Five years in the marines seems like a stifling place for a creative, but Tyrus Goshay also isn’t your typical CG artist. This game design artist is juggling the challenges of working and running a household of five kids but he found some time to let us interview him. Can we get an oorah?
Digital-Tutors: Thanks for talking with us! You came and toured through our office and met the Digital-Tutors team a while back, how was that?
Tyrus Goshay: Ahhhh that was a great experience. I was able to meet the entire team.They took me to lunch in OKC and it was the only place in the entire city where everyone wasn’t wearing a Thunder jersey. Being a Miami Heat fan, it allowed room for constant chuckling. The Digital-Tutors team was a group of amazing guys and gals. Here I am hanging out with the very people I learned most of my training from, and these guys were all very cool and laid back. I immediately told them that the site doesn’t pay proper homage to the atmosphere of family that you guys promote. I was very impressed and even more eager to work with Digital-Tutors in the future. If you were wondering why I responded to your email so quickly, you just received your answer.
Digital-Tutors: How did you first realize you had a niche for art?
Tyrus Goshay: My older brother was really the catalyst to my love for art. He would sit with me and draw for hours at a time. There was nothing else I would rather do than stay up all night on Fridays, and draw or create different types of craft until the sun came up. Until this very day, I hate to go to sleep. I always feel like I should be working or learning or worst case scenario watching TV.
Digital-Tutors: What made you want to decide to switch into the realm of teaching?
Tyrus Goshay: Initially, I needed a break from the design world. I also at the time was only really working as a 2D artist but my goal was to somehow learn 3D. I used Digital-Tutors and a few other resources to teach myself. I was offered a teaching position in a small town at a new college. I would drive 3 hours every other day to work, then drive home and study while completing my master’s degree. Teaching allowed me an opportunity to learn, and learn quickly.
Digital-Tutors: You're working on a series of illustrated books called the Adventures of Tuna. Tell us some more about that.
Tyrus Goshay: Well my daughter Lexy wrote a book when she was in elementary school. It was about a plant and the relationship she had with nature. After talking to her about it, I decided to come up with a series of stories based on our conversation. It’s a story about a little flower girl, and all of the struggles she goes through trying to find where she belongs. The irony is I hated this type of stuff before she came into my life. Now I’m a super softy these days. She ruined me...
I have been working on it, on and off for about 4 years. Working a full time job, taking care of a family and having up to 3 freelance/side jobs can sometimes force you to put your dreams on hold.
Digital-Tutors: Technology is always changing. How do you keep up?
Tyrus Goshay: I don’t sleep very much. “Large Ice coffee, Caramel light Ice please and thank you!” It seems that technology changes but technique and design are what matters most. Software comes and goes so I try not to marry too many new packages. I want to be a sharpshooter in a few packages like Photoshop, Maya and ZBrush. The rest I like to play with and see if they are going to stick around for a while.
Digital-Tutors: What’s your favorite piece of advice you give to your students?
Tyrus Goshay: You will only find success from a few things in the art field. The first is hard work and dedication. You have to put in the time and be ready to hear “No thank you” or “Thank you for applying but we will keep your application on file” but keep being persistent. Secondly, be thankful for the talent that has been given to you. The biggest mistake an artist can make is this--- trying to be exactly like someone else. You will always be a poor man’s version of that artist.
If you learn to cultivate your talents and focus on applying techniques to your ability, in the end you will be a lot less frustrated and more than likely a much better artist. Keep this in mind, no one in the world can do what you’ve been designed to do, so just focus on doing that and “success” will follow. This will help with the frustration of the destination. Wherever it is you want to go or whoever it is you want to be, this will help alleviate the pain and sleepless nights as an artist.
Digital-Tutors: What’s next?
Tyrus Goshay: I am currently working on a few titles that will be released later this year or early next year for my full-time position and I plan on doing more tutorials this year for Digital-Tutors, I’ll continue to teach online classes and on ground classes when I can and finally get to work on those books, in theory.
Digital-Tutors: Anything else you would like to share before we leave?
Tyrus Goshay: I just want to thank the people at Digital-Tutors for making all of these great tutorials accessible to the average artist, and allowing me to work alongside some of the greatest digital artists around. Also keep in mind: being an artist is not who you are, it’s what you do. At the end of all the work and frustration, the only thing that matters is who you are as a man/woman and the decisions you’ve made in life. You are not a sum of your career, it is just what you do to get by; it is not life. Never forget to have fun with your art.
Digital-Tutors: Once again thanks so much Tyrus.
View more of his work on his
website and keep up with Tyrus by following his
blog. Also don’t forget to watch his tutorial on
Illustrating a Vintage Horror Film Poster in Photoshop and ZBrush.
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