Fuchsia
wanted to be this guy who talked bad to women. The violent guy… My mother wanted me to earn some real money. So I became a lawyer.”
Having lost his job as a lawyer, he turned to teaching law for a year, banking enough cash to make a proper go at art. He used his savings to practise using Photoshop, 3ds Max and Flash. “I learned how to script in Flash. It was very trendy 10 years ago. I did websites in Flash animation, Flash scripting and sent it to a big company. I was hired two days after.”
An early love of caricatures
Talented as he is, Serge didn’t pick up Flash and miraculously start banging out animation off the bat. He’s been into art since his mum bought him Jean Mulatier’s book of caricatures when he was eight. “I met Jean a few years ago. Every time I went to Paris I saw him. He visited every exhibition I did and was the kindest person in the universe, curious about everything.”
A few years after Jean’s book came Hajime Sorayama. “He’s the most important guy in my development. When I saw his work I said, ‘Okay, I want to learn how to do that. Even if I need 20 years, I’m going to learn how to make an airbrush create those shiny things’.”
Dean Yeagle, Playboy art director and creator of the ditzy blonde pin-up character Mandy, was another influence. “He became the first guy to really aid me, help me in my career. He tried to find me contacts at Playboy in the US. He said, ‘If you need something, I’ll always be there.’ He did the foreword for my art book, Corpus Delicti.”
Aside from working in games, Serge has made a bustling side-line in teaching. This image means a lot to Serge – but he won’t say why… “This was the first time I painted Fuchsia, one of my favourite models. I saw some of her photos on deviantART for the first time and I really liked the fact she didn’t look like the models we’re used to seeing on the internet. Her face is unique and difficult to draw. I did a lot of pictures of her after this one.
“The meaning of this picture isn’t very clear and I don’t really want to explain it. It’s a very personal image. I tried to work like I used to do with my old traditional airbrush and once again I was influenced by my master, Hajime Sorayama. It features a lot of different reflective materials – it was quite challenging. The pig wasn’t easy, either.
“I think I spent over 60 hours on the painting. But I’m still really happy with this one. It’s not perfect and I can see a lot of mistakes now. But this picture is like an old friend to me.”
Even if it takes me 20 years, I’m going to learn how to create those shiny things