designfeedr

In this Spotlight Designfeedr talks to Malaysia’s Ee Venn Soh. With a fresh and well thought out style Ee is definitely going to make an impact in the scene.

1. Welcome Ee, please tell us a bit about yourself.
Hi, my name is Ee Venn Soh, originally hailing from Malaysia where I work under the creative identity of EIII. I am a 21 years old self-taught freelance digital artist. Currently I am majoring computer science at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. I’ll be focusing in computer graphics and image processing in later stages.

2. You’re on communities like Behance and Deviantart. What’s the benefit of being on social art sites like this in your opinion? Do you feel it helps in getting freelance jobs?
It definitely helps a lot. I’m living in Malaysia, a third world country where creativity is relatively new and cultural appreciation even more so. The quality of educational system is limiting people to carry out their ideas and work on their inspiration. Through social networks we are able to share and mingle around with international artists. We are able to get involved with the latest trends and styles in the industry. It also exposes us more so people are able to find and explore us.

3. Can you describe your average workflow when doing an illustration project?
Normally I start of with a photo and a blank canvas. Looking at the photo itself I’ll be thinking what kind of elements, ideas and concepts to integrate. From that point on I will work on it straight without much sketching and drawing. I prefer to work this way.
I play around with shapes, colors and perspective a lot. Sometimes I’ll also spend some time drawing and painting around. I use various genres of styles in a work. It is a mixed media. I pay attention to every single detail in a piece and make sure i deliver the best I can. Lastly when vector and raster blend well and everything is in composition I’ll work on the overall colors and make sure everything delivered is fresh and new.

4. What’s the art scene like in Malaysia?
The art scene is still new and somewhat immature. Many people here study design because of the vague promise they’ll earn good money or because they enjoy having the title of a designer. This won’t work! A person can only be successful if he really enjoys what he’s doing.

Malaysians are still pretty unaware or ignorant of what is happening in the industry. The work produced is mostly not up to professional standards. So-called graduates and designers in the country really should constantly update and work on their skills and concepts.

5. In ten years from now where do you see yourself?
I will work in a studio where programming, motion, sound and graphics blend together. I want to work as a designer and coder. I’ll be focusing more on image processing and computer graphics as I am confident the trend in the future will shift more this area.

6. What do you do when the well of inspiration runs out?
Take a walk, take a nap or take a bite. Anything that can pull me away from the computer is fine. I have a great collection of works from various artists on my hard drive. When needed I’ll take a quick glance at various works and styles to keep my mind fresh.

Designfeedr thanks Ee for his time and of course wish him the best in achieving his goals. Eye candy below!