Hello everybody,
And welcome to the latest issue of Hidden Talent, been kinda busy so couldn’t update much but today I can We have an amazing artist, who kindly agreed for this Interview, he has some amazing digital Painting, known for his wonderful piece named “Run” it’s the one and the only ...

So hope you’ll enjoy about this fascinating artist !


What is your name ?
Hi, my name is Ertaç Altınöz.

What is your alias and why you choose it ?
My friends call me “DukeLeto” on the net. They know that I love Frank Herbert’s fantastic novel series- Dune, and Duke Leto Atreides is my favourite character. At first they were calling me with his name and then it stuck on me. And I’m not unhappy with it.

Tell us a bit about yourself Ertaç.
Hımm, I love laughing. Making unnatural things like talking with an ordinary receiver as it’s a cell phone at street. I love to confuse people’s mind, and when they are in a daze; it’s the crescendo for me. Except that, I’m an ordinary man. I like the same things other people like. My favourites are the same; collecting, watching, travelling, drawing, listening to music...etc. I love videogames.



Do you get loads of support from family/friends ?
Of course! My family, especially, is the most significant thing in my life. Their support means much to me. They always have respect in my wishes, my interests and they never force me to choose a job. They might be the most considerate parents all over the world. Mom, dad, brothers; I love you!!!
I can’t say that all my friends are real supporters. Maybe, five or ten of them are aware of my efforts. But I love them all too.

Have you done any previous studies before getting yourself into Digital Art ?
I’ve graduated from drawing department of İzmir Anatolian Fine Arts High School. After that I went to İstanbul to study Cinema and Television. And then I completed two years with a master degree of the same program and created my first 3D short film “Leviathan” at graduation. I am still interested in cinema, 3D, short animated films and animation but I think finally I found my ideal profession by returning to the illustration.

How long does it take you to get into the feel of creating something new and stunning ?
In fact, I never felt like I was creating something really new and OMG, stunning. Sometimes your drawing comes into being faster and so, you feel more excited; that’s all.
I can always draw something. Some of them turn out to have good results, some of them don’t. Moving from this point, when I think about inspiration, I can easily say it is not a tiny Tinkerbell for me.



Do you plan your images before doing them, or make them up on the spot ?
Hımm, hard question. Of course, there is some planning. As an artist you’d like to know what challenge will you give and what are you being involved. It’s valid for every artist, I think.
Planning my works has two different parts for me. First part is “imagination”. I always think about an imaginary scene everywhere; I firstly search for the idea. And the other dimensions: Why I would work on it, and what I will gain from it. It’s always so important for me to feel like I’m showing something from a different perspective.
And second part of planning is “ practising ”. I always know what I want to see at the page from the beginning. Before taking a start, I always search for my idea on the net, and try to find some already drawn versions of my topic. It prevents me from falling into same clichés, and I gather some ideas about what I will be facing. But it’s a fact that even my compositions may change during drawing. During this procedure everything can expand (details, objects, some environments, canvas size) except the angle.


Who will be your favourite artist at this moment ?
There are lots of gorgeous fantasy artists I keep watching closely all over the net like Andy Park, Stanley Lau, Dan LuVisi; but here on DA, it’s simply Kerem Beyit!

You currently reside in Turkey does any of the culture there affect your work ?
Exactly. Türkiye is full of many riches; lots of different nations came here to settle over the centuries and generations. And our common culture bears the elements of all these different cultures. So, we call our beautiful Anatolia as the "Cradle of Civilizations".
Lots of people from different regions are perfectly able to live here together. In this situation, it’s inevitable to be in touch with the culture. Many colors of the culture from what you eat to what you see have an influence on your art. I use some themes of our culture for everyone who is interested in it and also for giving my works a different taste. And I read about our history, our myths and legends much more; so I can say there will be more. I’ll try to unite fantasy with culture, beliefs and myths from our ancestors.



You have lots of different type of digital Painting but most of them are Dragons ones, do you have a secret love for them ?
Yeah, I’m in love with dragons. They are very mystichal beings which are again affected with beliefs. They represent power, honour, dignity, maybe some evil and some wisdom rooted at evil. They are enjoyable for searching and flexible when creating. I know there are tons of them out there and it’s hard to handle a dragon work without falling into some clichés; but who cares? And they are alive. There might not be anything as “unicorn”; but the idea, there it is. As long as the inspiration on something to make it real goes on; it’s real for me.

How do you respond to change in trends in this "digital" world ?
As a matter of fact, I don’t think that anyone is exactly able to catch changing trends of the changing world. But to improve my digital knowledge I’m trying to see as much digital work as I can see; and trying to understand the creation process. And I’m trying to answer some questions as; which country comes forward in which technic or style, who those people are, what they are doing and where I am. It’s always so good to master different softwares (especially 3Ds) and to use them together. But I unfortunately can’t find any free time to experience them.
“Digital” world is a huge definition. I guess (it’s a bit pretentious but) paying attention to everything is the right key. Like all other professions, digital art is strongly connected with real life and what is going on outside.


So where is your working place, in an office at home ? Once you're finished with your pieces where would you post them ?
My working place is my home, as you said. When I finish my works I post them here. Besides some other art channels such as CGHub and some local sites… I do this to improve my skills. I hope they will inspire me to do better works in the future.



What software do you use and what is your favourite tool ?
I’m still using Photoshop CS2. I heard that CS4 has really remarkable changes. Hımm, my favourite tool, it’s not hard to say: It’s brush tool.

Is there any tips for other Digital Painter or Illustrator you would like to share ?
Yes indeed. I always thought keeping fate is the key. We all will succeed as long as we believe in what we do. And also it’s important to have a fancy in this kind of works.
And if I must talk a bit technical, I strongly advise them to work on black and white. Unless they don’t understand the three basic tones; black, white and gray (and their sub-tones of course), I’m sorry to say there is less improvement. Before colors, lighting, effects etc., always come more important things like poses, angle, three basic tones, structure, composition, etc…

We also see that you have interest in Traditional Art, as we see here : [link] Is this just a hobby or something deeper than that ?
Yes it is. Traditional drawing is not a hobby or a job form me. It’s the source of my art. And also it’s necessary for your speed and your skills. Unfortunately I can’t find any free time to work on such works. I can only practise to work from a real model, and it takes mostly one hour. I wish I had more time to do so.
And this work is from my school days and it’s almost ten years old. The topic was “mother and baby” and I illustrated them from this angle. Even when I was a student, I used to like showing something from a different perspective.

Do you work on commission or ever planning to ? Or do you already have a job that keeps you running ?
Yes, sure. I’m working as a freelance graphic designer to earn money. But it’s not my dream and sooner or later I know, I’ll let it go. I love illustration and as long as I live I’d like to render it. I’m not currently working on commissions but I’d like to start working with a commission as fast as possible. Who wouldn't like to earn money from what he already does with pleasure?

Is getting a job related to art and stuff as such hard in your country, because they has been debate going on relating to the country and the facilities of the job?
No, there is no problem with relationship. These kind of works are already being performed by so many talented artists in my country but there is some trouble in finding a job related to fantasy. So, many of them give up. We are trying to awake the real potencial of fantasy artists of my country and show our passion for fantasy art to all who are interested.



What would be your casual routine like ?
Haha, it’s a bit harsh. I wake up, eat something, then go outside to run, I come back, I work, work…work…..work…..work…..work…..work….until I’m hungry, and after eating something, again I work….work.. work… fall asleep..Just kidding.
But it’s something like that, somedays I can’t even read something. To find some time for both earning money and doing stuff like that is not an easy task to handle. My entire life is formed by my family, my friends, my job but most of all by my passion on illustraion.

What are your other hobbies, when you're not drawing or sketching ?
Collecting (anything- from action figures to novels, movies etc.), playing video games, tracking other artists’ works. I mean everything is again related to my drawing and sketching sessions.
But going out with someone, even drinking coffee somewhere is my hobby, too. Because these are the relaxing times of my life.
I’m an ordinary man but a very good observer. I watch people, listen to them, shout at them and like to see what will happen next. I’m a bit curious about thinking.

What is your utimate goal in Digital Art ?
My ultimate goal is only to be known as a good fantasy artist and to give someone some courage for creating such works. I think, it’s the most significant part of being an artist, to push someone to work. In short, my ultimate goal in Digital Art is being an artist!

If I'm right, you had a whole collection of Dragon Fan-Art, is there anymore stuff like this to come ?
Of course, there will be more. I decipted some rare species like “leaf” and “rainbow”( I don’t count “wolf”, as it’s my concoct) From now on, new dragon works will come; and they will be again very rare to find, be sure.



What kind of reference do you use for these pictures or are they from the top of your head ?
As I said before, these images change while working. They are not fully from the top of my head, sometimes I search for related images and examine how it is looks like(for example-how shoulder muscle looks like when my character has this pose). And I go on in accordance with this information. I also try to avoid logical mistakes( for example clothes that I create must be useful and must let the character fight easier). At this point I surely look from different countries’ clothing, their armor type and traditional patterns. And then I create mine.
Lately, I’m using some free images for my works too. I simply paint over them like matte painting. For example if you look at my latest work- “Don’t Let Me Die”, you can see that our traditional carpets and their patterns are used there. I drew the cloth part(with its all dimensions) and then simply applied a color dodged carpet layer to it.
In this kind of works, I explain the situation about using referance or adaptation.

Where does your Inspiration source come from ?
Most of it comes from the grasshoppers I collected when I was a kid( I’ve never killed one of them, be sure.), some of it is comes from other artists, and a little comes from people who believe in me.

What would your top 5 tips be for anyone that is starting to Paint or Illustrate ?
1- Absolutely , start with sketches and teach your hand (and mind) how to draw.
2- When you feel ready to work in digital, see tons of digital works before you dare. And also try to improve your imagination with movies, advertisements and from all visual media.
3- Never think that your works are so original or titanic. You ARE nothing. (Feeling sorrow for yourself is so necessary to improve.)
4- Never give up, always find something to grab.
5- Never end up with desperation.

What do you think of today's Digital Arts levels and amount of work ?
It’s growing like a snowslide. I don’t think it’s so bad that there is more people in this area. More people and more talents cause much more inspiration and growing. As an addicted learner of digital world and as a person who wants to occupy a place in digital world, I’m so happy with this involvement.

So far you have achieved a DD on the piece "Run", how do you feel ?
Wow, you know everything. Thank you !
I don’t know how I felt. I woke up much earlier that day, I was working on a four days work in Antalya (another city of Türkiye) and then I saw my DD at the office! First I looked upon my messages and shocked! One day before and one day later, what the… then I realized the situation from comments and it was very proud. Even I couldn’t catch anyone to reply. My friends know, I love to look at peoples’ galleries and give my gratitude, but this day I was a bit irremediable. And as long as we are talking about RUN, I can shout again freely as a token of my feelings: I LOVE YOU PEOPLE!!!



What type of music do you listen to ?
I like listening to Turkish traditional music, I don’t know how exactly I could translate it into English. In international music sense, I especially like 80’s Pop Rock and Retro. My favourite piece is “It’s no good” from Depechmode. And oh, KYLIE rocks!



What is your gear like ?
My gear is a simple UC-Logic LaPazz WP5540 A6 Graphic Tablet and a Pentium 4 CPU. Some papers and charcoals of course. But I’m buying an Intuos soon. I think I’ve practiced with LaPazz enough. I’d like to say something now, people generally ask me about choosing a tablet. I completely drew “RUN” with a simple Mouse! So, that’s enough for you to handle such works with anyting if you really want to.

If there was another software you would like to master, which one would it be ?
I worked with 3Ds Max but I’d like to learn and use it professionally.

Your popularity over DA has increased, and is still going, are you expecting more ?
It’s awesome to be known by people, I won’t deny it. As long as I upload better illustrations, why wouldn’t I expect more people to meet? It’s great to have new friends and I already have some of them. I can give their names but others can be mad at me. I love all of them.
I’m in a competition with myself, as long as this journey goes on, I’d surely like to see my friends with me.

Did you had to go through some very challenging task in your Digital career ?
I returned to drawing (after cinema experiment) in last March. So I haven’t gone through any very challenging task in my Digital career, yet. I’m trying to learn. And I know that learning is neverending.



What are your future plans ?
It never ends you know, I’d like to be in lots of fantasy projects (books and cd covers, concept designs for short films or video games etc.) And I’d like to be in several magazines of course.
I know it’s a bit whimsy but I’d like to be a part of the creation of any fantasy projects.

What is your favourite piece, that you ever created ?
As I said before, I created a 3D animated film named “Leviathan” , I think it’s been my favourite piece so far.

What are your favourite pieces on DA, could you share them ? (misunderstood but you can have a look)
I can’t say “I’m completely happy with his work” for any of them, but still one piece is shining among them. It’s sure, “RUN”. ( This work is like my identification. People started to know me with it, and I’m happy with it’s motionary dynamic look. So, it is!)

And to finish it off, What would you like to say to your fans out there ?
Fans? Whoa! If they are mad at my works, I can’t even say one word! This is the most relaxing thing after finishing some work: to be admired.
I’d like to say one thing:
I’m always trying to show better, and as long as I’m healthy, I SURELY will.
My answers got shorter to the end, the clock is ticking and I’m in a bit hurry. Please forgive me. And for my English, too. That was the most enjoyable interview I’ve ever had. Thanks for all of your interest and encouragement people! Oh, I was almost forgetting to answer the last golden question!

Question from the fan ~Pdgfx

What are your favourite brushes ?

Thanks “Ulbe” for your good question. My favourite brushes are “Emrah Elmaslı BrushSet” (he is one of the the most significant concept artists of Türkiye, maybe the most significant one, now he is trying at Lionhead Studios. Recently worked in “Fable” Project) . And especially the ones which include environment such as leaf or tree brushes.
Bye for now, I’m off to work on something new! Thank you all for reading my story.

And that was it !
Hope you enjoyed, as you saw introducing a new system of Question from the fan, will explain how it works in my next Journal which will be soon, hope you learnt something new from this amazing artist, very friendly as you saw
Awesome !



And that’s it for us !
I’m leaving you, until the next “Hidden Talent”
Thank You all friends ! Supporters !
Have a nice day,
Kind Regards,

=Sangiev,