Mentee DopePope discusses his experience with The Mentor Coalition and working with Krystal Sae Eua in the Creature Art Mentorship and that has impacted his growth as artist.

Introduction

I’m from Brooklyn, NYC. I’m an aspiring creature concept artist that uses 3D digital modeling in my workflow a great deal. I’ve been doing professional toy design work in the collectibles arena since 2015, but want to do creature concepts for film and tv. All my life I have enjoyed Science Fiction and horror films, and have always found inspiration from them.

How Did You Hear About The Mentor Coalition?

A friend actually suggested I try it out, specifically with Krystal. They were friends and I guess he thought we’d do well together having a shared interest in creature design. And he was correct.

How Was Your Mentorship Experience?

I enjoyed it quite a bit and found it very helpful. Having real time feedback and interaction is incredibly useful. My favorite part would be watching Krystal sculpt and explain her actions. She’s unbelievable. I knew it was worth the time and money just a few minutes into the first session. But every session I learned all kinds of things, from simple keyboard hotkeys (which can be life altering) to more broader foundational approaches to concept design. Having a firm grasp of Zbrush helped a lot, so having to guide me through basics wasn’t the goal, but not to say I still didn’t learn some basic new tricks I never new before.

What impact did the Mentorship have on your art process and workflow?

A lot actually. Krystal taught me some render basics in Keyshot that I never knew. I use Keyshot a lot, but am pretty much have been teaching myself with trial and error. So when she showed me basic stuff like locking camera, and setting up multiple cameras, and a render queue, it was life changing in terms of workflow. I immediately worked all that into my workflow with confidence and still use it regularly. Same with just about every technical tip and trick she’s shown me. But in terms of project preparation and design, she showed that sculpting is most important, anatomy, and form. These are what should be on your mind in the beginning of the concept stage, and not what alphas or brushes I need for the scales or fine details. Understanding the muscles over bone, the tension and weight of it all, and how it really helps tell the story you’re trying to tell. Krystal also really had a mind for the story telling aspect of it as well, helping come up with very inventive reasons for certain anatomical choices I made, which explained the creatures aquatic origins and feeding habits a lot more. it was inspiring to me that she was able to get into it on that level.

How did your Mentorship experience compare to a traditional course or classroom?

I can’t imagine anything beating an actual face to face classroom experience. But, this certainly came as close as possible. Having the ability to speak back and forth in real time, with no one else there to distract is pretty invaluable. Especially now, where being face to face isn’t considered the healthiest option.

Mentorships Taken