Under The Influence - Hunter Iler

    For this project, I was inspired by Erik Johansson. I wanted to incorporate his surrealist style and imaginary themes into my work. I specifically chose to play around with the idea of reflections and the different ways I could convey them. My goal was to push my imagination and create three convincing photographic compositions that tap into the unexplainable as Erik Johansson does.

Skyline

Nostalgia

Deep

Under the Influence–Pablo Villanueva

    In my three compositions, I drew inspiration from Henry Flores' distinctive use of vibrant colors, layered imagery, and abstract themes to explore the fashion industry as a movement. For the first piece, I conveyed the dynamic interplay of elements that come together to form a polished and fashionable look. Using a combination of bold colors, geometric shapes, and hierarchical layouts, I emphasized movement and structure, mirroring Flores' intricate layering techniques. The second composition introduces a more chaotic feel, incorporating unorganized frames overlaying a shirt design. This approach reflects a raw, deconstructed perspective on fashion, drawing from Flores' ability to blend realism with abstract textures. For all three compositions, I applied posterized textures to the poses, enhancing the visual depth and creating a distinct, almost surreal quality that aligns with Flores' layered and abstract aesthetic. Finally, the third composition focuses on a masked portrait, where posterized textures and photo posters highlight varying emotions and poses, gradually unifying into a cohesive narrative. Across all three, I used contrast, filtered textures, and text to evoke a surreal yet cohesive aesthetic, inspired by Flores' ability to create depth and drama in his work.

Under the Influence - Aliyah Valcin

Lorna Simpson is the artist I am drawing inspiration for this project. Her work uses black and white and sienna-tone images of mainly black women as her focal point. She also incorporates experimental ink tones. When viewing her works it allows the viewer to fill in the blank spaces and be free to use their imagination to interoperate her art. For my interpretation, I used unique items such as napkins and a photo of an old radio. To add my take I added various colors to each composition on an off-white background. Also incorporating a full image, I could separate multiple parts of my photo. To relate to black history, I incorporated images of the Black Panther Party magazine. I like manipulating modern photos to have an older feel to them similar to Old is new project. Each image focuses on some element that ties back to African American history. 

Under The Influence - Jennie Keophaphone

My inspiration for this project was Anwar Mostafa. I wanted to combine how he used portraits and combined them with elements of nature through digital compositing. He also experiments with a variety of textures and colors, against a more so muted background to create an interesting surrealist composition. My goal was to replicate this while taking my own spin by experimenting slightly more with the background and emphasizing more of the brushes he uses in his pieces.

 

Meg Neal - Under the Influence

My inspiration for this project was April Greiman. I wanted to use her collage-like style, and include similar elements such as, animals, people, and scientific looking illustrations and text. Greiman worked with early computers for her work, so I also took inspiration for colors from earlier digital aesthetics. I combined this digital look with more historical illustrations and text to create a juxtaposition in the works. I also kept similar color palettes, reused some photos, and used the same model to help bring the three images together to look like a collection. 

Under the Influence - Bryce Locaylocay

    For this project I based my work off of Marcus Wallinder, better known as MeanwhileInNowhere. He is a minimalist graphic artist who mixes AI tools with traditional digital techniques to create bold and thought-provoking pieces. With a background in photography and graphic design, he pulls inspiration from minimalism, surrealism, metaphysics, and geometric abstraction, while also tapping into current cultural trends. His work often features monochromatic tones, fragmented portraits, and dreamlike distortions, exploring the balance between chaos and order, and form and abstraction. His work is beautiful, simple, and effective. For these three pieces, I wanted to challenge myself to do everything without using AI. The goal was to create something just as abstract and surreal as his, something that feels a little off and has that eerie, dream-like vibe

Under The Influence - Ashley Dinning

 

Beeple, or Mike Winkelmann, is famous for his bold use of bright colors and the way he turns small objects into massive, eye-catching creations. His work, especially in digital art and NFTs, often mixes surreal imagery with real-world themes, making it super creative and unique. What really inspired me were his visuals of sharks and whales—they’re so big and full of life, they almost feel otherworldly

That vibe really stuck with me, so I used my dog as the star in some of my pieces, playing with scale to make him look larger than life. It was a fun way to bring Beeple’s surreal approach into my work while keeping it personal. I also leaned into his use of vibrant colors, which added an extra layer of energy and playfulness to the designs.

Under the Influence - Emily Buie

For this project I was inspired to create work based on concepts used by Jeff Kepler. Kepler commonly uses his composition to tell a story involving familiar characters, however, the story does not appear the way that we all know it or expect it. He uses a mix of realistic photography, different blending modes, effects, lighting, and also seamlessly incorporates animated assets within these elements as well. His work is inspiring because it reminds me that we can combine pretty much anything to create the world we want. In my own work I made my cat, Millie, the main character in each scene. Using light, shadows, and a combination of layers, I told more ironic stories that seem lighthearted and humorous. 

Under the Influence - Ashley Legassie

The artist I chose for this project was David Carson. I used Carson's influence to layer content and textures to create my pieces. I incorporated one letter in each piece to eventually spell out Charlotte (here you see C, H and A). Each piece incorporates photos to represent the memories of a lifetime and each piece focuses on a different perspective of Charlotte.