ZBrush, KeyShot, Photoshop & Painter CREATE RETRO ART FROM 3D SCANS

Ken Coleman mixes scanned action figures and digital painting to create 80s-inspired fantasy production art

SketchUp & Photoshop Create Anime-Style Scenes

FeiGiap combines SketchUp’s 3D modelling tools with Photoshop colouring techniques to create an anime-style background illustration

ILLUSTRATE AGGRETSUKO IN WATERCOLOURS

Discover how ANNA SOKOLOVA paints a kawaii character from the Netflix anime series Aggretsuko using a range of watercolour effects

Paint Tool SAI - GET BETTER AT PAINT TOOL SAI

Artist Angela Wang (aka awanqi) shows how to compose figures from mythology using symbology coupled with a sense of refinement

Innovator 16

SLIMLINE STYLE The performance of XP-PEN’s display tablet matches its high-end looks and solid build quality

ARTIST PORTFOLIO ZEEN CHIN

The Malaysian illustrator and concept artist mixes familiar styles and themes to make art that’s unusual, unsettling and uniquely his own, learns Gary Evans

A day in the life of…Mushk Rizvi

Further learning The Marvel Studios’ vis-dev artist tells how sketching exercises help to improve her skills…

First Impressions Nashimanga

The German manga artist on tapping into the power of the sea

Photoshop DRAW AND PAINT FANTASY MANGA

Yueko shares her process for painting a female knight in an anime-inspired art style, paying particular attention to the hair and face

FXPose

SHOWCASING THE FINEST TRADITIONAL ARTISTS

Sugarbones

Everything’s rosy The Canada-based artist discusses her love of illustration and product design, and why she didn’t always have such a passion for pink

15 Tips For Better Character Design

Illustrator and author David Melling reveals how he brings his book characters to life, using exaggeration, silent narrative, props and more

15 Tips For Dynamic Inking

Award-winning fantasy artist JEFF MIRACOLA shows how to take your ink drawings to an impressive and exciting new level!

PAINT ICONIC KEY ART FOR BLIZZARD

Senior vis-dev artist Will Murai talks about the process and challenges of assembling Blizzard’s most beloved heroes into an epic illustration

Tomas Barcelo Castela

Tomas is a former sculpting teacher. In 2014 he decided to pursue his passion for sculpting full-time, and now has several movie-related projects lined up.

EYE-CATCHING CHARACTER ART

See how Pernille Ørum creates this energetic illustration using flat shapes, simple painting techniques and a lot of bright colours!

ZBrush 2021.5

HALF TIME Pixologic adds a raft of extra features to the veteran 3D sculpting tool, to streamline your 3D process even further

“I wish I could tell my younger self that…”

Life lessons If we could go back in time and pass on career advice to our younger selves, what would we say? Ruth Hamilton asked four leading artists this very question – and their replies might help you right now

First Impressions

Travel helped to broaden the mind of this US fantasy artist

FXPose- SHOWING THE FINEST TRADITIONAL ARTISTS

“My art is an exploration of an inner world inspired by colour, the dreamlike, futurism, exotic nature, magic, gender identity and aliens,” Christian, aka krizpii, says.

Andi Soto

Born in the tropics, Andi is heavily influenced by the jungle and her own relationship with darkness. Constantly exploring the human condition, the artist looks to have a connection and conversation with the viewer.

PAINT AMAZING CREATURE DESIGNS

Creature designer Bobby Chiu explains how he develops a pen drawing into a fully painted fantasy creature that has its roots in reality

How to deal with rejection

Found wanting Four pro artists tell Ruth Hamilton about their most toe-curling rejection experiences, and how to turn a ‘no’ into something positive

Artist 24 Pro

HEAVY HITTER We see if XP-PEN’s contender in the professional pen display market can compete with the likes of Wacom

Blender- MODEL A BIKE DESIGN IN BLENDER

Rashid Tagirov draws on his vehicle design experience to turn a 2D sketch of a motorcycle into a 3D concept model

Concept Art Awards 2021 now open for entries!

Best in class Concept Art Association’s Rachel Meinerding has news of its award event, which takes place during this year’s LightBox Expo

PAINT A COLOURFUL FANTASY PORTRAIT

Grace Zhu, a full-time artist and instructor at Syn Studio Concept Art School, paints a regal portrait scene full of light, colours and flowers

ALEXANDRIA NEONAKIS

The Canadian AAA-games concept artist tells Gary Evans about the importance of storytelling, and how details make all the difference…

Amelia Royce Leonards

Animal house The fantasy artist on why her studio looks like a taxidermy shop imploded...

The Best Tablets For Animation Art

Motion pictures What are the best tablets for animation? We pick the best buys for all artists, from beginners to pros