2DArtist Issue 037 Jan09 HR

Concept Art, Digital & Matte Painting Magazine
Issue 037 January 2009 $4.50 / €3.25 / £2.25
Tomasz
Jedruszek
This month we get to know freelance illustrator, Tomasz Jedruszek and discover why he left his
study of architecture to pursue a career in illustration!
Interviews
Tomasz Jedruszek & Jim Maxwell
Articles
Sketchbook of Justin Albers
Galleries
Yap Kun Rong, Andreas Rocha & Szymon Biernacki, plus more!
Tutorials
Speed Painting with Richard Tilbury & Justin Albers, plus more!
Making Ofs
Flower Concept by Soheil Danesh Eshraghi
Contents
Editorial
Happy New Year and welcome to
Issue 037 of 2DArtist magazine! Contents 001
Being the start of a new year and What’s in this month?

all, I thought I would give a little
insider info as to what you can TomaszFreelance
Jedruszek 007
Illustrator
expect from us this year. We’ll
soon be kicking off a brand new
series, created by Dwayne Vance
Jim Maxwell 023
Matte Painter & Concept Artist

and Hoi Mun Tham on rendering
vehicles. This is going to be a Sketchbook 035
Sketchbook of Justin Albers

five-part series that takes us right
from the thumbnail concepting
stage through to final renders, and
The Gallery 045
10 of the Best 2D Artworks

the vehicles – well, I’ll keep you
in suspense on that bit of info as I think you’ll like what’s in store. Another Stylised Characters 055
great series we’d like to start this year is on 2D character creation – not This Month’s Finalists & Last Month’s Making Ofs
your everyday anatomy practice, but something with a little bit more ‘bite’.
So if you’re looking for a New Year’s resolution for 2009, then how about:
Understanding Composition 069
by Joel Carlo
practice painting (and buy a subscription to 2DArtist magazine)? (Worth a
shot, huh?! *winks*) If you buy now then you’ll be sorted for the entire year, Speed Painting 075
so have a read through this month’s issue and if you like what you see, why Justin Albers & Richard Tilbury
not invest in us for 2009?
OK sales speech over; let’s get back to the January issue – so what’s Space Painting 083
Transport: Part 7 – Capital Ships
in store? Well, we have two interviews this month – our first one with
freelance artist, Tomasz Jedruszek, who has worked for a variety of
big names – Fantasy Flight Games and White Wolf Publishing to name
Flower Concept 097
Project Overview by Soheil Danesh Eshraghi
a couple. We caught up with him for this month’s issue to find out a little
about what caused his career shift from architecture to illustration; check China Town 102
out his stunning portfolio on page 7. Our second artist interview is with Jim Digital Art Masters: V3 Free Chapter Promotion
Maxwell, matte painter and concept artist who has worked on some great
feature films of late – Mr & Mrs Smith and The Incredible Hulk being just About us
3DTotal.com Ltd Information & Contacts
105
two. So for a glimpse into the world of matte painting and concept art for
high profile projects, check out page 23.
Bringing the sketchbook back to you this month we have a great article for
Editor Layout Content Proofing
Lynette Clee Layla Khani Lynette Clee Jo Hargreaves
you from Justin Albers, who kindly gives us a sneak peek at the fantastic Matt Lewis Tom Greenway Lynette Clee
sketches that can be found in his “junkyard collection of ideas and designs” Lead Designer Richard Tilbury
Chris Perrins Marketing Chris Perrins
(page 35). You can also find Justin’s work gracing the tutorial pages in his Jo Hargreaves Jo Hargreaves
latest speed painting interpretation of the topic, ‘The approaching swarm
appeared biblical in scale and straight from a nightmare’. Check out page
Free Stuff!
75 for Justin’s take on the subject, alongside in-house artist, Richard
Wherever you see
Tilbury’s answer to this month’s brief.
this symbol, click it to
Our other tutorials have been created by Chee Ming Wong, who this
download resources,
month looks at capital ships as part of his in-depth look into space transport
extras and even movies!
design (page 83). And because we’re tutorial crazy here at 2DArtist, we
also asked Joel Carlo to create an article for us which takes us back to
basics on composition (page 69) – what better way to start the year than to
get a better understanding of one of the key components of image making?
Finally, to wrap up the teaching section of this issue, Soheil Danesh has
generously provided for you all a look at the creation of his beautiful Flower
Concept, on page 97. Enjoy!
Thanks for reading, enjoy the issue and catch you next month! Ed.
www.2dartistmag.com page 2 Issue 037 January 2009

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Contributors
Justin
Albers
A graduate of the Art Institute
of Dallas and currently working
as a concept artist at Vigil
Games on the Warhammer
40,000 MMO in Austin, Texas.
His previous companies include TKO Software and
Contributing Artists
Each month, many artists from around the world contribute to 3DCreative
NCsoft.
& 2DArtist magazines. Here you can find out a little about them.
If you would like to be a part of 3DCreative or 2DArtist magazines, http://www.justinalbers.com/
please contact: [email protected] [email protected]
Chee Ming Wong Richard

Has over 8 years of creative Tilbury
visualisation and pre-production Has had a passion for drawing
experience, having worked since being a couple of feet
on various independent game tall. He studied fine art & was
projects, publications and CGI eventually led into the realm of
pre-production artwork. He is currently the CEO computers several years ago.
of his own digital art studio, Opus Artz, based in His brushes have slowly been dissolving in white
London. Previous work includes his role as Senior spirit since the late nineties & now his graphics
Concept Artist and Visual Lead for Infinity: The Quest tablet has become their successor. He still sketches
for Earth MMO 2009, plus numerous commercial regularly and balances his time between 2D and 3D,
publications. although drawing will always be closest to his heart.
http://www.opusartz.com http://www.richardtilburyart.com
[email protected] [email protected]
Joel
Carlo
A multimedia developer residing
out in Denver, Colorado. His
career as an artist has spanned
over the last 14 years and
includes work in both traditional
and digital media, web design, print, and motion
graphics for broadcasting. His client list is varied and
Would You Like To Contribute To ranges from commissioned work for small studio
3DCreative Or 2DArtist Magazines? projects to larger clients such as Future Publishing,
We are always looking for tutorial artists, gallery submissions, potential Burrows & Chapin, The Ayzenberg Group, NASCAR,
interviewees, ‘making of’ writers, and more. For more information, please Dodge, Toyota and Fox Television.
send a link to your work to: [email protected] http://www.joelcarlo.net / [email protected]

Contributors
Soheil Danesh Felipe
Eshraghi Fernández Morell
Born in Tehran, 1984, he is Studied art in Montevideo,
known as a comic artist and Uruguay. He then worked
concept designer in Iran. He freelance in Barcelona in
started his career when he was different media, from publicity to
14, designing cartoons and comics for magazines editorial to web. He’s currently
and newspapers. He is now working as an illustrator working as a production and concept artist in the
and character and environment designer for games industry.
animations, movies and video games.
http://danesh.cgsociety.org/gallery/ http://www.ffilustracion.com
Ruth Robert
Martinez L. Cron
Studied graphic design, Attended Carnegie Mellon
but always felt attracted to University in Pittsburgh, PA,
illustration and animation. where he received a BFA in
She’s currently working as a 2D scenic and costume design.
animator in the games industry, For the past 12 years he’s
and is happy to be working professionally in her been working as a professional costumer for film
hobby. She also pursues her passion for illustration and television projects, most notably for the last four
through the likes of the 2DArtist stylised challenges! seasons of NBC’s The West Wing. He’s recently
begun working as an illustrator for film, television and
commercials, and currently resides in Los Angeles,
http://ruth2m.com http://www.costumesketch.com

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“I’m just tired of ‘artists’
who paint only fairies
or girls - or even worse,
those who paint the same
person over and over
again - is this a kind of
obsession or just a lack of
any other models?”
Tomasz Morano is a freelance artist from

Poland who has worked for a variety of
companies and publishers over the years. He
left his study of architecture to pursue a career
in illustration and believes that “digital painting”
is supposed to be a new kind of
artistic discipline
Interview Tomasz Jedruszek
Having trained in the field of architecture, what

was it that prompted this career shift into what
you’re currently doing?
It wasn’t quite like that, if I’m honest. I’ve always
been into drawing and painting and in fact
the art academy in Cracow was my primary
objective to begin with. The architecture was
something I decided on at the very last moment
because I thought it would be a good back-
up profession to pursue in the future in case I
failed to become a famous artist! It was also a
great opportunity to learn some design skills,
such as composition and hand drawing, along
with developing a strong faculty for geometric
drawing and perspective etc. I believe those
subjects, while very important and valid,
wouldn’t have been discussed in so much detail
at the art academy.
And then there came a year when, in truth, I

decided to shift into illustration and definitely
leave architecture behind me. There were a few
reasons for this I guess; they were a bunch of
snobs who wouldn’t let your imagination flow
unless your name was Foster or you were one

of the professor’s kids - ergo most of my designs
were converted into a simple box with windows,
which I considered crap and boring. Also for
financial reasons I had to start earning money
for my adult life and to do that as an architect
would have meant three more years to finish
my studies, plus getting a license (another two
years). I didn’t have that much time, so I started
working for local RPG publisher Portal which at
the time was the top (if not only) RPG producer
in the country.

You have quite a comprehensive client list
on your website. How difficult has it been to
establish yourself and what have been the main
challenges that you have had to overcome in
the process?
That list is not even a half of them all, just those
regular projects I’ve been doing. Which is the
result of the fact that I love my work and I am
very easily persuaded to take on a project, so
every time someone calls or emails me I mostly
say, “Sure, I’m in.” So most of time I’m working
on two or three projects simultaneously. I had
to cut some of these habits down recently
because of my new duties as a husband and
father, but I still work almost all the time. So a
desperate, constant need of free time is still one
of my biggest challenges; sometimes I think
about cloning myself! [Laughs]. I haven’t had to
seek new jobs for a few years; don’t ask me to
explain why, it just happened. Even now, as I
am writing, I already have a new job assignment
which is pretty sweet. A few years ago I had to
do some test jobs to prove my quality but now
my portfolio is big enough to include every kind
of subject matter and a style, because I’ve been
doing things like a horror RPG and WB-like
cartoon almost at the same time.
Artist often begin to slowly specialise in a

particular style or subject matter. Do you feel it
is important to remain versatile or do you hope
one day to be able to concentrate on a specific
genre?
I’m going to use some medical comparisons
to answer this one: imagine a doctor, surgeon
and a dentist. These guys might be masters in
their separate fields, but all have had to finish
medical university right? The same can be
said about artists. I can be a master at painting
knights or naked chicks, while another artist
can be a brilliant monster designer, but we both
need to have some kind of technical background
or basic skills. Imagine what would happen if
that surgeon has mastered stitching skin, but
had skipped his anatomy lessons and couldn’t
really tell the difference between a kidney and
a liver... sound like a disaster? It is the same in
our industry; I don’t care if an artist concentrates you cannot do anything else apart from that, I’m only using CS because I still can’t afford
on one particular subject which he likes if I can then you have real problem. Anyway, it would CS3, I wonder what surprises await me there?
tell he has some basic skill and knowledge in be just b-o-r-i-n-g if I had to (or could) paint only But being serious for a moment, PS has a lot of
that matter, otherwise he must paint something one subject, no matter how perfect it was. great aspects that have allowed me to speed
different. I’m just tired of “artists” who paint only up my work, keep clean and ordered layers and
fairies or girls - or even worse, those who paint What do you feel has been the biggest learning brushes, and get my work up to a new level of
the same person over and over again - is this curve during your career as a digital painter? quality.
a kind of obsession or just a lack of any other First would be the way I treat Photoshop. Once
models? In short: if you are a complete artist it it was just a tool, which used to disappoint me or Secondly I have discovered the gallery of Craig
should be no problem to jump from subject to simply broke. But now PS is the biggest friend Mullins, whose work shows in his own perfect
subject, your favourite one aside. If you are only in my work; we understand each other and I way what digital painting is (or should) be all
concerned with one subject, and worse still, if don’t need any other tool to finish a job. And about.

Tomasz Jedruszek Interview
You mention Craig Mullins there, who of course has pushed these tools beyond that and actually a straight message: ”This is a new tool to create
is regarded as somewhat of a pioneer in his made that jump. His works are so digital that art - it is digital and that’s how it looks”.
field, but what exactly do you mean when you you cannot possibly copy that style with any
say his work shows,” what digital painting is (or traditional media. I don’t know if he is any sort Your gallery section is divided into numerous
should) be all about”? of pioneer, but I definitely saw that style for the categories, from 3D modelling to matte painting.
As you said “digital painting” is supposed to first time in his work and it was like a bright light Which discipline would you like to explore more
be a new kind of discipline in art, similar to a at the end of a tunnel, pointing me in the right and why?
jump from painting on cave walls to painting on direction – here was the correct definition of Because of my freelance assignments, ninety
a canvas with oils. Making digital painting look what a “digital painting was supposed to be. So percent of my work is simple freehand painting.
like “real” painting is easy; we have tools now it is no longer pretending anymore, like, “We are 3D fascinates me, but I am not skillful enough
that we can simulate most styles so closely that using oils but in a computer with a digital pen to risk working on a commercial project. I had a
nobody can tell if it is oil or digital. Now Craig which actually simulates a real brush”. It is now few job offers to work as a 3D or texture artist

but I declined them, afraid I would fail the task.
Same for matte painting really; while it’s a lot
less complicated than 3D and I once worked for
RedLynx doing that kind of work, I just don’t see
it as painting anymore. It’s just mixing photos,
which I simply don’t like and that’s why there are
only a few of those works in my gallery.
Recently some new sculpting tools like Modo

and ZBrush appeared which is something worth
exploring as it combines my love of freehand
painting with my fascination with 3D. In the
future I plan to explore this a little bit more.
I do not intend to take on matte painting work

ever again; it is simply boring, way too easy, and
nothing special.
As an artist I’m sure that many aspects of life

interest you, but what subjects are closest to
your heart and what provides you with the most
inspiration?
Yes there are at least a few things which draw me into painting. First
would be life itself – it is so amazing. I can’t even find the words to express
the feeling. For example, my son was born a few days ago - I can stare at
him for hours and still cannot believe he is alive. He thinks (maybe not too
much at this age), feels, breaths, sleeps, cries most of the time [Laughs] ...
I mean that’s a miracle.
If we found a creature like that on the moon or Mars, our scientists would
piss their pants they would be so happy. What scares me most is that
people don’t see this wonder of life around them. On Earth it is just a
boy, but we kill thousands of men, women and children every day so
why we should care about just one? But that’s the whole point: once you

Tomasz Jedruszek Interview

understand what is going on around you on the
planet you will never be afraid of anything again.
All becomes simple, complete.
So I get a lot of inspiration from life in terms of

my work. Also music is an absolute need when
I start working. I can’t remember ever making
a piece of artwork without a “soundtrack” and
any kind of music will do really. And it is not as
though when I paint war it has to be Rammstein
(but it suits nicely!) To be honest, I get the best
results painting another Cthulhu card whilst
listening to Classical music or listening to Limp
Bizkit while painting some chick. He are some
other regular combinations:
“FFG- A Game of Throne” - Mind Gate,
Lao Che (polish bands), also Jana Todorovic
(Serbian pop singer).
“Army of Scorpions 2” - System of the Down
“Angel” - Soundtracks from motion pictures
“Predator” - The Last of the Mohicans and
also the game Aliens vs. Predator.
You have recently ventured into the games

sector by way of the company People Can Fly.
Can you tell us a little about this commission
and the different demands it requires?
To tell you the truth, People Can Fly didn’t
pay me for work I did. Unfortunately that is a
common “professionalism” here in Poland, not
just in the video game industry. That’s why I
quit working for Polish companies for good. The
same issue came up when Red Studio asked
me to work on The Witcher. I told them that as
a fan of the Witcher books, I would produce the
best art I was capable of, but that it would cost
them at least as much as any foreign company
would have to pay for the work. They claimed
to have the same budget as any foreign game
industry company, so I believed that financially
there wouldn’t be a problem. Well sadly there
was, and in the end the game was produced
with some Disney-like (with all due respect to
Disney) monsters and chicks all around. By the
way, the main goal of the game is to score most
of the girls in the game, according to what I have
read by players who have been writing on the
Witcher forum. Is that what all Witcher fans have
been waiting for all these years - an arcade
game for scoring girls? Pfff...
But I can answer your question more effectively

by changing the title of the company there for
RedLynx in Helsinki. I started to work for them a
few years ago and yes it was quite challenging
to meet deadlines, the game producer’s style
guides and also co-operate effectively with the
other team members. For the first few days I
couldn’t get comfortable in the office because
it was full of different people speaking multiple
languages (from Finnish to Japanese), so the
progress of my work was very slow. But once
we knew each other better and had found
some common way of communicating, the work
immediately sped up.
I was very happy to work with the guys there. In

contrast to what I said about Polish companies,
my experience in Finland was on a completely
different level of professionalism. The company
comprised of around 50 men, every single
one of whom knew his job, and the whole
company worked as one perfect organism. On
my second job for RedLynx it wasn’t as good,
mainly because I couldn’t stay for that long in
Finland and had to work mostly from Poland.
There were too many adjustments from the
game’s producer and I didn’t even finish the
entire schedule of work assigned to me. But I
still found this adventure with the Finnish game
studio to be my greatest experience in this
industry so far.
Who do you regard as the pioneers in this

relatively recent medium of digital painting and
why?
Well it all started with a book I had: Star Wars -
Attack of the Clones. A friend of mine happened
to look at it and said, “Whoa, nice drawings,
how have they been made?” I wisely answered,
“With felt pens” ... A few moments later I read
that all the graphics were made with a digital
pen and a Wacom tablet - and I was stunned.
So Ryan Church and Dermot Power were my
first gurus. But those guys, despite their genius,
were painting in the “classical” way: simple
strokes, clear edges etc - they’d just replaced
oils and acrylics with digital paint in Photoshop.
What makes digital painting a completely new

discipline is the work of Craig Mullins or Thomas
Pringle, who I have recently discovered. The
way they are painting is completely different;
they use everything that digital tools have to
offer, so patterns, textures, custom brushes,
colour management, and they work with the
sharpness and brightness of digital colours.
Their work looks like they are cutting shapes
from abstract structures; they don’t care much
about details, they are just building all their
scenes with realistic palettes and lightness,
while all the shapes just “remind” us of those in
things in real life - making their work photo-
realistic and subjective, or even abstract at the
same time. Amazing.
Do you feel then that this use of texture, pattern

and customised brushes is more “truthful” to
the digital medium in the sense that it does not
mimic a traditional approach quite as much?
Exactly what I said already; it is a new discipline
or is supposed to be at least. Why should we
mimic traditional oils or paper granulation? Is
it that we can paint better than Michelangelo,
only faster? And hey... we can change the
colour balance in the blink of an eye? Maybe
we can do a photorealistic portrait in a second
using a blender technique? Now don’t get me
wrong, I don’t have anything against painting in
a “classical” way with digital tools. But if that is
the next level in art production, to mimic all that
has gone before, my question is why? Wouldn’t
it be better if we use that digital tool in the way it
was “created”?
Lots of people can’t believe how I can produce

my art so fast. Even I know few people who
actually work faster or better, especially as I

paint in a rather classical way, mainly due to the
style guides of my clients. I’m sure Mullins would
treat those illustrations much more “loosely”
than I do. Now my speed is all about using
digital techniques the way they are supposed to
be used, so if I have to paint clouds I paint them
with a custom brush, I paint skin with texture
and dual brushes and if I am mastering the final
lighting I use lots of layer-based spotlights and
overlays. That cuts my total time by around
10:1 compared to traditional oil painting. I don’t
have to squeeze out all the paint, clean brushes,

stretch canvas etc. I just take my digital tool and
work on the subject, focusing to the maximum
and then moving on to the next thing.
If you like to spend weeks in your studio with

the smell of oil paint, staring at some naked
woman posing there, fine! You like that? I’m not
surprised - I personally wish to have some time
in future to work in the “old way”. However if you
are a freelancer, work a lot and need to meet
deadlines then you should cut all that “artistic”
bullshit and start working fast and
efficiently with digital tools.
Tomasz Jedruszek
For more work by this artist please visit:
http://www.morano.pl/
Or contact them at:
[email protected]
Interviewed by: Richard Tilbury
Vancouver Film School alumni credits include Across the Universe Geeta Basantani, Digital Compositor Alias Scott Dewis, Visual
Effects Artist Ant Bully Ben Sanders, Character Animator | Rani Naamani, Animator | Ernesto Bottger, Character Animator AVP:
Alien Vs. Predator Shawn Walsh, Color & Lighting Technical Director Babel Luis Blackaller, Storyboard Artist | Lon Molnar,
Visual Effects Supervisor Battlestar Galactica Daniel Osaki, Lead Modeler | Megan Majewski, 3D Animator | Alec McClymont,
3D Artist Blizzard Entertainment Alvaro Buendia, Cinematic Artist Bolt Lino Di Salvo, Supervising Animator/Voice of
Vinnie Charlotte’s Web Aruna Inversin, Digital Compositor | Adam Yaniv, Character Animator | Tony Etienne, Lead Lighter
Kristin Sedore, Lighter Chicago Lon Molnar, Animation Supervisor The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch
and the Wardrobe Kristin Sedore, Lighter | Shawn Walsh, Lighter | Adam Yaniv, Character Animator The Chronicles
of Narnia: Prince Caspian Andreas Hikel, Pre-Visualization Artist | Christoph Schinko, Character Animator | Jami
Gigot, Senior Layout Artist Cloverfield Nicholas Markel, Pre-Visualization Supervisor Constantine Aruna Inversin,
Digital Compositor The Dark Knight Pietro Ponti, Lead CG Lighting Artist Dead Like Me Daniel Osaki, Visual
Effects Artist | Alec McClymont, 3D Artist Diablo III Alvaro Buendia, Cinematic Artist | Steven Chen, Cinematic
Artist Family Guy Michael Loya, Storyboard Artist Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer Arun Ram-Mohan,
Lighting Technical Director | Shawn Walsh, Visual Effects Executive Producer | Jessica Alcorn, Compositor
Flags of our Fathers Aruna Inversin, Digital Compositor Gears of War (VG) Scott Dossett, Animator
The Godfather (VG) Kirk Chantraine, Motion Capture Specialist The Golden Compass Adam
Yaniv, Animator | Chad Moffitt, Animator | Thom Roberts, Animator | Ben Sanders, Animator
Andrew Lawson, Animator | Matthias Lowry, Visual Effects | Tony Etienne, Look Development
Justin Hammond, Lighter Pearl Hsu, Effects
Technical Director | Aruna
Compositor | Fion Mok,
Your name here. Inversin, Digital
Matchmove Artist
Hairspray Lon Molnar, Visual Effects Production Executive Halo 3 Bartek Kujbida, Character
Animator Happy Feet Ben Sanders, Character Animator | Thom Roberts, Character Animator
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Shawn Walsh, Color & Lighting Technical Director
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Pietro Ponti, Technical Director Harry Potter
and the Half-Blood Prince Harry Mukhopadhyay, Lead Effects Technical Director Hellboy Aruna
Inversin, Digital Compositor Hellboy II: The Golden Army Christoph Ammann, 3D Sequence
Supervisor Horton Hears a Who Arun Ram-Mohan, Lighting Technical Director | Brent Wong, Modeler
Hulk Geoff Richardson, Visual Effects Editor I, Robot Daniel Osaki, CGI Modeler | Megan Majewski,
Pre-Visualization Ice Age: The Meltdown Ben Sanders, Character Animator | Arun Ram-Mohan,
Lighting Technical Director The Incredible Hulk Shawn Walsh, Visual Effects Executive Producer
Tony Etienne, Look Development Lead Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Henri Tan, Creature Technical Director Iron Man Adam Marisett, Visual Effects Artist King Kong
Chad Moffitt, Senior Animator King of the Hill Michael Loya, Director Kingdom Hospital Daniel
Osaki, Visual Effects Artist | Megan Majewski, 3D Animator | Alec McClymont, 3D Artist Kingdom
of Heaven Shawn Walsh, Digital Compositor Letters from Iwo Jima Aruna Inversin, Digital
Compositor Live Free or Die Hard Jessica Alcorn, Compositor Lord of the Rings Trilogy Chad
Moffitt, Senior Animator Lost Scott Dewis, Visual Effects Artist Lucasfilm Animation Singapore
Sandro Di Segni, Senior Effects Technical Director/Lead Digital Artist | Ming Chang, Lighting Technical
Director | Adrian Ng Chee Wei, Character AnimatorSeema Gopalakrishnan, CG Software Developer
Mass Effect (VG) Sung-Hun (Ryan) Lim, 3D Modeler Matrix: Revolutions Aruna Inversin, Digital
Compositor | Shawn Walsh, Color & Lighting Technical Director Master & Commander: The Far Side of the
World Robert Bourgeault, CG Artist Metal Gear Solid 4 (VG) Josh Herrig, Artist | Yuta Shimizu, Artist The Mummy:
Tomb of the Dragon Emperor Aruna Inversin, Digital Compositor Night at the Museum Allen Holbrook,
Animator | Adam Yaniv, Character Animator | Chad Moffitt, Animator | Kristin Sedore, Lighter Persepolis
Marianne Lebel, Animator Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End Ben Sanders, Character Animator
Allen Holbrook, Animator | Aruna Inversin, Digital Compositor The Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything:
A VeggieTales Movie Mike Dharney, Animation Supervisor Reign of Fire Lino DiSalvo, Animator
Resident Evil: Extinction Joshua Herrig, Visual Effects Artist Robots Arun Ram-Mohan, Additional
Lighting Rome Teh-Wei Yeh, Matchmove Artist The Santa Clause 2 Aruna Inversin, Digital Compositor
Daniel Osaki, Visual Effects Artist Scarface (VG) Maya Zuckerman, Mocap 3D Generalist Shrek the
Third Rani Naamani, Animator Shrek the Third (VG) Samuel Tung, Technical Artist Sin City Michael
Cozens, Lead Animator Smallville Geeta Basantani, Lead Compositor Speed Racer Aruna Inversin,
Digital Compositor Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith Andrew Doucette, Character
Animator | Nicholas Markel, Pre-Visualization Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (VG) Arun
Ram-Mohan, 3D Artist | Jessica Mih, Level Artist Stargate SG-1 Aruna Inversin, Digital Compositing
Artist | Daniel Osaki, Visual Effects Artist | Shawn Walsh, Digital Effects Supervisor Stargate:
Atlantis Daniel Osaki, 3D Animator | Megan Majewski, 3D Animator | Alec McClymont, 3D
Artist Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street Jami Gigot, Concept
Artist Transformers Allen Holbrook, Animator | Henri Tan, Creature Technical Director
3D ANIMATION & VISUAL EFFECTS | CLASSICAL ANIMATION | DIGITAL CHARACTER ANIMATION
Vancouver Film School. Countless paths. vfs.com/animationvfx

Unreal Tournament III (VG) Scott Dossett, Artist Valiant Robert
Bourgeault, Lighting Technical Director Viva Pinata Megan Majewski,
Animator WALL-E Mark Shirra, Layout Artist Watchmen Jelmer
Boskma, Previs Modeler | Lon Molnar, Visual Effects Supervisor | Cynthia
Rodriguez del Castillo, Visual Effects Artist World of Warcraft:
Burning Crusade (VG) Carman Cheung, Animator A Wrinkle
in Time Aruna Inversin, Digital Compositor and many more.
VFS student work by Jeff Plamondon
“The determination and
long-time desire to be a
matte painter, and not
necessarily classes or
diplomas, is what has
allowed me to do
what I do”
Jim Max
well is a
matte p
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of featu nd conc
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and in th has love d the
“Matte p is interv d paintin
ainting is ie w he talks g and film
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Interview Jim Maxwell
I see from your resume that you have a few

year’s experience as a matte artist / painter.
How did you come to be involved in this area of
CG and where did you learn your skills?
Well I’ve loved painting and drawing and
watching movies since I was really young, so I
think it was a natural conclusion to eventually
bridge these together. As soon as I’d learned
you could have a career painting and having
those paintings appear in film, I immediately
wanted to be a matte painter, I was probably
about 13 or 14. Sitting watching movies, I’d
try to find where the matte paintings were; to
pinpoint exactly where the matte painting met
the real footage. I’d also wait until the very end
of the film to see who the matte artists were
in the credits - those guys were, and still are,
my heroes. I went to art college for a while,
and took some night classes here and there in
Adobe Photoshop, After Effects, and Lightwave.
But there are obviously other software packages
more or less applicable depending on job
requirements, and if you’re good at what you do,
you learn to use additional software on the job
along the way.
The determination and long-time desire I had to

be a matte painter, and not necessarily classes
or diplomas, is what has allowed me to do what
I do. Ultimately what’s important is how you
put the knowledge you gain to use, how much
experience you gather as you go, and to not
loose faith in yourself, as everyone operates and learns differently. That

said - education and training are important, but you inevitably are the one
responsible for the quality and success of your work.
Working towards your goal in your spare time is extremely important too -
it gives you an edge over people who just “want” to do something. I think
with matte painting or anything creative it’s being active, producing work,
and spending time improving your skills that will be your best advantage
and serve you well in the future.

In my first studio job as a matte painter I was
hired for two days a week. It was a “trial by
fire” experience because I had to get used to
the software in a production environment, but I
ploughed through and ended up being part of a
team that was nominated for a Canadian Gemini
Award.
From your early interest in film who do you

regard as being pioneers in the field of matte
painting and whose work do you admire the
most?
A lot of people might say Albert Whitlock - and
he is phenomenal - but I didn’t learn about him
until later on. He wasn’t just an extraordinary
matte painter, he would composite elements
together in an old-fashioned way, such as
manually dragging a painted-on photographed
image of the Hindenburg across a glass matte
painting of the New York skyline (which would
be done these days with compositing software
and a 3D model of the Hindenburg). But his stuff
is amazing and I think the guys whose matte
paintings I grew up looking at are somewhat
indebted to him.
The matte painters that really inspired me

though, were guys like Michael Pangrazio,
Harrison Ellenshaw, Frank Ordaz, Chris Evans,
Caroleen Green, Yusei Uesugi - their early
work was so impressive, and it was all done
with a brush! I would try to contact them at their
respective workplaces (years before most kids
knew what matte painting was) and would be
lucky enough to have conversations over the
phone with them, asking them techniques and
advice on how to break into the business.
As I wanted to be a matte painter so much,

I’d sit and watch old movies with my parents,
and call out “hey that’s a matte painting”, and
they’d tell me to shush, and for the most part
they didn’t understand what I was talking about.
I recognised that images in The Wizard of OZ,
and Gone with the Wind weren’t just painted
backdrops, there was something different with
them... where they were situated in the frame,
their composition etc.
With the digital age too there are some great

guys; Yannick Dusseault’s work on The Lord
of the Rings trilogy, and the Star Wars films is
amazing.
He’s so talented and I think he works very On your demo reel there is a sequence from The shot was initially 2000 frames long, and the
quickly and in a very smart way, which makes the recent Hulk film showing a wireframe camera actually follows right around to another
him successful. Other guys like Dylan Cole, overlay across a building façade. Can you talk side of the building. So I had to create two
Richard Bluff, and Chris Stoski are all really us through this shot and how the matte was facades.
talented people working in the digital era of created?
matte painting and they’re the guys to watch The first thing was to find specifically what Sometimes you can get away with simple
right now. production was asking for. The building geometry planes textured and tracked in 3D.
represented a laboratory, so they requested But it was necessary to add a bit of depth and
People say a lot of romance is lost between the that the building be extended. So you ask detail of the inset windows, as well as creating
old ways of painting on glass and now painting questions: one extra storey or two? Should it the holes in the wall. Luckily, the scene was
through the glass on a computer screen, but resemble the previous floor and is there any tracked already. I have great respect for people
for the past decade or so there has been extra architectural ornamentation? In the end who nail down a good track in a shot. There
astounding work on the screen that no one they wanted one more floor, same architecture - were basic 3D planes laid out to match the
would ever recognise as a matte painting. though certain windows may have lights off and footage, and that generally makes your job that
there would be two large holes in the brickwork. much easier (though it doesn’t always happen
that way!) Anyway, I had some photo reference brought it back into Maya and mapped it onto will have the exact same movement and motion
of the actual building in the daytime, with a my building geometry. I had to do a few lighting as the physical, practical camera that was on
somewhat orthographic, straight-on view. I passes; the character “Abomination” throws set when they shot the scene. Usually roughed
colour-corrected the photo to match the plate, objects through the wall so I created one texture out geometry will be created to match buildings,
and transformed the image so it was perfectly pass with lights on and one with lights off to landscapes, or features of the scene. For the
orthographic - which is important when you’re simulate flickering lights and damage... then I lab shot in Hulk, rough geometry planes were
applying texture to geometry. I painted up some rendered everything out for the compositor. created for the ground, for a building on the
areas, and cloned others in Photoshop. Then I left and right, and for a distant building. The
took that file, brought it into Maya, put it on an Can you explain what you mean by: “The scene tracker then animated the camera movement
image plane and spent a few days creating the was tracked already”? while watching the footage playing within the
needed geometry. Basically when the plates (film footage that’s software to make sure his “track” was as bang
been digitally scanned) arrive in a VFX studio, on as possible. So when I started working on
When I was happy with the windows etc, I and there are set extensions or 3D elements the scene, it was already tracked for me - so I
rendered out the UV’s and saved them out that need to be added to the scene, someone created the facades of the building and placed
for Photoshop - then I painted on the UV’s, will have to create a virtual, digital camera that them where the rough geometry was, deleted
that geometry and then focused on the details
of the texture I had to project onto the building.
There were some tweaks here and there where
I had to reposition some elements as they would
fall off the track and move independently of the
camera move... so there was a bit of back and
forth before everything stayed put. But in the
end, I thought it looked pretty bang on.
Do you do much hand painted work on matte

paintings these days or is everything pretty
much composed of photographic elements?
I think any good matte painter combines as
many techniques as possible. It would be a
hard job for me to do if I limited myself to basic
photo collage - it would get old really fast. I try
to hand paint (digitally in Photoshop) as much
as possible, I create basic models in 3D that I
eventually paint over when I don’t always have
good references and there’s a lot of photo-
cloning as well. Photo references are important.
As good as your eye can be in what you know
of the world (lighting, shadow, perspective etc),
photo references can be vital depending on
the shot. But I really think painting skills are the
number one necessity - they’re the glue that
pulls everything else together. Just recently I
had the opportunity to create a cityscape matte
painting that served as the background in the
last scene of a feature film. The timeframe
was really short, and I could have used some
photo references which I was lacking... so I
painted in the majority of the rooftops of the city
using colour, light, and shadow, suggestions
of antennas and satellite dishes, and it ended
up looking believable. When I get the chance
to paint in details, or paint full skies, clouds, or
landscapes, it’s very rewarding and I try to do it
as much as possible.
It’s interesting that you mention painting in the

rooftops “using colour, light and shadow”, as
you often hear people describe matte work as
the art of “painting light”. Do you think this is a
good definition?
Absolutely. Matte painting is all about painting
light, shadow, and colour - but light is the most
significant of these in bringing the form and
shape of an image to life. Apart from sunlight
creating obvious contrasting shadows and form,
if you look outside, regardless of the day, you
have atmospheric perspective, and layer after
layer of haze. These are all different aspects
of light and when added to matte paintings
these elements give you more depth and a
sense of reality. In some VFX shops - in their
pipeline - “light” can be handled differently:
instead of objects being painted up in a scene,
3D geometry may be used, and then textured,
and then lit, and finally colour-corrected and
comped etc. I see the modern matte painter
as someone who attempts to blend certain
stages of the pipeline with a traditional sense of
painting techniques. I think artists like Vermeer
and Caravaggio were recognized as great
artists because of the way they handled light.
They didn’t necessarily paint “photographically”
(photographs weren’t invented in their day!), but
they captured a “lifelike” version of reality, which
as matte painter, I try to do every day.
What sort of challenges does creating concept

work present compared to matte painting and
what are the best aspects about doing both?
Concept work is terrific stuff to get a chance to
work on. Sometimes, depending on the client
and project, you can have great design freedom;
you decide the mood, the atmosphere, and
really put a personal touch on it. Sometimes
matte painting can be limiting in that regard
because everything can be pre-laid-out for you.
That said, with creating concepts... not all days
are great idea days - I guess it’s akin to writer’s
block. You can sometimes work several hours
and not have great results - and sometimes
you can nail something down in 30 minutes. I
think it’s partially because you’re pooling from
your imagination, which isn’t always 100%
cooperative. Concept work is very abstract;
you’re presenting an idea of something rather
than the reality and the hope is that the client or
receiver of your work is receptive and that you’re
able to communicate your ideas back and forth.
There is a blurring though sometimes between
concept and matte work.
Some matte paintings that I’ve created were

begun as concept images, and were eventually
massaged into something more photo-real.
As challenging and wildly creative as concept
work can be, some matte painting requests can
be very imaginative in their scope, especially
when you’re dealing with alternate realities - an
alien landscape, or futuristic city for example.
Interview Jim Maxwell
To make those matte paintings look real can be
difficult, but also exciting! In those cases you
have years of film history ideas to tap into, but
I like trying to be as original as possible. Being
derivative can be frowned upon by an audience
when they see the same ideas recycled over
and over, and you want to try to be innovative,
which makes the job more challenging, but
ultimately more enjoyable.
I think that because I love film so much, and the

enjoyment of going to the theatre, I mostly prefer
matte painting over concept work. With concepts
you can see your ideas translated into reality
- whereas with matte paintings, (sometimes
with slight adjustments from the film labs) it’s
as if they’re transferred from your computer
screen straight to the movie screen - and that’s
amazing!
I think seeing your hard work on the big screen,

and knowing you were responsible for an
establishing shot is so satisfying.
What types of shots in general prove to be the

most difficult facing a matte painter and are
there any subjects that are more problematic
than others?
Since matte paintings are in motion these days,
they’re more technical, and so there are more
variables to problem-solve. When it comes to
3D projection matte paintings there are new
rules that have to be obeyed to garner a realistic
outcome. Working with your first frame of that geometry sequence and making sure your Although there are still matte paintings that
geometry and your last frame of geometry, and matte painting is lining up and not stretching can are sky replacements, and basic backgrounds,
then having to project your matte painting onto be a difficult but satisfying process. matte painters should be prepared to have
knowledge of 3D software and be able to create
a matte painting that moves like a regular scene
would with a camera trucking past.
Major perspective or parallel changes can

get tricky depending on the complexity of the
shot. Anything that’s not grounded in modern
day reality will be difficult because it can be
interpreted and designed in so many different
ways, not to mention that it doesn’t presently
exist!!

Jim Maxwell Interview
Sci-fi/fantasy films, period pieces, war epics all alien landscapes and futuristic environments are shoot (camera lens, lighting info); setting up a
have their own sets of problems. On Ang Lee’s absolutely believable (even though they don’t 3D camera and blocking in rough geometry that
Lust, Caution, I got to work on matte paintings exist), so you can’t make excuses! [Laughs]. will match the practical shot (if you’ve received
of Shanghai in the 1930’s - there was a lot of scans of the footage); reading the script; and,
research and reference gathering to maintain When being presented with a brief for a matte on occasion, travelling to the film location shoot
the authenticity and consistency of that time painting, what are the typical stages that to take reference photos either during or after
period, and that can be very difficult when you go through from start to finish in order to filming has wrapped. Sometimes the production
you’re working with grainy photos from the 30’s complete the piece and are you ever provided company will ask for a style frame after a film
and you can’t determine whether something with location photography or high res reference shoot is completed.
is a mailbox or a telephone booth. But the film material?
looks quite believable when you’ve seen the Depending on the timeframe, sometimes you The style frame is like a concept painting that
footage beforehand and afterwards. The bar may have a week to acquire all your resources combines a frame of the footage, and is used as
is set very high these days in terms of realistic - this would include gathering image references; a key guide for lighting, palette, and placement.
digital matte paintings. There are films where doing research on the specifics of the location For instance, if you have a scene with actors in

front of a practical castle drawbridge set that’s
built 10 feet high, the matte painter (usually
in a day or so) could paint a quick style frame
concept showing the castle extension, turrets
and sky. If the shot is not locked-off, and has a
camera move, two or more style frames may be
required. This gives production an idea of where
you want to go with the matte painting, and
starts the communication.
It’s always a lot of fun when you get to go

scouting locations. You get out of the studio and
into the real world and usually come back with
great references.
From what I’ve experienced, VFX supervisors,

and various VFX leads will shoot a lot of location
references during filming, so they’ll usually
provide you with high res images. If the matte
painter has the majority of the responsibility for
a shot, they will occasionally go to the film shoot
as well.
Sometimes when a change is made, or a new

visual effect is introduced, the matte painter may
have to go back to the original location with a
still camera and lenses and shoot references.
If there are any readers out there who are

interested in becoming matte painters, what
advice would you offer them in terms of learning
the trade and creating a suitable portfolio?
I think a solid background in painting, drawing,
and photography is important, plus a love of
films and movies - and not necessarily heavy
visual effects movies.
As a matte painter, or any visual effects artist,

you’ll be working on films of all kinds. Art and
design colleges that teach traditional art as well
as courses in visual effects are great places
to hone your skills as an artist. In most cases
you’ll be dealing with instructors who have, at
one time or another, experienced working in
the visual effects industry. Learn a popular 3D
software package, and a popular compositing
package, and above all learn Adobe Photoshop.
There are others, but Photoshop is the most
widely recognised digital painting application in
film and design.
I think some people expect that right out of

school they’ll immediately get work, which isn’t
always the case. In the studios I’ve worked
I’ve seen crates and bookshelves full of demo
reels - most of them from students. It’s a very
competitive industry and I think producing
unique, original work, and working hard, is the
key to success and will single you out from the
rest. In terms of your portfolio, well, working at
nights when your friends want you to go out is
a sacrifice, but it’s pretty important. You want
to build up as much work as possible outside of
school. There are plenty of sites out there that
take submissions of artwork for inclusion in art
books and web sites - the reward is recognition
as an artist - and major VFX studios look at
these sites from time to time which is a good
motivator. Sometimes the studio you’re hired
by may be working on television programmes
or commercials that you feel won’t be useful or
“exciting” enough on your demo reel - in that
case, create something spectacular on your
reel to get attention from some of the bigger
VFX studios. There are matte painters I know
whose personal work is more interesting than
their professional studio work. On a demo reel,
combining your own work and studio experience
shows major studios that you’re willing to go
that extra mile. Sometimes if you want to work
on feature films or blockbusters, you’ll have
to move to a major city - so be prepared to
relocate. I’ve always believed that if you’re
determined to live your dream, then you’ll do it!
Jim Maxwell
http://www.reviresco.info/
Or contact them at:
[email protected]
Interviewed by: Richard Tilbury

PMS COLORED
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404 U
modo is for artists
3D image
3D image created in modo by Luxology. Credit: created
Gelmi in modo
For more by Luxology.
information, Credit:
visit Gelmi
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TM
In this article, Justin Albers talks about what inspires him and shares his ideas and
sketches, from his random drawings, to his last Dominance War character
Sketchbook Justin Albers
For me, a sketchbook is a junkyard collection
of ideas and designs, thoughts and shapes,
inspirations and mindless scribbles. Most are
not so good and do not end up going anywhere,
but occasionally I’ll put something down that’s
worth further investment. I try to keep some sort
of sketchbook around wherever I happen to be.
Sometimes I’ll just get random images pop into
my head when I’m walking or driving or working,
or sometimes I’ll see interesting images or
patterns in water stains or oil spills that I might
be able to use later in some way.
I frequently sketch with just a regular black

ballpoint pen; it’s less messy than pencil
and doesn’t smudge, and since I can’t erase
anything it makes me conscious of choosing my
lines carefully - but at the same time it isn’t as
permanent and unforgiving as a
Sakura Micron pen.
Robots and mechanical things are some of my

favourite subjects to draw, and have been ever since
I was a kid when I was drawing trains and cars all
day. I find myself drawing that type of stuff a lot ... I’m
told it’s because I can get away with just combining
random shapes together that look cool – which actually
sounds about right! Sketch.01 – Sketch.03 were from
sessions at the Austin Sketch Group. They are nothing
in particular, just me mindlessly trying to come up with
some cool shapes and forms and emptying whatever’s
in my brain onto the page.

Justin Albers Sketchbook
Sketch.04 is one of the ideas I had for my last
Dominance War character entry that I might one
day turn into something else – he’s some kind
of peaceful forest guardian with hanging charms
and tokens denoting his age and importance.
For some reason I like drawing trees and
foliage, too.

Justin Albers Sketchbook
While home for Christmas, I made a few studies of the backyards of
Smithville, Texas. Working on these studies made me realise that I
should be doing this type of stuff a lot more (Sketch.06)
For environment ideas, I tend to switch back to pencil so I can lay in

values and quickly and easily add highlights, shadows and atmosphere.
Sketch.07 is just a few random ramblings of a futuristic cityscape.
For Sketch.08, I wanted to create a boggy swamp feel to the setting of

the top image, with a single lantern on the dock illuminating the path to
a rickety old dwelling where maybe some old voodoo guy lives. It might
make a cool painting one day! The bottom one is another future city idea
in which the living quarters of the citizens are modular and act as a huge
transportation vehicle, taking its residents to the central technology core
of the city where everyone works, making cars and roads obsolete. It
sounds ridiculous but it was fun to draw.

Sketch.10 is a page of just more random musings – a space captain,
some sort of samurai hovercraft device, a spaceship ... I think I did this
one while in meetings at work.
And now back to robots. I really enjoy the contrast between detail and no
detail, positive and negative space, large shapes and small shapes, etc,
so Sketch.11 is me just sort of experimenting and practicing with those
ideas in mind … which turned into more robots.
Sketch.12 was the beginning of a little personal project I have been

thinking about. I just recently saw the second and third Mad Max movies
and felt a little inspired. I ran with the post-apocalyptic idea and created a
story based on a National Geographic article I read about storing nuclear
waste in Nevada. What if the waste was improperly stored and somehow
ignited, creating a huge explosion of decayed nuclear material? I figured
it might unfortunately turn the people in the surrounding towns and
counties into radioactive mutant zombies. The main character of the
story would be a girl who builds a robot from used car pieces, scattered
mechanics and electronics for protection against the radiation and to
fight off the hordes of mutants so that she can get back to her home in
a neighbouring town in the mountains and save her family holed up in a
fallout shelter. Not exactly a literary masterwork, but it allows me to draw
the kind of stuff I like to draw. Sketch.12 is a page of
thumbnails for the robot guy.
Sketch.13 is further development on the robot and a few sketches of

the girl – I was thinking on either side are pieces of old car hubs (with
working lights!), the cab could be the top of a safe or airlock, the legs
from a construction loader, and in the back would be housing for the
engine and mechanics. I figure she would also need a few weapons for
mowing down zombies. She’s hung a flag on the front as a sign to the
inevitable occupation of the military that she’s not a mindless mutant!

I hope to finalise some of these ideas and

maybe paint some of these up once I’m satisfied
with a few of them. One of the most important
benefits to keeping a sketchbook for me is that I
can refine and combine any of these raw ideas
into whatever I want in the end.
Happy sketching!
Justin Albers
For more information please visit
http://www.justinalbers.com/
or contact
[email protected]

This month we feature:
Sara Justesen
Daniel Iulian Vijoi
Andreas Rocha
Loïc e338 Zimmermann
Ioan Dumitrescu
Dmitry Grebenkov
Robin Olausson
Szymon Biernacki
Yang Xueguo
Yap Kun Rong
10 of the Best The Galleries
The Journey Ends Sailing Through

Andreas Rocha Yap Kun Rong
http://www.andreasrocha.com http://krypt.cgsociety.org/gallery/

Concrete7
Yang Xueguo
http://hi.baidu.com/blur1977
[email protected]
Banana Split
Szymon Biernacki
http://lordbiernac.cgsociety.org/gallery/
[email protected]
Stranded My Ten Wheel House

Robin Olausson Daniel Iulian Vijoi
http://www.ewkn.deviantart.com/ http://techart.cgsociety.org/gallery/

Snake Fight
Ioan Dumitrescu
[email protected]
Black
Dmitry Grebenkov
http://kody.cgsociety.org/
[email protected]
What a Shame
Sara Justesen
http://www.salizabeth.net/
[email protected]

Fantasy
Loïc e338 Zimmermann
http://www.e338.com/
[email protected]
Welcome to the “Challenge” section of
2DArtist. Every month we run a challenge
in the conceptart.org forums, which is
avaliable for anyone to enter. The winning
entries not only receive prizes from the
www.3dtotal.com shop, but also get
featured in this very magazine! And as well
as displaying the winners from the previous
month’s competition, we also showcase the
“Making Of’s” from the month before that,
so you can see how these winning
pieces of artwork
Butcher Stylised Challenge

Stylised Challenge Butcher
10th 10th
The Challenge
Welcome to the Super Stylised Monthly
Challenge. Each month we will select an theme
and post some images in the Forum Thread
as reference. All you have to do is to create a
2D image in line with this theme in a stylised
/ abstract / cartoon style, whilst keeping your
image instantly recognisable. We wanted to
publish some content in 2DArtist Magazine on
how to create stylised images, such as you see
in the many feature films and cartoon galleries.
We thought this regular competition might bring
Richard G.D. Baker - The Antarctican Liran Szeiman - Liranz
9th http://www.cirqus.com http://liransz.deviantart.com/
9th 8th
Adrian Zhang - Gnahz Tom Svoboda - Smot

[email protected] [email protected] Rosatron
http://gnahz.deviantart.com http://www.smot.cz
in just the images / Making Of’s that we need,

8th 8th whilst giving away great prizes and exposure.
This month’s theme was “Butcher”. Here you
can see the top placed entries, as voted for by
the public.
What are we looking for?

Funny and humorous entries which break
the theme down to its most recognisable
components; emphasise these in whichever
ways you think best, and render your stylised
/ abstract / cartoon masterpiece. The rules are
pretty laid back: please submit 1 x 3D render
(minor post work is OK); its up to you if you want
Alex Heath - Ghostbrush to have a background; include some graphical

Pakomiko [email protected] elements or text on your image. Renders of the
http://web.mac.com/alexheathart

8th 6th 5th
Rafa Vargas-Machuca - Machuca

[email protected]
http://www.machuca.biz
7th
Loris Marcuswelbey
Giuseppe Lacapra - Pepps
[email protected]
5th 5th
4th
Tom van Wanrooy - Tommoy Joseph Paice - J

[email protected] [email protected] Equality72521
http://www.thecartoonfactory.nl

800 pixel dimension sound about right, but the
winners will be featured in 2DArtist Magazine, 3rd 2nd
so if you can create some higher res images too
then all the better!
There will be one competition per month,

with the deadline being the end of the month
(GMT). For a valid entry, just make sure your
final image is posted in the main competition
thread before the deadline. We require the top
three winners to submit “Making Of” overview
articles that will be shown on either 3DTotal
or in 2DArtist Magazine. These need to show
the stages of your creation - different elements
and some brief explanation text - of why, and
how, you did what you did. We will format
this into some nice-looking pages to give you
some great exposure, and us some quality
content. Each competition will have one main
Oriol Muñoz Anguera - Urih_pta2 Ruth Martinez - Ruth2m
thread which starts with the brief at the top. All [email protected] [email protected]
http://www.urih-pta2.blogspot.com http://ruth2m.com
entrants should post all WIP’s, give feedback
and generally laugh at the crazy ideas that are
emerging each month... 1st
Challenge Thread
The entire Butcher competition can be viewed
Here
The current challenge at the voting stage is:

Troll
The current challenge taking place is:

Bigfoot (Sasquatch)
To join the next challenge, or to view previous,

and / or current entries, please visit: www.
conceptart.org
Or contact: [email protected]
János Kiss - 28thWing

[email protected]
www.28thwing.com

Here are the “Making Of’s” from last month’s top

three winning entries...
3rd Bstsk
Hi everyone, again! It was, as always, a
pleasure to participate in the stylised challenge.
Step 01
The creation process was the same for this
piece as for my last: I always try to follow a
sketch, adding volume and colour, all mixed up
with composition and the intention of keeping it
an interesting image. I started with the sketch,
searching for the best character I could get.
Since I didn’t have much time on the scarecrow,
I had to go for the skinny version, which was
one of my first ideas – but I guess it turned out
well enough (Fig.01).
Step 02
So I started colouring, trying to get a simple look and paying attention to
the weight of the colour and composition in the image (Fig.02).
The first step I usually take when colouring is to block out the sky and
ground; for the sky I tend to use a simple gradient, since it’s much better
for a cartoon – fast and clean. The ground I paint with different brushes,
depending on the style; this one was simple so I kept it that way.
Since most of the scarecrow was silhouetted against the sky, I painted it
with contrasting, warm colours and planned the shadows afterwards.
Step 03
With most of the main colours defined, I started refining and polishing to
increase the contrast and enrich the image. I positioned the sun to the left,
allowing the shadows I needed to add some dark tones in the scene. For

the shadows I chose a violet tone and set it to multiply, and then continued
detailing. I also started adding some elements, like the cloud line or the
barn at the background (Fig.03).
The most important part at this stage was making his smile smug enough
– since the character has no movement, except for the action line of the
pole, his expression had to do the trick!
Step 04
Being able to guess the final results of the character, I still wasn’t happy
enough with the image as a whole ... I imagined right from the beginning
that the viewer would be able to guess what had happened if I simply
showed some feathers (see Fig.03). However, I realised it was lacking
something, and so I decided to add the crows themselves – placing them
here and there, making the image a little more dynamic.
I painted in the foreground plants and changed

the clouds to balance the new elements in
the image ... and there it was, almost ready. I
ended the work on the image by refining all the
characters using the smudge tool, and I used a
little blur on the crows to simulate movement.
The final step was to balance the colour; I made
the shadows a little more subtle and made the
tone of the trousers a little less saturated – and
with that, it was done.
And onto the next challenge!
Felipe Fernández Morell

http://www.ffilustracion.com
Or contact them at:
[email protected]

2nd Madhatter106
The subject of this challenge on the forum
caught my eye since I like to draw “character”
clothing – I’d much rather draw rags and shreds
and tatters than satin or velvet or silk (as I like to
say, “draw gritty, not pretty!”). I initially wanted
to do something different, and inspiration hit
me at the grocery store – I caught sight of all
the men’s body and fitness magazines. I’ve
always laughed at the cover articles mentioned
and all the crazy/intense wording they use –
ripped, rock hard, gridiron, and all that. Being
ectomorphic (tall and thin) myself, I figured
all those Ichabod Crane scarecrows might
want to bulk up and get buff, so why not do a
bodybuilder scarecrow? Why stop at a pumpkin
head, when he could have a whole body made
of squash and gourds, since their organic
shapes could lend themselves to some sort of
approximation of muscles?
After a web search for bodybuilder poses, I

finally settled on a pose from which to work and
sketched out a few roughs until I had something
that I liked in pencil. That image was scanned
into Photoshop, where levels were adjusted and
contrast/brightness was tweaked (Fig.01).
I created a quick gradient background and

pasted the original scan on a separate layer
with linear burn, which gave me a good dark

brownish earthy line to work up. (Fig.02) In
some cases I like to retain the line art, and
will work in colour layers underneath the
lines, but here I wanted to minimize my layer
management hassle and do decided to paint
the bulk of the figure onto the line art layer.
Thinking I would be happy with the background
as it was, I flattened the two together so I
could start working with a single layer and an
uncluttered file.
When I do costume sketches, I usually start

with the face/head and skin tones, as it makes
painting the rest of the clothing and accessories
much less dull and depressing (Fig.03). (It gives

a little bit of life to the figure, and when I do
digital figures I tend to work from the body and
subsequent clothing layers outward – body to
shirt to vest to suit coat.) I didn’t want too strong
a lighting source at this stage - just a general
directional wash – because I intended to play
a little with the lighting when I was pushing and
pulling darks and lights later. With the head area
done, I did a quick “mapping out” of colour for
the rest of the gourds, squash, rope, and twigs
that make up the body (Fig.04).
With the basics down, I started working up lights

and darks, as well as some details (such as the
stitching) and ideas for textures (the burlap cloth
for the face). I didn’t want to get too detailed
too soon, I just wanted to elaborate on what

I already had (Fig.05). Deciding I wanted to
play with some of the gourd textures, I made
another layer above the painting, and started
messing around with some ideas based off of a
ton of gourd and squash photos I’d downloaded
(Fig.06 & Fig.07). This is the fun part, doing all
the bumps and stripes and mottled patterns –
it’s a personal tug of war to not get too detailed,
as I sometimes have a tendency to want to paint
the eyelashes before I’ve drawn the legs. I also
kept working the lights up and pushing the darks
down, continuing to model the volumes as well
as including a vague indication of the twigs and
sticks that make up the torso underneath the
squash and gourd muscles (Fig.08).

By this time, I’d reached the point for which I’d
been salivating since the beginning – the straw
and the hay! Really, what’s a good scarecrow,
from stick figure pencil-neck to my wannabe
Ahhhnuld-clone, without all that stuffing?
Thinking I would probably go overboard, I made
another layer with a bevel and emboss modifier,
which helped to create some shadow and
modelling for each straw (Fig.09). The majority
of the straw was done this way, but for added
background details, I went back into the original
painting layer and pencilled extra dark lines in
the same general direction, so that it didn’t look
like every piece of straw was getting the same
amount of light and shadow.
While I was working on the straw, I decided that

he needed additional twine and rope details, to
show how he’s lashed the gourds together to
create his body, so another layer was created
between the straw layer and the body layer, and
the twine was added.
At this point, looking at the file I realised

everything was getting a little muddy and dark,
so I tweaked the levels and contrast, and played
around with the colours. Part of the problem
was the too-dark initial background gradient,
so I made a copy of the painted layer (which
I had been working the figure in all along),
erased out the background of this copy, and
filled the original background with a better and
lighter gradient (Fig.10). Now I had the main

figure painting on its own layer, as well as
the additional straw layer, gourd detail layer,
and twine layer. So much for a single-layered,
uncluttered file!
I did one long, final pass throughout the whole

figure, adding more texture shadows/highlights
to the burlap, as well as more twine and some
curly green gourd vines. Details were also
added to the denim jeans. Then I zoomed
out and did some dodging and burning for
further modelling (Fig.11). This is where the
intervention was needed, as I could have kept
adding straw and vines and wrinkles and fun
little details, but the deadline was looming…
All throughout this process, I had been turning

over ideas in my head as to what the cover
content of my scarecrow bodybuilding magazine
would be. “Gourd-iron” for gridiron came to mind
early on, but a lot of the caption ideas came
once I started dropping in text layers and playing
around with the type and layout.
In many of the magazines on news stands, the

figures always obscure part of the title text, and
there’s always a special poster or pullout or
extra that they advertise with a diagonal corner
banner, so I wanted to include them in the final
design. My brother brainstormed the phrase “roll
in the hay,” which was perfect because there’s
always some cover mention of an article dealing
with bedroom stamina or sexual health (Fig.12).
Well that’s about it! Ironically, a week later,

gourds went on sale at my local supermarket,
so I did all that visual research the hard way – if
only they had been in when I was working on
this, I could have had the real deal to work from
… ah well.
Robert L. Cron
http://www.costumesketch.com/
Or contact them at:
[email protected]

1st Ruth2m
Hi everybody!
I’ve been following this monthly contest for a

long time, but I haven’t managed to make up my
mind to participate in one so far, although there
have been some interesting topics. Finally, the
scarecrow topic encouraged me enough and
here I am with my first “making of”. I hope it
helps somebody, somehow.
Step 1
When thinking about this topic, the first idea that
I had was to provide it with dynamism, because
scarecrows themselves are very static. I wanted
to draw a very frightening scarecrow, but one
that wasn’t frightening due to its look, but to the be at it’s feet at that particular moment. I also with the scarecrow as a fierce aspect against
circumstances at that moment. decided to used a low angle - the point of view the moonlight. But then I realised that crows
of the crows - because this way, the figure of don’t go out at night, and so I tried the same
What usually happens to me is that when I’m scarecrow came across as much more daunting lighting with a sunset instead. I think it was the
drawing a scene, I imagine a situation and I like (Fig.01). better choice because this way the darkness of
to think of it as a photograph that captures the the scarecrow stands out in the calm and light of
characters at that precise moment. With this Step 2 the sunset (Fig.03).
in mind, I chose to draw a gnawed, worn-out, Once I had my idea, I intended to draw it with
scarecrow on a somewhat broken piece of a pencil, because I like the texture of pencil What has had the most profound impact on
wood, pushed into that position due to a gusty on paper very much and I wanted to take the people who have seen this drawing has
wind and scaring the crows that happened to advantage of the pencil line, and later, colouring been the background because it seems to
it with Photoshop (Fig.02a). Afterwards, I be a watercolour. To achieve this, I chose a
realised that it seemed dirty and that is why I granulated brush with 30% opacity, and wet
change to a line made with Flash (Fig.02b), edges to provide different textures, and then,
which is clearer. I kept the pencil drawing to use with the smudge tool, I blurred the areas I liked.
later to give texture. Overlapping several layers I got a great variety
of colours and a gentle shift of shades from the
Step 3 sky to the clouds. I always use soft brushes for
The next stage was to paint the background. My large, blurred surfaces, and keep the hard ones
first intention was to show a nocturnal scene, to polish up final details and more definite areas.

It can be noticed in the picture that at the
beginning the colour was paler, and to
boost it I added a gradient from orange to a
purplish shade and applied a focus light layer
superposition (this layer mode provides very
nice colours for the backgrounds).
Step 4
For the figure of the scarecrow I took advantage
of the gaps created by the Flash line to paint
by areas. I first applied a background colour
and later added details to define volumes (the from the horizon, to create a beam and give the Finally, I would like to thank everyone who voted
check shirt, lighting, the various planes of the arm a different, less saturated, shade and thus for me in this contest and I hope to be able to go
character). What seemed most important to me detaching it from the body (Fig.05). on taking part and learning from everyone else
was to give the drawing good lighting, so once out there. See you!
the colours had been selected, I took up defining Step 6
light and shadows areas (Fig.04). To finish the drawing, I polished some light and
shining details, defined dark areas to give it
Step 5 more contrast, added some blades of grass to Ruth Martinez
Once all the details of the drawing were finished, obtain more dynamism and added some parts For more work by this artist please visit:
I realised that closest and farthest planes such as the barn and the straw, which helped http://ruth2m.com
had yet to be marked out. I wanted to take to give me the sense of depth I wanted to reach Or contact them at:
advantage of the lighting of the sky coming up (Fig.06). [email protected]

“Composition can
be thought of as
the “glue” that
effectively holds a
piece of artwork
together”
In this article, Joel Carlo discusses the elements and principles of art
composition
Tutorial Understanding Composition
What Is Composition?
One of the most intriguing aspects in the realm
of visual arts would have to be the subject of
composition. Composition can be thought of
as the “glue” that effectively holds a piece of
artwork together. It is the manner in which an
artist chooses to combine elements of art that
inevitably create the very structure behind the
artwork as a whole.
When it comes to art, there is an existing set of

elements and principles that directly affect how
an artwork is composed. Elements are different
from principles in that they are tools used to
describe and create art. Principles on the other of an image, build contrast, create balance Form is the enclosed area of gradient values
hand, are general rules of action by which these and harmony, as well as evoke both mood and that define an object’s volume through the
elements are used. feeling. presence of light and shadow. An easier way to
understand this is to think of form as shape with
Elements of Art in The following is a complete list of definitions for tonal value.
Composition each art element, examples of which can be
When the word “composition” comes to mind seen in Fig.01: Value is the lightness or darkness of a surface.
in relation to visual art, many people generally Line is defined as a continuous extent of length, When we refer to value in the context of
think of it in terms of layout, or how shapes are straight or curved, and often defines the edges art, it can be used to explain the degree of
placed and relate to each other within space. of a form. It can be implied indirectly when the lightness or darkness in a colour, as well as the
It’s important to understand that although space dark and light areas of a form meet. This is relationship of light and shade within an image.
and shape are essential parts in a composition, known as a shadow edge and can be seen as
there are other elements of art which although either a form shadow, composed of soft edges, Space is the element that is directly related
often overlooked, are equally as important. or a cast shadow which contains hard edges. to how a viewer perceives depth. It can be
used to direct attention to certain elements in
Composition is essentially created when one or Shapes are made when lines meet to create self a composition and can also create balance or
more of the seven art elements are combined. contained areas. These areas can be defined imbalance within an image.
These elements (line, shape, form, space, as both organic and geometric and are seen
texture, colour and value) and their placement as both positive (the area defined by shadow Texture refers to the surface quality of an
within an image can be used to influence how shapes) and negative (the area defined between artwork. It can be expressed in both a physical
an image is perceived. Executed properly, the shadow shapes). or visual sense and can be implied in a way
these elements can help accentuate portions where it is rendered with realism or abstractly.

Colour is the light reflected by an object and is
determined by measurements of hue, brightness
and saturation.
Principles of Art in
Composition
As with almost any art form, a set of principles
exist which directly influence the overall effect it
has on its viewer. In art, there are eight essential
principles: movement, balance, harmony, unity,
rhythm, emphasis, variety and proportion. These
principles can be considered as a set of rules
or guidelines that govern the manner by which
every artist expresses their concepts or ideas,
as well as the type of impression that is left
through their work.
The following provides a brief explanation for

each of the art principles:
Movement is the way by which a viewer’s eyes
are directed throughout a particular area of an
image or in its entirety.
Balance determines the distribution of every

element within an image as well as its overall
sense of evenness.
Harmony is the principle by which all parts of an

image are arranged in a consistent and orderly
fashion to create a pleasing or harmonious
effect.
Unity is how each of the combined parts

correlate with one another in order to create a
sense of unification as a whole.
Rhythm in an image is a perceived sense of

movement that occurs due to repeating patterns,
shapes or elements.
Emphasis is the intensity or importance that is

forced on a particular part of an image.
Variety relates to degrees of diversity and

differences within an artwork.
Proportion is linked to the comparative

relationships of dimension and size between
existing parts of an artwork.
Fig.02 shows several of these principles of art

in effect. The octopus provides emphasis and
Tutorial Understanding Composition
movement in the image, while the remaining elements help emphasise
both balance, proportion and variety.
Point of View
The point of view in an image relates to the perceived position the viewer
is left with, depending on the perspective an image is framed in. Creative
use of this can directly influence the effect and impression an image has
on the viewer. For example, if you’re familiar with the terms “worm’s eye”
or “bird’s eye” views, this can help better illustrate the idea. When we refer
to “worm’s eye” view, the idea is to place the point of view in a position
where the viewer is left in a perceived point that is lower than the elements
surrounding them.
An example of this can be seen in Fig.03 where I’ve taken advantage of

using a worm’s eye view in order to accentuate the scale of the demon to
create a foreboding and ominous feeling. The effect caused by this point
of view can sometimes leave a viewer feeling overwhelmed or restricted,
as well as giving elements in an image a sense of immensity.
On the opposite spectrum, a “bird’s eye” view can sometimes have an

effect where the viewer is left feeling larger or more dominant than the
elements in an image, as well as leaving then with a sense of freedom or
a lack of restraint.
Rules of Composition
As with any art form, rules generally exist as a way to help an individual
learn to properly execute principles in order to achieve a certain aesthetic
in their work. In terms of composition, there are several rules that exist
which can help you do exactly that.
The first rule is the Rule of Thirds. This rule is probably the most well
known of all compositional rules and its objective is to either frame or draw
attention to certain aspects of an image by creating an imaginary grid that
divides an image into nine equal parts. This is done using two equally
spaced horizontal lines and two equally spaced vertical lines that create
intersecting points, which in turn can be used as guides to place elements

Understanding Composition Tutorial
within an image. Elements in an image can
be placed along these imaginary lines or their
intersecting points in order to draw focus.
Fig.04 shows an example of this. You can

see that the main points of interest are the
ships which sit on or close to the intersecting
lines. The foreground ship falls directly on an
intersecting point, helping to draw in more focus
to it. The background ships, although still focal
points, fall just outside the intersecting lines
drawing less emphasis.
The next rule of composition is the Rule of

Golden Means. This rule is similar to the Rule
of Thirds where an image is split into nine parts
by using four lines; however, each of those
parts does not have to be equal. The points in in perspective, such as a road or landscapes directly in the centre of an image, it just has
each which the lines cross are referred to as the that fade towards a horizon line, this should give to be framed between and even number of
“Golden Sections” and typically are used to draw you a better idea of what the rule of diagonals elements. This helps draw focus to the centre
focus to a point of interest in an image. is all about. The key here is to draw focus and and also achieves a natural sense of balance
interest through the use of dynamic layout. that is pleasing to the viewer.
While the Rule of Golden Means typically uses
its converging points to focus interest on a In Fig.06 you can see this rule in action. Here Fig.07 shows an example of using the Rule
specific element, as you can see in Fig.05, I’ve I’ve used the angle in which the school of fish of Odds to frame a centre element within an
used the space within these points to frame the are positioned to split the image into two parts. image.
figure into three separate points of interest.
Our last rule is the Rule of Odds. As the name Conclusion
Next on our list is the Rule of Diagonals. This implies, this rule suggests that having an odd When it comes to the subject of composition,
rule consists of splitting an image into two parts number of elements in an image creates a there are those who believe that its principles
using a diagonally placed line, and then placing natural framing effect around a centre element and rules are imperative to create artwork that
elements on or around the line itself. If you’ve in an image. Keep in mind that this centre is both balanced and pleasing to the eye, and
ever drawn or taken a photograph of elements element doesn’t necessarily need to be placed there are those who believe if any rules do exist,
they are meant to be broken. It’s important to
understand that although composition can be
approached both in an objective or subjective
manner, one thing is definitely certain:
Understanding what composition is and how
it works will inevitably help you articulate your
ideas in a more concise and effective manner.
Joel Carlo
For more from this artist visit:
http://www.joelcarlo.net
Or contact:
[email protected]

Welcome to the Speed Painting section of the magazine. This
month we’ve asked two artists to produce a speed painting
based on a simple, one-line brief. Here we feature the final
paintings and the overview of the creation processes.
This month our talented artists, Justin Albers and Richard

Tilbury, tackle the topic:
“The approaching swarm appeared biblical in scale and straight from a nightmare” Speed Painting
Created In:
Adobe Photoshop
Introduction
This was a very doom and gloom sounding
piece, but had the potential to be epic. When
I first read the caption I had two ideas – one
was an Amazonian jungle setting populated by
huge wasps or mosquitoes; the other was of
a burning, orange Egyptian desert swarming
with locusts or scarabs. I decided to go with the
second, just because I like painting deserts!
Step 1
I’ve opened up a portrait-style canvas because
I’m thinking I’ll want to have a lot of sky in there
to show off the magnitude of the swarm. This
is the part where I just experiment with colours ancient ruins or a sacred-looking building way in
and texture brushes until I find something I like. the back that’s being threatened by this insect
The palette here is pretty tame, and at this point invasion, and then in the middle ground I want
I think I need to go much warmer (Fig.01). to show lots of sand. I’m toying around with
the idea of having a huge Egyptian monolithic
Step 2 structure in the background with sand pouring
I’m starting to scribble in some shapes and out of it, but while this seems pretty cool at first,
defining my composition. I know I’m going to it quickly starts to appear too busy. In addition,
want something in the foreground to denote I’m beginning to finalise the shape of the rocks
scale. I’m also going to want some sort of in the foreground (Fig.02).

Speed Painting “The approaching swarm appeared biblical in scale and straight from a nightmare”
Step 3
I decide to substitute the huge Egyptian
structure for a smaller, more rectangular building
that has some Middle Eastern influences in the
architecture. I still want to maintain a bit of a
fantasy element to it, so I’m making stuff up as I
go and reinforcing it with referenced details. I’m
also defining the rock and sand in the middle
ground (Fig.03).
Step 4
I’m starting to refine the composition, often
checking in the navigator window to be sure the
piece is reading properly. I’m happy with the
colour palette; I like the blues with the oranges,
browns and yellows. Now that I have these main
elements in, it’s time to add in the nightmarish
swarm of insects (Fig.04).
Step 5
Here I’ve painted in what I imagine one of these
insects to look like, making a point to keep it
fairly clean around the edges. I decide to make
it a blue colour to contrast with the surrounding
oranges. I’m thinking these are about the size
of a hawk… which is grossly big for an insect
(Fig.05).
Step 6
Once I have the scarab designed I make a
brush out of it. To do this, I copy the layer with
the bug on it and paste it into a new canvas so myself a few bug swarm layers and set the
that it’s by itself on a white background. Then opacities at different percentages to make some
I go to Edit > Define Brush Preset and name it appear further away. I combine these layers with
“scarab”. I go into the brushes tab and modify it; the original bug that I painted and copy them a
I check the Shape Dynamics and the Scattering few times to create the swarm (Fig.07).
tabs and adjust the sliders until it looks
somewhat like a natural swarm. I also alter the Step 8
Spacing in the Brush Tip Shape tab (Fig.06). I’m happy with the swarm but it doesn’t feel
nightmarish or biblical enough! It feels like a
Step 7 bright sunny day in the desert with a couple
I’m trying out the new brush I made. It works of annoying flies. To make this more exciting,
great and makes an easy bug swarm. I make I add more insects in the background so that

the swarm starts to blot out the sky. I also add the world. So, I add in some scarabs attacking
a scarab or two into the foreground and blur him, forcing him to defend himself. I also add
them out so that they appear close enough to in the lightning, because lightning looks cool. I
be out of focus. I add an approaching sand/ darken the foreground to really put emphasis on
thunderstorm to the fray to help add to the the swarm flying past and also lighten the area
chaos of the scene. My thinking is that this on the rocks by the scout to add focus to that
tower has been cursed and is being subjected little interest spot as well (Fig.08).
to a plague of carnivorous scarabs, sand and
lightning storms that will eventually destroy the Step 9 – Final
tower and its inhabitants. Also, the figure in the I made a few more adjustments to the piece
foreground, who is a scout or lookout, looks like after receiving some friendly critique. I made the
he’s just chillin’ on the rocks with not a care in foreground rock formation smaller and added
in some ground details to open up the piece a

little bit and make it feel less cluttered. Also, I
ditched the building and added a huge insect
hive; I felt it read better fictionally to have the
swarm pouring out from this thing and I turned
the figure into some kind of warlock dude. I think
adding in the giant, disgusting insect hive makes
it feel more dangerous and nightmarish as the
topic implies. I also added some grey to the
middle and background to push those elements
back into the painting (Fig.09).
As a speed painting this guy is pretty much

done. I will probably go back and tighten up my
edges by making a selection of each piece and
painting inside it to make them precise. I will
also tighten up the storm clouds and possibly
add a few more scarabs.
And that’s enough talk of man-eating bugs for

one day!
Justin Albers
http://www.justinalbers.com/
Or contact:
[email protected]


The first stage was to establish the composition,

which in this case would be a panoramic view
of a landscape from which would emerge an
oncoming swarm over the distant horizon. I
decided to tilt the angle of the view to add some
drama and also create a dynamic between the
horizon and the direction of the swarm.
I used a standard hard round airbrush to rough

in the landscape and a spatter brush with the
dual brush function enabled to create some
texture in the initial swarm (Fig.01).
I duplicated the swarm layer and applied some

motion blur to suggest a writhing mass of
moving insects (Fig.02).
The pattern across the landscape does

something to suggest the scale of the swarm but
I felt the image needed another component. I
decided to add the uppermost part of some kind
of fortress or structure in the foreground with
a sentry overlooking the valley (Fig.03). This
character would provide the scale.

Due to the initial brush used, the scale of the
swarm looked too small, so using a custom
brush I painted over the area to create a better
impression of more insects (Fig.04).
The swarm was now looking much better, but

the foreground figure and landscape needed
refining. Using the hard round airbrush again,
I added in evidence of trees and fields across
the valley as well as a distant mountain range.
The sentry was also given some armour and a
helmet (Fig.05).
To help the fields look less like a desert, I

altered the colour of the landscape (Image-
Adjustments-Colour Balance). This created a
cooler hue leaning towards blue and green and
also made the landscape look far more like lush,
arable land (Fig.06).
To help make the swarm more ominous I added of the sun, I extended it across the top of the painted in some extra trees and detail across
a shadow across the landscape and foreground picture and created a blanket effect. Swapping the fields to add more definition and tilted the
to convey its size and density. To enhance this the blue values for browns also helped (Fig.07). sentry slightly to match the perspective. Here is
and suggest it is big enough to block out part Using the same hard round airbrush I then the final image (Fig.08).
Richard Tilbury
http://www.richardtilburyart.com
Or contact:
[email protected]

“In space, all forms
of orientation of up,
down, left or right are
nonexistent. There is no
magnetic north or south,
only the way forward or
stationary.”
I - Planets and Star fields

Part 1: Stars & Nebulas–- July 2008
Part 2: Barren Worlds - August 2008
Part 3: Barren Planets - September 2008
Part 4: Gaian Planets - October 2008
Part 5: Colonised Planets - November 2008
II - Transport
Part 6: Spaceships - December 2008
Part 7: Capital Ships - January 2009
Part 8: Space Stations - February 2009
III - Environments
Part 9: Sci-fi Hangar - March 2009
Part 10: Space Battle - April 2009
Part 11: Mining the Asteroid Fields - May 2009
Part 12: Space Colonies - June 2009
Transport Part 7: Capital Ships Space Painting
Created In:
Photoshop
Welcome back to the seventh instalment of

this space painting series. In this segment, we
continue our discussion of spaceships with
the consideration of the larger and sometimes
impossibly grand capital ships that can span up
to a few miles in length in popular culture and
media. Sometimes these ships are so large
they are deemed battle stations in their own
respective rights!
Overview
Continuing on our theme of futuristic space
transport, I have grouped together the large thumbprint, leave very few discerning details. of pancake and waffle-shaped crafts (Fig.02).
collection of ships that are able to carry The main thing to therefore observe is their Chances are, if they all had the same engine
groups and large numbers of inhabitants overall form and shape. It is with this issue in output, acceleration profile and manoeuvring
under the heading of “Capital Ships”. Current mind that I often want to label the design of – it would be a close photo finish if you had an
naval equivalents of these are termed (from spaceships as “sexy bricks” (Fig.01). imaginary drag race in space!
small to large) as frigates, destroyers, deep
space sensor arrays, mass troop transports, Design – Sexy Bricks The purist and scientist, however, may argue
battleships, massed array destroyers, multi- When you consider the look, feel and design of that waffle and pancake-shaped ships make
assault super destroyers, battleships, carrier, a very large spaceship there are a few useful for a large frontal profile, and thus may
fleet carriers and leviathan classed battleships. everyday considerations that can help translate meet greater incidental damage from micro
These terms roughly describe the range of and convey a sense of relativistic realism and meteorites, space debris, and so on ... which
militaristic space capital ships. The more aesthetic beauty. You could in essence look at means the turnips have a slim marginal
mercantile and non-militaristic class of space capital ships as a hybrid of U-boat, yacht, battle advantage (not to mention they are kind of more
vessels will be covered in the third instalment of tank, naval warship and bullet train, all mixed to aerodynamic, almost resembling a super food
the transport arm of this series. different extents and styles (e.g. industrialised torpedo!).
versus sleek organic Luigi Colani-esque). The
I: Grand Design: thing about space is: there is no real need However!
Construction of a Superstructure to consider atmospheric aerodynamics - in We are not in the business of designing sexy hot
To start the construction of something that is general. potatoes or flying toasters, no ... what we really
relatively quite large, we have to scale it down want are designer sushi rolls armed with slender
significantly in size. Large or small objects, One could string together a cluster of turnips on slithers of avocado and deep fried tempura!
when they are all scaled to the size of a a piece of string and race them against a group

Space Painting Transport Part 7: Capital Ships
Alright, bad food analogy, but the real point quarters, observation deck – all of these get 4. SOLIDIFACTION – This represents the
is about a compromise that sees a fusion of considered here pre-prototype before you complete your initial
real world industrial design functionality and 3. BULKING – Additional plating and armature design. The whole ship should look solid, well-
sufficient external packaging to appeal towards are added to the overall exoskeleton built and capable of performing its intended role
the aesthetic sensibilities.
Capital Ships: How To

In general, you could take any cylindrical
or relatively rectangular object and these
would serve as a very good base to make a
spaceship. The way I would like to approach the
construction and design of a capital ship is to
assume that I could produce the same functional
design given the right technological level, to
perfectly build a spaceship.
The closest production method would be to

take a leaf from both naval ship construction
and the car manufacturing process. With this
methodology, a combination of semi-schematics
and loose sketches allows both the designer
and viewer (modeller/architect/director) to
appreciate how the forms cross from one side
to the next, and also presents the designer (and
their subconscious) with additional data on how
to refine, and improve on, the design process.
Fig.03 shows a five step approach towards this

aim:
1. DRAFT – In the draft form, keep the lines
loose and ensure they cross from one side to
another
2. PANELLING – Start to divide and construct
separate sections for your spaceship, e.g.
forward bulkhead, engine section, living

5. FINAL – The design is considered finalised
when all the additional details such as markings,
panels, piping, engines, hangars and such are
drafted into and considered in the final plans.
Capital Ship Types

The next few steps to consider are the
individualistic styles your design may have.
Often, the style of the ship design may be
considered initially, or alternatively you can
consider how it may look once a suitable
selection of ship shapes and designs have been
drafted.
Determining how a ship should look is akin

to determining the type of fabric, weave and
pattern that goes into a finely embroidered rug.
In gaming terms, it could be representative of
which guild or faction a particular make belongs
to; in terms of functionally, the type of look can
lend credence to how your current ship line has
been built.
Fig.04 shows a range of three representative

styles:
1. Retro-Industrial
2. Fused
3. Organic
current modern day design aesthetic is roughly As a general workflow, I tend to:
Retro-Industrial within this sphere of design sensibility. 1. Start the design – With pen and paper, on any
This represents a more industrialised feel, paper/sketchbook available and explore various
where many elements such as tubing, pipes, Organic shapes, forms and aesthetics
engines and overall superstructure is exposed. The more exotic or alien-esque shapes of 2. Refine the design – Utilise the design
The term “retro” represents 50-60s futuristic various spaceships can be termed “organic”. language and reference to establish a ship line,
design, which is shockingly more futuristic than Smooth flowing lines, hidden pin-point engines and narrow the selection process into two or
our current day design aesthetic. If you desire and seamless joints all suggest a more exotic three designs that show promise
to look at truly futuristic design, look to the past; origin of space design language (for reference, 3. Finalise the design – Using markers and pens
it’s probably one of the few reasons why ships look up Luigi Colani). to depict 3/4th perspective views of the space
of old look so good. Another genre to look into vessel’s front-to-rear and rear-to-front views
is streamline moderne. Together, retro and Capital Ship: Superstructure
streamline moderne represent a collection of Lastly, let’s put all these various elements To refine our design, I also tend to consider a
functional and very handsome ship designs. together. In the previous space painting tutorial space vessel in terms of structural composition.
part on spaceships, (Part 6), we looked at Similar to the way biological entities are
Fused various methods of illustrating and designing constructed from skeletal frames to retain
This represents a fusion of industrial and space vessels. Therefore, it is with this general organs, with muscles and thick fascia to enclose
angular shapes, combined with slight elements assumption that we move onto the meat of it all, and the external skin representing the
of a smoother and more organic shape. Our actually designing. armour and plating of space vessels.

In Fig.05 the Sovereign ship destroyer design is

split into the three aspects:
1. Basic Superstructure
2. Exoskeleton
3. Completed structure
This represents a warm-up sketch, to explore

both positive and negative shapes. As such, it
was produced free hand with a quill pen and
Indian ink, which allowed for thick and thin
flowing lines. For a pen equivalent I tend to use
a Pentel Stylo liquid fountain JL30. The overall
size is relatively modest: rendered simply on a
5”x6” (inches) area on a slightly textured classic
Fabriano paper.
In Fig.06 this design process is taken further,

and a larger carrier/battleship equivalent is
explored. Using the same process, more care
and deliberation is used and the overall draft Next time you are in an industrialised area or up a slight contentious issue of realism vs.
is produced on a A4 moleskin paper. The finer near a construction facility, keep a vigilant eye artistic license. The thing is, trying to showcase
lines are produced using a brown Pilot 0.4 out for transports being constructed, or keep your latest hot-of-the-press designs with all of
G-TEC-C4 pen. your eye glued to The Discovery Channel. your ships in formation can often be a large
All knowledge is good trivia to fulfil your inner undertaking that falls flat for one primary reason:
Years of admiring cut-out illustrations and popup industrial designer! reality.
books have lent towards a style that appreciates
showing the ship super structure in its various II: Space Fleet Scene In reality, these ships in serene and majestic
states of construction. Now this can come in In part two of this workshop, let’s take you flight in deep space will no more reflect light
extremely useful, if one were asked to produce through some basics of how to produce a than appear as a multitude of blobs. Or a single
a scene showcasing a space vessel being space fleet scene. Often, in popular culture, you blob. Because light from the nearest stars
constructed e.g. a trailer for the new Star Trek may notice gratuitous flyby shots of masses of appears as faint twinkles at best (and appears
movie by JJ Abrams. capital ships in fleet formation. This can bring as nothing on film and tiny points of white light

on high resolution video). As for the flotilla of
ships: nothing, just dark outlines of nothing …
against a sea of dark.
So imagine a blob against the darkness of

space. Perhaps a small smattering of local
lights may help define its form better against the
backlight of ... nothing?
And there we have the appeal of artistic license!

The proponents of realism will find shots of:
1. Ships running past a nearby star
2. Very close-up shots of ships lit by local lights,
and the ship material being a very desaturated heavy that all forms of organic, structural and over, let’s look at how to showcase your latest
grey (for there is insufficient nearby lighting to latest state-of-the-art ships crumple into nothing, designs in action!
show off colour) or are fried into space dust from the intense
3. Ships running past planetary rings radiation) 1. Grey Layout
2. A group of ships running through space gas In Fig.07 a bunch of capital ships are depicted
Problems arise in depicting relative scale and and clouds (runs again into the nebulae issue) in greyscale. On the far left, rough outlines of
atmosphere. There are no visibility issues the basic geometry have been employed. And
in reality (unless there is a rare chance of Nevertheless, artistic license allows for on the far right, the ships are depicted using
navigating through space debris/cloud of space gratuitous use of atmospheric perspective to rough and large paint strokes.
dust). You either see a ship or your do not, suggest depth. For example, painting brightly
and the scale of a large ship vs. a small ship is coloured clouds in space and throwing caution The argument for depicting a deep space scene
impossible to discern by the naked eye. to the wind (galactic hiccups, burps and in greyscale is that it allows you to concentrate
leftovers gasses notwithstanding). on design and composition. The difficulty that
The proponents of artistic license will happily arises is the transition to colour.
use: Fleet Shot – The Drawing Bit
1. A backdrop of ships going through a nebulous We really must get back to the drawing and Let me correct that last statement: The transition
region (often the density of nebulas are so painting bit now, so with the mini science/rant bit from greyscale to monochromic colour is not
difficult, but looks very unimpressive. In fact,
it looks very grey. The transition to happy,
impressionistic, artistic license Technicolor is a
whole new kettle of starfish altogether. Colour
will imply saturated colours. And desaturated
highlights ... well, you will see it is challenging to
just look normal, much less make it decent.
2. Orientation & Composition

With reference to Fig.08 and Fig.09, the
canvas appears cramped and requires further
expansion. This may involve readjusting
the canvas to keep all the ships in relative
perspective.
For in space, all forms of orientation of up,

down, left or right are nonexistent. There is

no magnetic north or south, only the way if you are painting desaturated clouds in space. detail is the mark of a quality illustrator, and it
forward or stationary. For artistic purposes, it This process can be both satisfying and very is towards this goal that every artist strives by
would be convenient to use a one or two point time consuming. This stage actually took around spending a lifetime polishing and refining.
perspective. All notions of including a horizon four hours of laying out the values, painting in
are often nonexistent, and a string of stars faint glows and accentuating a few stars and 4. Capital Ship Design
to form a false horizon may often look more depicting a nearby galaxy cluster. Paradoxically, I stop the painting process to take
disconcerting than clever. time out to design the capital ships. What I liked
And here is the crux: Sometimes it does not about the rough forms of the initial greyscale is
3. Background pay to zoom on in and detail every nut and translated in essence onto markers and pens
With reference to Fig.10, we now make the bolt. Often there will be a trade off between (Fig.11).
transition to colour. In this instance, it is just as readability, fit for purpose and details. Focal
I use this opportunity to take the design as far
as I dare. And it is at this juncture I would like to
briefly talk about scale and panels:
Scale – In space, the size of a space vessel
may be hard to gauge. And thus, care should be
taken to block out segments. Generally, a large
vessel has more segmented shapes than a
solid, singular, small space transport. However,
when an object is large, its multiple segments
can often blur into panels.
Panels – The size and variety of panels can

be both a stylistic and relative scale that can
be used to compare a large ship to a small
one. Panels with windows, vents and lighting
are therefore very useful for this purpose of

comparative relativity. In Fig.11, the warship
on the left is depicted with multiple panels and
detail. In comparison, the warship on the far
right is minimally detailed and panelled. Yet,
the object on the far right can be perceived to
be bigger, even though the warship on the left
is intended to be the larger and more powerful
warship.
In summary, it can be generally said that the

object with large panels and lesser details can
be seen to be bigger than a similarly sized
object with details and panels throughout.
5. The ships
The ships are brought back into the coloured
background and a few issues are immediately
apparent (Fig.12).
Firstly, the values and lighting are different from the original greyscale
background. To remedy this, you can use the following approaches
(relative to Fig.12):
1. The ships are on a separate layer, and set to luminosity
2. A duplicate copy is set onto multiply above
3. The overall forms are masked out and save to alpha channels
4. With the forms selected, I utilise the lasso tools to cut out various
panels and selections relative to each plane (for example, the top surface
of the main warship is selected, and faint washes of coloured grey are
applied in perspective)
6. Final Details
To bring it all together, the overall image is flattened and each respective
ship has the following applied to Fig.13:
1. Panels cut-out relative to nearby bright objects
2. Upper edge reflecting the red-orange highlights of the nearby galaxy
3. Bounced light applied to its lower edge or across a flat surface.
4. Overall colour determined by the local colour of its ambient
surroundings
5. Engine washes applied faintly towards the rear of each ship
6. Atmospheric perspective – I judiciously added a faint hint of dust
and pushed objects into the distance. In reality, this effect would not be
evident, and the nearby and far objects would be equally lit and provide
comparable luminosity.
7. Final image
In the final image, the vibrancy of the greens and blues are more
saturated. The far right warship is edited out of the final image, as its
overall shape is poor and distracting (Fig.14).

III: Impressionistic Burning Ship

To conclude the third and final section of this tutorial, we will tackle a more
colourful and impressionistic approach towards painting space capital
ships - and give a small nod towards John Berkey, famed granddaddy of
sci-fi and space art who unfortunately passed beyond into the stars earlier
this year, April 29th 2008. He was one of the truly great greats who was
so versatile that he was trained to paint in any media, theme and style
throughout his early formative years.
It was later in his prime and twilight years that his arts formed the crux of
our cornerstone of sci-fi and space art illustrations. In turn, his approach to
painting art has made a daily impression on the way I perceive space art.
For who else would consider painting space in hyper saturated blues, with
vessels painted in cream, shaded in sky blues and reflected in reds?
Although this scheme exists realistically in atmospheric conditions (but not

in space), by deciding to take space art into an impressionistic manner, it
has a vibrancy all of its own.
So let us do a Berkey!
Painting Inspired-by Berkey

The key to one of Berkey’s image is being loose and impressionistic, but
grounded in relative realism, coupled with big fat strokes to suggest form,
colour and lighting (Fig.15).
1. Form and Pallete

In Fig.15 a basic colour palette is determined beforehand and adhered

to. In this instance, I desired to use a greenish

yellow background (namely because Sparth is
predominately reds, and Berkey is blues with
reds). For the vehicle itself, I stuck to:
1. Primary – typical cream white for the ship’s
main colour
2. Cool – reflected ambient colour, greens and
blues
3. Warm – Reds and purples
Notice the visibly improved aesthetic compared

to the greys of painting more realistically in
deep space. In addition, I have masochistically
painted everything on one singular layer. The
idea behind this is to ensure the background and foreground elements

reflect one another. The brushstrokes are bigger and fatter than the norm
- although one could argue this is how one should paint! Big to small, that
is. Instantly, this helps achieve a sense of volume and form. Amazingly
effective!
2. Directional Lighting
Subsequently, the canvas is expanded to incorporate a more traditional
portrait view (Fig.16). On the far left are some small thumbnail cutaways:
1. Top left – small thumbnail to assess overall form and composition
2. The bottom and mid left thumb – to depict the lighting issues; ideally,
the space yacht would have a sharper rim light as depicted by the small
thumbnail, but it is at this juncture that I am still undecided as to how
close/far the light source should be
3. Colour & Mood

The next thing to really consider is the colour and mood. The original
green colour is very interesting, although I really prefer the warmer
orange-based palette (Fig.17).

My main idea is to depict a burning space vessel
as it re-enters atmosphere (Fig.18). This can be
due to a variety of reasons, and it might be best
to leave it vague as such, to lend to a stronger
composition. The finer details and colours
are picked out, and added accordingly in this
instance, but only hinted at rather than spending
too much time selecting and laying it all out. In
addition, the clouds and background are given
more volume. This means determining that the
clouds have:
1. A hard edge
2. A soft edge
3. A bunch of volumetric forms
4. Do Not Pass Without Checking!
This stage is all about checking (Fig.19)

Ensuring that:
1. The values allow the forms to read well
2. There is appropriate use of colour as a
compositional tool
3. The comparison with levels adjustment to
ensure the image is relatively balanced
4. Painting in bounced light, ambient light
and allowing the form to have soft edges and
suggesting how light turns around the forms
5. Pyromaniacs:
The last aspect of the illustration is to add fire
and destruction, debris and explosions. On
the far left, we explore briefly the possibility of
a swarm of fighters shooting the vessel down
(overkill surely for a vessel that appears doomed
to fall) (Fig.20).
On the far right is the final composition as it

stands, burning with wreckage being strewn
everywhere. Note the moderate the amount of
glows and fires. Careful study of explosions and
fires would show that there is far more smoke
and glowing deep embers for any burnt up
object travelling at velocity. As such, the image
depicts it accordingly (Fig.21).
Conclusion
So, there you have it folks. We have taken you
though a relatively wide ranging topic, choosing

a few select object and illustrative methods
from which to use and discussed how to briefly
design your objects of desire as sexy bricks.
In the third instalment of the space painting

transport segment, we will look at the
granddaddy and grandmommas of the space
world – the space stations, refurbished asteroid
mines and space colonies. Until then, may
your painting arm be strong and swift, your
ideas uniquely your own and bountiful, and to
everyone, a positive outlook in the New Year
and beyond.
Dr Chee Ming Wong

For more from this artist, please visit:
http://www.opusartz.com
Or contact:
[email protected]
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“As a concept artist, I
make the scenes based
on the script, in a way
that a 3D artist can easily
recognise the lighting,
materials, and colours
and so on”
Soheil Danesh has been working as an illustrator,concept

designer and storyboard artist in animation and movie projects. In
this article he shares how he made his character “Baran”.
Making Of Flower Concept
Created In:
Photoshop and Painter
Introduction
I created this illustration as a concept design
for “Baran”, a short 3D animation. The story is
about a girl that lives in a flower, and the theme
was slightly different from my previous work
and style, so it was a real challenge for me to
experience some new stuff.
As a concept artist, I make the scenes based

on the script, in a way that a 3D artist can easily
recognise the lighting, materials, and colours
and so on. In this tutorial, I am going to talk you
through the steps I took to reach the final image
for this particular concept.
Sketching & Basic Colours

I usually make sketches and doodles in the
search for an idea for my illustrations and
the best way to tell the story. With this piece I made a sketch and then
redrew it, added some additional details and then made some changes in
Photoshop (Fig.01).
I always set the blending mode of the line art layer to multiply, and on
the lower layer I quickly applied some basic colours. I use dark colours
for the first step because I find it easier to control the tones one by one;
from darkest to lightest (I learned this style from Frank Frazetta’s works).
Using a brush with 100% opacity I find very exciting – it helps you to build
confidence in your painting abilities (Fig.02).
Adding Details
I preferred using a very simple round brush to make this illustration.
Details were added little by little and the rough colour blocks were
smoothed. This stage is really fun for me, but at the same time very
important. I find that every little detail taken care of at this stage can have
a huge impact on the overall feeling of the final image. As an example,
the positions of the mouth or the lines that form the eyes hugely define
the inner feelings of the little girl, who in this case is full of curiosity and
suspense. Any tiny deviations in her facial components could have ruined
the feeling I was after, at this crucial stage of the image’s development
(Fig.03).

Flower Concept Making Of
Lighting
I considered two types of lighting for this
illustration. The ambient light inside the stem
was created using green tones, and the candle
light was achieved with a warm yellow palette.
Using a few complimentary colours enriches
your painting and can bring it away from a
monotone impression, and much closer to the

lighting effects seen in reality. I used a warm
purple in some areas as the complimentary
colour for green (Fig.04).
At this stage, the main painting in Photoshop

was complete. I transferred the image to
Painter, provided direction for the brushes and
smoothed the edges whilst trying to approach a
traditional painting style (Fig.05).
Refining the Image &

Final Renderings
I used the Oil Palette Knife brush in Painter, to
smooth my rough brushwork done in Photoshop,
and tried to form the volumes. Reducing the
opacity in some parts helped to protect the
details and the main forms, but other areas,

Making Of Flower Concept
such as the stairs under the candle, were
painted with very rough and wild brushing. The
tools available in Painter helped to provide
a more natural brush style for the painting
(Fig.06).
At this point I took the painting back into

Photoshop. Using the Burn Tool, I darkened the
parts that I felt needed it. For the parts which I
needed to show high intensity light effects, such
as the candle light or the small light reflections
on the girl’s forehead, or even the tiny light as Colour Balance, Hue and Saturation. In
particles in the air, I used the Dodge Tool (I this image, I used the Image > Adjustments >
did this with extra care and very low opacity) Variation option. I also added a little red and
(Fig.07). magenta (Fig.08).
For the final colour touches and grading of an I tried to place the different variations next to
image, I use the different image adjustment one another, and then selected the one which I
functions which Photoshop provides, such felt was most appropriate (Fig.09). As the final

touch, I used the Unsharp Mask filter over the
final illustration (Fig.10).
Well, these were the steps I took and the tools

which I used to create this painting. If you are
interested in viewing some other concepts and
previews from the “Baran” animation, simply
visit: http://www.vishka.biz
Finally, I would like to thank 3DTotal and

2DArtist magazine. Thanks for reading.
Soheil Danesh Eshraghi

http://danesh.cgsociety.org
Or contact:
[email protected]
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image: Ioan Dumitrescu Issue 037 January 2009 $4.50 / €3.24 / £2.25
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What are the new series that will be featured in the magazine this year?

What are the new series that will be featured in the magazine this year?

What are the two interviews featured in this issue of the magazine?

What are the two interviews featured in this issue of the magazine?

Concept Art, Digital & Matte Painting Magazine

Issue 037 January 2009 $4.50 / €3.25 / £2.25

Being the start of a new year and What’s in this month?

Matte Painter & Concept Artist

Sketchbook of Justin Albers

10 of the Best 2D Artworks

www.2dartistmag.com page 2 Issue 037 January 2009

Setting up your PDF reader

To view the many double-page spreads featured in 2DArtist magazine,

1. Open the magazine in Reader;

Chee Ming Wong Richard

experience, having worked since being a couple of feet

on various independent game tall. He studied fine art & was

projects, publications and CGI eventually led into the realm of

pre-production artwork. He is currently the CEO computers several years ago.

publications. although drawing will always be closest to his heart.

www.2dartistmag.com page 4 Issue 037 January 2009

www.2dartistmag.com page 5 Issue 037 January 2009

Available Now Only!

Features 60 of the finest digital

Buy the book to see just

288 Full Colour premium paper pages

for more products in our range visit http://www.3dtotal.com/shop

Tomasz Morano is a freelance artist from

Having trained in the field of architecture, what

And then there came a year when, in truth, I

unless your name was Foster or you were one

www.2dartistmag.com page 8 Issue 037 January 2009

Artist often begin to slowly specialise in a

www.2dartistmag.com page 12 Issue 037 January 2009

www.2dartistmag.com page 13 Issue 037 January 2009

Recently some new sculpting tools like Modo

I do not intend to take on matte painting work

As an artist I’m sure that many aspects of life

www.2dartistmag.com page 14 Issue 037 January 2009

www.2dartistmag.com page 15 Issue 037 January 2009

So I get a lot of inspiration from life in terms of

You have recently ventured into the games

But I can answer your question more effectively

I was very happy to work with the guys there. In

Who do you regard as the pioneers in this

What makes digital painting a completely new

Do you feel then that this use of texture, pattern

Lots of people can’t believe how I can produce

actually work faster or better, especially as I

www.2dartistmag.com page 18 Issue 037 January 2009

If you like to spend weeks in your studio with

3D ANIMATION & VISUAL EFFECTS | CLASSICAL ANIMATION | DIGITAL CHARACTER ANIMATION

Vancouver Film School. Countless paths. vfs.com/animationvfx

I see from your resume that you have a few

The determination and long-time desire I had to

loose faith in yourself, as everyone operates and learns differently. That

www.2dartistmag.com page 24 Issue 037 January 2009

From your early interest in film who do you

The matte painters that really inspired me