Welcome to Psdtuts+, please introduce yourself. Could you tell us where you’re from and how you got started in the field?
Hi, my name is Samuel Pereira, I am 23 Years old, I’m from Portugal and I’m finishing my degree in marketing. I started in the field of design doing signatures and wallpapers, about 2 years ago I started to notice a lot of digital paintings and matte paintings, so one day I tried to paint digitally and I really loved. I saw a lot of pieces and some tutorials and after that it’s just practice.
QWhat made you first start doing digital and matte paintings? If you can recall what did your first painting look like? How have you evolved since then?
Well I think it was the work of great digital painters out there that inspired me and made me think this might be my chosen path. I have a folder on my pc that is called “the Digital Painting Cemetery,” where it’s all my initial paintings, the ones that only a few have seen.
I think my first painting was a river in the forest and some mountains on the background, typical right? I remember the first painting I uploaded to my Deviantart Page, it’s called “Bridge” I used a reference from a game on this one, the upload date is October 5, 2008, so I usually use this date as a reference, my birthday as a Digital Painter. It’s Fantastic when you see your own evolution, I have learned a lot so far and I have even more to learn.
QA lot of your illustrations are shots of scenery in futuristic, and foreign lands. What exactly draws you to painting these types of scenes?
I love Science fiction and that is a big source of inspiration, but isn’t the only one, I love the medieval era, nature, and a lot of other themes. This isn’t easy to explain, I don’t think a lot about what I’m going to paint so it’s hard to say. Sometimes it all comes up with a simple sketch at school, a book scene, just a landscape near my house, or a place where I have already been.
QMost designers in your field use PC Tablets, what exactly do you use and how is it more efficient compared to the other products out there?
I use a modest Wacom Bamboo, this is only a hobby and my Wacom is more than enough, for now at least. I’ve never tried another one so it’s hard to compare it with others, what I can say is that my next one will still be a Wacom, and the next one, and so on. I have owned this one for at least 4 years and I didn’t have a single problem, so I can say I’m really happy with it.
Q“Haiti 7.0″ is a great piece that you and designer Ed Lopez did, please talk about the creation of the illustration and the special cause you were working for.
Well, that was supposed to be part of a poster project to raise awareness of the happenings and the bad living conditions in Haiti, unfortunately the project failed. But we still tried to help those people; I really hope we did in any way. About the piece, like you said it’s a collaboration artwork between me and my friend Ed Lopez, I honestly think we did a great job on this one, Ed is a great artist and it’s easy to work with him.
QWhat is one of the most important lessons you have learned that you have applied to your paintings and designing?
I have to be honest, I’m a bit lazy, this could be a cliché but the most important advice I can possibly give, is work a lot. If you work really hard you will see results soon. There are a lot of techniques that you will learn in the process, like using a reference picture or applying textures.
QWhat are some of the current projects you are working on? And what can we see from you in the next year?
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At the moment I’m an Artist in the SlashTHREE art community and I’m working on a game as a conceptual artist, beside that, I’m finishing my degree, and some personal projects I have on my mind. Other than that there’s nothing big happening on my life.
Q Thanks again for providing Psdtuts+ with this opportunity to interview you. Any final thoughts for our readers?
Thank you for the opportunity to show my work. This websites work is admirable and it’s very important to provide free knowledge for those that are starting in design. For our readers, like I said before, everything in life needs a lot of work and you will need to be willing to work if you want to be an artist.
