Diego Gisbert Llorens is a Concept Artist from Spain. Diego dreams up fantastical worlds in his pieces and can really immerse you into a beautiful imaginary world. Diego has worked for some very big names such as the game Castlevania, Legend of the Cryptids and The Lord of the Rings Trading Card Game. We here at YouTheDesigner have had the amazing opportunity to get to know this artist. You can follow him on DeviantArt to check out his stuff!
YouTheDesigner: Hi, Diego. How are you doing today?
Diego: Spring is around the corner, so feeling really good, thanks!
YTD: You have such interesting projects such as Castlevania: Lord of Shadows and Legend of the Cryptids. Are you a big fan of roleplaying games – either tabletop or video games?
Diego: Yes indeed, although I do not have much time to play. I have been the Dungeon Master of my group of friends more times than I can remember :)
YTD: Can you give us a walkthrough of your creative process?
Diego: It really changes a lot sometimes, depending on the particular needs of each commission, but what I do almost 100% of the time is to spend most of the time sketching, doodling ideas and gathering as many references as I think I am going to need. It saves me time and makes the result way better, so that´s something I´d advice every artist to do.
YTD: Were you always interested in art as a kid? How did you get started?
Diego: It´s not that I got started, I simply never stopped drawing. We all do when we are kids, but most people stop for one reason or another; after a while, it was pretty obvious that I should go for it and once I started my art studies, one thing lead to another and…
YTD: What are your favourite things to illustrate?
Diego: I´d say broken, used things. Battered armors, weathered vehicles, old creatures full of scars, grizzled veterans…They hold a lot of storytelling within themselves, and that appeals to the narrator in me.
YTD: What programs or tools do you use?
Diego: Photoshop and my loyal Intuos 3, or an old second hand Cintiq I found for an affordable price. My goal is to find time to slowly go back to traditional media and use it to pain my own personal works.
YTD: You have some terrific oil paintings as well. Do you prefer digital or traditional mediums?
Diego: Digital media open a world of possibilities and have allowed me to improve as a professional at a rate I would have never though possible, but nothing compares to the feeling of real, dirty, smelly, living, traditional painting.
YTD: Who are your influences and inspirations?
Diego: I have a strong academical background in art history, but I´m also lucky enough to count many important artists amongst my friends, and I follow dozens more thanks to the magic of the internet, so the list would be long, VERY long. Even my students (or, should I say, especially my students) provide wonderful inspiring ideas most of the time.
YTD: What does your typical day look like?
Diego: Let’s say I am NOT a morning person. I tend to start very slow during the morning and to do all the not-arty things before lunch, like shopping, running errands, working out, and so on. I generally only start working in my commissions after late afternoon, until late at night. Since many of my clients actually work in a the US or Canada, this also helps me to keep in touch with them for feedback.
YTD: If you were just starting out today, what advice would you have wanted to hear?
Diego: I would love someone to provide the hardest criticism about my work and to point out the way I should follow to work on my professional weaknesses. I would have loved to have a real mentor to show how the industry works, how to get in, to fight for my rights…Mostly things nobody teaches you in an art school.
Want more inspiration? Check out our last interview with Maike Plenzke. Share us your thoughts through the comments below and might as well suggest some artist(s) you want us to feature next!