EYE ON DESIGN PROJECT FOCUS
O
scar Ramos is a talented concept illustrator
revered for his signature and unique style in
the animation industry.
It all started early on with an absolute
and complete love of drawing, Ramos then quickly
excelled in both the animation and illustration genre;
“I studied graphic design because I loved to draw as a
kid and loved toys. Luckily I found exactly what I was
looking for in the design field – the mix of art
and functionality.”
Over the years this expertise has led Ramos to
develop artwork for companies such as Coca-Cola and
Honda, however this hasn’t been without learning
along the way.
“In earlier commissions, I felt insecure about my
work, now I realise [that], that feeling helped me not
just improve my painting and drawing skills, but also to
be a better listener to my clients and art directors.”
Ramos’ ability to deliver outstanding finished
products led to him obtaining this quirky and very
creative project from Moose Enterprise. He was asked
to create a whole new concept of cars for their Trash
Pack children’s toys, Trash Wheels.CAN YOU TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT THE
BRIEF YOU WERE GIVEN? WHAT VISUAL
CUES DID YOUR CLIENT WANT FROM YOU?
I received this great brief directly from Moose’s
Art Director. They gave me a brief introduction
to the brand and a pretty clear idea of the
product. I was told that artwork should be
colourful and light yet have lots of contrast.
They also sent me some references, but
actually ended up referencing some of my own
portfolio, because they wanted my distinct
style – dynamic, exaggerated and defined
shapes, very volumetric and highly detailed.WERE YOU GIVEN FREE REIN OVER THE
PROJECT OR WERE YOU GIVEN MORE
SPECIFIC INSTRUCTIONS?
At the beginning of the project, they sent me the
first concept drawing of the toy, to see how I
would interpret the design into a sketch. Once
they approved my style, they developed
sketches for the rest of the cars based on the
first sketch I made. From that point, it was just
adapting and improving the sketches, until the
final finished design.HOW DID YOUR IDEAS EVOLVE THROUGH
THE PRODUCTION STAGE?
I got pretty clear instructions for every piece
and I had to produce many images with the
same quality in [a] short time. Then, I
developed [a] better understanding of the key
requirements for each image: how to create
textures, light, and volume in a simpler way
whilst producing stronger results... I had to
revisit my own processes in order to gain
speed without impacting on the quality.CAN YOU TELL US WHAT YOUR MAIN
STYLISTIC INSPIRATIONS WERE?
Traditional paintings are very inspiring,
probably the classical style. I also take
inspiration from illustrators like Norman
Rockwell or Leyendecker, but at the same
time I like the comic stylings of Mark Ryden
and Todd Shorr. More recently, I’ve been
looking to 3D for inspiration, it has broughtABOUT THE ARTIST
Ramos started his career early by
learning the basics of illustration and
graphic design. After working in
animation-based roles for many
years Ramos then decided to devote
100 per cent of his time to illustration.
He has since worked with numerous
ad agencies around the world and for
clients including Coca-Cola, Mazda,
Puma, Opel, and Honda.OSCAR RAMOS
http://www.piensapositivo.clTRASH WHEELS
ILLUSTRATIONS
FOR PACKAGINGNAME OF PROJECT
WE DISCOVER HOW CONCEPT ILLUSTRATOR OSCAR RAMOS
APPROACHED THIS QUIRKY COMMISSION FROM MOOSE
ENTERPRISE TO DESIGN THEIR TRASH PACK CHILDREN’S TOYSFUN AND CREATIVE
CHILDREN’S PACKAGING
Space Dragon illustration