About

Pascal Campion is a French-American illustrator and animator. He studied narrative illustration at Arts Decoratifs de Strasbourg, in France. He revels in the company of his wife and daughter and finds it very hard to write about himself. He works in a studio with high ceilings in San Francisco.

Pascal has worked in a wide variety of media, from games, music videos, feature films to books.

Selected Clients: Dreamworks Animation, Disney TV, MTV, Nickelodeon, Bent Image Labs, Cartoon Network, Hulu, They Might Be Giants, and PBS.

Frequently Asked Questions

What process do you use to create your images? What programs do you use?
What is your inspiration?
Do you have any advice for art students or beginning artists?
Will you make art for my band, friend or special event?
Who are you influenced by?
How long have you been working as an artist?
What is your favorite kind of project?

What process do you use to create your images? What programs do you use?

I use color differently than most artists I know, more like a painter actually. I don't do a clean drawing. I just sketch very loosely something in flash, and I clean it up in color! Which is why my colors are as essential to the piece as the composition itself because they ARE the drawing. A lot of artist do a drawing AND then color it. My colors drive the piece. I very often paint in things that are not there in the sketch, or weren't planned in the sketch.

I use Flash MX (Flash 6) and a Wacom Tablet for almost all of my work. I then do final touches and lighting in Photoshop.

What is your inspiration?

In everyday life. In my daughter, my wife, my friends, my work. Sometimes I’ll be biking down the street and see something that I like and it will wind up in the next sketch. Sometimes it’s being at the supermarket or giving a bath to my daughter and she looks at me and smiles. It lasts for a second, but the memory of it stays with me for a long time. These are the things that interest me the most.

Do you have any advice for art students or beginning artists?

If you do want to get better, if you really want to find your own style, and start having fun with your art, it is all about actually DRAWING! And drawing in your sketchbook, everyday, is really the first step you need to do.

The second one is SHOW YOUR SKETCHES! I know it's scary to show your personal work because, in a way, you feel like you are exposing yourself to people, and the fear of judgment is a terrible feeling. But you'll be surprised to find out that people will react favorably, and will give you feedback that you NEED to grow as a artist.

Additionally, the more you draw and the more you share your work, the more you will inspire your peers and people around you, and the more motivated you'll get.

Lastly....art and talent is not a gift from god. I don't subscribe at all at all to this point of view. The art of drawing is purely mechanical. The more you practice, the better you get. There's no secret involved, no formulas, no crutch. If you want to become an artist...DRAW! Don't look for formulas and shortcuts.

And enjoy your life, have tons of experiences, and draw from them to create your own art.

Will you make art for my band, friend or special event?

Although I would love to create an image for your baby, event or band, I have to prioritize my work. As a freelancer I usually manage multiple clients and I don't have time for small jobs. So, my answer will most probably be no... But I am always humbled that you think of me for your illustration needs.

Who are you influenced by?

Everybody.

Artists of course, and if you want names, I would say Rockwell, Wyeth, Remington, Renoir, Rembrandt, Tadahiro Ueusugi, Kiraz, just to name a few, but I'm mostly influenced by everyday events. By the people that are around me, such as my wife and my daughter, my friends and coworkers, the barista at the coffee shop, and the cashier at the grocery store.

I also get inspired by the sites I go through everyday. I really think that the best inspiration comes from what is right in front of you and not in some remote corner of the net, or in someone else's drawings.

How long have you been working as an artist?

I have been doing professional art continuously for the past ten years. Before that, I had had some paid art jobs, but I wasn't making a living out of them, and I was still going to school.

What is your favorite kind of project?

I like projects that let me tell stories, and that are not obvious answers. For instance....when I'm asked to draw a house that should look like this and this, I generally am bored. When I'm asked to figure out where a certain character lives, and try to come up with ideas for how long he's been there, then it becomes storytelling for me. This applies both to animation and design.

Anytime I get the chance to problem solve and do some storytelling, I'm happy.