World Creators - July 2006


Features

The following images were selected by ~Suirebit



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The following images were selected by `Aeires




The following images were selected by $zilla774 (His personal Top 5)

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Featured Unknown Artist


You can find some clean and original scenery in ~edlo's gallery, which surely worths a visit!

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Interview

This month I had the chance to take an interview to no other than Mr. Chris aka `tigaer who probably needs no further introduction; He was kind enough to answer my questions which, I hope, will help you get to know better the man behind the nick.


Suirebit: To start with, tell us how and when did you start doing art in the first place?

tigaer: I started to play with photo manipulation programs when i got my first pc. Around 1996. With the pc came a corel photopaint version. I started to play around with that tool and was impressed what possibilities such softwares offer. After school i wasn't sure what to do. A friend back then pointed me into the photoshop direction and i started to seriously play with it around 1999. The next two years i was learning the basics and joined deviantart. There i first saw what people were able to do and i wanted to be one of them. All the great digital art on DA back then inspired me to widen my skills into various directions.


Suirebit: We all know you now as a great scenery artist. How was your evolution, as an artist, during the last years? How did you get where you are now?

tigaer:First of all thanks. Yeah how did it all start. Good question. When i started to explore photoshop in the beginning i was also searching for a rendering software that can create wonderfully looking landscapes. I first tried to play with tg around 2000 and wasn't too happy with it. The rendering process on my 450 k6-2 amd cpu took aaaaaages even for the simplest things. Back then i wasn't as patient as i am today with renderings, so i left terragen alone for a while. In 2002, or so, i started to explore 3d programs. Bryce and terragen. I had a faster machine then and rendering wasn't a pain in the a** anymore. So i started to explore terragen in depth. Terragen itself had gone a long way since my first tries in 2000 too... so it worked faster and produced some solid effects. Still, i always thought that straight tg renders looked naked. They were missing life. That's what i soon tried to add with photoshop and so called 'post processing'.


Suirebit: Are you satisfied with what have you done so far? What do you consider to be your biggest accomplishment?

tigaer: Satisfied. To a certain point yes. I know that i still learn. And i think as an artist you're never satisfied. You always try to move on. You always try new ways, techniques, to realize your ideas. My biggest accomplishment. I guess my 'artificial' piece and almost everything i did after i finished 'artificial'. Artificial made me understand that i reached a level of skill that allows me to do anything i want to do. With a lot of work involved though. Soon i found out... "too much work". So i started to think about ways to be more productive without losing too much of the image quality. I'm making progress with that... one thing i'm truly satisfied with.


Suirebit: Do you consider yourself to be a Pro?

tigaer: Depends on the point of view. When your work becomes printed in magazines. When you're writing tutorials for magazines. When you're working on a freelancer base for clients. Yes then i guess it's professional. From my own point of view i still have a lot to learn before i call myself a pro. Tell me... am i pro? I really don't know.


Suirebit: Speaking of art as a job, what are your plans for the future? Are you considering a career as a digital artist?

tigaer: Plans for the future. Of course. A professional career as concept artist would be cool. At the moment i'm freelancing. Taking everything i can get, artwise. Thankful to have the chance to be creative for other people that can't create what they kinda have in mind. It's cool to get stuff done and make clients happy.


Suirebit: What are your sources of inspiration? What is the bond between them and the creation process?

tigaer: Inspiration? EVERYWHERE! My terragen mountain piece 'gleisshammer'. 'Gleisshammer' actually is a name for a trainstation here in nuremberg! I always loved that name and i always thought it would be a great name for a piece with a big majestic mountain in it. lol Sometimes i see huge skyscrapers and i start to work out extensions for that building in my head. Make things look more futuristic. I have thousands of ideas and not enough time to try them. Often a piece develops when i'm working on it. So... there are differences where i find my inspiration.


Suirebit: And what about other artists? Are there any who inspire you through their works?

tigaer: Of course there are. Actually every picture from whatever artist can inspire me. There are people i look up to. Don't know if that counts as 'inspiration' too. Yannick Dusseault, Dylan Cole or Gary Tonge. People like that are my heroes.


Suirebit:What do you think about self-education ? Is it possible to become a professional artist by teaching yourself or do you have to go to an art college?

tigaer: I think you can reach a lot with selfeducation. Take a look at `spyroteknik. As far as i know he learned everything by himself. Now he's an ace too. With enough discipline and will and patience... everything goes. The best thing is you're developing a completely own style. Of course a college can speeding up the learning process.


Suirebit: What do you consider to be the main 'thing' that keeps such an artist progressing? What about yourself?

tigaer: What keeps me going is the will to become better in what i love to do. When i take a look at Dylan Cole's site, or Dusseault's site, then i see what's possible. These guys are professionals and they worked with the best. But it's not impossible to become as good as them in what you're doing. As long as you're willing to try it. So... the 'will' to move on, with what you love to do, like digital art, is what keeps me learning.


Suirebit: As a conclusion to all of the above, is there something you wish to add?

tigaer: Sure. I'm sure you know what comes now. I want to tell everyone that you can make it. I often get questions like "wow, how did you do that" or "please tell me how you became such good with your landscapes". All i can tell you guys is... patience. When you're really interested in the matter of digital art try to follow your instincts. Use the net for tutorials. Try to learn. Read everything that could be interesting for you to move on with your skills. Most important... play around with your tools. Never stop doing that.

Resources

Last but not least, here are some links that you might find useful:

- The official chat for all the terragen artists: [link];
- Planetside, the home of Terragen: [link]
- News about terragen 2, @ Renderosity: [link]
- Terra Nuts - one of the terragen communities outside DeviantArt: [link]