Portfolio: Phil Straub.(of Electronic Arts Inc.)(Brief article)

A professional digital artist for more than a decade, Phil Straub received his early training as a traditional oil and acrylic painter, also working in pastels, watercolors, and graphite, before turning to computer software. "My first job was working for the well-known children's book author Mercer Mayer. At the time I joined the studio, he was producing his books using Photoshop and Illustrator from scanned-in line work," he recalls. "I slowly began incorporating [those methods] into my own work, trying different techniques and applications. Now I work almost exclusively digitally--there's so much freedom."

Today, Straub is a concept art director at Electronic Arts, overseeing concept development across the studio. And, the flexibility the digital tools offer is ideal for illustration, concept art, and production art. In his spare time, Straub creates a wide range of art, which crosses genres--from merchandising, to wall murals, to clothing designs--yet his true love is working in the realm of ...