Award-winning art director, graphic designer, and illustrator Peter Tarka is known for producing immersive illustrations using forms, shapes, and bold colors. His mesmerizing visuals have attracted some of the biggest names in the industry, with brands like Apple, Google, Instagram, Microsoft, and LG all magnetized to his fresh, digital aesthetic.
But according to Tarka at least, his fascination with digital aesthetics is in part due to his “horrible” drawing skills. “I started pretty early with Photoshop CS2, which I got from my father’s friend (I’m almost sure this was a pirate copy),” he recalled in an interview with Medium. “I always liked drawing, so I started creating really simple stuff with brushes etc…”
After Photoshop came Adobe Illustrator, which introduced him to vector graphics. “In 2011, I started thinking about giving more depth to my illustrations, so I used simple 3D tools from illustrator and then retouched them in Photoshop to give them a more natural feel,” he explains. “After this I moved onto Cinema 4D, which has turned into my main program along with Photoshop.”
Fully self taught, Tarka had originally studied economics but dropped out of school after obtaining a bachelor degree. Jump forward some years later and he now has a following of over 200k on Instagram, and has won many awards (amongst them a Silver Cannes Lions for Art Direction & Design and a Bronze Cannes Lions for Use of Social Platforms).
His advice to other aspiring artists? “Work hard and get enough time of sleep (repeat until the end of your life).”
