Computer Arts Gallery: July 2010

Mike Lythgoe
Location London, UK
Job Freelance illustrator
Contact www.likemike.co.uk

"A love of nature and its contrast with the man-made has provided a continual theme to my work," says 26-year-old Mike Lythgoe, who graduated from the Arts Institute at Bournemouth and now runs his own freelance studio. "Collaborations between myself and fashion photographers have also been the basis for some of my illustrations - I have a strong interest in the industry, and try to incorporate it as much as I can in my work." He creates his images with a mix of Illustrator and Photoshop, with particular use of masking tools and even 3D editing. "I almost let my images develop themselves," he adds.

Nouveau This was produced for a competition run by Cheap Zine. "The brief was to evoke the Art Nouveau movement. My work is very far removed from the aesthetic of Art Nouveau, so it was a really interesting illustration to work on. It also gave me the opportunity to collaborate with fashion photographer Phil Dunlop."

Mike Lythgoe
Location London, UK
Job Freelance illustrator
Contact www.likemike.co.uk

"A love of nature and its contrast with the man-made has provided a continual theme to my work," says 26-year-old Mike Lythgoe, who graduated from the Arts Institute at Bournemouth and now runs his own freelance studio. "Collaborations between myself and fashion photographers have also been the basis for some of my illustrations - I have a strong interest in the industry, and try to incorporate it as much as I can in my work." He creates his images with a mix of Illustrator and Photoshop, with particular use of masking tools and even 3D editing. "I almost let my images develop themselves," he adds.

Kimberley Chan
Location Lincoln, UK
Job Graphic design student
Contact www.kimberleychan.com

Currently in her final year at the University of Lincoln studying a degree in graphic design, Chan originally came from a mixed-media art and design background, but decided to specialise. "My influences vary from design to illustration, and I'm currently a fan of Jessica Hische, Jez Burrows and I Love Dust," she says. "I love trying new things - activities, food, anything. I feel that this influences my work by allowing me to be experimental and adaptable when I need to be, and also means I'm enthusiastic about any project I'm working on, no matter how big or small."

Having just been accepted into the Just Us design collective and awarded a commendation from the MPA Roses Student Awards, the future's looking bright for Chan. "It might be nice to run my own studio one day, but at the moment I'm excited at the fact that anything is possible, and am hoping to gain placements at various studios."

Orion book covers A set of hardback cover designs for a series of novels by HG Wells, which were published by Orion. "I used small illustrated icons depicting certain events in each book as imagery on the covers," says Chan. "They're simple and clean-cut, intentionally avoiding any similarity to previous 'classic' or Victoriana designs."

Kimberley Chan
Location Lincoln, UK
Job Graphic design student
Contact www.kimberleychan.com

Currently in her final year at the University of Lincoln studying a degree in graphic design, Chan originally came from a mixed-media art and design background, but decided to specialise. "My influences vary from design to illustration, and I'm currently a fan of Jessica Hische, Jez Burrows and I Love Dust," she says. "I love trying new things - activities, food, anything. I feel that this influences my work by allowing me to be experimental and adaptable when I need to be, and also means I'm enthusiastic about any project I'm working on, no matter how big or small."

Having just been accepted into the Just Us design collective and awarded a commendation from the MPA Roses Student Awards, the future's looking bright for Chan. "It might be nice to run my own studio one day, but at the moment I'm excited at the fact that anything is possible, and am hoping to gain placements at various studios."

Daft Punk album cover A redesign for the vinyl version of the second studio album by Daft Punk, Discovery. "The outline of the band's logo is designed to be foil-blocked in shiny gold," says Chan.

Darren Cranmer
Location Guernsey/Bournemouth, UK
Job Illustrator/graphic designer
Contact www.darrencranmer.com

Darren Cranmer had quite an unusual placement for a teenager: he worked as an apprentice jewellery designer at Catherine Best, based in his native Guernsey, where he discovered that "the limitless avenues of expression that image-making held was what I wanted to veer towards." He went on to complete a diploma in art and design at UCA Canterbury. Now 27, he's about to start the final year of his illustration degree at the Arts University College in Bournemouth.

"My own practice has long incorporated illusionary and metaphorical elements in order to produce the intended connotations," Cranmer says. "My images thrive on the meeting of meaning, surreal aesthetics and theatrical elements."

Balanced Thought Produced for a university brief, this was a proposal for an editorial illustration to accompany an article on rising cases of anxiety disorder in the UK. "I drew my concept from research into cognitive behavioural therapy, yoga and personal experience. I felt it important to present a positive, pro-active message rather than one full of doom and gloom."

Darren Cranmer
Location Guernsey/Bournemouth, UK
Job Illustrator/graphic designer
Contact www.darrencranmer.com

Darren Cranmer had quite an unusual placement for a teenager: he worked as an apprentice jewellery designer at Catherine Best, based in his native Guernsey, where he discovered that "the limitless avenues of expression that image-making held was what I wanted to veer towards." He went on to complete a diploma in art and design at UCA Canterbury. Now 27, he's about to start the final year of his illustration degree at the Arts University College in Bournemouth.

"My own practice has long incorporated illusionary and metaphorical elements in order to produce the intended connotations," Cranmer says. "My images thrive on the meeting of meaning, surreal aesthetics and theatrical elements."

Depths A piece published in Popshot magazine to accompany a poem of the same name. "I put my pencil drawing skills to use to create the diver, pattern and landscape, above which I incorporated a digitally-made background using photographs and scanned-in paper in Photoshop," Cranmer explains. "My intention was to present the poem's themes of crossing boundaries, liberation, encounter and invigoration."

Adam Ellison
Location Essex, UK
Job Illustrator
Contact www.adamellison.co.uk

After studying illustration at the University of Brighton, Adam Ellison worked as a designer for the charity Anti-Apathy before deciding to set up as a freelancer. As well as creating advertising pieces and editorial for the likes of eco brand Worn Again, he has collaborated on website designs and also dabbles in moving image work. "My passion lies in the investigation of cultural understanding and social awareness around environmental and social issues," he says.

Broken "When I was asked by Super8 magazine to take part in their Collabor8 project, I decided to take my more playful approach," Ellison recalls." With a loose idea of a malfunctioning fantasy machine, I was able to experiment with shape, colour and texture. My general process consists of drawing the image out in rough and then going over it using a lightbox and an 8B pencil. I then scan it into Photoshop, blocking out all the colours and adding textures."

Adam Ellison
Location Essex, UK
Job Illustrator
Contact www.adamellison.co.uk

After studying illustration at the University of Brighton, Adam Ellison worked as a designer for the charity Anti-Apathy before deciding to set up as a freelancer. As well as creating advertising pieces and editorial for the likes of eco brand Worn Again, he has collaborated on website designs and also dabbles in moving image work. "My passion lies in the investigation of cultural understanding and social awareness around environmental and social issues," he says.

How the Mind Works Ellison enjoyed Steven Pinker's book How the Mind Works so much that he decided to create some cover ideas of his own for it: "I took a more conceptual approach this time, researching into different ways the mind could be represented and understood, with a personal challenge of not using an image of the brain. It is always a delight to embark on a project that stretches your knowledge and leads to learning new and interesting facts."

Nick Paul
Location Surrey, UK
Job Graphic designer
Contact www.nickpaul.co.uk

"I love all things design, and since I started freelancing at the age of 16 I haven't stopped," says Nick Paul. Like many artists, however, he has realised that discovering and learning on his own is probably the best route for him. "Last year I successfully passed my second year at the Winchester School of Art, where I was studying graphic design - but because I felt it wasn't taking my work in the direction I wanted, I decided to leave." Since then, Paul has continued to freelance and has now set himself up as a full-time graphic designer.

"Over the past five years, I've tried to create a variety of work for my portfolio from editorial design, branding and advertising to illustration and web design," says Paul. "I like to combine all these aspects to create visually loud, eye-catching stuff - and just have fun with it."

Cádiz Carnival flyer A typography project Paul created while at university. "I was asked to create a typographic poster advertising a specific carnival," he explains. "I decided to make one for Cádiz, as it's a widely held opinion that the city is blessed with the wittiest people in Spain - so the main characteristics of the carnival are sarcasm and the irreverence of parody. To me, it just stood out as a clear choice."

Nick Paul
Location Surrey, UK
Job Graphic designer
Contact www.nickpaul.co.uk

"I love all things design, and since I started freelancing at the age of 16 I haven't stopped," says Nick Paul. Like many artists, however, he has realised that discovering and learning on his own is probably the best route for him. "Last year I successfully passed my second year at the Winchester School of Art, where I was studying graphic design - but because I felt it wasn't taking my work in the direction I wanted, I decided to leave." Since then, Paul has continued to freelance and has now set himself up as a full-time graphic designer.

"Over the past five years, I've tried to create a variety of work for my portfolio from editorial design, branding and advertising to illustration and web design," says Paul. "I like to combine all these aspects to create visually loud, eye-catching stuff - and just have fun with it."

Belly of the Sea print Sleeve artwork for the album by Klaus. "I think all my illustrations have a certain child-like charm about them," says Paul. "The initial concept was of a pirate sailing at sea, and I kind of designed it from an aspect of how a child may imagine stories from storybooks, using textures in ways that you wouldn't see in reality."