English artist Miles Johnston is a largely self-taught illustrator who recently moved to Sweden to study at an atelier.
Having finished his studies, he now works as a freelancer and also runs the Dirty Sponge podcast, in which he hosts unscripted interviews with his favourite sci-fi and fantasy artists.
He also recently created the cover painting for the new issue of ImagineFX magazine. Below, enjoy the artist's sketchbook, in his own words...
01. Kiss
I recently went through a big obsession with Klimt and this was a tribute to his painting, 'The Kiss'.
Sometimes a drawing doesn't have to be 'about' anything in particular; there were a lot of themes in my head when I drew this one, but I'd rather leave any interpretation up to the viewer.
02. Greetings
This was a double-page spread for the Moleskine Project #3 at Spoke Art Gallery in San Francisco.
The idea is that a portal opens up next to a young woman in a field as she is mourning the loss of a lover.
Tiny little creatures spill out of it that are equally fascinated and somehow sympathetic to her sadness.
03. Cyber Duck
Not much to say about this one… It's me poking fun at myself because I'm not very good at designing a lot of the concept art standards. So, Cyberduck.
04. Creeper
Artists have dedicated a ton of their work to glorifying the pain and longing of failed relationships and unrequited love.
I felt like making something to highlight the absurdity of our desires, especially when viewed on a truly cosmic scale.
Next to the infinity of everything, sometimes I feel more like a creepy horny puppet caricature than anything else.
05. Storm
I started this one evening and got progressively more drunk as I worked on it to try and really loosen up on the markmaking.
If you want to try something like this, get all the important focal points finished whilst still sober.
06. No title
I liked the way this looks in person. The graphite is shiny and the red pen is a lot more matte. As I moved it around in the light it reminded me of old shiny Pokémon cards.
Words: Miles Johnston
Miles Johnston is a freelance artist based in England. This article originally appeared in ImagineFX magazine issue 114.
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