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You know what's interesting about art? It's as much a personal discovery for the viewer as it is for the creator. Some artists have the ability to transcend tradition and break open the possibilities of commonly used technique—and include you, the viewer, in that process.
Doesn't matter if you're looking at a video tutorial, an on-line gallery or if you're in a good ol' brick and mortar museum (hey, now), you're taken on the journey with them.
We're of the opinion that Brad Rigney is such an artist.
Dude's stuff is so well done and so in there, it's insane. Dwight was the first one to point out how effectively cinematic his lighting is. He literally puts you in the scene.
Rigney works in the gaming industry for companies like Wizards of the Coast and Bungie. His contributions to Bungie's Halo ODST have helped to make it one of the most successful video games ever.
One of the aspects of Brad's background that is so cool is, he was inspired not that long ago by many of the images he saw in the ConceptArt.Org community. After spending some time honing and kneading his skills like so much dough, he joined, and now he stands as one of their biggest success stories—making the dough instead of just needing it (okay, bad play on words).
Coming out of the Magnolia state (that's Mississippi), he's a family man with a wife and daughter, and he's knockin' the art world on its ass! Just look at the images we posted with this blog entry and you'll recognize the 'skillage'.
Our conversation with him went off the rails a lot, but it was all good. We talked about everything—his beginnings, work ethic, influences like artist Richard Corben and filmmaker John Carpenter, the late, great Patrick Swayze (!). But throughout all of it, Brad was as open and free with us as he was in his tutorial—A Hostile Takeover. What a great guy.
If you haven't seen the clip from his downloadable video, click here. If you haven't been to his DeviantArt page, click here. And if you haven't heard our interview with him yet, by all means, click above—it's waitin' for ya.
**Click here to see the real Brad Rigney!
Guys thanks again for the great times and for treating me like gold!
For the record the guys name I was yammering about is Michael Komarck, not Kormack.
Sorry Michael...heh.
Here's a link to his amazing art:
http://www.komarckart.com/index.html
Much love to you guys, keep up the good fight!
-Brad
(RE: Right back atcha, Brad. Thanks for hanging out with us and putting up with our shenanigans. You rock, brother!)
Posted by: Brad Rigney | August 22, 2010 at 10:06
Thank you for the interview ! :) I enjoyed it so much ; d
Hope you know - You've got to catch Whit Brachna someday.There isn't much info about him on the internet. :( He's so interesting material for interview.
Posted by: Sucharek | August 23, 2010 at 08:58
That was an amazing interview. As someone trying to teach himself digital painting, it was inspiring to hear such a passionate artist with so much respect for the craft. I especially liked his "get off your ass and do it already" attitude and think that can be applied to anybody not pursuing their dream. Looking forward to the next podcast.
Posted by: Ben | August 27, 2010 at 11:41
Excellent episode, sirs. I wasn't familiar with Brad's work before this show. He's quite the character. I love that he's self aware and can look back at his past and see it for what it was, versus being defensive about his old days.
Posted by: Jason Wood | September 28, 2010 at 14:06
" you have to force grab that shit and hit the emperor in the dome! "
great show really funny
guys these shows get me through work !
Posted by: sam | June 17, 2011 at 18:34
Brad might not do a good Schwarzenegger impersonation, but he does a hell of a Paul Giamatti... All the time :D! Thanks for awesome arts and awesome tutorial on "Hostile takeover"
Posted by: Mads Johansen | August 23, 2011 at 01:47