Tabla de contenidos para October 2025 en ImagineFX

This September sees the launch of the hotly anticipated survival comic Skinbreaker – a brutal, emotional new series from legendary writer Robert Kirkman (Invincible, The Walking Dead) and Eisner Award-winning artist David Finch (Batman, New Avengers). “I’ve wanted to work with David for the entirety of my career,” says Robert. “We’ve gotten close many times over the years, but we wanted our collaboration to be truly special. Skinbreaker is that series – it’s a high-water mark for both of our careers. “The comic is an action epic that’s unrelentingly brutal, but packed with emotion and heart. David is one of the greatest comic artists to ever live. His work on this series has to be seen to be believed. It would be impossible for us to overhype it.” “David’s work…

Over his career, Yo Moriyama has mainly been known for producing concept artwork and prop designs for shows such as Bubble and Lupin the Third: Goemon’s Blood Spray, but he has also been developing a reputation for crafting character designs. That was the skill set he required for Netflix anime series Sakamoto Days. Based on the manga created by Yuto Suzuki, the adaptation is animated by TMS Entertainment and directed by Masaki Watanabe. The story revolves around a notorious assassin who falls in love, swears never to kill again, raises a family, and physically gets out of shape. However, the only retirement allowed by the organisation he used to work for is death itself. “Designing the main character in the way I did for Sakamoto Days is probably my first…

“This was a piece for Unreal Bjornament 4, an art contest hosted by Bjorn Hurri. I set out to explore building a narrative with dramatic effect, all in a single image. To create impact, I played with contrast, both in values and context. With only one human face in the composition, the eye is naturally drawn to it. Despite not knowing the surrounding story, the expression and pose – anger pushed to the edge of violence – creates tension that invites curiosity, making the image resonate beyond its visual elements and encourage the viewer to imagine the world behind it.” Artist PROFILE Laura Rosmaninho LOCATION: Portugal Laura is a concept artist and illustrator working for Blizzard, Opus Artz and Disney Lorcana. She loves worldbuilding and exploring stories through her paintings. https://bit.ly/4lwvrz6…

1 Place down the basics Before starting, I had the idea of creating contrast by having the vehicle in the foreground look bigger than the robot figure in the background. At the same time, I wanted matching shapes present in both the vehicle and the robot to form a relationship. I start with a basic line sketch and brushwork, and sometimes a texture brush for rocks or trees. It’s key for me to visualise the image before I begin, then try to get the feeling I want quickly. 2 Push the style I drew everything in a pragmatic way beforehand to help me get a good understanding of the perspective and shape design, especially the robot. The goal was to make it feel like Transformers, which led to me looking at a…

I like to use a comic inking and rendering style when creating quick concepts, often done for video game or animation projects. This particular style has a host of benefits, one of which is almost immediately creating high contrast in key areas. This forces you into good habits such as breaking down the image into value groups, creating strong key lighting and crafting well-defined forms, which can be difficult for a lot of beginner artists. I’ll be discussing how I lay down the foundations for this kind of rendering and how each early step you take sets the foundation for the later ones to be completed more efficiently. Of course, there are many alternative routes to the same outcome, but I’ve found following this process particularly effective for getting a…

Wacom Intuos Pro (2025) WONDERFUL REINVENTION The newest tablet in Wacom’s catalogue and its customisable stylus make for a fantastic addition to any professional’s setup Price From £230/$250 Company Wacom Web www.wacom.com Despite reviewing and testing drawing tablets all the time, we found something uniquely exciting about the latest from Wacom. And after using this year’s Intuos Pro release, we can honestly say it remains the gold standard for pen tablets in 2025. This new Intuos Pro – we tested the medium iteration – is a precise and beautifully designed drawing tablet that will remain the go-to choice for digital art pros despite increasingly stiff competition from brands like XPPen, Huion and Xencelabs. Fundamentally, this new Intuos Pro is a radical reinvention of the older tablet line. Everything is refined…

Price £1,600/$2,850 Company HP Web www.hp.com The business laptop may not be of particular interest to the creative user. But when it’s one like this, your ears might prick up. The EliteBook X G1i bucks the trend with a second-generation Intel Core Ultra 7 at its heart. This means you’ll have no problems installing Creative Cloud apps on it, and it comes with a better GPU than Snapdragon chips can manage. It’s still an integrated graphics solution, but it’s good enough for most tasks, making it a viable laptop for photo editing or a good video-editing device. There’s a full-size HDMI 2.1 port, and you can also use a dock or an adapter on one of the Thunderbolt 4 ports to hook up an external monitor. And you might want…

Jackpack Realwater Legacy Brushes Artist Jack The Vulture Software Krita Brushes 3 Price Free Rating Watercolour is nearly impossible to recreate digitally, as Jack freely admits, so instead he’s created brushes that work how he feels they should behave. Not updated, but worth downloading.  https://bit.ly/3Ikquep Photoshop Environment Artist Syntetyc Software Photoshop Brushes 90+ Price Free Rating A fantastic set that enables fine edge work across retouching and painting. With over 90 brushes for free, this is essential for any Photoshop user and can be adapted for other applications.  https://bit.ly/4lIXeMV Starter Brush Pack 2025 Artist Marc Brunet Software Photoshop, Clip Studio Paint Brushes 18 Price Free Rating These earn five stars because they come with an excellent instructional video and Marc continues to add more brushes. A great all-round set, and…

SAVE UP TO 45%** PLUS FREE DIGITAL ACCESS TO 150+ ISSUES*** PLUS! FREE FOR SIX MONTHS WITH IMAGINEFX* FOR THE FIRST 20 NEW SUBSCRIBERS FANTASY ART ESSENTIALS EBOOK FOR EVERY NEW SUBSCRIBER Clip Studio paint is the complete artist’s toolbox for creating digital art, covering illustration, concept art, comics and even 2D animation. The latest version brings new tools to help artists draw and paint more easily and efficiently than ever, with features such as Puppet Warping and improved filters for colour corrections – you can even add 3D models to use as references. And you could get it free with a new ImagineFX subscription!* For more about the app, visit www.clipstudio.net. PRINT PLUS FREE DIGITAL ACCESS • Six months of the print edition • No-hassle home delivery • Pay less…

“The picture book maker could be closely compared to a singer-songwriter” Until relatively recently, the craft of making a picture book has been somewhat overlooked. Despite the enduring popularity of greats such as Maurice Sendak, Beatrix Potter and Raymond Briggs to name but a few, the medium has fought an uphill struggle to shake off a historically uncool reputation. Thankfully, their fortunes are on the up. Agile publishers and champions of the form have raised the profile of picture books to new heights, and the stunning works of contemporary authors such as Shaun Tan, Beatrice Alemagna and Jon Klassen have been exposing audiences of all ages to their incredible potential. For artists, picture books allow them to tell stories in a way that no other medium can match. Combining the…

Rebelle 8 will bring more than 40 new features to its toolset when it launches in the coming months, Escape Motions has revealed The traditional medium-mimicking software has earned itself a devoted userbase since first launching 10 years ago, giving artists the tools to simulate watercolours, acrylics, oils and more. The new version – set to launch for Windows and macOS at the end of Q3 – will bring powerful new Bristle Brushes, realistic oil shading and expanded professional tools among its raft of enhancements. Realism has been put to the fore, particularly with the addition of Bristle Brushes. These are based on particles that imitate individual brush strands for the most authentic textures yet. Elsewhere, the RealShader creates photorealistic lighting and impasto textures for oil painting, while the SoftShadows…

I admit, I’m a reformed clutterbug. As a child – and later into my adulthood than I like to admit – I’d leave a trail of disorder in my wake. While I slowly improved over the years, I still thought that my messiness was tied to my creativity, so I was reluctant to part with it completely. My husband and I both work from home in an old Victorian house. The first room I tried for my studio was far too small, and the second far too dark. When I moved into this one six years ago, I fell in love with the atmosphere; a cosy but tidy Victoriana. Growing up as a second child, I got used to hand-me-downs, and it took me so many years to accumulate a…

A clever creative decision by Yuto Suzuki was to have the slim form of Taro Sakamoto not only appear in flashbacks, but to use the weight loss as a means to emphasise how much effort and energy he puts into fighting, much like his cinematic inspirations John Wick and Robert McCall of The Equalizer. One could argue the slimmer Taro Sakamoto is the character’s true form, which has been overtaken by his desire to raise a family. This explains why an exaggerated, cartoony teddy bear aesthetic was adopted for the patriarch’s fat persona and a more realistic stylisation for the slimmed-down version of Taro.…

1 Set the stage The start of a painting is always rough. It’s important to be loose and not too tied to anything while still stating your intention. A lot will change throughout the process, but the start will majorly impact a painting through to the end. So take your time to really consider the contrast and composition of your elements. 2 Decision time This step is for pinning down and solidifying ideas – the transition between the initial vision and concrete choices. Organising everything in layers is vital at this stage. It provides some wiggle room to experiment with values, colours and positioning, then you can slowly build a base for the final render. 3 Finalise the scene The last step is more than cleaning up. There’s always room for change no…

“Soulsteel is a living suit of armour forged through sacrifice during a war that tore through three intertwined realms. Inspired by Dark Souls and epic dark fantasy, this concept piece balances brutality with tragedy. I started with in-depth research and exploratory sketches to capture the essence and composition, then used 3D tools such as Blender and ZBrush to establish strong perspectives and forms. I painted the values in black and white to create a solid structure before layering colour and rendering in Photoshop. By not rushing into colour straight away, I was able to focus on the value design that’s at the heart of a compelling illustration.” Artist PROFILE Michael Darjania LOCATION: Georgia Michael is a digital artist at Stanion Studios who likes to blend traditional techniques with a love for…

“The goal for these illustrations was to experiment with the brushwork, colour and storytelling – as well as to have fun! Each sketch reflects a subject that caught my eye, whether it’s a quiet forest path or a mood that resonated with me in some way. My process begins with finding a reference for inspiration. Then I write a one-line story or idea to guide the concept and draw a quick thumbnail to keep loose and efficient. Once I’ve settled on a composition, I do quick colour sketches to explore moods and palettes. After the overall feel is locked, I render the final image.” Artist PROFILE Sathish Kumar LOCATION: India Sathish is a senior concept artist who has worked with Microsoft, Nintendo and Naughty Dog. As the founder of Art Train…

Price From £800/$800 Company Microsoft Web www.microsoft.com Let’s get this straight: the Surface Pro is not the Surface Laptop. Where that computer is designed to take on the MacBooks of this world, the Pro is a less formal thing. It’s a tablet, really, and doesn’t even come with a keyboard, stylus or a charger as standard, they have to be added and cost extra. As a tablet with a stylus for drawing and notes, it’s more of a competitor to the iPad Pro, or even the M3 iPad Air than it is to something like the Dell Pro 13. It’s a touchscreen device that runs a desktop operating system, and comes with a nice screen and all-day battery life. It’s the entry-level Surface, but a nice tablet-laptop to use. Many…

Price £300/$300 Company Dell Web www.dell.com Looking for a monitor that’s large enough to give you ample screen real estate without swamping your desk? A 27-inch model is the perfect size and the Dell 27 Plus 4K S2725QS won’t disappoint. Of course, the biggest feature is the display, which is perfect for work or entertainment. It’s 4K UHD, which offers sharp, detailed visuals. It also has a 120Hz refresh rate for smooth motion – ideal if you’re editing video content or gaming. It uses IPS panel technology and has 99% sRGB colour coverage, so you get good viewing angles as well as vibrant, true-to-life colours. There’s HDR support too, which enhances the colour and gives off deep blacks and brighter whites. The stand is fully adjustable. It can be adjusted…

“We’d specify the basic shadows in scenes, as well as seek out some references for what they’d look like depending on a character’s expression, for example serious versus comical,” Moriyama says. “Sakamoto Days often has a comical feel along with a more serious side at times, so the artistic direction differs quite a lot.”…

This is the cover art for Laura E. Weymouth’s fantasy novel Steel and Spellfire. It’s set in Valora, a city inspired by Victorian-era London. The main protagonists are Pandora Smalls, who has learned to hone and wield her magic in a way the world has never seen, and Kit Beacon, a promising young member of the Royal Guard. Pandora’s magic – called Spellfire – takes the form of blue flames. In the scene, we see Pandora and Kit facing up against a monster in a dark alley. For this tutorial, I’ll guide you through the process of creating a book cover illustration just like this. We’ll explore drawing the rough concept, how to convey your idea at an early stage and creating dynamic compositions, all the way through to finalising…

This image of a big robot – which I still haven’t been able to come up with a good name for – started out as an unpretentious sketch for the mentoring I did in 2023 with Joon Ahn. At the time it was a sketch that had an interesting composition, and I liked its dynamism and initial look, where it included both very large and very small elements. I wanted to explore my ability to conceive an illustration further while creating a functional, well-thought design rather than painting for the sake of it without a focus. At the time, I’d already been thinking about starting a course to demonstrate my painting process for scenes, and to help other artists understand how I solve paintings. They always start out differently to…

1 Explore composition and mood I began with sketches focused on silhouette, gesture and story. The goal wasn’t precision but energy. I aligned the character’s personality to the background, making sure their pose and atmosphere set a dramatic tone. Planning the emotion helps to ground the piece. 2 Build value and structure Once the sketch was in place, I moved to black and white painting to establish a strong value structure. I used Blender and ZBrush selectively, mainly the helmet and sword, to ensure correct form and perspective. Building solid light and shadow before adding colour guides the eye and strengthens the composition. 3 Add colour and make a final pass With values locked in, I moved to colour using Photoshop, adjusting lighting and adding mood with magical purple effects. Zooming out helped…

1 Sketch a first draft I tend to ideate quickly on paper as I find it helps to keep the sketches simple and efficient by bypassing the computer altogether. I’m not trying to make a pretty picture this early in the process, I’m trying to put my ideas onto paper so I can then flesh them out later. 2 Develop the image Thumbnail sketches also stop me getting too bogged down in details. If a concept isn’t working, I can just discard it and start again. This approach also stops me getting too attached to a single idea. At this stage I’m still playing with different moods and lighting variations to enhance the story. 3 Draw from real life Inspiration can come from anywhere. Even an image of grapes can influence…

Price £2,250/$2,500 Company eufyMake Web www.eufymake.com RATING 2D printers have been around for so long that not much has moved on with the technology in some time. Things are changing, though, and eufyMake is leading that charge with its E1 UV printer. Billed as a business in a box, this printer allows you to print images on just about any material you care to think of. Not only that, but it also promises to print on multiple shapes, from the perfectly flat to completely round, like glasses and coffee cups. And to make the E1 even more appealing, it can also print with depth, add a gloss finish and much more. For creators and artists, this opens up a whole world of possibilities such as selling more individual prints and…

Publisher Udemy Price £49.99/$109.99 or part of Udemy Subscription from £180/$168 per year Format Online Length 34hrs 49mins Web www.udemy.com Rich Graysonn’s anatomy course is exactly the kind of comprehensive deep dive that either immerses or repulses potential students – there’s no middle ground in this extensive library of knowledge. At 35 hours of content, this isn’t a “how do I do that quickly, please” kind of course; it’s a big commitment. The programme was heavily revised in 2022, which is always a good sign that the tutor cares about students and what they’re teaching. The structure – which starts with the basics and progresses through the bones, muscles and so on – is more akin to an evening college course as you work along with the tutor and learn…