@yuta_shimpo | www.artstation.com/yutaabeshimpo
We are honored to have, Yuta Shimpo, as our Featured Artist, an amazing concept artist out of Japan that creates out of this world pieces of artwork that we instantly fell in love with, she has amazing concepts on her wall so get over there and check them out and while your there make sure to hit that follow button to support a fellow artist!
How long have you been an artist? What is your specialty? Where do u find inspiration?
I’ve only been an artist for 2 years since 2016 after reading the Japanese cyberpunk manga BLAME! from Tsutomu Nihei. I was a graphic designer and an apparel designer before that. My specialty is in creating semi-real concept art for games / films and my main source of inspiration comes from artstation, Instagram, Tsutomu Nihei’s work, my surroundings and general research finding new things. There is always something new and something to get inspired by everyday.
Do you have a job in the art industry? If So, what’s one thing you don’t like about it? If no, where would your dream job be?
I work as a concept artist in a Japanese film production company in Tokyo, Japan. The one thing I don’t like about is not having Keyshot in my working computer haha. If I can get Keyshot, my work flow would be complete..!
Do you have a favorite Artist?
My current favorite artist is Finnian MacManus who works an a freelance concept designer. His work from a collaborative project called the Blue Valley has a great vocabulary of colour, concept execution and mood that makes you want to explore more. I’m practicing and studying on how to create creative concept executions like Finnian.
What is one accomplishment you’ve had in your life? Does not need to be art related.
Working as a concept artist is one accomplishment I’ve had in my life so far. I believed that been a concept artist would be my ideal job. So I self studied watching tons of youtube tutorials and gumroad videos while practicing my skillset using Zbrush, Keyshot and Photoshop. By practicing everyday, I managed to develop the necessary skills to land my first job as a concept artist which I still feel proud of.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years? 10 years? 20 years?
In the next 5 years, I’m aiming to practice and learn more new skills and brush up my skills while updating my portfolio. By 2023, I want to become an artist who is confident to discuss with art directors, producers fellow artists, clients and execute my concepts well that are visually understandable and appealing. I do not vision myself working in a large studio forever. However, I see myself moving freely as an independent freelance artist working for different projects from different clients.
If you could meet and talk to any person in the world, dead or alive, who would it be?
There are many people and artists that I would like to meet and talk to but if there is one person that I really need to meet, that person would have to be Feng Zhu. He has given me the necessary knowledge about what concept art actually is (and not drawing beautiful pictures all the time) and the confidence to work as a freelancer through his youtube videos. So I really need to thank him for that.
How is one way you make money with your art?
Apart from doing my artist job at a Japanese film production company, my alternative way of making money is selling my skills to clients whom I would contact through people who I know or by the internet. It can be a hard start if you do not have any connections or have no experience in freelancing but I believe it is all about time, practice, patience.
If you could go anywhere in the world where would it be and why?
L.A! To get a position as a film concept artist.
What is your favorite brand of art supply? Whether it’s a brand of pencils or brand of camera or software
My favorite software’s / my most used software are Zbrush, Keyshot and Photoshop. Zbrush is amazing when it comes to sculpting creatures and organic forms. However it can be used to create environments and props too. Keyshot is quick and easy when it comes to realistic render as you can set up materials and lightnings that can be easily transferred to image files. Photoshop is by far my all time favorites and is the software that I use the most when it comes to drawing, photo bashing, matte painting, thumbnail sketches etc..
Any advice for young artists?
Practice. Practice and practice. If you want to be great at what you do for your art, you can’t just wait for some kind of miracle to happen. You have to take action and practice on your skills, listen to other people and not just from your field of art. Get inspired from all angles of life.
This is one way of how I’ve been practicing:
1: Create personal projects and work on it repetitively until you burn out.
2: Once you burn out, take a break and do something you enjoy apart from art.
3: Once you feel better, go back to your field of art and repeat the process.
I believe that becoming great at something you do takes time, patience and discipline. There will be ups and downs and its not easy if you just started out. But if you really enjoy what you do, you can overcome countless of obstacles that will come in your way while you are crafting your art so never give up on what you enjoy the most.
