Polish artist Marek Okon began working as a professional graphic designer in 2003 and became interested in digital painting in 2005. Today he describes himself as an illustrator, concept artists and matte painter. He is currently living in Poland and working freelance and collaborates often with Privaterr Press, Nibris, Platige Image and Future Publishing. He also has an impressive list of client’s including, Fantasy Flight Games, The Collective Game Studio and the biggest Polish fantasy publisher, Fabryka Slow. We recently had the opportunity to ask Marek some questions and he opened the doors to his creative world for IT’S ART.

IT’S ART: Can you start by telling us a little about how you got into digital arts.

Marek Okon: I started my adventure with computer graphics a long time ago, but as a web designer and flash animator. Drawing was always more of a hobby for me. I did a lot of Manga back in the day, and at some point that evolved into something more serious. About two years ago I went commercial with my drawings and I am doing mostly illustrations, concepts and matte paintings.

IA: Could you tell us more about worlds you create?

MO: I really enjoy drawing a mix of SciFi and Fantasy; like some archmage attacking a space cruiser or a team of future special forces apprehending a bunch of dragons, those kinds of things. I love technical stuff; machines, computers, spaceships. Though these things can be a bit cold on their own, and that's why some fantasy sparks are needed to warm it up.

IA: Can you explain why you've choose CG to express yourself?

MO: Well, like in case of all artists, it’s a call. I have been drawing since as long as I can remember. I was always into computers and tech stuff and as a young child I ran into some drawing program on Commodore C64 and I was amazed by it capabilities (keep in mind it was way simpler than MS Paint and I was drawing with a joystick because It wasn't equipped with a mouse). Since then I have known that drawing on a computer is what I want to do, but I took me years to believe in myself and realize I can do it for living.

IA: You always put a lot of attention into the characters you depict. Can you tell us your process for developing them?

MO: When I work on images and the client is giving me some freedom in the creation process, I always start by thinking through whole scenes that I'm going to draw. It’s not only what you see, it is also what happened before that slice of time that is captured by the painting. Why are the characters here, what are they thinking, what are they feeling, what are they doing and what led them to this point? These are the questions I ask myself. Even the smallest details, like making sure they are wearing the proper clothing and the accessories they are using are fitting to the surroundings. All of these elements must click with each other and together create a convincing illustration. That's why I like to think for a while about that little world I create around pictures. This helps to set the boundaries and limitations to what I can and cannot put on the picture; how can I cloth characters, how can I pose them and how I can show emotions they are feeling.

IA: What are the other points of an illustration do you pay a lot of attention to?

MO: Colors. For me it’s a never ending battle to create a color palette that really emphasizes what I want to show in a picture. It’s normal for me to end up washing out or over saturated colors instead of realistic ones. But I'm working on it.

IA: What are your sources of inspiration?

MO: Movies, music, games and other artists. After watching a good movie or viewing a gallery of some amazing artist, I'm always pumped up to draw something, anything just to get this energy out