Exploring Creativity, Entrepreneurship, and AI Debates with a Concept Artist

I’ve had the pleasure of talking to Matvei Lisitsa, a promising concept artist and talented graphic designer, with hands-on experience in the film industry, creative agencies and entrepreneurship. Through our engaging conversation, Matvei unveiled his unique journey to becoming a concept artist and shared his perspectives on creativity, the wellsprings of his inspiration, and how modern technologies like artificial intelligence are shaping—and sometimes shaking—the realms of art and design.

Matvei, share with us your path towards embarking on a career as a concept artist.

Starting from early childhood, I have been keen on drawing and painting and have shown certain artistic abilities. Later on, I graduated from a prestigious college majoring in design. However, due to initially engaging in business with my brother and later developing my own retail business, I didn’t work in any specialized design fields for a long time. Still, attending to the design needs in the projects I was involved with allowed me to significantly hone my design skills.

A few years ago I joined a large creative design agency and created storyboards for advertisements, various visuals, billboards, interfaces for promotional websites, icons, and did a lot of routine work. Although being a designer in a creative agency has never been my dream, I accepted the offer as they reached out to me via LinkedIn, and that was an intriguing new experience.

Then, my story with concept art began to unfold. A friend of mine went to study in Florida and met a guy who was studying film directing there and was engaged in a film project. Their team was looking for a concept artist at the time, and so my friend recommended me. They reached out, saying they needed someone to draw a location and characters for an upcoming movie, provided a formal description and script, and I took on the task. I drew the concepts, and everyone liked it.

At that moment, it felt like a new aspect of myself had been unlocked, as dreams of venturing into filmmaking had always been harbored since childhood. Somehow, the realm of concept art had passed me by, and when I discovered it, it was a bit upsetting that it took me so long to get there. And so, a voracious search for information began.

When a field is entirely new, you can either learn it from scratch by yourself or go to a professional to learn. As a concept artist, you need to know a lot about films, different camera angles, frame composition, types of camera lenses, color, and light. Basically, all the film-related stuff, in addition to artistic skills, because you have to draw or create 3D models.

In my case, it seemed more appropriate to turn to a professional, as it's an extremely vast topic. I enrolled in courses by Jama Jurabaev, who had collaborated with Disney, Lucasfilm, Steven Spielberg, and Guy Ritchie. Essentially, all the necessary fundamentals were covered in these courses and I also completed my first pilot project there. Later on, I was offered a job as a concept artist at the Hemlock project by DNA Studio, a mystical thriller in a Japanese setting.

Meanwhile, I began creating some designs for my portfolio. For instance, there was this concept art contest called Mission to Minerva. Although my works didn’t win, they made it to the final showreel featuring the best artworks chosen from nearly 32,000 participants from 174 countries (my works are shown starting from 1:49).

For another contest, I developed concept art called Swan Lake. When I was 14-15 years old, my mom and I went to a theater to see the ballet Swan Lake, and somehow imagined how cool it would be to make a movie to this music. Now, this thought found its embodiment in the concept art, for which I received a special mention from the jury.

The American project I'm currently involved in thanks to my friend's recommendation, “Rain and Max Saga” by Synergetic Media Development, is in the pre-production stage and, if things go well, is meant to be a franchise. I've already done quite a lot for this project, regardless of its future fate: created full-fledged concepts of key locations, character sketches, and some simple stylistic concepts, as the idea is to have a “90s-like” style.

Actually, it all started as a collaboration with Stan Lee in his later years. When they told me this, I couldn’t believe it at first. But quick googling has shown that this was true. It's very inspiring!

Why did you choose concept art as your main direction?

Well, because it's a blend of a creative approach and the cinematic, entertaining aspect. As a concept artist, I need to be an independent unit artistically, and a well-versed individual. If you bluntly recreate things already done in other projects, it might be received oddly. To avoid crafting clichéd narratives, you need broad exposure, extending beyond just movies.

Even in many films, you'll find numerous references to classical paintings embedded in frame compositions, or outright reproductions of famous paintings, albeit in different attire or locations. Fashion, in terms of key photoshoots for magazines, along with celebrities and mass media, closely interlinks with painting, fashion, and movies since music videos often take cues from cinematography.

So, you need to understand all these facets. All these elements inspire me, hence I probably chose this direction, intertwining various art forms. Whereas before I'd watch a movie and merely feel inspired, now I watch and notice—this technique, that camera angle, this special effect, that lighting. This adds an extra advantage, as you're not merely procrastinating while watching a movie, but extracting something useful for your work.

In addition to your creative pursuits, you also ventured into entrepreneurship. Can you share a couple of insights you gained from this experience?

The company I founded with my brother is called StickArt. We specialize in creating custom interactive portraits. The process goes like this: a client contacts us, sends a photo they want to be turned into a portrait, and our artists redesign it into an interactive format. Once approved, the portrait goes into production. What the client receives is not a finished portrait, but a canvas with a sketch, which they can then paint themselves using the set of paint included.

When all this began, I was still in college, around 18 years old. My brother was exploring business ideas at the time and proposed this venture. I was responsible for the creative aspect of the project; for instance, I devised how we would draw the sketches, what tools to use, and how to technically implement all of it. My brother handled general management and marketing. Our business picked up fairly quickly, and I was deeply involved for about two to three years. Once the processes were streamlined, my involvement lessened.

From a business standpoint, we were quite successful. People really enjoyed this format, and we had a good number of clients. The portraits were popular as gifts for weddings, birthdays, and so forth. However, to be honest, I didn't perceive it as a creative endeavor. It was more of a mass product. So, after a few years, I started to feel bogged down in routine, lacking a sense of tangible fulfillment, and began seeking something new.

That’s when I realized the importance of avoiding a stagnant state. Whenever you feel you’ve outgrown something or it no longer brings you joy, it’s crucial not to fear letting go and seeking what intrigues you, where you can continue to grow.

In my case, it took quite a bit of time. I started developing my own business, unrelated to creative work, and acquired many new skills—negotiating with clients, suppliers, marketing, and so on. This helped me grow both personally and professionally. I concluded that it’s beneficial to try new things, even if they seem daunting, as that’s how you can accelerate your development. You begin to realize that everything that seemed unattainable is actually achievable and realizable.

What are your primary sources of inspiration?

Many things inspire me, but ever since childhood, I've had a fondness for movies and music, along with drawing. Among these, cinematography has been the most inspiring as it transports me to a different world. Movies can spark visual ideas or concepts within me.

For instance, I was very taken with Damien Chazelle's La La Land. It's essentially a classic musical adapted to modern realities, with a message to ponder. I love the visuals in this movie. I've been fascinated by Los Angeles since childhood, and in La La Land, it's depicted precisely as I feel it myself. This resonated with me, and I have good memories of watching it at a premiere in New York.

Early contemporary art like Impressionism or Pop Art, especially Andy Warhol's works, also inspire me. Sometimes, I appreciate what our contemporaries create, but selectively. Unlike earlier times when Pop Art or Malevich's Black Square captured attention and gained value due to their unique approach, nowadays, there's so much created that it's hard to surprise anyone.

I also draw inspiration from the fashion industry and mass media stories. I like keeping up with celebrities, though I do it less now due to time constraints. Previously, I keenly followed music videos, the ideas therein, and contemporary agendas. Because what's showcased in videos and movies often results from focus group analyses determining current trends. By following this, you stay in the loop.

In one of your interviews, you mentioned, "A designer is not someone who creates beautiful visuals, but rather, someone who solves a client's business task." How do you strike a balance between commercial interests and self-realization?

I believe the most useful skill every designer and commercial artist should master is switching off their ego. Creative individuals often wish to infuse their own vision into their work. It happens quite often that a person receives a task, conceives something unique, falls in love with the idea, but at the moment you present it to the client, they might not share your enthusiasm. Even if you are guided by your knowledge of good design principles, it doesn't always resonate—clients often have their own vision. Or, if we talk about design agencies, it’s common for creative director to fall in love with their own ideas and, consequently, they might not appreciate yours.

Initially, this caused me a lot of emotional turmoil—I mean, when I created and proposed something, and it wasn’t appreciated. But with experience, I've come to a point where I strive to do well, pay close attention to the client's request, and just add my touch. However, if the client expresses disapproval, I react calmly because if it's a commercial task, I set aside my ego. I understand that I'm not the creator of this product, nor will I live with it; I merely strive to do my part well. And if there are any criticisms, I don’t take them personally, but understand it as a work-related expense.

Certainly, there are designers and artists who are highly recognized, and clients may approach them saying, "We need your vision." But that’s more the exception. Every creative individual, while working on commercial projects, invariably faces these constraints.

A good example is the animated film Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. When the project was still in pre-production, concept artist Alberto Mielgo was invited as the art director and given quite a lot of freedom. He came up with his own stylistic approach, somewhat dark, to make it a more mature story. However, as I understood, Sony's producers weren’t thrilled with this concept since they wanted a balance of this explosive new style while targeting a teenage audience. In the end, they didn’t agree, and Mielgo left the project. He wrote about this on his Instagram.

This is to say, designers of any status encounter this issue. Therefore, it seems to me it's essential to realize the nature of the project you are working on. Because if you are creating something for yourself or your portfolio, you have the freedom to do as you wish, and the only person to reprimand you is yourself. But when working for a client, it’s better to set aside your ego at the moment and think about the opportunity to create something cool. Yes, it won’t be a hundred percent your creation, as most of the time it’s a collaborative effort, and you are just part of the team. Perhaps, that’s where the balance lies.

What do you think about current trends in art and design, such as the active adoption of AI?

Regarding artificial intelligence, there's a utopian and a dystopian way to view it. Given how people often have a knack for messing things up, I'm not entirely sold on the positive aspects of AI. This notion has been around for a while. We've had bots and various software integrations for a long time; it's just become a hot topic recently.

AI has indeed rocked the creative industry, sparking debates and discussions among artists and designers. Of course, there are certain fears. I try not to succumb to these fears. However, it's not the potential job loss due to AI that scares me most since humans generally adapt to changes quite well. For instance, there was a time when everything was drawn by hand, then photography and videography came along. Now, most things have transitioned to digital, yet there's still a demand for many artists, and technology hasn't fully replaced humans in the industry.

With AI, honestly, I fear that the artist's job could become very mundane and uninteresting. The essence of being an artist lies in the creative process itself. Yes, the final result is pleasing to the eye, but usually, that joy is fleeting. When it comes to artificial intelligence, the scary part is that it might rob people of this process. You write a prompt, hit a button, and it gives you the final result. It's cool, but you didn't do it; you didn’t go through the process, and didn't experience the joy of creating. Life is not just about the final result; it's about the process.

On the positive side, I'd be happy to use AI if everyone used it as an additional source of inspiration. It's foolish to argue that every artist gets inspired either by other artists or external materials. When they get an idea, the first thing they do is gather references. You go to Pinterest or Google and see what's out there on the topic. If artificial intelligence were perceived as a reference generator for a given topic, that would be a good use. For example, you ask it to show versions of future cities. It generates images, you add them to a folder, and you take something from there for inspiration.

I think it would be better not to rush with the active implementation of AI, or at least, I'd like the charms of the creative process to remain with humans. In the creative sphere, it's precisely what gives people the stimulus to work and somehow express themselves. Hence, I'm more skeptical than positive about AI for now.