Traditional Art in the big Industry
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This is just a tangent point that came after a small discussion about the use of alternative software for doing digital art, such as using GIMP or Krita instead of Photoshop @Lee-White @Miriam
I am sharing an article about the concept artist Adam Adamowicz, which worked for the game company that created Fallout and Skryim. He was an amazing and creative artist and it may be worth checking his artwork!
https://www.kotaku.com.au/2015/11/the-life-and-creativity-of-a-great-bethesda-artist/
I've read this article before and there are so many things that it inspires, but I really love this passage:
"In this temple to computer art, I couldn't believe that Adam worked in traditional media. He used pencils, pens, markers, coloured pencils and paint. What impressed me more than anything was the abundance of creativity... Flipping through his work, I was always struck by the bubbling confluence of subjects, a fearless fusion of influences. He developed his artwork using a range of tools: pens, markers, coloured pastels. His creations were a collection of distinct and disparate ideas. When designing an original gun, for instance, Adam didn't focus his research on the study of other guns, but on tesla coils, industrial power tools, or lab equipment. When designing outfits, Adam employed chew toys and oven mitts, radios and asbestos padding. The results were messy, ridiculous, and utterly original."
A clear example that the artist is primarily in your brain, and secondarily in your hands or in the tool you use.
I know this is not always the case, not all companies will be open to the idea of the artist using pastels and even within the company not every artist will be able to do that. Do not expect to use traditional media to create a 3D digital character (hum... you never know... maybe someone will make a stop motion animation of a clay character and input it in a game :P)
Nevertheless, I do think it is an eye-opener and shows how much one should not be restrained by a single way of doing things and, whenever it is possible, explore as much as you can!
I think that for children book illustration there are even more opportunities for such things - one of the several reasons I am loving the idea of working with it!
Of course there is more to learn from Adam's legacy, so, enjoy the article and feel free to share your thoughts!
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That was a fascinating read. Thanks for sharing. Its also encouraging for people like me. I do hope to learn digital art at some point but I dont have the time or the resources at this point and I really just love walking away from my little space with art all over my fingers.
Makes me feel like its still okay. -
I am glad you enjoyed the reading.
It all depends on what you want (and no worries, we don't need to want only one thing in life).
As @Lee-White mentioned, some industries require specific knowledge and skills in a certain task/tool/software, and you need to learn them if you want to work for that company.Question yourself: as someone that wants to tell visual stories, are you moving forward in life in order to work for that specific company or is it for being able to tell these visual stories? I agree with what Iain Mccaig says: "I am here to serve the story, not the story to serve me". Sometimes these will be someone's else story, sometimes your own stories. Whatever it is, make yourself able to serve that story, and serve it well!
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@diego_biosteam Im definitley here more to tell visual stories. I dont know industry well enough to aim anywhere. I just love literature and art and I want to be able to capture a bit of my imagination on the page. My greatest ambition is to illustrate a story that my sister and I used to read together in our blanket forts when we were little. If I could do that and give it to her, even if it was only ever seen by her, I would feel like I accomplished my dream.
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I say exactly the same as Pamela. It's encouraging to know that there's still some room for traditional art.
It would be fun to try the digital tools if I had the means, but both money and technological flair is on the bottom with me. Heck, even my phone is still a cuboid!
I think I'm really lucky that my interest is children's books. That industry seems to still be very open to traditional art. It is of course very likely that it will be outphased even there, as everywhere else. But as for right now, I'm not particularly worried about it.
