Anthony Giacomino Interview
Anthony Giacomino is an extremely talented designer who has already designed art for big names such as Allen Iverson, Randy Moss, and other big name athletes. He is only 20 and is attending school. Anthony currently freelances and in our interview we talk about the pro’s and con’s of exactly that. We also discuss his design style and how he creates some of his stunning artwork. So lets get into another great interview with this talented artist.
1. Welcome to Psdtuts+, please introduce yourself. Could you tell us where you’re from and how you got started in the field?
Thanks for the opportunity. My name is Anthony Giacomino and I am a digital artist and designer based in the United States. I started using Photoshop 7 in early high school as a hobby. I’ve always been into art and I was interested in trying a new medium and it escalated from there. I continued to learn and practice a variety of design software and after years of hard work it is finally starting to pay off.
2. What are the pro’s and con’s of going to school to study designing? Some artists would rather be self-taught and believe that is the best way to become a better designer. What is your opinion on this?
I definitely think there are positives for doing both. If you have the opportunity to attend a design school, you will be able to learn the formal elements and teaching of design, receive critique from instructors and peers, and also have valuable time to practice specific projects and design programs.
While being self-taught might take more dedication and time, it gives designers the ability to study what they want and perfect it. Many art institutions and the instructors have distorted views on art and design, so not having the limitations and rules of an art school can help designers explore their ideas and creativity to a full extent. Some of the most talented freelance designers today are completely self-taught.
3. A lot of your art deals with abstract imagery, like shapes and 3D figures. Why do you prefer this over other types of images?
I really enjoy a mixed-media abstract style right now that will show in some of my upcoming works. I love abstract overall because it does not always paint a clear picture of what I am trying to convey. People have a chance to look at pieces and analyze the details of it and construe their own meanings as well.
4. In your portfolio you state that you have worked for such clients as Randy Moss, Amare Stoudemire, Allen Iverson, and more. How have you been able to land such high profile clients, and what do you suggest other designers do to build up a strong client base.
I have been able to get a few clients to work under who manage the athlete’s websites, and create a couple designs for some of these people. Some of the work has died down a bit, but hopefully I will be able to impress some bigger companies as I continue to progress in design. I would advise designers to keep working hard and do not be shy about contacting people that might be interested in affordable freelance designers. It all comes down to how you compare with the competition too.
5. “Artificial Supernova” is an amazing abstract illustration with some great colors. Please walk us through how you created it, and what this piece means to you.
Artificial Supernova is a more retro style abstract work and the idea was just an abstract laser beam shooting an asteroid. I started by creating the mass of shapes at the bottom and rendered the asteroid in Cinema 4D. It all came together after I did some detailing and worked on the background. It was originally a horizontal piece but at the end I decided to rotate it and I am pleased with the result. This piece was made for the international art collective Intrinsic Nature’s 6th exhibition.
6. As a designer what would you say is your favorite piece of art? Classical or Modern, and why?
It’s really hard to narrow it down to one particular piece, style or art movement since it is all such varied and great work. I like early 1900′s modern surreal works a lot like Salvador Dali
and abstract works from Wassily Kandinsky. Being a digital artist, I love seeing new fresh ideas and pieces from designers today. The styles of art have changed a lot over the year,s but the talent has always been there, and that is why I cannot say I have one favorite artist, since I love it all.
7. From your perspective what would you say are some positives and negatives of being a freelance designer?
Positives are undoubtedly that you can work on your own time and schedule in the comfort of home at your own work station. That is a huge plus of freelance as long as you keep coming to clients for work and vice versa. Negatives are that it can be very slow and unsteady income. You are your own boss, and this can be a negative if you tend to procrastinate.
8. Thanks again for providing Psdtuts+ with this opportunity to interview you. Any final thoughts for our readers?
No problem, thanks again! Just keep looking out for my work at my site. Also Intrinsic Nature’s 7th exhibition has been released so be sure to check it out. There is also the possibility of tutorials for Psdtuts in the future.
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Nice works
awesome artworks
Awesome works!!!
There are so many designers like this nowadays – I’m not saying that this kind of thing requires great skill, but what is the scale of creativity really? I see stuff like this all day long from so many people.
this its so true i see this every day some of them have the same stock even the same composition you just need a good title and thats it
And what do we see from you?
i understand your point of view there are allot of people that do this kind of abstract work but i realy do believe that this is one of the more expresive forms of art and that to me it will always be creative
I think what Brad mean is that it’s cool to make that sort of pictures but to be creative for a client even a little local industry is Much more difficult… (don’t know if my sentence make sense…). I mean here we see more the technics used and not (really) the message the picture could (should, would) send, except “hey guys look i know all photoshop’ shortcuts” ^^
Best,
R.the frog.
Perfect Raoul. I have same opinion.
Very bad Karim. Maybe he is here just for learning and maybe he doesn’t need our opinions
you’re right brad, however, i still think that this artist is very talented, and therefore… this article is a perfect match for psdtuts
I’m not disputing the talent of the artist. What I’m disputing is the originality. And I in no way claim to be superior – hey I’m starting out in my career along with a lot of people here. It was constructive criticism is all. I just see a huge trend here in the design world and especially in articles featured here, and I’m suggesting that maybe we should push ourselves a bit instead of hopping on the “ah that’s a cool thing I think I’ll do it too.”
Thanks for the comments Brad, I appreciate it! It is quite difficult working on some more projects geared toward more of advertising or branding, since I’m not really into the industry yet. I’m just big into digital art, and believe I have a wide range of styles and I’m hoping to improve upon them all and be even more original.
Cheers,
Anthony
Thanks for responding Anthony – I agree, you definitely have a variety of styles and I think you’re incredibly talented, especially for your age. Good luck on everything.
you are so talented ive seen some works that look alike but yours are great and i think age its not a problem you are just talented.
*revision – meant to say “I’m not saying that this kind of thing doesn’t require great skill”
your right , alot of techincallity in the design forums , but no communication , then its just “art” whther its bad or good , cant say but its not visual communication ( design )
Fyi-administrator, Nuclear Fusion was already featured awhile back by that 17 yr old brazilian kid you interviewed. Hmmmm..
It was a collaborative effort with my good friend Matt
Each designer has their own style, imho. But nowadays… Brad, you’re right.
Hey Brad you’re a cunt and my name says everything the world needs to know about you.
The immaturity of the internet knows no bounds.
I’ve gathered that you’re just mad because your opinion is worthless, and while there is nothing wrong with loving penis, you obviously haven’t found the right penis, keep searching, there’s plenty of dicks in the sea.
He’s a great artist with great talent.
determination …
very talented
Really Inspiring.. Thanks for the Interview
Supper works
Hey, Anthony, congratulations on the interview! It’s great. I wish to see my interview on this site someday, too. Keep up the good work.
p.s. we should collab sometime
thanks my friend, sounds good
superb
Oh my god,,,
i love that detailed….
nice work dude…
хуита полная
While Anthony may be a designer, I don’t know what other work he does, the content of this article is illustration. Not design. There is a difference between being an artist and being a designer.
Brad your n00b?
Im totaly sick of all those triangle-cube-cirlce-natzke-glowing-stuff. repetition
10 being best,
creativity : 1/10
technicallity : 7/10
all his works seem to not really be design , it does not seem it has :
1. a target group
2. a problem solving oriented idea
3. a message that is sendt
4. a message that is mendt to be recieved.
most of the “design” on psdtuts , is complete random pics that doesnt really apply to design. There is no communication here,