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Inspirations: Schiele, Giger, Helnwein, Jon Foster, Ingres, Frazetta and much more
Favorite Games: Day of the Tentacle, Baldur's Gate 2, Half-Life 2, Grand Theft Auto, Blood
Favorite movies: Fitzcarraldo, Alien 3, City of God, Thin Red Line, Children of Men
Favorite music: Dog Fashion Disco, Pendulum, The Cat Empire, Marcelo D2, La Phaze
Bad habbits: Sometimes I like to recover by doing nothing - being lazy. This is when my Girlfriend starts to hate me!
Future Goals: Create a Studio, travel/work around the World
How do you bounce back from a bad day? Bad days are caused by problems which should be solved. If they are impossible to solve, then look at my "bad habits"
What's a good day? Hanging around with my beloved friends, finding new Inspirations, and being satisfied with the work I've completed.
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 Let's start at the beginning, how did you become an artist? |
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During my early years, my mother was an Opera Singer and my father was a Stage Designer for the theater, so from the very start, I was surrounded by artists. I have always been and still am attracted to music and the performing arts.
It was during my high school years that a comic book artist accepted me as his assistant and introduced me the possibilities of computers and the basics of illustrative arts. As time progressed, I made comic colorations, Illustrations for Advertising Agencies and small Companies, Decorations for Psychedelic Trance Parties, Tattoo Designs, and worked for a year at a stage design studio in Vienna. When I turned 21, I entered into the Academy of Applied Arts where today, I am in my 5th semester of Fine Arts.
Although I was enrolled in school, I still had time to work on other projects... like my first little concept art assignment for an upcoming AAA game title. For the first time, I really enjoyed working on a bigger project where the work of so many people created such a huge and complex world. When I think about it, it’s really funny to see the similarities between my father’s work and mine. I try to tell a story by creating and designing things to fit each and every scenario. My father, a stage designer, does exactly the same. I am glad to realize that I am able to blend my new skills with those of my old fashioned art skills of my parents.
Regardless of all the above, I am still just a student painting, studying and trying to get good enough so that I can start working in Game and/or Movie companies. Currently at 23, I would really like to continue learning as much as possible before I start working fulltime. The more I learn, the more flexible I become, so I would like to learn A LOT.
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You created a very inspirational sketches thread on GameArtisans. What inspires you to
continually create such exquisite sketches?
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Thanks for the praise; I'm happy to be able to inspire other people! I think the inspiration part is better explained in the next question/answer, but in brief, I think if you continually create ANYTHING, it makes you a better artist. If you don't explore new ideas and stop repeating old habits, you will never make any progress. I am not a big fan of rigid rules, but I believe this is one of the greatest insights I learned in all my years. There is nothing worse than to think you are too good to keep learning new things. On the other hand, having a fear of failure is another incredibly strong and hard to banish feeling. I'm living a daily twist between these two extremes.
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How in the world do you come up with your ideas? Your background? TV? Games?
Induced Acoma to tap into your Dreams? Where? |
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I am inspired by everything and everyone! Being a half-german, half-brazilian living in Europe has always led me to search for my "roots", so this is probably why I am very interested in Ethnology, Spirituality and Self-Discovery. Additionally I'm a big fan of Fantasy and Surrealistic Art, so I am always trying to combine all of this into something new. I am also inspired by ancient and ethnic themes and fantasy artists like H.R.Giger and Frazetta, and still, let’s not forget movies! I secretly believe I am one of the biggest movie freaks in the world!
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When things get tough, or when you are feeling down, how do you keep motivated to
create your art? |
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In my opinion, you shouldn't force yourself to do anything you don't want to... unless of course, it's paid work. I usually try to coerce myself into being creative because I'm afraid if I don’t, I will waste time, but this often yields worse results, which in turn, makes me feel worse. Because of all this, I have learned to just let things pass until I get some fresh air. On the other, if it is work related, you have a duty to accomplish your assignment because someone is trusting in you and your abilities. Being professional means you are someone to trust on. I always remember this when I start to get tired of an assignment. This always helps me to get back on the track.
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What is the most exciting and rewarding part about being a concept artist? |
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Well, I wouldn't call myself a concept artist just yet, but I can name a few things I like about it. Mostly, I enjoy working in a team; seeing others work with my sketches and being able to rework someone else's ideas. In an environment like this, I have to lay down my artist ego and make a solid design, not just create some fancy art. This is a great alternation to my Fine Art education, which makes my work a lot of fun at times. The greatest reward of course is when I see the final product and recognize the contributions I made to create it. Who knows, maybe like comic and fantasy artists I admired as a kid, the next generation of children will surely refer back to us game artists with admiration.
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If you have any warnings on what not to do in art, or what to be careful for, what would
they be? |
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I have always read about and received lots of advice. For example, you should never sell your art too cheap. It is also very important to establish a healthy amount of self-confidence. Personally, I think the most important one is to never forget why you are doing what you are doing... being and enjoy being creative! So don't let yourself get caught up with greed or just doing what you think others want to see, because in the end, you might forget how to acquire and create your own ideas. Don't just recreate stereotypes if you are not forced to! I know it's hard to give the crowd something new because new = difficult to understand, but I think concept artists should develop new visions; otherwise he or she is just another artist creating generic impressions with new fancy colors.
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What would be your advice for aspiring concept artists out there? |
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Have fun! Always look for challenges and never fear to fight for your progress! Some say the best things in life are free but being a technical driven Artist is all about learning, even if it’s hard, and even if it’s boring. On the plus side, as you learn, it will become fun and one step at a time, you will jump forward again, again and yet again...
Now stop wasting your time reading these dispensable words of a student and go draw something... anything! :)
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Your work on the forums and within the competitions are an inspiration to all! As you continue your studies in school, I look forward to seeing you develop even more!
Thank you for your time and I hope to see more of your work on GameArtisans.org in the future!
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