Interview : Alan Lathwell     

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Alan Lathwell is a freelance illustrator working in London. His childhood passion for fantasy art inspired him to pick up a pencil and start drawing at an early age, but he never considered that he could make a living from fantasy art. So on leaving school he trained as a lift engineer until a chance meeting with a children’s book author. He was asked to illustrate her forthcoming book and he hasn’t looked back since. He made the jump into freelance illustration and although it was steep learning curve to begin, he has no regrets. In addition to children’s books, he has worked on a wide range of projects; from fantasy novels to RPG’s, magazines and comics


IT’S ART: There are a lot of warriors and skulls in your portfolio; can you tell us more about your graphic choices?

Alan Lathwell: I think they appeal to the child in me! The images I paint are based on the type of images that fascinated me when I was growing up, there’s probably a deep psychological reason for it but as far as I’m concerned they are just great fun to do. I’m also very interested in Celtic and Norse mythology, which also explains the warriors. I try to portray the barbarism of the time and create a realm of dark fantasy.

IA: Your color scheme, without being simple, is often reduced compared to other artists. It looks like you love to play with a limited range of colors, using only some to highlight important parts of your illustrations. Do you agree/disagree with that?

AL: I don’t like to over complicate my images or dilute their power with too much color variance, so yes, I would agree I am economical in my color scheme. I think it creates an impact to use one main color and use it’s opposite to create contrast and interest. Colors usually have a mood association, i.e. red = anger, green = calm. I like to play with this convention and turn it on its head by using, say, a green color scheme in an action scene. Of course, now with digital tools it’s easy to experiment with hue and saturation to get unexpected results that can totally transform an image from your original vision.

IA: Could you tell us more about your technique and creative process?

AL: My method is pretty straight forward. I usually start with a very rough outline on a multiply layer and then block color in on a layer underneath. This stage is very loose and intuitive. I’m trying to find balance and harmony in the composition and make sure all the shapes and elements work together. I then flatten the layers and send this to the client for approval, which hopefully comes back without too many changes! Then I basically work over the sketch keeping layers to a minimum, starting with the background and progressing to the figures and details until finished.
I then like to experiment with texture, overlaying some roughly primed surfaces that I’ve scanned in, reduce the opacity and rub out here and there. Job done!

IA: Even more than color, light seems to play an important role in your work. Can you tell us more about the way you manage light and play with it?

AL: Light and tone are obviously crucial to a paintings success. I use light to produce interesting shadows and highlights that exaggerate and draw attention to key elements of a picture. You have to be inventive when deciding how to light your picture as it also serves the purpose of setting the mood. I urge anyone starting out in painting to study Caravaggio, who was a master in the use of light.