With a degree in Computer Science and a background working in the gaming industry, Marc Scheff is no stranger to the marriage of technology and art. We like his digital paintings for their roughness in the marks and chunkiness in the blocks of colour, which really give them a more hand-made feel than anything overly polished.
He took some time to tell us about his interesting background and work, so have a read while also checking out this great time-lapse video of his Michael Stipe portrait.
I earned a degree in Computer Science with the explicit goal of getting a job to pay for art classes on the side. Even then, I had a deep love for the creative side of projects where things get built. It made sense that I would leave the comfortable world of tech consulting to go back to art school full time.
My breadth of knowledge in computers has helped me immensely, and when I finished art school I began working in games, creating art and designing the games themselves. I have continued working in games for the last six years, while still working on the side in more traditional web/print design.
I don’t just like to try new things, I need to. I freelance because I love working on more than one project at once. I find that switching between illustration and design work, for example, is a good way to recharge my batteries on both tasks when they get challenging. I also bring lessons from each discipline to the other.
I am currently using my illustrations in a web design project I am art directing, and I use my design knowledge in all my illustrations. I get perspective when I switch tasks and take breaks, like walks with my dogs, and I come back to the work with fresh eyes and renewed vigor.
With that in mind, I have dedicated my last six months to creating all new work for my portfolio in an effort to break into new markets: books, magazines, editorial and narrative both. In doing this work and over the last two or three years, I have discovered more about my own process through the teachings of some truly great contemporary illustrators.
Regardless of where I go from here, I am already incredibly happy with where the journey has led me.
What you see here and on my site is a completely new set of images, in a style that I believe to be far more cohesive than I have had in the past. I look forward to seeing where this new work takes me, and how the rest will evolve along with it.
© Marc Scheff, 2012
