Markus “Malo” Lovadina

With an ability to render gorgeous environmental pieces, with a rough yet distinctly detailed approach, Germany’s Markus Lovadina is well on his way to mastering conceptual environments. Devious looking creatures and scarily realistic beings also form part of his repertoire, where his attention to detail and high level of finish are easily seen.

The interview

Hi there Markus, we need not welcome you to ArtSketch as you’ve been a long-time community member! How’s life right now?

Hi there ArtSketchers. First of all a big thanks to you guys for doing such a great job with your awesome forum. It’s really a big honor for me to be part of the forum and to be interviewed. I do really enjoy your platform and the kind people around here. Well – life is going its usual way. Lots of work and still trying to step into the concept art business, but I do enjoy the way – so not much use nagging.

Your work exudes a high level of professionalism, but when did your journey in the art world begin?

Thanks for the compliment. I think my journey started pretty early. As I could remember I’ve drawn my entire life. Just some sketches here and there, a bit of graffiti art in the 90’s and some traditional painting as well. Around about 17 years ago I decided I wanted to go to the art academy in Munich, but never went there. Instead I started to work as a Graphic Designer in different agencies. At the time, there was not much time for painting or drawing. In mid 2010 I again started to attempt to step into painting. But this time digitally, and I still love the decision I made.

You’ve got quite a few really beautifully rendered environmental pieces – is environmental concept art for films and games the direction you’re moving in?

Thanks again! Yeah – it would be great to work for film or game’s companies. But I do like to work on book covers and trading cards as well. I think it’s important to not focus just on one field. Right now I’m challenging my self to do more character and creature work. Maybe one day I’ll get the chance to turn my passion into profession.

What are your main tools for getting the ideas out of your head and onto the canvas?

I still believe that every image needs his own way to be brought on canvas. There is no real typical way for me. Sometimes I start with a pretty rough thumbnail sketch and bring it into Photoshop. Or I just start with blocking in some rough shape in Photoshop. I’m a big fan of a happy accidents. I think the biggest and most important tool is the ability to “see”! If you start seeing, there will be no boundary to bringing your imagination to the canvas – no matter what tools you’ll be using.

Who would you list as your inspirations? Who are your favourite artists, and why?

There are a couple of great artist out there, from which you could learn a lot or get inspired, but I think I’m really influenced by works from Richard Anderson aka Flaptraps, Kekai Kotaki, John Park, Iain McCaig, Simon Bisley and Ashley Woods. Also to be honest most of the old masters, like William Turner, Egon Schiele, Dali and many more. Why they do inspire me? I think it is the individual way every artist follows to bring stunning work onto the canvas. Each artist has his own style, his own technique and the ability to take your breath away with just an “image”.

Would you say you are talented, or just a very hard worker, or a bit of both? How important is practice?

Oh, this is a tough question! I would call myself happy because my mother was nice enough to share some of her talent with me. The most important part is to practice as much as you can. The talent is just the base. I do see talent as a plant – if you don’t take care of it (e.g. watering, trimming and repot), it will fade away. Practicing is really important on the way to becoming a good artist. The more you practice, the more you’ll learn and you get a better understanding for what you’re doing as well. To put this into numbers, I’d like to say it’s 20% talent and 80% hard work.

I do see talent as a plant – if you don’t take care of it (e.g. watering, trimming and repot), it will fade away.

Markus “Malo” Lovadina

In your earlier years of art, what helped you the most in terms of gaining experience and speeding up the learning process?

Painting, painting and painting! There is no better way to get experienced by doing what you like to do. I’m a self taught person, so the only way for me was to paint as much as possible. For sure – I watch a lot of tutorials to see how other artists work, but later on it’s important to implement what you have learned from watching tutorials or reading art books, into your own style and art. Don’t copy and paste. Try to pick up the most important aspects and match them in your own way – and keep doing that!

Do you have any advice for people wanting to pursue digital art? What qualities do you think they should possess in order to pursue this as a career?

To be honest I’m not that experienced in the concept art business to give a good advice. But I could share my experience while working as an Art Director and Creative Director in the advertisement industry for more than 16 years now. I hope this counts as well!

Keep pushing yourself all the time and don’t stop doing what you love to do.

Find your own unique style.

Believe in yourself.

Try to show a big variety of works (environments, props, characters and creatures).

Learn to “see” in your own way.

See yourself as a brand/product. Spread your wings as much as possible and tell people what you are able to do. Show your work to a big audience and get connected to other artists.

Can you give us insider info on any projects you’re working on right now?

Currently I’m working as a Concept Artist on a Indie project called Stone Rage from Mountain-wheel Games. The story is placed in a prehistoric time. Lots of challenges – I’ve never painted prehistoric animals before, but it’s a lot of fun. On a personal front, I’m planning to produce a book with all my environment artworks, though this project is still in the planning phase and I really don’t know how long it will take until it’s out! I’ll keep you in the loop.

What can the art community expect from you in the future?

Well, at least a lot more environments! Currently I’m challenging myself to paint more Sci-fi related work and trying to get better at creature and characters design. It’s still a long way for me to go – but that’s the fun part! Some more interior shots as well. Hopefully I can keep it up.

Thanks for your time Markus, we look forward to more of your stunning pieces!

You’re more than welcome! To be honest, I have to say thanks again, it’s really a big honor to be interviewed by you guys. Much appreciated! I really hope you can keep up the great work you’ve done so far on the ArtSketch community and that you get more attention as well. This will be more than well deserved. Take care and all the best.