i want to stop dancing
Animator
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Interview with Featured Artist Ben Lo
I recently got a chance to interview Ben Lo about his artwork. Ben is a fantastically talented concept artist who worked at Irrational Games and contributed to the visual design of Bioshock Infinite. He is currently working with Bioware on the next Mass Effect title.
It was a pleasure to speak to Ben about his life and work.
Start of interview
Where did you grow up?
I was born in Hong Kong and immigrated over to Canada with my parents at a young age. I spent most of my life growing up in Toronto. Because of the Asian culture I was submerged in, I was very influenced by anime, manga and film, which eventually led into my passion for making art.
How did you learn your craft?It was kind of crude actually, I just painted every day with my friends back in college. In the classical animation program at Sheridan, it was always very drawing focused. We were taught to draw, but not really taught to paint. So it was very difficult picking that up on my own. Luckily some of my classmates were very into digital painting and were able to give me some tips and got me on my feet. We studied and learned from artists who inspired us, and tried to break it down and figure out how to do the same.
Was there a moment where a teacher or a mentor really impacted you?
There are actually a lot. Everyone who I studied and worked with, my friends and my coworkers have helped me out a long way. They were the reason why I got to where I am now. Garrett Hanna, my classmate who started me off on digital painting. Joel Chang my old coworker who taught me the fundamentals of environment designs. Jamie Mcnulty for teaching me how to use textures and materials. Brian Sum for teaching me the clarity of designs, etc. I remember each and every one that taught me along the way, every one has helped me tremendously to become a better artist.
What was your lowest point as an artist? Was there a moment where you considered giving up, or choosing another career path?
My lowest point in my career was because of a personal family reason… It was a couple years back when my father passed away, I really wanted to quit as an artist, go home and help my mom to carry on the family business. But my mother insisted that I should keep going with what I have passion for. It is such a rare opportunity to be able to work on what you love. That is what got me here now, still working hard to put in my best, doing what I love.
When you hit a wall artistically, or find yourself unable to create, are there any artists, films, books, or pieces of music that you turn to for a burst of inspiration or creative fuel?
Yes, I do. I always go online and browse art forums and websites. Try to look at new and fresh references, and at the same time try to keep myself up to date with many other talented artists in the industry. I actually do have some soundtracks that I always go to for inspiration. The Ghibli 25th anniversary concert is one that I put on loop recently. I also love the Oblivion and Tron soundtrack, as the Sci-fi aspect really suites our current project really well, it puts me right into the zone.
Was there a moment where you felt you “found your voice” as an artist?Actually no, not yet. I don’t think I have found my voice yet. I am still trying to improve and get better as an artist every day. I am still searching for that “voice.”
Could you feel, working on Bioshock Infinite, that there was something special about this project? Ken Levine clearly had a very strong and vivid vision for what he wanted to achieve with the game. Games with such a strong and singular artistic goal are pretty rare. What was it like being part of that?It was amazing actually, being able to be a part of Irrational Games and work on Bioshock Infinite. Ken Levine was a very good leader. He always had something very specific in mind. When you don’t give him what he wanted, he would say no, and ask you to go back and get him what he wanted. It may sound harsh working with him (it really is!), but this is sometimes the best situation you can have in a game production. Democracy works, but very often it will turn out to be “too many cooks in the kitchen”. Even if you have a strong original idea, it will become an lumpy mush in all the pushing and pulling trying to compensate for what everybody wants. Ken as the one “dictator” on top really help sculpt the game into what he had in his mind. This is why the Bioshock series turned out so great and unique from many other AAA titles out there. Rather than always playing it safe, Ken was able to push a new fresh idea out into the gaming world.
Is there any particular contribution you made to Bioshock Infinite that you are most proud of?One of my proudest was the work that was done in the tower where Elizabeth was held captive. We originally had a much longer and more elaborate scene to introduce Elizabeth to the audience. She had set up an elaborate dinner scene in Paris with her makeshift mannequin, a scene where she would dress up and put on makeup for the dinner and etc. We had so much fun trying to figure out how she grew up, how she lived her daily life. It was kind of a shame we couldn’t show it all in the game. There was just simply too much, things had to be cut to ensure the quality and pacing of the game.
Has it been gratifying to see the passionate fan reaction to your work?
Yes, I was really happy with how the game turned out, and the crazy amount of passionate fans commenting on it. It was a lot of fun seeing what other people’s reactions were to the ending of the game.
I love your personal project “Tribe World.” What inspired you to embark on the task of crafting that universe?
Ah, thank you. I was actually inspired by an old American-Chinese oil painter name Mian Situ. His work always has so much life. You can clearly see what the people’s lives are, the clothes they wear, the things they do. They are living and breathing. That inspired me to do something similar, but in a more unique world. I wanted to push for the same amount of life in my world. Another artist that really inspired me on this is Alex Nino’s work on Mulan. The street scene he drew for it is just simply breath taking.
Do you have any daily rituals or habits that you find helpful to producing good art?
Research. That is what I do everyday before I start working. Look for either real world references or how other artists have handled the same task. There is always more out there to learn than what you can create from your imagination. I can’t insist enough on encouraging young artists to do the same.
What do you think the future for artists in the digital age looks like?
I can’t speak for the other art departments. But for concept art, the current trend seems to be that more and more concept artists will become versatile in both 2D and 3D art. It is mostly because of the very efficient programs that are now available in the market (zbrush, marvelous designer, keyshot). Many may disagree! But many of the top artists in the industry are already versatile in them. One great example would be Ben Mauro. He is able to go from 3D to 2D very quickly and efficiently. If you were to do the same concepts he creates in 2D, it would take much much longer than it does using the aid of 3D.
Your sci-fi reporter image is one of the best pieces of concept art I have ever seen. It tells a whole story and has so much personality. What inspired that piece?
Wow, thank you so much, I’m very flattered, I’m glad you liked it. The Sci-fi reporter was partly an experiment piece to try out a new painting technique (photo bashing or scraping) and to try and take what is out there and have a fresh spin on it. Many of the artists were doing the same photo bashing technique at the time (I believe Aaron Beck was one of the first one to popularize it) and it started a whole trend. They were always a military guy or girl with heavy armor and guns, just standing there looking cool. I felt it was a bit boring to just do the same thing, everyone has done that already. So I tried giving her a different purpose, a different occupation and a little bit of a scenario behind it. And that is basically how that piece came to be.
Where should people head on the internet if they want to find out more about you?
They can see more of my work on my artstation- http://benlo.artstation.com or my blog- http://benlo0.blogspot.com
End of interview
If you’d like to check out some of my previous interviews with talented artists like Ben, visit the Featured Artists section of Cinema Gorgeous.
(Source: cinemagorgeous, via cinemagorgeous)
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Introducing our official poster for CALA 2014! Illustrated by the amazing Sophia Foster-Dimino (www.hellophia.com) who will be exhibiting at the event December 6th. Posters will also be for sale at the show. Spread the word and come on out!
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Hey everybody! Thanks for all your kind words about the art in our Firewatch trailer and demo! We were quiet about the environment art progress before PAX because we wanted to save the surprise, but now that you have all seen it, let’s get back to showing you our process.
I am very proud of how close our in engine visuals look to Olly’s distinctive concept art. We’ve gotten a lot of benefit from two excellent Unity Asset store extensions, Marmoset Skyshop and Amplify Color.
In addition, our graphics programmer Paolo created a directional stylistic fog system as well as various shaders for water, painterly distant mountains, and clouds. I will let Paolo elaborate on the technical details in a future post.
Here’s a breakdown of the gifs starting from the upper left:
(Source: camposantoblog, via camposantoblog)
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The hubs and I have been in Orange County for two months now, and while SoCal has its beauty, beaches, and fabulous weather, our hearts are still tied to Boston. So I was all too thrilled when the Dig’s AD (and my good pal), Scott Murry, asked me to contribute a cover illo!
It illustrates a great article written by John Ruch, detailing the aftermath of the Olympics in Atlanta and how Boston could suffer the same fate if it wins its bid to host the games. Low-income families and the homeless are cast aside while the host city undergoes grand development plans that it can’t support in the long-term. Moral of the story: If you love your city and care about its residents, don’t have an Olympics there.
If you’re in Boston, make sure to grab a copy of the Dig and read up!
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Theme: Linear by Peter Vidani