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Artist J. Lonnee
J Lonnee lives in a small community on the water just a short ferry ride from Seattle. He works out of a home studio as a concept designer and illustrator for the entertainment industry—mostly companies in the gaming industry. When people ask what he does for a living, he tells them “I draw Monsters and Robots”. While J has done work for Nevermet Press in the past, he has also recently been the lead artist for WizKids‘ recently released Quarriors Dice-Building Game. J has also worked on Wells Expeditions wargame Arcane Legions, and Leviathans, and upcoming miniatures game from Catalyst Game Labs. J loves the concept development and world building aspects of speculative fiction and game design. “It’s the primary thing that draws me to a project.”
We caught up with J earlier this summer and asked him about his background, how he got into illustrating for game companies, and how he keeps up with developing his talent.
From our previous conversation, I gather you just recently “broke into” illustrating for game companies. You also clearly have aspirations to continue along the same path you are on, but I’m wondering how you initially made the connections with Wizkids, Catalyst and others. Did you have some prior connections, was it a fortunate meeting, or did you instead pitch your portfolio to Art Directors?
I am definitely new to the biz. I just took the plunge in ’08. I was working for a local broadband company and driving limos part time. I’ve had any number of odd jobs before that, but art has always been my creative outlet. Aside from a couple of false starts, I hadn’t really pursued it very seriously. Ultimately, I got to the point where it felt like nothing else would satisfy, so I quit my job and jumped in with both feet… just in time for the economy to take a dive! Sink or swim!
After the first few months I was beginning to feel like I may have made a terrible mistake, but I got a random email out of the blue from the Wizkids Art Director and asked if I could come in on Monday. They had seen some work I had on one of the concept forums and there was something I was doing that worked for them. I aced the interview—I was in!
"Big Gun"
I’m always interested in how writers and artists connect with one another. For musicians, it’s often a group effort, so the social connections to other musicians is almost a natural requirement. For visual artists and writers though – it’s more often a solo endeavor. What do you do to “stay connected” to your artist community? How much interaction do you have on a regular basis with other artists like yourself?
Social media makes it pretty easy to stay connected with other artists, so I use the forums and Facebook to keep up with people. I’m not very good about it though. Fortunately Seattle is a good town for gaming, and there are a lot of artists here, so I try to catch up with them periodically. Conventions are great for that. I was at PaizoCon recently and met a bunch of cool people. I’m trying to make a point of being less of a cave dweller.
"Watering Hole"
Networking – an important factor for any career. It’s good to hear you are getting out of your cave! Speaking about your cave though – do you have a design space or a studio set aside for illustrating? Have you thought about putting together a portfolio and trying to show your work at an Art Show or a gallery?
I work at home and have a dedicated studio for work. My room is packed full of weird stuff I like to look at. Old weapons, toys, masks, bugs, sculptures, pin ups, vintage beer signs, educational posters, old fans, bones… I want my own spooky museum! My girl gives me a bad time about my approach to home decor, but the voodoo aesthetic really works for me. Did I mention books? I have a lot of books!
Regarding the portfolio… I do keep a portfolio and adapt it according to who the prospective client might be, but I haven’t really shopped it around to galleries. I’ve worked in art galleries in the past and I know that the work I’ve been doing isn’t really appropriate for that kind of venue. Eventually, I would like to do some more “wall friendly” art, but I feel like I need to try and stay on task with the direction I’m moving now.
Quarriors Box Art
Do you have any examples of your work that you were particularly proud of pulling off? What aspects of illustration and design work continues to be a real challenge for your development as a visual artist?
It’s hard for me to point to any particular image and say “That’s the one”. More often than not, it’s the one’s that fail as a cohesive piece, that I learn the most from. I get a lot of satisfaction out of that, although I may not want to show anyone! I am quite proud of my work on Quarriors. It was a fun style to work in and I think I was pretty successful in capturing the feel of it! It’s a campy, fantasy themed dice and card game and I am especially excited about it. I did all the card art and packaging for it, it will come with 130 custom dice and in a metal tin. I hope people dig it. [Editors Note: Apparently they do. Check out this rave review at BoardGameGeek.com!]
Quarriors Fighter
Illustration is tough and everything about it is still a challenge. It’s a skill that as you learn more and become more proficient, you are able to identify how much more there is to learn, and where you can improve. You just have to put in the work.
On a personal level, I’m working on developing a recognizable style and a more cohesive “brand”. I experiment a lot with technique, process and subject matter—enough that I think my body of work looks a bit scattershot. Some art directors really like the versatility, while others think it’s too “unpredictable”. I need to balance that somehow.
You mention developing your own “brand” and a cohesive style. That sounds like solid advice for other artists who are early in their career. Have there been any memorable bits of advice that you have received that has improved your art? Advice from others can be “hard to hear” – if you know what I mean – especially when you think you are on the right track to begin with.
It’s true that it can be hard to take criticism at times, but that is something you need to get over very quickly. Otherwise, you won’t get better and no one will want to work with you. Some of the best advice I’ve received was really elementary stuff and has come from unexpected places.
Since I’m primarily self taught, I’ve gone through a lot of trial and error, and there would be certain things (colour theory, composition, etc ) that I would begin getting a feel for, but didn’t really understand why they worked when they did. Then someone would say ”If you have cool light, try using warm shadows” or ” there aren’t lines in nature, just variations in value” — really simple concepts that I just hadn’t been able to articulate. That’s the kind of stuff that was really helpful early on, although I do find I need to remind myself of them periodically.
Quarriors Cleric
Recently, the best advice I’ve received was from people I’ve met while driving. I think I may have mentioned I drive limousines on occasion, and I’ve had an opportunity to chat with several folks that have had successful careers in the arts and entertainment. The common advice given, regardless the specifics of their careers, has been Keep doing what you love, ( be persistent) and Let people know what you do
( self-promote ).
Again, it’s really simple, almost obvious advice, but it seems a revelation when it comes from a position of success, and that it is so consistent.
I also have to point to Jon Schindehette’s ArtOrder blog as a huge source of advice and support. I highly recommend it to anyone that has an interest in a career in fantasy art. There is an outstanding community of talent there, and Jon’s insight as the AD for D&D, is an invaluable resource.
"Summoned"
So, it doesn’t sound like you have any formal training. Is that right? Your talent is obvious, but what other artists are an important influence on your work?
Yes, I’m basically self taught. I spent a quarter at the Art Institute in Seattle, but I was couch surfing and living out of my van at the time, so I wasn’t able to stick with it. There I met and became friends with Adi Granov (e.g. Iron Man, Marvel covers ) though. His story is really inspirational and I have a lot of respect for him both personally and professionally. Currently, I’m also currently studying Zbrush with Joe Pikop (Guildwars, Arenanet ) to pickup some 3D skills.
I am influenced by just about anything I come in contact with, but the visual artists I hold in high regard are Frazetta, Syd Mead, Moebius, Masumune Shirow, Feng Zhu, Dr. Francis Ching, Andrew Loomis, James Gurney, Ashley Wood… I could go on and on. Anyone that is better than I am is a good influence as far as I’m concerned. I especially look to strong draftsman.
Do you have a preferred medium to work in? Any thoughts on completely digital artwork and how it compares to working IRL?
I really enjoy using pencil and watercolour for underpainting then finishing the colour and detail in photoshop. Unfortunately the process can be fairly time consuming, and the market has moved much more towards all digital painting, so I am adapting my technique. I use Photoshop almost exclusively, but as I mentioned, I’m learning Zbrush now as well. Working digitally has so many advantages, and the quality of the work people are creating with it has become so good, that it’s lost any stigma that may have been associated with it before. It’s also nice to see that figurative realism, even in fantasy applications, seems to be having a resurgence in popularity and respect.
The thing that is unsettling to me about digital art though, is how ephemeral it all is. I’m looking to do some casting as a way to create some thing built to last…
