Keya Mehta

I am a concept artist, working in the gaming industry for 8 years. I am specialized in character and background design.

Telling the Story Behind Every Character

What initiated you into art and design and how did you shape your journey since then?

Keya Mahata: I started my journey when I was 12. My brother pushed me a lot to explore my creativity. After that, I went to a Fine Arts college where I did a 4-year graduation course in Applied Arts. There I explored drawing, oil color, and digital painting. After finishing my graduation, I started my journey in gaming as a concept artist.

Can you tell us about your game art projects, clients and the process itself?

Keya Mahata: I have worked for Zynga games, Aristocrat games, Googi games, Dragon war games, and Ubisoft games.

I am more into character designing. I can do realistic, semi-realistic and cartoon style as well. My key strength is my colouring style.

What are your trademark skills or styles that commonly find expression across your work and how do you practically achieve them?

Keya Mahata: I am more into character designing. I can do realistic, semi-realistic, and cartoon styles as well. My key strength is my coloring style. First I create a mood board, then start exploring for drawing before going into coloring.

What are the similarities and differences you find between illustrating caricatures and designing game characters?

Keya Mahata: In caricatures, I have to focus more on the character’s facial expressions and their overall features. But with game characters, I have to explore their entire story to be able to design them.

An illustration of a man carrying a milk jug

I am more into character designing. I can do realistic, semi-realistic, and cartoon styles as well. My key strength is my coloring style.

What is your main aim or context when starting out a new project and giving it direction?

Keya Mahata: When starting a new project, I want to give 100 % of my skill in designing and coloring, where people can relate to it.

What are your personal influences and inspirations that you consciously try to display in the final result?

Keya Mahata: I love the paintings of Karla Ortiz, Jason Seiler, Tianhua Xu. They are my favorite artists. So I always want to achieve quality like them.

An illustration of an indian woman draped in beautiful red fabric

Which tools and mediums do you most prefer to work with and why?

Keya Mahata: Most of the time I prefer Photoshop for work.

Can you highlight some memorable project or client experiences you’ve had?

Keya Mahata: Mafia War was a memorable project. The client highly appreciated my work.

What do you feel are the current trends in the art world and how do you view them?

Keya Mahata: In the current world, people are exploring the digital world very well. But my point of view is that our first priority should be the art part. Technical aspects should be our second part. If we are good at our art skills, we can explore with any software.