Christian Benevides

Christian Benevides: Art is a tool I use for integrating ideas, dreams, and values that I want to apply in my life. It also works to disintegrate beliefs and limitations that I might have in the depth of my subconscious. It can also be seen as a ritual that can manifest self-growth.

For example, I constantly drew images of travelers, explorers, and seekers in varying environments and situations. I was doing this as a representation of something I wanted in my life. Hence, I try to give each image an intention and purpose. My artistic journey began from being lost and clueless as to what I should create to being able to establish a connection with the essence of my illustration. This journey was made with the intention of learning and developing new perceptions of life and art.

Christian Benevides: Travel inspires, educates, and enlightens me. I always travel to places where I feel a special connection, and I have this certainty that I would learn something new about life there; this is what I automatically apply to my artwork. When I travel somewhere, I try to understand the vision of the land and see what I can use in my art to give it a mystical vibe. My visit to India, Nepal, and Vietnam marked a before and after in my life. It was an immense joy to learn from my teacher and friend, Ashal, the traditions of Thangka painting. Going to his little shop, drawing, and talking, for around 20 days are such warm moments in my life.

Christian Benevides: I have been working on Clip Studio Paint (CSP) for around three years now, and I love it, mainly because this software offers several tools to make the drawing process smoother, especially since I place a strong emphasis on online art. It also saves me a lot of time with an efficient method of filling my line art with ‘Paint Bucket’. Another noteworthy feature is the vector and pixel layers.

As for my process, I start with a sketch followed by line art, flat colors, and finally add volume, lighting, and other details. Though my primary concern lies in line art, I don’t hesitate to add atmosphere, highlights, and shadows.

Detailed work can take up to 15 hours.

Christian Benevides: I go for a complementary color scheme and like to saturate the colors. The colors are picked to reflect the mood of the piece and the feelings I wish to convey. Following this, I add complementary colors for some contrast and direct the attention to the focal point. As for the workflow, I start by applying the base tone, after which I add temperatures of colors in the light and shadow; this ensures that my artwork pops out.

Christian: I look at this as dimensions. There are dimensions that we perceive and others that we don’t. In my artworks, the human characters in our natural environment can interact with dimensions that we cannot usually see.

To achieve this effect, I add symbols, runic texts from languages like Sanskrit, spiritual and mystical symbols from various cultures, otherworldly beings such as spiritual guardians, extraterrestrial life forms, and other types of manifestations, all interacting in a place that can be identified as earth.

The Buddha figure is one that I like and connect with; therefore, I add Buddha statues or related elements to give this “aura” to the illustration. I also draw inspiration from archetypes and astrology, but mostly from my experience.

Christian Benevides: I keep the song’s name in my mind and proceed to listen to the track a few times. I analyze the mood and where the music takes me and work from there. Sometimes, the music artist would suggest specific ideas for their cover. In such cases, I use their idea as the base and proceed with the same process.

Christian Benevides: There are broadly three categories of clients: one that offers complete creative freedom; another that has an idea of the setting or characters or mood or other little details that I include in the final composition; and the one with a clear idea of what they wish to see in terms of composition.

But, I am grateful that all of them connect with my style. I have not had to change my style so far. So even if they have a clear idea of what they want, I have the freedom to interpret that in my style. It’s a beautiful co-creation process.

Christian: I have a specific style and, when I am reached out to work on a project, it is because my style suits the project. Therefore, when I work in animation and games, I do it in my style. It’s nice that my work attracts projects that are based on fantasy, mystical, and sci-fi concepts.

When it comes to technicalities, there are some differences and points to remember. For example, while working on a game, the background art assets need to be created in a separate layer while looking like they all belong in the same layer. This is so that they can create animations and interactions for the gameplay.

Christian Benevides: The piece, ‘The Purification of the Three Poisons’ remains my favorite. It was created during a special moment in my life, just as I arrived in Colombia after my trip to Nepal. The artwork is like the catharsis of that experience and marked a new beginning in my style.

Christian Benevides: Keep creating. You are my constant inspiration.