Meet the Artist: Nick Pugh

[nick_pugh]

thanks for the compliments

• hows life being a lead Concept Artist in a entertainment design industry?

it is really fun. working with rhythm&hues has always been a great pleasre, the people there are nice and very talented. they also give me the freedom to work in my own studio and be fairly autonomous. i am a hands on guy and prefer to work alone or in relative seclusion. the projects are varied and i get to express many different styles and techniques.

• since im a fan of jim davis how about ur experienced in
  Garfield the movie include Scooby Doo how is it becoming one of the instrumental of the designs concepts the animation’ etc…

garfield was fun and the work was rewarding. i got a lame credit and that sort of sucked since i designed the cg cat

• i love ur cars concept wow! did u try to work for warner brothers “BATMAN” movies?

i would like to very much, if the deal was right

congrats to u and more power! :)[/QUOTE]

[nick_pugh]

thanks,

1. i am really curious to know wich app u use in most of your work.

photoshop, deep paint, sculpy, chavant, metal(stainless, aluminum, chromolly, titanium), glass, plastic, oil paint, mixed media on vellum, wood, foam, photography(nikon d70 nikkor 18-70 lense) prismacolor on newsprint pens of all sort etc

2. 15 years is a long time to spend in a industry. where do u find your self standing in the cg
   world after spending such a huge period in it. do u think u have acheived what u aimed for
   or not yet.

definitely not. i have struggled with more dissapointment and letdown because my goals were soooo high and rare. i may be able to get there by the time i am 60 or 70

   thnx[/QUOTE]

[nick_pugh]

The Ring 2 wasnt a digitally based film, what kind of work did you do for that movie?

i painted all the textures for the cg deer attack sequence

What things do u think about while doing concept work?

too many to answer, or sometimes as little as possible

and lastly

What inspired you to get into this field of work?

i always loved it since i was a small boy

Thank You Very Much

-Alec[/QUOTE]

[nick_pugh]

thanks so much,

1: Are there projects you know your going to love to work on and projects that make you say " man not this stuff !!"

yes, always there are better and worse projects. i have been fortunate enought to work on some of the more cheesy ones in my career;) in this process i have also learned that you never know how things will turn out as you begin a project. it might look pretty bleak when you first read the script but when the team gets going you have a great time. and the contrary, a really cool sounding project might be run by an @&^%# and this poinsons the effort and makes everyone miserable. because i spend so much of my time on my personal work i feel quite insulated from being too tied up in how wicked a project will be

2: How much concept art are you expected to create daily say at the level of the Dino creature up there ? Or maybe you can break down how much is expected from you and how fast you typically have to work .

always more than is expected. say they think you should do 3 comps do 7 and better than you lead on. this will give you freedom to work where and how you like

3: Are there R&H clients that ask for you specifically when they are in the design process ?

yes

4: Do you work mostly digitally these days or do still do a lot of traditional media ?

all

5: What’s your biggest motivator for staying in films as opposed to say visual development for Video Games or Animation for example.

i have an exclusive deal with r&h and i work on what they get. i have turned down many other oppertunities as a result. i would love to work on more video games if they came in

6: Were you nerveous when you first started doing this line of work ? Did you ever have times when you thought you might fail ?

i failed at some other things i tried that were much more difficult than this type of work, so i think this gave me confidence

[nick_pugh]

Hi Nick,

I did a fast look at your website… really impressive work you did the last 15 years
I just got one little question… did you study anything for doing this job?

transportation design

[nick_pugh]

Hi Nick,

You seem happy working in a variety of media and styles - do you find it a positive or a negative thing that you don’t have an instantly recognisable ‘style’, in the manner of say Craig Mullins or Feng Zhu? Is this helpful when working on such a wide range of projects?

Cheers,

James.

i guess it is both ways, it is positive because i can do anything that comes at me and enjoy the process of learning new mediums, and negative bacause i am invisible in some sort of way. the plus outweighs the minus because my long term goal is to be more of a rennaisance man than a specialist. it also helps with the health, the workout of physical fabrication balaced with the cerebral of sitting in front of a screen

[nick_pugh]

Hi Nick!

First of all: RESPECT to you man! I’ve had a nickpugh folder on my hard drive for ages, so this is Q&A just wonderful!

Someone before me asked what you studied to get here, well I’ll double that question and upgrade it:

1. What period of your life did you learn the most? Was it from someone, or mainly by yourself?

2. Who’s/what’s your inspiration?

3. Not a question, but a compliment: I think that your art is so fresh in so many ways, and it doesn’t matter if it’s not “recognizable” at once like someone mentioned earlier. That just means you’ve got lot’s of styles and sides as a person/designer.

4. What are your goals in life/ work?

Thank you for taking the time to do this! It means so much to our community!

Thanks for inspiring.

Cheers, Adam

thanks adam

1. it is hard to say because it has been such a journey, learning and growing all along the way. art center was a big jump, my interest in reptiles as a kid, star wars, building my concept cars and now all the stuff with scott robertson and gnomon

2.nature, mathematics, physics, engineering, art NOT politics, religion, social conditioning

3.thanks, exploration and discovery demand this from me, and a restless heart is satisfied

5.in some way i have reached them(freedom of time and constant creative challenge) and in some ways i have failed so far(having lots of clients building concept cars, making lots of money off of my own property)

[nick_pugh]

Hi Nick. Actually, i didn’t know you til see this thread, but i searched about you, looked your site and very liked your works.
I wonder how improved your vision and do you have any tutorial dvd or media
Finally, do you have favorite concept artists?
Very thanks for sharing your knowledge

most of my development is self taught, art center was great, i do enjoy watching my friends tutorials to see what new tricks they are cooking up;), there are so many artists that i admire it would be unfair to single any one out, probably all the usuals anyway

[nick_pugh]

Nick, your art is full of imagination and inspiration!

The posibility of working as a concept artist on a C.S.Lewis film has been a goal of mine ever since I found out they were making the LWW. I see that you have had the pleasure of doing this.

I am 29, have been teaching myself concept art for just under a year and have been able to get a fair bit of freelance work… I consider my art to be just above average and I’m learning fast. My question is, do you think it’s worth while me going to Uni to get formal training, or should I continue to learn from my freelance work. Would a studio such as R&H’s consider someone with no degree for working on film concepts etc?

Thanks so much! keep up the great work - Jez

thanks,

it is hard to say, so many people have formal training and do well but some have none and do great as well. r&h bases their hiring on talent and quality of work, the degree is often just a way of networking(which i can stress is very important)

[nick_pugh]

Hey Nick,

Your art is so varied and from another world. I purchased your first DVD and was really inspired from watching you work but mainly from the way you described your workflow. Just wanted to let you know that there is another realm, another layer so to speak. It is hard to reach but innocence and clarity is the only way. If you have ever looked into the world of seeing auras I think you would be very interested. My fiancee sees colours around people’s heads, and she has taught me a gift of feeling colours. It is a strange sensation to feel a visual. No real question, I just wanted to confirm to you that there is a collective consciousness and it is possible to actually see it. keep up the amazing work.

i am so glad you enjoyed it, i really had fun making it and learned alot about the process as well. auras, hmmmm, sounds neat. i will look into it. often, in the moment when a discovery is gained i feel connected to something similar to what you describe.

[nick_pugh]

YOU’VE DONE SOO MANY COOL PROJECTS …AS AN ARTIST ARE THERE ANY PROJECTS FROM THE PAST THAT YOU FANTASIZED ABOUT DOING?

                                         Your work is awsome....
 I need some help with the themes going for my modeling reel
 so far i got the typical [color=Yellow][warrior girl](http://www.cgtalk.com/showthread.php?p=2362823#post2362823) [/color]and a camel as a wip....any suggestions on
 sumthin else?

thanks,

i am doing them, i guess. just more and better of the same type of stuff

i like what you are doing with the assymetry of the costume, why not play that up in her physical anatomy and surface/texture/color as well. this could be disturbing but memorable

[Halfman]

hi sir.
your designed are so cool and fabulous. I am a student of master of information technology at Ballarat university in Australia. I am studing more on 3d design. could you please tell me some resources or books that can help me to improve my knowledge and could you please tell me how can I enter to the design market?
thanks for your attention
houman

[warpy]

Nick,

i think i have seen your car concept on wired magazine a few months back (the gray one with the green flames), i dont want to be crude or anything but imo the head lights, the right one in particular has the inside curve opposed to the left’s one and is not right in term of prespective.

i was wondering how do you tease your brain to come up with these wonderful designs everytime ? you must run out of ideas at a point, please tell us your secret .

thanks in advance.

[nick_pugh]

Nick,

i think i have seen your car concept on wired magazine a few months back (the gray one with the green flames), i dont want to be crude or anything but imo the head lights, the right one in particular has the inside curve opposed to the left’s one and is not right in term of prespective.

i was wondering how do you tease your brain to come up with these wonderful designs everytime ? you must run out of ideas at a point, please tell us your secret .

thanks in advance.

i guess the camera does lie, that part of the picture is a photo. it is a distorted image however and i am sure you are right, the perspective is a bit funky overall, it is what they wanted, cartoony but real…

[nick_pugh]

hi sir.
your designed are so cool and fabulous. I am a student of master of information technology at Ballarat university in Australia. I am studing more on 3d design. could you please tell me some resources or books that can help me to improve my knowledge and could you please tell me how can I enter to the design market?
thanks for your attention
houman

the gnomon workshop has many dvd tutorials for much of what you are seeking.

[warpy]

Nick,

so i guess the camera does lie

many times when i try to make something original i get stuck without ideas, i know that for some people ideas are a dime a dozen, again i am wondering how do you get your ideas, i heared that some people take 2 old ideas and combine them together but i never found this to be something i like to do.

i know all of you big time artists have some magical way of coming up with those original concepts, what are yours ?

thanks again .

[anakinskywalker]

Hi Nick,

Do drop in sometime in the VC room sometime… A hi from all of us here in India.

-Hrishi

[nick_pugh]

Hi Nick,

Do drop in sometime in the VC room sometime… A hi from all of us here in India.

-Hrishi

the VC room? i would like to visit r&h india some time, it would be cool to do some sort of project that demanded it

[k4k]

the VC room? i would like to visit r&h india some time, it would be cool to do some sort of project that demanded it

what project you are in now??

Do you outsource some of your work to R&H India? If so, What kind of work??

[warpy]

just wanted to let the guys (and gals?) that never read wired magazine to know where that hybrid picture was published