{"id":822926,"date":"2026-07-25T12:30:24","date_gmt":"2026-07-25T12:30:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/822926\/"},"modified":"2026-07-25T12:30:24","modified_gmt":"2026-07-25T12:30:24","slug":"how-street-fashion-photography-inspired-this-video-game-concept-artists-character-designs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/822926\/","title":{"rendered":"How street fashion photography inspired this video game concept artist’s character designs"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pavel Hristov is a freelance concept artist with several years of experience in the game sector. His work often uses characters as a medium for worldbuilding and storytelling, rather than purely focusing on their visual impact.<\/p>\n

We caught up with him as part of our series of interviews with digital artists<\/a>. to learn more about his inspirations and how he progressed his career.<\/p>\n

You might also want to see out character art tips<\/a>, and if you need to build your own art setup, you’ll need one of the best drawing tablets<\/a> or the best laptops for drawing.<\/a><\/p>\n

Latest Videos FromCreative Bloq<\/p>\n

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A quick concept of a nomadic hunter as an exploration in how to present a character on a single sheet with a bit more context (Image credit: Pavel Hristov)Outside of art, has most influenced your work?<\/p>\n

This may sound odd, but street fashion photography had quite the impact on me very early on. Especially Japanese magazines. I always enjoyed seeing photos of random people just being themselves, especially before the age of social media. <\/p>\n

There was no real artificiality to it, so to speak. It\u2019s that feeling that I often try to capture with character design, like you took a snapshot of a random person, rather than presenting an idealised or exaggerated version of them. <\/p>\n

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One of the artist’s many portrait sets. “I always mix things up with these, and they vary a lot in style and execution,” Pavel says (Image credit: Pavel Hristov)Is making a living as a digital artist all you thought it would be? <\/p>\n

Honestly, I never really planned on making a living out of it. I was studying something completely different before I stumbled on my first job, so I didn\u2019t have any real idea or expectation of what it\u2019s supposed to be. All of it was a bit of a surprise to me. <\/p>\n

In some ways, it\u2019s better than I could\u2019ve imagined. You get to work with some of your favourite artists and get paid to design silly goblins or whatever. That\u2019s crazy. But it\u2019s still a job. There’s l ots of tedious administrative work, and being a freelancer is more challenging than I could\u2019ve ever imagined. <\/p>\n

But I love doing what I do and hope I can continue doing it for years to come. <\/p>\n

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An apostle of the so-called One Religion. Part of a bigger personal project about space exploration called Beyond the Void (Image credit: Pavel Hristov)What advice would you give to your younger self to aid you on the way? <\/p>\n

Study the fundamentals! But, knowing myself, I wouldn\u2019t have listened. Also, don\u2019t get lazy when things are going good, because it sets you up for failure later on. It\u2019s very easy to get comfortable on a project\/job and neglect your studies, thinking you \u2018made it\u2019. <\/p>\n

You always need to push yourself forward. Especially as a freelancer, where the market is so competitive and oversaturated with amazing people, who can sometimes have decades of experience more than you. <\/p>\n

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A design built around the idea of a world where demons pupate like insects and leave empty husks behind (Image credit: Pavel Hristov)Has digital art changed since you\u2019ve been working in it? <\/p>\n

As a medium, it\u2019s more accessible than it\u2019s ever been, and there are endless resources to learn from nowadays, which is fantastic. But the emergence of things like generative AI, the algorithmic changes to social media, and just the way some companies treat artists really makes it hard to have digital art as a pursuit. <\/p>\n

However, there are also more ways than ever for digital artists to make a living out of it, especially by making their own independent stuff \u2013 whether that\u2019s educational content or personal projects. So it\u2019s honestly been a mixed bag. <\/p>\n

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“Dragons are used to harvest their mana. Their eggs are infertile as a result. One miraculously hatches and imprints on the first person it sees,” Pavel says of this piece (Image credit: Pavel Hristov)What is your next step in art or life?<\/p>\n

Who knows\u2026 I would love to maybe expand my skill set a bit beyond just character concepts. Animation seems quite interesting at the moment, but also so daunting. <\/p>\n

Honestly, I just want to continue designing characters and get better at it, that\u2019s the immediate goal. There\u2019s always so much to learn. <\/p>\n

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You can see more of Pavel\u2019s work on his ArtStation profile<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared in ImagineFX. Subscribe to ImagineFX<\/a> to never miss an issue. Print and digital subscriptions are available.<\/p>\n

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