Sketches and stuff

by storyboard supervisor Erik Fountain

With all the self-improvement mantras and trying to always be better and all the self criticism that comes along with it ….

Screw it .

Just draw what makes you happy .

That’s fine if you feel the need to have a goal for the sake of finding a job or fulfilling a personal goal. If that makes you happy , that’s great .

But man , when you have a job and don’t have time to draw for yourself like you used to , sometimes you just want to have fun with it and not give a crap .

It’s not like you picked up a pencil when you were a young child and decided to be all disciplined all of the sudden . You did it to have fun and create with that inner , unadulterated mindset .

ESSAY IMPENDING.

I think, along with resources, I’d always recommend having a good idea of what ‘area’ you want to work in too. My job is kind of a strange one (in that it’s an house job but we’re not producing the games or films or actual products.) We are a step in the production line. I get to be part of sweet projects, but also I get to be part of many… I’m not locked into whatever a studio might be making for 2 or 3 years etc. My fingers are in a lotta pies.

The reason I say that is because a lot of people coming into concept will likely need more skills than I have. I am 95% a 2D artist. I work with 3D but very rarely, and not enough to know the inns and outs. I like 2D… and I consider illustration to be the sweetest spot of all the work I do, so I’m quite happy with that balance (and I’m an old fucking curmudgeon and I don’t wanna learn no 3D.)

If you went for a traditional role in a games studio, it will probably be more expected for you to be fluent in 3D. Not always of course! But it’s likely another good skillset to have. Purely 2D (just art focused) roles are not something that I see as often as mutiltasking roles. Which makes a lot of sense. 2D art is often mostly needed at the beginning of a project, and briefly at the end. In my seven years at Atomhawk I’ve seen a lot of people in other studios laid off, and a lot of studios go under. So, multitasking roles mean people will always have something to do.

APOLOGIES. I’M SOUNDING A LITTLE DOOM AND GLOOM. Great jobs exists! People will always make cool stuff!

I’m very much a jack of all trades and my job demands a lot of different things: characters / turn arounds / outfit designs / expression sheets / illustration / marketing art / pitch art / but it’s all primarly focused around characters. So. If characters are what you want - look into that! I would say that when it comes to apply for / getting work etc, we always love to see range. If someone isn’t showing me all the process behind their work it’s likely the first thing I’m going to ask for when it comes to an interview. I think if you have shiny work (on a freelance basis) a client would have enough confidence in the end result. But for a production role like mine, I wanna see that stuff.

Rough sketches through to shiny polished work. The whole lot. I want it all. I want to see people’s thinking! I’m rambling.

First of all: be able to draw well. Know your characters. Know your figures. Know your anatomy enough to make it convincing and be able to twist it when you need to. We get a lot of people who apply, who, quite simply (don’t hate me) are not good enough yet. We have people who work in tons of different styles and methods but at the heart of it, they can draw well.

DESIGN. Mother of god. Design. Drawing well is the first step, but you also have to have that creative flair to be able to come up with ideas and be able to sell them convincingly. Drawing the thing is only half the battle. No one wants a beautifully rendered character wearing the most impractical / boring outfit you’ve ever seen (just an example). Thinking logically about design is something I’ve seen underestimated many times over the years. In fact, I’d go as far as to say it’s more important that someones drawing abilities. When it comes down to it, drawing is just the tool to represent the design.

Resources wise: the internet is your oyster! Cast a wide net. Create the kind of work you want to do but also push yourself. I think the results are usually better when artists find an area they’re good in and the push the boundaries of that. Better than trying to be a jack of every single trade possible. Don’t have an awesome portfolio full of character work and then think ‘oh, wait, this is just characters, maybe I should stick a fucking car in there too?’ YOU KNOW? Do what you do - and do it well.

Briefly just a few of the things that helped me most: any massive black videos you can find. Mostly for process. Jason Chan’s videos easily had the most impact for me, both in learning how to improve my process and painting the kind of characters I wanted to. Micheal Hampton and Mike Mattesi (force) for anatomy and energy in poses. Your peers! Your favourite artists in the industry at the moment! The places and people you will learn the most from are always so very individual.

We’re so sorry this took forever to answer! We’ve been so busy that we haven’t had the energy to write an answer for those more thought provoking messages.

You’re right! There was a post or two with those concerns in mind. Don’t know where it is now, but it’s somewhere in the archives.

Any Christian who knows how important it is to walk with Christ also knows the importance of being the best you can be for Him and others; to truly show His love and compassion. But the question always seems to be for the Christian , “Is this where He wants me to be? What area of work would best be fit for my growth as a Christian?”  There’s this mentality that the entertainment industry is not exactly the first place a Christian should be offering their skills to. They should be in the Church, or going on Missions or other jobs that appear to be a more hands on effort for reaching the message of Christ and “using our abilities for Him”. Sure, it’s encouraged, but God would just be counter productive if he only used His children to be confined to areas of the Church . God will find the most resourceful way to use you for His Glory because He is a creative God who will NOT limit the use of our abilities. Sometimes that means going into the belly of the beast. Give it some time and lots of prayer. The thing is, you never know where you’re going to end up, but when you know you’re in the right place, you will have peace about it!

It’s no hidden secret that the majority of people who work in the entertainment industry are not very keen on Christians in particular, despite it containing people who claim to be accepting of people who have different in beliefs. We know we’ve had a few experiences where people would send us rude comments, messages, or just go out of their way to ignore us simply because we have God in our profile. And this has happened with a few people in animation as well. We haven’t even actively said anything thing to anyone except put a three latter name in our bio. And it usually never fails that we lose followers on social media even after some kind of post that mentions anything in the slightest bit about God. Not to say that people on the other end haven’t experienced negativity from Christians who were un-Christ like in their execution of their differing beliefs either, but more or less, we are very few in this industry. And if there are more Christians actively working in the industry, sometimes they don’t want to risk their career and connections because of their belief, so they keep God more under wraps.  

So what is it like? It’s been fine, but sometimes it feels lonely. But we have met a few that we can comfortably have conversations with regarding God. But we have also come to know and care about those who don’t know God, and have become what we would consider our friends. We can just simply show our love and pray for them that they may find God. Use your abilities that will be portrayed positively. It doesn’t have to be that you need to be drawing pictures of Jesus or walk around with a Bible in tow everywhere you go. But your actions and sometimes your answers to certain situations can really be a defining trait that people will make the connection with if people know about your faith in God. We believe God is leading us somewhere. And He is leading you somewhere too. This is just one pit-stop to another destination in our life. He has the master plan. And it’s not always easy, but God will be there to guide you in your steps and lead you where He knows it’s best for you. Trust us, we did a lot of praying too and had doubts as well.

As for being happy? Well, we’re doing pretty okay! Happy is kind of a broad term for  something that seems like we need to experience 24/7. Because like any human, we’re not always happy. We have our rough days, days of doubt, anxiety, sadness, frustration, confusion, etc. But we can have Joy and seek Peace knowing the God is with us and that we can rely on Him .

One of our favorite verses because in times of uncertainty, there is Hope. We just need to trust. 

Proverbs 3:5-6 (New King James version)

Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.