Getting the message across

Versatile visual artist Sachin Samson could have been an animator but realized that it was easier, and far quicker, to tell stories through illustrations

The art of adding color

My style is defined by the details and chaos that I add to my illustrations. I would call my style dystopian surrealism...mostly black and white with some colors here and there. My favorite part is the process. When I paint I like to leave a lot of room for experimentation, for spontaneity, for instincts… the colorful elements aren’t planned. When you draw a line it describes a space and when you draw two lines together it creates a form…when it becomes a whole network of lines it becomes even more complex, and then when you add color to it, it becomes something that can take you to a new place.

The lure of illustration

I started drawing and painting with my father at an early age. Growing up in Kerala I was always surrounded by art and design. When I joined Maeer’s MIT Institute of Design in Pune, my parents were very supportive. I was very confused in the beginning about what discipline to get into. After the foundation course I realized that I love the act of drawing and creating, especially a story that is personal or if it’s something that I haven’t done before! Keeping this in mind I decided to learn animation design in college. The animation course improved my sketching and storytelling skills a lot, but later I realized that animating a story is a very time consuming medium. It can take you months to make a short film! Then I focused on illustrations because that was a convenient medium to convey a message or tell a story within a short time. For me story telling is absolutely everything.