Today on The Lounge, we are sharing the work of digital paint master, Ryan Wood. He’s a Certified Schoolism Teacher, so you can literally learn a lot from his techniques. On his blog you’ll find finished pieces, roughs and even videos which demonstrate the way he works. Oh, and he paints a great witch or two!

Elsa Duhamel is an animator and visual development artist from France. Her work is so beautiful; I couldn’t help but go through every video on her Vimeo page. The soft lighting and generous textures are always evident, no matter which medium she works in. Her characters have that charm that I think goes missing in a lot of mass-produced animation.

Kelly Smith works from her home studio in Tasmania, Australia. Her pencil and paint style has attracted clients from all over the globe including Vogue, Net-a-Porter and H&M. Her book ‘Sticker Fashionista’ was published by Laurence King in 2012. Here’s how Kelly describes it:

“For the little ladies in your lives, and the young at heart, Sticker Fashionista is a series of scenes depicting stylish girlies all over the globe, accompanied by endless sheets of stickers with which to create your own outfits. Think sleek Manhattanites, ‘it girl’ Londoners, Parisian models, festival free-spirits, and more…You become your very own sticker stylist!”

I can’t get over the amazing lighting and mark-making by Dice Tsutsumi. Born in Tokyo, he moved to New York in 1993. He has had a remarkable career so far, particularly in the animation industry. At Blue Sky Studios, he worked as a visual development and colour key artist for ‘Ice Age’, ‘Robots’ and ‘Horton Hears a Who’. He later moved on to Pixar as an art director, giving him the chance to work on ‘Toy Story 3’. Dice has also had a children’s book published, titled ‘I can Hear’. Last but not least, I will mention his work on ‘Sketchtravel’ and ‘Totoro Forest Project’, two excellent projects that Dice has helped organise. To see more from this creative dynamo, visit his fantastic blog.

Robin Hall is a Sheridan College graduate now working in the animation industry. Her character designs are really strong, and her fourth year thesis film ‘Bubblegum Bullet’ showcases this strength. You can view Robin’s demo reel on Vimeo, and do take a look at her blog for more.

Sam Vanallemeersch is an illustrator and graphic designer living in Belgium. He creates some wonderful imagery, full of shapes that overlap each other and slot together. This technique requires taking great colour when picking colours, as there is no linear separation between each segment. Clients include Random House, Nobrow Press and Monocle.

Gonzalo Ordóñez Arias aka Genzoman is a Chilean illustrator with influences deeply routed in video games. He has created many official pieces and fan art for companies such as Capcom and Blizzard, and games like World of Warcraft. Genzoman’s energetic and cinematic style lends itself well to the fantasy games he often illustrates. Coupled with his ostentatious colours, his illustrations really pack a punch. You can see much more of Genzoman’s work on his deviantArt page.