Daren Bader
Finding the function The US illustrator and art
director shows us around his wooden-floored studio,
mindful that it’s not the most practical of spacesAbout three-and-a-
half years ago, I moved
to Florida from
California to join an
emerging tech
company called Magic Leap as a
senior art director. I left behind over
10 years of art direction on the Red
Dead franchise at Rockstar Games, as
well as a custom-built art studio that
had accumulated over 25 years of
“stuff” (my wife calls it “hoarding”).
The move forced me to put a lot of
things in storage, including old
sculptures, larger framed artwork,
six-foot rolled canvases, a couple of
boxes of skulls and bones, and a large
amount of action figures (that my wife
still thinks I threw away).
I mention all of this because I think
it’s important to know that my studio
isn’t nearly as functional and lived-in as
the average working artist’s space.
I don’t have the room for lots ofThis Florida-inspired piece used to be a cheap
print of a plant of some sort, but the fake alligator
skin frame was really calling out for something a
little more appropriate!My studio isn’t nearly as
functional and lived-in
as the average working
artist’s space
Music has always played a huge role in helping me get into the zone, and
even though I enjoy streaming services, I’ll never tire of picking out just the
right CD to set the proper painting mood.This is a Tarzan piece I had as a
sketch for years that needed to
come out after moving to Florida,
where the tropical humidity
worked its way into my life.ImagineNation Artist in Residence