EYE ON DESIGN INDUSTRY NEWS
TOM ANDERSWATKINS ON
HIS ADOBE COMMISSION
ADOBE HAS SELECTED 25 AMAZING UPANDCOMING ARTISTS TO CELEBRATE
PHOTOSHOP’S 25TH ANNIVERSARY. WE CAUGHT UP WITH THE UK NOMINEEE
arlier this year Adobe – to celebrate reaching its
milestone 25th birthday – launched its
campaign to find 25 artists under 25 that were
the most creative visual artists in their age
group , representing the most innovative, forward-
looking work out there and showing the world what the
next generation of Photoshop artists is made of via a
commission from Adobe.
With some of the global 25 under 25
chosen, we caught up with the UK
winner Tom Anders-Watkins, to find
out about his commission, his goals
and where he sees himself in ten
years time. Tom Anders-Watkins is a
20-year-old student studying
Creative Advertising at the University of
Lincoln. An aspiring art director and
self-taught designer, he has produced a vast
portfolio of creative pieces. Check them out at
http://www.behance.net/tomanders and visit http://www.
adobe.com to check out the rest of the 25 Under 25.WHAT WAS THE COMMISSION ASKING
YOU TO DO?
The brief was quite simple; create a work of art, in your
own style, that celebrates Photoshop’s 25th birthday.
The only mandatory [part of the brief] was that it had to
contain the number 25 somewhere, and work well for
showcasing on Instagram.WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO CREATE THE
FINAL IMAGE?
My inspiration was Photoshop – which is in essence the
beating heart of digital art and design. I wanted to create
something relatively abstract and mesmerising that
beat to a rhythm. So I made a looping animation in my
abstract style. I drew on a combination of retro and
futuristic themes, to celebrate Photoshop’s heritage as
well as its future. It’s also full of movement, geometry
and vivid gradiented colour, very typical of my style. I’m
still working out my style, but I like gradients, so they
feature heavily.WHAT ROLE DOES PHOTOSHOP PLAY IN YOUR
IMAGE CREATION?
For me, Photoshop is the king of design programs, it’s
a powerhouse that can handle almost anything
nowadays. Along with Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop
plays a key role in all my artwork – I still use otherOTHER GLOBALLY
FEATURED ARTISTS:programs to do all my construction work, but
Photoshop brings it all together.WHAT TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES DID YOU USE?
Technique wise, a lot of the circles and gradients (my
favourite combination) were used. Although my
favourite tool has to be the blending options, because
they allow you to create unique looks and completely
alter the colour scheme of your elements in a second. I
used a lot of overlay in this particular piece to create a
futuristic feel.WHAT ARE YOUR NEXT STEPS? WHERE DO YOU
SEE YOURSELF IN 10 YEARS?
After finishing my studies, I hope to break into the
advertising industry and become an art or creative
director. I’d like to one day set up my own studio or
agency too.Idrewonacombinationof
retro and futuristic themes,to celebrate Photoshop’s heritage
as well as its future
Tom Anders-WatkinsFLORA BORSI,
21, HUNGARY
Hungarian fine-art
photographer Flora
Borsi is currently
studying at Moholy-
Nagy University and is best known in the
Adobe Community as the woman behind
the Photoshop CC 2014 Splash Screen.
ZEV HOOVER,
16, USA
If you were to stumble
across Zev Hoover’s
work online, you may
be forgiven for
thinking, due to its quality and spectacularly
polished nature, that Hoover is well beyond his
years. However, when Hoover started using
Photoshop he was just eight years old and is
now one of the most recognised and featured
young artists under 25.The final image that Watkins created for the
campaign; “Fast for ward seven years, and I’m a self-taught designer with a passionate interest
in just about every creative discipline”