Here we have digital artist Tom Mac who's work instantly caught my attention. He has adopted a very contemporary, colourful, vibrant illustrative style and seems to mainly focus on portrait imagery. There is a lot of vector style imagery floating around the internet these days, but Tom Mac injects a real sense of individuality and intricacy into his work. Also, while looking through his work I noticed that Tom Mac is also playing around with some motion graphics. Being a huge fan of the scene I'm interested to see what he'll come up with over the coming months. With plenty of commission work under his belt and having recently completed a cover for 'SQ magazine' Tom Mac took some time out of his busy schedule to answer some questions for me.
Hey Tom Mac, Where are you from?
South coast [UK] born and bred. A little seaside town called Bexhill is where I spend most of my time, and the rest is spent dotting between Eastbourne and Brighton.
How would you describe your style of art?
My work is heavily vector based. I spend a lot of time experimenting with different styles but I mainly find myself drawn into portraits in a non-literal style, as I have an obsession with faces.
Have you got anything exciting that your currently working on?
I find myself always working on something. Even as a student I am constantly looking for jobs such as magazine illustrations but it varies. An example of the variation includes a typographical piece im working on at the moment for a music blog called 'the smoothest gooch' this involves me creating the letters out of pube ridden wax strips!
What would be your one important tip for people?
My tip for people would be look at others work. Constantly. Your never going to keep up to date with design trends and styles if you dont do this, and although individuality is the key - you need to know your competition.
Which artist is really doing it for you right now?
Gabz. His work is so inspirational to me. After stumbling across his site I was quite jealous at first as the way in which i enjoy creating portraiture is similar to his...although his is to an entirely different level!
If your interested in commissioning Tom Mac, then you can contact him via his facebook page here
Here we have self titled 'world class illustrator' Juicy J. This guy has got style flowing through his veins. I first spotted his work via a comment on myspace years ago and have since seen his work making appearances all over the net and on the pages of Computer Arts magazine. His work is bold, colourful, vibrant and so sexually in-your-face that it makes you wonder how much of a man you really are!? Wondering how a person can portray so much attitude via his artwork and being aware of his self-depiction of being a god-like figure I mentally prepared myself and went in for the interview.
*strong language has been used!
Hey Juicy J, where are you from?
I'm from Atlanta, Georgia. But, I'm not sure that has any real baring on my art or point-of-view. The world is infinite and getting smaller with books, internet and social media. I try to stay open to everything and become a product of my physical environment.
How would you describe your style of art?
I don't know. I work primarily in vector, but that's a broad spectrum. I guess it's cartoony and fun. But I guess I try to convey 'awesomeness!' in most things I do. So if I had to describe It I would say I specialize in awesome!
Have you got anything exciting that your currently working on?
Mostly everything I do is interesting... to most people. I'm a contributing illustrator and writer for a young, urban magazine. I'm getting into the world of tattooing and photography. I'm in beginning stages of doing concept and illustration work for a pilot animation on Cartoon Network. But the most interesting thing I'm doing for me right now is a series of pin ups of my girlfriend.
What would be your one important tip for people?
Stop being so cunty and mediocre, as I believe that's the source of most people's shitty lives. Most people suck at life and instead of figuring out ways to make their situation better they generally opt to bitch, complain and tear people down to their cunty level. My tip is surround your self around positive and cool people. Your life, art, and anything you do will drastically improve!
Finally, which artist is really doing it for you right now?
I don't really follow art or other artist, as I don't want to fall in to the trap of replicating my peers. I draw most my inspiration from movies, friends and life... And sometimes from smoking greenery.
Juicy J has loads more fly work on his web portfolio. Please check him out over at:
pixel-pimp.com
[ladies man - Juicy J]
Here is an artist I have been watching for quite some time. Soulatech is a 26 year old freelance graphic designer with a very distinct style. By composing experimental, abstract shapes layered with tight graphic design elements and intelligent colour palettes, Soulatech has formed a very contemporary visual style. I love his work and get a very sci-fi/alien/digital graffiti feel from it. Soulatech is also the online designer for Rubik Records who he says have always been very supportive and are always willing to offer feedback.
[Soulatech - Demo]
So Soulatech, Where are you from?
Birmingham, UK.
How would you describe your style of art?
Digital, urban, abstract design.
What would be your one important tip for people?
Stay focused on your goals with your personal work, no matter how big or small they are.
What other artist is really doing it for you right now?
This is a hard one to answer as I like a lot of the designers I follow on deviant art. But Nicogamer, his style and flow are just dope. I have been following his work for a while...watchin' another design progress is just amazing and his style is fresh!
You can view Soulatech's gallery over at Deviant Art and he is available for commissions.
