Hasta La Creative!

Nitesh Mohanty is a Mumbai based Graphic Designer and co-founder of The Root.

Did you attend school for fine art or design?
I studied fine arts in Sir J.J. School of Arts & did my post graduation from NID.

Were there any particular role models for you when you grew up?
I wonder what is “growing up”…? I’m still curious like a child, looking, learning, growing & hope that this process never ends. But If I look back at my childhood, I was drawn towards comics ~ Mandrake, Phantom, Flash Gordon, Bahadur… also Amar Chitra Katha. I didn’t know who were the illustrators & the amazing storytellers, but as I grew, I got aware of the greatness of Uncle Pai, Abid, Lee Falk, Edgar Rice Burroughs… Then of course there was the Belgian cartoonist Hergé, who gave me the greatest joy through the adventures of Tintin. These were the mavericks who welcomed me into their world filling my life with joy & awe.

Who was the most influential personality on your career in Illustrations?
Fortunately, there isn’t one single personality, but a whole lot of authors, film makers, great artists, photographers, illustrators, graffiti makers, graphic novelists & many more who continue to shape my ways of seeing & creating. I look in different directions in search of inspiration & influences… I admire the work of many… I’ll try & list few. Satyajit Ray, Raza, Mario Miranda, Josef Koudelka, Steve McCurry, Banksy, Ai Weiwei, Egon Schiele, JR, Neil Gaiman, Reza Abedini, Richard Hamilton, Robert Rauschenberg, Shepard Fairey, Dave McKean, Mati Klarwein, Terrence Malick, Keith Haring, Peter Beard, Anton-Corbijn, Man Ray, David Carson, Ashley Wood, David Hockney, Raghu Rai, Wong Kar Wai, Pramod Pati, Pablo Bartholomew, Frida Kahlo, Nick Bantock, Shirin Neshat, Prabhudda Dasgupta, Chip Kidd, René Mederos, Joe Sacco, Sebastiao Salgado, Francis Bacon, Jean Michel Basquiat, Robert McGinnis, Sergio Toppi…The List is endless… Growing everyday.

Are many advertising agencies getting illustrations made these days? Do you work more with agencies or publishers?
Yes, that seems to be the trend. A whole lot of talented illustrators are being commissioned by agencies to give face to their campaigns. Each campaign has a distinct demand, and every illustrator comes with a certain style to be able to visualize & fit the need. For reasons beyond me, I haven’t ever worked with any agency instead have been dealing with publishers directly. I have worked with a whole lot of them from Penguin, Harper Collings, Hachette, Picador, Rupa, Bloomsbury…

Was there any time when you wanted to quit Illustrations?
Never… I slip in & out of my roles of being a graphic designer, illustrator, fine artist & someone who loves photography… This keeps my creatively varied… I try my best to ensure that monotony doesn’t seep in.

Have you considered turning your illustrations into toys?
No… Not yet. Maybe… someday… Since I’m a print oriented person. I see & imagine things in 2D…

Any other Indian Illustrators who you admire?
In the recent lot, I love the work of Prashant Miranda, Prabha Mallya, Samia Singh, Sameer Kulavoor, Lokesh Karekar, Dhruvi Acharya, Maheswari Janarthanan… I also look up to the amazing work of graphic journalists Orijit Sen, Vishwajyoti Ghosh & Amruta Patil…
I’m often drawn towards lesser known illustrators who lend their artistic creations to regional book covers. Some amazing work has been happening in West Bengal, which hardly gets featured or mentioned. In my travels, I make sure to visit local book shops ~ only to stumble upon some very inspiring & eclectic body of art work.

I’m fascinated by the work of artist, Ganesh Payne ~ whose art is illustrative in nature; his paintings have a dream like narrative. One can find & discover many things within; his work has always an enchanting set of journeys, interpretations & discoveries… I also have great regard & respect for Satyajit Ray, his illustrations, sketches, poster art ~ still evoke a very modern sense of imagination. His art is still fresh, almost timeless just like his cinema.

What made you decide to become a freelance illustrator? When did you start freelancing?
As I told earlier, I’m a graphic designer first… the role of an illustrator came to me accidentally while designing book jackets & I picked it up seamlessly. Not having studied graphics or illustration, gives me an intuitive & untrained, way of visualizing & immersing myself in the process & practice. I’ve been freelancing since a decade.

Do you have any favorite fellow illustrators or resources relating to your fields?
I’ve mentioned them above…Where resources are concerned; it’s an organic & seamless process of stumbling & journeying into other people’s art & illustration through their blogs… Pintrest gives you a wide variety of things to look into, I’ve come across some great work there…

You have such a wide experience as a top working professional. What advice do you have for aspiring creative professionals? Would you advise them to take on Illustration as a career option? Is it paying well enough?
I’ believe as creative individuals, one has to be open & absorb all forms of creative ideas, throw yourself into all kinds of creative engagements. Every art form is related to the other. Some of my biggest inspirations have come from cinema… World, Independent, Experimental, Art House…There is always something to unravel. One must Journey in different directions, you never know what you mind find. Be hungry; gather as much as your can ~ from books, poetry, theater, cinema, music, folk traditions… Look at life closely. The best art is happening on the street ~ people’s expression, the traffic, movement, the bustle of colors, the chaos of sounds, billboards, posters, signs… We are often searching for big, important things & in the process miss out the joy of discovering art, aesthetics, beauty & poetry in small invaluable things… One must train his/ her eye to be more patient, more observant. Keep a notebook ~ paint, scribble, doodle, sketch… Write; make notes, record what excites you, what interests you, what fascinates you… Shoot! Take pictures. Keep a soft board & pin all that you gather on it…
Only take up Illustration as a career if you Love your art… And will never get tired of it.
And the things that you Love doing might not always pay you well… that also brings us to another question ` What is “well” enough???

Tell us something of your personal projects?
I’m currently working on my first documentary film on the last few remaining single screen cinemas of Bombay’s Grant Road Area. It was initially a photo documentation which propelled me to gather the stories through the format of a film.

Tell us about ‘THE ROOT’
The Root is a platform initiated by me & my wife, Diya, to be able to propagate various cultural, social, political & environmental issues through a divers set of creative mediums & merchandise. We host book reading sessions, documentary cinema screening, heritage walks, art & photography forums all in pursuit of bringing various issues on a concerned canvas ~ which becomes a window to the world. We collaborate with like minded individuals & organizations to share stories that are engaging, inspiring & thought provoking.
The Root Merchandise comprises of eco-friendly products such as Organic Cotton T-shirts, Posters, Notebooks, Postcards etc

What is your dream project?
An illustrated travelogue of a road trip to the North East.

Who would you like to take out for dinner?
Saadat Hasn Manto… Listen to his Bombay Stories…. & come back to sketch them.

What’s on your iPod?
From Nusrat Fateh ali Khan, U2, Pink Floyd, The Doors, Gotan Project, RD Burman, Coltrane, Miles Davis, Pearl Jam, Tracy Chapman, Moby, Nirvana, Sting, Chemical Brothers, Pavarotti, Nyman, Girija Devi, Ravi Shankar, Farida Kahnum, Paban Das Baul, Gustavo Santaolalla… & a whole lot of World Music…

Mac or PC?
Both

The post Nitesh Mohanty : Graphic Designer appeared first on desicreative.

Voici de nouveaux travaux de Dmitry Maximov sous le nom de créatif « Tebe Interesno » qui réalise de superbes illustrations. Avec des compositions surréalistes faisant notamment référence à la science-fiction, cet artiste nous offre des images d’une grande qualité à découvrir en détails dans la suite de l’article.

Coup de cœur pour le travail de l’illustrateur italien Jonathan Calugi pour un rendu minimaliste tant au niveau des lignes que des couleurs, c’est d’ailleurs ce qui lui donne toute sa force et sa pertinence. Quelques unes de ses très belles nouvelles illustrations avec la série « Back To The Line » à découvrir dans la suite.

Focus sur le travail du designer graphique estonien Anton Burmistrov qui a réalisé 3 posters pour « Sputnik Event » qui n’est pas sans rappeler le style de l’artiste israélien Noma Bar. Dans cette série, il propose une double lecture de ses créations, dissimulant une image dans l’image avec beaucoup de poésie.

L’artiste malaisien Tang Yau Hoong nous livre sa vision de l’espace dans sa série « The Art of Negative Space ». Sans délimitation réelle, ses illustrations confondent le plein et le vide, le ciel et la terre, donnant à voir non pas un mais des espaces qui se complètent et s’opposent au sein de chacune de ses créations.

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Abhinav is a crazy person when it comes to his passions which include art, visiting new places and looking at the world through his illustrations and art.

Why are you an Illustrator?
I started out with fine arts and found out that I love illustrating as well. There was no clear cut transition but I feel that my grounding in fine arts has helped me with my illustrations.

Did you attend school for fine art or design?
I studied fine arts at Raheja School of Art.

You have a distinct style of illustration. How long did it take you to develop your style?
There is no specific timeline that I took to develop my style and I don’t believe in different styles but I believe that all styles are ingrained from the basic fundamental shapes.

Were there any particular role models for you when you grew up?
My class teacher Balaji Bhange was a great influence and a role model while I was growing up.

Who was the most influential personality on your career in Illustrations?
There have been influences but what I really feel is that each and every artist that I come across has his own style and every one of them has something new and amazing that I can learn from.

Are many advertising agencies getting illustrations made these days? Do you work more with agencies or publishers?
I mostly work with advertising agencies like Maccann and Grey doing illustrations for them.

What made you decide to become a freelance illustrator? When did you start freelancing? Do you illustrate for advertising? Are many advertising agencies getting illustrations made these days? Do you work more with agencies or publishers?
It was not a fixed decision, I generally drifted towards freelancing because it gave me the freedom to choose the kind of work I want to do. I have been freelancing for the last 5 years now.

Was there any time when you wanted to quit Illustrations?
I love illustrating too much to ever think that, so my answer is no never.

Have you considered turning your illustrations into graphic novels?
Yes I have thought about that I think I would enjoy doing it. But for now I am concentrating on illustrations. If one day I wake up and think that I want to do a graphic novel then I’ll do it and I will enjoy doing it.

Any other Indian Illustrators who you admire?
Arnaylay Chinchpure and Vikrant Bhise are two personalities that I admire a lot and both have influenced me greatly in my illustrations.

Tell us something of your personal projects.
My personal projects right now include a mix of photography and illustrations based on everyday life.

What is your dream project?
My dream project would be to travel all over India capturing the different facets and cultures of India, the real India.

Who would you like to take out for dinner?
Someone I can enjoy talking to.

What’s on your iPod?
I don’t own a iPod.

Mac or PC?
PC.

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Sebastien Thibault est un illustrateur basé à Matane (dans la péninsule canadienne de Gaspésie) qui imagine avec talent des compositions très réussies. Jouant sur les symboles et les couleurs, une sélection d’illustrations conceptuelles issues de ses différents projets est à découvrir dans la suite.

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Dropped off by egrets, in the Middle East, Alicia Souza’s folks had a hard time keeping up to her experiments of drawing on doors and burning them because its faster than erasing. She followed her  gut of studying down under only to find absolutely no sheep in the city. She. hence, decided to huddle to India and is now smiling happily that every morning she can drink chai and grin at cows at a safe distance. They grin back, she insists.

Did you attend school for fine art or design?
Yes, I did attend a design school in Melbourne and hold a Bachelors in Communication Design.

Were there any particular role models for you when you grew up?
My brother, because he was and is incredibly smart. He still is my go-to person when I don’t feel like reading Wiki or searching Google.

Who was the most influential personality on your career in Illustrations?
More than a particular person, I just have an incorrigible love of illustrated children books, which developed in my 20′s and that was when I fell in love with pictures all over again. It was like finding new love.

Are many advertising agencies getting illustrations made these days? Do you work more with agencies or publishers?
Advertising agencies get illustrations only if it suits the brief. There is also the competition of having photographs instead. I work with publishers a lot more.

Was there any time when you wanted to quit Illustrations?
Yes, when I just started. It’s hard making something you love, a job too. But I didn’t have a choice and had to make it work and now I love it excessively.

Have you considered turning your illustrations into toys?
MANNNNYYYY times. Unfortunately, it involves a budget that I look to invest in the future.

Any other Indian Illustrators who you admire?
Nilofer Suleman amazes me with her detailing! I think I’d call her an ‘artist’ more than an ‘illustrator’ though!

What made you decide to become a freelance illustrator? When did you start freelancing?
I got my first freelancing illustration project at graduation. But I believe I was a full-time freelancer only a year and a half ago, when I left my previous position. I did’nt feel I had much of a choice in that regard. My previous engagement ended abruptly and I din’t want to join a place yet I needed to earn, so I started freelancing. In the beginning it was slow and now I feel like I’m running all the time. I’ve been lucky:)

Do you have any favourite fellow illustrators or resources relating to your fields?
I have a million favourites but my recent love are these blokes (I think) who do this comic called Toon Hole. I think they are hilarious! I don’t frequent works as often as I’d like to, so my other resource is general information at google.

You have such a wide experience as a top working professional. What advice do you have for aspiring creative professionals? Would you advise them to take on Illustration as a career option? Is it paying well enough?
You have to realise that there’s more to taking up illustration as a freelancer than just drawing. You have to be proactive about getting to know people, advertising or marketing your work and have a basic plan about how you want to grow. Money is definitely not ‘the’ incentive in this field and you make how much you want to make. The more projects you take up, the more you get paid. Simple.

Tell us something of your personal projects.
My personal project is my daily drawings. The ones I put up on Facebook. It’s become a personal space to showcase my work and also gives me freedom to do anything I want, daily.
My other personal projects involve me growing as a person. So every year I take up something new to learn or do something that I’ve been wanting to and never did. I can’t tell you about my current year plans till the end of the year but last year, I learnt a bit of a language, started to cook a wee bit, got my hands dirty with gardening, grew my nails out a bit, and brought up another dog.

What is your dream project?
Having to draw about 3 greeting cards every month. I love greeting cards!

Who would you like to take out for dinner?
Richard Gere. Or my parents. Absolutely not together.

What’s on your iPod?
Country music and Christmas classics.

Mac or PC?
Mac.

The post Alicia Souza : Interview appeared first on desicreative.

Actuellement étudiant en art, le philippin Lei Melendres propose de magnifiques dessins qu’il réalise sur ces propres carnets. Voici en exemple, ces « Doodles » avec un style maîtrisé et un encrage noir très réussi. L’ensemble est à découvrir en images sur son portfolio et dans la suite de l’article.

Karan Singh is an illustrator from Sydney, Australia currently working and living in New York City. His eclectic style has seen him work with a diverse group of clients and initiate a number of self-initiated projects.
Why are you an Illustrator?
Because it makes me happy!

Did you attend school for fine art or design?
Kind of. The degree I studied had more of a focus on interaction design, so anything from designing websites to immersive installations. I was introduced to Illustrator and Photoshop at uni and fell in love. I spent a lot of my spare time teaching myself to use them and haven’t looked back since.

Were there any particular role models for you when you grew up?
Not particularly, though I’d say my parents were really encouraging when I left high school and emphasized that I should do something that made me happy and not to necessarily pursue a pay cheque.

Who was the most influential personality on your career in Illustrations?
I got involved in an online art community called Deviant Art that fostered my love of illustration. As a result of this I joined Depthcore, an international art collective of artists who I got to collaborate with in order to develop my work. More specifically, I’d say Romanian illustrator, Matei Apostolescu, a friend I met through Deviant Art, inspired me a lot by encouraging me to push my work and freestyle more. Another person is Jeremy Somers, a Sydney based creative, who took me on as an intern while I was at uni. We become friends and he turned into a bit of a mentor for me especially when it came to the business side of design, which I was completely oblivious to.

Are many advertising agencies getting illustrations made these days? Do you work more with agencies or publishers?
It’s about even; most of my recent work has come from ad agencies but in the past I’ve done a lot of editorial illustrations. Sometimes it’s a mix where illustrations are combined with photography too which can be a lot of fun.

Was there any time when you wanted to quit Illustrations?
Not really. If anything, I want to pursue other creative fields on top of illustration whether writing or music or object design. I’m really interested in lots of different fields and think being called a “Creative” would be cooler.

Have you considered turning your illustrations into toys?
I have a bit of an obsession with vinyl toys. I’ve drawn on a couple of blank toys but that’s about as far as I’ve taken it. The thought has crossed my mind but I’d say I’m still more of a fan.

Any other Indian Illustrators who you admire?
Delhi based illustrator, Archan Nair, a good friend and an inspiring individual.

What made you decide to become a freelance illustrator? When did you start freelancing?
I started freelancing in 2009. It was something I always wanted to do and I learnt a lot of valuable lessons and got to meet some amazing people. In 2011 I was recruited by illustration agency Vault49 in New York where I’ve been since. It’s been a really good experience at Vault and as a result has allowed me to be a bit more selective about which freelance jobs I take on.

Do you have any favourite fellow illustrators or resources relating to your fields?
None specifically, but I’m always in awe of illustrators from Scandinavia and Japan. Their styles are always so fresh and interesting.

You have such a wide experience as a top working professional. What advice do you have for aspiring creative professionals? Would you advise them to take on Illustration as a career option? Is it paying well enough?
I’d say that being happy is really important. Life’s too short to be doing something you don’t like.

Tell us something about Pig Bimpin.
I’d always wanted to dabble in writing and I created Pig Bimpin to explore this a bit. It’s basically a blog where I interview a bunch of really inspiring and creative people and get to take some photos of them too.

Tell us something of your personal projects.
My favourite and most painful personal project was my Daily Quickie project where I created an illustration every weekday for a year. I gave myself an hour or so each day to create something just for myself. I did a spin off on the project where I did an illustration marathon for the Cancer Council in Australia. I created 12 illustrations in 12 hours. Prints were sold and all the money raised was donated, it was a really special experience.

What is your dream project?
I’d love to illustrate for a cook book.

Who would you like to take out for dinner?
All my friends who are sprinkled all over the world, in one place at the same time. That would be great.

What’s on your iPod?
It’s snowing in New York right now so I’m listening to Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue.

Mac or PC?
Mac.

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