Margaret Falk - Illustration and Other Art

I am a 2022 graduate from Utah Valley University where I earned a Bachelor's Degree in Art and Design, an AAS degree in Illustration, and an AS degree of Science.

This page includes some of my favorite pieces I've done over the course of my academic career, some studies I've done, personal pieces, sculptures, mosaics, and other pieces of art that I am proud of.

Many of these pieces, and even some that aren't here, can be found on my Instagram page. My Instagram page also serves as a sort of art journal, where I share what I'm working on and what I'm learning:

@falk. margaret

Two Steps From Hell Project

One day, I'd like to be a concept artist or matte painter for video games, movies, TV, animation, comic books, etc. I've had this idea for a while now: Concept art is all about mood. It isn't really detail oriented, it's there to basically get a mood or, you know, a concept or idea across. Another good tool for setting a mood is music. Music is powerful and can help set a tone for any number of situations. My favorite type of music to listen to, especially while I'm doing art, is instrumental pieces, or movies scores, specifically produced by a group called Two Steps From Hell. They make a lot of instrumental music for video games, movies, trailers, etc. and their music does a fantastic job of setting a mood. They have produced over ten albums of epic scores and whenever I listen to their music, I feel inspired.

This will be an ongoing project that I will be working on for a while. My idea is to focus on a few specific albums produced by Two Steps From Hell, and create a piece of concept/narrative art for each song that is on the album based on the mood and tone that I feel while I'm listening to it. Although their songs usually do not have lyrics, they still tell a story. And I want to explore the stories that these songs are telling and interpret them in my own visual style by painting some kind of character design, or environment design, or scene that is inspired by the sound, mood, and tone of the songs.

Here's what I have so far:

This piece is inspired by the song All's Hell that Ends Well, which is the first track on the Two Steps From Hell: Skyworld album. This is the process video of the painting paired with the song that inspired it.

This piece is inspired by the song Titan Dream, which is the second track on the Two Steps From Hell: Skyworld album. This is the process video of the painting paired with the song that inspired it.

This piece is inspired by the song Victory, which is the Third track on the Two Steps From Hell: Battlecry album. This is the process video of the painting paired with the song that inspired it.

These pieces are inspired by the song, Skyworld, which is the third track on the Two Steps From Hell: Skyworld album.

I don't have the process video for this one because my iPad didn't record it. But I did two different versions of it. I liked the daytime version so much that I also did a nighttime version as well, and I think I like that one more than the first one I did.

These pieces are inspired by the song, Secret Melody, which is the eleventh track on the Two Steps From Hell: Unleashed album.

This piece is inspired by the song, Blizzard, which is the nineteenth track on the Two Steps From Hell: Skyworld album. This is the process video of the painting paired with the song that inspired it.

This piece is inspired by the song, Red Tower, which is the eighth track on the Two Steps From Hell: Battlecry album. This is the process video of the painting paired with the song that inspired it.

This piece is inspired by the song, Starfall, which is the fifth track on the Two Steps From Hell: Classics, Vol. II album. This is the process video of the painting paired with the song that inspired it.

This piece is inspired by the song, Love & Loss, which is the fifth track on the Two Steps From Hell: Arcghangel album. It is one of their shorter songs, but when I listen to it, it feels like there's a really big story that the music is trying to tell. So this one is a two part-er. This is the process video of the painting paired with the song that inspired it.

This is Pt. II to Love & Loss, which is the fifth track on the Two Steps From Hell: Archangel album.

This piece is inspired by the song, Icarus, which is the thirteenth track on the Two Steps From Hell: Skyworld album. This is the process video of the painting paired with the song that inspired it.

This piece is inspired by the song, Dark Ages, which is the eleventh track on the Two Steps from Hell: Skyworld album. This song feels really big and like there is a bigger world/story to explore. So this one will probably come in a few parts. But for now, this is Pt. I.

This piece is inspired by the song, Dark Ages, which is the eleventh track on the Two Steps from Hell: Skyworld album. I still feel like I can get some mileage out of this song, so this is Pt. II.

This piece is inspired by the song, Dark Ages, which is the eleventh track on the Two Steps from Hell: Skyworld album. I decided to work on my metal rendering skills, peppered in with some portrait practice. This is Pt. III.

This piece is inspired by the song, Stormkeeper, which is the second track on the Two Steps from Hell: Battlecry album.

This piece is inspired by the song, Final Days of Rome, which is the 12th track on the Two Steps from Hell: Unleashed album.

I've got a few works-in-progress for my Two Steps From Hell project. They have plenty of albums and dozens of songs to choose from that inspire me. I'm just getting started. There's more to come...

Figure, Light, Color, Screengrab Studies

I recently went on a trip to Paris in January of 2023 and saw some of the most famous art in the world. Here are a few studies I did of some pieces found in the Louvre, Musée d'Orsay, Musée de l'Armée, and the Tomb of Napoleon I.

I think that Arcane is one of the most beautifully animated pieces of media I've ever seen. The art is absolutely stunning. Every frame looks like it was masterfully painted. It's inspiring and I love everything about it. One day, I hope to work for a company like Fortiche because the stuff they produce is world-class. These are a few studies I've done of some screengrabs from the show. I want to be able to emulate the style, lighting, and color that the artists who produced the show used. One day, I hope to be one of them.

Portraits

Concept Pieces

I included these illustrations in the application for a job posting at Netflix. I thought they turned out really good, so I wanted to include them here, too.

Various Commission Pieces

A few sketches from my time at the LDS Motion Picture Studio.

Graphite, Charcoal, Ink, and Oil Sketches

Traditional Animation

Other Art

Dragon sculpture made out of wire.

Modular sculpture made out of plywood and passages from one of my favorite books.

This is a 24”x18.5” mosaic I made of George Floyd consisting of over 5,000 scavenged .22 brass bullet casings. I’ve never done anything like this before. The art itself might not be very good, but In light of recent events, I wanted to make something that had meaning as a tribute to George Floyd and the black community; to show I am not being silent or complacent in all of this. There’s not a lot that I can do by myself, but I want people to know that I believe that Black Lives Matter.

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