Calendars are probably one of the most popular print products when the year is about to end. Having a nice and unique calendar companion for the following year whether at home or office is a simple wish for everyone. So to help you out in your search for the most uniquely designed 2013 calendars out there, I bring you one amazing calendar project created by an extremely talented artist from UK – Ben O’Brien.
Popularly known as “Ben The Illustrator“, Ben O’Brien has been making various contributions in the design world with his many projects for a wide stretch of clients including BBC, Honda, The New York Times, Nickelodeon, Pixar and much more! One of his recent project which caught my attention over his Behance page is the set of amazing animal illustrations compiled in a calendar. It is called the “Fluid Animals” 2013 Calendar which features simple, smooth and transparent illustrations of different animals which is truly one of its kind.
The illustrations which came by after playing around his sketchbook with a simple drawing style, has a distinct feel and look with the presence of simple shapes and curves giving life and character to each of the animals.
You The Designer is very fortunate to be given the opportunity to ask Ben few questions regarding this amazing project. Check out the short interview below:
YTD: Why and how did you come up with the name “Fluid Animals” for this project?
BEN: I actually have to thank a couple of friends for this. When I started producing these illustrations I was doing them fairly quickly, for enjoyment, before starting a day’s work. I started calling them ‘quick illustrations’, but my friend Chris Thornton said that using the word ‘quick’ felt a bit throwaway, but then another friend Jon Woodward suggested the word ‘fluid’ seemed to fit everything I was doing, and that stuck, Fluid Animals.
YTD: The illustration style is so unique. How did you develop this kind of style?
BEN: Through experimentation and play! I had been doing a lot of quick animal sketches in my sketchbook, and started to try and simplify the animals to as few shapes as possible. I tried to vector a few of them in Illustrator, and considered that by having each shape as semi-transparent, then you can add extra shapes and lines very simply. It all developed from there. I do them all on a black background because the transparencies can get a real glow off the dark background.
YTD: Can you share us the creative process behind these illustrations? From where did you start?
BEN: It really is very simple, I always start with a pencil drawing, not a rough sketch, but a finished drawing, then I scan it and trace it in Illustrator, then it’s just the simple process of choosing colors and getting those transparent effects perfect.
YTD: Aside from the calendar, are there any other products created using these amazing animal illustrations?
BEN: Yes! I have a set of Christmas cards featuring some robins in this same style, and there are 3 sets of postcards, with 8 cards in each. Each set is based on a theme, Earth, Air and Water. I’m aiming to produce more products in 2013.
Christmas cards set featuring illustrations of robins.
“Earth” Fluid Animals postcards set
“Water” Fluid Animals postcards set
“Air” Fluid Animals postcards set
YTD: Which among the animal illustrations is your most favorite?
BEN: Oh that’s a tricky question, perhaps the Orca Whale, I adore these creatures, they are so perfectly designed, I am very proud of the Orca I illustrated, I think it suits the style brilliantly.
YTD: Where can we grab a copy of this wonderful 2013 calendar and the other products?
BEN: The calendar, Christmas cards and postcard sets are all available from www.FluidAnimals.com, shipping worldwide!
There you have it folks! Isn’t it an amazing project? Check out more amazing works from Ben The Illustrator in his official website and Behance page.
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