Imagine FX

Editorial Editor Rob Redman rob.redman@futurenet.com Art Editor Daniel

Welcome to…

Whether you’re a long-term, hardcore comic nerd or you’ve

EXAGGERATED ANATOMY

Luis Rojas takes anatomy to the extreme with his caricature art

FRESH PAINT

New works that have grabbed our attention

FX Pose

THE PLACE TO SHARE YOUR DIGITAL ART

Voorbode

YEAR CREATED: 2023 MEDIA: Photoshop, Blender

The Gallery

SHOWCASING THE FINEST TRADITIONAL ARTISTS

The Gallery

Daniel is a freelance traditional and digital illustrator

Imagine Nation

AT THE CORE OF THE DIGITAL ART COMMUNITY

Starting out in the animation industry

Moving pictures The animation industry faces new pressures while still boasting unique creative opportunities. Dominic Carter discovers what artists need to know

JOSH WESSLING

Art director Josh Wessling shares his thoughts on animation

Gretel Lusky

Scenic view This artist’s studio, filled with tiny treasures, is where art and whimsy collide

The path of… Max Bedulenko

Worlds apart Environmental concept artist Max Bedulenko talks us through his journey

WESTERN COMICS: A PRIMER

Asha Bardon agrees that comics are cool, but given the number of countries around the world, where do you begin – and where did they?

Development sheet

Jaehyun Kim revels in building worlds and establishing the aesthetics that will breathe life into his creations. Here he guides us through his approach, from exploring the layout to adding fine details

Miro Petrov

Fantastical beings are the name of the game here, with digital art used to create something that looks more traditional

Workshops

Advice from the world’s best artists

PAINTING A COVER ON A DEADLINE

Brett Bean shares his process on how to get things done when your assignment was due yesterday!

GUIDE WITH DETAIL

Connor Sheehan on how he makes his art stand out by adding small feature flourishes

How I create… A 3D ART BATTLE SCENE

3D mock-up Unless I am purposefully creating a loose

HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF COLOUR

Tony Foti explains a number of ways in which you can guide the viewer and enhance your storytelling with colour

BLOCK COLOURS IN ILLUSTRATIONS

Fjell talks about how she balances detail with broader strokes when putting together her artwork

How I create… A STYLISED SERPENT

Lively ink Inking is my favourite part of the

HOW TO MASTER COMIC PANELS

Comic artist and writer Ludo Lullabi takes us through his entire process, from idle sketching to adding the final tweaks

DOODLING

Starting with some loose doodles can get the creative juices flowing, even if the results are never used

BUILD YOUR CONFIDENCE

Before moving to a fast production mindset, it’s important to master a more segmented workflow. This is recommended for anyone with the time to build pages more confidently

SMART PRODUCTION WORKFLOW

If working on a comic with a sustained production schedule, adapting your process becomes necessary. With experience, certain steps can be merged or even removed

DETAILED INKING, DONE RIGHT

Make use of my years of experience in the industry to learn how you can master the final stages of creating comic panels: the inking

STAY ON TARGET

Artem Chebokha says it’s important to keep your final goal in sight through every stage

Huion Kamvas 22 (Gen 3)

DRAWING ATTENTION With its 2.5K, 90Hz display and premium build, this tablet stands out in a crowd – but factor in buying some extras for the best experience

Poser 14

STRIKE A POSE 3D animation software that delivers modern power trapped in a dated interface

Geekom A5 Pro

TINY POWER If you only need this for 2D tasks, it’s good enough

Acer Swift Go 14 AI

AI ABILITY Just because it has ‘AI’ in the name doesn’t mean it’s an AI ninja, but the Go still has a lot to offer

Watercolor Wizardry

MAGIC TOME Discover a range of techniques for painting whimsical fantasy art using watercolours in this paint-along guide

Character Design: Illustrate an Expressive Creature

ANIMAL ANTICS Learn how to design animal-based characters full of emotion and personality in Photoshop with Sam Nassour

Brushing up…

We put three packs through their paces to find out whether they’re worth downloading

BUILD A CUTE ENVIRONMENT DESIGN PIECE

How to create a cute stylised concept from start to finish

3D Artist Showcase

BE INSPIRED BY THE BEST DIGITAL ART AROUND

3D Artist Showcase

Wafi Aji, better known as WackerTheMaker online, started

BUILD A CUTE ENVIRONMENT DESIGN PIECE

Tristan Jolu shares his method for creating a cute stylised concept from start to finish, explaining how to work in a non-destructive way, so it’s easier to change things

MAKE USE OF HYBRID WORKFLOWS

Nick Hiatt on how he divides tasks by type in order to increase efficiency in his work

How I create… A FUTURISTIC PASTORAL SCENE

1 Thumbnails The first thing I do when

TALKING ABOUT TOPOLOGY

Topology is a word we hear a lot in the 3D industry, but what is it? Antony Ward explains how it affects your animation, and what you can do to improve it

Three steps to achieving cleaner topology in your models

1 General retopology The first step in reworking

HOW DO I TURN MY 3D SCENE INTO AN IMAGE?

Mike Griggs on how to make a fully usable image from a 3D application using rendering

Using the render engine to get the style you want

1 Processing time Rendering can take a surprisingly

MAX BIANCHINI

The Italian artist on how character backgrounds help his designs