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Interview with John
Shannon
Featured Artist for March 2002
Would you introduce yourself and give a little personal background?
I'm 32 years old and I'm born and bred in the great Yorkshire city of Sheffield, I am currently living on the Island of Malta where I work as a Chef.
How long have you been an artist? How long have you been creating fantasy art?
Artist is a strong word lets say (wannabe) I've been drawing for 13 months now after I discovered Elfwood, although I have only been serious about it for the last 7 months ever since I got my Epilogue gallery.
Have you had any formal training in the fine arts?
No training at all, I'm completely self taught and learned everything from online Tutorials and different Magazines.
What are your biggest artistic influences and inspirations?
Most of the Tolkien Artists (Alan Lee, Ted Nadsmith, John Howe) I'm also a great fan of Brian Froud, but believe it or not my biggest influences are (Stephanie Law, Socar Myles and Ken
McCracken) I say this because there's were the first galleries I visited on Elfwood and got me to thinking I should have a go myself.
Can you describe your creative process - how you come up with ideas for a new drawing and how you take those ideas and create a finished piece of art.
I always try to come up with something that's got a lot of mood to it, and the best way I have found to do this is by using strong and varied
colors and lighting. Most of my stuff is done in Photoshop, but instead of drawing on just a few layers I sometimes can use hundreds just to get the effects I want. Perhaps in time I will learn a new way but for now its the only way I know.
Do you have a favorite fantasy artist or an artist you admire?
Probably Ted Nadsmith for the fantastic Landscapes and detail he produces.
What advice would you give to young artists who are just starting out?
Well for someone like myself who has just started, I would say learn to take a
[critique] and never be afraid of asking what might seem to others like stupid questions, and always do your own thing instead of trying to emulate
another's style.
If you could be a character from a fantasy novel, movie or game, who would you be?
Probably James T. Kirk from the old Star Trek, that guy went through a
universe of babes like a flu virus, lol!
Finally, what cartoons did you watch as a kid?
Tom and Jerry, Road Runner (my favorite) ... I've watched them all.
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