My first love is creating background art for games and it really is one of the greatest commercial jobs an artist could have. It is fun on steroids, never ending diversion and never ending engagement because after you are done with the art you get to play it..
What happens with commercial CG assignments is that artists usually need to get it done and get it over with, this is the purpose of a commercial project – to get it out to consumers. It is only right to never get attached to your work if you work commercially. With all the shuffle from a project to project it happens that artists rarely get a chance to develop a personal brand.. as they are often in service of a brand to begin with.
There are several extraordinary artists working commercially today that have developed a personal brand – Craig Mullins, Doug Chiang, RYAN CHURCH, but the best and most recognizable art style remains Ralph McQuarrie’s. Ralph’s work is painterly and stylized but at the same time all is drawn up with clarity and radiance (even the gloomy parts) – a world you’d love to be in.
