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3DTotal: With respect to your Gears of War work, can you tell us which was your favourite piece to work on and why you liked it, compared to the other examples?
John: I enjoyed all of my concepts for Gears of War, but the one that I think of the most is “Hideout”. A concept of a desk with a home-built hologram, monitors, and lots of dirty things on the table. It was a pretty quick and sloppy sketch but I like the feeling of that image. I also liked “Conservatory”, with the huge overgrown tree under a glass canopy, which the level designers made an outstanding job of in the game environment (this is where you challenge the berserker). I also got to make propaganda posters that are spread out here and there in the game, which was nice to try, and it was interesting to imitate different propaganda poster styles. The image that probably isn’t the most impressive one, but that I remember the most, is “Caves”. I listened to a song (I can’t remember which one, now) but I suddenly felt that I actually visualised what the song described, for me. When I was finished I listened to the song again, and to me the image and song matched perfectly! |
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3DTotal: Do you ever start with a basic 3D render or photographic references as a foundation for building up a painting?
John: Sometimes delivering an image on time to a client is very important, so setting up a simple 3D scene helps a lot with the perspective. It confuses me more than helps if I use any lighting on the scene though. Either a screenshot from the wireframe or a render with the “standard lighting” works best for me. Photos can be good to use too, but they do make me feel less free, just like using a 3D plate. I try to use them only as a texture, for example for a brick wall or some cobblestone. |
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3DTotal: Environments feature heavily in your commercial work. Do you get asked to design numerous aspects of a game or does it generally encompass specific topics, such as this?
John: I guess you can call me an “Environment Concept Artist”. I can paint characters and vehicles, but it’s nothing I feel I want to charge too much money for. I either turn the project down if it seems too challenging, and pass the job to one of my “Character Concept Artist” friends, or I tell the client that I will try but that characters aren’t my strongest suit. I’m learning and getting better at character art, but in my free time I love designing cars and creating aviation related paintings.
3DTotal: What is it about environments that particularly fascinate you, from an artistic point of view?
John: I feel that every time I paint an environment image, it’s sort of like opening up a door to whatever I come up with. I like the feeling of being somewhere (who doesn’t), and I add details as I “walk inside the image”. I don’t really know why I don’t usually add characters to my paintings; I guess I like the mood when it’s completely lonely, or maybe I’m just too chicken to paint characters in them? |
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3DTotal: What do you think are the secrets to being a successful concept artist, and are there any assets that you believe one really needs in a portfolio in order to secure work in this field?
John: I think the most important thing about being a freelance concept artist is to understand the client, be able to communicate, probably bite the sour apple once in a while, and not let your pride get in the way. I get paid by a client that wants his or her idea visualised, and must not forget that the client has to be happy with the result. Sometimes you have to stand up for yourself though and not let people use you! I can imagine this is something that can be difficult in the early stages of a freelance career, because of not having many contacts and not wanting to make a bad name for yourself or burn any bridges, and so on. When it comes to actual painting, I guess it’s important to have a certain style so that you can be recognised, but also be able to put your style on the shelf and paint differently, sometimes.
3DTotal: How would you describe your style?
John: The way I’d describe my style would be: “a close but failed attempt at painting photo realistically.”
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