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Heicel Castellanos

BFA - Graphic Design

     As a graphic designer, I always strive to make all the elements included in my work flow together in a way that doesn't over complicate whatever message I want to convey. My goal is to take my interests—and sometimes, my experiences, and to give them purpose in my art. I want my audience to feel something from my efforts, even if they don't completely understand what it is I am going for.

     My biggest influences outside of specific artists are video games and animation. I've always loved the design aspect of video games, anime, and cartoons—the different worlds created to fit each storyline. Those are my biggest inspirations when working with low-poly design and color. As for artistic inspirations, I've always been fond of Alphonse Mucha and Aubrey Beardsley. I like the style associated with Art Nouveau—the little decorative details in Mucha's art, and the 'strange and grotesque factor' that I see in Beardsley's. I am also heavily influenced by music, poetry, and a love for animals. I believe that my personal work is defined by most, if not all of these interests, and that they help to make my design work truly versatile.

     My design process is always consistent. I begin with research and then make thumbnails to get the bare skeleton of ideas from my brain onto paper. More often than not, I'll take ideas from each thumbnail to make a rough draft. From there, everything is narrowed down even further, until I am eventually left with a very close composition of the final product.

     The more that I grow as a designer, the more I realize that it is just that: growth. I won't always be in the same place, or mindset. I won't always have the same style as I do now, but my hope is that no matter what I create, that it inspires someone in one way or another.

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