Fubiz and Adobe Stock offer a new collaboration of artists around a visual trend 2020 identified by Adobe.
After the trend “Handmade Humanism” for which Sacrée Frangine had taken images of Nadezda in order to create minimalist creations all smoothly, we approach the design trend of “semi surrealism”.
A trend that is currently flourishing, especially on social networks, with the integration of dreamlike and surreal elements in everyday environments or landscapes.
An invitation to dream, a world that is composed and recomposed at the goodwill of the artists who work these imaginary universes.

A photographer and a digital artist worked together around this trend: Julien Missaire , a 3D designer and the Adobe Stock contributor Matthieu Métivet which captures the environment through its lens.

From the images of Matthieu Métivet, Julien Missaire produced 2 original creations by integrating his universe and a surreal imagination.
By using the contributor’s images, the artist Julien Missaire chose photographs from which he could create new environments. It offers two worlds, one of which may seem dystopian but which tackles reverie and makes you want to dive into it, a second, more dreamlike with warm colors that invites us to contemplation.

A fantastic result which reveals the infinite number of creative possibilities on digital and which makes you want to compose a fictional world in its own way.

Don’t miss the Masterclass Illustration with Julien Missaire which will be broadcast live on Youtube this Thursday, May 28 from 10:30 am to 12:00.

Hello, can you introduce yourself in a few words and tell us a bit more about your creative worlds?

Julien : Hello, my name is Julien Missaire, I am a “3D designer” (or 3D generalist) based in Liège, Belgium, and I am 23 years old.

My creative universe tends towards surrealism or fantasy. I like to create compositions strongly inspired by photographs and then add a touch that makes the scene impossible to achieve in the real world. My creations mostly represent fairly natural landscapes with an additional minimalist element.

Matthieu : Hello to you, my name is Matthieu Métivet and I have been a freelance photographer for 5 years now. I am part of the collective The Agency and I studied two years at ESMA as a photographer practitioner.
After my studies, I decided to go and live in the United States for a year in order to speak fluent English, but also to finally be able to realize one of my dreams: to photograph the United States.
This is where I really discovered my passion for the landscape, the documentary aspect, but also the minimalism of the images that I could create.
My parents always rocked me in photography, my mother always having her camera in hand, so as not to miss anything from my childhood, and my father who was always passionate about photography, who has been practicing it for a long time, whether in film or digital now. It is thanks to them that I was able to embark on a career as a freelance photographer, and I can never thank them enough for helping me push my passion to make it my professional activity.

Julien, in your work, you manage to create unique and hypnotizing universes.
How did you come to this universe? And what are your inspirations?

The visual universe in which I am currently immersed has been the result of numerous tests and crash tests. At one point, I just realized that I liked creating universes realistic enough to believe in them but surreal enough to surprise.

My inspirations come from everywhere. I spend (too) much of my time on Instagram following what several talented 3D designers and photographers are producing. I could mention Quentin Deronzier who is a great inspiration or even artists such as Aeforia, Victor Mosquera and Mathieu LB who are people whose work I greatly admire.

Matthieu, your work in photography makes it possible to approach environments in their simplicity and to awaken very singular emotions by capturing them through your lens. What are your inspirations?

My work essentially turns to a documentary approach and a refined aesthetic.
I am constantly looking for a framing that will be composed of singular, graphic elements, and I try to encourage people to look more closely at what surrounds them, what seems ordinary, while working on a simple, pure aesthetic. and direct. I am very inspired by photographers like Josef Hoflehner, William Eggleston, Joel Meyerowitz, first of all for their documentary work, but also for the minimalism present in many of their images, which is greatly reflected in my creations.

How is your typical creation days organized? Where do you feel best to create?
Can you tell us a little bit about your creative processes?

Julien : A typical day can vary a lot depending on the projects in progress, whether they are substantial or not. I think the best place to create is my office. I have set up a creative setup there that suits me and it would be difficult for me to work otherwise.

Creating an artwork simply involves an idea, I list them in a note on my phone. When I think it’s time to create something, I look at the ideas I wrote down and start from one of them. I try to find references on which I can base myself and I test things.

You should know that maybe half of what I create is not published. I can see once the image is finished that the result is not original enough or that I am simply not satisfied. I prefer to show only the things I am proud of.

Matthew : I like to start my day early, I always prepare my things the day before, especially when I travel. First of all so as not to waste time but also to enjoy the whole day and thus have different and clean lights at each moment.
I love exploring, finding new places, meeting new people, new cultures, and staying creative. I’m always looking for new subjects, new shapes, lines, or a certain atmosphere, which will enrich my image. I’m just trying to convey an emotion, a reflection, a questioning about the subject I have chosen.

Julien, for this original creation, you collaborated with Matthieu Métivet, a photographer and Adobe Stock contributor who immerses us in everyday atmospheres and environments, with a way of approaching things in a more concrete way. By using his images, you brought his personal touch to his surroundings and gave them this surreal dimension. What did this collaborative work bring you?

It’s not uncommon for me to use other people’s work to create. In every image published almost all of the skies I use are photos posted on “stock image” sites.

This work allowed me to reflect on the composition differently. Before, the search for stock images (of skies or clouds) was done at the end of the process to finalize my scene. Here it was the opposite, I started from Matthieu’s creations to imagine the compositions.

Matthew, you are an Adobe Stock contributor. According to you, what are the advantages for an artist to be able to propose and publish his creations on the platform?

I think the main advantage of Adobe Stock for a photographer like me is to be able to create content and deliver it at their own pace, but also to be visible to more people.
I also find this mix of creative people, whether designers, videographers or photographers, to be able to benefit from access to quality content that can help them in their own work.

Julien, Adobe has selected in the visual trends of 2020, the design trend of “semi surrealism”.
A trend that joins your work and the free integration of elements in real places.
What do you think that represents? How can this notion get closer to your universe and how does it fit into your art?

More and more people are experimenting with this universe of “semi surrealism”, everyone contributes something. What is interesting is that there are ultimately no limits to the tools used. Some use only images and will create in Photoshop, others are closer to illustration and painting.

This notion is very close to what I like to do and the use of 3D in my work allows me to be more free. It is not at all impossible to create an interesting universe and to output videos with camera planes thus allowing a better immersion.

Matthieu, Adobe has selected the design trend of “semi-surrealism” in the 2020 visual trends.
A trend integrated into your work which mixes with universes which move away from reality and which invite themselves in dreamlike.
What do you think that represents? How does this notion come close to your universe and how does it fit into your art?

First of all, I find that “semi-surrealism” is an interesting subject, in the sense that it invites people to question the barrier of reality. This approach seems close to mine because I try through my work to motivate people to question the ordinary and to question the obvious.
So I think my images encourage questioning: What is normality? What is trite and why?
I try to go beyond this visual routine by trying to make it interesting. And this is where the minimalist aspect of my work comes close to this trend and makes it almost “semi-real”, because it comes from everyday reality while trying to overcome it.

If you could summarize your work in one sentence, what would it be?

Julien : It would be: simple and colorful universe inviting to dream.

Matthew : Document everyday life and break the banality.