The Art of Randy Martinez

For those of you out there who are aspiring artists, allow me to present to you the story of Randy Martinez… With an illustrator for a father and an art teacher as a mother, one could say that Randy Martinez was destined to be an artist. At a young age, after learning the crucial lesson that drawing on the walls would only get him into trouble, Randy turned to paper and by the time he reached fourth grade he began to realize that he had some real talent.

“I loved art, and it was like breathing to me, you know something you do involuntarily, but it was such a great way for me to express myself. You never really appreciate that in the moment. But I look back and art really got me through some tough times, and let people know how I felt. I did some powerful stuff without knowing it when I was a kid.”

Although the talent came to him at a young age, Martinez’s dream was to be a professional basketball player. After 2 years of playing college ball he realized that he would probably never make it into the pros and he decided to hang up his sneakers and focus on his art, but he never regretted the time he spent on the courts.

“I needed something that was a challenge and basketball gave that to me until I was mature enough to take my art abilities seriously.”

And so, Martinez embraced his talents and became what he is today: artist, author, teacher. Now he spends his days contributing to the expression and interpretation of some of the most legendary titles and characters such as Indiana Jones, Captain Jack Sparrow, Spider-man, the X-men and the whole Star Wars crew. While he is incredibly proud of his accomplishments he never forgets how humbling it is to work on such high profile characters.

“These titles and characters are so huge and bigger than life. They have been drawn and written about by some of the greatest artists to ever walk the earth. To be a part of that legacy is just overwhelming to think about sometimes… Being able to contribute to these iconic characters is truly an honor.”

The tricky thing when working with pre-existing characters, especially such well-known and well-developed characters as these, is to stay true to the original while somehow finding a personal connection to inspire you. Martinez suggests drawing to satisfy yourself. If you can appreciate your own art and connect with it your best work will come (along with your fans approval and hopefully a paycheck!).

“I could draw anything you want me to draw, but unless I get involved with the subject matter it’s really static. It’s just a picture. The best example was when I did some art from the TV series ‘Heroes’. When I got the job I knew absolutely nothing about the show. I had plenty of reference pictures, but they meant nothing to me. So I went out and bought the first season of Heroes. I sat there for 3 days with my girlfriend and watched the whole thing before I ever put down one pencil mark… If you look at any great piece of art you will always notice that the artist is really just expressing their experience or their feelings with the subject. With Heroes, I could draw Claire, but what do I have to say about Claire, what are my feelings about her condition, her struggles, and points of view? Illustrating that is what makes my art mine, no matter what the subject is.”

In addition to these works, Martinez is also the author of Creature Features, a how-to-draw book with an alien/sci-fi/monster theme that was recently reviewed here at FM. An avid fan of monsters his entire life, he was more than willing to take on the project when Impact Books approached him with the idea. Determined to keep the process fun, Martinez developed his own teaching style in order to teach student artists in a simple and effective way while not talking down to them or coming across as bland. The result: Creature Features.

“I have loved monsters my whole life. Godzilla, The Wolfman, Clash of the Titans, and of course I got my fix from Famous Monsters of Filmland. I gained a respect for the different types of monsters and what they meant to our culture. Mythic Creatures for instance are very different than monsters like Frankenstein they played a different roll and I wanted to teach that.”

Finally, we asked Mr. Martinez what advice he could give to aspiring artists and he responded with the following:

“1) Patience. This is by far the most needed virtue any artist can have. It takes a long time to record a good year of success, business-wise, as an artist. You have to let your art grow and mature with everything you will learn on the way. Patience will keep you from getting frustrated and help keep you focused on your goals.

2) Be nice to everyone. You never know who you will meet, or who someone is related to. You’ll gain social skills as you go, and learn hotw to network, but from the start you have to be cool to people. People remember that stuff.

3) Believe in yourself. If you don’t nobody will. Simple as that.

4) Dedication. People ask me what one thing do you need to have if you don’t have the first three elements I listed? The answer is dedication. This is an extremely competitive business, and you have to be ready to sacrifice everything for it. That might sound like a lot, but if you LOVE making art, there really is no sacrifice you need to make. If you really want it, it has to be your priority in your life.”

If you have an interest in Randy Martinez’s art, you will be happy to hear of several upcoming releases including his work. February Topps Trading Cards is releasing Star Wars Galaxy Series five, a huge set in which Martinez will have 19+ cards, two of which are in the New Visions Section, two are in “The Best of Star Wars past” section, and fifteen FOIL chase cards will feature his art and signature! Then, in the spring of 2010 his new book, Sketch Card Mania, is being released by Impact Books! Once again we here at FM thank Randy Martinez for his time and advice and wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors. For more information head on over to his site here.

To purchase Randy Martinez’s art, including how to obtain original artwork, visit ArtInsights Animation and Film Art Gallery.