• 9 Sep

    “Skwak” is an awesome French illustrator living in the North of France.

    He created a graphic world that he calls the “Maniac World” where everything is exaggerated.

    His works revisit children’s fairy tales and universal myths.

    The adventures of his characters – the Maniacs – are inspired by situations from daily life (love stories, treason, manipulation, etc) and is always represented in a very exaggerated fashion.

    The ‘maniacs’ express the idea of “too much”, escalation through power, wealth, plastic surgery, celebrity and much more.

    We’ve compiled some of his best works for this article and have also included a short interview with “Skwak” about his fascinating work.

    Hi, and thanks for talking with WDD. Can you please tell us about a bit yourself and what you do?

    Hi, my name is SKWAK and I live in the north of France. I’ve been working as an independent illustrator for five years and I’ve been drawing since I was I kid.

    I have created a graphic world called the ‘maniac world’, a huge playground where the maniacs live. It’s like a distorted reality where everything is exagerated, and where the main notions are constriction, escalation…


    How did the design of “Maniac World” started?

    It started with some monsters that I created called Koogai which represented all kinds of pollution.

    Instead of showing or personifying causes I preferred to create an imaginary world where I could show the consequences of pollution as well as creating characters that were born infected.

    Where the Maniacs live, this world of vice is the normal world, everything is normal. Since that creation this world is enriched with new codes, new characters, new stories…


    What kind of techniques and software do you use to create your art?

    I use Flash (I don’t care which version).

    I just need it to draw and export it. It’s the best way for me to create, the most natural way.


    Where do you draw your inspiration from?

    EVERYWHERE. A word, a sound, some text …everything and anything that can make me start a new story.


    What are your future plans?

    New toys (mini maniac animals), new tshirts (cookies ‘n’ cream), new canvases (which includes a new solo exhibition in 2010 )!!!! So many things !!!


    And here are ‘the maniacs’!


    Skwak’s work has been showcased in multiple exhibitions around the world and his clients include Nike, Levis, Microsoft and many others.

    His art has been reproduced in toys, t-shirts, posters and much more. You can find out more about Skwak at his website: Skwak.com

    What do you think of the “Maniac World”? Please share your opinions below….




  • 30 Comments »

     
    #1
    Web Developer Ottawa
    September 9th, 2009 at 6:28 am

    That is both creepy and cool! Love the shoes.

     
     
    #2
    skarld
    September 9th, 2009 at 6:47 am

    Skwak is dope!

     
     
    #3
    Rahul - Web Guru
    September 9th, 2009 at 8:47 am

    This guy looks quite creepy… lolz.

     
     
    #4
    Victor
    September 9th, 2009 at 9:37 am

    Awesome! Is it possible to get images for t-shirts? :)
    Thanks in forward!

     
     
    #5
    Walter
    September 9th, 2009 at 9:43 am

    @Victor: here’s a link for you: http://beta.rumplo.com/tags/skwak?sort=price:hl

     
     
    #6
    Wayne Hodkinson
    September 9th, 2009 at 10:24 am

    WOW – This guy rocks!

    LOVE IT!

     
     
    #7
    aledesign.it
    September 9th, 2009 at 10:29 am

    Amazing!…even I don’t like so much this illustration I think are really fantastic, like fantasy, colors.. awesome yes…incredible work!

     
     
    #8
    Meilin
    September 9th, 2009 at 1:45 pm

    ew.

     
     
    #9
    John Rooney
    September 9th, 2009 at 3:06 pm

    Skwak – WOW – an extremely talented individual. Not may like him in the world. Definitely not enough! Hats off to you!

     
     
    #10
    RoaldA
    September 9th, 2009 at 5:37 pm

    AHAHAHHAHA I LAUGHED SO HARD!! Love the funny style!

     
     
    #11
    Dario Gutierrez
    September 9th, 2009 at 5:55 pm

    Awesome art, I like very much the iphone case and shoes.

     
     
    #12
    Adam
    September 9th, 2009 at 6:34 pm

    I have seen this guys work a couple years and he’s definitely quite a talented person.

     
     
    #13
    BebopDesigner
    September 9th, 2009 at 6:48 pm

    Wow! Disturbingly funny and brilliant! love it

     
     
    #14
    Melody
    September 9th, 2009 at 9:08 pm

    The sneakers are sooo cool!

     
     
    #15
    James Ellis
    September 10th, 2009 at 2:52 am

    Love this guys work, have been following him for a long time! Nice compilation of his works here!

     
     
    #16
    Mars
    September 10th, 2009 at 8:13 am

    oh men! I like the design on shirt, can get lost about this one

     
     
    #17
    Pelfusion
    September 10th, 2009 at 9:40 am

    amazing…i wasn’t able to take my eyes off

     
     
    #18
    Alexey
    September 10th, 2009 at 2:30 pm

    I first time heard about Skwak, but I already love him. GREAT snowboards! I want it!

     
     
    #19
    Andreyco
    September 10th, 2009 at 8:29 pm

    I love those snowboards!

     
     
    #20
    ZombieHead
    September 14th, 2009 at 2:19 am

    everything you do is insane, your artwork is amazing!
    Those walls are unbelievable I love ‘em!

     
     
    #21
    pezigner
    September 15th, 2009 at 10:42 am

    so cool! amazing work!

     
     
    #22
    pt
    September 16th, 2009 at 1:23 pm

    cool…just can’t figure out why he is using flash…

     
     
    #23
    Vitezslav Valka
    September 16th, 2009 at 2:16 pm

    Hyeronimus Bosch digital ressurection :-)

     
     
    #24
    kes
    September 17th, 2009 at 2:48 pm

    100% agree with #1. – Its creepy and yet somehow cool.
    Its creepy, yet I continue watching it? – what the heck is wrong with me? ^^

     
     
    #25
    L Dash
    September 18th, 2009 at 2:34 am

    The Air forces are insanium! I got to say that ish is fly.

     
     
    #26
    Cristian
    September 24th, 2009 at 11:21 pm

    Amazing!!! The texture that creates all the illustrations is really great!!!

     
     
    #27
    PhilippineOutsourcing
    September 28th, 2009 at 9:17 am

    this artwork’s a bit creepy but cute.. love it .. love the style .. very unique

     
     
    #28
    Bleyder
    October 6th, 2009 at 3:54 pm

    It makes me crazy!!

     
     
    #29
    Creativeblondes
    December 2nd, 2009 at 7:24 am

    I wanna have that cool tshirt!!

     
     
    #30
    Future Webs
    January 18th, 2010 at 1:27 pm

    Wow, some of these designs must have taken ages, amazing artwork!

     
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