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their journey in the same place as myself. There is
an old saying that art is 1% inspiration and 99%
perspiration and with endless practice I’d like to
believe it is possible to become exceptionally
proficient when creating digital photo art. I am
frequently in awe of the work I see from other
digital artists in these specialist magazines and the
social media community.---Do you already have a basic idea or story in
mind when you start creating a new piece?I wish I could put Sebastian Michaels’ advice
about journaling into practice by planning ahead
and seeing the image in my mind’s eye before
creating it. This rarely happens to me. I might have
a vague idea of what I want to create, but each
image leads me on a journey, dancing between
Photoshop layers, tools and the blessed history
palette - it’s like alchemy. I feel if I surrender to the
process things sometimes turn out better than I can
actually envisage them. An inadvertent accident
or misplaced keystroke can be your best friend (or
worst enemy!). My muse is in control so why fight
her?---Can you tell us a bit about your creative process
and routine?I am longing for the day when I become so
proficient at Photoshop that my workflow is not
hampered by a lack of technical knowledge.Until that time arrives I am committed to learning
progressively as often as life’s circumstances allow.
My practice goes through intense periods of
learning, only to be brought to a grinding halt by
numerous other commitments beyond my control!I have found I am much more productive when
working on a set of images such as my Fantasy
Animal series. Once a theme has been established
I can concentrate on the details. On the creative
journey I find that ideas feeds into one another
as the original concept is developed. Gradually it
takes form and then related ideas develop from the
work in progress. Presently I prefer making groups
of related images rather than singular statement
pieces.When working on my Fantasy Animals imagery
I tend to create the creatures first, cutting out
,compositing and concentrating on the seamless
blending of body parts and then adorning them
with textures and jewels. Only when they are
completely finished do I plan the background
environment, so it is a distinct two part process
where the landscape is inspired by the main animal
image..---Could you tell us about the equipment and software
you use and which item is indispensable in your
studio?Mac, Wacom Tablet, Photoshop, Sebastian Michaels
course content, Topaz Studio, OnOne, Canon EOS
Breakthrough to Another World 700D, Canon Macro lens, Panasonic DMC TZT,Chametoise