2D Artist

(Martin Jones) #1

2DARTISTMAG.COM2DARTIST MAGAZINE | Building an impressive portfolioNR: I work completely digitally for the most part,save a few pencil scribbles here and there. I do havea small set of Photoshop brushes that I always comeback to since it’s too easy to overload your collectionwith hundreds of brushes that are only useful forpainting scattered leaves or rocks. Less is more.``````2da: Which tools and software do you use? Arethere any you would like to learn in the future?``````NR: Photoshop is where I spend most of mytime, but I’ve been working on training myself touse more 3D packages in the early stages ofmy work. It seems to be``````all the pretty art you see published instead ofbringing your own experiences to the table.``````2da: Where do you look for inspiration? Are thereany other artists you particularly admire?``````NR: I have so many sources, too many to fit inhere! But I’ve always loved the Dutch masters,and particularly the landscapes that came outof that era. John Berkey is another favorite,along with a lot of other 1970s sci-fi artists.``````On top of that I think travel is an important sourceof inspiration. You can’t imagine how varied theworld is until you go and see it for yourself.``````2da: If you could meet any artist (past or present)what would you ask them and why?``````NR: Well, to go back to the lastquestion I’d probably askany of the Dutch masters,or even John Berkey,how they managed toget so much life intoso few brushstrokes.But I know they’d justtell me it was practice!``````2da: What are your preferredtools to work with? Arethere any brushes you findyourself using again and again?Having begun his art career studying graphicdesign and editorial illustration, Ned Rogershas crossed genres and developed an excitingcareer as a freelance concept artist in theentertainment industry. Working on variedprojects across TV, videogames and film, Ned iscurrently in demand developing TV series pitchesfor production companies. He also teachesat CDW Studios, Adelaide, where he helpsstudents train and prepare for industry jobs.This month we speak to Ned about howhis commercial work has become morecomfortable now that it reflects his ownpersonal style and personality. He also shareshis advice for budding artists on building strongfoundations in drawing and painting, makingcontacts in the industry, and giving yourselfthe freedom to pursue your own ideas...2dartist: Hi Ned, thanks for talking to 2dartist! Couldyou start by introducing yourself a bit to the readers?Ned Rogers: Hi! Thanks for having me. I started outstudying graphic design and editorial illustrationat university, but it didn’t take me long to figureout I wanted to work in the entertainmentindustry. I managed to transition during thecourse over a couple of years, and I’ve had theprivilege of working on a lot of interesting andvaried projects across TV, games and film.A lot of my recent work has been developingTV series pitches for production companieshere in Australia. Unfortunately I can’t reallytalk about some of the larger projects I’ve beenworking on; it’s one part of this job that can bea bit annoying! I also teach at CDW Studios herein Adelaide, a specialized school run throughFlinders University that focuses on getting studentstrained properly and into industry jobs.2da: So far in your career you’ve worked on games,TV and film projects. How has your work changedand developed over the course of these projects?NR: Looking back at my early work I cansee so many mistakes and weird habitsthat I hope I’ve managed to train out of myhand! That’s an ongoing battle though.I think I’ve also become more comfortabledoing commercial work that reflects my ownpersonal style and personality. It’s an easy trapwhen you’re just starting out to try and copyCooper Racer for the Cosmos personal project © Ned Rogers

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