Today we’d like to introduce you to Brynn Metheney.
Brynn, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
I specialize in creature design and visual development for entertainment. I was raised in Palmdale, California and took to drawing animals as a kid. I loved Disney animations and Chuck Jones cartoons and would trace and copy them in my notebooks. I actually wanted to be an animator as a kid.
When I saw Jurassic Park and Star Wars as a kid, I was hooked on creatures and knew I wanted to be involved somehow. I took a few art classes in high school and was eventually accepted to attend CCA where I studied illustration. I went to school full time and worked part-time as a waitress and TA. I graduated in winter of 2008 and got to work on finding work. I lived in the Bay Area for about ten years and worked mobile games, freelanced for various projects and worked customer service for a coffee company.
My first film job was a little out of the ordinary. In 2011, I worked for Luc Besson on Valerian where I designed a number of different alien species. That job came from out of the blue because they happened to see my work online and I didn’t get another film gig until 2013. Since then, I’ve worked on a variety of projects for a variety of different media. A few of my favorites projects and clients include: Dungeons and Dragons, Magic the Gathering, Sorry to Bother You, Scoob!, Men in Black International and Alien Zoo,
I currently live and work in Los Angeles, near Culver City. I have two chihuahuas and a cat who keep me company while I work.
We’d love to hear more about your art. What do you do and why and what do you hope others will take away from your work?
I specialize in creature design and visual development. I’m very interested in making believable and unique characters that feel plausible. I use a lot of anatomy knowledge and reference in my work and I’m constantly studying animals. I use pencil a lot in my work, especially in the development stage. I also use photoshop and procreate to paint digitally. I really want people to look at my work and appreciate where I’m pulling from. Planet earth is an amazing place and anything fantastic or make believe that I design is pulled from real animals and life forms here on our own planet.
Do current events, local or global, affect your work and what you are focused on?
Artists have always played a big role in social change on trends. I think the role of media is extremely important right now. People are consuming media at an insane rate! We need stories to carry us through complex problems and to expose us to different people, ideas and what is possible for us. My own work isn’t as direct or socially targeted but I do know that pushing for changes in the way we depict people and stories is important and I am always striving to support a more inclusive and conscious space in my workplace and teams I get to be a part of. We can be better and I have a lot of shortcomings myself but I am listening and trying.
My own work, being more influenced by nature, will hopefully inspire people to look at our own planet in such a way. I’m always pushing to point people back to my source material. I really would love to make work that points to how magnificent and unique life on our planet really is.
Do you have any events or exhibitions coming up? Where would one go to see more of your work? How can people support you and your artwork?
You can see my work on my website: brynnart.com. You can also follow me on Twitter: @Brynn_Metheney. And on Instagram: @brynnmetheney.
I also have a Patreon where I’m making a book about aliens and their daily lives in the cosmos. You can find that at patreon.com/OfTheFittest.
I also have an online store where you can buy my sketchbooks and other fun stuff! www.brynnart.com/store
Contact Info:
- Website: www.brynnart.com
- Instagram: instagram/BrynnMetheney
- Twitter: twitter.com/Brynn_Metheney
Image Credit:
Copyright Brynn Metheney
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