With so much white noise on social media it is sometimes hard to separate the wheat from the chaff. But these illustrations immediately jumped out the page at us. Davor Bakora is the creative mind behind these wonderful Dubrovnik illustrations and we caught up with him to find his inspirations.
Educated at the The Stuttgart State Academy of Art and Design Communication Design he has devoted his life to his passion. He is collaborates with art directors, designers, entrepreneurs and editors at magazines, newspapers, advertising agencies, publishing houses, companies and institutions worldwide and was honoured by American Illustration, Communication Arts, 3x3 and Creative Quarterly.
Your Dubrovnik illustrations have lit up social media and have brought lots of attention. How do you choose which images to create?
I’d rather say the images choose me. “Espressionism” is one of my most personal series where I just put ink on my sketchbook pages. The concept is to find a place where I can draw something for an hour or two, let loose, dive into sketchbook flow mode and finally don’t think at all about what I do.
How inspiring is Dubrovnik for an artist?
Very inspiring. There is so much art, architecture, history, in the air, everywhere. I feel every time I’m in Dubrovnik. Mediterranean atmosphere, coffee, the Adriatic Sea, blue and green and a lot of Dalmatian stones around, beyond and above you.
What feedback have you received from your work and how are the images of Dubrovnik received?
Well, some like and some awarded some of my works. Regarding the Dubrovnik drawings, I guess they are popular because they look different the way they are drawn, just black and white, especially compared to the usual views and the common colours in Dubrovnik postcards, photos or paintings. There’s more to come and I hope to offer “Espressionism” prints soon.
How did you enter the world of illustration?
I always wanted to visualise ideas, to create something new by the evening that didn’t exist in the morning. I liked magazines with great illustrations like the New Yorker even before I was studying and I definitely wanted to work with these editors and art directors who particularly appreciate the art of commercial illustration. So I studied Communication Design at the Stuttgart Academy of Fine Arts and specialised in the illustration class of Prof. Heinz Edelmann. I knew the work of mainly French, Belgian and a few American comic book artists before and discovered the work of great contemporary illustrators during my studies by publications like American Illustration and Communication Arts. Inspiration and motivation by my fellow students was also crucial.
What advice would you give for up and coming illustrators?
It’s all about mutual respect and collaboration. Give your best on all projects. Or learn to say “No” if someone asks but rejects a reasonable fee. If your goal is to become a perfectionist, rather try to square a circle. You have to “draw wrong,” to exercise in order to develop your skills, style etc. Don’t give up. Stay open-minded. Learn and improve every day. Ask for advice but decide on your own. Don’t judge everything but work on anything.
Follow Davor on social media
https://twitter.com/davorbakara
https://www.instagram.com/davorbakara
https://www.linkedin.com/in/davorbakara
https://www.behance.net/DavorBakara
