7 Astonishing Artists and Designers to Follow on Behance
Our #1 design writer, Gabrielle Gosha, talks about the most astonishing artists and designers to follow on Behance when you need an inspiring creativity boost. Here’s her top 7.
Bob Dylan once said:
“Inspiration is hard to come by. You have to take it where you find it.”
So…if you've ever struggled to find design inspiration, whether that's for visual design or for improving UX, you’re not alone. Luckily for us, finding design inspiration and creative solutions for solving UX can be accomplished in only a few clicks these days, and one of these online goldmines is Adobe's very own design community, Behance.
Behance targets the global market more so than Dribbble. Photographers, illustrators, art directors and designers will certainly find an abundance of astonishing Behance Projects amongst the many talented designers that Behance houses, to wet their whistle and to help the much needed creative juices flow—the artists and designers below are only the tip of the iceberg, and Behance also has a rather sophisticated search function for when you're looking for something quite specific.
Also: if you're more into visual design, then definitely check out my 12 designers to follow on Dribbble article!.
1. Claudio Araos Marincovic
- Specialty: Art Direction, Graphic Design and Illustration
Art direction isn’t regarded as important as UI/UX when it comes to web design, but when it comes to marketing for, say, film, animation, video games or advertising, it’s a huge deal and an important step towards effective visual design and branding.
Chile-based art director Claudio Araos Marincovic excels in this department. His stylized interpretations and conceptual renderings make for not only visual eye-candy, but also teaching tools for other visual artists hoping to learn from the best. Marincovic has flexed his skills in a variety of ways, but most notably (and impressively) with his work for HBO, TVN and ABC.
- Standout Project: Showtime — Masters of Sex Titles
2. Dennis Schafer
- Specialty: Motion Graphics, UI/UX, Art Direction
Motion graphics and CG animation seems to be the name of the game when it comes to Dennis Schafer’s stunning creative work. A self-taught artist straight out of Munich, Germany, Schafer shows us that it takes willpower, a vivid imagination, and exceptional attention-to-detail to compose eye-catching sci-fi visuals (that are usually animated). From art direction to conceptual realization and interaction design, Schafer has quite the skilled hands to help bring complex ideas to life, including one that had his work featured at the Volkswagen Motorshow 2017.
- Standout Project: URBS
3. Osborne Macharia
- Specialty: Commercial Art and Photography
Fantastic web designers understand the true power that lies within photography, and true artists know how to create captivating images from behind the lens. Enter Kenyan artist and photographer, Osborne Macharia. With a style that he calls Afrofictionism, this self-taught creative blends together fiction, identity and culture to tell stories entwined with gorgeous color, strong lighting and visual storytelling.
- Standout Project: MAGADI
4. Yungsub Song
- Specialty: Motion Graphics
Motion graphics is about more than phantom HUDs and designing funky animations for mobile apps. Motion graphics can work as a storytelling element, especially when it comes to show titles, and this where Korean motion artist Yungsub Song really shines. Yungsub is a talented guy—he's spent his creativity on the Westworld and American Gods main title animations, and also the color grading on the Far Cry: Primal trailer. All three are only a few of the projects that Yungsub has worked on, when he’s not in the midst of some other awesome freelancing gig.
- Standout Project: American Gods
5. Andrew Archer
- Specialty: Illustration, Art Direction and Graphic Design
Static imagery can sometimes "speak" a lot more than animated elements, which is what illustrator Andrew Archer is all about. With an eclectic style that is enlivened with a bevvy of color palettes ranging from electric to soft pastels, his work is definitely something to behold. While Archer does have a distinct style, which is nothing strange for illustrators, he still manages to make each piece solely unique, whether it’s by injecting Japanese Ukiyo-e or 80s style vibes. It's probably why he's had the honor of working with a large list of huge brands such as Nike, ESPN, Adobe, EMI Music and Rolling Stone.
- Standout Project: Edo Ball
6. Tavo Santiago
- Specialty: Illustration, Digital Art, Character Design
Designing characters can be as hard as looking for a needle in a haystack when inspiration flees from you. Thankfully, that doesn’t ever seem to be an issue with Mexican-born Tavo Santiago. Santiago’s style is bold with somewhat of a whimsical feel to them as he often injects his designs with beautiful colors. Skilled in both digital and traditional mediums that sometimes are blended together with Mexican culture, Tavo is definitely an artist that designers could take a few cues from.
- Standout Project: Aguamala Clothing
7. Paloma Rincon
- Specialty: Photography and Art Direction
Creating your own rule book to craft work that is true to you, is what makes talented photographers like Paloma Rincon stand out amongst those who simply "take pictures of pretty things". From commercial work for brands like Ikea, Playstation and Esquire, to more personal and experimental projects, Rincon does it all. Her work is worthy of an exhibition to be marveled at, as she never seems to have a misstep in whatever she takes on.
- Standout Project: Various Beverage Companies — Thirsty
Are there any artists or designers on Behance you feel should have a special mention here? Let us know in the comments!
