1. Welcome to Psdtuts+, please introduce yourself. Could you tell us where you're from and how you got started in the field?

Thanks! My name is Carl Andrée Wallin. I'm 26 years old and currently living in my old hometown in Sweden. I started scribbling in Photoshop when I was about 19 and bought my first Wacom at the age of 23 I think.

When I turned 24 I started studying 3D at a school in Stockholm where I stayed for one year, got a job as a concept artist at RealtimeUK in England where I stayed for another year. Now here I am, working as a freelance artist.

2. Your paintings cover a wide variety of topics and almost no two paintings are the same. So where exactly do you fish for ideas when you are looking to start a new illustration?

I'd say other artists and movies are my biggest sources for inspiration. I can study other paintings for hours and try to break them down and figure out what makes them so good. Then I take what I learn and try to do something of my own.

3. Part of your paintings are made from scratch and the other part are matte paintings. So which type of painting do you prefer to do and why?

I think a mix between them both. I love working with photos, no matter if it's speed paintings or matte paintings. But I think I love the semi-detailed concepts the most, the ones that take between 4-6 hours to make.

4. From sprawling scenery shots to dragons to mech warriors, what would you say was your favorite painting to do is and why?

That's a tough question. I have so many favorites and so many pieces I struggled so hard to finish, but if I had to pick one I'd say my painting called "Exploring." It's a speed painting I did last summer when I had just arrived in England and sat in my tiny room in the company cottage and listened to the rain outside.

Somehow that was a really emotional moment for me, being alone far away from home because of my art, my hobby, and whenever I look at it I can imagine myself sitting there alone in the dark - cheerful :)

5. All digital painters use a tablet, so break down your set up for us. Also, why do you prefer your tablet to all others?

I use my trustworthy Wacom Intuos A5. I had an older Wacom A6 before, but since I bought this one I don't feel the need to look around anymore. To me this is the ultimate tablet. It's high quality stuff, well designed and comfortable to use.

6. "Hole in one V2" is probably the design that stands out the most to me because of the immense amount of detail you put into all the debris in this illustration. First off how long did this piece take? And secondly, could you walk us through the concept and the execution of this painting?

The initial concept took me about 8 hours, it was just something I started on at work during the afternoon and finished back home in the evening. Several weeks later I was asked to work it up for a cam projection for an internal project at work so I spent about a week and a half (on and off) working on it at the office. It was just a vision I had from the beginning, so I did a simple block out with big round brushes and then started working up the detailed areas.

I used both regular brushes and photos of damaged concrete-buildings and tried to integrate them in the damaged areas. It was a lot of work to make it look natural and fit the surroundings. The finished version also had everything layered and organized in alpha layers in order for the 3D artist to project it onto a mesh and be able to move the camera around!

7. Who would you say are your "heroes" in the design field? And why do you look up to them?

First of all Craig Mullins, you just can't give him enough credit. There's no one like him, he set the bar for every good artist out there. His technique is extraordinary and still leaves me in awe. A true talent. Then there's John Wallin, one of my biggest influences. He has an amazing eye for details.

Jamed Paick is another one of my favs, a very solid concept artist. Then of course Dylan Cole and Yannick Dusso, my favorite matte painters. These guys have stuff in their portfolios one can only dream of producing.

Where to find Andrée on the Web

• Andrée Portfolio
• Andrée DeviantArt Profile

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