Interview
Dominic Carter talks to the rising fantasy artist about carving out a career, building a portfolio, and his love of the genre
Ognjen Sporin might be a relative newcomer, but he’s already begun working with the likes of Netflix, Wizards of the Coast and Marvel. Fuelled by his love of the fantasy genre and a relentless drive to improve, Ognjen’s artwork is a shining example of what you can achieve if you roll up your sleeves and commit yourself to your craft. We caught up with him to learn more about his work.
Tell us about your background as an artist. How did you get started, and what path has your career taken?
Honestly, I don’t remember drawing that much more than the other kids when I was very little, but I started getting more into it around the age of 13, mostly drawing and designing anime characters. Very early on in that process I got introduced to online tutorials, and later also books and courses.
I quickly got very absorbed in practising art. I began taking it truly seriously when I was about 15, just around the time I started high school, even though I was realistically oblivious of any tangible artistic career prospects.
I don’t actually know what it is that drew me to it, or made me start disciplining myself with drawing, but it was the first skill I seriously devoted myself to developing. I’m not sure what made me stick with it for a few years either, but I look at it almost as a fortunate coincidence that paid off for me relatively quickly, because I started getting my first commissions around the age of 18, and by 19 I had joined the more professional side of the art industry and was actually able to sustain myself from that work.
Initially, a lot of my higher-paying work was more concept art oriented, but as my career and art progresses, I think I’m now veering further in the direction of illustration, whether that be splashes, promo, covers, or interior book art. I’ve also done a bit of preproduction visual development work and it’s something that really appeals to me. It feels like a nice mixture of both concept art and illustration, and provides a lot of freedom, so I’d love to take part in more projects of the pre-prod variety.
How has your art developed, and what has driven those changes?
I think you could
