Artist Interviewed: Sam Hogg aka:
Interviewer: Stephanie Reeves aka. on behalf of *freelancers

The art of Sam Hogg



1. When did you consider yourself to be successful in your field? OR How do you measure personal success as an artist?

I would say that I would have considered myself to be financially successful as a traditional artist about twelve months ago, when I quit my full time job as a designer and started freelancing, but I had been fairly successful as a designer and studio manager until that point.

As for how I would measure personal success as an artist? My first real notch of personal success was having my work "Colours of the Wind" published in a book called Aphrodisia II which was selected by a jury of artists I held in great esteem, I think that was a good notch of being on a professional level. Lately I have just received news that I am to be featured in Ballistic Publishing's latest Exotique 3 release too, which has been a long term goal of mine. As long as I can keep making a living from my art, I would consider myself successful.

2. What are some important things you have learned along the way?

The most important thing I've learned through having to go it alone is probably to be professional. Sounds obvious, but it's important on two levels, as people tend to respect you more, even when disputes arise. Also as an artist, it gives my product more value, and I feel comfortable charging what I believe is right for my artwork. Being informal tends to devalue your work in people's minds and they come to expect that little something extra because you're being friendly. Always be polite but firm in your dealings and stand your ground if you truly believe you're in the right.

Also, it's important to structure your time well. Only having yourself to motivate you is tough at times, but you have to be disciplined and sit down and do things you really don't want to, when you'd rather be watching a DVD, or socializing! Missing deadlines makes you look unprofessional, and in an industry that's so competitive, people are less inclined to give work to those who have been late previously, and word can travel if you're unlucky!

3. What business practices have you learned?

Aside from those mentioned above, I've learned that it can help if you're pressured and have to shift things around, or shift deadlines, to let a client know what's going on early. If you know something is going to take you a while, work-in-progress shots can help 'fill' the time and give the client something to be looking at, making it seem like less time than it actually is.

Knowing what to work on first and foremost is important too, it can be tempting simply to work with pieces you think you'll enjoy first, but considering the client, whether you think you'll get repeat work, or if other contacts might come of the work can be important too. If you know you've a lot on, and by the end of the week you're going to be fed up, make sure you work on anything complicated first, because there's nothing worse than having to do something that takes a lot of concentration when you're feeling burned out!


4. Do you have an artist’s rep. or do you hire someone for your business/office duties?

No, the kind of work I do is quite personal, and I deal with everything myself. The internet and email allows me to keep track of everything fairly easily.

5. Do you use the press to assist you? (i.e. press release, advertisements) Any particular publications? Is it a regular schedule?

No, aside from the phenomenal cost of press advertising or releases, the market around where I live isn't really a target for the sort of work I do. If I were going to take out advertising of any kind, it would most likely be in the form of web banner advertising, as this is where a lot of my business comes from, and where I display most of my work, and I can target my audience more specifically.


6. Do you feel you have tapped into any unusual markets?

Well, the nature of fantasy art being strange and unusual, I would say most of what I do is, but within that sector, I would say my work is fairly mainstream, and I get a variety of requests as far as subject and style go. Quite a few of my commissions have been for people who want their role-play characters bringing to life, but the market for that is quite large.

As a designer, I was part of an initiative in my firm that led us to be one of the leading producers of school's prospectuses and marketing material in the UK.


7. Has licensing or copyright ever been an issue?

Currently, when a commissionee first contacts me, I make sure when I send their quote that they are aware of what exactly that quote entails, including their rights to republishing the image. So unless I am paid for it, the images they receive are only for personal use, and I retain any reproduction rights. I usually ask if I wish to make prints of a commissioned piece, or want to use it in any other profitable purpose.

8. Do you supplement your art with an additional career to support yourself ?

Twelve months ago, my full time job was as a graphic designer, with art as an extra on the side. Now, it's the other way round! I do a lot of painting for a company in America that keeps me busy, but I still enjoy the graphic design side of things, and still do some freelancing for the company I left to keep myself topped up financially. It always helps to keep relationships from past firms. You never know when they may have work for you, even when you leave!


9. What are your greatest inspirations as an artist?

As an artist and writer, everything. Anything. The way light hits an object, the scent of trees on the wind, an image of a couple walking hand in hand as I pass in the car. Everything is a possible story waiting to be told in words or pictures. Some things encourage the muse more than others. Music is a huge part of my inspiration, I'm never without my mp3 player and playlist of current favourites! Many of my personal images are inspired by songs or moods brought on by music, and my writing especially is usually triggered by scenes unfolding as I listen to a certain song or melody. Of an equal importance as music are the works of other artists and writers. I'm always inspired to try things or subjects after browsing through online galleries, or art magazines, and artists like Brom, Amano, Vallejo, Frazetta, Bouguereau, Caravaggio, Leighton, the Leyendecker bros are all huge inspirations to me. As far as writers go, Janny Wurts and Ricardo Pinto are my favourites, closely followed by David Gemmell and Raymond E. Feist. I also enjoy illustrating written works, as a writer, I understand the wonderful impetus seeing the visions in your head brought to life on paper can be.

In the same vein, films and animation inspire me a lot. My collection is vast, and it reflects my own tastes in the visual arts, so consists of mostly fantasy and sci fi.


10. What main processes do you follow in the production of your work?

If it is a commission, generally, I will start by hunting for a 'collage board' of reference, looking for faces, poses and colors I think will suit the subject, and once I have enough, I usually do a couple of small thumbnails for my own purposes to figure out composition - this saves a lot of time in later stages, since I know roughly where I'm going with it. Once done, I find a pose I like, and use it as reference to create a pencil sketch for the client to approve. Once any amendments are made, which the client only gets to do once for free, I usually transfer the sketch using a transfer paper onto the media of choice, be it card, paper or board, or scan, if the work is digital. From there, I work on it bit by bit, scanning work-in-progress shots if the client has requested. With just pencil or quick sketches works, wip shots are usually not needed.

With my own works, it differs from piece to piece, sometimes I throw myself into a final sketch or digital render without much preparation, seeking to capture the essence of an idea before I get too bogged down in hunting for reference. But each instance is different, and depending on how much importance the work has to me as a finished piece (for example, is it merely a practice at a new style, or is it an idea I really want to examine and work on, where the final thing has some emotional importance to me) I do enough research to fulfill my needs. Once past the sketch stage, my own work tends to take on a life of its own, and I can switch things and change as things suggest themselves, or end up not working. I tend not to do this with commissions (since the paying customer has already approved what I've drawn), unless I really feel it necessary.


11. What would your greatest piece of advice be for aspiring artists?

Practice and passion. It's probably the most vague piece of advice I can offer, but it's the only thing that pays off. If you truly want to work as an artist and make a living from it, take your time considering what you would eventually love to be doing, and really throw yourself into whatever it takes to get a portfolio together that lets your potential employers know you really want this. Competition is always fierce, and there will always be people better than you and worse than you. No matter how little time you think you have, you can always find an hour or two to draw, or look at other's works, as I was once told by my biggest inspiration, Janny Wurts, saying you don't have time to draw isn't true, it simply means you have assigned your time to other things you deem more important. Art is draining at times, especially when you have to do it for a living, so you have to be passionate enough to be able to take what you can, even from pieces you may not want to do. Every piece is a learning experience!

12. What is your favorite piece of the work you have done and why?

Ha, a difficult question for someone who only sees the flaws in her own work generally! But if you pushed me, I'd have to say it would be a work in progress I've tentatively titled "Through Glass", a depiction of the two protagonists from my own novel. I'm highly critical of my own work, especially in how well it lives up to the original vision I had in my head. This particular piece was inspired by two songs on an album I had bought just the week before, as I was writing up the final chapter to my novel. The songs, as they often do, sparked an instant mental image of the two characters curled up against one another in the metaphorical blood and violence of their past in the novel. The image had a lot of powerful emotional impact for me, and for one of the very few times it happens, I managed to draw a sketch that captured just the emotion I was after. As the piece progresses, the emotional impact is becoming stronger. So far the wip is showing signs of being my best piece to date technically, having much of the accumulation of knowledge in light, skin tones and anatomy I'd been working on in it. All in all, it has a lot of the elements I find pleasing in others work but which I feel often lack in my own. It's also great being able to give life to written words in such a pleasing manner.



13. What do you do when you are uninspired for art? Or are you always inspired?

I would say I am pretty much always inspired, I usually always have a craving to draw, or paint, or look at art, and it's what I spend much of my time doing. However, my mood drastically influences how what I want to draw comes out, and if I'm cranky, or feeling burned out, no matter how inspired I am, often nothing works, which is more frustrating than not having ideas. In the cases when I'm frustrated, I'll revert to doing basic things like shading shapes, things that don't take much thinking about, but that loosen me up. Or in the rare moment when I can't think of anything to draw or can't bare to even look at the paper any more, I'll relax. That can be anything from watching a DVD, or getting out of the house, socializing, spending some time in the real world building up a visual vocabulary that will set the muse babbling again!