BenQ recently ran an online competition to design a new Screen Saver with the theme 'True Colors Right Before You.'
YES was asked to help judge the competition and in this post we catch up with one of the winners Ewelina Kędzia to ask her more about her creative process and why she decided to take on this brilliant creative challenge.
To the right you can see her fantastic winning entry! Read the full brief here.
Feedback from YES founder and competition judge Martin.
'It is hard to pull off having so many colors in a single artwork but Ewelina did an amazing job keeping everything in harmony. We love the contrast between the busy floral elements and the negative space around the gardener character.
The noise used as gradient and texture works really well too and compliments the sharp vector outlines of the shapes.'
To see loads more great work click any of the images or head over to her Behance or Instagram profile!
Q&A
Q. Could you tell us a little more about what you do and your job role as a creative professional?
A. I am a student at Faculty of Art in Opole just about to go into my last year of education, so I don't see myself as a professional just yet. I think that there is still a long way ahead for me to call it that, but when I imagine the future, I see myself as an illustrator of children's books.
Q. Did you study illustration in school/ at university or are you self-taught?
A. Oh, I am 100% self-taught! In college, we did not have an Illustration class, which I think is a mistake considering the popularity of Illustration. But also I understand that there’s no time for extra classes because we spend a lot of time in university anyway, so it’s difficult to reconcile.
Q. How long have you been working in the Creative Industry and what has been your biggest challenge so far?
A. I have been involved in the creative industry for a short time. For now I am discovering my path and place and it is very exciting for me, but also stressful. Beginnings are difficult and full of challenges for everyone and personally for me one of the challenges is being more assertive, self-confident and above all find a good job which is not a simple matter.
I do not know why, but I'm never happy with the first version of the illustration. Starting from the beginning for the second time I know simply what I do not want to achieve
Q. Could you give us a little more insight into your working process?
A. I always start with a sketch on paper. However, I quickly move to work in a digital application (like Photoshop) where I feel best. There I am looking for the right composition and color and I'm doing a preliminary version of the project. At this stage I close this project and start again.
I do not know why, but I'm never happy with the first version of the illustration. Starting from the beginning for the second time I know simply what I do not want to achieve, and the final version you may say appears alone.
Q. What tools both digital and physical do you use when creating your work?
A. Initially, I use a sketchbook and a pencil. Any clean sheet will satisfy me, I'm not picky at this stage! Then I work in Photoshop and I use many brushes. I just love them! I like texture brushes the mostly those that are grainy.
Q. What would you consider your greatest success?
A. For an aspiring artist, every project in which I work on is very important. For me, it all started with a visual identity I worked on for an event in my city of Opole. You could say that this event was a breakthrough for me because I was noticed. However, after winning the BenQ competition this event will probably become my number one!
Q. Why did you decide to enter the BenQ DesignVue Screensaver Competition?
A. The academic year was over and I started to have more time. I do not like to sit idle, so I started to look through competitions. Then I found information about the BenQ competition and thought it worth trying and giving myself a chance.
A. I immediately liked the topic which did not limit the participants, I'm a big fan of plant motifs. That's why I decided to do something in harmony with both myself and the subject set by BenQ. I used a very varied palette of colors so my garden was teeming like a real life paradise. This final combination gave quite a satisfactory effect.
Never doubt in yourself and do not be discouraged.
Q. Is this the first creative competition you have entered or do you enter them often?
A. This is not the first competition I have participated in, but it's the first one I won. I am very motivated by competitions, they make me look for new solutions and develop myself. Of course, every loss is accompanied by regrets, but what we get thanks to the work on the project will surely bear fruit in others.
Q. What one piece of advice would you give to anyone right at the start of their career?
A. You are at the same stage as me - never doubt in yourself and do not be discouraged. Take part in competitions because you can succeed in the least unexpected moment.
We want to say a big thanks to Ewelina for taking the time to answer our questions.
We highly recommend you guys check out her work by clicking the image to the right!
You will definitely feel inspired...
Creative Competitions
At YES we also encourage anyone looking to start or progress within a career in the creative industry to enter online competitions. Check out these sites 99designs & talenthouse
They are a great way to challenge your skill set, think creatively, develop your style and just have fun working on a project. You can also gain amazing exposure and open up new opportunities!
To learn more about competition sites check out this blog post we recently put together about an awesome competition ran by Talent House.
