Andrey Ivanov
/Andrey Ivanov is a CG artist with a traditional art background. He currently lives in Kharkiv, Ukraine, working full-time as a lead concept artist for game company. Outside of his professional life Andrey enjoys exploring animation design style art and draw some cartoonish stuff for fun.
What is your background as an artist? What educational experience/background did you have coming into CGMA? Do you have professional experience?
My career started in the book publishing house, where I was a designer and illustrator. Then I jumped into the video games industry, in which I work until now, as a lead concept artist.
Why did you decide to take CGMA classes?
It is always useful to improve your skills. I really wanted to touch the experience of world professionals. And I found everything I was looking for here, on CGMA. And I'm infinitely glad that one day I was advised of your resource!
What classes did you take and why did you choose them?
I took The Art of Color and Light by Tyler Carter with Miki Montllo mentoring. I needed to be liberated with color. It was a very good class, I got a lot of fun and experience. Character Design for Production with Nate Wragg. It was very interesting for me to compare my own pipeline that I used with the experience of a professional in the animation industry. I have learned a lot of new things. Visual Development mentorship with Armand Serrano. In this class I tried to get out of the comfort zone. Armand helped me to broaden the horizon of opportunity. It was an invaluable experience. Also, this year I had luck to meet with Armand Serrano in person when I visited Burbank. It was a very inspiring meeting!
How did taking classes help you refine your craft and help you along your artistic journey?
It's very cool to learn something new, or to be convinced with some personal principles and approaches. Such things always upgrade your skills and it's really great!
What was your first big gig and how did you get it?
My first big gig was in early 2013 when I took the first step to the gaming industry in the company Plarium.
Why would you recommend CGMA to another artist?
When somebody asks me about some resources to improve art skills, the first thing I'll recommend is CGMA. One of the most important aspects is communication with the instructor. The instructors are all great. They provide helpful feedbacks which are always pushing forward your results to another level.
Why is having professional feedback important to you?
For me, this is the most important and valuable thing in these courses. We live in a time where information is not so difficult to get. You can find any tutorials on the internet, but getting information does not always lead to an understanding. Professional feedback helps to understand in time that something has gone wrong, or helps to pay attention to some details. This is very valuable.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
Never stop learning something new. Always look for ways that will lead you to something cognitive and interesting. We would like to thank Andrey for sitting down with us and sharing his CGMA experience. To see more of Andrey's work, you can visit his Artstation page.
