In depth Mixed media
August 2019 69
Workshops
70 August 2019
In depth Mixed media
Adjustment layers
RESOURCES
PHOTOSHOP
Drawing is CUSTOM BRUSHES:
duplicated BASIC
to make it
stronger in the eye
area using a mask
I use this brush for most
of my work, to fill in
shapes and outlining.
STARS
SOFT
August 2019 71
Workshops
72 August 2019
In depth Mixed media
13 Further detailing
I carefully use Overlay, Multiply and Normal layers
to add more details to the image, trying to match the
traditional texture feel. I apply more freckles to the skin, 14 Finishing touches with a noisy texture
I take a scanned-in paper texture and add tiny stars with a custom star brush. I
refine the eyes a little more and add a few more flowing use this texture a lot recently to create a finish for may artworks. I put it on top of my
strands of hair. I check the outlines of my drawing and image and make it black and white. I then duplicate it several times and fill the
add some where necessary. It’s important for me to make entire image with it. Finally, I set the layer to Overlay and adjust the Opacity to give
these changes look as natural as possible. the image a pleasing finished look.
August 2019 73
Workshops
Procreate
USE TEXT TOOLS
IN PROCREATE
Animation art director Max Ulichney tells us a story and designs a
picture book cover while making full use of Procreate’s new text tools
For those of us in a coffee shop, at the park or on the service of a hypothetical picture book
Artist
creative field, it can be sofa puts me in a different mindset about a boy and his new friend.
PROFILE hard to come home than sitting at a desk. Procreate’s I wanted to focus on the feeling of
Max Ulichney and fit in time for our streamlined interface has encouraged boundless possibilities and fantasy
LOCATION: US own pursuits. For me, me to paint more intuitively and less we had as kids. I settled on a story in
Max is an animation art Procreate was a huge help to get me technically. So I was very excited which all the characters in this story
director and director. painting for fun again. when I saw the new text tools are naively excited about this
His MaxPacks Procreate
brushes are used
In fact, I do most of my personal included in the latest release. And amazing “dog” that Danny has
worldwide by work on my iPad in Procreate these sure enough, they are true to form found. So with that, I saw the chance
professionals and days. It feels less like work and more and very approachable. to show off Danny’s gloating pride,
beginners alike.
www.maxulichney.com
like sketching did when I was young. I took the opportunity to put these his classmate’s tentative caution and
Something about sketching in a new features through their paces in her dog’s utter excitement.
GET YOUR
RESOURCES
See page 8 now!
RESOURCES
PROCREATE
CUSTOM BRUSHES:
MAXU 600 SERIES
PENCIL
MAXU GOUACHE
GRAINY
MAXU SMUDGE
GOUACHE GRAINY
Adjust the type setting
Developing the rough layout 2 Click the Wrench icon to add text. In the Add tab,
1 I begin with a rough sketch and then set the type click Add text to create a text box. In my case, when I’m
Made to be used with the right away, so that I can establish my composition and done typing I click the blue Edit Style button. I drag the
Smudge tool. Built to be
paired with MaxU
work out any trouble areas early rather than fight them text box to fit the width of my image, and set my
Gouache Grainy for later on. This way I can work the tight pencils around the justification to centred to more easily line up my title. I set
softening shading and title and avoid tangents, overlap Danny’s hair and have a my font to Avenir Next (bold), and adjust my size,
adding texture.
sense for what my negative spaces will look like. tracking, leading and kerning to create a chunky title.
74 August 2019
In depth Procreate text tools
August 2019 75
Workshops
76 August 2019
In depth Procreate text tools
August 2019 77
Workshops
78 August 2019
In depth Procreate text tools
Further detailing
11 Finally, on a new layer over the line group, I begin
cleaning up transitions in the shading, paint deeper
shadows in the bear’s fur, define his face and eyes better, 12 Paint in some rim lighting
As we wrap up, the last element is a strong rim light to help to frame Danny
and generally add nuance to the piece. and his bear. This lends them a triumphant mood.
August 2019 79
Next month
Russian art star
Aleksey Baydakov
creates our cover
art and reveals all
in a workshop!
80 August 2019
Next month
Character design
masterclass!
Next issue, get ready to rip up the rule book
on concepting and creating characters!
In this workshop I’m I want to show you how I’m able to I want to do. I love to see my
Artist
going to give you an create artwork that could be used in a characters come to life in their own
PROFILE overview of my children’s book, for example. world. For this illustration I’ve
Fatemeh creative process, from ImagineFX has kindly given me decided to draw a sweet faun boy
Haghnejad coming up with an the freedom to choose the subject for spending his afternoon making dolls
LOCATION: Norway
initial idea, all the tools I use in this workshop. The first thing that that he can bring to life with his
Fatemeh, also known as Procreate, and how they can help I do is close my eyes, and let myself breath. With this idea in mind, I pick
BlueBirdy, is a freelance speed up the illustration process. go to where I want to be and what up my pencil and start sketching…
illustrator and character
designer working on
children’s books, young
adults novels… and on a
secret project with her
husband and fellow artist
Even Mehl Amundsen.
www.bluebirdy.net
GET YOUR
RESOURCES
See page 8 now!
PROCREATE
DEFAULT BRUSHES:
STUCCO
82 August 2019
In depth Fantasy character
August 2019 83
Workshops
Initial detailing
4 I create a second layer and pay more attention to my
Switching to Procreate details while avoiding putting down unnecessary lines.
3 I usually ink the line art before scanning it into either Procreate or Photoshop, My go-to Procreate brush for this stage is the Narinder
because this will give me clean lines to work with. However, there’s no scanner in pencil. I put my efforts into showing the faun’s level of
the log cabin that I’m staying in at the moment, so I decide to transfer the traditional concentration and the pressure in his fingers as he grips
sketch into Procreate and create the line art digitally. Thinking laterally, the wooden toy. I also make his work area look more
I take a photo of my sketch and open it in Procreate. Then I reduce the Opacity of interesting by adding wood shavings and a friendly bird.
the sketch and trace over it, making a clean drawing on a new layer. The first I keep the background line art on a separate layer because
drawing that I made of the faun wasn’t quite right; he was a little chubby and messy. I’m not sure if I want to have a background yet.
84 August 2019
In depth Fantasy character
August 2019 85
Workshops
86 August 2019
In depth Fantasy character
August 2019 87
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88 August 2019
Artist’s
Choice Award
Art resources with a five-star
rating receives the ImagineFX
Artist’s Choice award!
HARDWARE
90 Artist 15.6 Pro
A budget tablet that come complete with
tilt, pressure sensitivity and a battery-free
stylus – we find out if XP-Pen’s device can
unseat Wacom’s Cintiq 16.
TRAINING
95 The Anatomy of Style:
The 3/4 Head Parts 1 & 2
Patrick J Jones explores everything from
basic drawing principles to the meaning
of art in his wide-ranging tutorial. 97 David Lynch:
Someone Is In My House
BOOKS Uncover the artistic portfolio of the
96 The Art and celebrated American filmmaker.
Making of Aladdin
Return to the bustling city of Agrabah 97 Gustav Klimt: Landscapes
with this behind-the-scenes look at Famed for his striking portrait works, this
Disney’s live-action adaptation of its collection of landscape paintings from the
stone-cold classic animation. Austrian artist is sure to broaden the mind.
August 2019 89
Reviews
90 August 2019
Art tools Hardware
August 2019 91
Reviews
IN FOCUS
ALTERNA
NATIVE
TABLETS
TA
A snapshot of three screen
drawing tablets to suit all budgets
Kamvas Pro 13
Web www.huiontablet.com
Price £269
rather than attaching to the Furthermore, drawing and painting The stylus features
8,192 levels of pressure
tablet, it simply rests on it. We with it will feel slightly off to artists sensitivity, and comes
leant down too heavily on the who work spend a lot of time with eight replaceable
nibs that can be stored
screen once, and it did tip working with finer details. in a study container. A good-quality, cheap display
sideways, but that was a one-off. XP-Pen’s device is the best screen tablet that’s let down by an
There are no mounting holes for tablet alternative to the Cintiq 16, if unreliable pen when it comes to
mounting to a stand or a VESA mount. your budget is tight. It offers a good- line jitter. Its power button sits
quality screen, with low parallax, useful next to the shortcut keys, so you’ll
LIGHTWEIGHT AND COMPACT shortcut keys and limited tilt have to be careful that you don’t
Even taking the criticisms mentioned functionality. However, when turn it off while painting!
into account, the Artist 15.6 Pro is a comparing its colour accuracy, overall
great bit of kit. It’s conveniently sized, build quality, feel of the surface and iPad Pro 11-inch
and so lightweight that it’s very line drawing quality to Wacom’s Web www.apple.com
Price £769
Artist 15.6 Pro is superb value for
money, and is a great starter tablet for
hobbyists, students and junior artists
portable and easy to set up, even offering, the Artist 15.6 Pro falls short.
when working on a narrow desk. If you don’t want to make these
The price/quality ratio is brilliant, sacrifices, you’re better off spending If you’re not just after something
too. Long gone are the days where the extra £145 on the Cintiq 16. to hook up to a computer to draw
only professionals could justify paying Speaking of money, the price on, but a whole system, the iPad
for a decent quality screen tablet. The difference between the Artist 15.6 Pro Pro is a lovely, albeit expensive,
Artist 15.6 Pro is superb value for and the iPad Pro is huge. If all you want all-in-one solution. You’ll need to
money, and is a great introductory is a display tablet, this is a sensible way buy an Apple Pencil to make the
tablet for hobbyists, students and to save money. And if you needed any most of its painting capabilities.
junior artists. more convincing, we expect the iPad
Features
But while the Artist 15.6 Pro has a lot Pro to be rendered technologically Q1,920x1080 pixels,
Cintiq 16
of strengths, it’s hard not to overlook obsolete years before XP-Pen’s device full HD
Web www.wacom.com
QDisplay colour
the lack of sensitivity with the stylus. is put out to pasture. gamut: 88 per cent Price £515
NTSC; 120 per cent
sRGB
Q5,080 LPI (lines per
inch) resolution
Q8,192 levels of
pen pressure
QHDMI and USB ports
QSize:
443x280x 12.6mm
QActive area:
344.16x193.59mm
Q 11mm thick
Q4.56kg
The gold standard for a budget
System display tablet. It’s on the pricier
Requirements
PC: Windows 10/8/7
end of the scale, but the quality
(32- or 64-bit) and performance of the Cintiq is
Mac: OS X version
10.10 or later superb. It supports all desktop
The device connects to
your computer and is painting programs and comes
Rating
powered by just one cable, colour-calibrated out of the box.
reducing desktop clutter. +++
92 August 2019
Everything you need
to live the Apple life
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54%
August 2019 95
Reviews
ive-action versions of classic thinking. Take the city of Agrabah: a examine the explorations of the Genie’s
RATING +++
96 August 2019
Inspiration Books
he conventional landscapes
August 2019 97
THE WORLD’S LEADING DESIGN MAGAZINE
www.myfavouritemagazines.co.uk
GET YOUR
RESOURCES
See page 6 now!
Traditional Artist
Inspiration and advice from the best pro artists
104 100
This issue:
100 Traditional art FXPosé
Explore this month’s selection of
the finest traditional art, which
has been sent in by you!
104 Workshop: Abstract
mark-making skills
Vanessa Lemen uses abstract
mark-making to conjure macro
fantastical worlds within her
imaginative realism artworks.
110 114
110 Workshop: Paint
with pencil and acrylic
Tran Nguyen elaborates on the
steps for creating an original
work of art for an exhibition.
114 First Impressions:
Mong Sang
We speak to the South Korean
artist whose work primarily has
to resonate with herself.
August 2019 99
Traditional Artist FXPosé
Margaret Morales
LOCATION: Philippines MEDIA: Watercolour, ink, graphite, acrylic WEB: www.margaretmorales.com
1 2
2 LOST AT SEA
“Being born in a tropical country, I’ve
always been fascinated with the ocean –
especially the magical creatures that may
live in the deep.”
4 KAKOMU
“With this painting I wanted to explore
the flow of our imagination, represented by
water, as it passes through our body and
within our subconscious.”
Daniel Bilmes
LOCATION: US MEDIA: Oils WEB: www.danielbilmes.com
1
1 WOVEN
“Woven from the
fabric of reality by
the hands of fate.”
2 VEILS OF PERCEPTION
“I wanted to show different
versions of the same personality, and
3 AUGUR
“We’re able to see through
our perceptions, but are also
perception of self. The figure looking blinded by them. What is real
at the viewer is the only one that’s when paradigms shift? What is
momentarily self-aware.” knowledge next to infinity?”
Oils
ABSTRACT MARK
MAKING SKILLS
VANESSA LEMEN uses abstract mark-making to conjure macro fantastical
worlds within her imaginative realism portraits and compositions in oil
M
y painting process the area or the stage of the painting In my studio I have clips that
hold smaller paintings in
can be described as I’m working on, but overall it’s just a nooks and spaces – wherever
there’s room to store more
responsive and matter of digging deeper and wet paintings and have them
permeable, and I’m becoming lost in a place of reflection, around and visible to me.
fascinated with finding curiosity and wonder.
similarities between the familiar and What’s amazing to think about is
the unknown. There’s so much life in how the exploration pertains to the
both aspects, in the possibility of finished painting, too. How the
chance, and in what many might call dialogue between artist and surface
mistakes or imperfections. gets passed along in the form of the
It’s what I love about using different painting itself. There’s a story there
tools and materials, and making now in the marks, like subtle runes
abstract marks. It enables me to that are left to be deciphered, and it’s
explore and learn while in unknown open to different interpretations. It
territory. Experimenting with new might even be something that can’t
tools provokes new ways of quite be put into words – and that
processing something, and guides me may be one of the biggest
to the possibility of connecting with motivations for us to keep scratching Vanessa is an award-winning
something on the fringes or beyond. at the surface. The paintings we Ron and I also have a studio painter living in Carlsbad,
away from home, where we
Exploration is essential to the create and share can invite someone teach classes in drawing and
CA with her artist husband
process, and discoveries can occur in in to connect, to experience that painting. This school studio is Ron and their two cats,
not far from our home, and is
all areas of painting, be it in the intangible place, and to communicate an extension of our Rey and Maz. You can see more of her art
abstract or representational areas. It’s with one another in ways that are workspace as well as a great at www.vanessalemenart.com or on
hub for creatives to meet,
different sometimes depending on universally understood. learn, and make art together. Instagram (@vanessalemen).
1 Initial mark-making
When I’m in the early stage of the painting process, it usually involves
2 Choosing a panel
When I’m finished with a day or two of making
making marks on several different panels. It’s a reactive process, and not marks on several panels, I’ll set out around my studio on
necessarily about composing a picture with a set plan or outcome. Eventually, drying racks and shelves, so that I can live with them and
something will begin to show itself in the marks that I’m making, and I’ll continue let them be there in my peripheral vision, because I might
working on that panel that speaks to me the most. be working on another painting.
MATERIALS
CANVAS
Q 8x10-inch gessoed
masonite panel
PAINTS
Q Oil paints (various
colours/brands)
TOOLS
Q Silicone spatulas
and combs
Q Sable brushes
and mops
Q Bristle brushes
MISCELLANEOUS
Q Linseed oil
Q Odourless
mineral spirits
Q Rags and paper
towels (to paint with as
well as for cleaning)
Q Mahl stick (for the
rendered areas)
10 Consolidating values
9 Further exploration in the background
I shift gears to work on broader areas for a bit, adding opaque colourful
Adding the darks and gradations in the
foreground shapes next to the light in the atmosphere
lights in more atmospheric areas of the background. These areas I can experiment really helps to push the contrast and creates a visual
with and respond to, rather than get caught up trying to force the area of the eye to hierarchy. Sometimes working in an area adjacent to
be a certain way. I’ll return to work on the eye again eventually. another area is what the other area needs.
Pencil Acrylic
T
his painting was created creature that’s half bird and half artist’s aesthetic without restraints,
for the group exhibition woman. My goal was to portray the no matter how esoteric it can be.
Gaia Reborn, which took creature’s momentous return to the They’re meant to evoke a response
place in May at Urban sea and her reunion with Gaia. from the viewer and tell a story
Nation: Museum for I felt the siren should be captured through the painter’s eyes. I see them
Urban Contemporary Art in Berlin, in an almost iconic manner and as raw interpretations of ideas that
Germany. Curated by the folks from composed centrally, but also provide are told through a personal
Beautiful Bizarre, the show’s theme an environment for her to exist in symbology that has developed over
focused on Mother Earth, and the and influence. To offset the static the course of an artist’s career.
harmony between her creations and tendency of central compositions, Tran is an award-winning
humanity. The exhibition brought I depicted the instant right before her freelance artist. She has
together new works from over 50 of body impacts the sea to hint a bit of worked with clients such as
the world’s best contemporary artists. movement. In the foreground is a World Wildlife Fund, Tiger
Photo by Jo McCune
With the theme of Gaia in mind, cottage with three inhabitants who Beer, Smithsonian magazine and Netflix,
I decided to approach the painting come out to witness her return home. and has showcased with galleries across
with a fantastical mindset, choosing Artworks showcased in galleries the world. You can see more of her work by
to depict the siren: a mythological and museums should spotlight the visiting www.mynameistran.com.
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Artist insight Pencil and acrylic
Points of interest: A fall from sky to sea
Burst of warmth
against cool
The painting is made with a limited colour
palette of different shades of blue. To help
break up this monotony, sparing additions
of warm reds and pinks can liven it up and
help lead the viewer’s eye. To offset its cool
tones, I add a burst of crimson red to the
siren’s eyes and lips. These spots of
saturated warm colour will balance the
overall cool temperature of the painting.
First Impressions
Mong Sang Is making a living as an artist all
We speak to the you thought it would be?
So far, making a living as an artist is
South Korean artist not as easy as I imagined it would
whose work has to be. Producing personal pieces
makes me happy, but also raises
resonate from within questions about whether it’s
financially viable to create art that
Where did you grow only I’m interested in seeing. At the
up and how has this same time, creating art that has
influenced your art? popular appeal can have a negative
I grew up in South impact on my pride and self-esteem.
Korea. However, my Clearly, there’ll be times when my
childhood hasn’t had much of an artistic values are shaken up.
effect on my art. I like to think that Reaching a compromise that
my adult life and my surroundings satisfies both viewpoints is a
are influencing my current work. lifelong challenge for all artists.
Does one person stand out as being How has your painting style
helpful during your early years? evolved over the years?
I studied drawing from sixth grade I’ve studied various painting styles
in elementary school until I was a starting from the time when I was at
senior in high school, and I was elementary school. I’ve come to
influenced by teachers and friends realise that I’ll never be happy with
who I met at various academies. Our simple doodling on paper. I have to
discussions about paintings and put a lot of time and effort into my
artists helped me to carve out my
own art path. MATURITY I have to put a lot of time and effort
“I’ve often been told, ‘You must
be mature.’ I hate this reality
Can you describe the place where
you usually create your art?
of being forced into maturity.
I don’t want to be oppressed
into my art, even if I accidently ruin
I prefer to work at home, because
by what I do when others
judge me as being either
mature or immature.”
my WIP on the way
I need to be in comfortable and
familiar surroundings to be creative. Do you have an art tool or ritual art and complete it to my own
When I’m feeling relaxed, I’m able
EGO that you simply can’t live without? standards, even if I accidently ruin
“I imagined myself as an
to put what I’m thinking into the explorer looking for a treasure My art is dependent on thick, high- my WIP on the way. I’d rather screw
called ‘self’ that continues to
painting. However, sometimes grow in the adventure of ‘life.’ quality paper, watercolours and a up my art than call a rough drawing
I meet up with my fellow painters During this time, you’ll have to very fine brush. Take any of these complete. I’m happy if my art can be
endure all sorts of emotions to
and work together in a café. find your completed self.” away and I’m struggling. I always described as unique and exquisite.
work in bright surroundings because Over time I’ve focused on improving
I find a dark environment to be too my art skills and settling down on a
much of a distraction when I’m painting style.
drawing, oddly enough. And I can’t
work at all and quickly get bored if What does the future hold for you?
I’m not listening to music. I think I’ll still be painting with my
sore wrist in the future! But I hope
What, outside of art, has most that I can make a living by painting
influenced your artwork? while preparing for more diverse
It’s the emotion that I feel in my exhibitions and working on
daily life. No matter who I meet and commissioned pieces. Above all,
no matter what I do, even if it’s I hope I could get more love from
wallowing alone at home and eating the public for ‘my’ favourite artwork,
snacks, the source of all the not for someone else’s vision.
influences behind my paintings You can see more of Mong Sang’s work
comes from within. at www.instagram.com/mong__sang.