Can you describe your process for creating “The Voodoo Shop?”

MT: “The Voodoo Shop” was made in Adobe Photoshop. After determining what the subject should be, I started creating an empty room with the right atmosphere. I sent the layered file through a large file sharing site to Jenny. She added several items and a bookcase and sent it back to me. I added the Voodoo man and returned the layered file. This went on until we both felt it was completed. While creating this we had some conversations about the color scheme and subject matter. Mutual respect and communication were central to the collaboration.

JL: When Marleen asked me to do a collaboration with her, I was so thrilled and honored. We went back and forth, throwing ideas around about what kind of crowded room we wanted to create, and in the end we chose a Voodoo shop. Marleen and I both searched for source pictures and sent each other links to the images we wanted to use for the room. When we chose one, Marleen started the process, added a few items, and sent the file back to me. Then I added some items… We went back and forth like this for a few weeks until the image was completed.

What brought the two of you together to collaborate on this work, and how did you decide on the subject matter?

JL: When I first started out doing photo manips, I was entering contests on Worth1000.com. They have an amazing mentoring program (which Marleen actually runs now), and I signed up. I was paired with Marleen for two weeks and she taught me so much! When I joined Deviant Art we started talking a bit more, and that’s when we decided to do the collab. Marleen had previously done a crowded room collab, so she suggested it.

MT: I was mentoring Jenny, and I saw that she was learning very quickly and had a feeling for fantasy. I suggested we do a collaboration and fortunately she agreed.

Do you have future plans for collaboration, and, if so, what are they?

MT: At the moment I’m working on two new collaborations. The “Crowded Room” projects are mostly made in collaboration with other artists. As to future plans with Jenny for a collaboration? It would be cool if we would make something together in the future. I feel we both have grown enormously as artists since making “The Voodoo Shop.”

JL: No plans as of right now, but I would definitely be willing.

Jenny, some of your art has a whimsical or humorous cast, from a boy fighting nighttime monsters to a piratical meerkat. What draws you to these images, and how do you see them interacting with the rest of your work?

JL: I am an overly happy person, so I can see how my art might come off that way. I do think it’s changed and grown a lot since the making of this piece, but generally I like to make peaceful, happy, beautiful images, with a darker one to spice things up every now and then.

Madame Thenadier, many of your creatures have a dark, otherworldly way about them. Do you strive for a dark or horrific effect with your art, or do you let the work guide you?

MT: Most of my creatures and work are created for Worth1000 contests. I wouldn’t describe my work as “dark” or “horrific”… “Otherworldly” sounds cool to me. All the characters are based on human figures with something extraterrestrial to them. Most of my characters are already in my mind before they hit the canvas.

Where do you go for inspiration?

MT: I’m often inspired by other artists. I look at Steve Argyle, Michael Kutsche, and also Brian Froud. In literature, Raymond Feist and Bernard Hennen.

JL: I get a lot of inspiration from my everyday life. I try to stay pretty active and do a lot of outdoors activities, and I just keep my eyes open. My children also inspire me a lot; I listen to them play and take in all their imagination. My battle piece was made after my then-three-year-old was ridding our house of monsters, and I thought it was such a cute idea, so I made it into a piece. When I get totally stumped and am feeling no inspiration at all, I go to the Deviant Art stock resource gallery and let the stock models lead my art. Sometimes you can come across the perfect model and know exactly what you want to do.

What drew you to digital art, and what sort of preparation or schooling did you have for it?

JL: I have a degree in IT-Multimedia … So basically I was taught a little bit about everything, but not enough about anything—music and video editing, 3D design, Web development, 2D animations. I’ve always drawn and painted, so getting into digital art was a pretty easy transition for me.

MT: I went to art school and focused on 3D design, meaning sculpting and ceramics, etc., and I also attended photography and animation classes. After graduation I lost track of everything and found my way in our family business, which is an ICT company. Besides many other things, I was involved with the marketing of several of our products and came in contact with Photoshop. When a colleague showed me Worth1000, I was hooked immediately. After a year of experimenting I finally “clicked” with digital art and followed lots of tutorials and books. Once the technical aspects are mastered, the only thing that keeps you from making what you want is your own fantasy.

What draws you to fantastic art, either looking at it or making it?

MT: My mind gets crowded sometimes, filled with everyday troubles and ordinary stuff. It’s a relief to be able to withdraw into a magical world created by others or by myself. You can see it as a sort of pleasant escape, a nice holiday trip to a fantasy land.

JL: I love fantasy art because it really lets you see through the artist’s eyes. Whether it’s a landscape or a creature, I find it so wonderful and awe-inspiring to see the imagination of the artist. You can get lost in all the details the artist has added, and it takes you to places that you’ve never been before, and without the artist you never would. Generally speaking, I think fantastic art has to have a great concept and be executed well. There needs to be an overall balance to the piece, and for me it needs to tell a story or show strong emotion.

Each of you uses creatures of myth in your work, from dryads to the Phoenix. How do you decide which mythological traditions to draw from?

MT: That is mostly determined by the contest series on Worth1000 called Mythological Creatures. Whoever wins the contest gets to decide which creature will be next. But besides Worth, I also get inspired by literature to create such creatures.

JL: We both have a lot of mythological creatures in our galleries because we both have been competing in a series of contests on worth1000.com called Mythological Creatures. The contests run about a month and the winner of the contest gets to choose the next theme.

What sort of art do you want to be making ten years from now?

JL: Lately I have been really trying to improve my digital painting skills. I’m not really sure yet where this is going to lead my art; either down the road of more painting in my manipulations, or solely digital painting. I guess time will tell. All I know is that I strive to make every piece better than my last, and I want to keep learning. Hopefully in ten years I will be better than I am now, but not as good as I will be later.

MT: I feel we are on the verge of a new artistic trend combining digital art like drawings and manipulations with sounds and motion. Art that interacts with all human senses. I would like to go with that flow, to be able to stimulate viewers’ senses in many ways. That means I want to know about 3D sculpting, creating effects, making music, etc.—act like a sponge. But first of all, for the upcoming year, I will focus on illustration in combination with movement and lighting.

Can you describe your process for painting “Steampunk Bonaparte?”

I started out by brainstorming some possibilities of what Napoleon might look like in a steampunk era and sketching them out on paper as quickly as I could. Then I just built it up from there. The most challenging part was the first step of designing what the horse would look like, and how different I could make the work from the original without the viewer having trouble getting the reference. The rest just took a lot of patience.

Napoleon Bonaparte lived several decades before the historical era that has grabbed the greatest amount of attention from steampunk artists, makers, and writers. What drew you to this period, and to Jacques-Louis David’s painting in particular?

David has always been one of my favorite artists and his painting of Napoleon has captured my interest for years. So, when I was given a final project assignment in art history to reinterpret an old artwork in the textbook, I jumped on the opportunity to paint a different version of David’s masterpiece. During the beginning of the Napoleonic Wars, ships were steam powered, so apparently people in the early 1800s knew about its potential. I definitely thought it would be ironic to see Napoleon on a steam-powered horse, especially when Britain’s steamships were giving him so much trouble.

If you could have the time and the resources to complete any artistic project you would like, what would you choose?

I’m not quite sure about what I would choose, actually. My inspiration tends to jump around from place to place, which unfortunately leaves a lot of things undone. If I could, I would choose simply everything, although I’m sure I’m just being greedy here.

What projects are you working on right now?

At the moment, I’m going over some of my old paintings to improve them and to look at my progress. Revisiting old works is one of my favorite things to do. It’s always fun to realize that you can paint something that you weren’t able to paint before!

You’ve done many drawings and paintings inspired by or connected to video games. Aside from the subject matter, how has gaming influenced your art?

Games have inspired me to go on my current path. I will admit that I am a fool for pretty graphics and special effects. In fact, the first thing I do when I decide to play a game is look at the concept art. When playing a game, it’s easy to feel like you’re in a different world. That is why I believe a well-designed game itself can be a work of art, and playing a game it is like viewing an artwork for hours straight.

Apples show up in many of your works. What draws you to them? The “forbidden fruit” concept? The high fiber content Inquiring minds want to know.

The “apple” was actually the theme that my high school portfolio revolved around. Eventually, the theme kind of stuck, and I found myself rather connected to it. When I first began to formally study art, the first thing I drew was an apple. Then, I drew another apple and another. My teacher believed in having a solid foundation and that drawing from life was the first step for any artist. And so, as a child, I learned how to draw the same way as I learned my alphabet—starting from “A”, which stands for “apple”. To me, the apple is the beginning of all things that need to be built over time, as well as a delicious snack.

What is the average workday like for Jennifer Mei?

I actually don’t have an average workday yet. At the moment I’ve just started my second year of college, and everything there is far from consistent! One day you’ll have nothing to do, and the next, you have half a million assignments due the next week, with barely any time to sleep or eat. Then, just when you’re not sure if you’ll make it past finals week, everything suddenly lifts off your shoulders and you have two months of break, so you can hibernate in preparation for next quarter.

Which artists or works of art have had the greatest influence on you?

Many of my favorite works are actually historical paintings. A majority of them from the Romantic era. As for more modern-day works of art, I’ve been influenced greatly by concept art for a multitude of movies and games. I know it’s a strange combination, but it can work!

What about steampunk inspires you, and what do you think about its popularity right now?

Steampunk is challenging because it’s like designing a machine. The placement of everything has to at least vaguely make sense, and even when you’ve designed it once, it can always still be improved upon. I find the concept extremely romantic as well, because it transports me back to an era where the human imagination is just beginning to take flight. I believe many other people think the same way, and this is what makes it so popular.

What keeps you coming back to fantastic art, both looking at it and making it?

Fantastic art isn’t hard to find at all these days, and that’s what I love the most about it. Sometimes, when life gets tough, I just like to take a little break and imagine a different world somewhere far, far away.

What can you tell us about the story behind “Golden Fish?”

This image came into my head one night as I tossed and turned trying to fall asleep … the waves, the fish, the boat, the lilies, the moon just kept rotating in my mind’s eye. Finally, to appease my muse, I found a sketchbook and put the first sketch down on paper. Only then was I able to sleep. As an aside, I had just watched the “The Luminous Fish Effect” episode of Big Bang Theory that evening, which I have no doubt was the starting seed that my imagination ran with.

You list the Brothers Hildebrandt, Mary GrandPré, and Chris Van Allsburg as major artistic influences. Do you return to any of their works in particular when you want to “refill your well” creatively? And where does Hayao Miyazaki fit in there?

Of these influences, I return to Chris Van Allsburg most frequently, specifically, his children’s book: The Polar Express. It’s been a source of magic and inspiration for me since third grade (when it made me decide to become an illustrator!).

Hayao Miyazaki is a wonderful inspiration and “well-refill.” He has a gleeful, childlike, imagination … that suffuses his movies with wonder, magic, and heart. If I made anime, this is exactly the anime I’d make!

How has gaming, video or otherwise, influenced your art?

My favorite games are interactive stories. As a visual artist, I think there is an immediate power to “literally” walking about in the shoes of the main character’s story. I would also cite a number of Super NES RPGs (Final Fantasy VI, Chrono Trigger, EarthBound, etc.) as the fodder and inspiration for many terrible works of amateur fanart that I created in high school. These were my humble starting point in digital art.

The settings in your illustrations seem to have a strong feeling of seasonality, the events portrayed happening at a particular time of year. What drives this? Artistic choice? Appreciation for seasonal color schemes?

Seasons, in my mind, are particularly charged with their own color feelings. In brainstorming things to do as personal pieces, they were a fun way to give myself a theme. I generally find that too much freedom tends to be just as daunting as too little … having “rails” to work with can help me start. Themes are also a fun way to tie personal works together.

You’ve said elsewhere that 95% of your art education happened outside of the classroom. What sort of things do you find yourself learning now, particularly with personal pieces?

Increasingly, it has become less about “getting better” … and more and more about finding the heart of it all. Finding the “why” in the art I’m making. Thinking about the soul and storytelling of a piece. Learning to listen to my inner voice, rather than drowning it out with critiques (from both my inner critic and others) about what I should change.

What’s the most common mistake you see new illustrators making right out of school?

I’ve seen many a new illustrator stock their portfolio with a little bit of everything, trying to be a jack of all trades. Yes, in the beginning an illustrator might not know their exact focus, they may be scared of missing out on “opportunities.” But it is immensely helpful as an illustrator to pay attention to the artwork that resonates most strongly with you and do more of it! It is with this consciousness that an illustrator hones and re-images their portfolio and style into something truly unique, truly of them. Don’t be another interchangeable cog, paint the images only you can paint in a way that only you can paint them!

What’s your process for finding the right approach to a book cover? Do you have tried and true techniques, or do you wait for something in the book to speak to you?

“Visually striking” tends to be the watchword for a cover. Sometimes I am provided with the scene for the cover by the author or editor, which can work nicely in a pinch. That said, a higher level of artistry goes into reading the entire manuscript and pulling that one image that embodies the essence of the book: in a way that intrigues, entertains, raises questions, and doesn’t spoil anything for the reader.

Many of your paintings focus on animals. Do you draw from nature around you in Virginia, especially the Shenandoah, or do these creatures spring from your imagination?

I would say a bit of both. I tend to start things in my imagination and flesh them out with references gathered from all over the place. Many of these are photos, but there is also a healthy component of memories and impressions that I’ve stored away from first-hand experiences. I don’t tend to draw directly from nature in the literal sense, but I very much “draw” from it figuratively.

What keeps you coming back to fantastic art, both looking at it and making it?

There is a certain delight that comes from getting to visit (and re-visit) a childlike world of magic and wonder. It’s the challenge and delight of telling a visual story that, to me, is truer than literal truth. It’s getting to take these brief, fleeting glimpses and imaginings and translate them so that others can see them too.

What are you working on these days?

I am not working on any major paintings at the moment. I am instead revisiting my snowy fantasy world and working on re-envisioning a YA fantasy story that I started writing long ago (doing some concept art for this as well). I have found that I am drawn most to story no matter the medium: picture or written word.

What was your inspiration to paint “Knowledge and Wisdom?”

This piece was inspired by a Russian movie—I’ve forgotten the name of it. It is a political movie with many subplots, killings, and struggles, but all of them are observed from the viewpoint of a little girl. It was shocking to me. An extremely young eye to see such brutal realities. The character you see in “Knowledge and Wisdom” is based on that girl. I tried to capture the irony and strong contrast.

Your style seems very painterly, sometimes including visible “brushstrokes” or color laid down in “tiles,” yet you paint using CG. Can you tell us about how your style developed?

I once had a dream to be an oil painter. It took broad study, and a large amount of time. I tried so many approaches to learning oil painting skills! So, you see, that’s why my pieces seem very painterly: I intentionally leave some brushstrokes and color laid down in “tiles.” These can make the piece more like a real painting, not like a lifeless CG product.

Which artists do you feel have most heavily influenced your work?

No one artist was the special influence for me. I think maybe the Neoclassical style of 19th century Europe had a big influence on me. As for Asian artists, I was crazy about Yoshitaka Amano, the brilliant artist who worked on the Final Fantasy games.

What helped you to thrive at the Sichuan Fine Art institute, when the focus of your department was on traditional painting?

Thrive. HAHAHA! I just did more hard work than other people. In China, art institutes are not only for people who love the arts, but also (even largely) for the students whose grades in such subjects as Math, English, or Chinese Literature are bad. These guys are not qualified to get into a university, so the government expands the enrollment at art institutes … These students don’t like art, even hate it. So it’s not very hard to understand why Chinese art institutes have big numbers of students, but the good artists are proportionally very rare. My department is in name only an “Animation and Cartooning” department. Actually it’s a messy mix of traditional painting, some photography, industrial design…

How do you feel your art fits in the context of Chinese art, whether speaking historically or among today’s artists?

I just define my art very simply. Art is for people. Although I like my art, I want more people to like it. Even Van Gogh must obey the rule. Artists are not creators, I think. They just combine different visual elements in new orders. Their only special traits are that they can be moved strongly by some visual elements and are very sensitive about their own feelings. So, speaking to history or the present or some specific artists, I think we can choose what we want. It’s not a fixed relationship.

How did you first become interested in fantasy illustration?

From childhood, I was crazy about Japanese games and manga. In this regard, I have to say “thank you, Japan.” It’s not just me: in China, almost all arts are influenced in this way.

What has working with digital art tools allowed you to do that is harder using traditional tools?

Harder? I don’t think so. Digital tools were developed for lazy, quick success and instant benefits. They are some easy tools. I have trained more than 300 people in China. Most of them had never touched art before, but after 8-10 months of training, they became qualified illustrators working for game and illustration companies. It is, of course, not a miracle. It’s just the digital tool’s contribution.

If someone tells me he wants to become a traditional artist or an illustrator, using traditional tools like watercolor, oils, acrylics, etc. in 8-10 months, I’ll say “sorry, it’s impossible.” Although Michael Jordan says “nothing is impossible,” yeah, it’s absolutely impossible. If he just wants to use Photoshop to paint, I’ll give him encouragement and say this would be OK, to go for it.

If you could be commissioned to paint your ideal subject, what would you paint?

I’d paint something in a gorgeous style mixing both the Han Nation’s culture and Western painting skill.

What do you think distinguishes good fantasy art from good art in general?

The usage of the fantasy elements is the important criterion, I think. Good fantasy art is not just beautiful art, but it must represent the culture’s background.

What are you painting right now?

I’m crazy busy—training some students, doing commission work, and I’m decorating a new apartment. So I don’t have a huge amount of time to develop a whole new style. But I keep on thinking about new works, non-stop.

What was the inspiration for Gentleman Thief?

I’d read Scott Lynch’s The Lies of Locke Lamora and really loved it, so I wanted to paint something with similar themes—Venetian night, thieves, that kind of thing.

What are some of your favorite tools or techniques?

I usually work with a combination of traditional sketching, Photoshop, and PainterI typically sketch out a number of thumbnails with regular pencil and paper, scan in the best of them and do quick digital color sketches over the top, and then shoot/collect the reference that I need to complete the piece.

You’ve done illustration work for various card games, gaming publications, and RPG supplements. How has gaming, fantasy or otherwise, influenced your art?

Card art definitely taught me to be more efficient with what I was painting—dramatic lighting, for example, goes a lot further than loads of fussy detail when the end product is going to print maybe 1.5 inches across, and icons for casual games are even more space-limited. For tabletop work, I like to give adventurers somewhat battered or nicked armor if I can, and generally age their world, as I think it’s more interesting to see a character that looks like they have a bit of a history. I’ve also noticed that if I’m playing a video game I really love, my design decisions tend to start skewing in that direction; Portal 2 got me to desaturate/go monochrome more than my usual, for example.

Which artists or writers have been most inspirational to you?

As to the artists, Jean-Leon Gerome, N. C. Wyeth, Greg Manchess, and Jaime Jones; for the writers, C. S. Friedman, Frank Herbert, GRRM. I actually just finished a Tolkien-based piece for the “Eowyn and the Nazgul” challenge over at Jon Schindehette’s blog.

What are your favorite kinds of characters or creatures to paint?

I really love Orientalist-style scenes and flowing costumes, painting women in armor or clothing that makes sense (no chainmail bikinis here!), and roguish guys.

What are your first steps in illustrating a fantastic scene?

I do a lot of very rough, compositional scribbles in my sketchbook, trying to feel out what the optimal composition for the scene might be. Depending on what’s in it, I might start looking for reference images, if I’m not particularly familiar with the subject matter or if it’s a very specific intellectual property. If I’m working for a client, I clean up three or four of my favorites into rough sketches for them to choose between, and get feedback from them. If it’s a personal piece, I’ll usually just do color studies of my favorites and then choose the one I think is the most successful.

Can you describe your workday?

Usually I’m more or less at the computer painting from 9-6. I try to have multiple projects going at once, so that I can stay fresh and switch off if I start to get bogged down, or if I’m waiting on client feedback. The overwhelming majority of my clients are located outside of LA, so I email or phone them to get their input. I typically also spend a little time checking freelance boards or emailing existing contacts to drum up more work once my current contracts are completed, which I do while waiting to hear back from the current clients. Then I kick into the painting portion of my day, switching between Photoshop and Painter throughout, and working on a Wacom Graphire (which dates from back before my high school degree, and it’s still trucking!). I have a dual-monitor setup, and I usually have a podcast playing or my reference on the secondary screen. I also end up doing a reference shoot at least once a week, which typically involves myself or the husband looking silly in front of my photo light, often with one of the prop weapons I have around. If I have a lot of fabric in the scene, I tend to use an old sheet or a velvet cloak for drapery reference and photograph that as well. After I’ve been away from the computer for dinner and some down time, I answer any emails that need immediate attention, and usually do a bit of work on personal projects or gesture sketching before heading off to bed.

What’s changed about your process and methods since you graduated from the Savannah College of Art and Design?

I became a lot more comfortable with custom brushes in Photoshop, which save a ton of time under the right circumstances. I also learned more of the nooks and crannies of the program, like using adjustment layers and so forth, and in general became more reliant on Photoshop. I think back then I worked on pieces about 2/3rds in Painter, 1/3 in Photoshop, and now it’s more or less reversed, as I tend to use Painter for detailing, blending, and final touches, but Photoshop is my workhorse.

I shoot a lot more of my own reference now, too; back then, my digital camera wasn’t very good, so I usually chose a character’s pose based on what I already had in my reference files. Now, I find I benefit from planning out the color areas, so that I can decide on the best lighting scheme for the piece, and then shooting reference and tightening things up later.

You said in a 2009 interview that you were trying to push your compositional and anatomy skills. What have you learned about both since then, and what are you still working to be able to do?

I think my facial anatomy/handling certainly improved in the interim, and I became more comfortable with integrating characters into the scene they’re occupying. I also got a lot better at non-humans, which has generally served me well. I think for one company I was their designated horse illustrator, and one of my current client projects is certainly animal-heavy. I’m definitely still working on pushing my compositional skills; often I see another painting and think “Oooh, I wish I’d thought of that arrangement!”

What are you currently working on?

I’m doing some film concept art as part of a production company’s pitch for investors; it’s been a really interesting experience, since I hadn’t done anything quite along those lines before. I have to do some compositional/lighting tricks, for example, to avoid showing the main character’s face in much detail, as they haven’t attached someone to the role.

I also recently wrapped up on some game splashscreen work, which was complicated—anything where the end product needs to be in clean layers (that is to say, characters have to be painted separately from their backgrounds and any overlapping characters must also be painted separately) is a bit of a challenge for me, since it means I have to be very careful about labeling all the pieces of the file and painting appropriately, rather than my usual tendency to just paint away and flatten once I get more than three or four layers going, and I think that piece must’ve had at least thirty layers in its final form.

What was the inspiration for The Last Rites?

Now, after all this time, it’s hard for me to recall the feelings that formed this painting—because my inspiration is always feelings, elusive emotions. They usually come from my dreams, my longing for other, unreal worlds. I create such a world with my paintings; they all make a whole. The Last Rites is just one of this world’s elements. [Zawadzki painted The Last Rites in 2008—JTG.]

The Last Rites is only one of your works that draw on religious themes or imagery. How does religion, spirituality, or the divine influence your art?

I’m not in any way a religious person, yet I do believe in a controlled order of the world—or worlds. A sacred sphere is a very important part of my works because it’s a very important part of my life. As well as a profane sphere…

Many of your paintings feature wings, flight, or birds. What attracts you to these subjects?

There were always birds in my dreams and visions, I don’t know why. I was subconsciously fascinated with them. Today I’m fully aware of their mysteriousness and independence. Birds also have many symbolical associations, which I sometimes use.

Which artists or writers have been most inspirational to you?

I had the earliest inspiring visions as a two- or three-year-old child, when I hadn’t had contact with painting or literature yet. I remember a raven flying out of a picture hanging in my room. Somewhat later on my parents’ shelf I found a booklet with Schiller’s ballades. I spent hours fixing my eyes on the illustrations, enchanted with their mood. And so it is today—what I find most interesting is an atmosphere, emotions. A part of those emotions is an echo of my contact with art, but the lion’s share results from my observation of people. I could name the artists I like, but none of them is my direct inspiration.

How would you describe your work in the context of fantastic art in Poland or Eastern Europe?

I’m not a specialist in this field, and towards art I take up the attitude of a common viewer, searching out what I like. I don’t think of my works with reference to somebody else’s works. It’s never been my purpose to be like or unlike someone else. I just do my own thing.

What was your training as an artist, and what led you to focus your skills on the fantastic?

Since I was a child I have had various visions and dreams that built surreal worlds in my imagination. These worlds came first, and then I felt a need to express them by drawing. When I was eleven years old I started painting. I wanted to go to an artistic secondary school, but I was told that my eyesight is too poor for that. Well, I can’t agree… From then on I’ve been self-teaching and getting to the bottom of painting craft myself. I don’t regret having chosen this path. It may have been more difficult, yet it let me develop my own techniques.

What are some of your favorite approaches to illustrating fantastic scenes and stories?

I never use a sketch-book, because I don’t want to force myself to reproduce on a painting something that was already put on paper. The most beautiful moment is when I’m standing in front of a white, clear board when I am just starting to paint. At this time I both do and do not know what will emerge from this whiteness. I can feel what I want to paint, but I don’t know yet what it’s going to look like. It’s hard to describe this process; some things just can’t be put into words.

Many of your paintings have a strongly unified color scheme, virtually monochromatic or duochromatic. Does this unity relate to the themes in your work, or technical challenges you set for yourself, or is it something that comes out of the story behind each image?

When I start painting I never have any assumptions about the colours—a colour, just like a subject, always comes itself. It surely depends on my mood. Recently my paintings have been rather colourful; it seems I’m having a better temper now.

You’ve spoken about how some of your subjects have come from dreams or feelings. What is your process for transitioning from that to a finished work?

All of my paintings originate from my dreams and emotions, and all of them are created as I described above.

What are you currently working on?

I’m working mainly on taming my parrots. No, seriously, now I’m doing a lot of different things at one time. I’m painting a new piece and finishing a few older ones. I’m sculpting, constructing a motorcycle, and working on baroque-style frescos.

What was the inspiration for “Garmir?”

Garmir l’Eclissiomante is the second book in a fantasy trilogy by Thomas Mazzantini. The author sent me a few ideas, suggesting a cathedral as the background and a young wizard apprentice with blond hair in the foreground. This piece took me no more than two days to complete. I found the right direction almost immediately, and the colors came easily. In the end I was really satisfied with this piece, the art director was so happy, and the author really enjoyed it. Sometimes life is easy.

How do you visualize what you want to draw or paint? Do you sketch, create models, or do other kinds of preparation before diving into a new piece?

I prepare some rough sketches to study composition and black and whites. Sometimes I take pictures of human models to have anatomy references as well. Then I refine the pencils and the shadows. When I’ve got a good drawing, I scan it and add the details with my Wacom tablet. Finally I put colors on.

What impact has your experience in comics had on your illustrations?

It’s hard to say. My comics pages are pretty dark, with strong black and whites, while my covers have bright colors. I would say that the major influence lies in the composition of the page.

What do you think most young fantasy artists could learn from comics, in terms of composition, that they overlook?

Working half of the day with black ink allows me to have a good understanding of composition and light contrast, because all my panels have only blacks and whites to lean on. I bring this knowledge to color pieces, which in the end look highly contrasted and have strong lights. I have to take care, though, as sometimes my pieces show too much contrast.

Your work has appeared around the world—in China, England, France, Germany, Russia, Spain, and the United States. What do you think makes your art accessible to so many different audiences?

I’m a mainstream artist. I began painting very classical subjects: princesses, dragons, space ships, and so on. That, together with my hyperrealistic style, made my art easy to sell. Today I’m looking for a more personal way to depict the reality I see around me, and that’s a hard but fascinating task.

What are some of your favorite approaches to illustrating fantastic scenes and stories?

I try to put myself in what I paint, hoping someone will be interested in my personal touch. There are two major sources for inspiration: the visual and the emotional. When I’m successful in the transposition of a feeling onto paper, a thought that I want to transmit to the viewer, I’m satisfied.

If an artist learns to transfer the visual through observation, then how does one learn to transfer emotion onto the canvas or the screen?

That’s a good question. I transfer feelings onto canvas through the expressions of characters and a great attention to light, sometimes even through the colors of the sky. In my more recent work, I use brush strokes to add extra feeling.

How has working as a teacher at the Accademia dello Spettacolo in Milan impacted your own art?

I’ve been teaching art for a long time, and I’m always surprised to find how teaching someone makes the things I’m explaining clearer to myself as well. Putting your own art into words is a great way to understand it more effectively.

How do you recharge your creativity when you’re feeling burned out, or you can’t seem to find your way with a new piece?

I take one day a week to travel around the lakes that surround Milan. That sets my mind at ease, but somewhere inside I’m always thinking of the next piece I’ll be working on …

What are you currently working on?

Most of my time is spent on comics pages. I draw Nathan Never, a very popular science fiction comic book that is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. Some issues were translated and published as a miniseries in the U.S. by Dark Horse back in 1999. I also paint the covers for the reprint of the same character. In my free time I’m working on a top secret project.