Crisvector

Cristiano Siqueira, popularly known as Crisvector, is a digital illustrator from Sao Paulo, Brazil. Siqueira blends vector art, 3D design and Photoshop together to create his distinct digital art. Deriving his inspiration from web 2.0 and the worlds of music, movies, gaming and art, Cristiano pushes the boundaries of his visual planet on a daily basis.

Cristiano Siqueira’s educational background is a “high school technical course” of design, but he learned illustration and design techniques and programs by himself. Siqueira started his career by working on theatrical scenery - designing the stage and props. After this experience, Siqueira began to work for an animation studio. 1999 saw his entry in the world of graphics, as Siqueira was recruited as a trainee in a small design studio. He discovered the amazing universe of art book illustrations, CD covers and catalog design and developed visual identities for local brands. Later he got offered the job of art director in a bigger studio, specialized in illustrations and package design for toys and other goodies. Today, Siqueira works from his home office as a freelance illustration artist. He has worked for various clients around the world like Tetra Pak, Ache, Richmond Publishing, Editora Abril, Del Valle and Ultra Music Festival. Cristiano is also a prominent member of depthCORE, a digital media & art collective and SIM (Sociedade dos Ilustradores do Brasil) and is very active on creative networks as deviantArt and the Behance network.

Siqueira gets his inspiration from music, dreams, life, games, internet, people on the streets, the cities he loves to visit, works from other good artists, graffiti and animations. He describes himself as a sponge; absorbing all possible influences. He states that he never rejects good visual information. Cristiano always tries to incorporate all possible things and influences that surround him into his work. His favourite artists include Dali, Picasso, Miró, Paul Gauguin, Toulouse-Lautrec, Klimt, Audrey Beardsley for traditional fine arts; vector and illustration masters Jason Brooks, Monsieur Z, Jordi Labanda, Ippei Gyoubu, Fee Bee, Kirsten Ulve and Brazilian artists like Ziraldo, Adhemas, Maurício de Souza and Laerte.

The vibrant colors, drawing precision and quick drawing got Cristiano immediately interested in vector art. Before he became an Illustrator addict, he created his illustrations using old school techniques: drawing a pencil sketch and finishing it by inking and eventually coloring it in Photoshop. From the moment Siqueira discovered vector programs, he became an instant fan. Vector illustration requires less time and has more colours and drawing precision. The vector styles suit very well for Christiano’s type of art, as he likes clean lines, flat and vibrant colours and a great precision with plenty of detail.

Cristiano has a great illustration style and he always tries to incorporate influences of fine arts, urban style, comic art and animation in his work. His preferred vector illustration program is Adobe Illustrator as he thinks that it is the most professional and precise vector based software available. His advice to the beginners is to continue practicing, studying and looking for good references and footage and read news all day - because a vector artist must translate the actual world into his/her graphic universe.

The toughest illustration effort he has ever attempted was to copy the Hed Kandi album covers by Jason Brooks. As soon as he discovered the stylish artworks by the British vector art grandmaster, he decided that the vector technique would be his weapon of choice, as he adored the style of the colorful but clean illustrations.

When Cristiano aka Crisvector is not working or surfing the net he spends his time with his wife, listening to music, playing games and football, watching movies, reading books or doing some (window) shopping. When the time is right – and the music loud, you can also find him on the dance floor.

In the next 5 to 10 years of his career, Cristiano wants to become an even better illustrator and to establish the name Crisvector all around the world. He wants to be involved in some huge design projects - write and illustrate a children’s book with his wife, work on a comic book or a graphic novel and visualize some better cause campaigns as well. His big dream is to travel around the world and to discover different cultures and new people, and develop a graphic project based on his travel experiences.

As one of the most popular graphic around, Cristiano Siqueira is a big fan of the new possibilities offered by web 2.0 and creative platforms as deviantArt and the Behance network. He thinks that these large communities are a good way for everybody – students, hobby artists and professionals alike to show their work to a global audience. The cool thing about this kind of creative networks is that you can find countless styles and types of art: from cartoons, digital imaging, storyboarding to ice sculpting and glass blowing. There are no limits to creativity. People “like” or comment the art of their fellow artists and start collabs – a great way to get to know each other and to work together. As a true believer of global communications 2.0, Siqueira hopes that these creative communities will help break the barriers of language, distance and culture in the name of art.

You can discover more of his truly unique art universe on www.crisvector.com.