Welcome back to another edition of Diversity in Design, an interview and feature series here at Envato Tuts+! In this series, we take a look at a selection of artists from different disciplines, different parts of the world, different artistic focus, different backgrounds—all of them excellent at what they do!
Listening in, observing, and celebrating our differences, our diversity, and all of the wonderful colors of creativity can not only be a wonderfully enjoyable experience—there's plenty we can learn from each other, too! I had the pleasure of speaking with a lovely selection of artists this month. Check out their beautiful works and inspiring insights! I hope they inspire you as much as they inspired me.
So let's take a look and a listen!
Radu Stefan
Hi, my name is Radu and I am an artist and a designer from Romania. I am a graphic designer/artworker that has experience on doing brand identities, packaging designs, advertising materials such as posters, banners, flyers, brochures, catalogues and also I like to make illustrations.
In my free time, I am also painting on canvas, with oil colors, abstract nude themes. I would describe my work as vibrant, with a good visual message, colourful but also simple.
Clear visual design makes the product/service stand out in the crowd. So I can say that I want to achieve a good communication with my visual designs on the market. I like to make things different than what I see around me and this is a goal that I keep with me all the time. That makes me work more efficient on projects and with a unique result.
As a creative goal, my biggest wish it will be to see that I can inspire other designers with my creations.
My creative process starts on paper, where I express my ideas regarding any project. Everything works better on paper for me. As much as we designers share our work online, we will always have better imagination and faster respond to tasks. Keeping you up to date with new trends and new designs will always help you going better.
A word of inspiration; always create something from your mind. Use your imagination in your style. Don't copy other designs, but get inspired by them and create something unique. And always learn new skills.
Check out more of Radu's wonderful work here:
Mario De Meyer
Hi, I'm Mario De Meyer from Belgium and have been a freelancer for about 10 years. My main focus is typography but I also do some illustrations and abstract works.
As a creative person I feel growing as an artist, pushing boundaries and becoming better at what you do is something very important for myself.
It gives me a lot of satisfaction to see when the client is happy with my designs or I can inspire other people.
My creative process starts in many cases with research about the subject and thinking of a concept.
I always try to visualize how the final image will look like before I start sketching or turn on my computer.
I mostly do some sketches and send those to the client, once those are approved I move on to Illustrator to make the final design.
Inspiration can come for anywhere and I feel it mostly comes when I'm not forcing to get inspired or when I'm relaxed, the more you force this, the harder it gets.
Share your work and get it out there! It's a really great way to see how people respond to it, get feedback and grow as an artist.
Also, don't be afraid to be 'different', it's easy to follow the hypes and lose your soul, being different is what makes you unique, certainly in a creative job like a graphic designer.
You can check out more of Mario's work here:
Melissa Chaib
I’m Melissa Chaib, an art director and illustrator from Mexico. At the moment I’m opening up a Studio and an online shop, both of which are focused on making my work grow as more of a brand, as well as an offline experience.
I like to reflect all of the feelings I have towards the things that I love and inspire me into my work; trying to create this kind of relatable feeling or mood. Although it depends on my influences at that moment.
I find myself always obsessing with different things, whether they are a song, a movie, a thought, a character from a movie, and try to imprint that into my work in some way or another.
My creative process begins with the channeling of the things I stand for and that mean something to me into my work and to start choosing a project from there. I’ve always been drawn to 80’s movies and fashion, and whatever pop culture or youth nostalgia currently mean to me at any given moment.
Don’t hesitate to approach people about working with them.
Surround yourself with people who you consider are cooler, successful than you are right now. Learn and be inspired by them.
Risk making something new that you haven’t seen before and be ready to go beyond and push yourself, eat your art for breakfast, lunch and dinner!
Make sure to check out more of Melissa's work right here:
Amy Stoddard
Hi, I’m Amy Stoddard and I’m a freelance illustrator and comic artist. I’d consider my work very female focused. I like to create comics and illustrations for women that focus on romance and life issues that we face but tackle these things in a bright and uplifting manner.
Ultimately when I create any work, whether a comic or an illustration I want it to be a bright spot in someone’s day, something that gives them joy and something to dream about.
When I read a really great comic or see a really beautiful illustration, It gives me so much enjoyment and excites my imagination. So for me personally as an artist I want to be able to give that same feeling to others. If someone gleans some joy from my comics or uses them for escapism then I would consider my job done.
For my creative process and where I get my inspiration, I get a lot of inspiration from nature. I love to be in nature, and know and understand what is around me.
Of course this means nature is pretty prominent in my work, but I also get a lot of inspiration from dreams, music, or just random life encounters. When it comes to dreaming I guess I could say I am blessed with pretty vivid story dreams. More often than not my comic ideas are born in some fashion from a dream I may have had.
My advice to other creatives is to love what you do first. If you don’t love what you do it will be much too easy to quit, and making it in a creative field is a long game.
You have to love what you do enough to have the tenacity and persistence to stick with it through anything. I feel like when I was in school that my university didn’t exactly prepare me for the realities of how to make a living at art.
There’s a lot to explore out there and the path you start out on may lead to new places that may not be exactly what you had hoped, but might just be what you need. So don’t be afraid to branch out and try new things.
Check out more of Amy's wonderful work here:
Who Are Some Artists You Love? Let Us Know!
A very warm, big thank you to Radu, Mario, Melissa, and Amy for sharing their work and their thoughts with us today. You all make such beautiful, inspiring content—I'm really thankful that I had the chance to ask you a few questions, and it's such a pleasure to admire your work! You are so very inspiring—thank you for sharing your work with the world!
Again, you can check out the works of these lovely artists here:
- Radu's Portfolio | StefanRadu.co.uk
- Mario's Portfolio | DMGraphics2.com
- Melissa's Portfolio/Store | MelissaStudio.mx
- Amy's Website | GenkiGirl.com
And thank you for reading today! If you know of an artist that you think deserves to be featured, let us know in the comments! Who are some of your favorite artists? Feel free to use the hashtags #tutsplusdesign and #artforall on Instagram and Twitter, as well! We'll be keeping an eye out!
Check out some of the other articles in this series:
InspirationArt for All: Celebrate Diversity in Design—Volume 28
InspirationArt for All: Celebrate Diversity in Design—Volume 27
Global InfluencesArt for All: Celebrate Diversity in Design—Volume 26
DiversityArt for All: Celebrate Diversity in Design—Volume 25
ArtArt for All: Celebrate Diversity in Design—Volume 24
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