New Talent: Carlín Díaz
In the latest in our series uncovering creative talent on Facebook and Instagram, we take a look at the surreal and vibrant work of Paris-based creative Carlín Díaz
Carlin Díaz’s work spans animation, illustration and collage, and combines vivid colours with organic shapes and round-faced characters.
The Venezulan-born, Paris-based creative graduated as a graphic designer in 2012, but turned to illustration in search of more creative freedom, and has since worked on music videos, LP covers and GIFs.
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His work is inspired by graffiti, skate culture and surrealism, and he counts Magritte, Rousseau and photographer and painter Ed Templeton among his artistic influences.
“When I was around 15 years old, I started to be super interested in skate culture and graffiti and I remember seeing videos like Toy Machine’s Good and Evil. They used a lot of graphics and animation. When I saw that, I just fell in love with it – it opened my mind,” says Diaz. “That was something that really pushed me to look at the visual world as a career and not just a thing that kids do.”
Recent projects include a digital illustration to promote Matches Fashion’s Prada collection, a music video about a whirlind romance between a duck and a dog for Norwegian band Kakkmaddafaka, and Sun, Sol, Soleil – a mixed-media collage inspired by his love of the sun, created using colourful paper and glitter.
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Díaz pays close attention to colour: after deciding on a palette, he often puts an image aside so he can revisit it with fresh eyes before completing a project.
“[It’s] super important that once I create the colour palette, [I] put it away for at least a day and a half and look it at it with fresh eyes, then I will see if it works or I have to change something,” he explains.
He enjoys working on LP covers and music videos – “those are projects that I really enjoy because it combines music and visual art,” he adds.
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New Talent is part of Inspire, a partnership between Creative Review, Facebook and Instagram showcasing outstanding creative work across both platforms. More advice and inspiration for creatives using Facebook and Instagram is available at facebook.com/ads/creativehub.You can follow Carlin Diaz on Instagram (@carlindiaz) or see more of his work at carlindiaz.com