Art is a subjective industry. There are many styles and variations. There’s traditional art, where pencils, ink, and paints are used. And then there’s digital art, which opens up even more possibilities thanks to the vast range of tools available. But despite all the tools, and the ability to easily undo, erase and fix things, there is still an undeniable level of skill needed to create something that will leave a lasting impression. True artists possess an attention to detail that can only be honed after countless hours of experimentation. That’s why I wanted to take the time to appreciate some of the talented digital artists that are putting out fascinating work right now.
Looking at art jumpstarts my imagination. Forming new scenes and concepts in my brain. Each work of art has a story to unlock within it. And the beauty of art is that the story can be interpreted differently by each observer. I’ve picked the following artists because their work has inspired me in some way.
Guweiz
Guweiz began drawing when he was seventeen after following art tutorials on YouTube. He worked on his craft until he developed his own stunning style. His pieces feature anime-inspired urban fantasy worlds with a range of interesting characters. Guweiz has published an art collection that explains some of his most loved works.
What I love about his style is the dark, gritty feeling that it conveys. It’s like the characters are stuck in a world of gloom, but they’re keen to bring about change. The attention to detail in the characters and their surroundings is amazing. I can’t fathom how long it takes to put together these pieces.
Kingsley Nebechi
Kingsley Nebechi is a Nigerian illustrator living in London. He’s created works for notable brands including ITV, The Guardian, Nike, and the BBC. His work is inspired by African patterns and visuals. His colorful illustrations make him a natural fit for book cover designs, and he’s already worked on some pretty notable book projects.
He collaborated with musician Akala for his book project The Dark Lady and also Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé. What’s impressive about Kingsley’s style is how it blends comic-book level art with black cultural themes. Making for some pretty unique pieces that are hard to mimic.
Kloir
Kloir (Samantha Lee) has some stunning landscape pieces in her portfolio. When it comes to social media, character illustrations are so eye-catching that artists feel naturally obligated to post their quirky character pieces. But Kloir’s digitally painted landscapes are are so alluring that I had to include them in this list.
Kloir is on Twitch and often streams her work there. I often see her zooming in on her works and adding details to each small pixel. This level of detail is noticeable when taking in the final piece of work. Everything feels correctly textured, colored, and shaded. It feels like these landscapes are fully breathing environments because no pixel is wasted.
Yuumei
Yuumei grew up in China, and in art class, she was taught to draw from life and focus on realism. This gave Yuumei the foundations she needed to one day draw absolutely anything. She worked hard for years and joined deviantART, where interacting with other artists helped her develop her skills further.
Today, Yuumei’s wonderful artwork graces a series of webcomics, art books, and prints. Her character and landscape works are imaginative and bursting with detail. But also, not many of her pieces are similar. She makes artistic decisions throughout her work that truly makes each piece one of a kind.
With the new craze over NFTs taking the world by storm, more people are paying attention to art. But I’ve been paying close attention to artists online for a long time. I plan to give some of my favourite artists their flowers in a series of posts promoting art. If you’re an artist and would like to be featured in the future, be sure to submit your work via the contact page. Please also share your favourite artists and artwork.
