Table of contents for July 2024 in ImagineFX

We all have our heroes as artists, our favourite worlds and universes that have been built, the characters that inhabit them, and the monsters that roam them. We also have our inspirations, be that music, movies or an artist whose work touches us in some way. All those things come into play when we talk about fan art, which isn’t simply the recreation of someone else’s work. It’s an exploration of our love for those artists, characters and places, or of a style that has left a mark on us. This month we put our focus on fan art, starting with RaidesArt’s beautifully rendered homage to Studio Ghibli film Howl’s Moving Castle, based on the book of the same name by Diana Wynne Jones. We also look at how working…

The Rookies is a platform to help digital artists get discovered without having to compete with professionals for attention. You’ll get to the front page of those sites one day, but for now, we’ve got your back and want to help turn your passion for creative media into a successful career. WWW.THEROOKIES.CO Artist PROFILE Myat Hein Khant LOCATION: Singapore Myat Hein Khant is a visdev artist born in Myanmar. He dropped out of university to follow his passion for art and began taking online classes, before later moving to Singapore and developing his portfolio while learning under the mentorship of Drew Hartel. www.therookies.co/u/MHK…

Artist PROFILE Julian del Rey LOCATION: Spain Julian is a conceptual artist, visual developer and art director based in Spain. He has worked on video games for over 10 years for companies like Blizzard and Riot Games. https://bit.ly/3VPcVbu “I’ve liked superheroes ever since I was little, and I’ve always been fascinated by fantasy, and of course by Dungeons & Dragons. My idea with this piece was to combine these two passions into a single identity. Added to this is my obsession with expressing myself through forms. After many years perfecting my line work technique, it seemed like a good time to take the stylisation of my shapes further in order to develop greater personality for my characters. I then rendered each part of the character with warm shadows, cold lights…

Editorial Editor Rob Redman rob.redman@futurenet.com Art Editor Daniel Vincent Production Editor Henry Burridge Contributors Dominic Carter, Zachary Berger, Greg Manchess, Richard Anderson, RaidesArt, Rob Duenas, Uzuri, Juan Diego León, Julian del Rey, Charlie Pickard, Brock Grossman, Moon, Iryna Khymych, Gary Stuckey Advertising Media packs are available on request Chief Revenue Officer Zack Sullivan UK Group Commercial Director Clare Dove Advertising Director Matt Johnston matthew.johnston@futurenet.com, 01225 442244 International Licensing ImagineFX is available for licensing and syndication. To find out more contact us at licensing@futurenet.com or view our available content at www.futurecontenthub.com. Head of Print Licensing Rachel Shaw Subscriptions – turn to page 8! Online orders www.magazinesdirect.com Customer service email: help@magazinesdirect.com Telephone +44 (0) 330 333 1113 Consumer Revenues Director Sharon Todd Disruption remains within UK and International delivery networks. Please allow…

There’s more to drawing fan art than showing some love for your favourite subject. When shared properly, fan art tributes can grab the attention of studios and expand your profile with like-minded audiences. That’s not to mention the fact that it’s a fun way to keep yourself sharp. This is a far cry from how fan art used to be perceived. No longer is it seen as the preserve of amateurs or opportunists. In fact, fan art is now arguably a medium itself with its own unique benefits, and one that gives creators an opportunity to flex their artistic muscles with the help of some familiar iconography. PASSION PROJECTS For Marvel and DC artist Toni Infante, this elevation of fan art’s status is a natural step. Like many artists, he…

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 Flying fantasy Hi Rob. Having been a fan of his for so long I was grinning like a kid in a sweet shop when I saw you’d featured Grégory Fromenteau last month. I love odd fantasy art, especially when there are things flying that wouldn’t normally be, and he’s a real genius at that kind of art. I’d love to see some of my other favourites too. Maybe you could get Stephen Tappin in to do something? Eddie, via email Rob replies Great to hear from you and wonderful to read that you…

Artist PROFILE Uzuri LOCATION: US Uzuri is a freelance artist focusing on characterdriven art with strong colours and dynamic brushstrokes. She has worked with Dark Horse, Topps and more. www.uzuriart.com Some of my favourite artworks to create are subjects inspired by characters in animated films and TV. Because of that, I wanted to tackle illustrating a portrait of Peter B. Parker from the gorgeously animated Spider-Verse films, paying homage to the moment he pulled his mask over his face. This was a great starting point. The challenge was to create an engaging portrait that achieved this pose on a vertical digital canvas. It wouldn’t show most of his arms but needed to remain dynamic. I used most of the canvas’s limited space by tilting him to convey that he’s leaning…

Artist PROFILE Charlie Pickard LOCATION: England Charlie is a classically trained fine artist and illustrator who works, exhibits and teaches out of his studio in London. https://bit.ly/3R3Dcz3 Shadows are one of the most underrated areas of an image by students. The first mistake often made is an over-insistence on creating dull, black shadows. However, shadows are often some of the most exciting and chromatic parts of an image. If handled properly, they can be a powerful tool for controlling the mood of our work and truly placing a character into an environment. Much of this over-insistence on black can be traced back to the one overriding idea many people have about shadows: that they are dark. Our artworks will always be an expression of our knowledge of a subject, so…

Sarah Stone LOCATION: US MEDIA: Watercolour, ink WEB: www.sysparkle.com Sarah creates magical, character-driven illustrations using watercolour. Her dreamy, atmospheric works draw heavily from mythological themes and contain undercurrents of dark fantasy. June Leeloo LOCATION: France MEDIA: Watercolours, gold leaf, pencils, Indian ink, clay WEB: www.instagram.com/juneleeloo June is a painter, sculptor and poet who mostly works with galleries and makes books. Her work is dreamlike and whimsical, and has been described as a new generation of fairy tale art, inviting viewers into a peaceful haven.…

Where did you grow up and how has this inf luenced your art? Until I was 14 years old I grew up in a small town in western Ukraine called Irshava. I’ve been creating art since second grade and have always been fascinated with the human figure and portraiture. I remember art teachers telling me that I needed to know how to draw and paint other things besides people. However, my real love of fantasy art wasn’t born until I watched The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring in 2002 and discovered Donato Giancola’s work. It was there and then that I knew what I wanted to paint for the rest of my life: fantasy art. What, outside of art, has most inf luenced your work throughout…

Piyathip Unadirekkul LOCATION: Singapore MEDIA: Procreate WEB: www.instagram.com/piyathip.art Creating is Piyathip’s hobby, and has helped her process difficult emotions. She enjoys using environment and atmosphere to set the mood of a scene, and draws inspiration from nature, abandoned places and her dreams. 1 HOPE “This painting depicts the passage of time through difficult phases in life.” 2 NATURE TAKES OVER “This painting was my attempt at creating a serene environment through the juxtaposition of natural and human-made structures.” 3 JUST ANOTHER WEEKDAY “This digital painting shows an abandoned office scene. It’s about seeing beauty in the mundane.” Vincent Coviello LOCATION: US MEDIA: Photoshop WEB: www.instagram.com/vincentcoviello Vincent is a concept artist and illustrator with a passion for creating new worlds and the creatures and characters that inhabit them. Most…

Back in March we launched our first ever ImagineFX Art Challenge – and you didn’t disappoint! We received a range of artwork for our Mystical Meets Machines theme, ranging from delicious digital pieces to gorgeous traditional work. The IFX team loved seeing the variety of ways you interpreted our prompt and had a tough time picking our favourites. A big thanks goes to our passionate community for your incredible entries and making our first Art Challenge a success. We can’t wait to see where your creativity takes you next! Challenge accepted Keep an eye on our social media channels for all the latest ImagineFX Art Challenge details and you could see your art in a future issue! Visit page 3 for all our social channels…

Artist PROFILE RaidesArt LOCATION: Germany Raide is an illustrator with a focus on semirealism, portraiture and lighting in her artwork. Her twin sister Leffie is also an artist. https://bit.ly/3U24cAy This tutorial is based on my own rendition of Howl from classic Studio Ghibli movie Howl’s Moving Castle. My main aim was for a semi-realistic recreation of the character that keeps his features recognisable. Rendering, lighting and texture will be the focus of this workshop. Over the next few pages, I’ll guide you through the process behind my portrait from the first sketch to the finished illustration. We’ll go over some key concepts that are an integral part of my own workflow, such as the choice of colours and using layer blend modes. Along with that, I’ll give you tips into…

Artist PROFILE Juan Diego León LOCATION: Peru Juan is a storyteller, art director and vis dev artist. He has worked on films and game projects since 2008, and recently teamed up with Disney, including creating art for TCG Lorcana. Outside of work, Juan likes creating colourful characters and making fan art. www.jotadeart.com AdobeStock/Alberto Masnovo Every time I start to create a new Pokémon illustration, I always like to transform them with my own personal style. Bright, vivid colours, dynamic silhouettes, and unique or littleexplored expressions are all elements that I love to use in my work. In this case, I’ll show you the process used to illustrate Venusaur, from the idea and references all the way to the colours, lighting and postproduction. This is my workflow for all my illustrations.…

Artist PROFILE Brock Grossman LOCATION: Canada Brock is a concept artist and illustrator based in Vancouver, working in the video game industry. He previously studied illustration at Savannah College of Art and Design, and freelanced for major companies. https://bit.ly/4aIWqlG “The inspiration for this piece was the contrast between a small animal character and the large robotic companion that aids it in battle. The inclusion of the large rocket launcher was funny to me too, like it was almost too big for the dog and he could barely hold it. The dog’s design is based on a corgi, as I really like the breed and think their small stature fits perfectly with the idea and contrast I was aiming for. One good tip I’d recommend for creating illustrations like this is…

This image was created for the cover of my latest published artbook, 365 Squares vol. 3. The series is a challenge I set for myself that consists of drawing every day for a year on a square piece of paper. I completed this challenge for the third time from January through December last year. If you’ve ever created books, you know that deciding on a cover design is always tricky, as it’s supposed to represent the spirit of the book as a whole. After multiple attempts, I finally chose this design, which is composed of several elements that can be found in the 365 different illustrations in the book: a female character, skulls, masks, ornaments, vegetation, bird heads, and a colour scheme characteristic of my work. This illustration was entirely…