Juan Sebastián Espinel Diaz: concept artist interview

Hello, I'm an advertising designer, web graphic designer, concept artist, and matte painter. I currently work for an industrial security company as a digital designer; there I am in charge of the graphic and digital part of the whole company. I have studied design, concept art, and illustration for movies and video games. I want to expand my knowledge of ZBrush and Unreal Engine. One of my goals is being able to work in this industry. I love in Bogotá, Colombia.

Well, my last concept took as reference the work of Julian Calle, one of my favorite digital artists that I follow. As such it is inspired more in nature. I always look for the contrast between the happy and the sad, mixing both concepts to generate a mixed feeling.

Really the real challenges were to tie the rivers with the background in general, since the images I had failed to generate that environment of nature that I wanted. After editing and looking for that silhouette between the trees and the grass, I managed to obtain the results that I wanted.

I never stay working on a single program – the one I use mainly is Photoshop, and secondary is Illustrator, but to expand and generate more atmosphere and architecture. At times I explore with ZBrush and Modo 3D, I do not use them 100% of the time, but I understand the programs and practice to learn more.

Keeping my portfolio up to date is a bit difficult, since I don't usually upload half-complete jobs. I prefer to dedicate good time to my concepts, be meticulous and detailed, to get a good job and dedicate the necessary time to present a good job. Also, since I am not currently working in the industry as a concept or matte painter, I cannot dedicate myself 100% to my portfolio.

My artistic ambitions is to become a full-time concept artist for the film and video game industry, to be able to work and live from that, to increase my skills and knowledge in the world of digital media. I would also love to be able to teach people who are interested in this medium.

For traditional art, I love William Turner: the handling of light and movement that manages to be delicate in his paintings. Caravaggio: the theatrical hyperrealistic themes contrasted with a strong light and darkness. Caspar Friedricht: the planes, thematic, and emotional states that manage to wake up in the observer.

For digital art, Julian Calle: I love the way he solves natural landscapes and contrasts with sunsets. Jaime Jasso: I really like how he handles the sci-fi and cyberpunk theme without saturating the work. He manages to simplify it correctly. Eytan Zana: I like the dystopian work done in The Last of Us. Very well achieved with good narrative. Andrée Wallin: the work of this artist in the Oblivion movie is impressive, he manages to combine the sci-fi dystopian themes and space opera, apart from handling colors, depths, and narratives very well.

What they can expect is an improvement in my work, exploring new artistic digital fields and new software to complement my work. I consider myself a non-conformist person, I always look for new things, new techniques and processes, learn from other artists that take much longer than me.