Luis Guggenberger

INTUITION/IMAGINATION

How does intuition present itself to you – in form of a suspicious impression, a spontaneous visualisation or whatever - maybe in dreams?

Intuition is the feeling when you hit the ball and you know it’s going to be a goal.

Will any ideas be written down immediately and archived?

Either I write it down and lose it

or don’t write it down and forget it.

I only remember ideas I sketched or modelled.

Ideas I spent time with.

?: How do you come up with good or extraordinary ideas?

Not sure I had any extraordinary ideas so far. A good mix of experience, research, experimentation - or simply time spent on finding the best solution.

?: Do you feel that new creative ideas come as a whole or do you get like a little seed of inspiration that evolves into something else and has to be realized by endless trials and errors in form of constant developments up until the final result?

Creativity goes weird ways, which I can’t put into a logical structure. I’ve seen both ways successful. A little seed that evolves happens more often.

What if there is a deadline, but no intuition? Does the first fuel the latter maybe?

Tight deadlines mean no time for experimentation nor research. This usually results in something very predictable. I fall back on solutions used in the past, since there is no time to come up with anything new. I don’t need deadlines as a form of motivation.

INSPIRATION

What inspires you and how do you stimulate this special form of imaginativeness?

Pictures, stories, memories in the first place, but also discussions and exchanges with other beings - humans mostly. Science, Philosophy, Physics, Nature - everything adds to the library in our head which we use to compute ideas.

?: How do you filter between ideas worthwhile pursuing and bad ones that you just let go of?

Designing is a constant yes-no-game. Every move excludes all other possibilities. If you don’t want to be trapped in an endless stroke-undo-cycle, you need a vision and stick to it until a lucky accident results in an even better vision - which you again stick to.

Has it to appeal to you primarily or is its commercial potential an essential factor?

My professional work has to appeal to my client in the first place which equals more often than not commercial potential. My career was driven by appealing to an audience, which I still really enjoy.

My personal work is something else. I rarely publish it and there is no commercial intention.

Do you revisit old ideas or check what colleagues/competitors are up to at times?

I revisit old ideas now and then if they remained interesting. I check what colleagues/competitors are up to occasionally, but I’m not an active follower on any platform.

CREATIVITY

Which time/place/environment suits your creative work process the best (tranquillity or pressure) and which path do you take from theory/idea to creation?

Any time/place/environment results in different ideas. In theory the best would be to go through all different states of mind, gather and pick the best idea. Being tired or fresh, exercising or being lazy on the couch - it all generates different ideas for the better or worse. Finding a solution happens often very unexpectedly throughout the day and not necessarily always “on the toilet”.

Once I have an idea in mind, I usually start building it straight away in 3D. I used to sketch in 2D, but nowadays I feel confident enough to skip this step. I use SideFx Houdini mostly.

What is better in the realization process: speed and force creativity i.e. grasp the magic of the moment, or a slow, ripening process for implementation/elaboration?

My job is all about adaptivity. Depending on the time/budget/tone/team speed and force or a slow process can be better. If you join the project late and most of the budget is already burned on a slow process that leads nowhere, you are better off trying bold fast ideas.

?: Do you have any specific strategies you use when you are feeling stuck creatively?

I talk about it with other artists. By explaining the problem to someone else I tend to realise what the solution is. Whenever I feel disoriented while working I take a step back, do research and try to self-reflect whether I’m still on the right path.

How important are self-doubt and criticism (by others) during such a process i.e. is it better to be creative on your own, only trust your own instincts, or in a team? 

I guess it depends on your goal. If you are aiming to satisfy a broader audience it makes sense to listen to other opinions. I like to know other people's thoughts. It helps to get a new perspective on your work. In the end it’s still up to me to incorporate the feedback or not.

Should a creative always remain true to him-/herself including taking risks & going against the flow or must one, for reasons of (commercial) survival, make concessions to the demands of the market, the wishes of clients and the audience’s expectations?

Concept Art works differently to other creative fields. It is a means to create a (commercial) product. It’s never about me and my art - it’s about the director's and production designer’s vision of the film, which I try to visualise as best as I can. It occasionally happens that they are struggling with a sequence of the film and ask for suggestions. In this case I search for asolution that works for the film and most importantly hits the right tone.

?: How is innovation still possible if one has established a distinctive style and, just in case, is it good to be ahead of one’s time even one hazards not being understood?

Having a distinctive style doesn’t mean you stop developing. There will always be an improvement even if you paint the same subject hundreds of times.

When does the time come to end the creative process, to be content and set the final result free - or is it work-in-progress with an endless possibility of improvement?

For whatever reason the process stops and the work is done (running out of time/motivation, believing it’s finished). Whether it was the right moment, time will tell. 'Star Wars' was never finished for George Lucas. It was only 20% right for him. Most people will agree that the film is a 100% masterpiece.

?: In case of failure or - worse - a creativity crisis how do you get out of such a hole?

Like Beppo the road sweeper “step - breath - sweep”.

SUCCESS

?: “Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm.“ Do you agree with Winston Churchill’s quote?

Every successful concept artist I know has spent years of hard work and dedication into his profession. Churchill would have been a great concept artist for sure. Failing is also more addictive than winning, this naturally pushes one towards success.

?: Should/can one resist the temptation to recycle a ‘formula’ one’s successful with?

If there is not much time on projects I have to recycle, but I naturally grow tired of doing the same thing over and over again. There is no temptation to recycle - it’s the other way around for me.

?: Is it desirable to create the ultimate/timeless work, but doesn’t “top of the ladder” bring up the question of “what’s next?” i.e. isn’t such a personal peak “the end”?

I try my best and fail. A personal peak is reached when you stop trying.

MY FAVORITE WORK:

This shot/vfx design was probably my most impactful work so far and was the only time I worked directly with ('Star Wars: The Last Jedi'-director) Rian Johnson . I think the way it turned out in the cinema was spectacular. A good example of sound and visuals in perfect harmony.