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Barron Storey’s advice for artists

I had the great fortune of attending a guest lecture at Laguna College of Art and Design (LCAD) in Southern California yesterday. The speaker was Barron Storey, a renowned American illustrator of the 70’s and 80’s turned art teacher.

An interesting man indeed, and very opinionated. His process really resonated with me due to the explorative nature of his work in medium, technique and content. He’s done some amazing art in his time, little of which is displayed on his website but he had an extensive slideshow that really showed off his artistic abilities. He’s probably best known for this Lord of the Flies book cover:

Some of my main takeaways:

• Paint what you know, not what you want people to think you know.
• Be who you are as opposed to creating a false self-image.
• When you create something really fresh and get to the point where people say, “Leave it like that!” you shouldn’t just niggle away at the details. That inevitably makes it worse. Instead, knock it back. Destroy some of the best parts, mess it up. The destruction is a shock to the system, and instead of going back into the painting while bored you’ll be applying more fresh energy.
• Don’t get hooked on a standard process. Randomise your actions when creating art.
• Avoid using the word “like.” You don’t want to like something, you want to love it.

So it was interesting to hear his thoughts on art/illustration. They’re pretty extreme some times, but it may be unsurprising to hear they stem from a punk rocker turned illustrator and art teacher. Apparently he was still playing in bands in his 40’s as well! Hardcore.

“What do I study to become a concept artist?”

This question was posed awhile back in the Perth illustrators’ group on facebook and generated a bit of discussion. I thought I’d transfer some of my thoughts into a blog post for all to see!

In context it was referring to courses/education available as a path to getting a job.

I’ll just jump right in with my response; I don’t tell any employers I have a graphic design degree and they don’t ask. It means virtually nothing for an artist in the entertainment industry. It’s definitely an advantage to have complimentary skills (3D especially) but concept art is actually significantly different to graphic design. While there are aspects of each that reinforce the other, being a concept artist is more like art/illustration combined with other forms of design (like industrial or fashion) depending on your specialty.

To work as a concept artist the most important question is “Can you do the job?” which breaks down into a few things:

- Are you technically and creatively competent?

AND ONCE YOU’VE GOT SOME SKILLS:

- Can you meet the deadline?
If you can do the job you don’t need any qualification. In fact, I’m skeptical of most courses for this very reason: If you’re not self-motivated you won’t make it in this industry, and if you ARE self-motivated you don’t need to pay to study!

However, studying with skilled mentors/teachers is a great catalyst for improvement, as is being surrounded by likeminded peers.

If you’re going to pursue a career in entertainment art then study somewhere that has people who take it seriously. Who treat it as a lifestyle! If you’re not drawing or painting EVERY DAY the people who are will be improving faster and eventually getting the jobs. If you’re the best person in your course, your course is probably shit.

You’re not competing with your peers in Perth to get a job in the entertainment industry, you’re competing with your peers globally. As a freelancer I do 95% of my work remotely. Anyone could get that work.

I was also asked how I got into concept art. I’m probably not the best example as I directed my studies in an awkward, semi-blind kind of way. Just an aspiring artist with the internet; I learnt to paint by painting photos and trying to deconstruct other artists’ work. If I liked someone’s technique I’d try adding it to my own. In retrospect a more efficient path is to study from life, but be aware of what’s going on. Hunt down resources like Scott Robertson’s Gnomon DVDs on matte rendering - they’re awesome for value and lighting knowledge. Gurney’s book on Light and Colour is great for… Light and colour. I could’ve really used that knowledge earlier, and instead tried to backwards engineer how to paint with colour without it becoming muddy. I desperately wanted to avoid muddy colours and the visibly airbrushed aesthetic.

If I were to break down my little reverse-engineered ‘rules’ I’d be explaining a style and not the way light and colour actually work. There’s something nice about well-crafted ‘naive’ art, like a charming comic produced with broken or misunderstood perspective, but if your goal is to work in a studio you’re better off learning the rules before breaking them.

Then being mindful of the things you learn, go and observe them in reality. Paint/draw from life, look at how different colours and lighting conditions affect real objects. If you want to focus on one particular area then minimise the variables. eg. To study light and form get a white plaster cast of a head or facial part, light it with a single source and do an accurate drawing/painting of it. Note where bounce light affects surfaces and how the form turns with the value. There are lots of notes on what to observe which you can probably find by searching for a Cast Drawing process.

Ok… Lots of writing. I’ll leave it at that for now. Feel free to ask any questions if you’d like any particular insight.