Ambitious students - Sid's surreal designs

What do you do and how did you get started? 

During the Corona lockdown, I was very bored. A friend of mine who was into photography always edited his photos. I was curious how he did that and asked him to explain it to me. Because of that, I began making designs in Photoshop. I had a lot of time on my hands, so I could teach myself things like Photoshop. I posted my posters and designs on Instagram, and after that, things happened very fast. Some small companies who wanted to sell my posters approached me and I also contacted some companies myself, such as Displate. 
I'm quite proud to be selling my work on Displate. Before I could sell my work there, I had to send them my portfolio. They want to maintain a certain standard and, apparently, my work was good enough. Sometimes they use my work in their ads. When I see it, I'm think, ‘Hey, I know that design!’ That's pretty cool.  

Through Instagram, I also sell posters and T-shirts myself. I will post something on my Instagram Story and ask if people are interested. I have them produced on-demand because I don't want to be stuck with 20 T-shirts. That way, I know exactly how many to order. One of my T-shirt designs recently sold 13 times and two people at Student Experience Leiden already have my poster on their wall.   

I would describe my style as surreal and dream-like; stuff you might encounter in your dreams. I really like dreamy colors and get inspired by the colors in the sky, for example during a sunset. " 

Where do you get your inspiration from? 

I get my inspiration from anywhere and everywhere. Occasionally, I just get an idea of something I would want to create. Other times, I'll scroll through websites where I get my images from. I get inspired by images I come across or look for interesting looking things. I'm Jewish and I also get inspired by Jewish themes. For example, sometimes I use pictures I've taken myself in Israel. 

Do you see a future in this work or is it just a hobby? 

For now, it's definitely still a hobby. The degree I'm pursuing, Middle Eastern studies, doesn't have much to do with what I do in terms of creative expression, but I'm quite a colorful person myself. The artistic part of me and my life gives me freedom from political affairs. I really unwind when I'm photoshopping because it's not important who I am or where I'm from. It would be cool if I could make good money selling T-shirts and posters, but the thing I like most of all right now is to bump into my work somewhere. For example, when I see someone wearing my T-shirt, that really gives me a special feeling. 

What advice would you give to other students?   

"I think it's important to say 'yes' to things more quickly sometimes. That will suddenly get you somewhere! For example, there was a small website that wanted to sell my work. They would then give me a small commission whenever they sold a piece. All I had to do was share my work with them and they handled everything else. I said "yes" to that, which gave me a nice, extra penny for quite a while. In other words, you just have to start, or you won't get anywhere." 

Curious about Sid's designs? Check them out on Instagram!