Meet Ethan Salmon | Concept Artist and Illustrator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ethan Salmon and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ethan, have there been any changes in how you think about work-life balance?
Work / life balance has been a struggle for me ever since I started taking art more seriously, and started considering it as a career. I’ve gone through long stretches of constant, sometimes obsessive phases of practice and work, which are usually followed by an even longer break where I actively avoid everything art related or looking at a white canvas.

Part of my journey as an artist now has been trying to be more aware of these two sides of me. I’ve been listening to the voice in my head who needs to create something every day as just a suggestion, rather than a requirement. Sometimes I’d rather ‘create’ something else, like new memories exploring the world and doing things with my friends. I find the less I force art out of myself, the more room I have to take in all sorts of new experiences and inspiration in my life. Often this makes me want to run back and express that in my artwork anyways, and I’ve been happier for the time I spent living life rather than just drawing it!

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
For me, creating art has always been about telling meaningful stories. I think my personal style is rooted in a love for painting, but I’ll find ways to experiment if it enhances the story or emotion I’m trying to convey! For most of the professional art I create my goal is to solve a creative problem, where I’m finding ways to carry a narrative and emotion into a design that will impact the viewer. Often I try to look inwards and think about how I felt during a certain experience, and part of the joy of art is finding ways to communicate those feelings through what I’m creating!

Ever since I was a kid I remember being obsessed with Dragon Ball, Marvel Comics, and lots of video games! I used to create countless characters in World of Warcraft, just to run around and make up my own quests in the starting zones. Looking back, escaping into these fantasy worlds became my foundation for wanting to be a storyteller!

At the time of writing this, I currently work as a Concept Artist at Walt Disney Imagineering! Working in the theme park industry is something I never expected, but all my experience working towards games and animation has shown me that great storytelling carries across all mediums, and is truly what excites me!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I don’t know if I’ll have any LA recommendations that others haven’t shared already, but during my time over the past year in Orlando I’ve found some great spots! (that don’t require a theme park ticket)

My favorite restaurant is Susuru, some of the best ramen and food I’ve ever had. Plus it’s such a cozy interior with a feast for your eyes of things to draw! Just get ahead of the line, it starts to form before they even open!

East End Market is a wonderful all around place to chill, get a coffee, and people sketch! Loch Haven Park has a great collection of art museums, and then right by it are the Leu Gardens, which have been on my list for a while now to sketch at, take a slow walk through and enjoy time not staring at a screen!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I’ve had some incredible mentors and friends being part of the concept art community, so I have to shoutout Casey Nelson and Robert Atkins for being the best cheerleaders while I learned how to be an artist and a professional. They both offered so much guidance and time to help me see what was possible in myself, more than I even knew was there.

I felt extremely behind when I started as an artist at school, and my friends were unapologetic in inspiring me to keep going, and to always reach to be greater even when it seemed impossible. I couldn’t have asked for better peers to grow alongside and support me through all my worst moments, and to be there and celebrate all my best.

Website: https://www.ethansalmon.com/

Instagram: @salmon.sketch

Linkedin: Ethan Salmon

Twitter: @salmonsketches