Advanced_Photoshop_Issue_139_-_2015_UK_

EYE ON DESIGN PORTFOLIO INTERVIEW

CHARLIE BOWATER IS AN INSPIRATIONAL CONCEPT ARTIST FROM

THEUKWHOSEWORKHASBEENFEATUREDINSOMETOPLEVEL

FRANCHISES. WE CAUGHT UP WITH HER TO FIND OUT MORE

INSPIRATIONAL

DIGITAL PAINTING

http://www.charliebowater.co.uk

@charliebowater

I

t takes a highly skilled artist to breathe life into

characters and Charlie Bowater has accomplished a

mastery in doing so. Being skilled in conception,

composition, rendering, lighting, and more make

Charlie a pro in the art world.

Born in the UK, she is a now a senior concept artist

at Atomhawk Design. She has played a vital role on

projects such as Pottermore, Project Spark and Dead

Island: Riptide. Charlie, along with Atomhawk bring

forth inspirational concepts such as: characters,

environments, props, vehicles and more.

YOU ARE A BRILLIANT ARTIST. WHEN DID YOU

DISCOVER YOUR TALENT IN ILLUSTRATION AND

WHAT DID YOU STUDY TO HONE YOUR SKILLS?

Thank you so much! I’ve always been interested in art,

ever since I could hold a pencil as a child. I don’t recall

exactly when I started drawing, but I do remember it

was something that was always with me growing up. I

had a lot of encouragement from my family and it

naturally became my ambition over the years. My love

of art was nurtured over a long time, rather than

[suddenly] discovered.

I was a terrible student when it came to college. I

ended up studying Multimedia, I knew I wanted to go

Don’tgettoofixatedononeparticularstyle.Ispentalong

timegettingfrustratedwithtryingtofindastylewhenI

startedout,ratherthanjustfocusingonbeingabetterartist

into art, but I wasn’t sure about which area exactly. I

studied something that I didn’t find all that interesting,

but then discovered digital art at 17 years old and set out

to teach myself. I spent a lot of my college classes

painting and eventually set my sights on concept art

and illustration.

I HAVE READ THAT YOU GREW UP ON THE

CARTOONS OF THE NINETIES, ARE THERE ANY

SPECIFIC CARTOONS OR EVEN ILLUSTRATORS

THAT HAVE HAD AN IMPACT ON YOU?

I did indeed! I watched anything and everything I could. I

think Disney had the biggest impact on me, I spent a

long time wanting to be an animator and go and work

for Disney as kid. I eventually got to try animation for

myself years later and found it wasn’t for me, but the

inspiration stayed with me regardless! If I picked out two

things that really spurred me even further into art it

would easily be The Little Mermaid and Sailor Moon, I

was amazed by them.

There are far too many artists to name that have

inspired me over the years, but artists like Jason Chan

and Marta Dahlig had a really big impact on me when I

was in college. I watched and read a lot of their tutorials.

I found myself very inspired by my current peers at the

time rather than classical artists, that inspiration

definitely shaped my work.

HAVE YOU HAD TO OVERCOME ANY OBSTACLES

AS AN ARTIST? AND IS IT CHALLENGING TO BE

A WORKING ARTIST?

It’s definitely challenging! Learning art in the first place

can be a huge challenge, I’m glad I got an early start as

a kid. The wonderful thing about art of course is that

you never stop learning, so challenges are a constant

companion. You just need to have plenty of inspiration

to pull you through the frustration.

For me personally my biggest obstacle is time and

not having enough of it. I work nine to five as a concept

artist, and then freelance on a lot of illustrative work in

Ugly Side: Charlie often tries to capture beauty

in her illustrations whether it’s through lighting, characters, expressions, mood or even drapery.

The great thing about art is there are so many kinds of beauty, it’s all so objective

All images © Charlie Bowater