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Christopher Schiefer: concept designer interview

Concept designer Christopher Schiefer shares some portraits and environments from his portfolio, sharing his practices and inspirations...

Concept designer Christopher Schiefer shares some portraits and environments from his portfolio, sharing his practices and inspirations...

3dtotal: Tell us a little bit about yourself: Who are you, what do you do, and where are you located?
Christopher Schiefer: Hello! I am Christopher Schiefer, a 23-year-old concept designer, currently located in Germany. I've been mostly self-taught since I was 12. Recently I learned a lot from Wojtek Fus as a mentor, and also from Maciej Kucijara's courses. Before I found my passion for concept art, I was working as a freelance graphics programmer and tech artist.

All my technical skills were pulled together for this piece. I used 3D, photos, composition, design, and lots of perspective guides, all at once! No excuses – no matter how long it takes, you will get faster over time with better techniques and more practice.

All my technical skills were pulled together for this piece. I used 3D, photos, composition, design, and lots of perspective guides, all at once! No excuses – no matter how long it takes, you will get faster over time with better techniques and more practice.

3dt: What inspired you to get into digital art? Who are your favourite artists?
CS: I saw concept art by Feng Zhu online and loved the extreme freedom he had to express himself. Since then my main focus has been on digital painting; I wanted to escape the formulas existing in my work, and slowly digital painting took over. I followed my heart to become more free and do what I love to do. Then I saw Craig Mullins' work and I started loving digital art 100%!

I like to do portraits as well. My workflow for this was: drawing - indirect occlusion for sky - indirect occlusion for first bounce light -  direct occlusion for primary light - introduce all plane changes - reflections - fixing. This way you can get very accurate color because you do not rely on your eye too much, but rather on the way the image is composited.

I like to do portraits as well. My workflow for this was: drawing - indirect occlusion for sky - indirect occlusion for first bounce light - direct occlusion for primary light - introduce all plane changes - reflections - fixing. This way you can get very accurate color because you do not rely on your eye too much, but rather on the way the image is composited.

3dt: Tell us about the type of artwork you love to make.
CS: I love to paint massive environments with a lot of design and composition solutions. Ever since I learned about how to draw in perspective, how to do proper compositions, and how to create design solutions, I've thought these are all extremely important. I also love to paint work which has use in all stages of a production pipeline. I want to help out as much as I can.

In this one I stressed the point to not paint everything by hand. We have to be fast at high quality, so we need to find new ways of working every time. This was such a piece. Many columns, buildings, horses, and figures can consume time. There are ways to do it accurately, but still quickly!

In this one I stressed the point to not paint everything by hand. We have to be fast at high quality, so we need to find new ways of working every time. This was such a piece. Many columns, buildings, horses, and figures can consume time. There are ways to do it accurately, but still quickly!

3dt: What software and plug-ins do you use in your usual workflow?
CS: My largest breakthrough was when I began to combine my programming knowledge and 3D knowledge with my experience of painting with Photoshop. I could make large cities with rich detail and large compositions in a fraction of the time! I use all of the tools that I know – this isn't "cheating”! These can range from Photoshop to 3D packages like Blender. Try to recycle as much as you possibly can for the sake of speed and quality!

The aim of this painting was to keep the base simple. I made multiple designs for the buildings  before I started it. Separate your workflow into stages and don't try to do everything at once: reference -  3D/2D layout - perspective and atmosphere guides - photo construction - color matching - lighting -  atmosphere - fixing!

The aim of this painting was to keep the base simple. I made multiple designs for the buildings before I started it. Separate your workflow into stages and don't try to do everything at once: reference - 3D/2D layout - perspective and atmosphere guides - photo construction - color matching - lighting - atmosphere - fixing!

3dt: Could you tell us more about how you create your images? How do you plan them and build them up?
CS: What is of utmost importance to me is staying accurate. If there is time for it, I make no excuses! Perspective, lighting, construction, design, and composition should be done very carefully. Try separate your painting into stages:

70% of my process is the "setup stage":
• 2D composition
• 3D layout
• Construction phase (photo textures and painting in perspective)
Then the final 30% is the "correction and lighting stage”:
• Light up all constructions (color matching, lighting, and atmosphere)
• Fixing, and leading the eye with brushwork

Try it out!

3dt: What are your artistic ambitions?
CS: Going in very deep in all aspects of art. Producing artwork which people normally need weeks for, in just a day or two at higher quality! I want to teach the knowledge I acquire to as many artists as possible around the entire globe.

A piece I worked on to emphasize constructions: the statue, figures, columns, and rich detail on curved planes. I focus heavily on perspective skills; if you are fluent in them, you can do just about everything you want with photos and 3D.

A piece I worked on to emphasize constructions: the statue, figures, columns, and rich detail on curved planes. I focus heavily on perspective skills; if you are fluent in them, you can do just about everything you want with photos and 3D.

3dt: What new skills, software or techniques would you like to learn in the future?
CS: I'd love to learn more about photography and traditional painting techniques. Both give indirect benefits for concept artists, as well as useful direct benefits like producing final matte shots. Techniques for more efficient teaching are on my list as well – you should never forget to improve on your social skills too.

3dt: What can we expect to see from you next? Any cool projects we should look out for?
CS: I will release tutorials about perspective very soon, also shedding light on more topics like using 3D for concept art or using photos for construction. Stay tuned on my Gumroad! I always post new paintings on Facebook and ArtStation!

Related links

Follow Christopher on Facebook
To learn more about speedpainting techniques, check out Master the Art of Speed Painting

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