SPECIAL “BEST OF” ISSUE
Introducing Mary Longshore
The Journal’s young illustrator/writer Mary Talks with Concept Artist Jong Won Park
Cover illustration by Mary Longshore
Digital Pinting: What Else?
illustrators journal/Winter
table of
contents Faith in oneself is the best and safest course.
- Michelangelo
All the work depicted in this magazine are the expressed property pf the artist who created the work and cannot be used in any way without the expressed written permission of the artists.
MARY’S INTRO Introducting the Illustrators Journal’s newest staff member, illustrator Mary Longshore
WORDS FROM SUSNOW Motivational speaker Mark Susnow’s wisdom words
ROXIE MUNRO Children’s book illustrator and ebook innovator Roxie speaks out about her passion
Mona Scaheffer-Edwards Fashion artists and court sketch artist is a witness to history
Five Favorite WW2 & Kidlit Artists IJ’s look at two of our favorite artists genres
You must have faith or you wouldn’t be illustrating. What we all need to do is expand on that faith, put it into action. Empower peole to think differently about you.What is it you want people to know and in what ways do you want them to act? What is your hope for yourself? Take action towards that goal. It can be a new portfolio piece, a blog, a digital newsletter or a clever outube video. Circulate it to your target and then monitor the reaction. Commit to yourself that you will keep pushing ahead,You can create an un-stoppable force of possibilities when you keep the faith.
Jong Won Park Concept Artist, visionary talks with Mary Longshore
PROMO: LPIK PHOTO MAGAZINE A sneak peak of the new photo section of the IJ featuring the photography of our editor
Lonfellow’s Corner The editor’s journey as a digital artist
Leslie-Cober-Gentry The brilliant work of a 2nd Gen Illustrator
Mike Cressy Gaming and Kidlit master artist speaks out
Our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan, ...There is no other route to success. Pablo Picasso
Mary Longshore is the Illustrators Journal’s newest addition. She is an accomplished writer/illlustrator and will be covering exciting and new forms of art from anime to gaming.
When did you realize you were an artist? Did you get encouragement? Also when did you discover you could write? I always liked to draw, but the defining moment for art was when I was a childprobably around six years old. After watching a lot of cartoons, I retold stories while drawing on my bedroom wall. My mother, understandably, was not thrilled about my decision to draw on the wall. She told me at the time that my drawings were going to stay there and the wall was not going to be re-painted. As a stubborn child, I decided then that logically I would draw very well so I wouldn’t regret my drawings when I got older. My love for writing took a bit longer to surface. I loved hearing stories as a child, but I didn’t have a ton of experience reading them aloud to other people. So for a while, I was taken aside with a small group of other kids to practice reading out loud. From this, stemmed a love for language. Every summer I would read as many books as I could, and eventually from this love of reading, I gained strong skills in spelling, and I had the opportunity to compete in The National Spelling Bee. The moment I truly discovered writing came in fourth grade. My class was often assigned writing prompts. I got so involved in the story that I barely heard the bell go off for recess. Later that day, my teacher stood in front of the class with papers in her hand and announced that one story in particular was very
“Growing up, I was lucky to have a lot of encouragement to pursue art (aside from when I drew on my bedroom wall of course.) My parents, teachers, and peers often encouraged me to continue drawing.” inspiring. She flipped through the papers, taking one out to read. My peers whispered about whose story it could be. My heart jumped into my throat. And then she read. It was my story. I was shocked, complimented, awkward, and embarrassed. That moment when my work was selected to be shared was a big moment of realization for me.
mary’s
intro Were you an outsider growing up or one of the popular crowd? How did your parents react to your interests? Most of the time, I was an outsider. I think my comfort level of being a bit weird confused a lot of my peers. I also enjoyed philosophy, and so I was rather introverted. This changed a bit in late High School when I started to really accept the goofy side of my personality. My parents were very encouraging with my interests. Birthday celebrations generally brought new art supplies or work by favorite artists.
Tell me about your schooling and favorite teachers and/or influences. I went to public school in a small town. My home town was small enough that I could walk six blocks and be downtown or at a public park or school. I excelled in art, language, and some science. There are a lot of teachers who have encouraged me throughout the years. In college, I was fortunate to intern with William Alexander. William Alexander is the author of National Book Award Winner Goblin Secrets, and its companion novel Ghoulish Song. He was also my professor at The Minneapolis College of Art & Design for classes like Shakespeare, and Science Fiction & Fantasy Writing. He had such an energy in the way he presented information in class. You could really tell he loved language, and he gave excellent feedback on writing. Do you have any special projects you are doing for yourself? I have been painting a series of tiles with alcohol ink and acrylic, and then adding detailed line-work in ink on top. Lately, I’ve been designing more surface patterns and fashion related artwork.
Your work is very whimsical. What inspires you? Patterns, animation, film, fashion, world cultures, nature... the list goes on! At the heart of my work,I like to design with movement in mind. I also like to incorporate culture in my work. I have been strongly inspired by Studio Ghibli films and BBC’s series “Human Planet.” I like to make work that seems magical and transports the viewer to a different world. You reached out to me on Linkedin? Do you recommend Linkedin as way to connect? I definitely recommend LinkedIn as a way to grow your network and meet new people in your industry. I think there is a lot to be learned by simply asking people about their experience and if they have any advice. I also have a natural desire to get to know people. LinkedIn has provided a few leads for work in the past too. It’s a great resource. What medium do you prefer to work in? I love digital and traditional. In terms of traditional, I love watercolor and ink. I enjoy the looseness of them and how they flow. Although, I often go back and forth between digital and traditional, currently my favorite is digital. Specifically, I love working with Adobe Illustrator because I don’t have to worry about sizing of a piece or pixelation. This gives it a lot of versatility should I desire to use my artwork for different products. I can also change colors really easy which is an added bonus. What are your goals for the future? I aim to build up a large amount of work for art licensing, and work with companies for product design, entertainment, and eco-friendly products. It is also a goal to be a voice artist for animated films. In regards to writing, I aim to also finish a novel and several screenplays. And down the road, I have an awesome invention idea that I want to patent and send out into the world. Yeah, there are a lot of goals for various timelines!
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The truth is, in the process of trying to be perfect, we often focus on our imperfections and sometimes that is all we see. –––
Mark Susnow
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Interview answers Jong Won Park From Androids to Spaceships to Future Realities The art of Jong Won Park is compelling and visionary
J
Circle Interview with Jong Won Park by Mary Longshore
How did you get started with digital painting? At first, I was a cartoonist in a dream. But the Korean comic market is harder to break into. So I was interested in game concept art naturally and started digital painting with intuos tablet, painter, and photoshop. Can you describe your creative process? What mediums do you use? Inspiration in many things, for example; photos,movies,industrial design, even car wheel design, curve of cup.. etc I draw a rough image in the head, then draw on canvas. I do not hesitate. I just draw. variety and lots of drawing everyday. I upload to three difference places for the community; my website, cghub, and facebook. What is a typical day like as a concept artist? I spend most of the time at my company, then after work I go home to take care of my son and housework, then I draw again at midnight. You have a lot of great work with emphasis on landscape,armor. What inspires you? Because I was originally a background concept artist. But, recenyly I do not put borders on my work. I do characters,background, sci-fi, fantasy, etc.. What was it like working with a video game company like Webzen Games? Lots of people making good products in cooperation, it is a very worthwhile thing. Do you have advice for artists looking to produce art in the game industry? Current skills are not important. steady passion is. Do not hesitate if you want to do it. What topics are good for future concept artists to show in their portfolio? You should draw what others have not. Creative things. Do you have any upcoming projects or shows we should look for? It’s a secret. Ha Ha.
Article written by Lon Levin
LONFELLOW’S CORNER
digital painting what else? Article written by Lon Levin
Digital painting has come along way since I first became aware of the possibilities back in the 80’s. Early on cuttting and pasting pictures together ala Rausenberg was a very easy way to jump into the fray. Add a painterly effect and some graphic elements and viola.
Lon Levin, the magazine’s editor is a working designer, illustrator and writer. He worked in the entertainment business for 25 years on hundreds of movie and TV campaigns. He has 33 published published books to his credit. His book “Treehouses” published by Globe Pequot Press in 2010 features his writing, illustration and photography
In 2006 I enrolled in classes at Gnomon school in Hollywood and learned Maya and a new type of digital painting that allowed you to create your own brushes and types of paint effects.The next step for me was combining the 3D look with painting and in my own style. As time marched on and pixelated art gave way to painterly looks the possibilities expanded. Soon illustrators were creating art for animation,games and movies that were nothing short of spectacular.
As advanced tablets and pressure sensitive pens took over the look of digital artwork started to blur the line between digital and traditional.
Painting for me took various forms depending on the assignment and what look I was trying to achieve. I went from an airbrush style to a fluid painterly look. I used scrap of all types to achieve the look I wanted; photographs, video snapshots, drawings, paintings, anything that could work to achieve the look I wanted. I was fortunate to get a few books assigned to me that allowed me to expand my knowledge of how to achieve certain looks and effects and do them in a defined timeframe. The transition from traditional painter/ illustrator to digital illustrator became hard-wire into my DNA. I now work seamlessly between the two. Illustrations from ““Splat the Cat: Where’s the Easter Bunny?”
Illustrations from the “Monster Boy” series
Illustration from “Art For Barks” website
The future of digital painting is exciting and the possibilities remain seemingly limitless. As the tools grow more sophisticated it’s important not to rely on them to make up for holes in your training. The ability to sketch and paint in the taditional way are paramount to success. Once you’ve mastered that do it your own way
Keep thinking. We do and that’s what you want in an agency.
Article written by Lon Levin
Article written by Lon Levin
Keep thinking. We do and that’s what you want in an agency.
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