Artist Focus: Göktuğ Karahan

Hi Guys, I am Göktuğ.

I live in Eskişehir, Turkey, and I'm working as an illustrator and also getting my master's degree. Besides, I am doing e-commerce with my own brand. I usually take part in projects focused on illustration, such as children's books, mobile games, and the education sector.

'Soie', which I am a co-founder of, was a small startup that we started with my girlfriend, but when we got great reactions, we decided to grow our brand. So far we have only produced scarves, but we decided to improve our product scale.

Another thing is analog photography, both hobby, and therapy for me. I am trying to capture something with overlapping poses with a completely experimental and even multiple exposure method. I like to paste them in notebooks, paint on them and write on them. The photo already has its own story and by doing this I'm adding another story to it. I believe this increases the intellectual depth of the work.

After reading the text, the most difficult place is the stage plans, I look back at the pages so that the compositions do not repeat each other in this process. I even put it side by side and check if the story continues. Everything that is solved at this stage means both less revision and laying a solid foundation in terms of story flow. While I do the details, what I see, what I watch, and what I listen, fills in the pages. For example, if I saw a pattern somewhere or a flower, I definitely carry it to my compositions.

I can say it is my motivation or lifestyle, being on the move and action. I use a motorcycle, and besides, I use Longboard and Snowboard. I work this way while drawing. There is a constant movement when I work. If I take a break, I will definitely watch something or drive an hour or so. I have a hard time getting back to work when I stop. So this is my inspiration.

When I read and watch, I prefer science fiction and fantastic items, I generally feed from them. When I say fantastic, it is "Warcraft" which I devote most of my life to and "DUNE" for science fiction.

Another source that feeds me is Studio Ghibli! I love their colors and compositions and characters. I've watched each movie dozens of times. The way things are handled also affects me a lot in these movies. I wrote my thesis project at the university, inspired by one of the Ghibli works.

I leave a drawing video here because it is my last share and I'm talking about the equipment I use while working

I like to use graphical elements in my works, they look both sweet in style and bring balance to the composition. I definitely draw patterns on the colors I use, if it adds a nice look in terms of richness.

The program I use is Adobe Photoshop because I use the brush set of Kyle T Webster. It really enhances the quality of organic brushes and work. When I want to be mobile, I use Ipad Pro. If I am going to attend a meeting, I will definitely go with Ipad. I can take picture notes and use Ipad like a notebook.