Tabla de contenidos para April 2025 en ImagineFX

Discover your potential with The Rookies; the launchpad for emerging digital artists. With The Rookies, your work won’t only be 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 Warm Memories YEAR CREATED: 2023 MEDIA: Procreate, Photoshop “This illustration is initial concept art for a short film titled Have You Eaten? The inspiration comes from the warm memories everyone holds of their favourite childhood dishes. Regardless of how much we’ve grown, a simple home-cooked dish always holds magic that can instantly bring us back to those memories and create a sense of home within the moment.” Artist PROFILE Pavida Changkaew LOCATION: US Pavida Changkaew is a visual storyteller from the Thai city…

My workspace may be a little overstimulating with all the lights, but it’s always organised and clean. I find it way too hard to focus on my work when I’m surrounded by a messy environment! I use a Wacom Cintiq Pro 24 Touch for my work, as well as two additional monitors – a Dell 34-inch ultrawide and a vertical 27-inch Dell. I love having a three-monitor setup and don’t think I could go back to just two. On one screen I can throw up my reference (I use PureRef and it’s life-changing!) while the other monitor has scripts, email or Discord open. “I was inspired by watching Japanese apartment videos, where they maximise tiny spaces with creative methods” I also like to stream art on Twitch, so a decent…

1 LEAD THE EYE To conduct the viewer’s eye across an image, try to use contrast. The greater that contrast, the sooner they’ll look. And if you’re in doubt, then point! 2 EMBED HISTORY Plant visual clues to what has come before. An open window, a trail of destruction, an empty cot – that all hints towards an abduction in progress. 3 CREATE EMPATHY You can provoke empathy by putting the audience in familiar situations with unfamiliar things, like a kid befriending a lost animal from outer space. 4 MAKE IT HUMOROUS Capture the viewer with a little visual humour. Nothing bonds an audience to a story stronger than making them laugh. 5 SENSE OF FEAR Think of fear as spice for your story. The mystery of the unknown and the anticipation of danger can…

CONCEPT SKILLS Get your head in the game with advice from creative director Anna Hollinrake 1 VIBES OR SPECIFICS? Make sure you know what your brief’s expectations are and don’t proverbially overfog the pudding. When creating concepts for modelling there’s no point adding atmospherics. Save them for the mood and vibe concepts. 2 TALK TO DESIGNERS Going cross-discipline asking how a level should feel, both to play and in terms of the emotions that a player should experience while in it, is supremely valuable knowledge. Just make sure it doesn’t conflict with your art lead’s direction. 3 THINK ABOUT THE WORLD Introducing kinds of metal, stone carving, or costuming that make sense within the game world? Find a sweet spot between variety and cohesion: even small things like roof tiles or fabric patterns…

Visual storytelling PERFECT PANELS AND PACING WITH DEREK LAUFMAN 1 IN THE MIND Get into the head of your characters and ask yourself what motivates their actions. 2 SHOT SELECTION Think about your panels as still shots in a movie or show, where you’re capturing the most important moments of the story. Make each one count! 3 CLARITY IN PANELS Having clear, readable panels is important. Details can be great, but over-cluttering can destroy a good composition. Use positive and negative space sensibly. 4 SET THE RIGHT PACE Build to intense or action-heavy moments. Don’t go all out through the entire book; allow the reader time to anticipate what’s about to happen. 5 QUIET MOMENTS It’s also vital to have time for your characters to breathe – literally and figuratively.…

“This piece is a small glimpse into the journey of two goblin scholars travelling through the lush overgrowth, as a mountain looms in the distance. My own journey with this piece began with a composition sketch before moving on to painting. But as I continued, the style, light scenario and vegetation just didn’t feel right, so those elements were frequently changed quite drastically. However, my original composition sketch still remained consistent throughout. Your composition is the foundation of all of your art; it’s what gives you the confidence to experiment and tell the story that you want to share.” Artist PROFILE Christian Auer LOCATION: The Netherlands Christian is a concept artist who works for Guerrilla Games. He loves painting original worlds that his audience would want to get lost in, no…

Price From £1,200/$1,200 Company Samsung Web www.samsung.com The Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra is great for those T who rely on extensive software and tools, such as split-screen for multitasking, and can be used for a light gaming session too. In terms of performance, it’s an excellent iPad alternative for Android and also perfect for creative pros who can get the most out of it. However, this 14.6-inch tablet is difficult to recommend for casual users, at least at its current price point, given the extremely large display that can sometimes make it uncomfortable to use, and the fact that its specs, while very capable, can’t compete with rivals such as the iPad Pro M4 at a similar price. Despite these minor factors, there are still a lot of great…

Price From £1,400/$1,400 Company Framework Web https://frame.work You think you know laptops, and then along comes Framework with the Laptop 16 – something so different and forward-thinking. Its modular design means that every component can be swapped out; ideal for upgrading, repairs or reconfiguring to better suit an app. You can change virtually anything – not just RAM or hard drive, but everything. You can, at will, swap out keyboards, number pads, trackpads, screen bezels and GPUs. You can choose the keyboard placement, with or without a number pad, and shift the trackpad to your preferred side for lefties or righties. Mind-blowing! There’s more with the customisable port choices. You’ll find three slots for ports on each side; sockets designed by Framework where you can plug in small boxes housing…

In the second half of 2022, when artists discovered that their work had been swept up and used to train models for AI image generators without their consent, it didn’t take long for activists to organise themselves against the practice. Within months, lawsuits had been filed against the major AI companies, the Concept Art Association had raised over $270,000 through crowdfunding to hire a lobbyist to advocate for creators in Washington D.C., and activists in Europe had formed the European Guild for Artificial Intelligence Regulation (EGAIR), an organisation that lobbies EU lawmakers on behalf of creators. It’s now been two years since the lawsuits against AI companies began to mount up, and since then political lobbying has got under way both in Europe and the US. So what progress has…

INITIAL STEPS Lucia Parvolo helps you dream up a captivating protagonist 1 BEGIN WITH A BRIEF I always start off by asking myself key questions that will guide me throughout the character creation process. Where do they come from? How old are they? What do they love? What do they hate? The more I dive into these questions, the clearer the scope of their personality becomes. Creating a personality map can be super helpful for this! 2 FIND REFERENCES AND TRY OUT TONS OF SKETCHES Beginning with a mood board, sketches, and silhouettes, search for the right balance. I remind myself not to settle after the first try – more sketches mean greater comfort and less self-judgement. We often underestimate how many cool ideas our hands can bring to life when…

COLOUR & VALUE Slawek Fedorczuk explains how to create gorgeous natural compositions 1 INITIAL REFERENCE I often start by doing a study from a reference. This takes the pressure off before I can begin to slowly build the image. 2 ACTIVE STUDY Studying photo references doesn’t mean copying. It’s crucial to be actively involved in the process, pushing things you like and removing noisy parts. 3 NATURE’S PALETTE If you look closely at nature, you’ll often see only a handful of particular colours. I take advantage of that, for example relying on cool and warm greens, plus some neutrals. 4 PICK OUT YOUR HIGHLIGHTS CAREFULLY You can push the design not only with shapes but also the value and saturation. Use it to highlight important elements. 5 BE MINDFUL OF THE Shadows can…

1 MIX AND MATCH If you struggle with copying reference too closely, try using multiple images to inform your lighting, colour, and so on. 2 VARY YOUR SOURCES Don’t limit yourself to just images. Look at sculpture, use 3D models, or study from life. 3 BE VIGILANT AGAINST AI AI imagery is usually visually monotonous and inaccurate, and dominates sites such as Pinterest. Avoid using it for references. 4 BUY FROM ARTISTS Artists know best what other artists need from reference. Some of my favourites are Howard Lyon, Justin Donaldson and Faestock. 5 BE PLAYFUL Have fun with your reference – exaggerate, highlight, or outright change. Don’t worry if it doesn’t always work, as these experiments will help you gradually develop your style. 6 UNIQUE PROCESS No two artists have…

Showcase personality AARON BLAISE CRAFTS EXPRESSIVE CHARACTERS 1 SHOW ATTITUDE AND EXPRESSION WITH SHAPE Distinct shapes and poses are key to making attitudes readable. You can show so much of this through your silhouettes, even without all the internal details. 2 EXAGGERATE KEY EXPRESSIONS I like to push facial and body expressions beyond realism. A bit of exaggeration ensures the emotions pop and communicate effectively to the audience. 3 EYES ARE THE PRIORITY For me, eyes are everything. They’re the heart of emotion, so focus on making their shapes and direction crystal clear. 4 EMOTIONAL LINES I rely on a strong line of action to enhance emotional impact. It helps align body language with what a character is feeling. 5 LEAD THE EYE Guide the reader’s eye toward a centre…

“This splash artwork was inspired by the moment in Arcane’s second season when Heimerdinger is singing Spin the Wheel for an audience in an alternate, warmer Zaun. I found that moment very touching and wanted to capture the mood in my final illustration. Since this skin is for League of Legends, however, I needed to include in-game elements that weren’t in that scene originally, like his turret and wrench. Additionally, we wanted to make sure it matched the hand-painted look in Arcane. It was fun figuring out how to solve for these unique specifications and include them in the final result.” Artist PROFILE Fortune K LOCATION: US Fortune is an illustrator at Riot Games on the League of Legends splash team. They enjoy creating whimsy and fun in both life and…

Price From £2,500/$2,500 Company Apple Web www.apple.com There was a time that if you were doing more than just a little casual 3D work, you were doing it on a Windows or a Linux machine. Partly because more power was available in a more configurable way, and also down to the fact that not much 3D software ran on a Mac. But things have changed. The move away from Intel chips to Apple silicon means serious work can now be done on a Mac; great news for creatives who have traditionally been Mac users for image editing, digital painting and design work, where Macs were already a firm favourite. That trend continues with the 2024 MacBook Pro 16, which features the new M4 chip. When compared to previous models, this…

DRAGONS D&D artist Anne Stokes lights the flame for creating an epic beast 1 CHOOSE A DRAGON STYLE There’s huge scope for painting different dragons. Will they have two legs or four legs? Will they have wings or be snake-like and oriental in style? These factors determine how agile the dragon might be, and what pose and action you could choose for them. 2 HOW DOES THE DRAGON FIT INTO ITS ENVIRONMENT? Choose things such as leaf-like scales to convey the idea that you have a forest-dwelling creature that’s in tune with its environment. The pose gives a design style to the image, and also suggests what it does and how it acts. 3 GIVE YOUR DRAGON CHARACTER Dragons are so often portrayed as huge and fierce, but they can also be…

1 EXPRESSIVE SHAPES Dynamic vehicle design isn’t static. Shift the balance of the cabin, overhangs and angle the body’s form to add a sense of movement to your design. 2 EYE-CATCHING IMBALANCES Distinctive asymmetric elements break up a predictable mirror image and grab attention. Off-axis elements could be functional or aesthetic. 3 BODY-TO-GLASS RATIO A taller upper cabin can appear stately and composed, juvenile or cute. Shorter cabins imply sportiness and aggression. 4 PURPOSE AND FUNCTION Every vehicle should have a main purpose. Defining what a vehicle does will guide the form, mass and detail to communicate its functional character to the viewer. 5 HUMANISE THE DESIGN Complete the vehicle from a human perspective. Walk up to it, climb in, sit down and look out. The detail and design will follow…

HIDDEN STRUCTURES IN FIGURE DRAWING The body is full of repeatable forms, as Charlie Pickard explains 1 PERSPECTIVE ISN’T JUST FOR BUILDINGS Some people say that perspective only matters for buildings and is unnecessary for the figure. This couldn’t be further from the truth! The first thing about the figure is that it exists in 3D. Understand this and you’ll understand drawing. 2 THIS IS THE SECRET TO EFFICIENCY Whether you’re working fast or slow, these structures give us the guide we need to know for which marks count the most. Every mark is an opportunity to show off the perspective. 3 KEEP STRUCTURE IN MIND FOR EVERY PART OF THE BODY These structural opportunities exist throughout the body and the sensation of three dimensions is entirely due to this…

STAY MOTIVATED Bo Feng Lin encourages you to be your own artist 1 SHOW YOURSELF I love it when artists show their faces and share more about themselves. People want to know who is behind the art they see, so be present as an artist. What’s a Picasso without the artist? It’s just another painting. 2 FIND THE RIGHT BALANCE When I struggle to find the right direction for my art, it’s usually because I either lean towards an extremely realistic or extremely abstract style. I always find it’s when I make nuanced changes that are a good blend that it works out for me. 3 STAY TRUE TO YOURSELF With social media changing so fast, being an artist seems to be less about doing your thing and more about…

FUNDAMENTALS FIRST George Brad recommends giving your artwork a strong foundation 1 DON’T SKIP THE BASICS They’re called fundamentals for a reason. Starting from line, shape, form, value, colour, texture, composition and anatomy, make sure you study and can understand them all. They’ll come back to haunt you if you try to escape them. 2 LINE-ART IS IMPORTANT Creating strong line-art helps you generate ideas quickly and with a reasonable number of details too, all without having to invest a lot of time. 3 TELL STORIES WITH YOUR DESIGN Stories allow the viewer to connect with your character and world, so make sure they’re worth deeper exploration to move your concepts forward. 4 MAKE MULTIPLE ITERATIONS Regular sketching sessions help you improve your drawing speed, the quality of your lines…

“Some artists have clear ideas and a direction – sadly I’m not one of them” “Shapes and relationships in composition are important tools to build up narrative” Artist PROFILE Craww LOCATION: England Living on the edge of the Peak District and surrounded by hills, woods and open moorland, Shaun Friend, more often known as Craww, reflects an ongoing fascination with the natural world and the relationships we have with it in his work. Drawing and painting, he creates narratives from the beauty found in contradictions and ambiguity; life and death, beauty and decay, strength and fragility. He explores the conflicting and complementary forces of nature, natural forms and the constructs that mark our passing. www.craww.com Do you want to share your sketches with your fellow ImagineFX readers? Send us an email…

“I created this illustration for an episode of my weird fiction podcast, called Savage Bites. The story, which I also wrote, depicts a lone traveller under threat. You may feel sympathetic at first glance, but after you’ve read the story you’ll want him to get eaten! I followed my typical workflow here. I began with the idea and worked up some thumbnails. After that I figured out the composition, gathered photo references, and in this case used a free 3D model of a Citroën 2CV. I often make a dirty photobash by posting photos over my drawing, then eyeball the colours as I paint. I never colour pick, ever. These meanies were drawn off the cuff, making for a fun exercise that took a day-and-a-half to finish.” Artist PROFILE Christian Bravery…

My passion for drawing stretches far into my early development as an artist, from emulating the styles of the comic artists I was reading to creating dungeon maps, monsters, scenes and characters for Dungeons & Dragons and science fiction roleplaying games as a teenager. I drew incessantly as a hobbyist then, and still do so to this day. Thinking back about how and why I pursued a path in the arts, the passion to tell stories through drawing sits deep as a motivating, primal factor. My comfort with drawing has given me the confidence to embrace oil painting (or colouring by numbers, as I jokingly call it) and extend my interest in storytelling into diverse and growing areas. If I can work out my intent for a new visual concept…