Computer Arts Gallery: December 2007

MIIKA KUMPULAINEN
LOCATION Helsinki
JOB Graphic designer
CONTACT www.kumppari.fi
SOFTWARE FreeHand, Illustrator and Photoshop

Miika is a 25-year-old graphic designer from Helsinki, Finland. He completed an advertising and graphic design diploma at the Finnish Institute of Marketing in April 2007 and also did a three-year course in printing at the Helsinki City College of Technology. "Originally I became interested in graphic design from closely observing my father at work - drawing logos and executing design projects," he recalls.

Miika says that what really inspires him is seeing the work of designers and illustrators from around the world. With his own creations he prefers to keep things simple, without sacrificing attention to detail.

A MIND OF A MAN This illustration was created for a theatrical act called 'Man'. It was part of a school project Miika did while studying at the Finnish Institute of Marketing.

MIIKA KUMPULAINEN
LOCATION Helsinki
JOB Graphic designer
CONTACT www.kumppari.fi
SOFTWARE FreeHand, Illustrator and Photoshop

Miika is a 25-year-old graphic designer from Helsinki, Finland. He completed an advertising and graphic design diploma at the Finnish Institute of Marketing in April 2007 and also did a three-year course in printing at the Helsinki City College of Technology. "Originally I became interested in graphic design from closely observing my father at work - drawing logos and executing design projects," he recalls.

Miika says that what really inspires him is seeing the work of designers and illustrators from around the world. With his own creations he prefers to keep things simple, without sacrificing attention to detail.

TAMER OF THE MEDIUMS A character design and series of illustrations created for the portfolio exhibition of the graduating graphic design students of the Finnish Institute of Marketing in 2007.

KATIE EDWARDS
LOCATION London
JOB Illustrator
CONTACT www.ktedwards.co.uk
SOFTWARE Photoshop and Illustrator

To produce her illustrations, Katie first uses Photoshop to edit and isolate photographs. Then, using traditional photographic techniques and silkscreen printing, she combines them with collage, Photoshop manipulation and hand- or computer-drawn imagery. She says her work is "largely influenced by the animal world and often has a humorous outcome".

The illustrations shown here focus on photographic representation, what images symbolise and their use metaphorically. "I often isolate images and place them in unusual compositions to represent new ideas," she says.

DUMB AND DUMBER In this piece Katie playfully explores how donkey are associated with stupidity.

KATIE EDWARDS
LOCATION London
JOB Illustrator
CONTACT www.ktedwards.co.uk
SOFTWARE Photoshop and Illustrator

To produce her illustrations, Katie first uses Photoshop to edit and isolate photographs. Then, using traditional photographic techniques and silkscreen printing, she combines them with collage, Photoshop manipulation and hand- or computer-drawn imagery. She says her work is "largely influenced by the animal world and often has a humorous outcome".

The illustrations shown here focus on photographic representation, what images symbolise and their use metaphorically. "I often isolate images and place them in unusual compositions to represent new ideas," she says.

TOY DOG Here Katie experiments with scale and the combination of images to represent new ideas.

DELPHINE ETTINGER
LOCATION New York
JOB Designer
CONTACT www.ashes57.com
SOFTWARE Illustrator and Photoshop

Delphine left her job at a London design firm in June 2004 and headed to the US. She spent the long winter nights doing line drawings and vector graphics for her own art projects until the illustrator and graphic designer Shepard Fairey, also known as Obey, called her to work with him in Los Angeles. She took a three-day bus ride to Hollywood and didn't leave until her tourist visa expired.

During the summer of 2005 she worked with Obey in Los Angeles on graphics for the magazine SWINDLE and Obey's book. She also helped with the art production for various art exhibitions. She now works as a designer for Cool'eh Magazine in New York.

LADY SOVEREIGN "I used mostly Illustrator CS2 to make this illustration and scanned up some spray to finish the details. I got in contact with Lady Sovereign's manager to draw her portrait after my friend did some beats for her new album."

DELPHINE ETTINGER
LOCATION New York
JOB Designer
CONTACT www.ashes57.com
SOFTWARE Illustrator and Photoshop

Delphine left her job at a London design firm in June 2004 and headed to the US. She spent the long winter nights doing line drawings and vector graphics for her own art projects until the illustrator and graphic designer Shepard Fairey, also known as Obey, called her to work with him in Los Angeles. She took a three-day bus ride to Hollywood and didn't leave until her tourist visa expired.

During the summer of 2005 she worked with Obey in Los Angeles on graphics for the magazine SWINDLE and Obey's book. She also helped with the art production for various art exhibitions. She now works as a designer for Cool'eh Magazine in New York.

SODOWNTOWN "I drew this illustration by hand with a black water paint Sharpie. The drawing is about the downtown scene in New York - if you look at it closely, you can read your own story."

MORGAN O'BRIEN
LOCATION Galway
JOB Freelance artist
CONTACT www.everyonesname.deviantart.com
SOFTWARE Photoshop, Flash and 3ds Max

If Morgan casts his mind back to when he was five years old, he remembers drawing, watching Saturday morning cartoons, and playing with Lego: "I realised then and there that life was perfect." And now? "Looking around my studio, I realise not much has changed since I was five."

After training as an animator for three years at the Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology, Morgan decided to specialise in children's illustration and design. Since then he's been working on his own children's books, as well as freelance design projects. "Down the road I hope to work further in animation, film, fine art, design and comics," he says.

His influences include Charles M Schulz, Bill Watterson, golden-era Disney films and nature.

FIRE-BALL "This reflects two sides of my personality: 'cautious and protective' and 'confident-creative'. I wanted to create a simple, vibrant image, with a slight 3D quality, using 2D characters and a blank background, almost like an animation still."

BECKY COYLE
LOCATION London
JOB Freelance illustrator; print and web designer
CONTACT www.quous.co.uk
SOFTWARE Creative Suite 3

Becky says, "After graduating this year from the New Media degree at University College for the Creative Arts, I have become fascinated with pushing my self-directed designs into an area that allows the division between more 'traditional' design and 'new media' design to merge." She applies inspiration from art history and traditional print ethics to areas of design found typically on screen.

MAGNOLIA "A redesign of the film poster inspired by the geometric yet abstract forms of an Islamic tiled floor from the 1300s. I used the interconnecting design to represent the intertwined relationships of the film's characters using Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop."

PATRICK AULETTO
LOCATION New Jersey
JOB Graphic designer
CONTACT www.patrickauletto. com
SOFTWARE Photoshop and Illustrator

Patrick Auletto says his works are inspired by the gritty surface below pop culture. His creations have been published in several magazines, including Juxtapoz and Layers Magazine. He's also exhibited his work in his native New Jersey.

Patrick won the Michael Liddy Award for Achievement in Illustration and Design in June 2006 .He is currently working in advertising. This isn't where he wants to be, but pays the bills while he develops his reputation. "I'm still young and I'm still growing in my art," he says.

FULL CIRCLE "With this piece I thought about why I wanted to be an artist in the first place and started looking at some of my old sketchbooks. Then I came across my old tattoo flash and decided to take some of my old work and apply some of my new digital techniques to it, to give it new life. I decided to just let loose and bring some graffiti elements of my youth to my current professional level."

PATRICK AULETTO
LOCATION New Jersey
JOB Graphic designer
CONTACT www.patrickauletto.com
SOFTWARE Photoshop and Illustrator

Patrick Auletto says his works are inspired by the gritty surface below pop culture. His creations have been published in several magazines, including Juxtapoz and Layers Magazine. He's also exhibited his work in his native New Jersey.

Patrick won the Michael Liddy Award for Achievement in Illustration and Design in June 2006 .He is currently working in advertising. This isn't where he wants to be, but pays the bills while he develops his reputation. "I'm still young and I'm still growing in my art," he says.

SOUND CHECK "A somewhat humorous piece depicting a gramophone with a plant coming out of it that wouldn't look out of place in a Tim Burton movie. The predominant colour is purple and it is very layered on top of yellow and brown colours. It is striking in its simplicity, yet the shading adds a complexity that makes it stand out more then a mere painting."