An interview with Environmental Artist and Animator Kevin S
MAR 26, 2020 AT 10:00 AM BY WARLORD720
One plus about Facebook is the ability to connect with other digital artists that you wouldn’t otherwise have the pleasure of knowing. Every so often you see an image or a video pop up from a friend that immediately draws your eye to it and begs to be clicked.
Maybe it’s a character, animated scene or a landscape but that part doesn’t matter so much as you know you like what you see. It stands out and you know who did the work before you even look at the name. Kevin S is one of those artists. A freelancer that decompresses from everyday life with digital art. Like a lot of us, he has invested many hours in his craft which has led to freelancing and teaching opportunities. Shop Related Products Kevin has an eye for scene layout (honed by work in the game industry) whether it’s an animation or a still shot. His ability to create an action-packed image would make him a good storyboard artist in his own right. His landscapes are a slice of digital heaven that makes you want to be there instead of just looking at it. As you find out in the Q & A below, Kevin is trained in digital arts, but he also has the eye and soul of a fine artist. Some things you simply can’t teach and Kevin is one of those people that just “get it” when it comes to an interesting composition.
Kevin is no one-trick pony either since, like a lot of you reading this, he could easily fit into many industries that need digital art for promotion, manufacturing or training just to name a few. So I’ll leave it at that and let you find out more about the artist that can put a smile on someone’s face with one image in a feed.
Renderosity Magazine: What is your background in digital art? Kevin Seidle: Academy art university San Francisco: 3d modeling Animation & VFX Computer institute San Francisco: Hardware and networking
Renderosity Magazine: What drives you to create? Is it a release, hobby, desire to tell a story or what? Kevin Seidle: Once I left school, I got into working with a game company for a few years, then moved on to a few other Digital art related companies. Eventually, I began doing art as a freelance artist, as a side job, because I changed careers and went to healthcare.
Renderosity Magazine: Can you remember if your first visual art was an image render or animation? If so, what tools (software) did you use?
Kevin Seidle: I began my professional art doing environments for popular 3d games. I used in house software along with 3dmax and game engines like frostbite, unity, unreal and others.
Renderosity Magazine: What are your main “go-to” digital tools?
Kevin Seidle: I have used many many programs, but I really enjoy using Reallusions products like iClone, Character Creator, Pop Video, Crazytalk, etc. I also really enjoy using Hitfilm for touch up work, VFX and editing animations. At this point, iClone and Character Creator are my go-to tools. I really enjoy the diversity, simplicity, and speed of these programs.
Renderosity Magazine: If you had to pick one tool/application for your art what would it be?
Kevin Seidle: iClone. I am able to create small and large detailed projects in a very short time with this software, it's easy to use and has many easy to use features that I really enjoy and it's getting better all the time.
Renderosity Magazine: As a filmmaker/animator is your art-driven more by visual, narrative or both? Kevin Seidle: I’m highly into visual detail, environments, and realism in anything I create. I have no guide when I am creating art. I create art more based on how I am feeling. Sometimes I am in the mood to just create art with no idea what I will end up with. Art is an expression of our creativity. I prefer to be creative without the constraint of specific boundaries most of the time. Renderosity Magazine: Any type of digital artwork you enjoy doing the most?
Kevin Seidle: I would lean more to environmental art but really whatever I create to me is enjoyable.
Renderosity Magazine: Are there any influences that shape your work?
Kevin Seidle: I have traveled all over the world seeing many types of environments people and animals, this does influence my art in certain creative ways. Without a great environment, you lose lots of the story and atmosphere of whatever you create.
Renderosity Magazine: What is your goal with your digital art? Kevin Seidle: I am really just a freelance hobby artist now. I do really enjoy helping others with projects and their artistic visions without the stress of being in an office. Teaching is something I am enjoying more and more also.
Click here for Kevin's YouTube page. Click here for Kevin's website: animatemyart.com M.D. McCallum, aka WarLord, is an international award-winning commercial graphics artist, 3D animator, published author, project director, and webmaster with a freelance career that spans over 20 years. Now retired, M.D. is currently working part-time on writing and select character development projects. You can learn more about MD on his website. Tags:animation Sections:News & Features