Computer Arts Gallery: May 2007

ONESIDEZERO
LOCATION Leicester, UK
JOB Freelance designer/illustrator
CONTACT www.onesidezero.co.uk
SOFTWARE Photoshop and Illustrator

Onesidezero is a 22-year-old designer and illustrator from Leicester who graduated with a degree in Graphic Design in 2005. Since then he has been busy teaching himself how to use Adobe's Creative Suite and pushing his illustration style.

"Inspiration comes from little things I notice every day and the weird thoughts within my mind," he says. "Many of my characters reflect my mischievous nature during childhood. I'm very fond of hand-drawn illustration but am often attracted to working digitally because it's easier to play with colours and shapes. I'm now beginning to experiment with traditional methods and have grown fond of screen printing, wall painting and handmade objects."

Onesidezero's future plans include both design and illustration: "I have several projects in development, including a publication, interior design work and slipmat designs," he says. "I'm also pushing the Inkthis exhibitions further, with bigger plans for future events, although my dream would be to create a vinyl figure or to break into motion work."

DRINK, INK AND RINSE "This is one of two designs created using Illustrator for Subliminal Clothing's artist range, to be released this summer."

ONESIDEZERO
LOCATION Leicester, UK
JOB Freelance designer/illustrator
CONTACT www.onesidezero.co.uk
SOFTWARE Photoshop and Illustrator

Onesidezero is a 22-year-old designer and illustrator from Leicester who graduated with a degree in Graphic Design in 2005. Since then he has been busy teaching himself how to use Adobe's Creative Suite and pushing his illustration style.

"Inspiration comes from little things I notice every day and the weird thoughts within my mind," he says. "Many of my characters reflect my mischievous nature during childhood. I'm very fond of hand-drawn illustration but am often attracted to working digitally because it's easier to play with colours and shapes. I'm now beginning to experiment with traditional methods and have grown fond of screen printing, wall painting and handmade objects."

Onesidezero's future plans include both design and illustration: "I have several projects in development, including a publication, interior design work and slipmat designs," he says. "I'm also pushing the Inkthis exhibitions further, with bigger plans for future events, although my dream would be to create a vinyl figure or to break into motion work."

WE SPEAK JIVE TALK "Originally created in Photoshop as an experiment, the development of this work was influenced largely by jazz music."

ALEX COOKE
LOCATION Norfolk, UK
JOB Web designer
CONTACT www.alexcooke.net
SOFTWARE Photoshop and Illustrator

Alex Cooke spends most of his time working on standards-based web projects, but his real passion lies in painting, drawing and illustration, although this is not a commercial pastime at present. "My educational background is in languages, so I'm not formally trained and only did a part-time graphic design course back in 2004," he admits. "This was the first time I really got to grips with Illustrator and Photoshop."

"Many of my pieces begin life as large-format paintings, drawings or monoprints," he continues. "I then scan or photograph them and tweak them in Photoshop. Recently I've turned to Illustrator and the incredible Live Paint feature. This enables me to retain the detail of the originals. I'm striving to achieve a harmony between the immediacy of my original sketches and the vector precision of Illustrator."

LONDON MEAT #3 "This started off as a quick A0-size sketch in acrylic on paper, created with a limited palette of strong colours at a life-drawing class. I photographed the original, cleaned up the edges and exaggerated the colours in Photoshop. I'm planning to bring it back to its original A0 size using Illustrator's Live Paint/Trace tool."

ALEX COOKE
LOCATION Norfolk, UK
JOB Web designer
CONTACT www.alexcooke.net
SOFTWARE Photoshop and Illustrator

Alex Cooke spends most of his time working on standards-based web projects, but his real passion lies in painting, drawing and illustration, although this is not a commercial pastime at present. "My educational background is in languages, so I'm not formally trained and only did a part-time graphic design course back in 2004," he admits. "This was the first time I really got to grips with Illustrator and Photoshop."

"Many of my pieces begin life as large-format paintings, drawings or monoprints," he continues. "I then scan or photograph them and tweak them in Photoshop. Recently I've turned to Illustrator and the incredible Live Paint feature. This enables me to retain the detail of the originals. I'm striving to achieve a harmony between the immediacy of my original sketches and the vector precision of Illustrator."

FAT MAN ON HORSE "This image started life as a large canvas acrylic painting that I'd never had time to finish properly. After scanning it in bit by bit using an A4 scanner and rebuilding it in Photoshop, I used the Curves tool to achieve exactly the right balance of colours without losing the immediacy of the original's brush work."

SAHATARCH PITTARONG
LOCATION London, UK
JOB Freelance illustrator/graphic designer and student
CONTACT www.sahatarch.com
SOFTWARE Photoshop and Illustrator

Sahatarch Pittarong, 23, is currently studying on the Creative Media programme at the London College of Communication and also works as a freelance illustrator and graphic designer in Thailand and the UK.

"I'm really interested in the tradition and culture of Thailand, Brazil and Africa, including any kind of arts - photography, antique architecture, sculpture, graphic design, painting and illustration," he says. "I'm especially inspired by graffiti and urban arts."

So what are his plans for his future career? "I'd like to be a Thai illustrator who can inspire others, whether they are from Eastern or Western roots," he says. "One of my main aims is to teach foreigners more about Thailand and to motivate them to visit the country through my work."

THE MYSTERIOUS MAN "This image is inspired by graffiti in Brazil and New York. I wanted the image to look mysterious and make viewers question the identity of the man in the picture. I tried to create my artwork as a drawing and a painting on the wall."

SAHATARCH PITTARONG
LOCATION London, UK
JOB Freelance illustrator/graphic designer and student
CONTACT www.sahatarch.com
SOFTWARE Photoshop and Illustrator

Sahatarch Pittarong, 23, is currently studying on the Creative Media programme at the London College of Communication and also works as a freelance illustrator and graphic designer in Thailand and the UK.

"I'm really interested in the tradition and culture of Thailand, Brazil and Africa, including any kind of arts - photography, antique architecture, sculpture, graphic design, painting and illustration," he says. "I'm especially inspired by graffiti and urban arts."

So what are his plans for his future career? "I'd like to be a Thai illustrator who can inspire others, whether they are from Eastern or Western roots," he says. "One of my main aims is to teach foreigners more about Thailand and to motivate them to visit the country through my work."

FANTASTIC (THAI) LAND "Most people have some place they love to visit. For me, Thailand is the best place for visiting. Here I wanted to present my hometown from a different view. Thailand is a fantastic place where you can always find something strange. You can learn and gain new experiences from the Thai people, characteristics, culture and language."

JIM GKIKAS
LOCATION Koropi, Greece
JOB Student
CONTACT www.myspace.com/jimmy66fellfromthetree
SOFTWARE Photoshop and Illustrator

Jim Gkikas, 23, studied engineering when he finished high school in Greece, but left the course after six months with the hope of studying graphic design instead. That he did, graduating in June 2006.

"I have many influences, including Jean-Michel Basquiat, Andy Warhol and Banksy," he says. "My basic style and technique is based on scanning textures and sketches and then combining them together on different layers. I use Photoshop CS and Flash MX."

ODE TO A RIVER "This piece is my latest illustration, which I created under difficult circumstances. But it's still my favourite."

JIM GKIKAS
LOCATION Koropi, Greece
JOB Student
CONTACT www.myspace.com/jimmy66fellfromthetree
SOFTWARE Photoshop and Illustrator

Jim Gkikas, 23, studied engineering when he finished high school in Greece, but left the course after six months with the hope of studying graphic design instead. That he did, graduating in June 2006.

"I have many influences, including Jean-Michel Basquiat, Andy Warhol and Banksy," he says. "My basic style and technique is based on scanning textures and sketches and then combining them together on different layers. I use Photoshop CS and Flash MX."

LES CRIMENES EJEMPLARES "An illustration for the book Les Crimenes Ejemplares. For this illustration I used Photoshop CS, Illustrator CS and a scanner."

TEODORU BADIU
LOCATION Vienna, Austria
JOB Creative media designer
CONTACT www.theodoru.com
SOFTWARE Photoshop, Illustrator and Cinema 4D

Teodoru Badiu graduated from SAE Vienna in 2005 and is now a creative media designer. "During my studies I came in contact with Illustrator and Cinema 4D," he says. "Since then I have started to search for new ways to express myself using those tools in combination with other tools and ways of work."

The result is a range of mixed-media images that Badiu hopes communicate his ideas effectively. "I try to transmit the message and to make emotions visible with the help of different media and techniques, such as 3D, vector graphics, digital photography, drawing, painting and scans," he says.

THE FLOOD "This image is the result of an experiment where I tried to reach an organic melting between different media - pen drawings, scans and digital photographs. I took a digital photo and then I drew the scene around it, letting it grow until I reached a point where the message was clear."

TEODORU BADIU
LOCATION Vienna, Austria
JOB Creative media designer
CONTACT www.theodoru.com
SOFTWARE Photoshop, Illustrator and Cinema 4D

Teodoru Badiu graduated from SAE Vienna in 2005 and is now a creative media designer. "During my studies I came in contact with Illustrator and Cinema 4D," he says. "Since then I have started to search for new ways to express myself using those tools in combination with other tools and ways of work."

The result is a range of mixed-media images that Badiu hopes communicate his ideas effectively. "I try to transmit the message and to make emotions visible with the help of different media and techniques, such as 3D, vector graphics, digital photography, drawing, painting and scans," he says.

HOPE "An experimental illustration created using Illustrator and Cinema 4D. It's a kind of surreal composition where I try to show hope through a marionette, something you may not quite expect to express such feelings."