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Mike Corriero, GW Username: MikeCorriero
Image Challenge Contests Awards GW: How did you hear about the Gnomon contest? MC: If I remember correctly I believe I saw a fellow artist post their winning entry on conceptart.org, so I headed to Gnomon's website to check it out. I was amazed when I saw 1st prize was 40 DVDs and I couldn't believe how generous Gnomon was being with their prizes.GW: When you won the challenge, were you a student, professional or hobbyist? MC: I was working as a professional Freelance Concept artist and Illustrator, producing work for various video game companies, magazines, independent projects and some film work as well.GW: Has your status changed since, and if so what influence did the DVDs have? Where do you study/work and what do you do? MC: Since I won the 40 pack of DVDs I've still been freelancing since that's what suits my lifestyle best at the moment. The DVDs really helped open me up to how a lot of other professionals work. It let me see first hand whether I was doing things completely out of whack or whether I had a similar work flow to some of the Gnomon instructors who are working for film or game studios in the industry. Since I have always worked freelance and I have never gotten the chance to go to any kind of workshops, conventions or art shows it gave me some better insight into that part of this industry without having to really be at any of those events. GW: Of the titles you won, which do you feel had the biggest impact? MC: Well, I really love how Iain McCaig communicates the ideas behind what and why he's creating what he's creating. Though I'd have to say the titles that had the biggest impact on me were the ones that I had the least experience in. Those would be the Perspective and Vehicle design DVDs by Scott Robertson, who explains the basics in a way anyone should be able to understand as well as the more complex side to things in some of the other related DVDs. Since I never had any formal training in perspective, that set helped me the most. GW: How important do you feel communities, like the Gnomon Workshop Forum, are to your growth as an artist? MC: Online art communities such as the Gnomon Workshop Forum are essential these days. In my opinion, if you're a younger less experienced artist or even a professional it's the best way to learn, share, grow and experience all forms of art. It's not all about the art either, these online communities help promote your name, your art and they help you network with other creative individuals that you wouldn't otherwise be capable of interacting with. GW: After viewing the DVDs has your career path changed in a direction you didn't expect? For example, new interest in design, rendering, matte painting, dynamics, etc? MC: I wouldn't say it changed the direction of my career path since I've had a long standing passion to create creature designs and a specific set of assets. That's something that has been with me since childhood, but it definitely opened my eyes to what's possible and what's necessary to make it in todays industry. Although I'm specifically a 2D digital artist, I chose a fair amount of the 3D related DVDs because "again" it helps open my eyes to what artist in different mediums are creating and how they work, since I don't work in a studio setting. It's always good to learn how people work in all forms of art, even if you don't have an interest in creating 3D work yourself. GW: Any other feedback regarding The Gnomon Workshop or individual DVDs? Are there any specific areas you would like us to cover more? MC: Feng Zhu's DVD series was really interesting since he has a solid pen and marker style when designing. I loved watching his technique of taking a group of Thumbnails and rough silhouettes and turning two of them into working visual concepts for Robot designs.
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