his career at DMA Design Ltd, which
later became Rockstar North, Ian is
known in the world of computer
gaming for his concept art work on a
slew of Grand Theft Auto titles, going
back to the very first one in 1997. Back
then the game was a top-down
gangland driving game, which Ian
helped evolve into the cinematic
franchise we know today through titles
like GTA: San Andreas (2004), where
he was lead character artist, and GTA:
The Ballad of Gay Tony (2009), on
which he served as concept artist.CULTURAL IMPACT
“Working on the GTA franchise as a
whole was obviously a significant part
of my career, but it was with GTA IV:
The Lost and the Damned that I felt
we’d created something that had a
cultural impact outside of the games
world,” says Ian. “Being a big deal in
the global media environment brought
added pressure on subsequent releases,
but feeling part of something so
popular was pretty cool, and also rare!”
While working on the Grand Theft
Auto franchise has had a hugelyurse of the concept artist!”
laughs Ian McQue.
“Without wishing to
sound mysterious, I can’t
really talk about what I’m
working on at the moment, but I’m just
finishing up on two movies and there’s
some ongoing creative consultancy
work on a game. Oh, and I’m just
kicking off a big personal project
which I hope to announce soon.”
Well, there goes our scoop, but
optimism is exuding from one of the
UK’s leading concept artists as he
updates us on his work. Having startedSTAYING AFLOAT
Fully shaded and coloured, this
floating tug typifies Ian’s
personal aesthetic.GASBAG & GONDOLA
Would you like to take a cruise?
Concept art for the 2018 film
Mortal Engines.C
“
Interview
Feeling part of something
so popular was pretty cool,
and also rare!
Ian McQue
LOCATION: Scotland
FAVOURITE ARTISTS: John Blockley,
Ron Cobb, Joan Eardley, Chris Foss, Brian
Froud, William Heath Robinson, Alan Lee,
Ralph McQuarrie, Syd Mead, Mike Mignola,
Hayao Miyazaki, Moebius, Arthur Rackham,
Shaun Tan, Tatsuyuki Tanaka, Sergio Toppi,
John William Waterhouse, Andrew Wyeth
and Kow Yokoyama
MEDIA: Pencils, paper, Photoshop
WEB: http://www.instagram.com/ianmcqueArtist
PROFILE