Chris Cold is a talented artist who specializes in digital paintings that focus on the paranormal. His art feature sci-fi creatures and events and contain vibrant colors. In today’s interview Chris shares some interesting tips about his art.
Q Welcome to Psdtuts+, please introduce yourself. Could you tell us where you’re from and how you got started in the field?
Hello, my name is Chris Cold and I’m a digital painter. I started creating stuff in Photoshop like 3 years ago after I saw a blog with concept art. I don’t recall the artist’s name but I clearly remember that many artworks included a lot of planets and space related scenery which is why I was inspired to create space art.
Q From looking at your portfolio we see that it is mostly made up of paintings. What exactly draws you to that specific style instead of say photo-manipulation, or abstract design?
If I would compare photo-manipulation with painting I personally think painting everything from scratch is much more impressive than Googling photos and then mixing them all together in Photoshop. Not saying that it’s easy (it’s a different skill from painting) but relying on other sources will make your art less versatile. About abstract art… I think nebulae are abstract-looking… but I’m trying to stay away from abstractionism simply because I cant tell a story with abstract art.
Q What do you think is your biggest challenge in terms of your paintings? Have you overcome this obstacle yet? If so tell us how.
Right now my only goal is to paint/write a graphic novel. I have failed many times already and I’m sure I wont be satisfied with my first novel when I finish it but I feel that illustrating a story from the beginning to the end will help me to improve my skills a whole lot.
Q Your paintings always look futuristic and sci-fi inspired, are you a fan of the genre? And what usually inspires you to create these amazing paintings?
Yeah, I like sci-fi and fantasy. I think most of the time I’m inspired by other artists and many of my favorite ones are usually sci-fi artists so I guess that explains it. Every time I see a great artwork I’m always like: “damn, that’s good… now I need to make something better than that”, although I rarely make it better 
Q “Electric Pulse” is a very cool painting that gives off a strong powerful vibe, please talk a little about its creation conceptually as well as in Photoshop.
Well, I didn’t really plan it out (it took only a few hours to finish and happened spontaneously) I started with a sketch, then added values in black and white and then colors. I don’t use many layers in Photoshop and no filters/effects (blur is the only exception), but if do use some custom brushes, basically they are just standard brushes with textures applied but very useful sometimes.
Q In your design process do you usually sketch out an idea before coloring it or just start out painting it right away and free styling?
Depends on what I want to do but I almost always start with a sketch even if it’s just a speed painting. I believe the initial sketch is the most important part of my work, if I can get it right I’m sure I will be able to finish the rest of the painting very soon and without trouble. Also, I usually have the idea in my head before I start painting so I only improvise with minor details and not important objects.
Q All digital painters use tablets when designing, so tell us what tools you use to create your amazing paintings? What does your specific equipment bring to your design that you wouldn’t get with another tablet?
Yes, like many others I also have a tablet, a Wacom Intuos4. It’s pretty awesome. When I first started with digital painting I only used a mouse and even though I only used one tablet in my life and cant say how it is better than any other I still can tell you that it’s far better than a mouse,
ha-ha. – painting with a mouse is real torture, everyone who wants to be an artist should get a tablet.
Q Thanks again for providing Psdtuts+ with this opportunity to interview you. Any final thoughts for our readers?
It was fun and I wish good luck to all fellow artists with their careers and
dreams.
– Chris
