Cal can’t recall a time when he has not actively drawn or designed, but he has never pursued it as anything other than a hobby because it was always a choice between words and pictures,and he chose the latter.
Cal has always loved Swiss minimal design and vintage style, so he used that as the inspiration to design prints of football legends both past and present. Unfortunately, he was pointed in the direction of someone who was not only doing this, but doing it much better than he was. He had to think and reassess what would be his niche. As it turns out, there wasn’t one type of illustration he was particularly good at, so his designs depended entirely on whatever has inspired him.
LichTENstein is a homage to legendary pop artist Roy Lichtenstein. There is a lot more he wanted to do with the style, but he thought that having a set project would give him a reason to hold on to it. To illustrate each picture, Cal uses Adobe Illustrator, essentially through rotoscopy and has several images set at the side of his main canvas to use them as a reference point for the stylization. He then manipulates the image into a way he believes is best.
Cal chose the players pictured above randomly with the exception of Zinedine Zidane. He chose the French maestro as his first picture because he creates a pose that shows football as an art form. Working with that idea, he wanted each player to do something characteristic with the ball.
“There might not be anything original about emulating the styles of renowned artists. But I want my reinterpretations to reflect me and those who’ve inspired me artistically; what’s the point in having influences if you’re not going to do them justice?”
For more of Cal’s artwork you can follow him on Twitter, as well as his Behance. You can also purchase his artwork here.