REVIEW || ImagineFX | Issue 132 - March 2016

Sketch 1 by Lixin Yin

LOVED ImagineFX, Issue 132!!!  First of all, the forward, by Acting Editor Beren Neale on David Bowie and Labryinth being featured on the cover, was hysterical and especially fitting for this edition's theme of Classic Fantasy Film Art.  Reading about classic movie poster artists from the 80's and 90's (p. 40) was a fun blast from the past.  One of my favorite parts was reading about the Richard Amsel's process of creating the Indiana Jones poster art (p. 46).

I also enjoyed getting a look inside this month's Artist in Residence featuring a traditional painter, David Palumbo (p. 24), where he shares his home studio based in his living room.  He has a ton of resources at hand: a variety of camera equipment, a closet full of props and costumes, a nice traditional painting set up, as well as music on vintage vinyl records at the ready.  Loved his tip for freelancers on using physical post-it notes to prioritize jobs.

And an absolute favorite was the gorgeous tutorial by Min Yum on illustrating a Grimm Fairy Tale (p. 70).  Perhaps it was the red hair he chose to depict on the young girl that drew me in, always nice to see red heads in art not only because it is very relatable being one myself.  Additionally, I guess I'm still a sucker for Illustration!  I especially loved his ideation process starting with the thumbnails and moving into color studies before beginning the final work.  Everything about the piece and the process is delightful.

I especially enjoyed the very quick workshop on developing hue and lighting by Lixin Yin (p. 74), where he light a dark environment with two light sources, soft candle light and an unknown skylight.  I loved the details he chose to bring out especially in the fabrics and various textures.  Lastly, the entire article on creating life-filled RPG characters by Simon Dubuc (p. 76) was phenomenal.  As someone who isn't primarily a character designer, but interested in having characters in my paintings it was a great glimpse into the world of character art.  Every single tip he had was clear, to the point, and easy to understand in quickly understanding how to create a believable and memorable character.