Computer Arts Gallery: March 2011

Aron Jones
Location Wales, UK
Job Graphic designer, illustrator
Contact www.ronskidoodles.co.uk

Jones, who also goes by the pseudonym Ronskidoodles, describes himself as a full-time graphic designer by day and an aspiring freelance illustrator by night, and is currently working on building his portfolio and creating personal pieces. "My design work starts with a strong idea, and the aesthetic then follows," he says. "I try to keep things simple as often as possible because a strong idea should always be able to hold its own." He cites his design heroes as Geoff McFetridge, Adrian Johnson and Craig Redman.

Candlebulb Originally this was a hand-drawn design for a Howies T-shirt, the company where Jones works in his day job. "However, I liked the concept so much I decided to re-illustrate it in my own style."

Aron Jones
Location Wales, UK
Job Graphic designer, illustrator
Contact www.ronskidoodles.co.uk

Jones, who also goes by the pseudonym Ronskidoodles, describes himself as a full-time graphic designer by day and an aspiring freelance illustrator by night, and is currently working on building his portfolio and creating personal pieces. "My design work starts with a strong idea, and the aesthetic then follows," he says. "I try to keep things simple as often as possible because a strong idea should always be able to hold its own." He cites his design heroes as Geoff McFetridge, Adrian Johnson and Craig Redman.

Win Some, Lose Some As befitting of the subject matter, Jones says this personal piece proved to be pivotal in furthering his career. "It's really what made me decide to push my freelance work," he explains. "It started off, like the best of them, as a mindless doodle on a phone bill. Once I'd artworked it I truly realised the strength of simplicity." It's a characteristic that marks much of his portfolio.

Richard Davies
Location Swansea, Wales
Job Graphic designer
Contact www.behance.net/turksworks

"I've been working as a graphic designer for more than 10 years, having graduated from Swansea Metropolitan University back in 1999," says Davies. He works mostly with clients in the south Wales area, across areas including print, corporate identity and occasionally web. "However," he adds, "my evenings and spare time are spent working on digital illustration projects. It's something I love to do and would like to make full-time."

It's with his personal work that Davies gets the chance to experiment with different styles and techniques, although recently he has discovered a style he particularly likes. "It's a combination of texture, painting and strong typography that harks back to my art college days," he explains.

The Blue Lady A personal piece, painted entirely digitally using a graphics tablet. "My tablet has changed my whole creative approach," says Davies. "It's encouraged me to go back to my old strengths of drawing and painting." The image is loosely based on Vladimir Tretchikoff's 'The Green Lady': "A really cheesy painting everybody seemed to have in their living rooms during the 70s and 80s."

Richard Davies
Location Swansea, Wales
Job Graphic designer
Contact www.behance.net/turksworks

"I've been working as a graphic designer for more than 10 years, having graduated from Swansea Metropolitan University back in 1999," says Davies. He works mostly with clients in the south Wales area, across areas including print, corporate identity and occasionally web. "However," he adds, "my evenings and spare time are spent working on digital illustration projects. It's something I love to do and would like to make full-time."

It's with his personal work that Davies gets the chance to experiment with different styles and techniques, although recently he has discovered a style he particularly likes. "It's a combination of texture, painting and strong typography that harks back to my art college days," he explains.

World Collabs 7 A piece submitted for the regular World Collab competition on the Abduzeedo website. "It's a great chance to work with some of the best designers and artists around," Davies says of this contest. "In this case, Justin Maller supplied the initial 3D piece at the centre, and I added various typography, textures and lighting effects to create the final image," he explains.

Brandon Webster
Location Colorado, USA
Job Graphic designer
Contact www.bk-w.com

Webster lives and works in Boulder, Colorado, where he runs a small design studio called BKW&Co. "We specialise in design for print, screen and web for both commercial and self-published projects," he says. "Some recent clients include Muse, Panic at the Disco, Makar Architecture and The Polyphonic Spree, as well as beauty companies, music labels, photographers, non-profits, medical organisations and schools." On a more personal level, Webster is also a musician and director, with ambitions to work in new media.

Byst Stefan Bystrzycki, aka Byst, is a musician and DJ, as well as a good friend of BKW&Co. The studio created a series of promotional images for him in collaboration with fashion photographer Steven Wallace. "This project used Photoshop CS5 masking techniques over the type treatment, and the photo was shot with a Nikon D300," explains Webster. "The starfield pattern over the type treatment creates a contrast that is suspended in the middle of the negative space in the photo."

Brandon Webster
Location Colorado, USA
Job Graphic designer
Contact www.bk-w.com

Webster lives and works in Boulder, Colorado, where he runs a small design studio called BKW&Co. "We specialise in design for print, screen and web for both commercial and self-published projects," he says. "Some recent clients include Muse, Panic at the Disco, Makar Architecture and The Polyphonic Spree, as well as beauty companies, music labels, photographers, non-profits, medical organisations and schools." On a more personal level, Webster is also a musician and director, with ambitions to work in new media.

Muse Shirt Design "We had the privilege of creating shirt designs for the world-renowned band Muse, promoting their 2009 album and tour The Resistance," recalls Webster. "To capture the viewer's attention, the design starts with a simple optical illusion that uses the colour of the shirt as part of the shading, followed by the band's logo. The goal was to maintain a simple, clear design that would attract attention to the shirt and lead to the Muse logo."

Melissa Chaib
Location Monterrey, Mexico
Job Illustrator, graphic artist
Contact www.melissachaib.com

"I'm addicted to making things," says this young Mexican illustrator. "And as I grew up I found myself in art school and studied graphic design. I spent lots of time searching for inspiration in magazines and on the net. That really motivated me to share my own illustrations in the same way, and also to take my creativity more seriously."

Unusually, Chaib says she records her many ideas for illustrations as words rather than sketches, writing them out in full in her notebook. "I like to play first with words or interesting phrases, and the illustration comes later," she explains. "It makes a lot of sense to me to do it like this."

Ramones A very personal piece, dedicated to Chaib's boyfriend. "Since I met him I've become a fan of the American punk band The Ramones," she says. "This one was drawn by hand, scanned and then coloured in Photoshop."

Christian San Jose
Location Pasig, The Philippines
Job Graphic designer
Contact www.csj89.com

While working as an art director at TeamManila Graphic Design in 2007, San Jose had the chance to work with clients such as Nike Philippines, Coca Cola and ABS-CBN Corporation. Meanwhile, his freelance illustration work attracted the likes of Adobe, Quicksilver and Cobra Starship, and he's also enjoyed a stint as a senior web designer.

Now, still only 21, he has returned to his advertising design roots and founded his own studio, Create.ph. "At the moment I'm building a talented print design and web development team," he says. "Some of our early clients include NBA player Kobe Bryant, three-time baseball MVP Albert Pujols, Ayala Malls and KFC Philippines."

Play One of three pieces created for a group exhibition in June 2010, in collaboration with photography duo Your Evil Twin. "My inspiration was the playful nature of women, where flowing lines represent the grace and beauty of the female body," he says.

Loch Ness
Location Bristol, UK
Job Illustrator
Contact www.lochnessillustrations.co.uk

Loch Ness, who's also been known to respond to his real name of Abs Saleh, is a self-taught illustrator who has been drawing odd characters since he was little. "I've had previous jobs and commissions as a graphic designer, but I soon realised illustration and painting was the route I wanted to pursue," he says. "I don't like to plan too far ahead into the future, as things can be quite spontaneous - which I think is great - and I guess that's an aspect I enjoy about this industry."

He's currently planning a number of exhibitions for this year, both in Bristol and abroad, but also wants to collaborate further - with Simon Mitchell in particular, who designed a limited edition of British comic Tank Girl.

"I can see my characters in animations in the future, whether it be music or cartoons," he adds. "I'm a big fan of Passion Pictures in London, which has created some amazing animations. It would be great to work alongside them in some sort of collaboration," he smiles.

Self-Portrait Painting Saleh created this piece for his exhibition Monster Sandwich, which was held at the Tobacco Factory in Bristol last year, in collaboration with friend and artist Phil Harvey. "Our styles complemented each other, and our love for comic art and quirky characters led to this exhibition," he explains. "The inspiration for the piece came from films like Pan's Labyrinth and David Bowie in Labyrinth."

Liam Bardsley
Location Manchester, UK
Job Illustrator
Contact www.liambardsley.co.uk

Having graduated in 2009 from Stockport College, Bardsley is now working as a freelance illustrator in Manchester. "I work using handmade elements combined with digital media in a bold graphic style," he says, listing some of his clients as Design Week, Management Today and Reader's Digest.

"I love the idea of an image standing out and making a connection with the viewer," he says, referring to his lifelong passion for illustration. He continues: "I always strive to balance abstraction with communication to produce images that encapsulate the essence of a brief. Illustration for me isn't just about making things look nice - it's a system of visually communicating concepts and ideas, and using humour and character design."

In Tune With Reality Having read an article about the designer's role being to 'sex subject matter up' and 'make boring things more exciting', particularly when it comes to PR and celebrities, Bardsley created this piece as a response: "I wanted to portray the designer's role and the process of making someone a celebrity by taking something dull, like a mannequin, and using the red lips as a symbol of sex."