Interview with Talented Digital Painter Marek Okon
Marek is a very talented digital painter who looks at his paintings as scenes from movies. He tries to capture the most pivotal moment that will make his art look explosive and amazing. Marek gives us insight on what he does to improve his skills, as well as explains what type of tools he uses to paint.
1. Welcome to Psdtuts+! Please introduce yourself, give us a brief bio, tell us where you’re from, and how you got started in the field.
Hi There! My name is Marek Okon, I come from Poland and I’m 27 years old. My fascination with digital graphics started with an old Commodore C64 and painting Batman fan art pixel by pixel. I loved the possibilities the computer gives the artist and I wanted to explore that passion. During my college years painting was just a hobby to me since I worked as web designer and flash animator.
While this experience didn’t improve my drawing skills I learned a lot about how to deal with different clients and of course I got to know Photoshop inside and out, I’ve been using it as my main tool to date. About three years ago I decided to start my career as a professional painter and concept designer. I had a few not bad images In my portfolio, then got my first book cover commissions and thing started rolling.
2. Most designers in your field use PC Tablets, what exactly do you use and how is it more efficient compared to the other products out there?
I work on Wacom Intuos3 A4 and its by far best tool I worked on. I tried three different tablets before but none of them had such precision and control over the painting process. Don’t get fooled. It’s not a tablet that makes good images, it can speed up the process but ultimately is all up to artist. A tool is just a tool no matter how good or bad it is.
3. The saying “A picture is worth a thousand words” is quite fitting for your art. One painting looks like it has a whole novel worth of story to it, so where do you draw inspiration to paint such plot orientated illustrations?
When its a book cover, inspiration comes from the story I’m reading. During reading I see all the scenes in my imagination and then I pick one that will fit the cover best, one that will draw attention of the people passing by this book. When its personal works I usually create my own little story around the picture, so every piece of equipment presented, every location and character has its part in the world presented. I rarely go and create something accidental.
4. The imagery in your work ranges from battle scenes to amazing landscape shots, What is your favorite type of scene to paint and why?
I Like mixing SF and fantasy. I love SF because I can show of some of my design ideas and general vision of a future. Fantasy on the other hand has something childish inside which really warms up an image and makes it more appealing to a viewer.
5. What exactly goes through your head when you are about to start a new painting? Quickly walk us through the process of completing one of your amazing paintings.
First stage is always thinking what I want to draw. And while it sound simple it’s the time you have to decide what your image is really about- a core idea as I call it. All the other elements orbit around that core idea and must fit it and support it. Second stage is quick doodling (usually on a paper) trying out a few composition setups, some design elements and so on. Next, I paint the initial sketch on the computer, add some preliminary colors and start detailing the whole piece till I’m happy with final results.
6. Does the outside world influence your work at all? If so how, and does it always have a positive effect on the work?
My main problem is that I work too much, seriously If it wasn’t for my fiancé who drags me out from my apartment every now and then I would draw 24/7 with only a few brakes for eating and sleeping. But it’s good to catch a brake from time to time. It lets your brain gain a fresh perspective on a parting, you can relax and attack picture with a new approach and strength. I also love watching movies, Its really useful to look at how the camera takes that directors use to emphasize certain things. I have a huge film shot library in my head that I use every time I have problem with proper framing or composition.
7. Even the best designers practice frequently learn new things, so where exactly do you go to find tutorials or articles that help you find inspiration for your paintings?
I think my biggest drawback is color and tone management. In those areas I still feel unsure and often have to experiment during painting. Unfortunately there isn’t much about the rules and theory behind proper color palettes and good tonal management. I bet it’s not a big problem for someone who has art education behind them but for self taught guy like me it is. There are however books about traditional painting where those problems are explained quite well, so lately those books are my main source of knowledge
8. Thanks again for providing Psdtuts+ with this opportunity to interview you, any final thoughts? What would you tell other designers that hope to be as good as you one day?
Thank you for interviewing me, and kudos on the great website. Even I found a few useful tutorials here, and I thought old dogs cant learn new tricks! As for advice I have only one – keep practicing. You will suck at the beginning, like everybody else did, but you have to power through. Learn as much as you can, experiment as much as you can and above all – keep practicing! There’s no other way.
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Some stunning work there I must admit
Amazing, looks very realistic.
fantastic! really amazing images.. and he think he has problems with colors.. pff
oh boy!
like the girl with the grenade alot
WOW!!…..brilliant artist and great interview..truly a Photoshop master!! ;O)
Impressive work!!!!nice interview
Wow!!
A really good job. Excellent
Wow those are amazing, and the lighting is brilliant! What talent he has!
Absolutely amazing work! Great inspiration. Thanks
He’s from polend. he’s the best !
I wish I had 1/10th that talent! Beautiful work!
It seems that all the greatest designers are self-taught.
Marek Oron is clearly one of the painter I admire the most.
Each image he painted is astonishing, because they really conveys a strong sense of storytelling and they all require an effort of imagination from the viewer. Great interview by the way.
love the lighting on hide and seek
wow……Im really amazed with that at work….wish I had that talent
This guys rocks!
Wow, amazing artwork. I do love all his artworks.
really nice. this guy is awesome.
Wow some very amazing pieces, very inspiring. I think its time to invest in a Wacom tablet. Good job Marek and great interview Emil.
polish artists are (and have been through ages) among the most talented in the world, along with chinese.
Awesome Love the “Rain” aka the girl with the granade !
But it seems that this website is not a for tutorials anymore…
Now its kind of a magazine…. now we’ve seen more interviews than tutorials! =(
The hand of a god onlys works his good!
Great artist, although there are many great digital painters. That is not what sets him apart from the rest. BUT, what does catch my eye is that the concepts he uses are different than those I have seen from most artists. ‘Rain’ is something like I have never seen before, it’s more cinematic than anything. I’ve seen loads of artists that stick primarily to SF or Fantasy, yet fail to mix the two. Marek on the other hand does a great job at this.
I salute you sir and wish you all the best with your career.
WoW i must say this, this guy don’t know anything about art. all this stuff sucks!!! everything is totally off, don’t even look real!!
go back to school buddy!
a great artist there, nice interview!
i am amazed, the details are incredible!!!
This is so far the best artiest i’ve seen, congratulation mans, great work!
Please less cheap interviews more tuts in this tuts website
thanks
gee.. o_o
ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh my god!!!
no condition!!!
congratulations man!!
sorry, bad english!! i am Brazilian
i don’t I understand english
but alone the images speak for me
show de bola!!! kkkkkkkkkkk
Oh wow. Seriously the best artist I have seen in a very long time. Cheers!
To be honest this isn’t my kind of themes or artwork. However, saying that, this guy is evidently VERY talented. Thanks for sharing.
Love Okon’s work. I’m so glad you guys decided to do an article on him!
His works are awesome….
no more words to say…..
i was so amazed……… that what a guy this is.
what a talent he has.
he is really really the master of digital painting.
Kiking ass !!! mannn its so coooool. Awesome
WOW. This is some serious talent right here. Very Impressive and Inspiring.
he’s one of the best artist i have ever seen. The girl with the grenade is my actually wallpaper. So much power in these pics. I love it.
He is very talented! His work is really unique!! Nice one! I provided a link of this interview at my blog! Way to go PSDTUTS!
Absolutely AMAZING work!!!! Nice interview, thanks!
Thanks for the interview.
omG, amazing !
i wish i had the same skill ! great! thanks for the interview…
im the master…. lolz work… no match for me….
grrrrrrrrrrrrr…….
ufff… holy smoke… that kicks ass SF / Blade Runner … i love it. It;s masterpieces 4 me
i love the bladerunner inspired one! greaaaaaaaaat
Where to find Marek on the Web
* Deviant Art
* Portfoilio
* CG Society
This secound “Portfolio” link is wrong
I’ve look at his work so many times on CG Society. All I can really say is, AMAZING!
man I suck. These are awesome