40 Artists & Illustrators
IN THE STUDIO
teach an eight-week plein air painting
workshop at the CGI animation studio
Pixar. If painterly training seems
unlikely or unnecessary for the
precise graphic stylings of films such
as Toy Stor y, Finding Nemo and Up,
the artist says it makes more sense
when you consider the basic building
blocks of what they do.
“Pixar encourages its artists to
study light and colour on location
for their films and many of the Pixar
artists are avid plein air painters.”
Bryan has embraced technology in
his own work in a number of ways.
Last year, he co-founded the Sentient
Academy, an online art school run byartists, which hosts demonstrations
and workshops for more than 5,000
students. He also invented the Strada
easel back in 2009 after becoming
frustrated by the lack of lightweight,
portable options on the market.
Taking inspiration from a biography
of Steve Jobs, he made an initial
prototype out of wood and found a
manufacturer, kickstarting a company
that now produces a number of
designs and is run by his wife.
Bryan favours the Mini Strada plein
air easel for travelling, often with a
fine weave linen canvas or a smooth
gesso panel. He always packs a basic
palette of Gamblin oil colours,Classic, as the exact angle and nature
of the light is so transient.
“I always go for the shadows first
because they move so fast, especially
when dealing with manmade
structures,” the artist explains.
“I usually spend an hour and a half
on the piece outdoors and then I may
spend a little extra time in the studio
to adjust things if needed. However, I
try not to do too much because it can
destroy the freshness of the piece.”
Shadows are a tricky subject for
artists, particularly when dealing with
the harsh light of warmer climes
abroad. Bryan’s top tip in this respect
is to make the shadows lighter in
value than they appear so there is
room to add occlusion shadows – the
darkest areas furthest from the light.
“Also, you can exaggerate your
reflected light touch more than you
see in order to emphasise light
bouncing around the scene.”
This almost scientific understanding
of how light behaves led Bryan to
I paint the shadows first because
they move so fast, especially when
dealing with manmade structures