Featuring Sean Usyc


Art Envelop

Final Image Art Envelop

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Breakdown

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Original Image

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Hand 3d Model

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Orc 3d Model

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Sean Usyc

Interview

Sean Usyk is a fantastic illustrator that creates powerful characters in stunning environments. His fantasy style art is for book covers, board games, and card games. Sean is also an illustration teacher at Mohawk Valley Community College and has had a strong influence on my artistic journey.


Can you talk about technique versus concepts in art?

Artists start because they have ideas, then you have to work on technique to be able to express those ideas.

When your skills start to match your expectations, then you go and really start developing the ideas.


What do you think of client work versus personal work?

Working for someone else (Client, director, ect.) is a good experience to have, they are creating a problem that you have to solve visually.

At first, don’t worry about doing exactly what you want to do, just decide that you want to be an artist in general, decide that you want to be a visual problem solver, and when you get a project, no matter if it is exactly what you want or not, attack it with the same tenacity you would a dream project because you always learn something valuable.

For your own work, you have to come up with your own problem, subject matter, character, environment. It can be overwhelming. For beginners it can be easier to be given a problem to solve.


Why do you do what you do?

In the simplest terms, I like looking at artwork and I want to do what they do. It’s a personal challenge, how good can I get? I want to be like these guys that are blowing people out of the water with their amazing artwork.

I also do find peace in creating art. My brain shuts off, I forget about any problems, and I fall into the painting.


What do you dislike most about your artwork?

The fact that it is not good enough yet. Every artist has skill and they have expectation. Your artwork will never reach your expectations because you they are always slightly higher.

I have students that say, I can’t stand my artwork, I have to tell them that it never goes away. The professional artists still don’t really care for their artwork.

Specifically, right now, what I don’t like is the level of finish and costume design.


How do you cope with never feeling like you are good enough?

More Studies. I take it like an equation, if I am not good at costumes, draw more costumes. You have to be aware that the first 5 aren’t going to be great or the next 5 aren’t going to be great. But the 1005th one will start to look good. You just got to get to that. It’s more of a numbers game and you just have to tell your emotions to be okay with that.

Some people take their artwork too personally. If they are not good at their artwork, they are not good as a person. It’s bogus. And people that do that too much don’t become artists because they end up quitting and because they can’t handle the emotional response of not being good enough. They forget that it is a numbers game.

It’s a constant battle to tell that voice, that you are not good enough, to shut up and realize that it doesn’t really matter as long as you are getting better. That voice is the biggest killer of artists! That voice will stop you from doing artwork ever again if you let it get too loud.

You are where you are suppose to be right now and you are good as you should be right now. When you are suppose to be amazing you will be amazing, and this was just a part of your journey. You are exactly where you should be right now to get to your amazingness.


What do you dislike most about the art world?

There are so many good people out there that I have to compete with. Even if I was amazing, there is still so many other amazing people out there competing. I need to eventually get paid for my artwork so other jobs are not taking time away from it because to get as good as we want to be you need to put in 8 hours a day. So even if you are good, you have to compete to be able to do what you love 8 hours a day.


Do you think comparing to other artists is unhealthy?

You can look at other artists, but at the point where it makes you want to give up because you can’t do it, obviously that is unhealthy, because you stop. Aspiring to be like other artists is good if it drives you forward. Don’t let it get to you. It’s almost like the Facebook thing, you only see the 10% of happiness in their lives, you don’t see the 90% of chaos and hurt. So when you look at others’ artwork, you have to think about the 90% it took for that artist to get there.


What is success as an artist?

Well, I just graduated from my masters and for me it is to be published or to get a job, not necessarily for the money, just for the sake of knowing I did something that someone wanted and finished it and that there is a book out there with my artwork on it or a gameboard with my characters.


What role does fame and following play for an artist?

I am not looking for fame. But I would at least like to have a following of people that at least enjoy my artwork. That makes me feel like my artwork means something. After I put it out there, it is just something for us all to experience and get a narrative out of. I want to create a character and for someone to get some excitement out of it, in the same way as watching a movie.


Do you think you are successful at this point?

Even if you are failing consistently, you are going towards success, but I don’t think there is ever a point where you are successful. Success means the end to most people, “Oh I’m successful, I’ve reached it.” Success is the end of a goal, not necessarily a status. Yes, I have succeeded in getting my masters and a competence in drawing, but I am not successful in being a published artist or a full time teacher. Not saying I won’t be, I just haven’t reached it yet.

I feel like to many people put an emphasis on what they do as opposed to who they are. No I am not successful from society’s viewpoint because I went to school to be an artist and get paid, so from society’s view I am an unsuccessful person.


Best piece of advice?

You can’t eat an elephant in one bite, the only way you can eat an elephant is in small chunks. That makes my life completely bearable. You want to be the best you can be. You see a piece of art and say, I want to be that good. But you are never going to get there if you jump in and try and eat the whole elephant. You have to break it up into small steps and in that way, you enjoy the journey more. Just enjoy each one of those staples because they are all little successes toward the big final goal of eating the elephant.

Instagram

Art making! In photoshop painting texture and color. #photoshop #composite #zbrush #3dsculpting #artist #fineart

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Working on writing the interview for the next featured artist!

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Sculpting a troll hand for an upcoming image! #zbrush #sculpting

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Zbrushing! Monster element for an upcoming image! #zbrush #sculpting

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Concepting for a new image! I like to get down many ideas, quickly as possible. #concept #thumbnails

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Artist’s Work

Website