Image of the day: Character Totem by Sam Dunn

Computer Arts: Tell us about the project ...
Sam Dunn: This piece was created for the Inkygoodness Character Totem Homecoming Show in Birmingham. The brief was to create something inspired by totem poles, which would be displayed alongside the 50 wooden totem poles in the exhibition space. I love creating these surreal images, combining lots of different elements, so this piece came quite naturally.

CA: How did you put the piece together?
SD: I started by sketching out the piece in A4, scanned it in, resized it to A2, printed out two A3 pieces and taped them together. All very DIY. If I'd had an A2 printer handy it would have helped. Then I hand drew the whole piece at A2 size and scanned in on an A4 scanner, doing a quarter each time and piecing them back together in Photoshop.

CA: How did you get into design?
SD: I've drawn from a very young age and decided to work towards a career in design as a young teen, thanks to two brilliant art and design teachers at secondary school. I skipped the usual A-level route and went straight to art college to study design full-time from the age of 16. I love traditional Illustration and creating work by hand is really important to me. Of course there's also a large digital element to my work in the form of colour, which I apply in Photoshop. My work is inspired by a mixture of interests: growing up in suburban north-east England, exploring beaches and forests. I was also largely influenced by graffiti and skateboarding from a young age. This developed into a huge interest in underground music, and I began working on gig posters for various events at 17.

Check out more from Sam Dunn on her website.

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