Now we live in an entirely different world.
It is not only in the physical aspect, but also in the conceptual or superficial aspect.
All images which we thought were unreal and impossible, are coming into our reality. One of surprising facts is that the world is changing too rapidly.
Images of Movies, Novel, Comic, Games and paintings and all products exist only in imaginations, those are coming into our real world as real materials. (?) and some of them transform into real materials in our real world.
Similarly, those images beyond real life might be called as ‘Fantasy’. The word ‘Fantasy’, without a doubt, contains unlimited images.
Today, I am meeting one person who is living closer to the Fantasy World.
His name is Peter Han, and he is a concept designer, a job that is not familiar to many people.
First time, I met him around Nov. 2017, when our family visited the CTN Expo at Burbank California.
CTN Expo is an Animation and Art Community that comes together annually in Burbank artist and other area too. Artists gather together to show their New Art-Works and build networks. CTN EXPO especially provides opportunities for students to get educational tips. Also, many artists can receive career advice and get feedback on their portfolios.
At Expo hall, I followed a long line into a crowded booth, I saw a man lecturing.(Actually, not lecturing, he was showing his dynamic sketching skills.) He has been working at CTN EXPO for several years as a Guest Artist and many times, he lectured, taught dynamic sketching skills, hosted workshop and shared his experiences.
After that, I followed his work and watched his art activities through social media. As ‘Cultura’ has set
the theme of the January edition of 2019 as “Fantasy,” I decided to meet him.
I will briefly explain about him before the interview.
Peter Han started to work at a game studio, "TECHNICOLOR” and his first major title was WARHAWK in Playstation 3, and the cars in this game were his designs. Also he moved to BOTTLEROCKET studio and joined in remaking the classic horror-action game Splatterhouse and with the sources he worked on, he developed a TV program for SYFY.
He also participated in many private projects. He designed many characters for Coco-Cola advertisement on Superbowl in 2011, and in 2017, he helped the introduction of movies related to MLB. This game showed highlights of American Baseball at the beginning.
This movie video has been derived from a short documentary "PARDON ME DUST(2013)
At that time, he made a Kickstarter project, and selfpublished his book. His first book was made by Peter Hans’ collection of chalk class notes of. Beside that, he is working on entertainments and fashion items as well as developments on small and big brands.
J: Can you briefly introduce yourself.
P: My name is Peter Han and I am an Korean-American born in US. I am a professor at Art Center Design College in Pasadena California and lecture in Brainstorm School, Concept Design Academy and CG Master Academy nearby.
I have been teaching for over 8 years and I am working as a concept artist for games, advertisements, products and brands.
J: How did you get started in this field?
P: After I graduated from Art Center College and started working at Game Industry nearby Burbank as a concept artist. During this period, I was recruited as a professor after the previous professor, Norman Schureman at Art-center College.
From a young age, I liked drawing, and I wanted to describe all of my experiences in my drawings.
I am so grateful for my parents who always supported me to keep having valuable experiences and curiosities when I was young. My living environment was important to becoming who I am.
J: This time ‘CULTURA’ chose the theme ‘Fantasy’, a theme that I guess would seem familiar to you. What do you feel about it?
P: My line of work is based on story telling. I have worked in games, illustrations, fashion and comics and have always tried to communicate with the audience. All my stories are originated from experience, and then we put a fantasy twist on them to connect to people.
So ‘Fantasy’ is a large part of what I focus on.
J: I think that fantasy is eventually necessary in all fields of art. It seems like a collection of imagination. How do you build your imagination?
P: I believe that building imagination comes from continuous observation. Being aware of your surroundings, experiencing and interacting is what fuels inspirations that can push your imagination. I feel all young artists should first learn to experience real life through education and travelling. Anything that creates more stories and experiences is what we call a ‘Visual Library’.
J: Then, would you tell us about one of your works that you have conceptualized from your imagination into real life?
P: I always pull from my own personal experiences to help tell stories. The visual design is the most interesting thing that I use often here. To develop a style requires having a project to develop that style. And then, I draw a lot to find that direction. I am currently working on a graphic novel where I write, draw and design. This is a historical fantasy story based in Mongolia about a man called BLACKSMITH who is sent by his temple to find mythological weapons throughout Asia. He travels to places like China, Korea and Japan to seek out actual weapons from our own myth and history. It is a classic adventure story where main subject is not a mentor and an apprentice, but men versus nature.
J: As I know, you already published one book, may I have some details?
P: The educational book I released in 2016 is called the Dynamic Bible. It is a collection of all personal notes I used in my classes. It focuses on a sketching skill that was developed at Art center from my mentor Norman that he called Dynamic Sketching and emphasizing observational sketching, I went to locations like museums to study and collect visual data. My current plan is to publish the book of BLACKSMITH as I have mentioned before. Of course, I will go through the Kickstarter Funding and search for help regarding printing and distribution. I plan on publishing in early 2019.
J: Concept Art attempts to create new art works with different genres. Lot of people in the young generation are getting more interested in this field. Can you give them some advice?
P: First, you must dig deep into the fundamentals, such as perspective, sketching, colors, and lighting. These basic skills are the tools you keep to help you pursue the direction you choose. If you have weak skills, there would be a difficulty in settling down in your chosen field. Another problem is that the industry is very competitive, so you must be an adaptable artist who can fit in and solve problems. There is rarely one path that people can follow so they have to be able to move and take opportunities given to them to use as stepping stones to get to where they want to be.
J: In the end, I think that you mean you need to have a solid base in order to survive in such a competitive industry. Now that so many advanced technologies are being developed and used, it is not easy to catch up with all of them. What do you think?
P: Technology has always been a large part of the entertainment industry and will only continue to progress faster. However, the digital tools are just replicates of the traditional tools. Technology just made the old things more convenient. We have to master handling traditional tools like pen and pencil before handling modern tools. After dealing with traditional tools with patience and sensitivity, we can handle modern tools easily and faster, the base of all this.
J: What is your New Year resolution?
P: First, I plan to finish my first comic book for the new year, as this is actually my first time doing a project like this. I have never written nor drawn comics, so it is very difficult for me to pursue this project. I have to learn as I go and attempt to do my best, even if it might not lead to the best result. I will keep getting stronger. In the last 2 years I travelled many places to do workshops and lectures. I really enjoy travelling, and I want to share my experiences at schools and art events. Next year, I will be travelling through Europe but I also wish to enter Asia.
With the interview coming to an end, Peter Han expressed what he faces as a Korean-American , learning many genres. Also, he expressed regret in having to keep many things to himself due to the company contracts. He added that such contracts are normal procedures in this fields.
We have to understand that Concept Art is an art that needs more collaboration compared to other types of arts and that many Concept Artist are working together with a shared ideal, eschewing traditional forms to acquire new ideas for new Arts.
A well-known concept artist, Don Graham said “Do not make art a career because becoming an artist is repeating the same feelings you felt in the beginning.”
I cannot help but fully agree with this comment. Therefore, more and more people are strengthening and sharing the world they are creating and expanding the scope.
If so, we will have an idea of how far we can experience this world. As I mentioned in the beginning, in a world where all genres are connected and the boundaries can not be distinguished, in the ultimate maximized imagination, what kind of dreams can we dream… the pessimistic idea whether that dream is possible arises.
Imagination must contain another imagination in it. It is also leaving the part to the audience, to the readers, to everyone else.
'Fantasy' is not the end of imagination, but should be a small, hidden door to the imaginary world.
If the door crashes, the wall collapses, and it will be a vanity that loses the role of 'Fantasy' anymore.
Writer, Jun K
* 《쿨투라》 2018년 12월호(통권 54호) *
