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Artist Interview with Kev Chu

3dtotal interviews Kev Chu in this legacy interview from 2006!

3dtotal

Hello Kev Chu; thanks for taking this time to chat with us! Can you start us off with a little background info about yourself? Can you briefly explain your journey, so far?

Kev

Hiya!  Well, my journey has indeed been one that I would characterise as atypical. Growing up wanting to be a comic book artist in a conservative middle-class Chinese household was definitely not the easiest thing to do. As such, I went to University, got my degree and worked in the IT business field for a year, like a good boy. It wasn’t until a classmate of mine introduced me to some brilliant 3D he had done for a class on his home PC that, from that simple encounter, I realised that pursuing a career in art was very realistic. The only problem was that I still had no idea how to accomplish that. At that point I was a decent illustrator but nothing refined enough to be employable, and I knew it. It was at that point I enrolled in the one-year 3D animation program at the Alberta College of Art. Upon graduation I got into a great little animation studio and got my foothold in the industry. The rest to date is still a work-in-progress...

3dtotal

How did you get your foot firmly in the industry’s door? Any tips? I am also quite intrigued as you say you wished to pursue a career in 3D, but your current portfolio work seems to be primarily 2D… What brought about this change in direction for you?

Kev

To paraphrase a director friend of mine, luck is only half of the equation; you also have to be ready to capitalize on the opportunity when it arises. So in order for you to stand out amongst all the other graduates and industry hopefuls (and believe me, there are many and they are talented), make sure that you practice every day. Make yourself as employable as possible. On-line art forums are a great measuring stick for artists. You can generally get a feel for what the industry standard level of quality is. It doesn’t take long to discover the hot artists these days. Do a reality check. Ask yourself the tough questions: How does my art compare to theirs? What can they do that I can’t? What can I work on to make myself more like a professional artist? Also STUDY! Never stop learning. Get art books, look at fashion mags, read up on insects, sea creatures, etc.  It is actually more fun than it sounds.  I should clarify that I never intended to do 3D really... At the time, I just saw it as the most tangible way to become a professional artist. That being said, because I had been drawing all my life I naturally gravitated towards the 2D jobs and largely ignored the 3D ones. In the end, it was through the good graces of my friend and former boss Nicholas Acs of Aurenya Entertainment who gave me a job based on the potential of my then 2D skills. That was the proverbial foot in the door for me.

3dtotal

I have been checking out your portfolio on www.bananachu.com and am blown away by your artwork! All of your work possesses a very human-like quality – even the extreme cartoon characters and inanimate objects! Life seems to be brought into your characters through the highlights and painterly quality of their skins – in particular on their noses. How did you discover this method of bringing life to your work? Can you share any secrets/tips?

Kev

Hah, absolutely. It is nothing revolutionary – it is my juvenile attempts at infusing some classical painting techniques into commercial production art. My journeys took me to the UK where I learned to paint; I was surrounded by extremely talented artists both in and out of the industry. I had never been appreciative of classical artwork in the past, but once immersed in the European art culture I couldn’t help but to be blown away by their mastery of light, colour, rendering, composition - the list goes on. So that is the long answer. The short answer is I throw some green in to balance out the reds. It adds a remarkable amount of depth with so little ease.

3dtotal

Could you briefly take us through the typical creation of one of your artworks, from conception through to the finished piece?

Kev

Typically it starts with analysing the brief that outlines the concept to be done. It can be very vague or extremely detailed. I usually then proceed to gather references. Successful concepting involves an understanding of what has come before. When all the reference is all collected I like to spend a little time analysing the images to pick out things that I like and that are indicative to their designs. After that I put pen to paper and begin sketching some thumbnails. I don’t use the reference at this point but instead rely on memory. Naturally, there will be gaps in what I can recall from looking at the images earlier, but this is what I want. The gaps allow the imagination to fill in the missing blanks. The result is usually something that has a strong tie in the real world from the bits you remember and has other potentially esoteric elements from the bits you had to fill in with your mind. Do as many as you can, focusing on the exploration of the concept. This is the time when you can be the craziest. Get everything out of your system and exhaust all avenues that pertain to that particular design.  Once done, I usually toss out the first 10 sketches as they are usually the most clichéd as they are the first ones that pop into everyone’s minds.  From there I look at the remaining thumbnails and pick out the strongest ones and further the exploration into those designs. Once I have a design I am happy with, I go straight into paints where you can make it all pretty and such. This can be done with characters, vehicles, and environments.

3dtotal

I would say that your work certainly shows masterful techniques of achieving light and shade qualities to capture the mood of each piece just perfectly. What reference material do you use to get these effects just right? Do you draw from life a lot to help your digital studies?

Kev

Oh cheers for that. It may be from my affinity to the graphic elements of comic books, or from my love of films, but I have always loved a moody, dark, brooding feel to things - adds a bit of mystery and boldness, hopefully without too much pretence, hahaha. I do life drawing but I can always do more. But again, my resultant style is merely my modest attempts at emulating the masters.

3dtotal

Which masters in particular do you attempt to “emulate”?

Kev

Though they would probably turn over in their graves if they knew this, I try to emulate bits from Velasquez, Sargent, Bouguereau, and Turner.

3dtotal

There is a fairly ‘dark’ feeling to your works, which becomes apparent through your use of colour and the mood that you create through expressions, colours, background effects, and so on. Would you say that you paint with your personal feelings and emotions? If so, is it on a subconscious level, or do you think that a part of the artist in the work can help bring it to life?

Kev

As much as I try to deny it, I have to face the fact that we cannot separate ourselves from our work. We put a little bit of ourselves in every painting or drawing, so yes, the ‘stuff inside’ does seep in... As for the darkness of the work, I have always found something sexy about the dark unknown and what can lurk in its shadows.  I think that it’s very important for the artist to imbue some of himself in his art, whatever little bit that is. I think everyone is both astonished and afraid of what lurks in his or her own mind and soul, and as mad as that sounds I think that it is also extremely provocative and fascinating.

3dtotal

You explained that so beautifully! I dare to ask this; what is lurking in your mind, right now?

Kev

At this moment? Well, there is a bit of an abyss inside right now. There are lots of things I feel that should be in my life that aren’t... I dunno, or I may just be hungry...

3dtotal

You seem to work quickly – between ½ hour and 4 hours for each piece. Does this ability to work quickly come from years of experience, or do you believe that any longer on a piece could lead to ‘overkill’?

Kev

Yes I would agree with both points. I think it is important to emphasise that speed comes from experience. Working fast means working smart. I would not consider myself a ‘speed painter’ by any means, but I can certainly understand that; however it can only be achieved through years of experience. You need to know where to cut corners; if you’ve never done a long piece before, how would you know how to communicate the same amount by presenting less? It is very difficult and I am constantly struggling with that. With that being said, over-working a piece is just as dangerous as speed painting without experience. The best piece of advice is to learn how to do the long, hard, arduous way to focus on the techniques and all the other bits that make a good painting. When you have that at a working level where you are no longer struggling with the technical aspects of the artwork, you can speed up and focus on the expression. I am constantly amazed at the works of speed painters BaronTieri and Vyle. You can see the experience shine through all the loose, seemingly perfectly placed strokes. Brilliant!

3dtotal

So how long have you been working as an industry artist?

Kev

Wow, I guess it has been 6 years already!

3dtotal

We’ve talked a lot about your work, so what about you? When you need to re-coop from a long painting session at your screen, what’s your favourite way to relax and regenerate your thoughts?

Kev

Ah, the million dollar experience for an industry artist... The importance of the ‘away-from-work’ life is vital in maintaining your own artistic reservoir. I went through ‘burnout’ early on in my career and I was tapped out dry – artistically speaking. That was not healthy. I was pretty much creatively gone for about a year afterwards. I now understand that, like anything, a balance needs to be struck. Work hard, play hard is the best way to describe it. So now, a focus on building a healthy social life, spending time with friends and family, is very important to me. Travelling, martial arts and getting outdoors is equally proficient in helping me wind down.

3dtotal

I am sure many artists suffer such dry spells in their creativity at some time or other – and we possibly even have some readers who are trying to rediscover their passion for art right now, so how did you get yourself back into the swing of things? Can you give us any advice as to how to retrieve what was once lost?

Kev

Get passionate about something again. It can be anything, and not just art related. Sometimes this can be done through the strangest of situations. For example, sometimes I would hear a song that strikes up something in me and other times it is a smell that reminds me of something else. Most of the time it is simply getting inspired by seeing something cool. I can’t quite put my finger on it but I think it’s different for everyone. It gets trickier in a production environment where you are constantly required to be creative (that is the job after all), and it can become quite challenging at times. Sometimes ideas flow out and you can’t seem to get enough of them on paper, and at other times the ideas just don’t come at all. At that point it’s just a matter of brainstorming and asking the right type of questions from the right types of people. Luckily, in a production environment, there are lots of creative people to bounce ideas off. This usually gets the ball rolling

3dtotal

Thanks so much for this interview, Kev. It has been a real pleasure.

Kev

It is my pleasure. Cheers.

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