The Amazing Spider-Man 2: Interview to Scott Lukowski (concept artist)

We present an exclusive interview to Scott Lukovski, concept artist who worked on some key scenes in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 as the fight sequenze in Times Square between Electro and Spider-Man.

Hi Scott, thank you for accepting our interview. Before all can you tell something about yourself?
I have a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Design and have been working as a film concept artist for a number of years alongside a variety of talented artists, production designers and directors. Usually my job is to help develop the visual aspect of a project before anything is created for filming purposes. Sometimes I’m brought on to a project in its nascent phase to create key imagery which will assist in pitching the film to the studio. Before I began my career as a concept artist, I spent some time working in the miniature visual effects unit. During this time I was a part of a team tasked with creating numerous in front of camera elements, vehicle and characters in various scales. Between these two roles I’ve been lucky enough to be a part of some amazingly talented teams on projects such as Titanic, Transformers, Alice In Wonderland, Terminator, Charlie Wilson’s War, Watchmen as well as others.

How did you get involved with The Amazing Spider-man 2?
I was contacted during the early stages of The Amazing Spider-Man 2. This was before the project was greenlit. At this time initial concepts were developed to assist the approval of the story before pre-production could begin.

Did you work jointed with other artists?
When I was contacted I had a short window of available time in my schedule. Because of this I didn’t work in the offices of the art department but rather from my personal office where I was able to create what was needed via remote.

How much of your concepts were influenced by drawings and the pages of the Spider-Man comics? How much did you follow that inspiration and how much were you driven by your own?
My work on this project was influenced by both. I’ve been a lifelong fan of Spider-Man so it wouldn’t be true if I said I wasn’t influenced by the pages of the comics whether they were used as a direct reference or not. And as with every project I’m involved with, it’s inevitable that my own style will come out in whatever it is I’m tasked with.

Superhero movies usually create scenes with a more realistic than fictional cut, how does this effect your work?
I enjoy working on fictional projects that exist within a realistic setting. I love the challenge of creating a completely fabricated yet believable design that captures an imaginary character or tale. Not to say it’s any less of a challenge to design a completely fictional world. Both situations have their own unique design challenges.

Can you explain in detail how you work? Do you use specific technologies?
My creative process is continually evolving. There’s no one specific method I’ve found and have used as a foundation for my process, aside from what’s taught in school. The only constants I can say I’ve maintained over the years are that I try to study everything around me: The effects of light and shadow, how things are made and how they function as well as a general understanding of materials. I also continually experiment with different styles, techniques and technologies.
Almost all of my current work is digital so the hardware and software I use is important. I work off of a Windows 7 based PC with two 30″ monitors, a Wacom Intuos 4 tablet as well as a 21UX Cintique. And my primary software of choice is the latest version of Photoshop. Lately I have also been incorporating more 3D software into my process such as Maya, Modo and SketchUp.

Future projects?
I recently finished working on two films, the final chapters of The Hunger Games saga, Mockingjay Part 1 and Part 2.