Featured Prints Artist: Christian Hecker
Location: Nuremberg, Germany /
Age: 24 /
Speciality: Environment, Scenery Painting / Environmental Concept Art
As our first featured artist in the new year we present Christian Hecker, known as `
tigaer on deviantART. Christian is a very talented and aspiring concept artist who delights us with epic and astounding sceneries and environments created via various digital techniques such as matte painting, 3d rendering and photo manipulation. Read about his techniques and workflow, inspirations and dreams in this interview!
1. Chris, tell us a bit about yourself.
Well well, where to start? I’m 24 years old now and for several years I've been doing nothing else than to learn Graphics stuff. I started like everyone else, fiddling around with Photoshop. Now I ended up with painting. Which is something I never thought I would ever do.
2. How did you acquire your artistic skills? Did you take classes or use tutorials, or are you completely self-taught?
I did not visit any art related schools or take any lessons. I learned all the stuff I’m doing today on my own with help of tutorials or books. It all started with, yes, deviantART in 2001. I found this place through a friend who was doing abstract 3d stuff back then, which was very popular at that time. I was pretty stunned by the artworks that I've seen online back then, especially the abstract 3d works. I knew I wanted to become an artist too. I wanted to know how these people do what they were doing. So I took their work as a motivation to learn. So in the beginning of my ‘artistic career’ I was influenced a lot by the art and artists that were around here on deviantART.
3. Do you plan your landscapes out in your head before you draw them or do you just start doodling and see what comes of it?
That’s a nice question. With my latest piece, 'Down the River Arend' it was the doodle technique. It actually was just a painting training piece that evolved into a full scale project. When I made ‘Artificial’, ‘The Wall’ and ‘A new Hope’ there was a lot of planning involved. I had to think about how to approach the images because of my technique back then. To model out the landscape with help of Terragen and Photoshop. It’s different when it comes to painting. You have more freedom to play around with your idea. Or I take a photo I took in the alps… it’s just mountains on that photo, but I see castles sitting on mountain slopes, waterfalls and birds flying. Imagination.
4. What inspires your epic digital sceneries?
Movies. The work of the artists that worked for these movies for matte paintings. Movies like the Starwars and Lord of the Rings series, of course. Blade Runner, What Dreams may Come; just to name a few. Phenomenal works by the matte artists. Sometimes it’s just a photo that inspires me or other artists' galleries.
5. Are there any artists you truly admire, and what genre(s) of art do you like most?
Let's answer the last part of the question first. My favourite genres are digital painting and 3d. Especially digital matte painting which basically means that you work with a photo reference. You take that photo and fill it with life, to convert even the most boring shot into a futuristic city or nature landscape. That’s magic. I love doing that. And I love to see other artists doing that.
My favourite artists are a Gary Tonge (*ANTIFAN-REAL on deviantART) who is pretty well known through publications in magazines and books. I love his way of coloring his paintings and how he is using lights and shadows.
Another Artist is Dylan Cole (~dylancole on deviantART) who is a well known matte painter for movies such as ‘LOTR - The Return of the King’ or ‘Riddick’.
My artistic goal is somehow to become a mix of these two artists. Not sure if I’ll ever be, but I’m working on it!
Then there is Syd Mead, a concept art/design legend. He has a long time experience in the industry and added his visions to some of the most ground breaking movies of all time.
I had the luck to interview all three artists and they are all very cool guys. I love them.
6. Which of your artistic endeavors have you learned the most from?
When I was creating ‘Artificial’ I learned a lot about what makes a picture a good picture. Composition and detail. It was surely the project that took me the most time to realize. There were no paintings involved since I did not have had my graphics tablet then. The tablet came half a year later. Later I was looking into a matte painting book and I realized that the guys over there at ILM (Industrial Light and Magic) worked with almost the same technique I used for ‘Artificial’ to realize their amazing 'Coruscant' cityscapes for episodes 2+3.
7. Once the idea is conceived, what is involved in the actual creation of the artwork?
When I’m working with 3d elements I’m investing quite some time to get the render right, in terms of the atmosphere, to make it as easy as possible to add the planned elements such as buildings, mountains etc. When I’m working with a photo I start by doodling around with some rough shapes just to see how things come together when I’m trying this or that. Once I found the right setup I start to detail these parts out.
8. Do you have any non-art related hobbies?
Yes. Sleeping and eating, especially Italian or Greek. Watching movies is a hobby too. When I’m out to buy a DVD I’m always looking at the double disc versions, to get all the Making Of's too.
9. Let's get technical: What software are you using to create those huge renders and paintings...
Basically I’m working with Photoshop all the time. When I’m doing matte painting I use photos I took with my Canon 20d. Sometimes I’m working with reference renders I made with Terragen. Terragen 2 just came out and I can’t wait to see what it will produce in the future. But first I need a faster machine...
10. ...and hardware is it running on?
My current setup is an AMD3200+ (32bit) system with 2gb RAM and a 19” screen. Now I can literally hear the readers think “my god, no dual screen setup?” – no dual screen setup for me. Oh yes, and a Wacom Intuos3 A5 graphics tablet.
11. Can you recommend any resources on deviantART that artists of your trade could find helpful?
12. Can it happen that given technical restrictions prevent you from being able to realize an idea 100%?
Oh yes. Especially now with Terragen 2 out. Well, it’s still beta but it delivers some nice pieces. But it takes ages to render on my 3yr old machine here.
13. How much time do you spend on your digital art compared to how much you spend on photography?
While the painting work is something I pursue professionally, the photography is just a hobby. So I spend much more time on learning new painting things instead of looking through a lens.
14. Which of your artistic accomplishments are you most proud of?
There is still so much to learn for me. Well, I think I’m a little bit proud of the fact that I know a little bit about everything. Painting, design, 3d… all that stuff. In the future I want to focus more on painting and 3d.
15. If we may ask, what projects are you currently working on?
Nothing big a the moment. I have a few smaller paintings in the works but I don’t know if they will ever be finished. Aside from that I’m working on a new version of my website.
16. Since you are our first Featured Artist after the new Prints Program has launched, what do you think of it so far?
It definitely changed to a positive side. The new upload process/print setup works pretty neat. Some feedback box on prints, like the comments on deviations, would be nice. Who knows what may come in the future?!
17. What's your current profession and is it related to what you do as an artist?
My current profession is to be a freelance artist. A few weeks ago I got contacted by a big animation studio here in Germany. They said they were interested in hiring me. At the moment we are clearing up things and if everything works out right I’ll have the perfect job for me. Wish me good luck!
18. What goals have you set for the future?
My goal for the moment is to get that job I was talking about in the previous question. It would be THE chance for me. I’ve been trying set a foot into the industry for years now and this time it looks like I could finally make it. I hope. Aside from that, maybe getting a girlfriend and making some children.
19. Just for fun, @blackice asks: I've noticed you misspelled 'tiger' in your username. How long have you known you were dyslexic and how do you think it affects your art?
Rofl. 
In fact it helps my art. Just seeing things differently. 
No.
Well I got the name from a friend. There was a cat named tiger. Us Germans sometimes use an ä instead of the e, just to spell/pronounce things funny. Back then I thought the name ‘tigär’ would be cool until I realized it does not work for the net. There are no äüö allowed in website paths etc. So I made an ae instead the ä. (ae and ä are pronounced the same way)
I don’t think it affects my art. I, at least, never saw something or heard something about that my name affects my art. I mean ‘tiger’ for an artists name would sound stupid, right? But ‘tigaer’ is kind of special. You can slap me if I’m wrong.
20. Do you have any final words of wisdom for our readers and fellow artists?
I guess I'll say the same as in every interview. It’s the only thing I can say since it is what I did to get to the point I am standing now. To all who just started to explore the world of digital art: If you think it is something you want to make your living with, if it is something you love to do and if it is something that makes you happy and feel good, never stop learning and enjoy it! There is a lot of inspiration out there. Keep your eyes open!
VISIT: Tigaer's Prints Store &
Tigaer's Website
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Devious Comments
However, once more @blackice is out of control.
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Always the summers are slipping away.
And who doesn't like Christian's work!
I think was very well pepared, written and answered.
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OlliePrints Quality Control Supervisor
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"Happiness isn't having what you want, it's wanting what you have" (Vicktor Borge)
The MACROinitiative is coming!
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Ich bin massenkompatibel.
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