Every piece I have made all have 1 thing similar and 1 thing that can never be removed is light. Once you master the science part of it all you eventually can use these skills in any medium you like.
I was born in a small town surrounded by farms in Ontario. I come from a family of trades and have been involved with Photoshop art for around 14 years now. The journey will always be different if you’re on an artistic path. It’s never how I expected it to be and I honestly have no idea where it could go either.
I aim to inspire at least one artist a day. This is just a personal goal I had set when I studied marketing in college. By setting this goal I have networked with a lot of people and achieved milestones I wouldn’t have ever thought about achieving.
It’s all about stepping out of your shell and interacting with the extremely massive creative community. I know it seems scary but I suffer from severe anxiety and can definitely say it’s possible.
2. How and when did you realize your passion for visual arts?
My passion blossomed when I was around 13. In my spare time, I would chat on these online forums. There was always an art section and a community that always needed art. This was where I learned the basics of Photoshop but never really knew what to do with it.
2. How and when did you realize your passion for visual arts?
My passion blossomed when I was around 13. In my spare time, I would chat on these online forums. There was always an art section and a community that always needed art. This was where I learned the basics of Photoshop but never really knew what to do with it.
In high school, I met a pretty cool group of friends that supported my interests and always encouraged me to further my craft. We used to tape a piece of paper to the wall and use reading lights as a studio. I was a high school student so you wouldn’t see me owning any real equipment yet.
During school, there was a class I attended called yearbook. I know it seems weird to have such a course but it was actually pretty interactive and you learned a lot. My teacher discovered my talents for editing and started to give me challenges and tutorials to achieve. This gave me the ability to have art as more of a main focus.
Yearbook wasn’t the only class I was using these talents in though. We had the privilege of having a photography course with a dark room. This was where I discovered my true passion for art. My true passion for art is light. The way that light forms everything for us and shapes the world.
Every piece I have made all have 1 thing similar and 1 thing that can never be removed is light. Once you master the science part of it all you eventually can use these skills in any medium you like. Studying light I now can pick up a camera, a pencil, a mouse, a tablet and instantly understand the concept behind the actual product. And that is to play with light.
3. What role does the artist have in society?
I believe that art has a huge role in society. Without creatives, you wouldn't see a lot of the products and services we have today. I believe that the technology jump from 2000-present was mainly caused by more creatives coming out of their shells and creating something they thought wouldn't be achievable.
3. What role does the artist have in society?
I believe that art has a huge role in society. Without creatives, you wouldn't see a lot of the products and services we have today. I believe that the technology jump from 2000-present was mainly caused by more creatives coming out of their shells and creating something they thought wouldn't be achievable.
The definition of art is slowly expanding into new genres of trades like construction and manufacturing. Art is an industry that will never die and can never be impacted by another product in a negative way. When I was in school, I was always thinking about how to define art to others when I was talking with them.
What I have come up with is this sentence right here: "Art is the express train towards connecting one's memories with visual representation." Although you can type out an entire story and send it to your friend, that same story could be summed up in one image if you target the right memories.
My Stan Lee image was a huge example of this connection. In the Marvel Avengers movie, it was all big named superheroes that faded away. You felt a true sadness like you were losing a best friend. Stan Lee had the ability to make his entire imagination real.
To me, this is a superhero and this is the most important character that faded away in that time. It wasn't in the movie, it was real. We felt the real situation and the same sadness they had in the movie when looking at the piece. Stan Lee, one creative, inspired millions of other creatives and non-creatives to do something different. All with one creative idea.
4. Describe your favourite visual effect from a movie. Why do you like it?
4. Describe your favourite visual effect from a movie. Why do you like it?
Personally I'm not a huge fan of overused visual effects. Series I like to watch are normally original series from the platform and have a more indie vibe. I don't need to see fancy explosions or space ships to visualize or learn the story. One movie I really liked was August Rush.
Although this movie has terrible ratings I think it was just not understood from a regular point of view. In this movie, a boy discovers his artistic talents on the guitar to find his family. He plays on the streets in a creative way and was always using this as a tool to find what he was looking for. He used art as his beacon without looking for profit.
This story is very similar to how I do things. I don't really care about money or materialistic things. I feel like my pieces have a lot of value and each of them is a beacon for another creative to find their imagination.
A movie is still your perspective at the end of the day, we could be in the same theatre side by side but still learn different things. There is art in all media forms and a message but it's up to you to decode.
5. What do you think is the best method to review visuals for corrections? And What is your favourite software to work with?
5. What do you think is the best method to review visuals for corrections? And What is your favourite software to work with?
The overall best method of improving your artwork is to get involved in art communities. You can find these communities all over the internet and find some very helpful information in them. I have been in art communities since day one and have learned so many new techniques and met some extremely cool people.
It was my goal in 2020 to make my own art community using Discord as a platform for interaction. This community has now grown to over 10 thousand artists! We get comments all the time about how much the community has helped them express themselves and opened them up to a whole new area of interest.
The software I work in is strictly the Adobe Suite. When I was young it was my dream to get the attention of Adobe and have them support my artwork. I have been using Photoshop since day one of my journey and Adobe has assisted my creative career in an enormous way.
At this stage in my life, most of my recommendations will be quite biased towards my own interests. I'm an Adobe and Discord partner and both of these companies have supported my art journey to where it's at today so I will always be biased and say get involved with these amazing companies!
6. What is the one piece of advice that you would give to aspiring visual artists?
One piece of advice I will always give to another artist is keep going. Seriously, I see comments like "I'm bad at art" all the time but these artists have only been designing for a few months. Don't talk down towards your path you are currently on. You need to motivate yourself as well to keep pushing through.
6. What is the one piece of advice that you would give to aspiring visual artists?
One piece of advice I will always give to another artist is keep going. Seriously, I see comments like "I'm bad at art" all the time but these artists have only been designing for a few months. Don't talk down towards your path you are currently on. You need to motivate yourself as well to keep pushing through.
Art blocks are a huge problem you can run into and most of the time people try and run right through this block. Don't run through it silly, just walk around it! Try something new, get back to that task later when your mind has more energy.
Keep your mind healthy and happy and you will find that the art block cannot take you down. Talk to other creatives, learn from them and discover some new techniques. My path is 14 years old and still ageing.
- Shaun Ryken (Photoshop Artist)
My name is Shaun Ryken and I'm clearly a Canadian. I'm a 27-year old that has focused on design for around 14 years now. I’m built to inspire, empower and encourage world change through design. I suffer from severe anxiety and use designing to help recycle some of my weird thoughts. The goal is to keep healthy, live life experiences and express it on canvas.
- Shaun Ryken (Photoshop Artist)
My name is Shaun Ryken and I'm clearly a Canadian. I'm a 27-year old that has focused on design for around 14 years now. I’m built to inspire, empower and encourage world change through design. I suffer from severe anxiety and use designing to help recycle some of my weird thoughts. The goal is to keep healthy, live life experiences and express it on canvas.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ShaunRyken/
Website: https://shaunryken.live/
Interviewed By Akshaya Rathinavadivel
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