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3DTotal: Can you tell us a little about your background and how you came to work on Guild Wars?
Jason: I got a BA Degree in Maths in 2001, when I was in Taiwan, and after 2 years duty in the military I decided to take my first official drawing class at the Art Institute of Seattle, in 2004. Right after I graduated, I met many Arena.net artists in a life drawing session that I usually attend. This was how I got the chance to know this cool art team and it inspired me to want to work with them. |
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3DTotal: What was it specifically that prompted you to take that first life drawing class in 2004?
Jason: I learned Maya in 2003 in Taiwan. I followed a very intensive class, called “DFTC Maya Training”, for about one month. I thought that when I learnt how to use Maya I would know how to make good 3D characters, but I realised that just knowing each function in the program doesn’t give you an idea of how to make better characters, and so I decided to start from the very basics through drawing classes.
3DTotal: You have a number of life studies on your website. How important are the life drawing classes to you with regards to your concept work?
Jason: Before the Art school, I didn’t even know what life drawing was, and I had no idea how to draw a good figure, but after the first life drawing session I realised just how much I loved to do this. Gradually, I found life drawing was not only a benefit to character concept work, but also benefits animal drawing, too. Now it has become a part of my life and I still enjoy doing it. I believe that life drawing helps us to see the beautiful curves of the human body and to see the beauty in our world. It also helps us to practice many different compositions in a short period of time. Since it helps us to see the beautiful aspects in the world, it also helps all different kinds of visual art, including my concept work. |
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3DTotal: What examples do you feel are the best expressions of the beauty of the human form, and why?
Jason: I really like some of Peter Paul Rubens’s drawings, Nicolai Fechin’s drawings, and Rembrandt’s paintings. They have totally mastered the perfect skills to draw and paint the beautiful human form. Their drawings have a really strong and powerful line quality, without wasting any strokes. Rembrandt’s paintings demonstrate wonderful skin tones and beautiful colour variation.
3DTotal: Which artists, including any of the Old Masters such as Rembrandt and Rubens, would you say have influenced you the most?
Jason: Digital and Fantasy: Craig Mullins, Ryan Meinerding, Matthew Barrett and Scott Albaugh. Traditional Painting: Nicolai Fechin, Ingres, Gustav Klimt, Peter Paul Rubens, William Bouguerea, John Singer Sargent and Jereme Lipking. |
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3DTotal: What is it about the human figure and character design that captivates you the most?
Jason: Body curves and people. I have found that beautiful things can be very simple. There are many possible ways to draw a line, and if we do it right then just one line can be very beautiful. People are very fun subjects to observe and it is about characters.
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