EGO: Research & Inspiration

Ego - "The “I” or self of any person; a person as thinking, feeling, and willing, and distinguishing itself fromthe selves of others and from objects of its thought."

EGO

This project required us to explore our egos and personalities but with less limitation on medium, colour and concepts.

Of course the first art direction that came to my head was illustrations as I always wanted to create my own kind of illustration from scratch. I immediately starting browsing through my favourite illustrators on Instagram and also did a inspirational browse through Pinterest.

Illustrators

1.  Tony Futura

Tony Futura’s Instagram

I’ve been following Tony Futura for a while and have always been a fan! I love his art direction and the slightly unpredictable twist to certain objects. His works are mostly a combination of two known objects combined together very seamlessly almost as if there’s nothing strange about the final outcome. His works have definitely inspired me to combine items together and also put them in unexpected contexts.

2. Salman Sajun Studio

Salman Sajun Studio’s Instagram

When I first came across @salmansajunstudio I was captivated by the colours used in his compositions. He likes to use pink, blue and red and those are actually my favourite colours in illustrations just because they go with each other so well and give each other that kinda good contrast (at least to me). His works are very minimalist but actually detailed and the same time. It makes you want to stare at them longer. His objects in the compositions always seems to be levitating or slightly off balance giving it a very fun and playful feel to it all.

3. Alessio Franceschetto

Alessio Franceschetto’s Instagram

Alessio Franceschetto likes to use pastel/light colours as backgrounds, thus allowing the main visual to pop slightly. Compared to @tonyfutura and @salmansajunstudio, the object in the illustration is bigger and more in your face. The compositions are more straightforward and sometimes even left very raw and unedited. The art direction used is unique and I really like the use of food in his illustrations.

4. Dot Pigeon

Dot Pigeon’s Instagram

Dot Pigeon portrays quite a distinct character through his illustrations. He adds a twist to everyday items and they are usually twisted in a comical or mocking way so it is always very entertaining to look at. Some of his compositions are out of the blue like a butt replacing the seed of an avocado. As a result of that, his illustrations are very relatable and also very visually pleasing.

This post featured Donald Trump being displayed as the shadow of a middle finger. This clearly shows @_dotpigeon’s exaggerated and pretty comical art direction. This has inspired me to venture more and create something less predictable.

next steps

After looking at these artist references, I feel very inspired to create something out of the norm but yet relatable to everyone. The use of colours from the 4 artists were similar yet different in their own way and I would like to create illustrations that have instilled in them my very one interpretation of colour. Keep reading for more!

NEXT: PROCESS AND FINAL WORKS FOR EGO