Meet concept artist, Mack Sztaba. Mack has had experience working on multiple gaming and television projects throughout his career.
Check out what he has to say about how he got started, his experience with VUE, and the advice he shares for newcomers.
What is your background?
Currently I am a freelance concept artist working on multiple projects ranging from TV to games. While in college studying 3D animation, I saw Feng Zhus’ concept art and I immediately knew what I wanted to do for a career.
I love jumping around different topics/genres, but hard surface and environment design are my favorite things to design. Just coming up with ideas. Roughs/sketches are always the most fulfilling part of my design process.
A typical day includes coffee in the morning and some loose sketching. After that, I get into client work. Most of the day will be filled with client work which consists of mainly art/design. I take short breaks throughout the day to stretch and do quick workouts. This keeps me feeling not only good physically, but also mentally.
As I continue down my career path, I hope to keep working with cool people on fun projects and continuing my own art. Creating personal work is very fulfilling both mentally and emotionally.
What is your experience with VUE?
I have been using VUE for about two years now. It has helped me explore environment design from a totally different angle. Having real-time feedback in a 3D environment has been a game changer, allowing for more idea exploration.
I finally got a chance to use VUE professionally for a couple of sci-fi book covers that will be coming out in 2019. Can’t say more about that right now. Personally, any environment piece that I do involves VUE. Outpost and The City we’re particularly fun to work on.
Deadlines are always the biggest challenge of concept design. Experience is the only way to overcome the stress of tight deadlines. Everything is organized according to my deadlines. I use Photoshop, 3DCoat and Keyshot for most of my professional work.
Do you have any advice to share?
Work hard and always be professional. Being a concept artist is a collaborative process. Be polite, meet your deadlines and have fun.
I always hated learning new software, so for me I just forced myself to learn. Once I get over the initial hump of understanding the basics and start to see the potential of the software it starts becoming fun. I also get my inspiration from anywhere and everywhere. Nature is an endless well of inspiration.
Would you recommend VUE to other artists, and why?
Yes. The software is easy and fun to use. And extremely powerful.
Thanks Mack! Don’t forget to check out his projects at: https://mack.artstation.com/
