Tell us about your journey
I grew up loving spaceships, either drawing them or building them out of LEGO. Some of my favorite books were [Del Rey’s] Art of Star Wars series and the Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual – I wanted to design spaceships when I grew up. That pretty much held on as I got older and went to school for illustration. My first job out of college was drawing LEGO men for a theme park, and I stayed in theme parks for five years, but the desire to design science-fiction worlds was still grabbing me. I quit my job and worked on my portfolio, helped by instructional DVDs by Ryan Church and Feng Zhu. From there, I landed my first game job in Germany. Since then I’ve been blessed with opportunities to work on Star Wars and Star Trek – designing spaceships! I’ve stayed in entertainment because I enjoy designing and painting things that don’t exist. Every new job has a unique challenge that keeps it fresh.
How do you want to impact the world?
Honestly, at this point I’m mostly focused on being a good husband and father. Doing what I love helps me to be better at that. I also hope that using the skills that I’ve been blessed with is pleasing to my creator. I’d love to be able to impact his world with them in a more direct way, but I haven’t figured that out yet. Currently I’m just focused on the family bit.
What are you passionate about?
For me, the most exciting part is the idea process: I love designing things. I also relish the act of drawing and painting during that process. My favorite concepts are still the Joe Johnston ink-and-marker sketches for Star Wars. I love it when concept art retains the life of the sketch.
What would be your #1 advice to other artists?
Don’t be discouraged by all the super-awesome art out there. Looking at other people’s work can be a double-edged sword: it can make your work sharper, or it can cut in and get you thinking you can’t compete. If people say they like your work – especially if they are paying you for it – believe them! Do what you love, keep striving to get better, but don’t let you bring yourself down by being your worst critic.
Related Links
Ryan Dening’s website
