Tell us a bit about yourself. Where are you from? What do you do for a living?

My family and I reside in Kirksville, MO where I work as a full-time graphic artist. In my freelance time, I contribute and license photos and illustrations through a stock agency. When I’m not working on a stock art project, I enjoy creating photo illustrations for contests, personal projects or clients.

Do you have any formal training?

I graduated from the University of Missouri – Columbia with a Bachelor of Fine Arts. I studied art and took several classes in printmaking and graphic design. My formal training provided a solid foundation of art fundamentals, however my work experience has allowed me to discover and learn so much more.

Describe your workspace.

The wall art for my home office includes a mix of my work, Aubrey Beardsley prints and Nighthawks by Edward Hopper, which hangs above my desk. In the painting, I picture myself as the guy at the counter, enjoying a coffee and the peace of the moment. My typical work tools include; Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, my WACOM table and a coffee.

Describe your creative process. What steps do you normally follow?

All projects involve an idea phase, where I am thinking of a concept and direction for a project. After deciding on a concept, there is planning, sketches and then execution of the project.

I recently created a walkthrough of one of my photo illustrations that outlines the process I use for creating my work. You can read more here.

Work hard. Always have a project, this will develop your creative experience and sharpen your software skills.

What motivates you?

My motivation comes from a desire to create. I want to make something that I enjoy and make it better than I could make it before. I am a curious person with a lot of interests and experimenting with a variety of media and applications is refreshing.

What is your advice to others just starting in your field?

Work hard. Always have a project, this will develop your creative experience and sharpen your software skills.

What do you do to market yourself and/or your business?

I maintain a portfolio site and blog at JamieC.com. I post recent work and links to my various social media pages. I also maintain a Youtube channel where I post videos that show the process of my photo illustration work.

Who are your heroes in your field?

Bert Monroy has been a source of inspiration for many years. I’ve had the opportunity to meet Bert at Photoshop World and I’ve watched and read a lot of his training that is available. Bert’s love for work, attention to detail and passion for light is admired.

What do you do in your spare time?

I have a close family and we spend a lot of time together.

Can you share a few of your favorite pieces and give a bit of background for each?

“Pen & Path – Isolated Adventures”
This is a photo illustration I created for a Photoshop design challenge. The challenge was to use a tool, menu item or anything from Photoshop and make a Blu-ray cover based on that theme. I chose to use the pen tool and paths, and then related the classic tortoise and hare characters to those items.

“Dark Matters”
I photographed a series of stock photos of an assassin model and I wanted to feature one of the images from the series in a photo illustration. The result depicts a woman facing off against a werewolf around his lair.

“The Dibbuk Box”
This is a book cover I designed for a client. The book is based on my client’s experience owning a haunted Jewish wine cabinet. I photographed the dibbuk box and few of the elements, the remaining images are stock photography.