What makes reading online articles more entertaining and captivating? For me, it has always been how the page design was unconventional and well-thought. As more websites added the partly interactive animations on their pages, it has become more pleasing to follow online contents. As long as the designed motion is not distracting or tiring of course, which brings a good challenge to the designers. One artist that is very good with keeping his animations on the sweet spot is Igor Bastidas, who is a Venezuelan animator, illustrator, and director, and has been under the spotlight since his move to New York.
Bastidas grew up in Caracas during the 1990s when the city was not less chaotic than it is today. He states that the ’90s and its visually rich culture were the inspiration behind his decision to have a degree in graphic design. As a way of escaping from the reality that he lived in, he theorizes that he developed a playful aspect on his animations, which then became his style. The artist moved to New York City, after his friends’ advice, and has been living in Brooklyn since 2017. His home country’s ongoing political and economic crisis was the main reason for his emigration, which is the cause of roughly 6 million other people’s fleeing as well.
Simple can make loud noises too!
Bastidas, whose portfolio ranges from short films and GIFs to prints and ads, puts his life experiences as the main inspiration of his artworks while adding his love for the works of Will Vinton, George Dunning, David Hockney, and Kiyoshi Awazu. After working at advertising agencies in Caracas, Bastidas now lives off as a freelance artist, which enables him to work on his personal projects, as well as choose his clients. His works are recognized by global brands like Apple, Google, and Converse, and he can be called a regular for the well-known publications The New Yorker and The New York Times.
The drawings of Bastidas are known for their bold and clean lines along with solid and vivid colors, all creating very simple yet catchy illustrations. The artist challenges himself personally by adding movement, which pushes the limits of his illustrations. The animation that he designed for the AW17 issue of Printed Pages falls through, breaking the cover, before tearing the page to go on with his adventure inside the magazine. Bastidas manages to keep his work on the same clean level while topping it off with the full impact.
One of his latest works is “The Big Apple”, a compilation of the animations he made about his first month in his new city. Illustrating the official state fruit of New York as a screen, Bastidas animates personal or shared experiences that come out of each other, like he is pulling every piece of memory from his subconscious and letting them flow one after another. There are twelve apples, representing the twelve months of a sometimes bizarre city life. The fast pace of the video is a reference to the fast changes in the city, and the featured sound design belongs to the sound designer David Kamp.
A habit that he formed as a designer, Bastidas pays attention to keeping his works as communicative as possible. Why make it complicated, when you can keep it simple, yet fun and games, right? I am not saying that it is easy though! Either way, I sure enjoy running into his works and recognizing his lines. Have you come across Bastidas’ works before? You can follow him on his Instagram @igorbastidas or his website, and let us know what you think in our comment section below!
Jared Freschman is a queer Jewish-American artist from Delaware. He illustrates artworks that exhibit his experiences or memories and share the perspective of the queer community.
Imogen Crossland paints scenes that reflect the moments of joy like gathering, dancing, eating, drinking, swimming, partying in her multicolored and textured works.
The Bigger Than Life Animations Of Igor Bastidas Take Over The Digital
What makes reading online articles more entertaining and captivating? For me, it has always been how the page design was unconventional and well-thought. As more websites added the partly interactive animations on their pages, it has become more pleasing to follow online contents. As long as the designed motion is not distracting or tiring of course, which brings a good challenge to the designers. One artist that is very good with keeping his animations on the sweet spot is Igor Bastidas, who is a Venezuelan animator, illustrator, and director, and has been under the spotlight since his move to New York.
Bastidas grew up in Caracas during the 1990s when the city was not less chaotic than it is today. He states that the ’90s and its visually rich culture were the inspiration behind his decision to have a degree in graphic design. As a way of escaping from the reality that he lived in, he theorizes that he developed a playful aspect on his animations, which then became his style. The artist moved to New York City, after his friends’ advice, and has been living in Brooklyn since 2017. His home country’s ongoing political and economic crisis was the main reason for his emigration, which is the cause of roughly 6 million other people’s fleeing as well.
Simple can make loud noises too!
Bastidas, whose portfolio ranges from short films and GIFs to prints and ads, puts his life experiences as the main inspiration of his artworks while adding his love for the works of Will Vinton, George Dunning, David Hockney, and Kiyoshi Awazu. After working at advertising agencies in Caracas, Bastidas now lives off as a freelance artist, which enables him to work on his personal projects, as well as choose his clients. His works are recognized by global brands like Apple, Google, and Converse, and he can be called a regular for the well-known publications The New Yorker and The New York Times.
The drawings of Bastidas are known for their bold and clean lines along with solid and vivid colors, all creating very simple yet catchy illustrations. The artist challenges himself personally by adding movement, which pushes the limits of his illustrations. The animation that he designed for the AW17 issue of Printed Pages falls through, breaking the cover, before tearing the page to go on with his adventure inside the magazine. Bastidas manages to keep his work on the same clean level while topping it off with the full impact.
One of his latest works is “The Big Apple”, a compilation of the animations he made about his first month in his new city. Illustrating the official state fruit of New York as a screen, Bastidas animates personal or shared experiences that come out of each other, like he is pulling every piece of memory from his subconscious and letting them flow one after another. There are twelve apples, representing the twelve months of a sometimes bizarre city life. The fast pace of the video is a reference to the fast changes in the city, and the featured sound design belongs to the sound designer David Kamp.
A habit that he formed as a designer, Bastidas pays attention to keeping his works as communicative as possible. Why make it complicated, when you can keep it simple, yet fun and games, right? I am not saying that it is easy though! Either way, I sure enjoy running into his works and recognizing his lines. Have you come across Bastidas’ works before? You can follow him on his Instagram @igorbastidas or his website, and let us know what you think in our comment section below!
Images and videos: Igor Bastidas’ Instagram and website
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