Robert
(Bobby) Steinman spent most of his formative years warping
his mind on bad T.V. shows and comic books. It wasn't until he
saw Star Wars, that he realized he wanted to create some mind
warping of his own. He felt if it could be done that well, then
he wanted to be a part of it all, somehow... someway! In college,
he majored in illustration, because he decided to marry his first
love of comics with his new found painting abilities, and create
the ultimate race of mutant oil canvases. Wait a minute, he had
a Bob Ross flair up there!
His first job was with a small studio, where he first used a computer.
A Mac 8500 to be precise running Photoshop version (one point
something or other)..... At that point he felt that all those
barns he painted in school were a waste of his time. Lens flares
were the new thing, and he was going to blanket the world with
them. Slowly though, he began to see how his training in traditional
media gave him a better understanding of how to work digitally.
At that point, he packed up the paint brushes and easel, and made
room for a monitor and keyboard.
He
found his work seemed to have a consistency to it. It all was
boring corporate propaganda, and he soon became shrouded in this
somewhat profitable money making endeavor. More importantly, he
forgot his roots. No more did he dream of men in tights, (ok,
not what you're thinking) now he thought how would that print
in CMYK? (a pretty boring existence, indeed) The years passed
and he found his portfolio kept growing, yet his interest in it...
didn't. Clients he did work for included Nickelodeon, Hasbro,
Good-Humor/Breyers, Nabisco, Mattel, Pepsi and Hershey
as well as many other recognizable names. However, the work he
did for them was entirely in print, not in the areas he would
have liked. He did not mind the clients, or for that matter, the
content of his commissions. But he did feel there was something
missing creatively for him. (The child inside him wasn't entertained.)
Sure there was illustration involved, but mostly of logos or product
beauty shots. However, there was a light at the end of his tunnel.
He did design a lot of the packaging mascots we see in the grocery
store, and by doing so, a flame re-ignited in the recesses of
his mind. A bit of "character" infiltrated his work. The desire
he had with creating "fun" stuff, had found its way back to him.
This faint ray of hope is what inspired him to revise his portfolio,
for newer vistas. A path through all the corporate weeds began
to reveal itself. However, he was still plagued with the comfortable
and well paid environment he has grown custom to know.
Then,
as if it were a message from Heaven, he was slapped with a pink
slip. Due to budgetary cutbacks, he found his position to be deemed
unnecessary in the changing and unstable times, of his then employer.
So with a potential career revamping already underway, and his
newly forced unemployment conditions dictating his financial status.
He found himself at a crossroads. His ultimate goal is to work
in pre-production, doing visual development/concept work. He was
directing himself towards the areas of film, animation and gaming,
and which ever one opens up to him first, will experience his
potential. But now, he was up against the hurdle of being able
to eat. Thankfully, he did hook up with a couple of guys who had
an IP for a video game in the working. He was hired as a freelancer
to do some inspirational concept paintings of the IP. Those paintings,
along with the overall game synopsis, caught the eye of multiple
developers. From there he and his new found work partners over
at Contagious Concepts acquired more work for 2 unnamable XBox
titles, as well as an online game (he apologizes for not being
able to show any pics of these projects, or even mention names,
but this is the birth of a new direction for him and he doesn't
want to ruin that at the starting gate - these projects are currently
held by NDA contracts and cannot, as of yet be shown publicly).
On these projects he has acted as a digital conceptual illustrator,
matte painter and 3-d texture painter. For fun he acts like a
Hindu diplomat, but that's another story. Now he also buys comic
books again! The roots have come back to him, hopefully in full
force! He also frequents the art forums around the net, lending
a hand whenever he can in the warping of minds all over the world.
He is always ready to help with any questions someone may have
with drawing or painting issues. And if you're looking for someone
to help you with a project that you have, that needs any kind
of 2-d work, he'd be happy to oblige! For more of this tale of
woe and intrigue into an artist's migration from one industry
discipline to another, visit his site!
Bobby's
thoughts on Production:
What we do is a job, (an obstacle to our ultimate goal of being
able to create totally free of responsibility... if in fact, you
choose to be paid for it) governed by someone who wants to make
money off of our talents. Deadlines may suck, late nights will
hurt your extracurricular drinking! Ultimately someone else with
probably no apparent abilities to speak of, will have a say in
how things are done. So production as a whole, sucks. It can,
and sometimes does, limit your creativity. It has a lot of negative
drawbacks. However, it gives validity to an artists' skills. For
sake of argument, even if you are a fine artist, who gets paid
to sit around and paint naked fruit, you are still relegated by
an outlet that desires you're supply. Hence you essentially work
under production parameters, maybe not as directly obvious, but
apparent nonetheless. What I can say about production, really
shouldn't hold any weight or significance to anyone reading this.
It should serve merely as an example or case study of my thoughts.
Production is important in an artists' growth, it helps you deal
with working along side peers of comparable abilities (more or
less) it helps you understand logistics of budgetary restrictions
(a highly overlooked aspect of being an artist), it certainly
helps you become more efficient (trusting that you work in a well
organized environment - which sometimes you won't :) It helps
you get a complete picture of "how to be an artist!" In general,
the short, short version, "It's a necessary evil!"
But
alas, you need not run and scream into the night, fearing this
abomination, this word, production. You can find comfort in this
fact (and this is probably the only thing I can write that's worth
remembering.) As long as you keep the same childlike excitement
inside you (the reason more than likely, why you ever pursued
a creative endeavor), and tackle any production with that same
vigor and passion, no production... negative or positive will
ever overwhelm you. And the love that we have for what we do,
w ill always overcome any obstacles we encounter. And no matter
what we are challenged with, no one could ever say they do something
cooler than we do as artists.
