Computer Arts Gallery: December 2009

Sam Austin
Location Ashford, UK
Job Graphic designer
Contact www.samaustindesign.co.uk
Software Photoshop, Illustrator

A graphic designer/illustrator currently on a gap year between his BTEC National Diploma in Graphic Design and university, Sam Austin is taking this time to expand his skills in various software to help develop what he hopes will become an influential style.

"I love being able to create exciting portraits that express a mash-up of emotions through colour and lighting," says Austin. "I am currently looking to work with a design agency in London, and I am also working hard to redesign my website and update my portfolio with more exciting work in order to gain further recognition in the design field." It looks like if anyone is going to put paid to the suggestion that gap years are a waste of time, it's Sam Austin.

Circular Vision A personal project, combining work in Illustrator and Photoshop. "My portfolio lacked the use of vivid colours," says Austin, "so I really tried to emphasise them and make the piece as bold as possible."

Sam Austin
Location Ashford, UK
Job Graphic designer
Contact www.samaustindesign.co.uk
Software Photoshop, Illustrator

A graphic designer/illustrator currently on a gap year between his BTEC National Diploma in Graphic Design and university, Sam Austin is taking this time to expand his skills in various software to help develop what he hopes will become an influential style.

"I love being able to create exciting portraits that express a mash-up of emotions through colour and lighting," says Austin. "I am currently looking to work with a design agency in London, and I am also working hard to redesign my website and update my portfolio with more exciting work in order to gain further recognition in the design field." It looks like if anyone is going to put paid to the suggestion that gap years are a waste of time, it's Sam Austin.

Imagination Of his first piece created using his new Wacom Intuos tablet, Austin says, " I incorporated hand drawn elements into the composition. The model really stands out in the image and, overall, it's quite a quirky looking piece."

Michael Kosmicki
Location London
Job Graphic artist
Contact www.hellosubsist.com
Software Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop

Due to graduate from Central St Martins in 2010, Michael Kosmicki's skills for print, branding, typography and editorial design recently received a boost during a six-month placement at creative agency Tank Form, where he gained priceless studio experience of bringing his style to the aid of some of fashion's biggest names.

"De Stijl, the Polish School of Poster Art, Bauhaus and Suprematism have all been a great source of inspiration in my work, together with the little things in life," says the designer. It looks like fashion marketing and editorial are due a massive design shake-up.

Future Conditional "The piece was originally created as a part of my Foundation Course at London College of Communication," says Kosmicki. "It was inspired by Metalosis Maligna, a fictitious documentary by Floris Kaayk about a disabling disease which affects patients who have been fitted with medical implants. A wild metal growth ultimately transforms human patients into mechanical-looking constructions."

David Delin
Location Nantes, France
Job Graphic designer
Contact www.28162.com
Software Photoshop, Illustrator

Freelance designer David Delin, AKA 28162, draws inspiration from his daydreams, hip hop and the minutiae of everyday life for his surrealistic photographic manipulations. Delin views his illustrations as resulting from every facet of today's urban culture, combining modernity and elegance. "I receive many comments and e-mails from people telling me that in many of my creations there is a message," says the designer, "so I found the word 'urbano-émissaire' to describe myself."

This self-ascribed urban missionary isn't tackling the graphical representation of the modern condition alone, however. Recently he has been collaborating with photographer Igor Artetxe, and he's set to continue exploring surprising methods of grappling with the city as his subject.

Omega Code Delin's entry to the Omega Code design contest. "It has not been successful, but I am glad I did it," he admits. "I had a lot of positive feedback on this piece."

David Delin
Location Nantes, France
Job Graphic designer
Contact www.28162.com
Software Photoshop, Illustrator

Freelance designer David Delin, AKA 28162, draws inspiration from his daydreams, hip hop and the minutiae of everyday life for his surrealistic photographic manipulations. Delin views his illustrations as resulting from every facet of today's urban culture, combining modernity and elegance. "I receive many comments and e-mails from people telling me that in many of my creations there is a message," says the designer, "so I found the word 'urbano-émissaire' to describe myself."

This self-ascribed urban missionary isn't tackling the graphical representation of the modern condition alone, however. Recently he has been collaborating with photographer Igor Artetxe, and he's set to continue exploring surprising methods of grappling with the city as his subject.

Orient Express The result of putting his creative head together with Spanish photographer Igor Artexte, Delin really put his stamp on this piece through its rendering.

Jeff Osborne
Location London
Job Graphic designer
Contact www.behance.net/osbjef
Software Photoshop, Illustrator, CINEMA 4D

A designer who splits his skills professionally across 2D and 3D graphic design and retouching, Jeff Osborne has one particular creative claim to fame: he designed the British Gas flame character. How come? Osborne has been a major design player at advertising agency RAPP for 12 years now, and in that role has produced work for clients including not just British Gas, but Apple and the NSPCC.

"I have no training or degrees in design, but I have, in my mind, the hands and the talent that God has given me," says Osborne of his design background and stimulus. But it's not just during the 9-to-5 that his creative muscles are flexed: "In my spare time I like to create pieces for fun. I normally (like everyone else) start with an idea - maybe something somebody might say in the street or something that has happened in my life - then, armed with CINEMA 4D, Photoshop and Illustrator, I create until the piece feels right." You can check out more of Osborne's out-of-office work on his Behance profile page.

Milk Time "Dedicated to my dear children, who love their milk before bed," says Osborne of this personal piece, which was created with the help of CINEMA 4D and Photoshop.

David Hughes
Location London
Job Graphic designer
Contact www.parc-graphic.com
Software Photoshop, Illustrator, CINEMA 4D

Originally hailing from Sydney, designer David Hughes isn't someone who likes to stand still, physically or artistically: "In some ways I'm jealous of people who repeat themselves so consistently as to perfect a finished style, but I'm always in flux. Do one thing and then do it again; fail, rinse, repeat - you have to repeat yourself to make progress, I think. This is something I'm learning."

Hughes's process, however, is much more defined, and it informs his style. "It's based on the idea of three distinct stages and has developed quite organically over time," he explains. "The first step is always play - taking an idea or starting point and being open to accidents and subconscious inspiration; the second is about refinement, a more analytical look at what I have in front of me; the third stage is a kind of re-interpretation, a conscious decision to do something I didn't originally intend with a piece. This stage acts as a safety net against becoming too predictable."

Icarus This piece is one of a series of four compositions described by Hughes as being "based on some experiments in CINEMA 4D performed whilst flying too close to the sun."

David Hughes
Location London
Job Graphic designer
Contact www.parc-graphic.com
Software Photoshop, Illustrator, CINEMA 4D

Originally hailing from Sydney, designer David Hughes isn't someone who likes to stand still, physically or artistically: "In some ways I'm jealous of people who repeat themselves so consistently as to perfect a finished style, but I'm always in flux. Do one thing and then do it again; fail, rinse, repeat - you have to repeat yourself to make progress, I think. This is something I'm learning."

Hughes's process, however, is much more defined, and it informs his style. "It's based on the idea of three distinct stages and has developed quite organically over time," he explains. "The first step is always play - taking an idea or starting point and being open to accidents and subconscious inspiration; the second is about refinement, a more analytical look at what I have in front of me; the third stage is a kind of re-interpretation, a conscious decision to do something I didn't originally intend with a piece. This stage acts as a safety net against becoming too predictable."

Fink Silly string was the inspirational springboard for this self-initiated experimental type treatment.

César Evangelista Bautista
Location Mexico
Job Illustrator
Contact www.kamikace.com
Software Photoshop, Illustrator

César Evangelista Bautista, who works under the moniker Mr Kone, is no stranger to the big boys of the corporate world. Sony-BMG, Universal Music, Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, Adidas and Mini Cooper are just a handful of the clients that the 37-year-old creative has put out pixels for, and he's also worked on independent design projects for Nike and Vans.

But Mr Kone's character-heavy output is far from being solely client led. In 2006 he got together with two colleagues in the character design sphere - Eduardo 'El Escobas' Escobar and Julio 'El Valiente' Carrasco - to launch Ledy Ledy, a company specialising in the design and production of vinyl figures. "Since childhood I've liked cartoons," he says. "I always saw Betty Boop, Popeye and the Hanna-Barbera cartoons, and some Japanese series like Astro Boy. But mostly I liked the work of Max Fleischer and Walt Disney. In the end I think mine is a mixture of those styles. My characters have split personalities; there's good and bad, innocence and perversion, like Ying and Yang. I have two children - a boy and a girl - and they also inspire my characters."

And Mr Kone continues to spread the design love via lectures throughout Mexico, sharing his experiences of the design stage with those who are destined to follow him onto it.

Heavy Metal In February 2009, Mr Kone produced this poster and cover illustration for Mexican zine Scum of Mexico.

Eurico Sá Fernandes
Location Porto, Portugal
Job Graphic designer
Contact www.hieurico.com
Software Photoshop, InDesign

At just 18 years old, this driven design aficionado is not wasting any time in embarking on what he hopes will be a full and prosperous creative career. Fernandes has recently finished his graphic design course at Porto's Escola Art&iacutestica e Profissional Árvore, and already has two studio internships to his name, plus a solo exhibition, Tribute to Nouvelle Vague, at the Porto cultural space Maus Hábitos. "My passion is typography, and design is a huge part of my life," says Fernandes. "My projects reflect my interest in typography and contemporary forms as well as craft works. My design is kind of related to 'carpe diem' - I want to create more and get better."

And seize the day Fernandes certainly does. He's currently due to be involved in the Die Gestalten Verlag book Data Flow and is planning his application for a graphic design degree. Looking at his current portfolio, it's mind-blowing to imagine what this designer has the potential to achieve after he's been trained.

100 Fotografias Num Rolo For this poster for a 2008 photography exhibition, Fernandes put to use rolls of camera film when designing the type.