Max Ulichney has worn many hats. As a recovering graphic designer with a background in CG, he now splits his time between working as a character designer, art director and president of the top-selling Procreate brushes company MaxPacks. We caught up with him to learn more about his work, and hear how artists can get the most out of his custom-built brushes.
Tell us a little about your background as an artist. How did you get started, and what has your career been like so far?
I grew up in a family that valued art and creativity, and I was always drawing my own superheroes and comic strips. My dad in particular is a great artist; he worked in advertising and as a painter when I was young, so I always saw art as a valid career path.
I began interning at my father's advertising agency at 16 years old, where I did a lot of graphic design and illustration. Designing logos really built up my sense of shape language and composition. I also worked as a caricature artist through high school and art school, which developed a lot of my character design muscles. They were both formative jobs and they were the best art gigs I could get in Ohio, but they weren't what I wanted to do with my life.
My real career began after graduating from Columbus College of Art & Design, and I left Ohio to work in visual effects in Los Angeles. A week after landing in LA, I secured a job at sister companies A52 and Elastic, where I ended up staying for 15 years doing visual effects and animation work. While there, I acted as a CG artist, and ultimately as both an art director and director.
Currently I'm working as a character designer for features and TV. I'm also working for myself as the president and brushmancer of MaxPacks.
How has your art developed over the years, and what has been behind those changes?
Denne historien er fra August 2023-utgaven av ImagineFX.
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Denne historien er fra August 2023-utgaven av ImagineFX.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Raquel M. Varela
Raquel is inspired by magic, fantasy and fairy tales. She loves designing female characters from distant worlds. \"My greatest reference is Loish's art, thanks to her I learned to draw the movement and fluidity I like to convey.\"
Estrela Lourenço
Estrela is a children's book author and illustrator. Her work is influenced by her background in character animation and storyboards for clients such as Cartoon Network, and she channels comic strips like Calvin and Hobbes.
Daria Widermanska
Daria, also known as Anako, has been drawing for as long as she can remember. Inspired by Disney and classic anime, she loves creating new characters and often finds that a single sketch can spark a unique story.
Allen Douglas
Allen has been painting professionally since 1994 for the publishing and gaming industries. Inspired by folklore, he distorts the size, relationships and environments of animals, and calls his paintings 'unusual wildlife'.
Thaddeus Robeck
Thaddeus has been drawing from the moment he could hold a pencil, but it was the 2020 lockdowns that gave him the time to focus on honing his skills.
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