Maurizio meets Stephan Martiniere- Part 2 of 2

We continue the journey in the life of Stephan Martiniere, winner of the 2008 Hugo Award as Best Artist in the fantastic field. The article was translated and included in the Issue #56 of the Italian magazine Robot. Enjoy the interview and don't forget to check the first part here:

MM: Your name is so strictly intertwined with magical environments and universes renowned all over the world. Tell us for an example about your collaboration to the Myst saga and its influence in your production…

SM: Working for Myst was a perfect match. Cyan was one of a very few company I was interested in working with at the time. The timing was perfect. I was already a big fan of the Myst universe. Me and Rand Miller, the creator, connected very quickly, I am always drawn to visually expansive and complex universes with rich and dramatic stories, I found myself not only doing concepts and art direction but also participating in the narrative and bringing more mystery to the whole universe.

MM: How is the typical job day of Stephan Martiniere? How do you organize your workday? Are you able to stop and enjoy your pauses, or you are a workaholic?

SM: It took me several years but I am now able to have a good and healthy balance between my work and my private life, I still work a lot but never to a point where it becomes stressful. It was not always the case but I am in a good place now where I can choose the project I want to be involved in.

MM: Last year you won the Hugo Award for the category of Professional Artist. What does this achievement mean to you?

SM: To be honest for many years the Hugo in the Professional Artist category didn’t mean much to me. There were a lot of issues for a long time with the World Science Fiction Society structure. As much as I respect and like some of the
past winners I found it disturbing and upsetting when the same artists kept winning years after years while a great number of other talented artists were overlooked. I was nominated several times in the past and I was willing to decline the award unless the WSFC revised its structure and recognize the works of the broader range of artists. Over the last several years things have started to change. There is now a better process and a
lot of new and talented artists are getting more visibility. In such a
context I was willing to accept the award, and I am glad I won this year... I also believe the process can get even better and to continue to improve it and allow even more visibility for new artists I stepped aside bowing out this year nomination. When all artists can be considered the Hugo will become relevant and even more prestigious.

MM: Irene Gallo, the Art Director for TOR, quotes you often in her Art Department Blog. Are you in touch with colleagues in the everyday life?

SM: Irene Gallo and I are part of a small group of friends and artists. We regularly share our work and offer each other advice and critics. It’s very rewarding and keeps us on our toes. I also keep in touch as much as I can with other colleagues

MM: You are indeed becoming a great source of inspiration to a generation of fans and artists in the fantastic field. Could you list us a few names able to inspire today Stephan Martiniere, and why?

SM: There are so many artists past and present that inspire me it is difficult to pick a few. Walt Disney, Moebius, Franklin, Hergé, Hugo Pratt, Chris Foss, Sead Mead, Bernie Wrightson, John Buscema have been very influencial during my teenage years, later on I would say John Berkey, Leyendecker, Dean Cornwell and so much more. Whether it was their skills, styles, mastery of color or composition sense of storytelling they all brought something to my artistic and personal growth. Then there are architects and visionaries such as Hugh Ferris, Lebbeus Woods, Otto Wagner, Calatrava, Zaha Hadid and film directors including Orson Welles, Kubrick, Ridley Scott, Walt Disney, Tim Burton, James Cameron, Coppola, Fellini, Terry Gilliam, Lucas, Spielberg and then production designers and writers and designers etc, as you can see the list can go on…

MM: We'd like to know your opinion about the health of fantastic illustration in the commercial market. Do you think the international economic crisis is putting in danger the future of artists in the editorial sector?

SM: As I am writing this Random House, Simon and Schuster and Houghton Mifflin/ Harcourt are having some serious problems. Obiously the economic crisis is affecting everyone; a good friend of mine called it the publishocalypse, but I also heard that the SF and fantasy genre is doing well despite the crisis.

See related articles here:

Simon and Schuster

Random House

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

MM: Which is your advice to a young artist? Have you ever met a natural talent? Should an artist follow his heart or should he apply hard on courses and studies?

SM: I would say never give up your dream, keep drawing, painting etc… and keep working hard at it. Through classes, school or whatever allows you to learn more. There is a vast amount of information and resources available today; I wish these resources were available when I was in school. One of the most important advice I would give would be ” know your industry” by that I mean know who you would like to work for and tailor your portfolio accordingly. Show your strength not your weaknesses. It is always better to be good at one thing than try to do too many and be average in all.

Yes, I have met a few natural talents although interestingly they are not the one who survived, I have seen more decent artists that became great from perseverance.

MM: Will the new assignment at ID Software keep you too busy for making new digital painting for personal or editorial purpose?

SM: I still find the time to work on other projects, films or book covers. I always make sure that the schedule are comfortable and I don’t have to deliver yesterday, no rush always means better quality of work and allows me to explore more.

MM: Are you working on new illustrations right now?

SM: Yes, I'm starting a new cover for Tor and doing some concept on a really cool SF movie. I can’t say much but it's epic.

(Dallas, 12/12/2008)

Maurizio meets Stephan Martiniere - Part 1 of 2

After John Picacio (2007) and Yours Truly (2008), the Italian Robot magazine appointed Stephan Martiniere as the official cover artist for the year 2009. After the summer the publisher Silvio Sosio asked me to deliver materially the scepter and we caught the opportunity to interview him for Italy. Here is the cleared, integer and extended text of our close encounter, that I'm pleased to share with my Readers. Enjoy the latest interview from this talented voice, recent winner of the 2008 Hugo Award in the Best Artist category!

MM: Stephan, a new chapter in your life has just begun. You have just relocated from Chicago to Dallas taking on the position of Art Director for Rage at ID Software. What about your new job? Are you already focused on new challenges?

SM: A new job always brings new challenges. Rage is a very creative and ambitious project. A lot of the styling and ideas were already established before I jumped on board so one challenge was to catch up and get up to speed with the project. I have a good grasp of the project at this stage and I am very comfortable with my team, the challenge now is to bring my vision into the mix and align my ideas with the initial vision of the game.

MM: What did you left behind?

SM: Some very good friends, a beautiful city, some great hot dogs and all my winter clothes. I don’t mind so much about the clothes, there is something nice about wearing shorts during the winter in Dallas.

MM: Share with us the happiest moments of your career and talk a bit about your background.

SM: On an emotional level without a doubt meeting my wife and the birth of my daughter Madelynn. On a professional level without a doubt meeting my wife and the birth of my daughter Madelynn!

As for my background I was born and grew up in France. At the age of 15 I attended an art school for 4 years in Paris, graduated, then went to an animation school for a two-year program. At the end of the first years I landed my first job which took me to Japan to work as an animator and concept artist on Inspector Gadget. I never came back and didn’t finish the school program. For the next 8 years I found myself traveling between Asia and the States, working on animated series such as Heathcliff, Jayce and The Wheel Warriors, Ghostbusters and others. Then I became a director and continued my career directing shows such as Dinosaucers, Dennis the Menace and lastly Madeline, a musical adaptation of the Madeline books by Ludwig Bemelmans which won a handful of awards including the ACT Award, the Parent's Choice Award , the Humanitas Award and got nominated for an Academy Award.

MM: A promising start-up indeed...

My career took a drastic turn after that. I felt a need to go back to doing concept design and illustration. I got hired to work for a themed park company and spent 2 very creative years designing
rides for several Japanese parks. During that period I started to establish some freelance contacts in other fields like TV and live action. For a brief period after that I returned to animation to direct 4 more Madeline musical adaptations which turned out to be very enjoyable . I directed some animation shows for different companies for a couple of years until I got involved with the 'Where is Waldo' animated series which took me from art director to director to cartoonist for the syndicated comic strip. It was during these 4 years of doing the strips that I established some very solid free lance contacts.

This eventually led me to move out of LA and become a full time freelance artist. One project leading to another, I found myself involved in pretty much every fields in the entertainment industry doing books covers, animations themed parks and working on such films as the Fifth Element, Virus, The Time Machine, I Robot, and the last two Star Wars. I got into the game industry about eight years ago. Starting as a visual design director at Cyan for the game "URU" (Ages Beyond Myst) and Myst 5 then as a visual design director and creative visual director at Midway for Stranglehold, Area51 and several other projects still in development. This led me to my current position as AD at ID.

MM: Was your experience with the movie industry rewarding? How about the interaction of a creative artist inside so terrific projects like I, Robot or Star Wars?

SM: There is always a certain satisfaction to see your work on screen especially when the movie turns out to be good, which is not always the case; there is also a fulfillment when you get to participate in a movie like Star Wars which was so influential in my artist’s life. But in general working for the entertainment industry as an illustrator is not as rewarding as doing book covers in the publishing industry. The main reasons are that in the scale of things, an artist working on a film is but a tiny portion of that film. There is little recognition for the artist and his work. Very often the work is diluted and there is absolutely no control regarding how the work is utilized. Being an illustrator for film or animation is being part of an enormous machine.

An artist also does not own his work and therefore has a lot of difficulties exhibiting his art much less exploiting it. The publishing industry especially in book cover is the exact opposite. In terms of the actual work there isn’t much of a difference between doing concept for a movie, an animated film or a game. There are obviously some technical limitations associated with each medium but doing concept is about ideas. Obviously that same idea will follow different path to completion and will be rendered in different ways based on each field. Animation for example will dictate certain simplicity of execution as opposed to a feature film. All in all as an illustrator I like doing book cover best.

MM: Recently SFSignal asked to several artists a question that we would like to propose again to you: How have digital tools affected the way in which you create your artistic pieces?

SM: Digital has reshaped my career. For many years as a concept artist in the animation industry I was given the task to come up with ideas mostly in the form of sketches, finished black and white drawings or grey scales rendering but very seldom was I allowed to finish these ideas as painting. The pre-production process at the time was such that the art team was divided between background designer, character designer, prop designer, character colorist and background colorist. During all these year I never had the chance to explore painting even less finding a painting style. I was fortunate enough to be there at the beginning of the digital shift. Since I didn’t have a particular technique or style of my own moving into digital was easy and painless, I became very comfortable with Photoshop fairly quickly. Painting digitally allowed me to explore ideas and techniques I don’t think would have been possible traditionally. Working with layers made the process even more enjoyable, in many ways it made me a faster and more efficient artist.

Note: check here for the same reply by other artists, including mine (Source: Mind Meld Archive, SFSignal)

MM: In your opinion, will a 100% digitally created work of art ever be considered a 'masterpiece', able to take its place alongside the current masterpieces realized with traditional tools?

SM: If you define a masterpiece as an outstanding achievement, then I don’t see why not. To me its about the artist skill and imagination not so much about the tool, transitions are always difficult, acceptance takes time but eventually people will recognize it.

Note: The second and last part of the interview will follow next month. Stay tuned!

MIND MELD: Art in a Digital World

As a Chesley Nominee, in August I was invited by SFsignal to a MIND MELD round table titled Art in a Digital World. Below you'll find the integer version of my intervention. Check the above link and you'll discover also all the other interesting contributes by John Picacio, Lou Anders, Todd Lockwood, David A. Hardy, Stephan Hickman, Greg Bridges, Ruth Sanderson, Alan M. Clark and Irene Gallo (Irene added herself last-minute in the comments section!).

Q: How have digital tools affected the way in which you create your artistic pieces? Will a 100% digitally created work of art ever be considered a 'masterpiece', able to take its place alongside the current masterpieces?

A: Can a virtual work of art be considered a 'masterpiece' without the existence in the material world of a real canvas? What about artists from traditional school enhancing their productivity by shifting to a drawing tablet? Since the advent of digital technology I've been discussing these issues in many artistic circles. The debate will go on for decades until electronic tools will blend in such a way with traditional methods that they will be fully accepted by future generations.

If you think for a moment about it, prices are dropping and sophisticated equipments are becoming accessible to a wider range of artists. We can take as an example the Cintiq family of Wacom graphic tablets.They allow any artist to draw directly on the flat screen monitor/tablet. Jump to this videoclip about a Cintiq 12UX reviewed by Stephan Dube at CGChannel and you'll understand in a flash what I mean saying that traditional and digital tools are going to blend. A digital tool is nothing without an artist. When you are focused on your vision, it represents just a medium and while you are digi-painting directly on the screen with electronic brushes or airbrushes, you are using your mind, your experience, the teachings of your school... so the digital medium becomes indeed a cyber-extension of your fantasy.
Personally I like to draw my preliminary sketches with conventional pencils - it's a manual legacy - and then move my work to the electronic realm. My illustrations included in the Spectrum collection are expressly indicated as realized with a digital medium, and so are the creations of many other artists. When you browse through the pages of this awesome series showcasing 'The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art', you don't think you are looking at something lower just because it was made with a computer, you feel you're watching awesome expressions of Art... maybe created by artists that just a few years ago were used to paint the same artworks with acrylic colors and brushes.

In 1997 I was invited in Rome to the first international Exhibit of Digital Art together with renowned digital artists coming from all over the world, like Laurence Gartel, Gil Bruvel, Cher Threinen-Pendarvis. My featured illustration, a cover for Interzone titled "Lady of the Year 2800", was printed on a huge high-quality canvas. It was terrific! You couldn't say at first sight it was born as a digital painting. We artists wrote down on the spot a manifesto whose words still sound interesting after twelve years. I'm pleased to report here a few lines:

"The Digitalism is a movement towards the future with a powerful memory of the past...As we approach the new millennium, we are filled with the anticipation of a new global awareness...we do firmly believe and so, strongly state, that the new Art dwells not so much in the artifact that hosts it, but in the concept that molds it... Thanks to technology, our Art, all Art, can be universally enjoyed and eternally preserved... Art, as ever, springs from the mind and the heart of the Artist. Whatever their subject matter, whatever their means to the end, it remains an expansive, personal experience for both the creator and the viewer!"

Maurizio Meets John Picacio!

Occasionally my publishers ask for something different from a 'simple' illustration, so I take a brief pause from the canvas for chatting with overseas colleagues. After Michel Whelan and Kynuko Craft, here's another star in the firmament of the fantastic illustrators: John Picacio!
The Article/Gallery - coupled with a striking cover from his vast production - appears in the 50th issue of the Italian Robot magazine coming out just these days. Enjoy!


MM: Talk to us about your recently released art book COVER STORY: THE ART OF JOHN PICACIO. What your fans will find inside the volume? What about your personal feelings when you touched this milestone with your own hands?

JP: I'm really proud of it. It's my first art book, and it means a lot to me to see it on shelves everywhere. It's a 200-page hardcover of the best of my book and magazine work over the last several years. It includes lots of sketches and thoughts about the making of my illustrations. I actually designed the book myself as well, which is unusual for most artists' monographs. There's also an extensive interview in the book, where I talk about process and problem-solving in art. MonkeyBrain Books published the book and I'm glad to see the book selling so well.

MM: You have worked for Del Rey, Penguin, Tor Books, among many publishing houses. Can you tell us about your experience in working with publishing companies and art directors?

JP: I've been very fortunate. I think most of my publishing clients hire me just as much for what's in my head as what comes out of my hands. The best clients recognize that. There's a mutual respect between me and the art directors I work for. I try to make life as easy I can for them by producing the best work I can, and produce it on-schedule. In turn, they tend to give me a lot of space to create. I like the ultimate challenge of producing art that’s true to itself, but doing it in an open, competitive marketplace, and communicating with a smart and sophisticated audience. It’s very challenging, and I think that it’s much more interesting to me than just doing personal paintings for myself and sticking them up on a lonely wall in a gallery. I like challenging audiences with my work. I think I've been treated very well so far.

MM: What is your advice for a talented European artist wishing to enter the American editorial market?

JP: When I first started out, I mailed big postcards to all of the books and magazines I wanted to work with. I sent the cards to their art directors and it helped me get some early work. Even if an artist has a good website, it's a good idea to send out a physical reminder of their art so that art directors can keep it around. Annuals are a good way of getting noticed as well. SPECTRUM is a great one for any artist competing for work in the sf/fantasy field.

MM: Do you think Internet is essential to your business contacts? Do you receive feedback from your website?

I do receive feedback from my site, from both art directors, fans, and collectors. My website has a gallery, with many of my book and magazine covers. I also have a blog that I update frequently with updates about my work. My website is www.johnpicacio.com and my blog is http://johnpicacio.com/blog.html

MM: How do you do a book cover? Tell us about your creation process…

Well, I think the process always starts with reading the book. The book is God to me. I do my best to understand it on its own terms. No matter what though, it’s going to filter through my brain and that’s when interesting connections happen. So I make notes and little sketches, and eventually an image bubbles to the surface. Once that image is approved by the art director, I’ll do a full pencil drawing of the idea, and then I’ll seal the drawing with spray fixative. I then paint all of the darkest areas with black acrylic. Once that’s dry, I’ll do a full greyscale oil painting of the full composition. This is where all of the values of the painting happen. I’ll seal this painting and wait for it to dry. Then I’ll either build up my final color glazes directly onto this painting or I can also go a different direction. I can scan the greyscale painting into the computer. Then I can paint big abstract swatches of color on separate boards and scan those in, and then composite these color swatches over the greyscale painting and these layerings and juxtapositions can create unexpected and powerful results. It’s always a new journey with each new cover. One thing to remember is that this isn’t the only way I work. I’ve been known to do shadowbox assemblages, collages, and many other mixed-media approaches. I don’t limit myself. I try to do what I think best communicates the idea. I would say that I consistently enjoy drawing and painting with traditional media though. The computer is most fun to me when I use it to composite and layer things that I’ve done with my hands.

MM: When you are creating a cover do you use live models or your imagination?

JP: I use both. I think drawing from life helps me imagine in fresh ways. I don't actually paint specifically from live models in my studio, but I'll photograph friends or relatives with very rough photographs to provide a starting point. Sometimes I'll make my own costumes and props to give me more information when I paint. No matter how much or how little reference material I use though, my imagination will always be adding or subtracting visual information to make the best illustration I can.

MM: You have illustrated many book covers and magazines short stories. Can you tell us which illustrations have been the most rewarding?

JP: That's a tough question. There are a few I did in the last year that really stand out for me. I'm proud of the cover for Walter M. Miller Jr.'s classic A CANTICLE FOR LEIBOWITZ. It's the cover of the HarperCollins/Eos American trade paperback release. It meant a lot to me to do a cover for a book that's so important that it literally transcends the genre. I did the wraparound cover for Jeffrey Ford's THE EMPIRE OF ICE CREAM, and I like that one a lot because I thought I made some personal breakthroughs in my overall drawing and painting abilities. Even more recently, I did the wraparound cover for an anthology called FAST FORWARD 1. It's a fresh new annual sf anthology that will debut in America from Pyr in spring 2007. I really like the abstractions in that cover, and I wouldn't be surprised to see more of that in my future work. Of course, I'd have to say that I'm still fond of the cover for James Tiptree Jr.'s HER SMOKE ROSE UP FOREVER. That one won the 2005 Chesley Award for Best Paperback Cover.

MM: Have you met any of the writers whose book covers or short stories you have illustrated? Any anecdote you would like to share?

JP: Sure. I usually meet them at the conventions, and it's always good to connect with them. My first cover was for the 30th Anniversary Edition of Michael Moorcock's BEHOLD THE MAN. The editor of the book took me to Mike's house. I asked Mike what he wanted me to illustrate, and he said, "I trust you. You'll do what's best for the book." An amazing gesture, when you think about it. I had never done a book cover to that point and Mike was (and still is) one of the all-time literary legends. He could have used the opportunity to assert his control over what I did, but he put his trust in me, and I've always respected that. It gave me confidence at the time and I've believed in my abilities ever since. It set a tone for my career that continues to this day.

MM: Can you tell us which medium do you feel more comfortable with lately? Has the computer medium had an impact on your way of realizing an artwork?

JP: I think drawing and painting with traditional media will always be what I love the most. I enjoy getting my hands dirty every day, and that will never change. As I said before, I love the conceptual possibilities of the digital world, and it's an important part of some of my work. The main thing is that the elements I bring to the computer are all created by my own hands in the "real world,” and the making of those elements is the most fun part to me.

MM: Do you have any dream about your art that you would like to accomplish? What are your plans for the immediate future?

JP: In many ways, I think I’m living my dream right now. I have the opportunity every day to push the limits of myself and my art, and hopefully sometimes, my audience. It doesn’t get much better than that. I love doing book covers. I’m working on more of them right now. I’m working on a triptych cover for new editions of Jeffrey Ford’s Well-Built City trilogy. It would be fun to do an illustrated book for all ages someday. Right now, I’m about to begin the biggest illustration project of my life. Ballantine Books has just hired me to illustrate the first of their brand-new trade paperback editions of Michael Moorcock’s ELRIC. The first book will release in the USA in late 2007/early 2008, and I’m doing the cover and interior illustrations. Elric is one of the greatest characters in the history of fantasy literature so I’m very honored to be a part of his legacy. Life is good right now!

This article appears in my Blog with the consent of the Publisher
© 2007, Delos Books