![THE ART OF NATHAN FOWKES](https://cdn.magzter.com/1398687120/1717481790/articles/zhsLQ73s21720764078065/THE-ART-OF-NATHAN-FOWKES.jpg)
During the course of his stellar career, concept artist and teacher Nathan Fowkes has already witnessed huge changes in terms of how artists work. And while the industry is on the threshold of even bigger innovations, he explains to us how the humble sketchbook is still immensely valuable to students and professionals alike.
Tell us a little about your artistic background. How did you get started, and what path has your career taken?
My career has been such an interesting ride because I started back in the early 90s before the big animation and video game boom, and before concept art was really a thing. So no one was teaching those things, I just knew I wanted to do what I thought of as imaginative art.
Early on, going into art school at the Art Center College of Design based in Pasadena, I thought I would do things like book cover art and illustration, but then when I graduated in 1995, opportunities were starting to appear in entertainment art, and that was absolutely the place for me. Getting paid to do splashy, imaginative art? It's exactly what I'd hoped to do.
I started out doing theme park show design at a company that contracted out to Disney, Universal and overseas theme parks, but two years into it I had an opportunity to show my portfolio at DreamWorks Animation. I'd always thought of animation as being too cartoony for the more painterly type of work I enjoy doing, but when I saw the development artwork DreamWorks was already doing for their epic The Prince of Egypt, I completely forgot about my theme park job and just had to get hired to work on this painterly and atmospheric epic. I made it onto the show and that was the crossroads of my whole career.
How has your art developed over the years, and what has been behind those changes?
Denne historien er fra August 2024-utgaven av ImagineFX.
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Denne historien er fra August 2024-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](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/6242/1812479/2DIARUCQg1724763339305/RAQUEL-M-VARELA.jpg)
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](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/6242/1812479/kTesB3MCo1724763260241/ESTRELA-LOURENO.jpg)
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.
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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.
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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'.
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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.
![DRAW FASCINATING SYMBOLIC ARTWORK](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/6242/1812479/p6nFLu3Wg1724762363876/DRAW-FASCINATING-SYMBOLIC-ARTWORK.jpg)
DRAW FASCINATING SYMBOLIC ARTWORK
Learn how JULIÁN DE LA MOTA creates a composition from his imagination with a focus on crafting figures, volumetric modelling, and light and shadow
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First Impressions
The artist talks about his journey into the mythological world
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CREATIVE STRENGTH IN COMMUNITY
Co-founder and creative force André Luís talks about the ethos and evolution of Trojan Horse Was A Unicorn
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The path to the top at a video games company
No cheat codes required Tanya Combrinck finds out exactly what it takes to make the leap from burgeoning student to game-shaping art director