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Portuguese artist Andreas Rocha discovered his interest in digital painting while studying for his degree in architecture. After the conclusion of his studies he worked in an architecture firm for 2 years and in a 3D architectural visualization company for 3. While digital painting has been a hobby for Andreas for the past 11 years, for the past 3 he has been taking it much more seriously and he is currently working as a full-time freelancer doing both 2D illustrations/matte paintings and 3D architectural visualizations. His work has been featured in several publications, such as Expose, Exotique, ImagineFX and 2DArtist Magazine, among others. He has done several illustrations for books, advertising, CD covers and games promotions, alongside 3D architectural visualizations. He’s also done conceptual work for games and advertising.He lives and works happily in Lisbon/Portugal together with his wife and dog.

IT’S ART: Can you define you style?

Andreas Rocha: I don’t think I can really clearly define my style. I like to paint different kind of paintings, like conceptual work, matte paintings, erotic illustrations, etc. Each subject requires a different technique and can be quite different from one another. I also try to experiment a lot and I am constantly exploring new ways to approach a painting so the results tend to differ among each of the paintings. However, I believe there are some common traits, like contrasting lighting, saturated colors with deep orange and dark purple hues being predominant. I also like to make the texture of the painting apparent and I tend not to smooth everything out. I think I go for a realistic painterly style, not mimicking reality but staying close it.

IA: Do you think your work is close to classical painting?

AR: I look at traditional paintings regularly but I have had no classical training, so I don’t think I could call it classical. I’m inspired by the works of traditional painters and one of the things inherent to them is their natural textural quality which is sometimes lacking in digital paintings. On the other hand, I believe that some digital paintings just have a quality that traditional painting cannot achieve. The combination of layers, their modes, textured brushes, their variants, etc…it’s just something that you can only do with digital painting. So, I think my work is predominantly digital with traditional painting influences.

IA: Do you think the tools/programs help you to achieve some results you could in traditional?

AR: For me, digital painting has allowed me to enter the world of painting, which I struggled with before I found out about tablets. I always wanted to achieve smooth color gradations and I’ve tried with oils and acrylics but it was just an enormous frustration. Probably, I should have sought out tutoring at the time but instead I ventured on my own. That was when I discovered tablets and everything changed. I could finally render those smooth color transitions with the airbrush tool. The funny thing about it is, I now consider these smooth gradations lifeless and I try to achieve the more traditional look of real paint in digital illustration.

IA: What tools do you use?

AR: Regarding hardware, I have a dual 24-inch LCD setup with Core 2 Duo PC with 2GB RAM. I use a WACOM Intuos 2 A5 tablet and sometimes I use my scanner to bring in some sketches I did on paper, that’s very rare. As for software, I use Photoshop and Painter. Most of the time I go for Photoshop alone, as it has a very powerful toolset. The same doesn’t go for Painter. Although, it has some unique tools which Photoshop just can’t mimic, at least not yet, I end up having to use Photoshop to complete a painting done primarily with Painter. I also use 3D Studio Max for 3D mockups or more realistic rendering of elements for matte painting.

IA: Can you tell us about your influences?

AR: I believe that my two main and earliest influences are the poster art of Drew Struzan and the D&D paintings by Jeff Easley. I think my true love for fantasy and my desire to create it started because of them. Upon seeing the awesome paintings by Drew Struzan for the Indiana Jones and Back to the Future trilogies, I knew that something magical was about to happen in the theatre. And I wasn’t let down. As for Jeff Easley, I have a vivid memory from when I was 14 years old and I went to a Dungeons and Dragons “meeting” in a basement. The basement walls were covered in spectacular framed posters by Jeff Easley. I’m still attracted to his rich orange hues and once in a while they pop up in some of my paintings.