3DTotal : I gather that you’re a predominantly self-taught artist. What do you think are the advantages and disadvantages to such a position? And just how do you go about teaching yourself how to be an artist? I would imagine it requires a lot of practice and patience!
Nick : I’ve been focused on developing my illustration and concept skills ever since I left University. However, illustration was not initially my chosen field. Whilst I enrolled in an Art Foundation course like many students, my chosen field was Product Design before moving onto Graphic Design which I carried on into University. I think originally I was torn between following my heart and getting a “real job” which is a term you hear a lot when you’re a student!

I then realised that your life is a long time to do something you don’t enjoy and that I wanted to wake up every day looking forward to the creative challenges ahead, so I completely shifted gears and focused on what I would need to become a concept artist. Though I had a basic level of illustrative skill and a fleeting knowledge of applications like Photoshop, I knew I’d have to be a lot better, so I knuckled down and set myself to task.

Starting out I found a number of online art forums; these were incredibly inspiring and hugely humbling all at the same time. Through seeing the art of professional concept artists and freelance illustrators, I could see how high the quality bar was set and so establish the criteria I would need to meet in order to become a concept artist.

The first year after university is an exciting time, but also an uncertain one. I quickly developed a support network; I talked to artists online, learned from their experiences, picked up advice on working practices where I could and applied them at every opportunity. I learnt a lot over that first year by networking and just putting the hours into developing my drawing and painting skills. It’s daunting to think that after education you’re totally in control of your own future, but then there’s something hugely liberating in knowing that by planning your goals and putting the hours in you can pretty much go as far as your desires can take you.

I think being self taught allows you the latitude to explore and develop your own style without being so heavily influenced by those around you that you start to lose some of that personal flair before it’s had the chance to surface. At the same time though, there isn’t the support there that you’d find on a specialised course where everyone is working towards a similar goal. You need to be very motivated as no one else is going to do that for you. Specialised courses will often help you establish links with the industry, but if you’re self taught you’re going to have to do that yourself, so networking skills are especially important.

3DTotal : I think all of us here at 3DTotal can empathise with that “I should get a proper job” feeling! Launching yourself into the artistic industry isn’t a move for the faint hearted and I imagine that every artist has gone through a few uncertain times during their career. So what was your first proper artistic job? And as a self-taught artist, was it hard to get or did you find that you were judged more on your artistic ability than what degree you studied at university?
Nick : My first taste of the industry came in the form of storyboarding for indie filmmaking collectives in the UK. I was eager for the experience and it was a good insight into what it would be like to work alongside producers and hone someone else’s vision into something slightly less nebulous than the usual mental meanderings! It was great experience and it was through building up these contacts and various storyboarding projects that I was able to make a move into the games industry.

I found my way to Blitz Games Studios and applied for the role of Concept Artist. Despite the fact I was very much a rookie, all the work I’d done in the previous year, including the work as a storyboard artist, helped to prove that I was dedicated to becoming a concept artist. I think I was very fortunate to come across a guy (who would later become my Art Manager) who was willing to take a chance on a graduate such as myself and give them a chance to prove themselves. Personally I think a lot of opportunities that are offered to us in any area of the creative industry arise through 40% talent and 60% perseverance. Like everyone, when I was starting out there were a lot of dead ends; a lot of polite rejection letters. I just kept at it, worked harder, pushed through the uncertain times and I think it’s this dogged determination that helped me get where I am.

3DTotal : Now I just have to ask you about The Insect Dynasty, because I’ve seen some of the artwork for it and quite frankly, it looks amazing! For those uninitiated out there, could you just give us a quick overview of what this project is all about?
Nick : The Insect Dynasty was spawned from the first Mantis Queen portrait. Initially it was not my intention to form a larger brief from this portrait, but as I continued to paint I found myself wondering about her back-story: what kind of world she lived in; her experiences as a ruler; the expectations placed upon her. Very quickly I realised I had the makings of a wildly dynamic world, which I called The Insect Dynasty.
My intention is to tell the story of these characters. To describe a world of great beauty where tenuous alliances between wildly exotic beings are in a constant state of flux and where the slow, relentless grind of conflict is so ensconced amongst certain members of the Dynasty that they know nothing else. This is a world of contrasts, where highly ordered hierarchies clash with turbulent tribes. As the factions shift and vie for power they are all slowly falling under the influence of another force, something they will come to know as the Gloaming.
Initially The Insect Dynasty will come to life through my paintings, but in the background I’m writing the novel to compliment and enrich the art, which I hope to publish in some form late next year. The website (http://www.theinsectdynasty.com) will go online this July and I’ll continue to expand this site as the story approaches completion.

Wow – not only content with creating an entire world, but you’re also writing a novel! You’re obviously not afraid of hard work [Laughs]. Have you done much writing on this kind of scale before? And how is the novel progressing? Is a fully-illustrated version of The Insect Dynasty saga going to hit the shelves any time in the near future? (If so I’d love to buy one!)
[Laughs] Yeah, I get into a cold sweat if I’m away from a Wacom tablet for more than an hour! There is definitely a lot of work involved and just when you think you couldn’t cram anymore into a working day, you find there’s a whole other level of “busy” that makes the old you look like a complete slacker.
This is my first large scale writing project. I think my time as a storyboard artist has given me a good sense of how to pace a story and my partner Sally is an English teacher, so hopefully she’ll pick me up on some of my quirkier grammar!

The Insect Dynasty is currently in pre-production. I’ve been busy establishing the different races, such as the Mantids and Beetles. By laying out the groundwork I can get a good feel for how each society functions, how their hierarchies flow and what is expected of each member of that society. It’s great fun and very insightful to place yourself, for example, in the shoes of a Beetle Soldier and run through what a day in their life would be like.

The aim is to compile a sort of fact file for each race to establish their mindsets, their strengths and, more interestingly, their weaknesses. This will help me to achieve an intuitive feel for how each race will deal with the problems they will face. The goal is to take this framework and apply it to the main story arc in such a way that it assists the narrative but isn’t so meticulous that it starts to restrict the flow of the storyline, as these things invariably take on a life of their own. The initial draft will take shape in the second half of this year and I’ll take it from there.