Computer Arts Gallery: May 2009

Adam Spizak
Location London
Job Interactive designer/illustrator
Contact www.spizak.com
Software Photoshop, Cinema 4D

Adam Spizak's surrealistic, painterly style sometimes belies the mixture of techniques he employs for each image he creates. "My style is a combination of photography, hand-painted elements and 3D renderings with a dark twist," he says. He graduated in computer graphic design and multimedia at The Academy of Humanities and Economics in his native Poland, but feels that "illustration is closer to my heart than animation".

Currently living and working in London, Spizak says he draws enormous inspiration from fantasy and concept artists such as Craig Mullins, Daniel Dociu and Zdzislaw Beksinski. "My ultimate goal is to be sure that I stay true to what I love," he adds. "There are a great number of designers following trends and losing their style."

The Bitch Adam's concept for this personal illustration was a modern witch, incorporating both traditional and contemporary elements. "I thought, 'She's probably always one step ahead of the hunters', which gave me the idea of a confrontation in the car park," he says. 'The Bitch' is a combination of 20 different images, hand-painted elements and 3D rendering: "Technically, I'm a huge fan of HDR photography, so I wanted to push that overdetailed sharp image in which you can see a lot of detail with a dynamic colour palette."

Chris Seddon
Location London
Job Illustrator
Contact www.cseddon.co.uk
Software Photoshop

Chris Seddon is from "a small town" in the north-west of England, and while he has always enjoyed drawing and painting, it was his time at Wigan College that made him realise his true calling. "I became more interested in mark-making and abstract expressionism," he says. "I was really into Richard Diebenkorn - he inspired a lot of the work I created there."

Later, on his course at Liverpool John Moores University, Seddon's tastes widened to encompass a purer style of graphic design and illustration - he cites influences such as Neasden Control Centre and Marion Deuchars. Moving to London and embarking on an MA in illustration, he says, "Women became a focus for much of my work. The significance of this is still felt. My work continues to be inspired by women, but more recently the imagery has shifted towards a cleaner, less intense, fashion-led aesthetic."

Fashion illustrations These images featured as promotional material for the Fashion Diversity programme of fashion design showcase events in London. "I try to capture the sense of movement or grace of a pose by working with fluid materials such as Indian ink," says Seddon. "I sometimes add separate layers with charcoal or heavy pencils. The layers are then scanned, coloured and adjusted in Photoshop."

Chris Seddon
Location London
Job Illustrator
Contact www.cseddon.co.uk
Software Photoshop

Chris Seddon is from "a small town" in the north-west of England, and while he has always enjoyed drawing and painting, it was his time at Wigan College that made him realise his true calling. "I became more interested in mark-making and abstract expressionism," he says. "I was really into Richard Diebenkorn - he inspired a lot of the work I created there."

Later, on his course at Liverpool John Moores University, Seddon's tastes widened to encompass a purer style of graphic design and illustration - he cites influences such as Neasden Control Centre and Marion Deuchars. Moving to London and embarking on an MA in illustration, he says, "Women became a focus for much of my work. The significance of this is still felt. My work continues to be inspired by women, but more recently the imagery has shifted towards a cleaner, less intense, fashion-led aesthetic."

Fashion illustrations These images featured as promotional material for the Fashion Diversity programme of fashion design showcase events in London. "I try to capture the sense of movement or grace of a pose by working with fluid materials such as Indian ink," says Seddon. "I sometimes add separate layers with charcoal or heavy pencils. The layers are then scanned, coloured and adjusted in Photoshop."

Leon Sanli
Location London
Job Graphic designer
Contact www.babybluebeats.com
Software Photoshop, Illustrator

"I'm the sort of person who finds something creative in everything," says Leon Sanli, aka Babybluebeats, a 23-year-old designer from London. He recently graduated from the University of the Arts London with a degree in graphic communication and is ready to take on the world of fashion, music and glamour. As a freelance graphic designer, some of Sanli's work has already been used in advertising, magazines and posters for clients such as AXM, GUS and Smut Clothing, but he also intends to inject a twist into this crowded genre. "I love surrealism and these elements always inspire my designs," he adds. "It's something I've always been interested in. I can't think of a time when I wasn't creative."

Venus Obviously referencing and inspired by Botticelli's 'The Birth of Venus', Sanli's update of a classic image emphasises bright colour and modern allusions. "I used Marilyn Monroe's Playboy shoot as the heart of the image because she was, after all, glamorous and famous for her beauty," he explains. "I thought that this photograph would be perfect because of the nudity representing the 'birth'. Much of this is a complex montage of layered stock images created in Photoshop. I tried to capture the elements of the tropics with colour and nature."

David Waters
Location Idaho
Job Student
Contact www.ishbu.com
Software Photoshop

David Waters is currently studying in Moscow - Moscow in Idaho, that is - where he's a senior at the University of Idaho. He began using Photoshop in 2001 to design websites and he believes this sort of background has an effect on his work.

"My foundations with traditional media and web design have influenced my style as a digital artist," he says. "I primarily work in Photoshop, but I like to take scans of brush strokes, ink splotches and so on to use for texture." The collaborative possibilities of digital art also excite him; he's an enthusiastic member of depthCORE, Evoke and slashTHREE.

Ecosystems Created for the Evoke Unity art exhibition. "The work began as a perspective study for type, with some stock photography incorporated later," says Waters. "I mainly wanted to create a sense of unity with the forms, their construction and the way they flow together."

David Waters
Location Idaho
Job Student
Contact www.ishbu.com
Software Photoshop

David Waters is currently studying in Moscow - Moscow in Idaho, that is - where he's a senior at the University of Idaho. He began using Photoshop in 2001 to design websites and he believes this sort of background has an effect on his work.

"My foundations with traditional media and web design have influenced my style as a digital artist," he says. "I primarily work in Photoshop, but I like to take scans of brush strokes, ink splotches and so on to use for texture." The collaborative possibilities of digital art also excite him; he's an enthusiastic member of depthCORE, Evoke and slashTHREE.

Midnight Souls Of this illustration for depthCORE's Noir exhibition, which - as the name implies - features only black and white images, Waters explains: "I was hoping for the various elements to allude to crime, sex and mystery - all popular elements in film noir."

Jonas Hegi
Location Zurich
Job Student, graphic designer
Contact www.jonasjonas.com
Software Photoshop, Illustrator

Jonas Hegi has seen much of Europe already - having been born in Hamburg and grown up in Basel, Switzerland, he's now studying graphic design at the University of Arts in Zurich. His work is influenced by the music and clubbing scene, as well as the fashion world, and last year he co-founded fashion label Les Enfants Terribles in collaboration with Samuel Weidmann. They expect their first collection to be available in the summer.

His collaborations don't stop there - Hegi and Weidmann are also part of the design collective kollekt, along with Thierry Blancpain, which Jonas describes as "a playground for motion graphics and live visuals".

AYE? August Flyer created for a party at the Hive Club in Zurich, hosted by Are You Electrified? "I wanted a cold and epic look, as if something grand was coming towards the viewer," says Hegi. "I used Illustrator and a lot of Photoshop to create this look - actually, it was a lot of work and I probably couldn't reproduce it now."

Jonas Hegi
Location Zurich
Job Student, graphic designer
Contact www.jonasjonas.com
Software Photoshop, Illustrator

Jonas Hegi has seen much of Europe already - having been born in Hamburg and grown up in Basel, Switzerland, he's now studying graphic design at the University of Arts in Zurich. His work is influenced by the music and clubbing scene, as well as the fashion world, and last year he co-founded fashion label Les Enfants Terribles in collaboration with Samuel Weidmann. They expect their first collection to be available in the summer.

His collaborations don't stop there - Hegi and Weidmann are also part of the design collective kollekt, along with Thierry Blancpain, which Jonas describes as "a playground for motion graphics and live visuals".

Caravan Disco Caravan Disco is another party label based in Switzerland, for which Hegi was asked to produce a new identity. "I didn't want it to look like all the other electro parties that are currently around, so I decided to create a distinctive look just with type," he explains. "The main features of all posters and flyers are the same, just the implementation and style are different. I always work with digital and traditional media to create unique works."