COMPANY: Personal projects
CLIENT: Personal projects
TASK: Draw
SOFTWARES: Suite Adobe
SECTOR: Digital art
I worked for years as a graphic designer, but most of my colleagues don’t even know I can draw. Because too often western people believe that traditional drawing doesn’t fit the aesthetic of commercials or web (with rare exceptions of course), instead we prefer flat or 3d and so I never had the chance to show it.
But for most of my life I had pencils in my hands, mostly while studying, and I studied for many years. The habit of scribbling while teachers talk has stayed with me ever since, and still now drawing helps me to concentrate.
At my high school we had hours of technical drawing using ink, and most of my classmates asked me to draw their tables as a favour since I was faster, neater and enjoyed it a lot. So I drew the same tables more times than any other and that improved my skills: fun fact, my teacher didn’t recognise it was me who drew tables for different students, and sometimes I even took different marks out of all the tables I drew. Maybe that was when I started questioning the fairness of the system ahahah.
I chose product design for university thinking it combines well drawing with other less artistic aspects and that could help find a “real job”, without wasting the passion of drawing as a mere hobby.
But during the process I realized artists can live with their art if they are good enough, so I left that horrible misconception and after the degree I decided to start working in the video animation industry rather than continuing a technical path in which I wasn’t interested. But even when I worked for a traditional animated series for a year, I ended up not being the one who actually drew things but the compositor and producer of the post-prod department.
Sometimes I think drawing will always remain a part of me which I won’t make money on, and that would be also fine. I’m just waiting for a good opportunity or a great script idea to start a complex project.
What I’m sure is that I never stopped improving: photoshop, illustrator and aftereffects are powerful softwares I use everyday with mouse and tablet, and what I learn for a project of photo editing is always applicable on digital drawing, so when it happens to draw some portraits using pencils like the ones you see here, it won't take me long to color and make them alive.
I’ll never get bored of this.
