Tabla de contenidos para January 2025 en ImagineFX

There are some projects or worlds built that stand above the rest, influencing what’s to come in immeasurable ways. Dungeons & Dragons is one of these few and it’s impossible to quantify quite how the game’s artwork has impacted fantasy worlds over the years. Now in its 50th year, we thought it only right to join in the celebrations, so this month we have a huge feature on the art of this much loved universe, including our cover, which is an homage to iconic box art. We even talked to the legendary Larry Elmore, the artist behind it, to find out more. Elsewhere we look at the convergence of 2D and 3D, which appears to be becoming more common every week. We also pick our favourites from the latest ImagineFX…

Vanessa Morales LOCATION: Mexico MEDIA: Clip Studio Paint, Procreate WEB: www.phonemova.com Vanessa is an illustrator whose personal work explores the world of plants and frogs. She plays with the energy of colour on dark backgrounds, inspired by the phrase ‘the rainbow looks better at night’. Deborah Saez LOCATION: US MEDIA: Photoshop WEB: www.deborahsaez.com Growing up, Deborah was inspired by everything from cartoons to games and anime. But it was Fumi Ishikawa’s work on Suikoden II that sparked her love of character design. “Her female designs were ahead of their time.” Sophia Du LOCATION: US MEDIA: Procreate, Photoshop WEB: https://sophiadu.myportfolio.com Sophia is a background and visual development artist from the San Francisco Bay Area. She has a passion for using colour, light, and design to capture mood in her digital paintings.…

What can be achieved in artistic output by merging the two techniques? Traditional artists can now fully utilise 3D and procedural techniques, benefitting from the efficiencies, reuse and toolsets that have been available to more technical artists for a long time. Conversely, the technical processes, output and realism more commonly associated with 3D artists can now adopt more stylised, natural or artistic looks, allowing them to break away from the harsh, precise realism that has often been prevalent in full CG production. While various combinations of the two techniques have been used in the past – such as 2D backgrounds with 3D characters, complex 3D camera moves in 2D environments, or effects that look hand-painted – they can now be brought together much more convincingly into a single, harmonious look.…

D&D has enjoyed a rich and ever deepening visual heritage that has resonated with gamers and fantasy fans beyond the realm of the game, which has certainly offered a multiverse of worlds to explore. This summer in the UK, Royal Mail released a series of D&D-themed stamps illustrated by British artist Wayne Reynolds. Then there are events such as Virtual Play Weekends that take the game online, and D&D’s presence at various conventions such as UK Games Expo. New campaign volumes and guides continue to provide narratives and lavish art, such as the recently published Quests from the Infinite Staircase (cover by Syd Mills, alternative cover by John Patrick Gañas) containing classic D&D adventures that have been updated for the fifth edition of the game and bring something of a…

It’s all in the name. Some of the most iconic artwork that has helped to bring the incredible, expansive world of Dungeons & Dragons to life over the last five decades has depicted the game’s fearsome draconic beasts. Among the many talented fantasy artists to craft dragons onto the pages of D&D’s volumes and its boxed set covers is Larry Elmore. Perhaps his most recognisable pieces take pride of place on 1980s revisions of the Basic and Expert boxed sets, which feature epic dragons in the midst of battle. Who better to share their knowledge of creating one of the fantasy genre’s best-loved creatures. In this Q&A, Larry talks about the process behind his awe-inspiring dragons and how he builds a composition. Could you break down how you start drawing…

“Screenplays and scripts can often be vague in terms of the actual direction and action. Whenever I storyboard a complex scene, I like to start by sketching out general ideas, almost like doing a gesture drawing. I’m not pitching entire sequences yet, just the concepts. Once the director and I agree on these big ideas, we can then dig into the shot-by-shot construction of each scene. This process allows me to spend more time iterating and exploring the ‘what if we did this’ path, rather than drawing hundreds of frames only to have the basic idea rejected.” Artist PROFILE Dan Milligan LOCATION: Canada Dan is a freelance artist who believes that storyboarding is one of the most crucial steps in the creative process, being there to inform almost every aspect of…

Magic has always sparked imagination. Since it doesn’t exist in our world, there are countless ways to portray it through art. Will it be the blinding light from a wizard’s wand? The shimmering mist from a witch’s spell? Or the shadowy tendrils of a dark warlock? There are no rules, so we can let our creativity run wild. I’ve had a soft spot for witches since childhood, which is why I decided to create an illustration on my favourite theme for this tutorial. It depicts a young witch learning a new spell, accompanied by her feathered friends. I want to focus on highlighting the magical elements so the illustration bursts with life. For some time now, I’ve been creating all my artwork in Procreate, which is not only convenient and…

COTOH LOCATION: Japan MEDIA: Acrylic, oil WEB: www.instagram.com/cotoh_tsumi COTOH has been an illustrator since 2017 and transitioned into contemporary art after collaborating with musicians and apparel companies. By using mass production techniques, COTOH challenges the traditional perception of commercial art in Japan. Darko Stojanovic´ LOCATION: Serbia MEDIA: Pencil, oil WEB: http://darkostojanovic.com Darko is a painter of mighty heroes and epic scenes with a particular love of painting portraits and fearsome knights in armour. He also finds a lot of enjoyment in painting faces, fur, and anything that features shiny metal. Want to submit your work? Visit http://ifxm.ag/getinifx…

Boost backstory with interiors Magdalina Dianova shows you how to give your artwork a major narrative lift Build an eerie environment Learn to create an atmospheric sci-fi setting ideal for a lurking xenomorph How to render punchy comics Discover the keys for getting more intensity in your comic artwork ISSUE 248 ON SALE 17TH DECEMBER IN PRINT & DIGITAL…

Discover your potential with The Rookies; the launchpad for emerging digital artists. With The Rookies, your work won’t only get seen, it gets noticed and featured just like this! Join a community where your journey from hobbyist to professional artist is supported every step of the way.  WWW.THEROOKIES.CO Stellar Odyssey YEAR CREATED: 2023 MEDIA: Photoshop + + + + + + + + + “I wanted to create an IP all of my own, where I could put together all the things that I love and interest me into one final project. I’ve always found my inspiration in the sci-fi genre and mechanical designs. Being able to illustrate and add in all of my favourite subjects while working on this project has been nothing short of fulfilling.” Artist PROFILE Jeremy Lee…

Contact the editor, Rob Redman, on mail@imaginefx.com or write to ImagineFX, Future Publishing, Quay House, The Ambury, Bath, BA1 1UA, England Follow us on X: x.com/imaginefx Find us on Facebook: facebook.com/imaginefx Share your artwork via #imaginefx: instagram.com/imaginefxmagazine Sketches galore I’m so pleased you guys did another Sketchbook issue. I absolutely adore seeing all the little doodles and sketches that artists do. And reading a little about why they make them. It’s so insightful to see people’s line work without it being fully rendered. More of these please! Bexter, via email Rob replies Hello Bexter, thanks so much for the kind words. I completely agree with you that it’s really interesting to see the earlier stages of an artist’s work, or even the different ways they go about it. We’ll definitely be doing more…

“This is the cover art for Dazzler #1 from Marvel. As this is the premier image for the launch of a brand new series, it’s vital to encapsulate this character’s personality and powers in one amazing shot that will grab the reader’s attention. I drew the pose and composition in my sketchbook, then cleaned it up digitally and sent it to Marvel for approval. Once they were pleased with the idea, I started pencilling it using an HB pencil on Bristol board, before the inking work was done by my wife, Rachel Dodson. For the references, I decided to watch numerous videos of live music to find the right colours, then scanned the art into Photoshop to mimic the concert atmosphere.” Artist PROFILE Terry Dodson LOCATION: US Terry is an…

Price From £600/$670 Company Boulies Web https://boulies.co.uk RATING The Boulies Fit Pro is a brilliantly designed chair that will look the part in any modern office – but it also won’t be the chair of choice for a lot of people. Why? Because it has a firm finish and a lot of people will opt for the memory foam options rather than the solid, excellent leather chair here. For those that do like a firm chair, you’re in luck! This is a lovely chair with a lot going for it. It has a lot of the features that could make a great chair for those with back pain. Over a two-month period of using this chair, our reviewer quickly grew to appreciate its features. The leather finish is a delight…

The young protectors of an alien visitor played it in the movie ET: The Extra Terrestrial, and the young friends who venture into the Upside Down played it in the first season of Stranger Things. Dungeons & Dragons, conceived by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, has become enshrined in pop culture over the five decades since it launched as a new kind of game in the early 1970s. Its vividly realised game mechanics and high-fantasy setting contributed to an ever-growing mainstream interest in fantasy that took flight half a century ago, building on an American fascination with the work of J.R.R. Tolkien that had flourished in the counterculture of the late 1960s. In turn, that moment impacted on the wider pop culture and fantasy storytelling space that developed in the…

The book The Making of Original Dungeons & Dragons: 1970-1977 is a hugely detailed and lavishly mounted volume that collates archival documents taking you right back to the genesis of the game. If you want to read the earliest notes Dave Arneson and Gary Gygax compiled as they worked out quite what their D&D world could be, then this is the book for you. It features the first draft of the game’s earliest published writings, notes and illustrations for what would become the Original D&D box set, as well as delving into the history of its precursors, including Gygax’s medieval-inspired Chainmail. Pages from the three volumes of the original D&D release are also included for those eager to go on an old-school adventure, or to simply discover how the game…

Achieving the right shapes in your characters is essential to getting messages across to the viewer effectively. In this article, I’ll show you how to create effective character designs with strong, simple shapes. To do this, I work with a lot of reference photos to find and build solid poses that match the spirit of my characters. I’ll then compose a colour palette that will match up with my character’s personality. I love to mix pastel shades with neon hues in particular. I’ll start with my base colours for clothes and skin, then shadows and highlights, and finally background colours and graphic touches. My backgrounds are often simple colour gradients with a few simplified elements. Once I’ve completed these steps, I start sketching. As soon as I’ve found the right…

“I was asked to make this official cover for Magnificent Ms. Marvel look funny, even though there are aggressive zombies. Following the advice of the editor, my task was to make it as juicy as possible. In the sketch, the bonnet of the car takes up a lot of room. I needed to depict it in an interesting way so it didn’t look empty. As luck would have it, there were few details on the bonnet, which would otherwise complicate the shape. Detailed reflections on the bonnet and windscreen gave it plenty of presence. As a result, it was possible to hint at zombies in front of the car without showing them. By taking the time to study reflections, I was able to create an informative cover.” Artist PROFILE Eduard Petrovich…