Art Interview With: Forrest Imel

I had the great pleasure of interviewing Forrest Imel. As well as being a fantastic artist he also runs a live stream. Be sure to check out his various portfolio links.

Portfolio: http://forresti.daportfolio.com/
Deviant Art: http://forrestimel.deviantart.com/
Kitchen Sketchbook: http://wecookart.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=672
CGHub Sketchbook: http://cghub.com/forum/showthread.php?p=63465#post63465
ConceptArt Sketchbook: http://conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=189835
Blog: http://forrestimel.blogspot.com/
Live Stream: http://www.livestream.com/artwithforrest?t=222573

 

What got you into art?

Dragonworld by ~ForrestImel

What got me into art? I've kinda been drawing ever since I was born, before preschool even. I really started realising that I wanted to become an artist as a career in kindergarten after checking out a book in the library filled with poems about mythical creatures and each poem had an illustration done of the creature. It really inspired me. Of course back then I would trace the pictures straight from the book and think I was good at art but I mean c'mon I was 5 or 6 years old. I changed my career choice multiple times although all of them were art related. At first I was all about becoming a cartoonist and then later I wanted to draw Yu-Gi-Oh cards and then a video game concept artist. This went on for awhile until about 8th grade when I finally decided to get better at drawing for real, to really get serious with it. I decided after realising that there are so many people out there who are better then me and after getting inspired by a lot of the illustrations on Magic: The Gathering cards.

Who are your inspirations?

Feast or Famine MTG by *chasestone

My inspirations, oh lord there's too many. My first inspiration ever was Todd Lockwood, then it was probably Jason Chan after that and people just kept getting added on to the list. I suppose for recent inspirations I've really been obsessing over Chase Stone's (http://chasestone.deviantart.com/) work lately.

What has been the best piece of advice you have been given?

Ha, well the best piece of advice I've ever been given wasn't really directly given to me. It was a quote from Chuck Close that I read during a time in my life where I really wasn't inspired to draw or improve and was desperate for motivation. Among all the quotes and inspirational stories I read a quote from him that said "Amateurs look for inspiration; the rest of us just get up and go to work." Since then I've never really had a problem with needing motivation to draw, after all I don't want to become an amateur haha.

What is your favourite piece?

http://cryptcrawler.deviantart.com/art/Planeswalkers-Pantheon-244408198

All time favourite piece? That's way too difficult, but I will show one that always seems to blow me away even though it's been my wallpaper on my Mac for almost a year now (http://cryptcrawler.deviantart.com/art/Planeswalkers-Pantheon-244408198). Brad Rigney's work is too delicious to not stare at for hours.

What has been the key to your improvement?

Application of what I learn. I discuss this a lot on my streams too, it probably gets boring to hear after awhile but it's true. If you're studying something, let's say arms, then after you draw 10 arms from an anatomy book draw 10 more arms from your imagination. Once done compare them, ask yourself "why do I suck?" It might sound harsh but you have to be honest with yourself. If you go on in life thinking you're good or okay at where you're at with your art then your art will never improve.

You do regular streaming sessions. How do you feel this has helped you improve?

I like my stream sessions, it's kind of a way to help me relax and talk with other artists. I usually work on stuff that I want to work on while I stream and then afterwards get back to studies. Streaming is also nice because I've usually got some sort of an audience, so I don't go and check facebook or art forums or whatever. I stay focused.

There are quite a few pieces of fan art in your sketchbook. How do you feel about fan art?

KidBuu by Forrest Imel

I enjoy fan art. I actually did fan art recently because I honestly think it's a good way to help yourself out of an artistic rut. If you've got artist's block then draw something that you loved as a kid or even still love and don't take it so seriously, mess around with it and have fun with it. I drew Dragonball Z fan art a little bit ago because it was a huge inspiration to me as a kid so I kind of wanted to return to the roots of where I began my journey to remind myself why I'm doing this.

Are there any areas in your work you wish you could improve?

Is everything an ok answer? ha. Seriously I notice something wrong with my work every day, recently it's been composition and value but I know my anatomy needs work, I want to make more dynamic of figures, half the time when I draw cloth I'm not sure what I'm doing, the list goes on and on.

What do you do in your spare time?

Draw and on occasion maybe play a game or watch a movie or something, lately my thing other then art has been Magic: The Gathering. My girlfriend lives with me also so I usually try to make time for us to hang out and have me not be in front of the computer for awhile.

 

What are you currently working on?

Right now I'm working on my submission for the Crimson Daggers' Bloodsports competition (http://crimsonbloodsports.blogspot.com/2013/03/bloodsport-13-histories-of-schaat-nath.html). I was working on another fan art piece of the DC comics villain Deathstroke but I'll have to continue work on that after the Bloodsports piece.

Is there anything you wish to promote?

Anything I wish to promote? hmm... Other then what I just promoted I guess I'll promote the Crimson Daggers forums (http://crimsondaggers.com/forum/index.php) which is a great place for people to improve, everyone there is pretty friendly and helpful even to brand new people wanting to get better. And while I'm at it my blog (http://forrestimel.blogspot.com/), I have multiple links to people that inspire me, resources, and a link to my portfolio. I try to post every day and always post everything I've done that day.

Thanks for the opportunity to do this interview it's always nice answering questions like these because they make me think back on why I got started in this in the first place. Thanks :)

Artist Feature: GodOfBadWeather

I love the anime and manga style. Done well it is eye catching and very stylish, so when I got the chance to feature some manga art you bet I lept at the chance. GodOfBadWeather is an exceptional artist with an impressive portfolio of manga art, not only that but she can also paint in a realistic style. Be sure to check out her full gallery http://godofbadweather.deviantart.com/gallery/

The use of strong bold colours in the more graphical pieces works extremely well with her style. Whilst there is not a log going on, in regards to perspective, the background makes the characters pop and makes them immediately noticeable.

Freed (the image above) is one of my personal favourites in GodOfBadWeather's gallery. Striking use of contrasting values coupled with fantastic application of the rule of  thirds, produces this stunning image. The pale skin looks great and the daring choice of painting his with damp rags really paid off.

I could talk about the stylised stuff all day but I must mention the more realistic studies. These are great and really showcase GodOfBadWeather's range of skills. In the image above we not only see him tackle the difficult subject of glass but also a variety of textures.

Be sure to visit the full gallery on Deviantart. http://godofbadweather.deviantart.com/gallery/?

Artist Inspirations

Here is your latest batch of interesting sketchbooks and articles across the web. Enjoy.

Sketchbooks

	Sketchbook Name: I Can't stop drawing:( Artist: MrBrown Link: http://cghub.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6025&page=30 Stunning sketchbook from start to finish. MrBrown's work is simply amazing. Values and colours are great but the amount and variety of work is staggering. Whilst considerable growth has occurred between now and when MrBrown started that does not make the beginning of his sketchbook any less impressive. This sketchbook is a must visit.
	Sketchbook Name: crits and comments appreciated Artist: Kanoa Link: http://cghub.com/forum/showthread.php?t=14972&page=6 This is one of the most colourful sketchbooks I have seen. I love the style to each image. There are some really beautiful images here. With the standard of images on the net increasing all the time what makes Kanoa stand out is the use of a dark colour pallet.
	Artist: GodOfBadWeather Link: http://godofbadweather.deviantart.com/gallery/ I have had the pleasure of chatting with GodOfBadWeather during a web chat. A really nice person who's art work deserves alot of attention. It is not often I get to feature manga style art so I am more than happy to highlight this artist. Not just content with manga/anime style GodOfBadWeather has some really good realistic studies.

Featured Art Book: The Art Of God Of War 3

To those of you who are fans of this game series or to lovers of great art, this book is for you. Featuring a range of game art (from pre-production to post-production) The Art Of God Of War 3 gives you a behind the scenes look at one of the most loved recent game franchises. This book is a must have!

Buy this book and support ArtFreck. http://astore.amazon.co.uk/artfreck-21/detail/1921002727

Be sure to check out our range of game art books

Featured Video: Art tips and life blips

Artist Inspirations

Here is your latest batch of interesting sketchbooks and articles across the web. Enjoy.

Sketchbooks

	Sketchbook Name: Spud's Sketchbook Artist: Spudonkey Link: http://conceptart.org/forums/sketchbooks/256069-spuds-book-4.html Spudonkey has some beautiful ink work. The sketchbook is chocked full of studies and stylised personal work. The perspective work is particularly nice with guide lines showing you Spud's workings. There are also some nice coloured images. This is a sketchbook to keep your eye on.
	Sketchbook Name: Stoodles, Studies, and Doodles Artist: Secumfex Link: http://cghub.com/forum/showthread.php?t=15048 The shading in this sketchbook are truly spectacular. Values are near perfect and anatomy of the faces are spot on. There are a few weak drawings with anatomy issues but these should be eradicated with a bit more practise. Secumfex shows alot of promise and I can't wait to see what comes next.
	Sketchbook Name: Yell at me and see improvement! Artist: Forrest_l Link: http://cghub.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5437&page=25 Oh my god. This sketchbook is amazing. The improvement from start to finish is breath taking. Values and anatomy are near perfect and each image is eye catching. This is one of the best sketchbooks I have seen in a long time.

Featured Art Book: The Art Of God Of War 3

To those of you who are fans of this game series or to lovers of great art, this book is for you. Featuring a range of game art (from pre-production to post-production) The Art Of God Of War 3 gives you a behind the scenes look at one of the most loved recent game franchises. This book is a must have!

Buy this book and support ArtFreck. http://astore.amazon.co.uk/artfreck-21/detail/1921002727

Be sure to check out our range of game art books

Featured Video: 10 important sites for figure drawing

Interview with my drawing tutorials.

We have a brand new interview for all of you budding artists out there. We had the pleasure of interviewing the manager of mydrawingtutorials.com. For those of you who don't know, mydrawingtutorials.com  highlights the best drawing videos and tutorials from across the web. This is a very handy resource to all those who are new to art.

Be sure to check out his website mydrawingtutorials.com
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/MyDrawingTutorials
Twitter https://twitter.com/MyDrawingTutor
youtube https://www.youtube.com/user/MyDrawingTutorial?feature=watch

 

Tell us about yourself

My name is Ethan and I'm just a regular guy who likes to draw. I've been doing it since I was a kid, but I had to give it up for a long time ever since I got older. When I finally decided to get back into
it, I pretty much had to start from square one all over again. I went through a ton of courses and books and practise a lot. It took me a long time.

I'm still not the best artist in the world. Not by far :-)

But I feel like the fact that I had to learn all this stuff from scratch helps give me a lot of insight into the things that beginning artist really struggles with.

What inspired you to set up my drawing tutorials?

When I was learning, I was very frustrated with the lack of really good instructions out there. It was very hard to me to find really good, simple instructions to teach me what I need to know.

And so now I just want to share what I learnt with other people who might be struggling like I was.

I think a lot of art teachers are so skilled for so long that they forget what it's like to be a beginner and NOT know how to do something. So there's a lot of tendency to say, "Just do this..." or be really vague about their instructions.

Ironically, the fact that I'm not a great artist makes me a better teacher for beginning and intermediate artists, because I can relate more to the things they are struggling with.

Creating these videos and working on the website has been a really fun hobby. I love reading all the comments and emails and hearing that people are actually benefiting from the contents that I'm putting out.

What is the biggest difficulty you have faced with MyDrawingTutorials?

At first it was dealing with all the technical issues of setting up a website. But now, my main challenge is to find other teachers to help me create the lessons.

My goal is to make MyDrawingTutorials.com the go-to place for anyone who wants to learn how to draw and paint. But to do that, I need the help of other artist.

I know that my expertise is limited and there are areas of art (painting, for example) that I just can't teach every well.

But I've been finding it very difficult to find teachers who meet my standards. There are many extremely talented artist out there, but no many who can really break down how to do what they do into simple, easy to understand, instructions.

What makes a really good tutorial?

I think to make a good tutorial, the you have to always keep the student in mind. You have to really know the student and anticipate what questions and sticking points he or she might have an address them.

And also, you have to really understand the subject matter inside and out so you can really explain it clearly.

And lastly, you have to combine theory with practise. After you talk about the theory and techniques, you have to give the student clear instructions on how to practise and apply what they just learn.

Otherwise, no learning will take place.

A lot of books and videos out there is missing this last element, I think.

What has been your favourite tutorial so far?

My favourite tutorials so far is the "Hard Edge VS Soft Edge" video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZiQK81Rjfw

...and the "Drawing Exercise" video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdRSpYPQFNo

I'm really like these tutorials because they share a small tip or trick that is simple but gives the viewer a big improvement.

Where do you feel most amateur artists struggle most?

I think most beginner artists make the mistake of being too hard on themselves and being afraid to make mistake.

I know I made this mistake when I was learning. You get down on yourself and feel like you'll never get better and so you become discourage and stop practising.

Or you compare your work with other better artist and feel like you just don't have what it takes to be good like them.

That kind of mentality can really hurt your growth. Not just with art, but what everything in life.

And I think many people (myself included) are really guilty of this.

What do you recommend to help artists improve their work?

Be easier on yourself and give yourself permission to make mistakes. I think this is the key. Make mistakes. A lots of it.

You can not learn, you can not improve without mistakes.

The best artists in the world are the one who have made the most mistakes. Always.

Do you get any requests for tutorials?

I do get a lot of request and I try to accommodate them as best I can. But I'm so busy with so many things I that I can't get to them all.

That's another reason why I really want to find a teacher I can trust to help me create lessons.

How much art do you personally do?

I try to do a sketch here and there, but I've been so busy with working on the site that I don't have much time for drawing anymore. Other than when I draw to make a tutorial of course.

But to be honest, I don't mind all that much. Building this website and this community is sort of my creative outlet right now.

Have you got anything major in the works?

I am working on creating a course on figure drawing right now and hope to release it in March or April of 2013.

After that, I would like to create more courses and more free video lessons.

Finally is there anything you wish to promote?

If you are interested in learning how to draw or paint, you should join my free drawing newsletter. Just go to http://mydrawingtutorials.com/portrait-drawing-opt-in and enter your email into the new page.

Once you join, you get access to a series of free tutorials that will show you how to draw a realistic portrait step-by-step.

In addition, you'll also be updated on any new lessons that I come out with.

ArtFreck Promotion

Game art books

Have you seen our range of game art books? From Halo to Uncharted you will be sure to find something to inspire you and your art work http://astore.amazon.co.uk/artfreck-21?_encoding=UTF8&node=34

Deviant Art Feature: me-illuminated

Me-illuminated has a stunning gallery. It is worth a visit just for the perfectly rendered skin. Whilst this is not the biggest gallery (just over 30 images as of 27th of Feb 2013) each image looks fantastic and you can really see the consistent level of skill in each image. There are no weak images and no filler. Even the studies look great. http://me-illuminated.deviantart.com/

Me-illuminated has a flare for portraits. Black and white or full colour renders the faces look consistently amazing and life like. Hair is something most artists struggle with but Me-illuminated achieves a realistic look with apparent ease.

The details in each of his images are magnificent. Small things like the parting in hair or textures in clothing add to each image.

Whilst Me-illuminated can handle a subtle colour pallet when he paints with more vibrant colours something spectacular is always created. He has the wonderful ability to grab the viewers eye and hold it. The image above (mayday, mayday) is very eye catching. Bold colours really tell a story about the character shown. Different textures are captured flawlessly and the back lighting really makes this image pop out at you.

My personal favourite image is Angela Eanor- Come and get some. The colours are fantastic. The character concept is well executed and I love the details in the sparks coming from her. I am glad no background was added as I feel it would detract from the image. I must mention the bow. I love the design and the idea of adding multiple bow strings makes it look even more powerful. It is a very clever way of manipulating your eye back to the main character as well.

I must mention the image above. I grew up on Disney cartoons so this piece inspired by beauty and the beast really brought a smile to my face. Nice re imagining on a classic cartoon.

Be sure to check the full portfolio of work at http://me-illuminated.deviantart.com/

Like this artist?
Then you may also like Digital Masters Volume 5

Get your copy from our online store http://astore.amazon.co.uk/artfreck-21/detail/0240522109 or check out our wide range of art books http://astore.amazon.co.uk/artfreck-21

Imagine FX issue 94 review

Being a fan and subscriber of Imagine FX, and being as the non subscribers issue 94 will be out very soon, I figured I would do a review for all those of you contemplating picking up a copy.

First off lets start with the cover for this issue. David Gaillet has done a stunning job on this months cover. Colours are eye catching and the smooth skin is a fantastic contrast with the textures on the pillar and jewelry. The futuristic pyramids in the background look amazing.

What's in this issue? 

Along with the usual stuffs such as Artist Q&A and featured artists you get quite a few tutorials unique to this issue.

The major tutorial, and arguably this issues selling point, is the anatomy master class. This is a fantastic resource for all artists no matter what your medium or skill level. That said I do think novices or those just starting out will find this a bit intimidating. I would recommend anyone new to art to take some time to study Loomis before checking this tutorial out but those who want to take their figure drawing to the next level this is a must.

Also in this issue you have several image walk throughs. All of the pictures look great but again these tutorials seem more geared toward the intermediate level artist. Still, these are great reference images for future projects.

Artist Q&A

Some people may be interested in what the Q&A section has in. Bellow is a list of all the problems solved.

• How can I draw the viewer's eye around an image to focus on a final point? Answered by Nick Harris
• How can I paint a close-up of a creature's face but keep it intense and lively? Answered by Sam Carr
• How do I make a boring subject interesting? Answered by Paco Rico Torres
• How can I tell a story with my concept character's costume design? Answered by Mark Molnar
• How can I generate three different people from one piece of reference? Answered by McLean Kendree
• I want to paint a seedy, smoky bar, but how can I create that distinctive atmosphere without obscuring the scene? Answered by Bill Corbett
• How can I make my front view action scene look more dynamic? Answered by McLean Kendree
• What do people mean by 'values' and why are they so important? Answered by Kinman Chan. Essential for beginners!
•  How many textures should you include in a digital image? Answered by Sam Carr
•  I always have trouble drawing necks. Do you have any tips? Answered by Bill Corbett
• Can you tell me how to paint an object that's bursting with bright light? Answered by Kinman Chan
• How do I paint someone half-submerged in water? Answered by Nick Harris
• How should I draw an animal wearing futuristic-looking armour? Answered by Paco Rico Torres

Overall impressions

Imagine FX has a great reputation in the digital and fantasy art community with good reason. It is consistent with great articles and tons of images to inspire you. I feel that this issue will be more of use to those who are fairly adept at figurative art but that should not put off new people.

IFX is also great for those who want to build a fantasy art library so it comes highly recommended.

Remember if you like IFX why not buy some of their tutorial books. Each one of them is full of inspiration and advice for artists of all levels.

The IFX books can be found in our online shop which is powered by amazon. Not only that but by buying from our online store you will help me produce more articles and feature more artists. http://astore.amazon.co.uk/artfreck-21?node=2&page=1