There is so much work being created in the industry every day that it is hard to keep up with. If you don’t find inspiration, you can start by looking at the work of others. There are boundaries being pushed and new forms of art being explored all the time. The community has created a wide range of amazing color palettes as well as stunning line work, and there has always been something new to learn.
The following digital artists have proven to us that nothing is impossible with a humble tablet and some decent software. They have proven that nothing is off limits with a humble tablet and some decent software. For those of you who are interested in improving their own digital and core art skills, be sure to take a look at our best digital art software and drawing apps roundups.
01. Mandy Jurgens
Intended to create a little magic through the use of color and texture, she says. “I hope to create a little magic through the use of both real and imagined portraits of people.
This work has been created with Adobe Photoshop and Procreate software, and Jurgens uses various colors, including yellows, purples, and other hues she enjoys, as well as focusing on how various materials reflect sunlight in her paintings, as well as playing with the viewer’s gaze.
As shown in Jurgens’ painting titled ‘Study’ (above), she demonstrates her skills as she renders lace in a transparent way without rendering out every detail of the lace. She states that this result was achieved through studying textures – how to simplify the lace and the shadows it would create on the face without rendering every single detail.
02. Irina French
It is constantly a work in progress for freelance artist Irina French. “We hope to produce illustrations for a board game one day.” She is inspired by the work of David David White
03. Heraldo Ortega
The work of Heraldo Ortega includes illustration, graphic design, and music. His art is created using Photoshop, Procreate, and Clip Studio Paint, and the Chilean artist has been painting using traditional media since childhood, but now uses digital media as well. “I’m inspired by fantasy and try to write little stories,” he says. He uses Photoshop, Procreate, and Clip Studio Paint to create his art.
As Ortega explains about his painting The Lord of Fire (above), he created this warrior, a warrior who is capable of creating fire with his sword, to make up his personal portfolio. As a result of the juxtaposition of rain and fire, the painting is able to emphasize the conflict being presented.
04. Rachel Walpole
A passion for art has always been a part of my existence since I was a child, says Rachel Walpole, who works as a digital artist and illustrator. “I like to go on excursions to enormous floating desert islands, see angels with questionable amounts of wings, and see creatures that are bigger than nations.”.
05. Jeszika Le Vye
Her digital artwork explores themes of psychology and philosophy. Jeszika Le Vye describes herself as an “imaginative realist painter,” who combines her love of classical realism with a passion for science fiction and fantasy. As she explains, her art explores the qualities that give something its substance, its soul, in an effort to comprehend them.
The above painting appeared almost fully realized to Le Vye in her mind, which led her to start working on it before she planned a concept or narrative. As she painted it, the boy’s piercing eyes kept evoking the image of Peter Pan. It was my goal to create an ageless child who would escape reality in a world of natural wonders and shadows that would keep him company.
06. Dan Volbert
Dan Volbert is a lead artist at Cooperativa Creativa, who has been driven to find a harmony of colors and shapes ever since he started working in this industry. “It’s been a magnificent ride,” he says.
The artist describes the work ‘Dragon Rock’ as a work from an unused marketing piece for a Viking tabletop game which was illustrated in Photoshop. The artist says: “This was created for a Viking tabletop game that was never finished.”
07. Barret Frymire
Currently, Barret Frymire is a freelance illustrator and concept artist who works primarily on indie video games and fantasy art commissions. While he resides in the United States, he is a proficient Photoshop user. Despite growing up on a farm with moonshine-powered internet, he hasn’t been able to stop creating because he grew up on a farm with moonshine-powered internet.
As an artist, he often draws inspiration from the people he surrounds himself with, often including his wife in his art or referring to her as a reference. He finds inspiration for the painting Taid’r (above) in a more common source, one that pays tribute to one of fantasy art’s greats: “I am just trying to emulate the shapes and shadows of Frazetta’s killer character pieces.”
08. David Villegas
This article is about a digital concept artist based in the Philippines with the moniker Deiv Calviz. Known for his hyper-realistic, stylized illustrations, Villegas is also known with his alias David Villegas.
After graduating from the University of California, Santa Barbara with a degree in multimedia arts, having a focus in graphic design, he decided to take illustrations seriously after winning second place in a Blizzard Entertainment contest. Villegas’ ultimate goal is to be able to create his own worlds and stories as well as his own characters.
Using dark souls and game of thrones as inspiration, Dragon Watchers (above) combines 3D, photoshopping, and a lot of painting to create a fantasy world. “I really pushed myself with this one – I took a chance that I never had before, which was to make something as personal as this.”.
09. Lim Chuan Shin
In addition to creating fantasy and sci-fi book covers and concept artwork for game companies, Lim Chuan Shin is a successful freelance illustrator and concept artist. Though he was born in Malaysia in the ’90s, his dreams of becoming a digital artist didn’t always come true. After several years as a pharmaceutical sales representative, he decided to make a change and pursue his dream of becoming a digital artist.
He says it has been a tough fight, but in the end, it has all been worth it. Shin changed the tone of the shapes to create the illusion of depth of field in his piece Mech Bay (above). Shin used interesting silhouettes in a flat black to create the illusion of depth of field in this piece.
10. Małgorzata Kmiec
There is no doubt that Magorzata Kmiec has a passion for creating stylised and colourful portraits; she was born in Poland and has been living in Berlin most of her life. She is a designer who believes that magic exists; she aims to create artworks that are both playful and magical in every sense.
In this painting, Spring Spirit, she says, “I want to surround my character with warm colours that represent the spirit of the season, a tribute to the early spring.” Spring Spirit (above) is a tribute to early spring. I wanted the warm colors to depict the spirit of the season.
