THE ART OF YIGIT KOROGLU

Dominic Carter talks to the interior architect-turned-artist about creating characters with personality and working on Magic: the Gathering

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Freelance illustrator and concept artist Yigit Koroglu has poured his passion for all things science fiction and fantasy into an impressive career that has seen him working for the likes of Wizards of the Coast and Atomhawk Design. We caught up with him to learn more about his creative process, and why working in large teams is the key to continuously honing his skills as an artist.

Tell us a little about your background as an artist. How did you get started and what bir career been like so far?

I have a bachelor's degree in interior architecture, but after trying it for a couple of years I found out that it wasn't my fit. I took some courses that introduced art and design, art history and drawing, and I was already drawing fantasy art as a hobbyist when I was a student. Digital art was getting popular when I graduated, so I gave it a try and realised that being a fantasy artist, using a tablet, was the route to take for the rest of my life. I started to get commissions and contributed to projects of various sizes, including indie games, mobile games and book illustrations. One of them was to design the protagonist for a short animation film called The Begun of Tigtone. Then in 2018 that short film got the green light for a two-season run to be aired on Adult Swim. I painted nearly 200 characters, creatures and props for the series.

During the same year I started creating card art for Magic: The Gathering, which had been my childhood dream. In 2022 I began working for Atomhawk Design and relocated to the UK from Turkey. I've worked there for three years as a character concept artist.

How has your art developed over the years, and what has driven those changes?