From a ten-pane gif comic about deep sea explorations to a monochrome zine inspired by French cult film La Haine, the work of this new graduate will blow your mind.
Describe your process.
Everything starts in my sketchbook with a two-minute pencil sketch of an idea or a simple composition. My work is mainly digital so basically it’s like Photoshop and Illustrator playing ping pong with my pencil sketch. Photoshop always wins the match with the last touch.
What kind of projects get you excited?
Music and film have always played big part in my life, so pretty much anything along those lines and I am on board. If it’s topped with having complete creative freedom then I could not really ask for more.
Tell us about your experience working on the Hoxton Windows Project? Was it a challenge working at that scale?
It was as much of a technical challenge as it was physical. Everything had to be perfect because once I’d applied paint onto a big surface I could not really go back to make major changes as I could have done working digitally. In order to paint the top of the windows I had to walk up and down a step ladder so it was also physically active. It was actually refreshing after the long hours spent in front of my computer screen. First I applied the outlines of the artwork and I was lucky enough to have my friend David around to help me filling in with colour, saving me from painting alone in the empty office at night.
What was the design thinking behind your La Haine zine?
We were asked by our tutors to take the essence of our favourite movie and translate it into a zine or a book. Since both David Oku and I chose the same movie and shared common interests, it was an obvious move to collaborate. After a thorough analysis of the film we discovered several references to animals and it led to the decision to use animals as visual metaphors for the characters in the movie. We matched people with creatures based on a common attribute. We created twelve spreads to reflect the twelve chapters of the film. As rebelling is an essential theme in the movie, we found visual references in the political graphic design of the 1970s student uprisings in Paris. We covered over one hundred sheets of paper with hand-painted typography and illustrations based on quotes and references from the movie and used them to deliver the narrative for each character throughout the pages. The raw and imperfect hand-painted typography perfectly matched the black and white noir collages, which reflected the dark atmosphere of La Haine.
Tell us about a recent project you’ve been really proud of?
Most of the positive feedback I receive is linked to the illustrations I post regularly on my blog. I used this platform during my final year as a playground for creating a colourful world of weird characters and surreal landscapes whenever I had time to get away from university projects, freelance work and internships.
What inspired your Raptures of the Deep project?
Raptures of the Deep was inspired by nitrogen narcosis, which is an alteration in consciousness that occurs while diving at depth. It's basically a short motion comic of some sort about a scuba diver's journey through the unknown depth of the great blue ocean. I used motion and sound to enhance the impact of still images and the story of the short journey was delivered in ten comic panels.
What’s next now you’ve graduated?
In the future I want to spend more time working on my illustrations and get more commissions along the way. I enjoy working as part of a team as well as on my own and so my plan is to carry on working in a studio environment to gain more experience. I’d also like to engage more with 3D design and animation.
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