Spotlight on Christine Mitzuk
Her imagination, creativity, and thirst for learning have been near-constant companions, but artist/illustrator CHRISTINE MITZUK didn’t initially consider working as an artist. Her career started after college while working as a production artist and graphic designer at a few design and marketing firms for about seven years. She gained insight into client work and procedures to help a project flow along. As a freelance artist she uses several of these skills to understand the needs of a project/client, and to work with digital tools. Clients include Llewellyn Worldwide, Bezier Games, Petersen Games, Fantasy Flight Games, Baen, and Lightspeed. She also explores various themes and humor in her personal work. Follow her on Instagram (@cmitzuk) and visit www.christinemitzuk.com.
What was your introduction to working in the field of science fiction and fantasy art? What were the influences that drew you in?
I’ve always explored my imagination a lot, but I hadn’t really thought of sci-fi/fantasy art as a field I could go into. Some favorite influences that come to mind are anything by Jim Henson and Hieronymus Bosch, Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein, Bill Peet (The Pinkish, Purplish, Bluish Egg; The Whingdingdilly). I was drawn into the sci-fi/fantasy field because my partner at the time (now spouse) introduced me to the wonderful world of sci-fi/fantasy conventions. The first one I went to with him was Minicon 50 here in Minnesota. It was great to see so many people being themselves sharing their love of all things sci-fi/fantasy, and the art show was stellar. It was a while later, thanks to Ruth Thompson, who was a guest at CONvergence one year, that I began to really think I would give it a shot. Her story and enthusiasm were very inspiring.
What does your workflow look like from concept to realization? Any unusual techniques?
I start with rough sketches using pencil on paper (currently this is how I think best, plus there’s no low battery warning). I explore different aspects of an idea, thinking about mood and storytelling. I try out different gestures, compositions, value design. The roughs start around 1″ x 2″ and get larger as I develop the image. Through the process, I hone the composition to a few different options, and refine them to make them presentable to a client, not fully rendered but understandable by others. After a sketch is approved, I hire someone to pose and I gather other reference so I can make the final tight drawing believable. Next, I do color sketches, choosing color to fit the mood. Once a direction is approved by the client, I paint digitally in a similar way to how I paint in oils. I start ‘‘thin,’’ like a wash, and build up to more opaque paint. For client work, I tend to paint digitally because it’s easier to make edits and I don’t need to figure in time for scanning and color correction.
This process serves several purposes: It allows me to immerse myself in the idea, and it gives us check-in points to make sure we’re on the same page.
How do you keep it fresh for yourself and keep learning new techniques and improving your craft? Have there been any recent changes or discoveries in your art process, or do you feel settled into something that’s really working for you already?
There’s always something to learn and I enjoy that’s part of the job. I like to use different media for different personal projects: ink, gouache, sculpting. Recently I participated in a 21-day create challenge through the Unleash Creativity Club. I liked it a lot. The goal for me wasn’t to finish something every day. I didn’t have a plan of what I was going to make. The idea was just do something every day, show up and make marks on the page. Sometimes the result was very abstract, sometimes it was barely started, sometimes I’d start with a general idea of what I would do but made decisions in the moment. I enjoyed that. I felt a freedom in that and I think it can strengthen artistic intuition.
As a teacher of Imaginative Art & Illustration, how do you go about teaching art students to create fantastical images? How does teaching influence your own work?
I encourage students to use their imaginations and coach them through the process I use. I ask them to try all the steps, then they can take what works for them and leave the rest. We talk about visual storytelling, focus on their intent for their picture, and suggest what tools they might use to bring their image closer to that intent. These tools include various compositional principles and elements, gesture, value design and lighting, color, using reference or not.
What I tell students often ends up as a lesson for myself too. I’m frequently reminded of things like, ‘‘What serves the picture? When do we call it done?’’ And encouragement to sit with the fear of ‘‘doing it wrong’’ and just try things out. It’s A-OK when images start rough (I think most people’s images start rough), just get the idea out. It’s a starting point.
I use Photoshop and Affinity Photo to do paint-overs/make visual notes about edits to make. These often turn into mini demonstrations about painting or the programs I use.
Is there something about what you do as an artist working in the SF/F field, or an upcoming project, that you’d like to tell our readers about?
For my personal work, I like to explore different themes, techniques, and materials. I’ve done some things in ink, watercolor, gouache, oil paint, digital. And I’ve sculpted some cabinet doorknobs for our kitchen (why have a nondescript metal pull when you could have a pig wearing a porkpie hat). I like it best when I’m professionally playful. That means I try to keep an open mind as I explore and experiment with initial sketches, being open to possibilities. It also means catching myself when I get stuck in rules of how something ‘‘should’’ be done.
Currently I’m exploring a few different themes in my own work. I don’t know where I’ll land with all of these, but I’m enjoying exploring. Some of them are dramatic (my butterflies and lanterns series), some are playful. All are me.
–Christine Mitzuk
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