Turning architecture skills into epic Brutalist fantasy art

Inspiration
By published

How Tarmo Juhola balances his architectural work with epic game art.

Tarmo Juhola was an architect for about a decade before transitioning to a full-time freelance concept artist, bringing a deep understanding of form, structure, and visual problem-solving to his creative work.

With a long-standing interest in all aspects of visual and creative design, he balanced architectural practice with concept art and illustration commissions for many years before moving fully into the entertainment industry in 2018. Since then, Tarmo has contributed to numerous AAA games and high-profile film projects, working with studios including Riot Games, Ubisoft, and Axis Animation.

Epic 3D rendered environment art

(Image credit: Tarmo Juhola)

“With my architectural background, Brutalism is a comfort zone form. With proper delineation, a building can be as imposing as a sheer cliff face.”

Epic 3D rendered environment art

(Image credit: Tarmo Juhola)

“This piece started with a five-minute shape sketch, which then transformed into something else, while retaining the initial cool silhouette.”

Epic 3D rendered environment art

(Image credit: Tarmo Juhola)

“This fantasy landscape ended up feeling a lot more grounded than I anticipated.
I guess I lean towards realism even with preposterous designs."

Epic 3D rendered environment art

(Image credit: Tarmo Juhola)

“A night-time naval battle in an extreme storm seemed terrifying, but adding a giant sea serpent made the scenario truly terrifying.”

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Ian Dean
Ian Dean
Editor, Digital Arts & 3D

Ian Dean is Editor, Digital Arts & 3D at Creative Bloq, and the former editor of many leading magazines. These titles included ImagineFX, 3D World and video game titles Play and Official PlayStation Magazine. Ian launched Xbox magazine X360 and edited PlayStation World. For Creative Bloq, Ian combines his experiences to bring the latest news on digital art, VFX and video games and tech, and in his spare time he doodles in Procreate, ArtRage, and Rebelle while finding time to play Xbox and PS5.

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