Computer Arts Gallery: August 2008

Vicente Tigre
Location Florida
Job Graphic designer
Contact www.visuallab.org
Software Photoshop, Illustrator

Originally from Brazil, Vicente's international career has certainly flavoured his work. After three years with Garagem - a design studio he co-founded directly after university - he felt he needed some new influences, and took a big decision: to start all over again. Since then, he has worked in Germany and Amsterdam, and currently enjoys a day job as a brand designer in Florida while also running his freelance studio.

Club 11 A piece from a series designed for Club 11 in Amsterdam. "I made them while working for 178 Aardige Ontwerpers in the Netherlands. The concept was to transform each club night into a scenario illustrating each DJ and the performers, according to the featured night. There are a lot of 3D elements in here."

Graham Jones
Location Lancashire
Job Graphic designer
Contact gman_design@btconnect.com
Software Photoshop, Illustrator

After spending five years designing for a Manchester design group, Graham took the leap to becoming a solo freelance artist in 2005, and has worked for a variety of lifestyle-related clients. These include Cherry Cherry Clothing, DJ Gaz Donning and most recently the music/art/design label The Lab - though he says his work isn't restricted to lifestyle brands: "I'll tackle anything!" Graham also finds time to be an associate lecturer in graphic design at Manchester Metropolitan University and City College Manchester.

Interval - From One to Another Exhibition materials, a flyer/invite and a leaflet for a recent exhibition opening in Manchester. "It has multimedia artists using dual screens in their pieces, so the design represents this duality." The leaflet was printed on an old litho machine in dayglo Pantone 812.

Zena Santos
Location Sydney
Job Student
Contact zena_santos@optusnet.com.au
Software Photoshop, Illustrator

"I'm so addicted to what I do that sometimes I can't sleep, so I get out of bed and sketch for a bit so I can get to sleep," enthuses Zena. The 18-year-old is currently studying at the Billy Blue School of Graphic Arts, and describes her work as either spontaneous or semi-spontaneous. "I'm inspired by anything and everything, but I do have a partiality towards Japanese and oriental art and design, as well as art nouveau." She's also undertaking work experience at Watermark Ltd in Sydney - "a very exciting experience".

Bubble Gum Landscape "You could say this was inspired by boredom… I made no initial sketches. Most of the elements were made in Illustrator, with Adjustment Layer additions in Photoshop."

Kyle Bean
Location Brighton
Job Student
Contact www.kylebean.co.uk
Software Photoshop, After Effects, Flash

"I'm not an animation student, but I truly believe that the moving image is the way forward for many illustrators and designers," says Kyle. "You only have to walk into the London Underground to see how technology is influencing the way we can communicate messages." The 21-year-old studies illustration at Brighton University, but his recent interest in both traditional stop-motion and digital techniques has led to experiments with Brighton-based company Kanoti to produce a Flash animation for the BBC.

Machine ident A personal project, partly inspired by steampunk: "I wanted to create a short animation where the word 'machine' is designed to look and move like a machine itself. The model was made up of a combination of cardboard and car parts found at a scrap yard."

Bechira Sorin
Location Timisoara, Romania
Job Graphic designer/art director
Contact http://bechira.com
Software Photoshop, Illustrator

"I always try to experiment and to work in every field of visual communication: matte painting, VFX, graphic design, multimedia design and combining the traditional techniques with digital ones," Bechira explains. The Romanian native has a fulltime position as art director of X3 Studios, dealing with digital branding and interactive media, but also enjoys experimenting with typography and 3D techniques, with the latter in particular winning multiple awards from various websites.

Dreamworld One of a series of similar abstract works produced in Illustrator. As the title implies, this was inspired by Bechira's dreams, full of colour and forms.

Brian Thomas
Location New York
Job Freelance designer
Contact http://notmargarine.com
Software Photoshop, InDesign

A native of California and a recent graduate of the Art Center College of Design, Brian has just made the move to New York to pursue his career. His work mixes stylish photography and typography, garnering him commissions to create identity and website designs for clients as varied as Yoshi's Restaurant, photographer Patrick Judabong and - oddly enough - NASA. He has also produced several art books as personal pieces, and lists optical illusions, city lights, magic and woodwind instruments among his inspirations.

Venice Inspired by the basketball courts of Venice Beach in California, Venice exploits the similarities between street ball and performance art, exposing the city's prominence in cultural diversity.

Andrei Robu
Location Bucharest
Job Designer
Contact www.andreirobu.com
Software Adobe Creative Suite

"My ambition is to be free. I need time to find the perfect forms. You need to freestyle," says Andrei. Describing himself as a 26-year-old multidisciplinary designer, he earns his crust as a partner in Acme, a design office in Bucharest. His artistic career began, however, as a street and tattoo artist, which in turn led to a BA in Graphic Design: "I've been doing this for a long time now… over seven years. I have the privilege of working with the best clients out there. I love custom jobs and clients that trust you."

Each of his designs begins as a traditional sketch using pencils, watercolours, pens and so on before he moves onto the computer. And his influences? "I read around 400 RSS feeds daily."

Sinboy "Sinboy is actually a real person, a street artist friend of mine. I think this work succeeds because of the colours… people love colours."

Kamolplat Mattawannaruj
Location Bangkok, Thailand
Job Graphic designer/illustrator
Contact www.ounoun.com
Software Photoshop, Illustrator

A graphic designer with an advertising agency dealing mainly with commercial media, Kamolplat has his eye set on more creatively rewarding pursuits. "My routine job is quite boring, which is why I have to find a way to relax and free my soul," he explains. "And that's illustration… basically, I just love drawing."

Nearly all of his illustrations begin as spontaneous sketches: "I grab a pen and draw from my feelings at that moment - I like first impressions. I can explore from my sketch book, using the computer as a tool to develop a different way of designing."

The Eye A poster for an exhibition at Reflections Night Gallery in Bangkok, called 9 Installation Rooms, which featured several of Kamolplat's illustrations. "Most of my work depends on the feelings and atmosphere surrounding me at that moment. Look up to the sky, take a deep breath and enjoy life!"

Özlem Özgen
Location Ankara, Turkey
Job Designer/illustrator
Contact www.souloff.com
Software Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash

It's been a twisting road so far in terms of Özlem's career. Although she studied cinema and television at university, she found herself more and more attracted to illustration, and shortly after graduation decided to follow her passion for design as a permanent career.

"I've been freelancing under the name Souloff for about two years now, with clients mostly in the clothing/fashion and music industries," she says. Her mainstays are Photoshop, Illustrator and Flash in various combinations, though she has also been experimenting with handwriting and scribbling.

She says her main source of inspiration is music. "Ninety-nine per cent of the time, I'm listening to music while I'm working. I'm influenced by anything that has soul. For me, it's something more than a job. As the lyrics say, 'It's a spiritual thing, a body thing, a soul thing.'"

Bad "This is a poster I made for myself, using Flash for the drawing and Photoshop for the composition and colouring with brushes. My works' general form depends on my mood and the final product sometimes surprises me."

Eli Horn
Location Vancouver
Job Graphic designer
Contact www.arecraft.net
Software Adobe Creative Suite

Eli says he's living as an artist, working as a designer and web developer, but starving nonetheless. Although addicted to digital art, he's trying to wean himself away from the computer to pursue his art and furniture interests, to avoid becoming stuck in one frame of mind. "One of the most important things I have learned is that the computer is a great tool, nothing more," he explains. "It should be approached only after the mind, the pencil, and then a bunch of other minds have had their way."

In God We Trust "This explores the disturbing unity between the church, the state and a citizen's wellbeing. An experiment stylistically, the challenge was creating balance throughout all the elements."