Wacom's Deep Dive with Faunesque

Wacom was able to interview mega-talented illustrator “Faunesque”.
Have a read and go follow him on his Social Networks.

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1-Thanks for having us Phil. We love your work, tell us a little bit about your development and studies.

Hey  Thanks a lot!

My name is Phil, I am 38. I went to LISAA in Strasbourg (FR) and graduate in Visual Communication in 2004. I worked as a freelance ever since. 

I cofounded Zurich29 (motion design & Illustration studio) but I work mainly as an illustrator since a few years. I worked a bit at MTV France in Motion Design for a year and a half in 2007.

2-You seem to be pretty into surreal art, animals in disguise, and fantastic worlds… What is the message ? What is it that you communicate and why choosing those characters ?
Hm, surreal you think? I find my drawings more realistic but yes I like to sometimes compose my images in a « fantastic way » I guess. There is no message in particular, just try to give the right impression at the first look and then you can get lost yourself in smaller and smaller details

3-Which one is your favourite to work with and why?

I don’t have an answer for this one, sorry 🙂 

 4-What inspires you?

A lot of things, but lately I spend quite some time on Instagram and bookmark a lot of sketches & illustrations for their colors, compositions, styles, techniques etc. It’s a great source of inspiration and you can find a lot of references in it. But it depends.

If it’s a commissioned work, for Bvlgari for example, I had to look on some Japanese art books and took some pictures of the pages. If it’s just some sketches or personal illustrations, I am free and draw what I want to try, to challenge me or just to learn more.

5-Can you recommend any tips to upcoming artists looking up to your art?

Take your time ! Try to find your style, it is a passion job (for me anyways). Contact other illustrators to chat and have their opinion on your work. It’s really helpful. It’s a way to build a community too.

6-Tell us about your favourite music. What do you listen to when drawing?

I mostly listen to loft hip hop or to the radio. It depends if I have finished all the rough and need to clean the lines + coloring I can listen to some podcasts about freelancing or documentaries. When I need to concentrate more, I just listen to some cool music with a low tempo.

7-Ok, TOP 5 movies. GO!

Snatch – Mystic River – Parasite – Whiplash – We own the night

8-How do you manage your creative process? Any creative blocks suggestions?

If it is a commissioned work I read the brief, ask a few questions if necessary. Then I google a lot of images, I sometimes took myself in pictures for posing ref.  Then I make a big image on Photoshop with every pictures I took or googled. I usually have one or two ideas for a rough. I adjust a lot of things during the rough but the idea remains the same.

9- how is it managing different styles and brushes? Which ones do you use?

I mainly use some brushed created by Kyle T. Webster. I bought his megapack a few years back. Now you can get them for free when you pay for the Adobe Creative Suite. I also use sometimes, when I try to paint, the Alexis Franklin Brushes. 

10. How has Wacom improved your workflow?

I used a Wacom Intuos 3 for like 8-9 years and when I arrived I Brussels, I had the financial opportunity to buy a Cintiq 27 qhd. I mean wow !! This screen tablet is like really powerful. It’s big, you have a lot of space. At first I didn’t know where to put the keyboard but I saw the Cintweak Website and I now have the keyboard on top of the Cintiq. I really gain some time, It’s super easy, intuitive and you can direct watch what you draw, like on paper. The Stylet is amazing too, super precise in every way. 

I can’t draw on an Intuos now 🙂  

I sometimes use my wife’s Cintiq 16’’. It’s a great tool too even if it’s a lot smaller. I would love to be more mobile and try the mobile studio pro one day !

11.- If you could do a Collab with any living artist, with whom would it be and why?

I already had the chance to work with one of my favourite artist Shan Jiang. It was for a project via the studio Shotopop in London. He worked there and I worked with him at distance but it was super interesting. The man is super fast, super clean, and gives great advices for colors, lights, style, composition, how to draw quickly etc.

12. -.- If you could do a Collab with any death artist, with whom would it be and why?

 Not an easy question! I think that all the artists I would like to collaborate with are still alive 🙂

13.- Any last comments?

I would love to be able to test a wacom studio pro once!

14 where can people find you?

Instagram: www.instagram.com/faunesque

Website: www.faunesque.com

Behance: https://www.behance.net/philconstantinesco

Thank you!