#did a little gouache piece of Ryan!

[ghostbergara]

Ryan study✨

#did a little gouache piece of Ryan! #the reference I used is a screenshot from a WW+ #I thought the lighting was pretty and I wanted to paint it #it’s messy but it’s also only a little sketchbook piece so it’s okay #my art #watcher fanart #ryan bergara #watcher

[darksoulszine]

Interview with Ryan Van Dongen

Today we interview Ryan Van Dongen! One of our contributors in THE FIRST FLAME.

Q: How did you get into making art and for how long have you been doing it?

Probably since I was about 2, so roughly 20 years. I always loved drawing growing up, and I took a few painting classes to focus my skills a bit more throughout grade school. Towards the end of high school, I got into digital painting and have been doing it ever since.

Q: What traditional media or digital program do you prefer to use and why?

I prefer to use Photoshop for digital, because of all the customization options and it's what I'm the most used to. For traditional, I like pens, pencils, and charcoal for drawing and gouache for painting.

 Q: Do you mostly make fan art or are there original works you are also passionate about?

I make a lot of fan art but most of my work is original concepts. I'd like to get into the concept art business and part of that is being able to come up with new characters, creatures, and environments. I do like making fan art a lot though, since a lot of the creative legwork is done for you, leaving open room for putting your own spin on things!

 Q: Is there any artist or art movement that inspires you? Which ones?

My favorite art movements are probably Impressionism and Russian Realism. Some inspirations are Illya Repin, John Singer Sargent, Ivan Shishkin, Jeremy Lipking, Richard Schmid, Claude Monet, Caspar David Friedrich, William Merritt Chase, Craig Mullins, Ruan Jia, and Jaime Jones

Q: What would you say to someone who is willing to dedicate their life to art, but doesn’t take that step because of the risks?

It's a tough step to take, I haven't taken it yet. But if you have the will and the dedication to keep practicing and improving your skills, you'll keep getting better and those risks won't be risks anymore.

Q: What do you like about being an artist?

I like being able to create things that other people might enjoy!

 Q: Show us some of your favorite artworks that you made and tell us why.

This piece, 'Desert Witch', It’s all brush tool and I had a lot of fun painting the background and the characters.

I like how I handled the lighting with this 'Father Gascoigne' piece, I think I did a pretty good job giving it an intense feeling.

This piece, 'Nodachi', took me the longest of everything in my portfolio to finish. I worked on it on and off over about 8 months, and had fun building up the "cyberpunk Philly" background and adding in lots of easter eggs.

Q: Where can we find more of your work? Are there any personal projects you would like to share?

You can find more of my work on my i=Instagram @ryanvandongen and my Artstation https://www.artstation.com/ryan

 Q: What order did you play the soulsborne games in? Which is your favorite?

I played Dark Souls 1 first, then Bloodborne, then a little bit of Dark Souls 2, then Dark Souls 3, and I just started Sekiro. I would say that Bloodborne is my favorite but Dark Souls 1 is a close second.

Q: When you got eaten by a mimic for the first time, what did you yell out loud?

Swear words.

 Q: Any memorable Dark Souls gaming moments you'd like to share?

Riding that elevator in Undead Parish back down to Firelink Shrine for the first time. A lot of the world design in Dark Souls 1 kept surprising me like that.

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