Computer Arts Gallery: January 2007

ANDY COUNCIL
LOCATION Bristol, UK
JOB Artist and illustrator
CONTACT www.andycouncil.co.uk
SOFTWARE Flash and Photoshop

Andy Council first studied animation at the Arts Institute, Bournemouth, before deciding to move towards illustration instead. "My training was based around the traditional techniques of animation and involved lots of drawing," he remembers. "At the time I was influenced by street art and the work of Miyazaki and Geoff Darrow, among others."

Following his graduation, Andy soon began to attract more illustration work, and he continues to experiment with and develop his strong illustrative style. "I now use more digital techniques, which I mostly taught myself," he says. "I started off using Photoshop to bring colour to my complex line drawings before moving on to Illustrator and Flash, which is easy to use for drawing and relates back to my college training in cel shading techniques and animation."

So what's next? Andy has already animated his Bristol Dinosaur using Flash, and now hopes to bring more of his monstrous creations to life.

CITY ROOSTER "I thought I would move away from dinosaurs for this one. I really like chickens; there are lots of unusual breeds that come in different colours, shapes and sizes. The combination of the rooster and the city kind of represents Bristol and the surrounding rural area where I live."

ANDY COUNCIL
LOCATION Bristol, UK
JOB Artist and illustrator
CONTACT www.andycouncil.co.uk
SOFTWARE Flash and Photoshop

Andy Council first studied animation at the Arts Institute, Bournemouth, before deciding to move towards illustration instead. "My training was based around the traditional techniques of animation and involved lots of drawing," he remembers. "At the time I was influenced by street art and the work of Miyazaki and Geoff Darrow, among others."

Following his graduation, Andy soon began to attract more illustration work, and he continues to experiment with and develop his strong illustrative style. "I now use more digital techniques, which I mostly taught myself," he says. "I started off using Photoshop to bring colour to my complex line drawings before moving on to Illustrator and Flash, which is easy to use for drawing and relates back to my college training in cel shading techniques and animation."

So what's next? Andy has already animated his Bristol Dinosaur using Flash, and now hopes to bring more of his monstrous creations to life.

VERTICAL BRISTOL DINOSAUR "This is a variation on a piece that came about when Decode magazine asked me to provide a cover illustration for a CD compilation called Western Union. I created a monster made up of a mosaic of tiny drawings of buildings and landmarks in Bristol and Bath. This variation is more of a comment on cities spreading into the countryside and the transport problem in Bristol and all over the UK."

MATT LATCHFORD
LOCATION London, UK
JOB Freelance illustrator, animator and cartoonist
CONTACT www.mattsgrafix.com
SOFTWARE Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash and After Effects

Since graduating from Kingston University with a BA (Hons) in Illustration and Animation in 2005, illustrator, animator and cartoonist Matt Latchford has enjoyed working on a variety of different jobs, trying not to stay loyal to any one medium, program or technique.

"As a result of the variation in my work I have received a variety of interesting commissions in a number of different formats, from Flash-animated characters for websites to caricatures created using a combination of traditional 2D techniques and Photoshop," he says.

Influenced by ancient myths and cultures, mysteries of the unexplained and anything slightly weird, Matt is also part of the Smuggling Peanuts collective. "It's still early days for the Smugglers," he admits, "but we have already received commissions for a Flash-animated pantomime and a music video for Ninja Tune!"

ETHERSONG "This image was a personal work, which allowed me to experiment a little using a variety of 2D mediums in Photoshop."

MATT LATCHFORD
LOCATION London, UK
JOB Freelance illustrator, animator and cartoonist
CONTACT www.mattsgrafix.com
SOFTWARE Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash and After Effects

Since graduating from Kingston University with a BA (Hons) in Illustration and Animation in 2005, illustrator, animator and cartoonist Matt Latchford has enjoyed working on a variety of different jobs, trying not to stay loyal to any one medium, program or technique.

"As a result of the variation in my work I have received a variety of interesting commissions in a number of different formats, from Flash-animated characters for websites to caricatures created using a combination of traditional 2D techniques and Photoshop," he says.

Influenced by ancient myths and cultures, mysteries of the unexplained and anything slightly weird, Matt is also part of the Smuggling Peanuts collective. "It's still early days for the Smugglers," he admits, "but we have already received commissions for a Flash-animated pantomime and a music video for Ninja Tune!"

LONELY "I enjoy exploring the melancholy side of life and like to inject emotion into my creations. This is a frame from a storyboard of a personal animation project exploring isolation."

JAMES REID
LOCATION Barry, UK
JOB Freelance graphic designer/illustrator
CONTACT www.jamesnreid.co.uk
SOFTWARE Illustrator and Photoshop

James Reid is a 26-year-old freelance graphic designer/illustrator from South Wales who studied for both a BA (Hons) and an MA in Graphic Communication at the University of Glamorgan. "This gave me the opportunity to tighten my technical design skills in typography, layout and image-making while at the same time allowing me to broaden my creative thought process," says James, who is currently waiting for the right position in a design studio to come along.

James draws much of his inspiration from his surroundings. "The majority of my illustration work comes from doodling when I'm on the train," he admits. "I let my imagination go and try to take in everything around me. Later I will take the most interesting images into Photoshop and Illustrator and create a composition, before adding textures, vectors and typography that suit the concept of the illustration."

FALL FROM HEAVEN "This image was inspired by a dream I once had. Dreaming of falling is quite common, I hope."

JAMES REID
LOCATION Barry, UK
JOB Freelance graphic designer/illustrator
CONTACT www.jamesnreid.co.uk
SOFTWARE Illustrator and Photoshop

James Reid is a 26-year-old freelance graphic designer/illustrator from South Wales who studied for both a BA (Hons) and an MA in Graphic Communication at the University of Glamorgan. "This gave me the opportunity to tighten my technical design skills in typography, layout and image-making while at the same time allowing me to broaden my creative thought process," says James, who is currently waiting for the right position in a design studio to come along.

James draws much of his inspiration from his surroundings. "The majority of my illustration work comes from doodling when I'm on the train," he admits. "I let my imagination go and try to take in everything around me. Later I will take the most interesting images into Photoshop and Illustrator and create a composition, before adding textures, vectors and typography that suit the concept of the illustration."

YOYO "For this image I simply wanted to create a scene as if a wild creature had been caught on camera."

MARLON VON FRANQUEMONT
LOCATION Rotterdam, The Netherlands
JOB Student
CONTACT www.efpd.nl
SOFTWARE Photoshop

Marlon von Franquemont is a 25-year-old multimedia designer who is currently studying for a BA (Hons) in Advertising at Rotterdam's Willem de Kooning Academy. "I was always very creative as a young boy," he says. "I first worked with CorelDRAW when I was just 12 years old, and then I discovered Photoshop and went a bit crazy!"

These days Marlon works with piles of random elements in Photoshop, and aims to create order where there is chaos. "I am very confident about my sense of style," he says. "For me, design is like a puzzle - you have all the elements you need and you just have to put them together in the right order. The fact that there is more than one solution is what makes it challenging."

IN SEARCH OF… "This image is about having a goal and trying to reach for it. It was made as promotional piece for my website. I was influenced by the beauty of Rotterdam, which is my home town."

MARLON VON FRANQUEMONT
LOCATION Rotterdam, The Netherlands
JOB Student
CONTACT www.efpd.nl
SOFTWARE Photoshop

Marlon von Franquemont is a 25-year-old multimedia designer who is currently studying for a BA (Hons) in Advertising at Rotterdam's Willem de Kooning Academy. "I was always very creative as a young boy," he says. "I first worked with CorelDRAW when I was just 12 years old, and then I discovered Photoshop and went a bit crazy!"

These days Marlon works with piles of random elements in Photoshop, and aims to create order where there is chaos. "I am very confident about my sense of style," he says. "For me, design is like a puzzle - you have all the elements you need and you just have to put them together in the right order. The fact that there is more than one solution is what makes it challenging."

KICK OFF "An image about going somewhere. This composition was the first that I was really happy with. Soon after I burst loose, working a lot with cars and machines."

RYAN KING (AKA RYZEE)
LOCATION New South Wales, Australia
JOB Student/freelance designer
CONTACT www.ry-z.com
SOFTWARE Photoshop and Illustrator

Ryan King is a 17-year-old student based in Singleton, New South Wales, who tries to fit in freelance work in his spare time. "I started using Photoshop for fun about three years ago, turning friends into zombies," he says. "I then taught myself Photoshop and Illustrator and, after reading many internet tutorials, began designing for online competitions."

Influenced by the work of artists such as Pete Harrison, Chuck Anderson and Daniel Phillips, Ryan's work often features photo-manipulation with abstract colours, lighting and displacement effects. So what's his plan for the future? "Hopefully I can continue freelance work and earn a Bachelor of Communication Design degree at university to help further my career," he says.

STYLISE "I'd just read Pete Harrison's displacement tutorial in Computer Arts and had to try it out for myself. I experimented with fractals made in Apophysis for some of the displacement effects."

RYAN KING (AKA RYZEE)
LOCATION New South Wales, Australia
JOB Student/freelance designer
CONTACT www.ry-z.com
SOFTWARE Photoshop and Illustrator

Ryan King is a 17-year-old student based in Singleton, New South Wales, who tries to fit in freelance work in his spare time. "I started using Photoshop for fun about three years ago, turning friends into zombies," he says. "I then taught myself Photoshop and Illustrator and, after reading many internet tutorials, began designing for online competitions."

Influenced by the work of artists such as Pete Harrison, Chuck Anderson and Daniel Phillips, Ryan's work often features photo-manipulation with abstract colours, lighting and displacement effects. So what's his plan for the future? "Hopefully I can continue freelance work and earn a Bachelor of Communication Design degree at university to help further my career," he says.

INTERVENE "This is probably one of my most successful images. I tried to combine everything I know into one image, and I think it gave a really great result."