1. For those unfamiliar, can you tell us a little about yourself?
Ok, I am Cristiano Siqueira, people know me as CrisVector too. I work as professional illustrator in Sao Paulo, Brazil. I'm 26 years old. I'm married. I don't have pets (although love cats). I like to play and watch football. I like to play shooting games and I'm thinking about practicing kung fu.

2. How did you first get into using Illustrator, did you start with Photoshop first?
Yes, with Photoshop. I started using the Adobe software suite in my first job, a graphic design studio (1999). As a beginner, all I could do is cut off photos using Photoshop's pen tool, changing the original background to a new one. Although this was a boring job, I got some special skills with the pen tool, that helped me a lot when I started using Illustrator.

When I opened Illustrator for the first time (it was the 7th version), I was just looking for a easier way to redraw logos in vector, I never thought about using Illustrator to do illustrations, because I already did all of them by hand, with pencil and ink, and coloring in Photoshop. So, opening Illustrator for the first time, I didn't get so worried, because the interface was like Photoshop, even being a different program to do different things.

3. Describe your setup (gear).
I'm currently with a Mac mini (Intel Core Duo) and a 19" widescreen LCD Monitor. The computer is new, but the software is not. I'm still using Photoshop 7.0 and Illustrator 10. I'm thinking to update them soon. Also, I also use other software like Poser and Painter (which I'm still learning) and a Wacom tablet (gaphire 4X5) to do the digital painting stuff.

4. Do you have any formal education with art? or are you self-taught?
Both of them. I did a "Technical Course of Design Communication", where I learned a lot about traditional techniques, art history, composition, etc. This course wasn't a "graduation" but i learned the basic to my work. After this course, I started working professionally, and I had to teach myself major things about using the software, so we can say I was a "self-taught" too. All I learned about Illustrator or Photoshop was reading tutorials or the Help and trying new ways to improve my work.

I still wish to do a graduation in Communication and Art. Maybe when I have time and money enough.

5. Your colors are so vivid and seem to pop off the screen. How do you go about choosing colors schemes for your illustrations?
Sometimes I think the vivid colors in my work is from Latin culture influence. Being Brazilian, I've seen vivid colors since my early years. The vivid colors of the sky, sun, flowers, people clothes, television, animated cartoons etc. Even living in a grey city (Sao Paulo), I had that color influence.

When I think in the color scheme I never think of more than 3 colors, but I always look for a natural contrast between the colors, trying to play with it. I don't like using forced contrast such as black lines or white glows, I try to make my work smooth but vivid. Also, I like to work with pure colors, not many gradations, I think those things sometimes give a dirty look to the works, that I'm never looking for.

That's why I like vector art... In vector I can manage this colors easily.

6. Women also seem to be a central focus for most of your works. Why is that?
Well, maybe It's because I'm a big lover of the woman's body, not just because of the natural sex attraction, but the woman's body really look beautiful to me, even that bodies out of the "top models" standard.

And women have a special contradictory atmosphere. I like powerful women. The power of seduction, ideas, attitude. Another power instead of physical power. That's why I usually choose women as central focus of my works.

7. I've noticed a very strong use of flowing elements. Do you sketch these complicated works out by hand first?
Not really. I do some sketches before starting a new work. Simple sketches just to clarify some concepts and translating to a good image. I can present those flowing elements in the sketch, but I never do them all detailed. To finish them, I use all software resources to make the process easy and fast. So I crop, join, duplicate, and whatever to get the effect I thought when I did the first sketch.

8. Illustrator can be quite intimidating to beginners; any advice for people just starting off with the program?
Yeah,

First: Don't get intimidated with Illustrator because you aren't alone, the Help really helps you. Don't think that consulting the Help is a shame. I do it all time when I don't know how to do something.

Second: Don't be sad if you can't do THAT wished work in the first time using Illustrator (or any graphical software). Drawing, even by a software, is a constant exercise. Try many times until get yourself satisfied. You can follow tutorials, but never forget to try your own way and improve your own style.

9. Do you create strictly digitally or do you like to dabble in traditional mediums as well?
My formation was traditional. I did so many works and I learned all graphical language by the traditional way, but today I just work with digital. It's easier, cleaner and faster. Working professionally, with short deadlines I had to look for the better way, and that way is digital. All process is digital, even you are doing an image for a website or printing.

But I like the traditional medium look, and I'm studying Painter to incorporate those elements to work. I think the Painter software is the best one when you look for a traditional way using digital.

10. Whom and/or what do you find inspiration from?
I can find inspiration in many things. It can range from something I see when I'm walking on the streets to another artists's works. I like to appreciate the people, how they live, what they do, what they talk about. I find inspiration in daily usual things. I like to find some technical inspiration too, I always check for the featured artists in art communities like Phirebrush, DepthCore, DeviantArt and I specially like the Books of Ballistic. Sometimes I get back to the big masters of painting: Dali, Picasso, Michelangelo, Klimt, Escher etc..

11. Describe your creative process.
I think in a concept I want to work. I find some different references about the concept I thought of, so I can get more ideas about how to do my image and think about different views to a same concept. I sketch something, just to put the idea on paper. I think how I could finish the idea, how's the best way to finish: vector, digital painting, 3D etc. I find some references to help me with the drawing process and I start finishing the image. Sometimes when I'm drawing more concepts about the original idea comes to my mind, and I do some quick notes about the work that I'll use for the final explanation or to add more elements to the drawing to make the concept clear.

12. What kind of music do you listen to?
I love 80's Pop. I always listen to it when I'm working. But when I get bored of 80's, I like to listen electronic, rock, dance and some Brazilian music.

13. How is Brazil's art scene?
I think Brazil is a country with a rich and very creative popular art. We have a big variety of cultures inside the same country, this "culture chock" produces a lot of interesting scenes, since the art produced by the artisans to the people of graffiti. You can see wonderful things, produced by artists in each corner of the country. That's the good thing. The bad thing is the "Art Market" is to few selected artists, a kind of elite that produces art looking for external market. I wished that Brazil had a larger market for the artists, so they could live doing what they love to do and improve themselves.

14. Does the Brazilian culture influence your works?
I believe yes. Well, I live here, It's impossible not to be influenced. The colors, the contrasts (not just about colors, but the social contrasts), the problems, the parties, football, the popular art, the people on the streets. I think I'm influenced by many things I just know here.

15. When you are not creating, what do you do to unwind?
I like to walk, look at the people, to the buildings. It's very refreshing, I always get good ideas when I'm waking in the street. I like to watch a good movie, play some games and stay with my wife. I like to play football too, although I don't get many opportunities to do it...

16. What do you think about the online community for artists?
I like them. It's a great thing when you can share opinions about a piece of art or whatever, getting views of different cultures, from different countries. You can understand more about yourself and the world. It's good when you know you aren't alone, even you live in the middle of nothing. When you can share ideas and don't fight for them.