Josh Pierce
Los Angeles-based designer, Josh Pierce, produces incredibly realistic art with the main focus being 3D environment conceptualization. Through posting daily, with consistent quality, he has become one of the forerunners in this type of art and is one of the most recognizable people on Instagram. I have been following his artwork since early 2019, but he’s been making incredible artwork since well before then!
Josh, better known by his online pseudonym JPierce, was one of the breakthrough artists in the world of surreal 3D concept art, along with artists like Stuart Lippincott (Stuz0r), which has exploded in popularity in recent times. It’s hard to scroll on Instagram without seeing Josh’s work (either through his daily posts, or the hundreds of repost accounts that help spread his work across the website), and because of his mystical styling, it’s easily recognizable.
Image - https://yannikwenk.com/
Why does he inspire me?
Even though I am not really a video-game player much these days, I was an absolutely massive fan of the open-world genre. From The Witcher to Skyrim, to Zelda to Red Dead Redemption. All these games had absolutely fantastic, mystical, and almost infinitely explorable worlds. They gave me an eye for world design from a young age, and they’ve been a huge part of my design journey. Every single time Josh posts it feels like a screenshot from an open-world game, that you just can’t wait to explore! From magical forests to vast, vacant, alien planet landscapes. It's this wonderous imagination that allows Josh to come up with these concepts like it’s second nature.
The balance of creativity, consistency, and quality in Josh’s work is second to none. I’ve seen this throughout the time I’ve been following his work, and he nails it every time. Josh’s ideas don’t just come out of thin air though, he’s had years of practice, honing his 3D skills to create these mystical compositions. The amount of practice he’s had is clear to see when you watch his Youtube Tutorials and his time-lapses (links will be at the end of the interview!) He sculpts landscapes like it’s nothing, and has this incredible eye for interesting compositions many of us dream of.
Josh’s style ranges from minimal futuristic landscapes, all the way to painted style forests. It’s this range that helps Josh’s work appeal to a wide range of consumers and it makes sure that his work is never stale; this makes his Artstation and Instagram great places to find inspiration!
The Interview part
I was lucky enough to be able to ask Josh some questions about himself and his career. I hope that’ll give you a little bit of an insight into his life, personal and commercial as well as his design process. It’s not every day you get to interview an idol!
1. Who are you, and how did
you start your journey into the
world of design?
I began creating art as a child, I used to love cutting things out of paper and using scotch tape to build sculptures and little structures. I also loved clay sculptures, building models, painting, and drawing. I just loved the freedom they all gave me. Throughout my teenage years, I became really interested in music and started taking piano and saxophone lessons. I really enjoyed writing and playing music!
I studied computer Art in high school, then in 2001 enrolled in New Media Design at Rochester Institute of Technology. I studied Graphic Design, animation, 3D & 2D. I graduated in 2005, and in 2009 I received a Masters MFA from Savannah College of Art and Design in Broadcast Design and Animation. This was where I studied to become more focused on motion media design and animation. I’ve since been living in Los Angeles making my own personal art and working as a freelance designer and art director primarily for the NFL Network, as well as various other sports-related projects.
Image - https://www.joshpierce.net/
2. I know you’ve worked with some amazing brands and studios, could you give me some detail about your favorite project you’ve worked on?
For sure! I have in my professional career worked mostly in the Sports and Entertainment world, having spent the last 5 years with NFL Network. Prior to that, I worked in large scale stadium graphics for major sports teams and events including the super bowl, 76ers, and many more.
I’ve also created artwork for musicians, my favourite was the opportunity to work with Rodrigo y Gabriela on their Grammy-winning album Mettavolution, as well as their visuals for their tour. I’m also very proud of a personal passion piece of mine, in which I created the main title sequence for a tv series based on Brave New World.
3. Could you give some insight into
your creative process?
I almost never sketch anything! I like to use a lot of references from Pinterest, Art Of The Title, etc.. for inspiration! I use them when thinking about colour and composition, but they are also great at giving you a lot of information very quickly.
I always begin in Cinema 4D, and that's where I model and sculpt the layout of my scene. After this, I open Octane render and start texturing. I use After Effects to composite layers, Color Correct, and add flourishes (Fog textures especially!), then I use Topaz Studio to pump up the drama and stylization.
Image - https://www.joshpierce.net/home
4. What other activities do you enjoy besides Digital Design? Considering you do lots of Digital Landscape art, are you much of a photographer by chance?
Oh god, I’m a terrible photographer haha! But perhaps I just need more practice! Even so, I think cameras hate me. Even non-artistic friends of mine take better pics on their phones. Outside of my art, I love painting and sculpting. I’m intensely spiritual, and I meditate every day. I also enjoy running hiking and skating.
They are great activities to just get away from it all.
5. If you could, what advice would you give to your younger self?
Keep going! Don't be afraid to make mistakes and remember perfection does not exist.
Charlie speaking! As someone that constantly self criticizes my artwork, it’s always nice to hear that the best artists are the ones that make mistakes and get past them. Learning from them is the best thing you can do for yourself, and your artwork.
6. What piece of advice would you give to anyone wanting to improve their work and grow in the digital design world?
Practice every day. The real problem is people want to be good immediately because we live in a world that values instant results. No one realizes that every master needs to hit the 10,000-hour mark.
Image - https://www.joshpierce.net/
7. Do you have any big designs in the works or anything that excites you
about the future of your career?
At this moment I’m just looking to survive the pandemic, here in the US it’s still pretty bad!
I would like to continue expanding my store over the next year or so, and keep adding new artworks to it!
https://www.joshpierce.net/
8. Where do you get your inspiration for projects? Who inspires you!
I love Miyazaki and Beeple. I get inspiration from lots of photographers especially Ryan Resatka who is a friend of mine!
https://www.instagram.com/hayaomiyazaki/
https://www.instagram.com/beeple_crap/
Highly recommend you check out these two if you haven’t checked them out already! Although at this point I think most people have seen Beeple!
Image - https://www.joshpierce.net/
9. I initially followed your work due to the incredible Cinema 4D work you produce,
and it’s only gotten better! Are there any other programs you’d like
to try out for your design work?
I would really love to learn Zbrush, but I haven't had the chance to yet.
I’d also love to try using Substance Painter and Substance Designer. Houdini is also another one. If I only had 5 lifetimes.
https://www.joshpierce.net/
10. For the people who will read this interview, what are your social media links for people to follow your future work?
Thanks for the interview! Here are my links below!
https://www.instagram.com/_jpierce/
https://www.artstation.com/jpierce
https://society6.com/jpierce_artprints
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6_x3t9xt8w_BRssDV4pi6A
Charlie here: Just wanted to say thank you to Josh for doing this. If you haven’t seen his work before, I urge you to go check it out! He was one of the people who inspired me to pursue 3D design, has he inspired you to check it out?
