Alluring dreamscapes, glowing orbs, and jellyfish in space. Welcome to Tithi Luadthong’s imagination.
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Tithi Luadthong‘s art, a mix of fantasy and sci-fi, challenges the imagination. In one illustration, an astronaut glides through space alongside glowing jellyfish. In another, two brothers scale a floating mountain. What does it all mean? The Thailand-based artist leaves that to his audience to decide—but, suffice it to say, he has some epic tales in mind when he sits down to work.
Here, Tithi answers our Share Your Colors questionnaire, revealing where he finds his inspiration, how he gets out of a creative rut, and more.
I started thinking of myself as an artist … about five or six years ago. Once I started selling stock, I realized that I could make art a career.
I’m drawn to fantasy because … it’s a relief from the stresses of real life. We’re faced with so many different problems every day. Drawing fantasy and surreal images helps me relax.
A good piece of fantasy … tells a story. I come up with stories for each of the scenes that I draw. Continuing the story is up to each viewer’s imagination.
My favorite Shutterstock image is … This one:
I first got the idea from the movie Interstellar and spent about two to three hours working on it. It depicts a boy rowing to another world. While traveling, he sees stars like this in the sky. I like photos with long exposure of stars because [the resulting star showers] can’t happen in real life. I also love stories about another place, another dimension, a parallel world, and our opposing sides.
My ideas come from … Pinterest, Artstation. I like to look at other artists who create work in a way that interests me. So many digital artists make amazing work; I’m always learning from them.
I’m inspired by colors like …
- green-purple
- orange-purple
- orange-blue
- black-blue
- green-red
I like complementary colors—one dark and the other light.
The colors that bring me joy are … blue and yellow. I like the night sky and the bright stars that fill it.
The color that captures my personality is … blue. It’s the color of the sky and the sea, and it represents peace, loyalty, calmness, and smoothness.
When I’m in a creative rut, I turn to … art books. I also like watching movies and playing video games. Often, when I find a scene that I like or inspires me, I take a screenshot or write it down in a notepad.
I work on my art … two-to-three hours a day. But when it comes to finding inspiration—watching movies, playing games, reading books, watching other artists’ works—I do that almost all day.
I work from … my apartment. Like every artist’s workspace, mine has books, figures as references, a notebook, tablets.
My advice to aspiring artists is to … do what you love to do and enjoy it. If you don’t get tired of doing it, you’ve found what you love.
Cover image via Tithi Luadthong.
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