For years, Awesome Art We’ve Found Around The Net has been about two things only – awesome art and the artists that create it. With that in mind, we thought why not take the first week of the month to showcase these awesome artists even more? Welcome to “Awesome Artist We’ve Found Around The Net.” In this column, we are focusing on one artist and the awesome art that they create, whether they be amateur, up and coming, or well established. The goal is to uncover these artists so even more people become familiar with them. We ask these artists a few questions to see their origins, influences, and more. If you are an awesome artist or know someone that should be featured, feel free to contact me at any time at theodorebond@joblo.com. This month we are very pleased to bring you the awesome art of…
George Caltsoudas is a Greek-Canadian illustrator based in Kavala. He works digitally and loves having the music on full blast while drawing.
He studied illustration and graphic design at OCAD University in Toronto. He has spent the last decade in London offering art direction in film marketing for Disney, Legendary, Marvel, Warner Bros, Universal, Paramount, Pixar, Dreamworks, Sony, and MARV Studios.
Since then, he has embraced his passion for illustration and comic books, drawing cover art for IDW Publishing, Boom! Studios, ONI Press, and Titan Comics. He also has successfully released multiple art prints for Mondo and Bottleneck gallery.
JOBLO: What got you started as an artist?
CALTSOUDAS: I’ve just always drawn ever since I was able to talk. My dad was also an artist. He was a magnificent painter in his spare time and did graphic design work officially. We lost him to cancer at a very young age. He was so talented and I sometimes wonder what he would think of my artwork and what amazing things he would have achieved in his own career if he were still here.
Who were some of your favorite artists growing up?
Tim Sale! Back when I was a student in art school, I went down to the Silver Snail this one time and there were two or three issues of Daredevil: Yellow on the new comic bookshelves that caught my eye. They were so gorgeous and I was stunned to see cover art like that. It seemed unusual to me that any of the large comic book publishers would release something that had actual illustration art instead of the usual “coloring book” approach. Then when I discovered that the pages inside also looked like the cover art and had the exact same level of quality, well, let’s just say I’ve been absolutely enamored with his work ever since.
Another illustration hero of mine is manga creator Kōsuke Fujishima. His Oh My Goddess! Series is my favorite manga series ever and I have almost all the books. I strive to be at least half as good as him every time sit down to draw.
I also had a special admiration for a few of the Italian Disney Topolino comic artists. Even to this day, I admire what they do and constantly seek inspiration from them. I even have a monthly subscription to Topolino via the app. I have no idea what anyone is saying because I don’t know Italian but I don’t care. I love those comics so much. A huge dream of mine is to one day get to at least draw one cover for Topolino. They currently have this story running where Mickey, Donald, and the nephews are on an adventure in this Zelda/Ghibli-like parallel fantasy realm where they fly steampunk airships and battle air pirates in the clouds or giant rock monsters as they glide over tall grass fields. I have no fucking clue what’s going on but it all looks awesome.
Who do you really dig these days, follow on Instagram?
I’m constantly gawking at Matthieu Bonhomme’s stuff. Another two insanely talented artists I’m currently obsessed with on Instagram are Likelihood_art and Francesco D’Ippolito.
What advice would you have for budding artists today?
None. I have no idea what I’m doing half of the time.
What should we be looking out for from you in the future?
I’m not allowed to say much yet but I just wrapped a few fun projects that go beyond just being poster art. One is for a board game and the other is for a special doll collection. I want my next big ambitious poster art project after wrapping up Batman the Animated Series, to be the classic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series. We’ll see how that goes.
Being a fansite, we have to ask you… What are some of your favorite movies/TV shows of all time?
That’s tough. Working as a marketing art director in the movie industry for 11 years really ruined my experience and made it extremely hard for me to enjoy anything. No matter what movie or series would play, I would get up within fifteen minutes and start doing other things like cooking or organizing or going on my phone. It’s taken me three years since I left that industry to unwind and relax my brain. Even watching movie trailers was no longer exciting for me. It always felt like a chore. I’d feel like “okay, that trailer cut was option A, now I’m about to watch options B and C and then have to give my notes back to my boss.
I’m currently really loving season 2 of Emily in Paris. Yeah, laugh all you want but season 2 is actually really good. My favorite characters are Mindy and Luc. I’m also really excited about the fourth and final season of Ozark and I’m currently really into the final season of Lost in Space. My all-time favorite series has got to be Mad Men though. My all-time favorite movie is Doubt. I just think it’s exceptionally well made from all angles (writing, pacing, editing, cinematography, acting). I’m also a mega fan of Alfonso Cuaron.
Scroll down to check out some of our favorite art pieces from George as we continue to follow his journey across his Website and social media hubs: Instagram / Facebook / Store
Adventure Time
Aladdin
Back To The Future
Batman The Animated Series: Mad Love
Batman The Animated Series: Trial
Beast Wars
Cinderella
Clue
Dinosaurs
Labyrinth
The Little Mermaid
Maleficent
Marvel Team-Up
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers
The Queens Gambit
Samurai Jack
Snow White
Star Wars
Superfriends
Thundercats
Wonder Woman