Dylan Cole

For a very long time my idol in the realm of digital imagery has been Dylan Cole. Cole is a matte painter working out of the U.S and has done work on a large number of blockbuster films including Lord of the Rings, Avatar, Pirates of the Carribean and 2012.


Dylan Cole

I find Cole's work to be so inspiring. While matte painting is traditionally used as backing imagery for films, the still image presented in these instances can still show us so much. I often find myself staring at an image of Cole's, exploring the nuances of each image.

I love the idea of an image that makes me want to be there. I know this desire has fueled my interest in landscape photography, and it drives my interest in matte painting type work because I know that these locations dont really exist, but I often can't help but think how interesting it would be to see these places with my own eyes.

Cole has stated on many occasions that his primary influence for his style is the work of artists of the Hudson River School, primarily Albert Bierstadt and Frederic Edwin Church (Blog entires on these will follow, I highly respect the work of these artists)

Here are a few examples of Coles work