Would you say that you have a signature style? How did you develop it?

Well I have been recognized for the style I have used for my 'real life' Disney character project - so yes, I would say that has become a
signature of mine. It has been developed by my love of experimenting with Photoshop. I found that combining techniques such as digital
painting, photo compositing and manipulation simply excited me, and resulted in visually stimulating outcomes.

You made an amazing series on "Real Life Disney Characters". Can you tell us more about doing your own take on these Disney characters? What inspired you to create this personal project?

First of all, I have always been interested in character design, as well as the way people look and what makes them unique in their appearances. But the idea for doing these characters basically came out of nowhere; one day I just thought about exploring what the character of Ursula from the Little Mermaid could look like in real life. And being grown up with a lot of these characters, the sense of nostalgia made it such a fascinating and a fun personal project to explore and carry on with.

Do you have any new upcoming projects?

At the moment I am concentrating on University work, and I am working on my final major project due in May. I also have finished a few projects (Digital illustration, as well as Branding/Advertising) that I have entered to student competitions, but which I can't publish just yet. But stay tuned and you should be able to find new work by me by summer time!

What advice can you give to other budding artists?

I would just suggest everyone to have fun and find out what the things are that you genuinely enjoy doing - and hopefully that passion will be reflected in your work as well!

More about Jirka Väätäinen