www.sam-gilbey.com

Web Designer, Illustrator | UK

Tell us about your background?
Some of my first memories of drawing were coming back from the cinema after seeing films like Superman III and Return of the Jedi with my Dad. I must have been about 6 or 7. When we got back, I would stay up late drawing scenes from the film and making up new ones. My parents would let me stay up on these occasions because they were keen for me to cultivate my talent. That, and the fact that I had trouble sleeping even when I wasn’t excited about a new movie! I suppose I have always been captivated by action, and those were my first attempts at celebrating it. As I grew up, I went through different phases of toys like anyone does. The first time I sold my work I was actually 8 years old. I had done some black and white felt tip drawings of my favourite Transformers. They were photocopied and sold in packs of ten or fifteen at the school fair for people to colour in. All the money went to charity though I hasten to add! I also remember a period where I would come in from school and design Puma and Nike trainers until dinner. Basically, I’ve always drawn, and I’ve always loved colour and action. And robots.


Have you had artistic studies and was it useful for you?
Yes I did an A-level in art here in the UK, as well as a degree in Visual Arts and Music at Keele University, and that has definitely influenced my work. It’s important not to ever confuse illustration with art, but I have grown up loving paintings, as well as the supposedly low culture that is videogames. To me it’s all the same thing really. For instance, for my final degree show I painted three large canvases that reinterpreted famous paintings by Van Gogh, Caspar David Friedrich and David Hockney as videogames genres. The Van Gogh became a stealth action game, the Friedrich a snowboarding game, the Hockney a platformer. I suppose that more than anything else sums up how my studies shaped my interests and skills.


How would you explain your style of illustration?
My style of illustration is just what happens when I put Wacom pen to tablet, although I suppose that it is the actual mark making that’s the most important factor in my illustration style. Closely followed by playing with the colour until I feel I’ve got the right impact. Don’t get me wrong, vector illustration can be fantastic, but maybe it’s because I use vectors a lot when I’m designing websites that when I illustrate I like to create something that leaves the marks made by my hand visible.


What programs do you use to create your illustrations?
Mostly I use Painter. Occasionally I’ll do a few alterations here and there in Photoshop, but much less often. Before I even get to the computer though, I draw a lot with pens. It’s good to practice analogue techniques sometimes, where you can’t just reach for the undo command whenever you like!


What are your creation processes?
It varies depending on the piece I’ve got in mind, but I tend to start with a sketch I’ve done, or perhaps a digital photograph. I put these images on the bottom layer. I build up the piece layer by layer, isolating different brush techniques on separate layers. Nothing radical! Usefully in Painter you can choose to pick up detail from the underlying layers, so you can smudge the piece on a new layer without permanently destroying the detail beneath. Once I’ve filled in some broad strokes and colours and got the main composition underway, I normally remove the sketch or photo, and then add the remaining details. It’s all just a question of heading towards the image that you’ve got in your head.