Friday, February 22, 2008

Featured Artist for the Week - Virus69

Real Name: Igor Scekic

Please tell us a brief info about yourself.
My name is Igor Scekic. I'm 22(almost 23) years old student of Graphic design from Zagreb, Croatia. I like to be creative so I'm experimenting with traditional drawing, digital art and photography.


When did you first decide to become a graphic artist / illustrator?
Actually it started just for fun. About 4 years ago some friends of mine were making some stuff in Photoshop, nothing special, but I started to like this digital way of making art so I decided to try it by myself. it wasn't serious until two years ago when I started making my first surreal photo manipulations.

What do you prefer: mouse, tablet, brush or pen and ink? and why?
Definitely the tablet, because it is the more natural way of doing things than with the mouse. It allows more freedom in digital art than mouse. In traditional art, I prefer coloured pencils and watercolors...don't know why...maybe because I suck in other techniques. :)


Who or what inspires you?
Hm..it is hard to answer that. I find inspiration in works of other digital artists and also in works of some traditional artists as well like Dali, Magritte, Escher. Also I find inspiration in my thoughts, music, movies... Inspiration is all around us, we just need to open our eyes.


Where does your training come from? Self-taught? College/Art School?
Well I could say I'm self-taught. Most of the things that I know I learned by myself by experimenting, reading tutorials and examining other artists' works. At the university, I haven't learned anything special.


How do you keep "fresh" within your industry?
I try avoid trends and copying other's ideas.


What are your current projects?
I can't tell you all of them before they will be done. I'm making some stuff for the Evoke artgroup, one artwork for a magazine, some client works and there is something I can't tell you. :)

About the fallen angel piece, What's the story behind that piece?
This piece is about people who choosed the wrong way in their lives. Maybe they are beautiful from the outside, but their souls are ugly and ruined.


Which of your projects are you the most proud of? And why?
I don't know. I have a few pieces that are my favorites, but others don't find those pieces my best. But I can't say that I'm specially proud of something that I did because I have a lot of self criticism so I always find something on my piece that will bother me... My favorites are Where is Alice?, MindTrap and Celestial Alchemy because they are special to me in some way.


Are there any areas, techniques, mediums, projects in your field that you have yet to try?
Of course. In art there are endless possibilities and it is impossible to explore them all. I'd like to make some cool looking motion graphics. I'm really impressed with motion stuff because motion is always better than a still image. It could give you more information.


What do you do to keep yourself motivated and avoid burn-out?
I'm not always so motivated, it depends on my mood. Sometimes I can't make anything for 2-3 weeks, and sometimes I'm so hyper productive that I make a lot photos, drawings and digital stuff in a week or so.


Finish this sentence. "If I weren't an artist/illustrator I would have been a...
porn star :) I don't know. as kid I always wanted to be a pirate or a rock star. I suppose it is impossible to be a pirate, so I could would have to say a rock star.


and finally, What advices/tips can you give to the novice designer/ illustrator?
Experiment, watch other's works and if something isn't going so well don't give up. keep on trying... and most important-CREATE DON'T STEAL.

(c) virus69.net - reproduced with permission

For commision works & other information, please contact him at:

website: http://virus69.deviantart.com/
http://virus69.net/

email: surrealisticdaydream@gmail.com

wanna be a featured artist?
email me at: mcedesigns@gmail.com
with the subject: interview request


For more featured artists, click here.