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Inspirational Hyperreal Vector Artists and Images
Hyperrealism is an art movement,which requires the same level of technical ability as photorealistic illustration. To get an idea what is actually meant by that, you can take a look at some excellent examples in the post The World’s Most Photorealistic Vector Art. While Hyperrealism brings a similar level of skill to images, this style allows the artist to creatively interpret an image. In Hyperrealism artists utilize ethereal lighting effects, depth of field techniques, and camera style perspective to depict the images. They create images that are imaginatively realistic.
Often artists that work in Hyperrealism have other interests as well. These vary by subject matter and style. Some of the artists listed below are interested in Vexel styles, Digitalization, Classic Airbrush Painting, and have been influenced by a myriad of other styles. We’ve included work that ranges from strong Hyperrealism to work that is more a stylization of reality.
This kind of artwork is often created using Illustrator’s Gradient Mesh Tool, though not always. You’ll see that some of the artists create artwork with a fantastic level of detail, using many flat shapes. Illustrator is the most popular program for creating Hyperreal Vector art. Artists also use Flash and other vector programs as well.
Hyperreal Vector Artists
Cristiano Siqueira
Chistiano is an accomplished illustrator from Brazil. He has multiple vector stylistic influences. He has some works in vexel styles, cartoon styles, realistic styles, hyperrealistic styles, and various mixtures of these. The work depicted below has a great deal of realism, but also brings in a feeling of fantasy. Here is a link to an Interview with Cristiano Siqueira, in case you want to learn more about the artist.
Giulia Balladore
This illustrator is from Italy. Here is a link to an Interview with Giulia Balladore, in case you want to learn more about the artist. In this interview the artist’s style is described, “my work has a huge hyper-realistic and fashion influence; chiefly I like to focus the human nature in each of my illustrations.”
Oleg Rogoznev
This is a Russian artist with a really impressive craft when it comes to design of realistic vector images. His work takes on hyperreal qualities by focusing on extreme detail (see “The Flower” below, at the left hand side). In the “Still life” (below right) he uses subjective lighting. In the “Large eye” he captures realistic detail, while allowing some of hair and skin elements to show through as simplified vectors. You can visit his portfolio for further works.
Nuria Herrero
This artist currently resides in Spain. She has a portfolio filled mostly with cartoon style realism. Though she also works in Hyperreal style on occasion, as can be seen from the selection of her work below.
Catherine Preston
This artist is from the United Kingdom. She has a small selection of high quality vector portraiture. The top illustration is exemplary for her work. In the bottom illustration notice the choice of details in the image. Leaving out some of the texture in the iris of the eye gives a little bit of flatness to such a realistic image. Apparently, such kinds of artistic choices lead to stylistic effects.
Chris Nielsen
Chris is an illustrator from California, USA. He doesn’t use the Gradient Mesh tool. He prefers to create all that exquisite detail with a multitude of flat abstract vector shapes. He defines his style as “Stylized Realism.” In the motorcycle portraits below, he allows some unfilled vector lines to show through the design. They coexist with the shiny chrome details.
Joseph Ryan Nasipak
Joseph is from Ohio, USA. He has used the Gradient Mesh Tool in some illustrations, but also uses blurs to good effect. The artist has the following to say about the top image, “This image was done with solid color fills, gradient fills, gausian blurs and opacity tints. No mesh.”
Eric Gushee
Gushee is from West Virginia, USA. Most of his vector work is done in a flat shape gradient style. The pieces below show that he also works in a Hyperreal style. The top image and the image at the bottom left look as if they were made with gradient meshes. The image at the bottom right is more in line with his flatter style.
Patrick Kerby
This artist is from Ontario, Canada. He has a large photography collection. Vector illustration is more of a hobby for him. He recreated Spiderman from a poster in the large image below using Gradient Meshes in Illustrator.
Mark Westberg
This artist is from Minnesota, USA. He has an interest in motorcycles, airplanes, and nudes. They are all created in vector, but have an airbrushed painted quality applied to them. Especially the airplane images below. They have a hyperreal detail, while using depth of field, and blur techniques to simulate motion. Look at the blur on the propeller at the bottom right. The artist also creates atmospheric lighting with the sunset backgrounds. The motorcycle is made from flat shapes. If you look at the left rim you can see where some noticeable shapes were left.
Jussta
This artist is from Poland. Her portfolio displays a range of work including Vexel stylization, Vector Cartoon, and Hyperreal. She mixes these styles in her work. Each image has areas of different stylization. In the large image, you can see how the flat vector jacket contrasts the realism of the woman depicted in the image.
Todd Mac
This artist resides in Norway. He has a mixed style, which combines realism and flat vector graphics. The top image is titled Copertone Girl. The lighting and detail in this image have Hyperreal qualities. The face in the image is done with the Gradient Mesh Tool in Illustrator. Of course, the artist also mixes some flat vector graphics as well, like in the strands of hair and background.
Sean Hodge is the creative mind behind AiBURN, a weblog about design, creativity, inspiration and graphics.
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- 1
- 2April 27th, 2008 5:48 am
nice :-)
- 3April 27th, 2008 6:09 am
Amazing!! What beautiful work, these guys got talent, thanks for a great post as always Smashing Magazine.
- 4April 27th, 2008 6:50 am
This work is amazing!
- 5April 27th, 2008 7:03 am
Kitsch.
- 6April 27th, 2008 8:21 am
Kitch, beautiful, retro… call it what you want, no one can deny that these guys are seriously talented.
Great post. It makes me think that we need more art direction in mainstream websites.
- 7April 27th, 2008 9:00 am
are u stupid people?
- 8April 27th, 2008 9:18 am
I just cannot imagine how to obtain that O__O Amazing
- 9April 27th, 2008 9:36 am
An expert 3D artist could do any of that, and in about 1/100th the time. I’m really getting into 3D with Blender, and even from my novice standpoint I can say that you just can’t beat the practicality of using 3D when trying to achieve such results, even for ultra-high resolution images. I’d sooner work 20 hours to model, texture, and rig a scene, and wait 100 hours for the ultra-high resolution render to finish, then having to spend many hundreds of hours (i.e. several weeks) trying to achieve the same result in vector. And don’t give me that “scale to any size” crap – 3D will render as high a resolution as you tell it to, provided your textures are big enough so they don’t stretch. So no matter how you look at it, trying to get such results with vector is just plain impractical. Vector artists should stick to illustration and avoid “trying to make a photo,” and 3D artists should stick to rendering art and avoid “trying to make a logo.”
But none-the-less, those are some incredible pieces.
- 10April 27th, 2008 11:58 am
@Heri:
Meh, I’m going to have to respectfully disagree. Although I do understand that it’s more practical to get realistic results utilizing 3-Dimensional techniques and software, one shouldn’t disregard other works or mediums because they are completed in a longer span of time. For example, I could say that painting is a useless art form now, because rather than painting a realistic picture (which could take a very long time), I could just render it any sort of faster medium. Practicality does not triumph over artistic merit, although you do agree that these are incredible pieces.
Plus, working with the Gradient Mesh tool is a major bee-yatch.
- 11April 27th, 2008 12:39 pm
How about Yukio Miyamoto (http://yukio.illustratorworld.com/)? Not all portraits, but definitely amazing with the meshes. Chris Vector’s stuff just blows me away anytime I look at it.
- 12April 27th, 2008 12:57 pm
well i’m really impressed. nice work.
- 13April 27th, 2008 2:21 pm
That’s a very cool post! Thanks for the inspiration!
- 14April 27th, 2008 3:41 pm
Aside from Cristiano Siqueira this list is a gathering of semipro airbrushy vector craftsmen.
I’m sorry this is dead boring and very uninspiring. - 15April 27th, 2008 4:12 pm
Excellent! I have to disagree with any comment bagging these artists
- 16April 27th, 2008 6:14 pm
WOW! Those are amazing!!!
My stuff isn’t as good but entertainimng. Wow really cool.
-Fun With War Crimes - 17April 27th, 2008 7:01 pm
@ pizzabox, I think we can agree to respectfully disagree. If you want to throw painting into the equation, fine. I’m a novice digital painter too (Intuos 6×11), and like vector and 3D, it has it’s own weaknesses, and strengths. I paint all of my textures, and I always do post-work painting on my renders. They each have their place in the [digital] art world. Vector is a great thing, but it’s not practical for “hyperrealism.” When I look at those wonderful pieces of work, I can’t help but ask myself “why?” – it just doesn’t make sense to do that kind of thing in Illustrator or Flash, mesh tool or not. I also know how a few million polygons in Blender can be, but I’d hate to see what working with those vectors would be like.
@ atype, I’m not bagging the artists. Like I said, those are some incredible pieces of work. I just don’t see the point in trying that kind of thing with vector.
- 18April 27th, 2008 7:52 pm
this is really awesome..
i though the Angelina jolly was real :P - 19April 27th, 2008 8:45 pm
Yup! this is reallly great and m very much inspired from this. :)
- 20April 27th, 2008 10:41 pm
These artists are amazing! So detailed! But, with the greatest respect, I wonder what drives them to create such detailed gradient meshes, when they could have easily used a photograph to achieve the same effect, or better. In fact I’m certain that most have these have used a direct photo reference. I mean I can admire the huge amount of skill it takes to create these pieces, but what is the real point? Why strive for hyper-realism when the camera does a much better job?
- 21April 28th, 2008 12:35 am
Sorry but these are all tacky. Each and every one.
- 22April 28th, 2008 12:58 am
You can think what you want about this method, but it’s an awesome way to receive a better understanding about the body, shadows – how they work and where to apply them. Just to mention a few benefits.
If you keep on pursuing it, you’ll one day wind up being incredibly talented and maybe in the same leauge as Cristiano Siqueira.
- and oh god, please stop comparing it to 3D animation. You make me hurl. Trashing it because it takes time, is just plain ignorant.
- 23April 28th, 2008 1:24 am
Have you ever seen those gaudy fairground rides where to tart them up a bit they call them things like “THE TERMINATOR” and badly airbrush pictures of Arnie on the side? That’s what these examples remind me off.
- 24April 28th, 2008 5:11 am
awesome artworks! and good to see pinoy blog here.
“PROUD to be PINOY”
- 25April 28th, 2008 5:49 am
Friend. Not any of that is hyperrealistic, nor even quasi-realistic. You have got to be kidding. It’s all pretty — but it is far from digital photo detail.
- 26April 28th, 2008 6:26 am
Thank you so much for featuring me among these fantastic artists. Great article :)
- 27April 28th, 2008 8:28 am
There’s an awesome website that let’s you create your own vector images from bitmaps, Vector Magic!
- 28April 28th, 2008 12:33 pm
Who ever said it took several weeks to create these?
- 29
- 30April 29th, 2008 1:25 am
wow..what a work..nicely done..:D
- 31April 29th, 2008 4:27 am
have a look at some airbrush illustrations of late 70s and 80s and it’s that same tacky feel. It might be hours of hard work to make vectors look like pixels but the resulting look is a retro kitschy look (although I do think that it’s not intended as such and tries to pass as “art”)
- 32April 29th, 2008 6:19 am
so much hate over art & design that’s simply meant to be aesthetic, if not simple personal excersises and practice to work over techniques and maintain skill levels.
lots of great work here; deserves a lot more kudos then the sour grapes all over this board.
as for Henri’s comment comparing this to 3d; much of the point of utilizing a vector format has little to do with the scalability. unless you’re creating your own textures (all of them) for those 3d renders, then you’re not comitting a realistic timeline for your own work.
when i do vector based work at this level of detail, my average time to product is about 22 hours of billable work; not 100s, and i know many artists who can top me in pushing for realism of details (which i purposefully fall short of for a more animated appearance) and turn in similar timelines, if not often shorter.
a thorough knowledge of how to use the tools really cuts the timeline down.
- 33April 29th, 2008 8:45 am
excellent stuff..
- 34April 29th, 2008 10:21 am
Awesome! Some of them are incredibly realistic. What a hard work.
- 35April 29th, 2008 10:25 am
what in the world…
you post this and you don’t link LifeInVector - 36
- 37April 29th, 2008 11:21 pm
Oh my GOD!
Talk about talent…. The guys or gals who made them are truly extra-ordinary artists….
Bravo, Bravo…. - 38May 1st, 2008 10:15 pm
lovely illustrations!
- 39May 2nd, 2008 7:51 am
Wowwwwwwwww……very nice……..i like illustrations
- 40
- 41May 16th, 2008 10:55 pm
Hey Coltrane,
Post a link to your website so we can see what an expert you are… if it is really that easy to do.
We’re waiting…
- 42May 30th, 2008 6:02 am
nice vector
- 43June 4th, 2008 9:31 pm
Chris Nielson is a cool guy. He teaches at Orange Coast College, and I was a student of his for half a semester in his Illustrator class. I found his projects so much more engaging than most of my other professors’, actually allowing us to create things of our own instead of just following steps in a textbook.
- 44June 27th, 2008 6:39 am
nice work of art… i’m a starting vector artist and these pictures are awesome..it inspires me more to do well! I getting concepts yipeee!!! can give me a better program besides from ADOBECS3?? tnx guys! :)
- 45July 3rd, 2008 12:18 am
it’s amazing what some people can do with a computer!
some of the more realistic portrait-like illustrations could be processed thru photoshop with some hi-quality grain filters, etc, and probably make a good front cover on a fashion magazine. - 46July 3rd, 2008 12:20 am
it’s amazing what some people can do with a computer!
some of the more realistic portrait-like illustrations could be processed thru photoshop with some hi-quality grain filters, etc, and probably make it to a page in some fashion magazine – one of them perhaps even a front cover. - 47July 11th, 2008 11:42 pm
wow wow!!! men it’s been only 3days and i already love this site… great work guys.
it’s been a pleasure. - 48August 5th, 2008 7:44 am
ok before you sound like any more of an idiot than you already do maybe you should do some home work there are different applications for different mediums of art for example 3D photo realistic images can be achieved on tshirts and other cloth like items today than ever was capable in the past even just as far back as 5 years ago screen printing technology has evolved greatly in this time period, and if you give a 3d rendering in cad or maya or any other 3d modeling program to a screen printer its as useless to him as your comment on vector artist! he cannot use it because a screen printer must be able to seperate the colors onto plates or screens which ever you want to call it in order to get that image onto a shirt. and you slopy 3d rendering isnt going to import into a seperation program unless he exports it as a jpg and whoop there gose all the detail down tha drain. a jepg is never as crips and sharp as a vector this is why vector illustration are needed they do not server the 3d demands of the world and 3d modeling dose not solve the problems of the screen printing world. thats why they have 3d renders and vector artist.
word of advise dont be hating on vector artist because they have a higher level of talent than you do. I create 3d rendering and maya and i have the tallent to do vector are as well as anyone listed here, and i can tell you that there is a difference a person can create a 3d renderd model in say maya and in 10/100 th of the time there is a reason for this! its because the 3d program is creating all your highlights and shadows and reflections as well as perspective and depth, NOT YOU! you may minipulat the textures and skins of the 3d object and wire frame but its the program that complils and in the end makes you look good not you! while on the other hand vectorization requires the skill and patience and talent only seen in some of the greatest artist that ever lived. and 4th grader can render a very nice looking object in a good 3d program that dosent make them an artist so dont be hateing on vector artist and say were no good and impractical just cause you werebnt blessed with our talents.
- 49August 5th, 2008 8:00 am
oh yea i forgot to leave link http://www.artworkdesigns.net and yes i am james mosier
- 50August 12th, 2008 3:24 am
wow!!!! very nice………
- 51September 6th, 2008 5:18 am
Unbelievable! What is wrong with people who see beautiful works like this and all they can do is trash it and carry on like kids in a schoolyard. Heavens above! If you like making your 3D doohickeys all power to you. Knock yourself out and all that. But what YOU prefer to do is completely irrelevant to this post and doesnt make this art work any better or worse anyway. For the record – I loved some of those images!!! Thanks for posting this.
- 52November 9th, 2008 3:38 am
WOWWW
- 53December 1st, 2008 1:18 am
Hmm.. great..
- 54December 1st, 2008 1:19 am
kapan ya saya bisa bikin kayak gtu? :)
- 55February 4th, 2009 4:48 am
Three words: (A tutorial please);
Fab work; I’d love to be shown how to do this!!!!! :)
- 56July 6th, 2009 5:54 am
gr8 article.
- 57August 22nd, 2009 12:34 am
This art simply blows me away every time!
- 00
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This is one awesome piece of artwork! Thanks Smashing Magazine for another great post.
I hope you’ll be able to post some tutorials on how to accomplish these kind of vector artworks. Also, for the avid readers of Smashing Magazine, is there anyone here who knows of a good tutorial on perspectives, shadow, highlights, lighting? If ever you have please post it here. Thanks!!!!