He is regarded by some in the industry as an 'uber-artist', which means he has a skill-set that allows him to pretty much do anything in terms of concept & design. What's all the more mind-boggling, is that this is a man who says he only started to take his career more seriously 'four years ago' - that's pretty good progress!
MONOBLOG is proud to present ASH THORP.
Above: Concept art for Styleframes NYC.
MONOBLOG: Ash, what's your art background, and where are you now based?
ASH THORP: I attended a local community college and then a Cal State college. I obtained an AA and a BA in art and design. I currently reside in the northern outskirts suburb of San Diego County, in California.
ASH THORP: I attended a local community college and then a Cal State college. I obtained an AA and a BA in art and design. I currently reside in the northern outskirts suburb of San Diego County, in California.
You obviously think in 3 dimensions. Can you describe how
you get from thumbnails all the way to the bewilderingly complex images we
see on screen..? I'm thinking in particular of the TOTAL RECALL GRAPHIC USER INTERFACE ( GUI ) content.
Describe the process and how you collaborate with your colleagues on the
project.
Above: GUI design and still from TOTAL RECALL ( 2012 ).
Ahhhh, this is a hard
one. I think I always just kind of see them
in my head, the rough sketches are reminder notes like a note on the fridge not
to forget to buy milk. I use them as a
bookmark of thoughts to come back to. ( See below ).
It’s
a language I probably understand only to myself. I then begin to build the idea in Photoshop
or Illustrator. I like to try and
keep that flow of energy from my original idea. It’s hard to maintain the soul of a creation
when you confine it to the rules and regulations that must fit within story-telling formats like film, but I try nonetheless. It is a big back-and-forth journey, as I add
and subtract and add more and pull away until it feels right. Often times I am rushed to push things
through and have to release ideas and work that are still very undeveloped, but
that is the nature of film and this industry. Everything is extremely fast-paced.
What are your influences? You seem to be able to adopt any
style - I see Kirby, Sienkiewicz, Mignola, Clive Barker etc, in your painted work.
Above: Three proposed figures for the Styleframes NYC movie short.
I have SOOOO many
influences. I find it key to pull
inspiration from all different walks of life, as it gives my work and
personality its own voice. That being
said, I love being inspired by other creatives. I grew up on comics and
cartoons, which later turned to anime and film. I love such a wide array of things that it’s hard to pin down. Some things that hit hard for me are the art
by Frazetta, Moebius, Otomo, Kubrick, Lucas, Kawajiri's films, Shirow… all the
great stuff, too many to list.
Talking of Otomo, give us the scoop on your AKIRA art.
Talking of Otomo, give us the scoop on your AKIRA art.
I am doing it out of passion and fun - I am trying to rediscover myself as an
illustrator and using things I love to take me there. They are opening some great doors of
opportunity, and we will see what comes of them as time progresses.
Below: Ash Thorp's interpretation of KANEDA, a character from Katsuhiro Otomo's graphic novel series, AKIRA.
In your portfolio, you also have some digital 3D pieces. Tell us about those.
How did you get to work in the film industry? I'm sure many aspiring artists would love to know.
I have very basic 3D skills, nothing too far beyond what a
newer user in such programs might be. It's just a tool for me to expose ideas. I think some great programs to use are C4D, Zbrush, Modo, Maya, all
those. Depends on what your going
for. They all offer interesting results.
How did you get to work in the film industry? I'm sure many aspiring artists would love to know.
I decided to take myself and my work seriously about 4 years
ago. I worked very hard after hours of a
full time job and being a family man for 3 months, to build a portfolio in the
hope I would get hired at a studio that I could go and grow at. That
opportunity came when I was hired by the studio Prologue ( makers of opening titles for The Walking Dead, X-Men: First Class, etc ). I spent a year there working as hard as I
could, and did my best to progress and learn. The big catch with this story is
that Prologue's office is 2-3 hours away by car, one way. So I would spend about 5-7 hours of my day
commuting from my home to the office up in LA. It was an extremely taxing year, on both me and my family, but it paid
off.
From that experience, I took everything I learned and am now able to work from home and love what I do.
It’s a true blessing to comfortably say I love what I do for a living.
From that experience, I took everything I learned and am now able to work from home and love what I do.
It’s a true blessing to comfortably say I love what I do for a living.
Below: Sketchbook
Below: Ash Thorp's compilation of Graphic User Content from TOTAL RECALL ( 2012 ).
