Steven Soltysik is the face behind Solty Design, where he creates illustrations for the beverage, food, and music industries using traditional linocut techniques. He enjoys working on murals, packaging design, and personal prints, or, simply, anything that you could put an illustration on.
Before he started with illustration, Steven graduated in 2016 with a B.A. in Art Ed from Nazareth College of Rochester. After taking a year off, he went back to school while teaching to pursue a M.A. in Graphic Design & Digital Media from the Academy of Art University. It wasn’t until he graduated in 2020 that Steven started to explore illustration.
Whilst studying his M.A, Steven learned about packaging design. This is when he first realised how you can blend drawing skills into graphic design. From there, he tried to develop a style, and landed on a woodcut, line heavy, and minimal colour palette approach. Still feeling like he was all over the place in terms of aesthetic, Steven tried creating an actual lino print for enjoyment. After using physical tools again, he became hooked; “Digital never truly felt right to me. I love the feeling of something in my hand and having to use my body. Feels more real to me.”
However, Steven still uses plenty of digital tools throughout his process, beginning with collaging 2-3 images together in Photoshop before he starts to draw. He always works from a photograph for the main subjects in his work, and the backgrounds and borders are mostly created in Photoshop.
Steven’s recent work explores surreal compositions in order to reference an intended message. He is heavily inspired by antiques and other vintage items, which is commonly seen within his illustrations. “I love vintage gig posters and the flatness to most of them. Due to my surrealist influences, I still try to add a layer of depth,” says the designer.
There are quite a few things that Steven is interested in at this point in his career. Having created a few murals in the past, he hopes to continue building upon this portfolio. His love for music also drives a passion for creating gig posters, and he has a goal of designing more posters for bands and other musical creatives. Finally, he hopes to place his illustrations on a variety of packaging designs and merchandise.
@solty_design
www.soltydesign.com
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