Illustration, digital painting, graphic designing and animation. What is your main forte as an artist? Why?

I think I have my basis in digital painting (if we define that as using mixed media to create a digital image) and I’m starting to try to migrate more into illustration to add narrative. I come from a kind of 3d background which I then migrated to 3d + 2d but my actual painterly skills are lacking, so I’d like to migrate to just digital paint and brush work with photos added as an accent. I currently feel a little bound to the photographs.

Can you give us a visual of your work area? What are your tools of the trade?

I have a reasonably powerful PC and to my left I have a laptop so I can watch movies/videos while I work. A very old Wacom tablet that still does the job. I hope to get an adjustable height table some day because my body has been destroyed through years of sitting!

What do you think is your biggest challenge in terms of your paintings? Have you overcome this obstacle yet? If so, can you tell us how you do it?

This question is easy to answer. My paintings are too stiff and detailed. Too much pixel info. To correct this I need to learn to paint without the use of photos. I’m nowhere near to overcoming this obstacle and it haunts me by the hour! I have to hunt tirelessly for the ‘perfect’ photo reference, which of course is usually not possible and so I will end up having to compromise somewhere. So currently I’m taking time off doing portfolio/comfort-zone pieces and I’m just doing studies. I can’t describe how horrible it is to step way out of your comfort zone and feel like your skill level has dropped by a decade!

What aspect of your digital paintings do you really focus on the most? Is it realism, colors, or something else? And why do you focus on this aspect more than anything?

Well, I’m trying to gain skill in all those areas so I work on each. At the moment I’ve been trying to nail composition the most. To try to create less cliche compositions. But I’m a big fan of really nice, moody lighting. So I’m trying to learn more about that. At the same time, there’s the whole story-telling thing too. It’s very much like spinning plates. Often, if I do a piece that fails, it’s because I’ve dropped one of those plates. Got to get them all!

What is your current status in life? What projects are you currently working on?

At the moment I’m just focusing on getting better and that’s it. Posture/back ache willing, I just try to study for around 10 plus hours per day. My wife is from the US and we’re currently trying to move me over there, which involves about a year of struggle and paperwork. As such I can’t look for work until I know where I’m going in life. Once that’s sorted then I’ll be trying to get a full time job in a studio somewhere.