Daniel Dociu is a renowned art director currently active in the videogame industry. He received his Masters Degree in Industrial Design from the Fine Arts Academy in Cluj, Romania, and served as the art director and character designer on Secret of Evermore. He was also the art director on Shadow Madness, developed by Crave Games. In 2003, he served as art director for Guild Wars: Prophecies and Guild Wars: Factions and is an active contributing art director to the Guild Wars franchise.
In a 2007 interview, he explained his process in the following way:
You have to get yourself genuinely charged emotionally and/or intellectually, depending on how you are wired, regarding your subject. You need to take a stance and have the urge to share. Manifesting that position through direct, raw forms of expression you will find yourself 'stylistically.' In my opinion, technique should be an extension of your thought processes and sensibility... What I mean is that it should be a natural fit that best serves your own communication needs. Mechanically learning and adopting someone else's technique usually leads to a partial match at best. It's the reason I find tutorials and how-to books and workshops of limited relevance. They are an insight into another mind's thinking patterns, where connections, choices and creative decisions happen differently. Exposure to as many other ideas as possible is important, but it is just as important to filter what resonates and works for the way you are wired.
