Computer Arts Gallery: April 2009

Julian James
Location Nottingham
Job Illustrator
Contact www.whyisbox.com
Software Illustrator, Photoshop

There are many strings to this self-taught illustrator's bow, not least the gift of the gab. "I taught myself the basics of Photoshop and Illustrator (in between bar owning, DJing, promoting, producing and freelancing). Then, a couple of years ago, I got a lucky break and managed to blag a senior design job," he says. "I learned most of the technical aspects of the job on the fly - and through asking other talented designers loads of questions! I love jumping in at the deep end; it's definitely the best way to learn."

Julian's fearless attitude to progress combined with his creative curiosity and love of experimentalism makes him an exciting illustration prospect. While he admits his work is always personal, there's still no guessing which direction it will take: "I guess it's inevitable that a little bit of your personality will end up in your work, but I don't set out to follow any particular route. I just get over-excited and want to try new things, so I guess my 'style' will look completely different next week, or month, or year... I expect it will still have an element of evil in it though."

See the evil genius at work on his webmag NewSugar.

Lol Lolly "This picture was part of a set that I did for Freeq magazine," Julian explains. "The theme was 'The Great British Summer'. I think this is one of my favourite pieces... Yet I can't help but add a dark undertone to my otherwise cutesy work. It's my inner evil [coming out]."

Julian James
Location Nottingham
Job Illustrator
Contact www.whyisbox.com
Software Illustrator, Photoshop

There are many strings to this self-taught illustrator's bow, not least the gift of the gab. "I taught myself the basics of Photoshop and Illustrator (in between bar owning, DJing, promoting, producing and freelancing). Then, a couple of years ago, I got a lucky break and managed to blag a senior design job," he says. "I learned most of the technical aspects of the job on the fly - and through asking other talented designers loads of questions! I love jumping in at the deep end; it's definitely the best way to learn."

Julian's fearless attitude to progress combined with his creative curiosity and love of experimentalism makes him an exciting illustration prospect. While he admits his work is always personal, there's still no guessing which direction it will take: "I guess it's inevitable that a little bit of your personality will end up in your work, but I don't set out to follow any particular route. I just get over-excited and want to try new things, so I guess my 'style' will look completely different next week, or month, or year... I expect it will still have an element of evil in it though."

See the evil genius at work on his webmag NewSugar.

Ziggi Starbucks "In pursuit of that illusive record deal," Julian says of the theme behind this self-commissioned print. "This was probably me, once upon a time!"

Ria Dastidar
Location London
Job Illustrator
Contact www.uberpup.net
Software Photoshop, Illustrator, Painter

Working under the alias Uberpup, Ria Dastidar's passion for pop culture leaps from her collaged, vector-heavy illustrations. "I tend to mix everything up, then infuse it with colour and, hopefully, a bit of chaos," she says. "My style's developed through continual experimentation. I just try to make things that feel right and are attractive."

Following her foundation course at Central St Martins, Ria took an educational detour via a London School of Economics law course, "but I've always made sure that I was working on design ideas in my spare time. And I've been working hard to turn it into my career," she says. Ria has taken her first steps towards this goal with the launch of her site, Uberpup. "I want to establish a couple of character brands, like a Paul Frank or, dare I say, Hello Kitty," says Ria of her hopes for the future. "It'll require a lot of hard work, but I'm going to give it a good go and see what happens."

Shangrila This piece is one of a series of personal images that Ria created for her portfolio in 2008. "I'm interested in creating my own environments through collage. This was based on the idea of living on a floating island paradise!"

Sam Pierpoint
Location Staffordshire
Job Illustrator
Contact www.sampierpoint.com
Software Photoshop, Illustrator

A recent graduate of Nottingham Trent University, Sam Pierpoint trashes her studio in the name of art. "I have great fun doing what I do," she says. "I love to create depth and naivety within my illustrations. If this means creating a mess in my studio and building 3D castles, or making work out of sweets - and then eating them - I'm game!"

Not one for rules, Sam uses pattern, a brash colour palette and layer upon layer of multicoloured papers to bring her work to life, and it's already been inviting interest from potential music industry clients: "Music is something I'm highly influenced by and it's a really interesting field to illustrate in as you have total freedom at your fingertips."

Crazy Town Sam embarked on this personal project in an effort to broaden her illustration style: "By introducing the 3D element it's definitely given me more span on what I can achieve in an image."

Matt Needle
Location Cardiff
Job Illustrator/graphic designer
Contact www.mattneedle.co.uk
Software Adobe CS3

Freelance designer and illustrator Matt left his hometown of Banbury, Oxfordshire, to take up his studies in graphic design at Newport's University of Wales. Spinning client-brief plates as aptly as those of his course requirements, Matt's clean combination of montage and interesting typography has been snapped up by clients as diverse as Clash magazine, Chelsea Flower Show 2008 and Hugo Boss. And it doesn't end there, as Matt reveals: "I'm currently working on launching my own magazine, Genero, which I hope to launch in May, and which will feature emerging talent from within all fields of creativity."

Contemporary Gent This piece was produced by Matt as part of the Young Creative Network's 2008 YCN Live brief. Through the design, Matt says, he is "creating a campaign for asos.com, aiming to attract more custom to their online store".

Matt Needle
Location Cardiff
Job Illustrator/graphic designer
Contact www.mattneedle.co.uk
Software Adobe CS3

Freelance designer and illustrator Matt left his hometown of Banbury, Oxfordshire, to take up his studies in graphic design at Newport's University of Wales. Spinning client-brief plates as aptly as those of his course requirements, Matt's clean combination of montage and interesting typography has been snapped up by clients as diverse as Clash magazine, Chelsea Flower Show 2008 and Hugo Boss. And it doesn't end there, as Matt reveals: "I'm currently working on launching my own magazine, Genero, which I hope to launch in May, and which will feature emerging talent from within all fields of creativity."

Modern Man 'Modern Man' was a second piece in Matt's YCN Live series. "Each piece had a different colour scheme and various interchangeable components, but overall the style was uniform."

Neil Evan
Location Cardiff, Wales
Job Illustrator/animator
Contact www.neilevan.com
Software Photoshop, Illustrator, Painter

Investing his self-taught illustration skills in a Digital Design and Animation degree at the Glamorgan Centre of Art and Design enabled Neil to launch a two-pronged creative assault upon graduation. In addition to making short films, Neil illustrates his own series of characters, The Bahoobahs. "They're an ongoing series that came about from a desire to explore new avenues using different approaches and styles," says Neil.

Currently, Neil's freelancing in Australia where he's just wrapped on a promo for Qantas. And after that? "I'll head back to the UK in May and start work on animated short The Mill."

Moody Blues Along with 'Om', Neil's 'Moody Blues' marks a different approach to his illustrative work. "I thought it would be a healthy exercise!" he explains. "I hand-sketch them at quite a large scale, say A3, then scan them and start rendering them in Illustrator, Painter and Photoshop."

Neil Evan
Location Cardiff, Wales
Job Illustrator/animator
Contact www.neilevan.com
Software Photoshop, Illustrator, Painter

Investing his self-taught illustration skills in a Digital Design and Animation degree at the Glamorgan Centre of Art and Design enabled Neil to launch a two-pronged creative assault upon graduation. In addition to making short films, Neil illustrates his own series of characters, The Bahoobahs. "They're an ongoing series that came about from a desire to explore new avenues using different approaches and styles," says Neil.

Currently, Neil's freelancing in Australia where he's just wrapped on a promo for Qantas. And after that? "I'll head back to the UK in May and start work on animated short The Mill."

Om "'Om' and 'Moody Blues' are takes on people that I've encountered, but The Bahoobahs have no singular theme as such; they're an interpretation of things that I experience in my life," says Neil.

Sophie Varela
Location Paris
Job Illustrator
Contact www.sophievarela.com
Software Photoshop

The spirit of the world's most romantic city pumps through the work of Sophie Varela, a freelance illustrator who is Paris born and bred. "I'm captivated by the beauty of the women I use as an inspiration source," says Sophie of her illustrations, which have appeared in magazines across the globe, including UCE Life, Damsel and Bianco, as well as fulfilled briefs for a variety of music and fashion clients.

While embracing modern creative methods in her masters degree in art and multimedia, Sophie's strong attachment to traditional techniques and materials, particularly watercolour and pencil, enables her to blend the classic and the progressive as part of what she sees as the 21st century's very own design-led artistic renaissance.

The Devil is a Dandy "For this editorial collaboration, I chose to work on the ornamental/graphical orchid," says Sophie. "The dandy doesn't offer an orchid to a woman - the declaration becomes too sensual. Temptation and seduction are the devil's weapons."

Mike Lai
Location Vancouver, Canada
Job Graphic designer/illustrator
Contact www.mikeylikeydesign.com
Software Photoshop, Illustrator

With his breadth of passion for modern culture, freelance designer and illustrator Mike could have embraced any number of professional avenues - but he knew that design was his calling. "Prior to entering the Design Essentials programme at Emily Carr University, I had finished my bachelor degree, majoring in English literature, at the University of British Columbia," Mike explains of the background that led him to design. "I'm classically trained in the piano and the tenor saxophone. My passion has always been art and music, and as soon as I developed a better understanding of what graphic design was really about, the more I felt that it was a natural transition for me."

Once in a Dream "I wanted to capture the surreal quality of dreams," Mike says of this piece. To do this, he worked in Photoshop and Illustrator, scanning in sketches before tracing and colouring them, and creating Photoshop brushes from everything from flowers and trees to clouds.