Hello Sara, thanks for your kind
availability to spend some time with us. We saw your
website
with a lot of your drafts and final paintings, most of which are
aimed at communicating a specific mood. Would you like to introduce
yourself to our audience?
Hello, my name is Sara Forlenza, I am
27 years old and come from Italy. I”m a professional artist and
illustrator. I like fantasy, and I LOVE Warcraft”s saga!
How did all started?
My interest in art, when I was a
child, started with comics and cartoons. Comics are often looked at
as trivial, but many of them have really nice fictions and
graphical art.
What would you suggest to somebody
who would like to follow your path as a graphical or CG artist?
Should one graduate from a renowned Art School to become a
successful artist?
A career in graphics or art can begin
for several reasons, but to develop your skills you have to be
determined in what you are doing. A good art school can help, but
isn”t as important as long-term perseverance and a true love for
graphical art.
What are the most important mentors
in your life, what your favorite artists, and why?
I get great inspiration from American
comics, I always liked their energy and visual impact paired with
realism and technique. I think
Todd
Lockwood is a master of the digital painting medium. His works
are truly impressive because he is able to create art with digital
tools as if he would be using brushes, oil and canvas.
I also like
Brom. His
artworks are dark, gothic fantasy and truly unique. I think he is a
genius. I could still add many other names, but don”t want to bore
you 
We are particularly curious about the
creative process behind your artwork: where do you find the
inspiration?
There are a lot of things that
inspire me. Looking at people and environments, listening to a
song, watching a movie, or reading a book can help me in the
creative process. Then I pick up my pencil and start to draw!
How do you organize yourself when you
have to put your creativity and your techniques on a time plan and
against specific output requirements?
When I get a commission, I do a lot
of sketches – finding a very good sketch is the most difficult part
of the creative process. After that it”s all easier. I start to add
details and try to keep the artwork well-balanced. Colors to
increase the feelings and emotions of the subject are added during
the last step.
Looking at your personal style and
preferences, have you ever considered to become a 3D artist or
animator for video games such as “World of WarCraft”?
I”ve always been attracted by 3D
graphics, but I like the concept artist role more because I just
love drawing with my pencil – I love to give my imaginations life
through it. I think “World of WarCraft”s” concept artists are
great!
Let”s talk a bit about the
multiplayer game that currently fascinates so many people
worldwide, and its upcoming second expansion. How did you come to
“World of WarCraft”, and what do you particularly like about
it?
As I said before, I love fantasy and
have played many MMORPG”s and RPG”s. When I played Warcraft III, I
fell in love with it. I think the game”s plot is one of the best
fantasy stories I have ever seen. What I like especially about
“World of WarCraft” is the ability to be a hero in the world where
Illidan and Arthas fought, loved and betrayed.
Which class(es)/race(s) do you play
in “World of WarCraft”, and why?
I have to admit that I”m a noob human
mage I”ve created this character to follow my master Jaina
Proudmoore! Also, mages always attracted me because their lives are
somehow similar to an artist”s life. They practice their magical
skills many hours using their spellbooks like I spend a lot of
hours at the computer to improve my artistic skills! However, I
think all races in Azeroth have great unique aspects. I
particularly like the draenei and the undead.
Blizzard games are backed by an
amazing team of concept (and cinematic) artists. You name Samwise
Didier and Glenn Rane (both of
www.sonsofthestorm.com) among your favorite
illustrators. Can you tell us what you particularly like about
their works?
What I like about Samwise is his
ability to create something never-seen-before with a very original
style, while Glenn Rane is able to create impressive and powerful
artworks with an admirable technique.
For the next expansion, “Wrath of the
Lich King”, Blizzard has promised again an adventure of “epic
scale” on a breathtaking continent. What would you personally like
to see – from an artist”s point of view – in this add-on? Would you
agree that the graphics, in particular the textures and the
depiction of the environment”s scale, are a bit outdated? Imagine
for a moment that you are the lead designer.
When “World of WarCraft” came out, it
has shown us a clever and original interpretation of traditional
fantasy elements. In Burning Crusade, we have an alternative
environment that in some way resembles more science fiction. In
Wrath of the Lich King, we”re going to see a medieval landscape,
and I hope it will be more gothic and dark then Burning Crusade.
I too think that WoW”s textures are a bit outdated, but
improving its graphics without loosing the particular comic style
is quite hard to achieve in my opinion.
Thanks very much for the interview,
Sara. We wish you the best in your future endeavors, and we”re
looking forward to seeing more of your gorgeous pictures soon!
My pleasure, thank you too for the
interview. See you soon in Azeroth!
PS: If you are Horde, and see a very noobish mage called
Marea, please don”t kill her
If you like to know more about Sara Forlenza and her art, don”t miss to visit her website!
Loading ...
