Interview with Daniel Clarke
Hi Daniel, thanks for taking the time out to do this interview. First, could you tell us about your background, as it would be really interesting to know how you started off and what got you here as an artist and illustrator?
After high school I was determined to make a career for myself in fine art (oil painting). I was not very successful and found myself a bit disillusioned with the whole gallery/fine art scene. At about the same time I was discovering concept art/commercial art, where the artists were required to have an understanding of the fundamentals: color, composition, light, anatomy, design, etc. This respect for the "craft" of art appealed to me a great deal. So for the last four years or so I have been trying to make it as an artist in the entertainment industry.
Your paintings are very strong and expressive - I particularly like the portraitures in your portfolio. Some of them remind me of the works of the modern artists and some look quite contemporary. Are you influenced by any particular fine artist(s)?
Yes, definitely - too many to list. But if I were to name two artists who have probably had the most significant influence on me it would be Lucian Freud and Phil Hale.
Amazing artists, I really admire their expertise in figurative and portraiture painting, although I find some of their images quite disturbing! With your tight schedule, do you still manage to find some time away from your computer to do some traditional paintings or are you now completely devoted to your job and digital art?
Yes, unfortunately I do work almost completely digitally these days; it just makes a lot of sense because of the sort of time restrictions I work with. For a recent project at work I did manage to do most of my character design work with pencil and paper,
which I find much more comfortable than drawing digitally. Oil painting is also definitely something I would like to get back to at some point.
There is always a narrative in your illustrations and artworks; do you begin your paintings based on a story? How does it work for you?
It is funny that you should say that, because I have always found the narrative aspect of painting to be the most difficult to achieve and a weakness in my work. I find I often want to get down to the business of "painting", of pushing colors around the canvas and just playing with tone and color before I have decided what it is exactly I want to say with the piece. My time working in film has taught me to be much more conscious of the "story" in every image I produce though. The visual elements of a film need to work in service of the story, and I think that principal can be carried over to most visual arts.
But it seems that working on stories and in the film industry has brought that element into your paintings. What's your workflow like when you're working on a project, whether it is for a client or it is personal?
Well it varies a lot. For personal work - perhaps in reaction to my paid work - I tend to work very instinctively, never knowing where a painting is taking me. I might start with one idea and end with something completely unrelated and different. With professional work it helps to have a clear idea, which you have discussed with the client/director beforehand, so that both parties know what is expected. There should, of course, always be room to play and explore.
It's a relief to know I am not the only one who starts with an idea and ends up with an image miles away from the original one! Now you are currently working at Triggerfish Animation Studios - how do you find it working in there? Do you work mainly as a character designer or do you also specialized in the animation aspects of it?
I have found the experience to be very interesting and educational. I had never worked with anyone before Triggerfish, only freelance and gallery work. So to be working together with 70 - 80 people on a large project like a feature film was quite a change. I actually started out doing storyboards for them, and then moved to the texture department and had a lot of fun texturing characters in ZBrush. We didn't have a matte painter so I took on that responsibility too. I also produced the color keys, which the lighting artists use as reference, and learned a lot about storytelling using color and light in the process. In October 2010 I finished up on Zambezia (the first film) and started work as Production Designer on Triggerfish's second feature Khumba.
Wow, you've had quite an adventurous time there! I suppose that's given you a wide insight into what making a 3D feature film involves, but what do you really prefer to work in: 3D or 2D?
In my mind it's not really the medium that matters, but rather what you do with it. Be it 2D, 3D, stop-motion, comic books, films or computer games, ultimately the goal is to make interesting images that tell a story.
Are you working on any exciting projects at Triggerfish at the moment that you could tell us about?
Triggerfish has been in production on its second animated feature, Khumba for the past year and I have been having a great time working with the director and a bunch of other talented artists in coming up with its look and design.
That sounds like a really interesting project to be involved with. What do you suggest to the artists who do not have this opportunity to work in big companies or on big projects? How can they improve their skills and their experiences in the digital world?
I think that due to the internet it is becoming much easier to get yourself out there and be exposed to so much world-class art and educational information. Having a goal and tenaciously pursuing it is the only real way to improve, even if you don't
reach it or change direction mid-way, it's always good to be focused on what you want to do with your art, but never to the point where you are no longer enjoying it. That wasn't very helpful was it?!
(Laughs) Well, it is always interesting and useful to hear what professional artists suggest to newcomers. You currently live in South Africa; do you find it inspiring? In what ways do you think location can affect your art?
Cape Town, with all its mountains and beaches, is definitely a beautiful place to live and I am sure it affects my art in some way, but more significantly than the place I think are the people in it. Luckily I have a very supportive family and a great group of friends and co-workers.
What is your next big challenge in your career as an artist and do you have any specific thoughts or plans for the future?
I think at the moment I am just trying to learn as much as possible, as quickly as possible. So I am
pretty open to whatever comes my way, but with the long term goal of focusing more on my own work, telling my own stories and hopefully being able to make a living from it!
Fetching comments...