Table of contents for November 2025 in ImagineFX

Sketchbooks are often a big part of an artist’s life. They can be an almost ritualistic place for brushing up on key skills with regular practice, or they can be a simple place to jot down ideas, doodle creative thoughts or work on parts of a project without needing the commitment to a fully rendered end result. No matter what, they’re fascinating to explore and we know you love to see them, so we thought it was high time for us to put together another one of our Sketchbook Special issues. This month you’ll find all manner of sketches, from the loose to the polished, from sci-fi mechs to whimsical creatures, and everything you can imagine in-between. These sketchbooks are from a wide variety of artists working across a swathe…

“I scanned in a piece of toned paper to mimic the feel of traditional media” Artist PROFILE Matthew Tak LOCATION: US Matthew can’t remember a time when he wasn’t trying to create art. Since earning a degree in media arts and animation, he has made a living working in the video games and greeting cards industries. Matthew likes to use both traditional and digital mediums, and gravitates to fantasy themed subjects, with a particular soft spot for monsters. https://bit.ly/3IPqgwa…

Grouping your sketches together is a really handy tactic when generating new ideas. Having one sketch right next to another ensures I’m looking at the bigger picture and really offering something different with each option. Even in this case where I decided to stick with the same palette and narrative for every sketch, I make a conscientious effort to explore a wide array of camera angles and figure sizes. On top of that, when I see my sketches together like this, I can see which ones have the most impact at a distance, not unlike the way it will be viewed on the book shop shelves. Quite often I’ll pick just a few of the strongest sketches to submit and then pre-emptively edit down the sketch options. If I submit…

“A sketchbook is a great place to collect all the things sparking your imagination” “You don’t have to stick to one style… trying new things helps you to develop as an artist” Artist PROFILE Johanna Forster LOCATION: Germany Illustrator Johanna has a background in video games and colouring books, and says nature is her number one artistic inspiration. Drawing in her sketchbook is part of Johanna’s morning routine and helps her improve as an artist. She hopes a peek into her latest creations can fill you with new-found inspiration. www.johannaforster.com…

“Pushing out of your comfort zone is one of the best ways to improve” Artist PROFILE Karlis Ulmanis LOCATION: Latvia Karlis, also known by the name Carlos U-Man, is an artist who has shifted his focus from tattoos to fine art study and drawing. To document his change in direction, Karlis launched his Umanvisionart channels on social media and found a growing audience for his art. His journey as a professional artist began around 15 years ago when he started tattooing while living in Denmark. Before that, Karlis had also studied at art schools while growing up. www.instagram.com/uman.visionart…

“The thumbnails helped me sketch things out simply to design the flow of the pages” “I loved the work detailing and designing the back of the Phantom character in the bottom panel” Artist PROFILE Ben Mauro LOCATION: US Ben is an art director, concept designer and author who works in the video game and film industries. Known for his work on Elysium, The Hobbit, Halo Infinite and Call of Duty, he is also the creator of sci-fi graphic novel series Huxley and continues to develop new original stories in the universe. www.artstation.com/benmauro…

Playing around with different styles and approaches I’m not used to helps continue my growth Artist PROFILE Chris Deboda LOCATION: US Visual development artist Chris is based in LA. With more than a dozen years of experience in animation and video games, his work specialises in designing immersive, stylised worlds while adding touches of light-heartedness and charm. Over his career, he has worked for studios such as Blizzard, Disney, Sony Pictures Animation and Rockstar Games. www.chrisdebodaart.com…

“I hated live caricatures, but slow observation clears away my artist’s block” Artist PROFILE Rob Duenas LOCATION: US Also known as Sketchcraft, Rob is a cartoonist who can’t stop drawing, whether it’s Spawn Kills Every Spawn, Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time, Spyro Reignited or Berserk Boy. He began his career on magazines and T‑shirts, and now spends his mornings cranking out doodles while secretly working on his next comic project. www.sketchcraft.com…

“Trying a different brush can bring you unexpected results in the final art” Artist PROFILE Acky Bright LOCATION: Japan Best known for creating black-and-white artwork and kawakakkoii (cute and cool) characters, Acky’s style is influenced by the energy of 90s manga, blending bold brushwork, fine detail and emotional narratives. His past collaborations include the likes of McDonald’s, Marvel and DC. To Acky, manga is a borderless language connecting across cultures and generations. https://bit.ly/4fy5yNK…

Artist PROFILE Marcus Williams LOCATION: US MarcusTheVisual is an Atlanta-based artist who has worked with the likes of Cartoon Network, DC, Marvel and Amazon. The co-creator of comic series Tuskegee Heirs: Flames of Destiny, his latest project Eye Lie Popeye brings the classic character to a new generation. www.marcusthevisual.com…

“Sketchbooks are a fast way to work out ideas and techniques. I prefer the look to final art” “I see the term ‘sketchbook’ as a type of drawing… they don’t literally need to be in a book” Artist PROFILE Eric Talbot LOCATION: US Eric is best known for his work on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. As a member of Mirage Studios, he has worked on the Ninja Turtles comics since the late 1980s. Eric now shares his time between creating covers for comic books, drawing and doodling in his sketchbooks, and working as a tattoo artist in his western Massachusetts. www.erictalbotart.com…

An award-winning designer’s studio Top character artist Jerry Gaylord opens up his workspace for you to explore Meet a Lucasfilm creative director Doug Chiang talks about developing art for some of the world’s biggest IPs The fantasy secrets of a D&D artist Max Dunbar shows you his process for creating stunning characters in pencil ISSUE 258 ON SALE 23RD SEPTEMBER IN PRINT & DIGITAL…

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“The goal is always to keep the sketches loose and not put too much pressure on myself” Artist PROFILE Paul Schoeni LOCATION: US Paul spent 17 years at DreamWorks on films such as Kung Fu Panda, How to Train Your Dragon and The Wild Robot. He’s now working for Warner Bros. Pictures Animation and teaches part-time at ArtCenter College of Design. In his free time, Paul loves drawing comics. https://paulschoeni.artstation.com…

“Sketching vehicles is one of my favourite ways to relax and sharpens my industrial design” “Redrawing my first digital art series years later brings back fond memories from my early days” Artist PROFILE Howard Hsu LOCATION: Taiwan Howard is an illustrator with a background in industrial design. He also teaches drawing at Krenz’s Artwork and specialises in perspective techniques, freehand technical sketches, and mechanical and architectural structures. Howard has also created concept designs for a wide range of collectible figures. www.instagram.com/howarddelevi…

“I try to learn from Toriyama’s artistic style and apply it myself” Artist PROFILE Lucas Matos LOCATION: Brazil Lucas is a concept and character artist. He began studying art in 2018 and has worked in the industry since 2021. A big fan of 80s and 90s manga, video games and animation, Lucas’s biggest influence is Akira Toriyama, who shaped the way he thinks about character design. In his work, he likes to mix and reimagine concepts to create something new, while making subtle nods and tributes to the things that inspire him. www.artstation.com/lucasmatosart…

“A cute fox off on an adventure is always worthy of a drawing” “I like drawing characters that look as if they possess secret knowledge” Artist PROFILE Jennifer Park LOCATION: South Korea Jennifer is a character designer who grew up dreaming of fantastical worlds and drawing the creatures that might live in them. Nature, stories and childhood wonder still shape her work. Through each of her characters, Jennifer tries to capture the feeling of adventure, mystery, and of something just waiting to be discovered. When not creating, she loves wandering through forests, collecting textures and shapes with her eyes, as well as enjoying quieter moments with her favourite music. www.artstation.com/hisser…

“I’ll often doodle weird little guys like these in my sketchbook just to have creative some fun” Artist PROFILE Greg Lambrakis LOCATION: US Greg works as a concept artist and art director for video games – a role he finds rewarding but also challenging at times. He tries not to overthink his sketchbooks and just lets the drawings happen. As a result, they tend to be filled with silly, escapist fun and strange characters. www.artstation.com/gregorythorne…

“I like to explore mundane props and find ways to make them interesting” “Some sketches are like a stream of consciousness – you just start and see where it goes” Artist PROFILE Sheng Lam LOCATION: England Sheng Lam is a freelance concept artist working in the video games industry who specialises in hard-surface designs. His main inspirations come from Japanese media, where there’s a big emphasis on line work and mechanical designs. Outside of work, he enjoys cooking and making interesting ice cream flavours, as well as sleeping. www.artstation.com/shenglam…

Artist PROFILE Michael Buffington Jr. LOCATION: US Michael, also known as drawaholic1124, is a concept artist and art director with credits in games and animation, including the Star Wars: The Clone Wars series. He has been addicted to drawing since his early days, and lives to create immersive characters and environments that inspire imagination and push visual storytelling forward. www.instagram.com/drawaholic1124…

Sketches are an opportunity not just to explore options, but for my clients and the authors to explore. The same book can be targeted to a variety of different demographics with just a few tonal shifts. For this project, I explored a lot of options for the illustrated version of Patrick Rothfuss’s The Name of the Wind. In this grouping, you can see how I’m presenting my client not just with different compositions, but totally different approaches as well. You’ll also notice that I’m already playing with the type design at this point. Although the type will ultimately be designed by a professional graphic designer later on, I sometimes incorporate it into my sketch, especially when it’s an integral part of the composition. In the last sketch for instance, the…

“I’ve been drawing almost every day for many years – it’s truly the variety that helps me stay in love with it” Artist PROFILE Nelli Suneli LOCATION: Georgia Nelli is an illustrator and creator of educational materials. She combines simple shapes, expressive details and rich textures to bring her charming characters to life. Inspired by nature – an endless source of stories, moods and forms – she aims to make people smile and pick up a pencil themselves. Nelli believes that creativity makes us happier. www.instagram.com/nelli_suneli…

For me, there’s nothing cuter than a bunch of chubby, winged horses Artist PROFILE Valentina Graziuso LOCATION: Scotland Valentina is a self-taught 2D illustrator with a knack for shapes, characters and entertaining. She has drawn on professional projects for the past five years, with Disney Lorcana one of her highlights to date. When she’s stuck, Valentina looks up her favourite creatives such as Don Bluth, Akira Toriyama, Glen Keane, Bill Watterson, Rebecca Sugar and Chris Sanders – her list is endless. https://bit.ly/4m2pqLn…

“Immediacy allows me to get inspired by something I wasn’t expecting to draw” “It’s such fun to try and mix the ridiculous with the seriousness of sword and sorcery type fantasy” Artist PROFILE Phil Moss LOCATION: England Phil is a freelance artist who was previously a staff illustrator and concept artist at Games Workshop. He trained traditionally but enjoyed a decade spent making digital illustration work for tabletop wargames. At the moment, Phil aims to use traditional mediums as much as possible, jumping back on to digital when clients need it, and feels that the two mediums inform each other. https://linktr.ee/philmoss…

“Starting loose when sketching is always key so you feel free to find shapes and personality” Artist PROFILE Corey Shillingford LOCATION: Canada Corey studied animation at Sheridan College, where he fell in love with stylised character design. After working on board games, video games, TV and film, he realised true creative ownership comes from independence. With this new-found knowledge, Corey is pursuing indie game development, building stylised worlds and characters with full control of the creative process on his projects. https://bit.ly/40Kl4jr…

“This flamenco venue was designed for a cowboy story… A tribute to the legendary singer Manolo Caracol” “I always have a lot of fun designing characters made from unique combinations” Artist PROFILE Lobón Leal LOCATION: Spain Lobón is a concept artist and illustrator from the city of Chiclana in the south of Spain. He has earned a degree in fine arts and specialises in both character design and comics. His art is rooted in manga culture and the philosophy of Studio Ghibli. He combines his work as a concept artist for international production companies with his own personal projects at Arriate Studio. www.artstation.com/lobonleal…