황시원 (Garnett)
Siwon Hwang
Cover artist - First book!
Country: South Korea
Social media: Facebook Instagram ArtStation
Learn a little about Siwon:
How did you learn your artistic craft?
“I learned it in earnest about 4 years, and I practiced mainly analog drawing and painting. At first I used 4b pencil , A4 paper and acrylic paints, etc. Analog drawings and paintings led to me seeking more artistic crafts.”
Current things I’m studying as an artist
“Currently, I’m studying my sense of design. Good design makes characters and fictional universes more rich. I think it’s important.”
Thoughts that went into my art in this book
“It's my first time making a book cover, and I think it was amazing that my art influenced other people's art. It was a fun and good experience.”
My personal artistic goal
“My goal is not to be limited to style but to be a talented person who draws all the pictures beautifully. In order to do so, I think a deep understanding of light, color, and line is essential.”
Siwon is currently an art student at Seoul National University.
Chau Buu Chau
Country: Canada
Social Media: Instagram
How to did learn your artistic craft?
“I had the generosity of the internet to help me learn through joining art communities. I’ve always been a social learner so I rely on building a relationship with fellow artists more talented than I am. Another part of learning is the unending curiosity to know how things work and why our eyes perceive things the way that they are.”
What is something you are currently studying as an artist?
“A lot of art can be strengthening and correcting our convenient but ineffective shortcuts and biases. Right now, I’m working on facial expressions and colour, but in the future I aim to explore anatomy stylization.”
Please add thoughts that went into your art in this book
“Painting Harmonia gave me the opportunity to explore lighting effects and refraction on various textures, wet and dry. A focus was placed on sub scattering effects which conveyed Harmonia’s delicate transparency.”
Useh
Country: Argentina
Social media: Instagram
“In creating art for years I learned that giving life to fiction was something I loved, and it kept me motivated in the rough times. I attended a school of Fine Arts to be able to elaborate more on the subject. Now I aspire to be able to dedicate myself fully to it from the digital medium, so I keep practicing to find my way in this creative world. In fact, this is my first professional project. I learned a lot of things and had the opportunity to work with incredible artists. I'm very happy about that!”
Page insight: Mother-Ophelia
“I decided to focus on colors and create a vivid, fresh and spacious illustration. I wanted to stay true to the sketch and had actually re-done it once.”
Page insight: Mother-Father
It was challenging as it was a closed environment, getting the atmosphere without reloading the scene was quite a mess, but I'm satisfied with the result and enjoyed the challenge! Especially when drawings with backgrounds are something I'm not used to.
Mai Phan
(ShohiRa)
Country: Vietnam
Social media: Instagram
Current occupation or study program:
High school student
How did you learn your artistic craft?
Self-study and online courses.
What are some thoughts that went into your art in this book?
Ophelia is such a well-designed character and I was commissioned a really emotional scene. There was some pressure because of that, but Jacob helped me to be less stressed by being the best supporter ever. I tried to create the piece from my own perspective and used a very calming color palette to bring out a more contrasting effect with the actual content of the drawing. I enjoyed working on this project a lot because I was encouraged to be creative and there were so many talented artists to learn from.
Current goals as an artist:
“To participate in more art projects, especially for gaming sites and to be well known for my digital art.
Yonalt Go
Country: Persimmon Agent
Social Media: Facebook
How to did learn your artistic craft?
1. Constant learning. Literally, do not stop learning.
Don't be satisfied with what you’ve known. The world is changing so quick, it’s never enough.
2. Being open to any art influences.
3. Keep taking art notes. You are only really thinking when you write something down.
While taking notes, make sure to link new knowledge with your previous experience and then apply it all to your new pieces.
4. Being able to sort out, to figure out what is more important for you, rather than browsing around aimlessly.
5. (Personally) being able to use multiple languages.
I can use English, Japanese, and Chinese. Knowing 3 languages helps me alot to absorb knowledge widely.
It’s a pity that I don’t like to wait for translations, because there are many awesome art materials all over the world.
Current thing you are studying as an artist:
1. Cool and intersting concept
Exploring more about the world to make you artwork look more believable while being interesting.
2. Storytelling
Giving stories to characters, the world I create, to make them more appealing.
Current occupation, notable art credits, etc.
Occupation: illustrator and concept artist
Currently working at Happy Elements Cacalia Studio in Kyoto, Japan.
And working in freelance in the freetime.
Project: Merc Storia
Add thoughts that went into your art in this book, please:
My page includes the magi flying over and kidnapping the little brother. He is scared and in a panic. It is a dramatic moment in the story, and in order to capture that dramatic moment the writer Jacob and I, we've been discussing and trying out different lighting and environment set ups to fit the story exactly. I'm happy we could get a good result eventually.
Nell Ro
Country: South Korea
Social media: Instagram
How to did learn your artistic craft?
I went to an art high school called Kaywon High School of Arts. And l also majored in illustration & animation at Kingston University.
Current thing you are studying as an artist
Studying gaming art in general. Splash art of characters, mainly.
Add thoughts that went into your art in this book, please
I wanted to express the character's feeling properly for my page's situation. I tried to use not only her face to show that, but through use of light and intense perspective to make readers feel more vividly.
Anything else you want to share?
I just want to thank Jacob for reaching out to me to join this amazing project. This is actually my first book project but I really enjoyed the process of trying, fixing... just everything. I think art with story has a magic to overcome every boundary between people and I hope this book will bring you the same energy.
Amj Saff
Country: Saudi Arabia
Social Media: Instagram
“Hello, I am a digital artist and illustrator based in Saudi Arabia. I found an opportunity to be a self-taught artist through online learning. To me, art is a form of expression of my authentic view about myself and the world around me. I'm passionate about creating artworks that connect the viewer emotionally. The story and the characters that were created in this book are uniquely attractive from the visual design to the storyline. I'm inspired by great stories and movies that provide meaning and value, so that's why I worked on Ophelia. Making illustrations on my pages of Ophelia allowed me to expand and express my artistic knowledge and experience. For instance, when Ophelia leapt from the reaching hand of the cyclops she fell from a cliff to a vast fantasy forest. Imagining and painting this scene was one of my favorite parts because I got to show the emotional and energetic expression of the character. I’m really looking forward to it!”
Osias Bantug
Country: Philippines
Social media: Instagram ArtStation
“I majored in game development and do self-studies on art. I mostly learn by watching online courses and listening to podcasts of great artists in the industry.
These days, I'm studying more about composition, anatomy, and other art fundamentals so I can create better illustrations in the future.
One of my goals is to reach and connect with people around the world through my creative pursuits.
If my work could inspire and make people feel something, that would be a really gratifying thing for me!”
Notable art credits on projects:
Towertale (2D action-platform Game) - 2D artist
Jump Squad (Casual Mobile Game) - Programmer and 2D artist
Hegg Ng
Country: Vietnam
Social media: Facebook Instagram
I self taught myself by finding inspiration through other artist's work, as well as music and anime films. Following by the practice of illustrating from references either in real life or online, I develop artworks in my art style.
Currently, I have been challenging myself to tackle new ideas with my art style. My goal is to improve my artistic skills in order to pursue my career as a professional artist.
I'm very excited about my artwork in this book because it is one of the most detailed works I've ever done. With the trees, the armor... They all look so cool. I've had an interesting time find references to draw them. Especially Ophelia, the main character of the picture, a strong girl who is being accompanied by tiny soldiers. She has an expression of being surprised or perhaps scared by the strange creatures lurking in the forest. I also tried to illustrate the expressions of the funny soldiers to be a bit humorous...Those things really appeal to me to make the work better. Overall, I have had an enjoyable experience while working with Ophelia!
Gary Laib
Country: USA
Websites: The Roon series Gary Laib VO
Social Media: Instagram Twitter
How to did learn your artistic craft?
“Art has been a part of my life since I was about four years old. I was always drawing monsters and fantasy characters and grew up reading fables and fairy tales. I wasn't able to attend an art school, so my work is the result of a lot of self-study and asking a ton of questions to artists who are FAR better than me. I find inspiration in others' work, and I’m in a constant state of always wanting to be better. I'm drawing and painting every day, whether it be for a client or for my own personal projects. An artist never stops learning. There's no ‘finish line’. We just keep moving forward onto the next piece.”
What is something you are currently studying as an artist?
“At the moment, I'm working on improving my design sense. Instead of just drawing something that looks cool, I wanted to focus on creating characters and creatures that look functional. (cool, too, of course. I mean... c'mon.) I think that's the best way to make them feel more believable. Luckily, as a concept artist, that's something I get to work on every day. A character design is always in a state of flux, even during those final touch stages.”
Please add thoughts that went into your art in this book
“When I was tasked with designing the elderly shaman, that idea fit so perfectly into my wheelhouse that I was able to jump in with both feet right away. I relied on my knowledge of fae folk, and fairy tales to inform the character design. Luckily, I landed on a solid design pretty quickly and from there on out, it was just a matter of rendering the character out, making sure to stay true to the source material, and trying to tell a story in the final image.”
What other creative endeavors are you involved with these days?
“Aside from my usual contract work, for the past several years I’ve been authoring and illustrating my first YA fantasy novel, Roon & The White Raven. I think I started it in 2015, and since then I’ve finished editing what will be the first book in the series.
Among my many creative outlets, I also started working as a voice actor for the entertainment industry. It’s a relatively new career for me, at least professionally, but I’ve really been enjoying it and hope to be able to lend my voice for many characters and commercials in the future.”
Stayaps
Country: Malaysia
Social Media: Facebook ArtStation
How do you grow as an artist?
I studied 2D illustration at an academy in a classroom in Malaysia for one year and eight months. Usually I learn a lot of things by looking for free instructional videos on the Internet.
Do you have any personal thoughts we haven’t discussed?
My English is not good and I don’t fully understand the story, but I still find it interesting. But what I think is even cooler is the author’s charitable behavior.
WinomaS
Country: Spain
Social Media: Instagram
How to did learn your artistic craft?:
Self-taught, spending all my free time practicing and imitating those artists that I admired until I learned to follow my own path which is still full of sharp nails.
Current thing you are studying as an artist:
Although I spend most of my time developing my pixelart skills, I'm secretly learning about ambient music Synth and photography.
Add thoughts that went into your art in this book, please:
In the creative process, I had in mind all the time the desire to preserve the proportionality of the character's body and its expressiveness without losing the pixelart minimalism and visual clarity, to encourage focus on the message character and not in visual art as the main thing.
Current occupation, notable art credits (were you on any projects for games, books, ads, etc.?), etc.:
I do floral work, plant care, photography and some commissions with my creative digital skills, some designs for tourist companies, local businesses, 2 dead video game projects and pixelart work of all kinds for content creators, nothing especially remarkable or notorious for others but with great relevance for my personal and professional skills.
Lisa Maria Schwarz
(Larunart)
Country:
Social Media: Instagram
How did you learn your artistic craft?
I have always loved art and my mother has encouraged that interest of mine since the very start. That being said, I am almost exclusively self taught and have learned a lot by looking closely at other artists’ work and watching their process!
My personal artistic goal:
I hope that one day I will be able to tell intriguing and complex stories, whether it be through a single image or a comic! But even more important than that, to me, is to be capable of expressing my own feelings and experiences in a personal and unique way.
An important art tip I would like to share:
I know that, especially when first starting out with art, it can be exhilarating to watch the amount of progress you can make, but it’s important to not be too hard on yourself and still have time for things other than art. Otherwise, I feel a complete burnout is inevitable—and I’m speaking from experience! It has certainly taught me to put my physical and mental health first, even when it comes to my passion.
Sief Hamza
Country: Egypt
Social media: Facebook Instagram
How did you learn your artistic craft?
I was depressed... and then I found drawing. At first, it was simple for me, and I started to put all my thoughts and feelings into it. It was very comfortable to find a way out of the darkness. There are many different ways. My art was mine, and I hope you will feel something!
What is something you are currently learning as an artist?
I'm trying to improve my style, and learning some 3D skills.
What are your thoughts about the art in this book?
I think that all of the artists did a really fantastic job. We have very differnt styles and feelings and that's epic to look at. It’s like another world to live in while you’re reading.
Tofu
Country: England
Career: Full-time freelance pixel artist
Social media: Instagram
“I went to university for illustration, worked a lot with drawing and watercolour paints. In 2015 moved to pixel art in the hopes of working with games. My lineless style and larger clusters of pixels tries to instill a painterly look.
My goal is still to become a game-art environment artist.”
Ashiya Kisa
Country: Russia
Social Media: Instagram
Current occupation and notable art credits:
Normally, I’m a freelance watercolor illustrator. As for notable art, I’d put the picture I made for Michael Kors at the top. Together with my friends who helped also made an interesting design with Korean soju bottles for Fakestival, a fake brands festival. Among the finalists for that we got into a short list.
My schooling:
I studied in after school art classes when I was a high school student, but it wasn't for illustration, just some basic stuff. I also graduated from a university specialized in graphic design, but I can’t say that the knowledge there was well updated. I got nice basics there, but learned illustration by myself.
Current goals as an artist:
I don't like to share goals really, because I feel like if I say that I won't accomplish it. And I’d feel guilty, as it's a promise that I didn't keep.
Please share some thoughts related to your art:
I always think of what I would like to have myself and express that into my works.
駱修思 (Rotheus)
Country: Taiwan
Social media: Facebook Instagram ArtStation
How to did learn your artistic craft?
“I first learned CG art techniques after graduating from university around ten years ago. Digital art is very convenient to practice and to create, since my limited time and the small space in my apartment don’t matter. With this, I can paint as much as I want!”
Current thing you are studying as an artist.
“Currently, I am studying the facial expressions of characters. I find them very touching and powerful when the beauty of art is connected with emotions.”
Add thoughts that went into your art in this book.
“Mythology and fantasy are my favorite topics of literature. It is wonderful that the story of Ophelia connects both of these topics full of struggles, destruction and rebirth. I tried to present a statue of the god Harmonia, and in doing so showed complicated emotions. My hope is this sympathy can connect the emotion in the story to readers.”
Fatima Rouas
Country: Morocco
Social media: Facebook
How did you learn your artistic craft?
Art for me is a magic wand. It was a child's muse that gradually evolved into a commitment of practice and curiosity for 3 years now, something that I want to learn and be better at every day.
What is something you are currently studying as an artist?
Currently, I am making stylized studies and environment concept art.
Add thoughts that went into your art for this book, please.
I wanted to use a more lighting aware style in this piece, combining new things I learned from online classes. The scene that I was given is a magical encounter Ophelia has, so the whole atmosphere had to be magical and dreamy.
Anything else you want to share?
My goal is create my own way through art, not being dependent on a set path.
Salva Elberti
Country: Germany
Social media: Facebook Instagram
“I'm Salvatore Elberti, a 2D concept artist and Illustrator living in Germany.
Art was always a part of my life, I remember drawing daily in my room when I was a child. My uncle is a product designer and he always showed me art books and how to learn art fundamentals. Later on I learned everything from YouTube and Instagram observations. I tried to discover new possibilities when looking at other artists' works.
While painting the illustrations for this book I was inspired by movies and video games. I tried to create environments that are easy to read and easy to feel. For example, I often leave some space to breathe and focus on the main mood. Is it a happy green field? Or a darker, dangerous place? People should see and feel that in less than a second. And I think it worked. (I hope haha)
My artistic goal is to develop a more unique style and to create my own world. Manga/anime is a big influence. And sure, I'm planning to work for a big video game one day.
This was and is a great opportunity for me and I'm so grateful for being able to be a part of this project. Special thanks go out to Jacob Kilgore for choosing me. It was a pleasure to work with him. The conversation while working was on point. Exact suggestions, ideas and critique, helped to develop the individual piece. Teamwork is essential to bring out something that everybody is happy with. And I think we did a great job.
Redtail
Country: Taiwan
Social media: Facebook Instagram
How to did learn your artistic craft?:
I've been drawing ever since I can remember, being heavily influnced by Japanese manga artists like Clamp as a kid. Then I went on studying realistic painting and combined the technique into digital art.
You shared a desire to express about the unique person you are. Your words are best:
The It pronoun I go by is commonly used as a slur towards trans people as a dehumanizing way to attack us. So by using it myself, it's taking away the power it holds against us…
Also I just enjoy making people uncomfortable.
Current thing you are studying as an artist:
Editorial and SF makeup artistry. Also, handpoke tattoo like prison style.
What is an example of one of your biggest moments as a creative person?
That would be my 3 page exclusive interview for the street style column in Marie Claire. It's for the pride month issue in Taiwan which is in October, and I'm the first trans person to be featured in that session that only featured cis women before.
Plaifa
Country: Thailand
Social Media: Facebook
How did you learn your artistic craft?
I was homeschooled for my entire life before university. So, I was a self-taught artist until last year. I used to learn art by drawing anything as much as possible.
Currently, I am at university studying digital art, but I also practice out of classes too.
Current things I’m studying as an artist:
Background art. I find perspective so difficult to understand. Hopefully, one day I will be able to draw architecture perspective nicely.
My personal artistic goal:
I would like to be a freelance illustrator. I want to create art that people can look at again and again and won't get bored.
An important art tip I would like to share:
If you do digital art, set auto-save. The drawing program you use might glitch and if you don't save constantly your hard work could disappear. Remember to use auto save!
Winomas
Penslinger
Country:
Website Social Media: Facebook
How did you learn your artistic craft?
According to my mother, I've been drawing for as long as I can remember. My earliest memory was trying to draw Superman when I was 6 years old.
What are the current things you're studying as an artist?
At the moment I am trying to evolve my black and white art style. I've recently been so in love with the works of Bernie Wrightson and Sergio Toppi. There's just something about black and white illustrations that really drive me to be better with every new piece.
Personal artistic goal:
I want to be more prolific / consistent with producing art. I want to be able to work regardless of my mood or motivation.
An important art tip you would like to share?
When you feel like you're lost and are running out of inspiration, try to look for the things that really gave you that spark for drawing. Maybe it was an old comic book, or cartoon show. In my case it was when I first saw Sleeping Beauty. Namely the scene where Maleficent transformed into a dragon. Whatever it is that gave you that sense of wonder when you were young, try to find it again and reconnect with your inner child.
Hang Le
How did you learn your artistic craft?
Studying at Ho Chi Minh University of Fine Art has helped me a lot in learning my artistic craft. I often self-study through online courses too.
What are you currently studying as an artist?
I'm studying to get better at drawing background
An important art tip I would like to share:
Learn from the masters. Take some time to make some studies by redrawing references. Never be afraid to experiment.
Kylin Goron
Country: Philippines 🇵🇭
Social media: Facebook Instagram Twitter
Could you please start by sharing a bit about your art education?
As a college student at the Cebu Institute of Technology, I’m majoring in Multimedia Arts.
How did you learn your artistic craft?
At a young age I was driven to create my own stories, making up scenarios in my head wondering how to make them a reality. Then I found that art and drawing is the best way to do that.
What are you studying currently as an artist?
I am currently studying character designs and anatomy in hopes of improving my style.
Please tell us some thoughts that went into my art in this book:
I still can’t believe that I drew a part of a children's book. My dream is actually to become a cartoonist or a book illustrator. I had fun drawing my part but I still need to improve a lot of things. It's really a great experience for me.
May
Chris Karnezis
Country: Greece 🇬🇷
Social Media: Facebook
To be continued
JAZ
Country: Taiwan 🇹🇼
I like salmon ✧*｡
٩(ˊᗜˋ*)و✧*｡
