Sebastian Gromann is a freelance Concept Designer working in the entertainment industry currently living in Berlin, Germany.
Portfolio: www.sebastiangromann.com
Art Station: http://www.artstation.com/artist/SebastianGromann
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sebastian.gromann
Educational background: Mostly Self-taught, later at University of Applied Sciences (HTW), Berlin, Germany. (Majored in Game Design (BA), March 2015)
Number of years in industry: 3+
Shipped titles/ Projects worked on: A few “AAA” game projects with KARAKTER Design Studio, but sadly they are still under NDA
Current portfolio examples:
WHAT’S THE MOST IMPORTANT PIECE(S) OF ADVICE YOU CAN OFFER STUDENTS THAT YOU WISH THEY HAD TOLD YOU IN ART SCHOOL?
One important thing I frequently remind myself of is to balance my creative workday and my social life. I, for instance, love to play sports in order to keep absorbing new influences. It seems like a strange comparison at first but since our creative passion is totally driven by heavy thinking, there needs to be an element that requires different abilities to keep things balanced. So, playing sports (like soccer) is so valuable to me, because I get to focus on cognitive demands and prevent myself from getting creatively stagnated.
ASSUMING THAT THERE ARE NO SPACE-TIME PARADOX’S INVOLVED… IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME 10 YEARS (KNOWING WHAT YOU KNOW NOW), WHAT WOULD YOU TELL YOUR YOUNGER SELF TO DO DIFFERENTLY IN YOUR CAREER AS AN ARTIST?
“Do not doubt, man!“ – Especially in the beginning of my creative path I wasn’t even sure if working hard would be enough to break into the industry and If I would be able to make a living from being an artist. As cheesy as it sounds, even if my heart said “for sure“ loudly, my mind still was like “nah, probably not“. I guess a lot of aspiring artists can relate to that state of mind. Looking back and following the paths of my colleagues I can easily say that doubt should have been out of place.
If you are passionate about something, then nothing should be able to hold you back or keep you from archiving your goals. Do not waste your time doubting yourself- even if things don’t go the way you carefully planed. Taking different, or unexpected roads is what shapes us as artists and you should focus your energy on positive thoughts and use it. Everything will work out as long as you constantly work hard on your passion.
AS AN ARTIST, WHAT DOES “SUCCESS” MEAN TO YOU?
Success is the result of archiving your personal goals. Therefore, each artist has his or her own definition of success. Some might rank it based on the level of appreciation for what they do, for others success might be based on materialistic things like income. What drives me creating art is to create and explore new, exiting visuals. The purpose is sharing these works, discussing it with comrades and contributing them to a final product. So for me personally “appreciation” is the one attribute that shapes my level of success the most.
All images used with permission by the artist. ©Sebastian Gromann
