This issue will help you create better fantasy character concept art and improve your digital art skills. Inside ImagineFX issue 206 you'll discover how to improve your Photoshop painting skills, create epic landscapes using Photoshop's layers, master Painter 2022's watercolour brushes, and paint a new portrait from an old sketch in Procreate.
Our cover artist, the amazing Christophe Young, shares his process this issue. The concept artist takes you from sketch to final painted figure, detailing his Photoshop tips as well as decision making on how to tell a story in your character design. If you need to get up to speed on the latest version of Adobe's software before starting our training, then download a free trial version of Photoshop.
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This edition of ImagineFX is on sale in the UK now and will reach overseas readers in the coming weeks. If you are still not venturing outside, please visit our online store to order your copy for home delivery. You can download us immediately for your iOS or Android device. See below for the full list of digital and print options to be able to get hold of us.
So, what else is in issue 206? Scroll down...
Concept Art Awards winners
The best concept artists are featured in our round-up of hot talent. In collaboration with The Concept Art Association we feature the winners of the 2021 Concept Art Awards, including the best newcomers and spotlight the legends of the industry. Get inspired this issue!
Patrick O'Keefe interview
Leading concept artist Patrick O'Keefe, who's worked one everything from the video game series Need For Speed to Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse takes us through his career this issue. We learn how life as a nightclub manager, builder, and more influenced his diverse career in art. He's now focused on creating his own reductive digital style in Photoshop, and you can read all about it in ImagineFX issue 206.
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The art of Amazon's New World
The concept art team behind Amazon Studios' ambitious new MMORPG, New World, speak to us this issue. The team reveal what it took to craft the complex world of their new video game, revealing what it takes to design a mish-mash of art styles and cultural influences into one unified world.
Learn Photoshop, Painter 2022, Procreate, and more
Our packed tutorials this issue cover everything you could want to get started in digital art. The amazing Rafael Sarmento reveals how you can take old sketches and revamp them in Procreate, Frankensteining discarded ideas into new portraits.
Lauren Brown reveals how she uses line-art techniques in Photoshop to create digital fantasy art fit for a Rose Queen. With an eye to Alphonse Mucha the talented artist draws and paints a fantasy portrait.
The video game artist Anton Fadeev reveals how he makes use of Photoshop's layers to create a colourful and epic landscape. His process front-loads decisions, ensuring that if anything needs altering it's only a layer away.
Elsewhere in ImagineFX issue 206 you can pick up on Christophe Young's character design process, learn our to use Painter 2022's watercolour brushes with Isis Sousa, and master comic panel creation with David Orellana.
Our training comes with free brushes and video tutorials.
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Ian Dean is Editor, Digital Arts & 3D at Creative Bloq, and the former editor of many leading magazines. These titles included ImagineFX, 3D World and video game titles Play and Official PlayStation Magazine. Ian launched Xbox magazine X360 and edited PlayStation World. For Creative Bloq, Ian combines his experiences to bring the latest news on digital art, VFX and video games and tech, and in his spare time he doodles in Procreate, ArtRage, and Rebelle while finding time to play Xbox and PS5.
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