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Tell us about your artistic background
I've developed my skills as a freelance designer over the past seven years. Involving myself with community sharks and international
players has helped me target a niche market in my field, specialising in illlustrations for fashion, lifestyle, etc. Regular clients over the
past 12 months include The Birmingham Independent and Blazin Star Experiential. After asking myself what defines my artistic style,
I find it stems from the curiosity of people's character, fashion, nature and God. My formal training is in fashion (university) and
pencil portrait illustration, which has inspired much of my digital work, particularly figurative illustration. A craftsman with no tools
has no purpose, which is where Photoshop comes in. All of my work passes through this software at some stage, from the initial
creation to final touches, so i find myself constantly learning new techniques with a tool that has limitless capabilities.
What are your prefered subjects ? I love people, faces, character, motion, expression in relation to fashion and lifestyle art. Fashion design and fine art are my foundational
backgrounds, and I find that I occassionally exploit my passions somewhere in all my projects. Tell us about the most exciting project you've worked on so far It has to be my current design work for a new UK clothing brand, Jesus Wear 24-7. I'm in total control in terms of artistic licence, so i can
literally draw from any visual source of info and create whatever theme I believe is appropriate. The designs are fashion/people oriented and the
ads are very artisic, so im happy to work as I lead. No other company has given me such freedom to express my creativity. Talk us through your design practice-how do you work? Typically i work around vector illustration, so I might start by drawing figures using the pen tools in another application or it can be done soley in
Photoshop-it depends, if the wireframe looks good I just add colour and spice everything up in Cs2 with lighting effects, brushes, etc. I always
use levels to deepen the shadows and create more contrast between light and dark. I always create backgrounds in PS with the brush tools,
layer effects and layer modes to compliment the vectors, because I think the raster/vector mix brings good results. What's your advice to anyone wanting to be a professional designer? I would tell any potential artist, if you want to be a top designer you need top training. I have no formal training myself, im self taught, although I
have been using Photoshop for years, and at one stage I thought I knew it all, only to stumble across some online videos from some top PS
masters. I then realised two things. Firstly, I knew nothing in comparison to them. Secondly, there really are no limits to what you can do in
Photoshop...Which leads me to a very interesting question: can we ever really maximise our potential in Photoshop or do we just keep improving? Aside from that, I would say it's important to find your own niche and master the software for that particular purpose, whether it's for web,
illustration, fine art, photography, desktop publishing or general design. When your sure you know which direction you want to go in, you'll be
ready for the most important advice of all.... There are thousands upon thousands of people who do what you do, with the same knowledge, skills and experience you have. Plus, no matter
how good you think you are, there's always someone better. So here's the key to success - Marketing. Yes, plain and simple networking and
marketing. I would advise anybody hoping to make it to learn this art, or find somebody who already has, because you can have the best work in
the world but it won't get you anywhere if it's sitting in your favourite document folder. You need to let the world know what you have to offer
by getting it published, for example in magazines, site galleries, reviews, etc. What do you love about Photoshop? I love the shortcuts because they are so easy to remember, which is easier when using another system. I think the support that the software has
is head and shoulders above the rest. I have seen more magazines, forums, sites, galleries, tutorials, plugins, brushes, actions, etc for this program
than any other. So understanding your niche is far easier with with PS in the long run, because there are tutorials designed to cover specific areas
of trade, such as photography. What annoys you about it? It does take up alot of RAM, especially when you're using multiple layers, which means you will need to have at least 1gb bare minimum. What ambitionis/plans do you have for the future? I intend to expand my client base as far as Japan or Australia, so marketing is key. I also like the idea of selling my most precious work online, which
is more important to me because my inspiration can inspire others and live on, being appreciated by another generation in the future, God willing.
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