ANNA DITTMANN Anna is a digital illustrator from San Francisco with a passion for enigmatic portraiture. She graduated from the Savannah College of Art and Design in 2015 with a BFA in Illustration. Anna's love for nature, biology, and portraiture are recurring themes throughout her work. Her inspiration derives from organic natural elements, mythology and history, movement and texture, lyrics and melodies, expressions, color variations, pretty much anything which makes her want to grab her tablet and paint!
Her love for nature, biology, and portraiture are recurring themes throughout her work .
ANNA DITTMANN Q
. Who or what are your main sources of inspiration? My inspiration comes from organic natural elements, mythology and history, movement and texture, lyrics and melodies, expressions, color variations, and pretty much anything which makes me want to grab my tablet and paint! Q. You attend SCAD currently, studying Illustration. How far into your degree are you? Yup, I'll be starting my senior year this fall. Yikes, time has gone by fast! Q. Did you attend any school for formal training in artwork? Before college, I was mostly self-taught and practiced digital art through web tutorials and trial and error. I took a few traditional art classes in high school, and fortunately, a painting teacher encouraged me to look into art school. Though SCAD was an impromptu decision, it's been great. I love being surrounded by creative people with a similar passion for art, who push me, teach me, and inspire me on a daily basis. Q. What programs and tools do you use in creating your work? Anything you're especially fond of that you'd like to recommend to readers?
I paint digitally using Adobe Photoshop CS6 and my lovely Wacom Intuos 3 tablet. I was instantly hooked my first day of using a computer and tablet. Working with unlimited colors and canvases helped me experiment more, allowing me to grow and develop my style. Of course, I still have so much to learn, and regularly discover new techniques and tools. What I love about art is that, with any medium, it’s an eternal learning process. Q. What's your typical workday/school day like? Going too long without holding a stylus or pencil makes me antsy. I draw almost every day if I can, even if it’s just a doodle. Sketching and painting is very relaxing (except when going through an art block; those are the worst!). My daily schedule includes lots of procrastination, unproductivity, and snacking. Unless I have early classes (which I try to avoid), I get up in the afternoon. I’m not a morning person! In between classes I'll work on homework, personal projects, and commissions, with a healthy dose of TV shows, interneting, and baking. I normally stay up till odd hours of the night getting stuff done that I've been putting off all day.
Q. What is your creative process like? I normally start with a vague concept in mind and sketch out my idea in black and white. After tweaking the composition and values, and being generally nitpicky, I start seeking out references and refining my sketch. Next, I throw in textures on a variety of layer modes such as soft light, divide, multiply, whatever may feel best. I add color using layer modes, and particularly like curves to manipulate hues. Toward the end, I detail the piece, sharpen it, and call I often work on more than one image at a time because it keeps me refreshed when going back and forth. I draw whenever I can, but I’m a night person at heart and feel most inspired after dark. I like using a chalky brush for a more traditional effect—it's the first on the list. I'll occasionally use the others to achieve certain textures and traditional effects. Q. How about your work space? Can you give us an insight into where you work? I move around a lot, so in my workspace is always in flux. But I love painting by a window (with a hot cup of tea). Q. Do you find time for freelance work? I currently freelance on a part-time basis, as that's most flexible to balance with school. I like the freedom of managing my own hours, pricing, and number of clients
start in black and white and prefer limited palettes, adding hue is my favorite part. After seeing an inspiring color scheme, there’s nothing I want to do more than paint. Q. Lately, a lot of your artwork has a watercolor/ink feel to it, but is digital. Do you work with watercolor or ink as well? Or are you interested in expanding to other media (messy, real-life media)? For school projects, I revisited acrylics, pen and ink, mixed media, and oils. Watercolors are unpredictable, though I've learned to have fun with the medium! I love their spontaneous quality and try to incorporate the style into my work. While I primarily paint digitally, I do create and scan traditional textures to use in Photoshop. Q. Nature plays a big part in your artwork. Flowers, butterflies, birds, and fish are regular features in your portfolio. I often draw inspiration from movement and organic shapes by incorporating abstracted natural elements. I love the beauty and unpredictability of nature. It’s a perfect complement to the human figure. When I can, I love finding escape outdoors. Q. What are your current goals as an artist? While I do enjoy freelancing, I think my ultimate goal is to make a living off personal art. If that’s attainable and where that would lead, I have no idea! Thinking about what’s yet to come makes me anxious—in the best of ways.
JANUARY
ANNA’S CALENCER
JUNE
JULY
APRIL
1
MAY
MARCH
20
FEBRUARY
5
N0VEMBER
0CT0BER
DESEMBER
AGUST SEPTEMBER
XHXIX Xhxix is a Tokyo-based artist whose digital paintings depict mostly gaunt young men in surreal states of mental anguish or physical injury. His subjects are inspired by niche models, such as Jacob Morton, whose pictures he gathers off the internet. Few but some of his paintings feature mythical elements, such as Island, featuring a young man surrounded by fish that appear swim on thin air. A play on the popular phrase, it could be interpreted as a projection of ego, or the sad disillusionment of youth. He prefers to leave his work open to interpretation. Xhxix is inspired by his contemporaries in hyper-realistic art, such as Yanni Floros
Xhixix Who is “xhixix”
That’s the question I asked myself when I started to research about this artist, and well, even with this interview I could not exactly answer it. Xhxix is a mysterious japanese artist who has a Tumblr. His digital paintings (maybe) express his anxieties and internal storms, his images are intense and strong but
What makes it more interesting is that nobody knows for sure who is behind those initial letters, he or she does not sell their work. The answers here assigned may give some clues, but perhaps the right question I should have asked in the beginning is: should we judge the
HELLO XHXIX, YOU ARE A MYSTERIOUS ARTIST… CAN YOU TALK A LITTLE ABOUT YOURSELF ? I don’t want to disclose information about me. Because I don’t like myself, and because I have no special story to tell. I am an ordinary and dull human. YOU ART IS A MIX OF FRAGILE AND STRONG, BUT EVEN THOUGH THEY MAY LOOK VIOLENT, THE IMAGES TRANSMIT CALMNESS, HOW CAN YOU EXPLAIN THAT? I don’t give my pictures a clear meaning or message. My feelings are more vague and faint. There is dissatisfaction, anxiety and the violent part in it. But all is dim and mixed up. I want my work to be so. CAN YOU TALK A LITTLE ABOUT YOU CREATIVE PROCESS? I make it a rule to draw one boy in a picture. I decide what to add, composition and the model’s pose, and then I start to sketch. The artwork and photograph of other artists are really inspiring. Also sometimes I have an inspiration from good music. HOW IS IT TO BE YOUNG LIVING IN TOKYO? The place I live in does not influence me very much. But I like here because it is comfortable to live in. AS AN ARTIST, HOW DO YOU SEE A COUNTRY LIKE BRAZIL? Cute colors, passionate people, the antipodes from Japan.
"I am é?ž(hi). live in tokyo. painting with my pc."
Take me to church I'll worship like a dog at the shrine of your lies I'll tell you my sins and you can sharpen your knife Offer me that deathless death Good God, let me give you my life
Melancholy decadent fatal fragile.... like a glass
H S I A O
R O N
C H E N G
m
i
s
H S I A O
s
R O N C H E N G
About Hsiao-Ron Cheng (鄭曉嶸) is a 1986-born Taiwanese digital artist/illustrator. She started to work as a freelance illustrator in 2012 and soon get international attention. In the same year, her work has been shortlisted for Young Illustrator Award. Hsiao-Ron's clients range from fashion brand to design agencies worldwide. Other experiences include a digital painting of 8ft mural for coffee shop interior design.That’s the question I asked myself when I started to research about this artist, and well, even with this interview I could not exactly answer it.
m
o
s
s
Awards Young Illustrator Award 2012
Exhibitions Group show 2014 Castles in the air | Mare Gallery, Chaniá, Greece. Supersonic Show #3 | Spoke Art Gallery, San Francisco. 2013 Illustrative2013 | Direktorenhaus, Berlin. Moleskine sketchbook #3 | Spoke Art Gallery, San Francisco. Pixel Portrait | Strychnin Gallery, Berlin. Kindred | Bold Hype Gallery, New York. mage Makers | O Gallery, Beijing. 2012 Moleskine sketchbook #2 | Spoke Art Gallery, San Francisco. Go With The Flow| Bonelli Arte Contemporanea, Lucca. Second Sight| Trifecta Gallery, Las Vegas. One of A Kind | Strychnin Gallery, Berlin. This Is So Contemporary | Ayden Gallery, Vancouver.
n e w s 3 / 20 / 2014 PICNIC MAGAZINE Según un estudio de la psicóloga alemana, Eva Heller, el rosa es el color menos amado por la gente, después del café, con una preferencia del 17%. En Picnic sí nos gusta y le dedicamos toda una edición, y es este número, con el que arrancamos el segundo bimestre de 2014.
5 / 29 / 2014 C0MPUTERARTS MAGAZINE Few but some of his paintings feature mythical elements, such as Island, featuring a young man surrounded by fish that appear swim on thin air. A play on the popular phrase, it could be interpreted as a projection of ego, or the sad disillusionment of youth. He prefers to leave his work open to interpretation. Xhxix is inspired by his contemporaries in hyper-realistic art, such as Yanni Floros and Audrey Kawasaki, as well as a vast range of fashion and amateur photography.
1 / 2 / 2014 ASIAN CREATIVES In this book we introduce 150 must-see creators from Asia!This book also features interviews with key figures leading the creative scenes of 10 Asian countries in which they tell us about the today and tomorrow of creativity in their home country and introduce us to a selection of its most talented individuals.Look no further to find a hint of the way that creativity is progressing into the next phase, both in Asia and throughout the world.
3 / 12 / 2013 NEVERLAZY MAGAZINE Founded in the summer of 2011, NeverLazy is a digital visual arts and fashion magazine that aims to showcase and inspire. We bring you the fresh personalities, visions and works of both emerging and established creative individuals on a quarterly basis. We provide insight into the creative processes and inspirations of artists, designers and trendsetters from around the globe. NeverLazy breathes creativity.
I
dream a lot when I sleep. I always have all sorts weird dreams. Although I don’t necessarily want to draw all of them, I always think those dreams somehow have a great influence on my works
-HSIAO RON CHENG