FANTASY ART Vol.63 Interview (part II)

Fantasy Art is a Chinese monthly printed magazine with full of interviews of illustrators from all over the world. Some weeks ago I received a couple of samples of the may 2011 issue, in which I was interviewed. I don't understand Chinese but I suppose it says something like this (I hope):


You can read the full interview in spanish here
PART 1 nachomolinablog.blogspot.com/2…
PART 2  nachomolinablog.blogspot.com/2…


1.You did so many portrait painting, in the early year, but most of their subject is life. When you did the illustration, you did so many different subjects, from the sci-fi to fantasy, form the human to monster. But the most is human. So, I want to know, is that because you like to painting human?
Or just because it was what your most be familiar with?
I usually paint people, as well as being my job I thoroughly enjoy it. I like developing my paintings through human figures and portraits. It is often a common subject of study with a great expressive strength.
As spectators, the human figure or face is what most captures our attention. We are closely related to them. We tend to humanize all we see around us and because of this reason I like working with this topic, I want to pass on the personality of the things I paint.

2.Please talk about the Buccaneer subject. I saw you had did many images about this subject. Why?
The pirate was one of the first series that I decided to paint with a wacom tablet after several years in which I did no digital painting. The idea was simple; I wanted to paint a single character at different stages of her life, since she was sailor up until she became a famous pirate.
These images were actually meant to be used for an online game but it finally didn't happen. I became very fond of the character and I painted some more illustrations around the same idea. Who doesn't like pirates?

3. Do you want to talk about your fans painting, like the Dragon Ball series. Why you will did them? Was the Dragon Ball that your favourite manga? Do you like other manga? Or Anime?
This thing of fan art began in my last years at school, I started to paint characters that we are used to see in a cartoon or pixel style, but in a rather more human or realistic way.
I remember teachers were surprised to see those pictures. But I had a lot of fun and they had quite a good reception so I decided to paint more and more. I've been painting fan art of my favorite TV series such Dragon Ball. In Spain it caused a huge rattle and marked a whole generation of children. Also enjoyed Kinnikuman and of course, Akira and Ghost in the Shell.

4. Your work keep some peculiarity of oil painting, like the some "big brush", some omission. Not like some new Digital Arts, ever thing is detailed. I must say, some oil skill base on the peculiarity of Oil painting, and it not really rightness with digital art. How do you think about this question? How do you chose what you will keep?
I think that is a matter of style. It doesn't matter if you paint in a more polished or rough way. What's really important is if it works on the illustration. In my case, I guess that because of using traditional media in my early career, I have a way of understanding the creative process ina more traditional way and maybe that's why I paint like I would do with brushes and color pencils or similar stuff. But in the end, like I usually say, style is constantly evolving and who knows how we will draw ten years from now?

5. You had strong skill of the texture. Could you talk about some experience or small knack of it?
Just as color, brightness or shape, texture is an important subject to keep in mind when we paint. It gives to the surfaces a more believable look and they are also the traces of the creative process. I have in mind an interview to Craig Mullins in which he talked about one of his sketches (Tarzan kneeling in front of a cliff, holding a spear). He established hierarchies based on the properties of each surface. You could see clean shadows almost lost in the floor, where the knees hold all the weight. The straight and tangible hair or the fluffy clouds that were done with loose brush strokes contrast with the hand holding a spear which was treated with strong gesture. These are small details that give credibility to our drawings and we must know how to apply properly.


6. How do you think about the modern art ask the expression of self and the deconstruction of reality? It so different with the applied arts like illustration that ask the artist for the precision and the concrete. Do you think those two different art will have some intersection?
It's a touchy subject. I think that there is a place for every sorts of art as long as it's beautiful. Most of modern art falls in the concept of the breakdown of the traditional art and forgets that the success of art is the aesthetic experience. Maybe I decided to aim my efforts in illustration because in this area it's more clear what works and what not. You don't need a piece of paper along with your drawing to explain your work.
Even though, I think being an illustrator doesn't mean refusing your personal expression, quite the opposite. Although we sometimes work with franchises and characters that aren't ours, all the drawings have the spirit and soul of their creator and just like art you'd fing at galleries, it's very easy to recognize the author of a drawing by his quirks and clichés

7. You did so many yellow tone images, is that because you like the yellow tone?
Not specially, I suppose that I do it subconsciously. Since yellow is a color that I associate to light, and my drawings are distinguished by a rather "natural" treatment of light. In the other hand, I guess that when I think about something epic, posters such as the Indiana Jones' saga by Drew Struzan with typical yellow sunset lights or warm atmospheres that Rembrandt used to paint in his indoor pictures come to my mind.

8. Your colour looks amazing. Do you want tell us how do you chose the colour? And how do you make them so different?
The color palette is something that builds up according to the illustration progresses. I usually haven't got a clear idea when I start to draw, so I like to think for a while about the colors that the location I want to paint could have. If it's bright, gloomy, cold, warm, etc. I also look at other authors to get an idea of color schemes that could work in each situation. Then I just get on with it. There are some good tricks like not repeating the same color tones or trying to keep the more saturated or light tones focused in only one or two points of the illustration

9. Do you have some advices to younger artist?
Probably I'd tell them what I tell myself every morning. Don't be discouraged and try to be persistent and critical with your work. Painting is a hard job that requires a lot of commitment with yourself if you want to improve your skills. But with time, it provides many satisfactions. So all in all, enjoy what you do!

10. What you plan for the future?
My future plans are quite uncertain. I don't even know what I'm going to do next week! For the moment I want to continue improving my skills and trying to work with more important companies. I'm interested in everything, from concept art to illustration and cover art, so I don't want to get stuck in anything. I usually think about going to live to London for some months to improve my English and maybe find some new work opportunities there.