Interview with Paul Gawman

I enjoy a brief that is fairly open, something that I can inject some of my personality into. I like to offer solutions and value to the client.

A Christmas card for a hospital in the north east of England when I was 16.

I love Zbrush. I love to digitally sculpt. I enjoy using Zbrush, Maya 3D, HDR Light Studio for lighting and V-Ray for materials and rendering.

Unfortunately for me, it’s usually late at night. When the phones stop ringing and the emails have stopped, that’s when I’m most creative. Which means late nights.

There are two parts, really. I focus on the initial design, so blocking things out and getting composition correct and then also finessing and during the end stages getting everything just right.

I feel joy and a sense of euphoria. I tend to keep looking back at things and sneak in to the studio and switch everything on and have a look at it and then sneak out again.

Whether it conveys a clear message, the way it looks and if it’s pleasing to the eye. I’ve got a designer’s eye so things like kerning and composition really jump out at me.

I find inspiration from other digital artists online. My sources of inspiration include Behance and Instagram.

My preferred design style is photo-real or hyperreal. I’ve learnt to match the style that the client asks for. And styles change so often and so quickly, you have to keep up with the trends.

Growing up in the UK and going to university there, design and architecture was everywhere. Great design, some of the best designers in the world come from the UK. Same with advertising. I used to watch TV and I used to enjoy the commercials more than watching the programs.

They normally come to me with a concept, whether that is written, verbal or drawn. I build on that concept. I work closely with art directors and photographers and we bounce ideas off each other.

The positives are being creative every day, the lifestyle is pretty relaxed. The negatives are long hours; it’s not really a physical job so there is lots of sitting and staring at screens.

Keeping it loose to start with, don’t get too fixated on the details too early. Be aware that quite often things change so don’t get too attached to something too soon.

The ability and desire to improve or learn. Knowing where to look for tutorials on something you might not know how to do yet. The ability to research things, to Google, and also having a good eye for design.

Zbrush, Maya 3D, HDR Light Studio for lighting and V Ray for materials and rendering.

Advertising agencies, photographers and designers.

I mostly develop designs by myself but I also work with a small dedicated team of specialists.

Via my email address – studio@paulgawman.com – or on the usual social media channels.