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Part 2

IA: Can you tell us about the different techniques you use and like to create your work?

PM: I’m going through a bit of a matte-painting phase at the moment. I’m using a lot of my own photography as references and textures to create these fantasy environments. I love going to forests and gathering resources to use. I’m looking forward to getting back to some modeling and 3D next though. I’ve been so busy these last few months I haven’t had a chance to get into ZBrush 3 – it’s always in the back of my mind and I’m so excited about getting into that program. The results artists are getting are just incredible!

IA: What are the tools you use?

PM: I cut my teeth on Bryce, back in ’99 or 2000 and progressed through Max, Maya and then ZBrush 2. About 2 years ago I got my first Wacom tablet and have been working in matte-painting ever since.

IA: Can you speak about the company you work for, Vyro games?

PM: We set Vyro games up about 4 years ago, working on biometric hardware and software. I suppose the best way of telling people about the company and its products is to visit the website!

IA: What are the links between your commercial and personal works?

PM: If I do a commercial job, to a specific brief, I still treat it as a personal project. Sometimes the client’s vision barges yours out of the way, and that’s fine, but I love the jobs where everyone is thinking in the same way and you have the freedom to express your ideas. I worked on a project called the “Infinite Oz” for the SciFi Channel a little while back with some incredibly inspiring artists. The freedom we had with our own ideas was just phenomenal. There was a brief which informed us of the content of our work of course, but there was a huge amount of room for experimentation and some amazing work came out of it. That’s the environment I love to work in. Where no idea is written off and everything is considered and explored.

IA: What are you influences?

PM: Where to start? I grew up inspired by Geoff Taylor, Tim White, Frank Frazetta, Boris Vallejo, John Berkey – fantasy and SciFi book cover art, generally. As I’ve gotten involved in artist’s communities over the last few years the level of talent out there is just incredible. Artists like Nick Harris, Andreas Rocha, Philip Straub, Rudy Herczog, Raphael Lacoste, traditional artists like PJ Lynch here in Ireland – all phenomenal. There are a number of sites I visit, from IT’S ART, to CGSociety, ConceptArt.org to MattePainting.org, where the level of work is just humbling.

IA: If you were asked to reproduced a classical artwork what would be the one you would choose? Why?

PM: I fell in love with a Rembrandt painting called “Philosopher in Meditation” a few years back, and I did even cheekily did a matte using it as the basis. I love the painting; it is brimming with mystery and beautiful light.

IA: What is your vision for digital art and its evolution?

PM: The medium of digital art is a true revolution, I think. I love to paint, but there is no 'undo' function (I realize there is a large traditional school who would not appreciate me saying that!). For me, personally, I like to explore an idea, even go back a few hours if I'm not happy with the direction of the work. I can't do that with watercolor, beautiful medium though that is. Combine 3D, sculpting, lighting, matte, the digital toolset gives the artist access to that which every artists craves - absolute and total creative freedom. It's an incredible thing to be a part of, watching this new art evolve and blossom.