About the Author

Cristian Saksida

Cristian Saksida is a graphic artist, concept designer, graphic arts instructor and student of architecture born in december 13 of 1982, his style in all of his work (design, concept art, illustration, architecture, sculpture, etc.) features strong influences with the fantastic, using the expression of emotions and movement that exaggeration and stylization of the forms can bring.
It's a little known fact that he has kinship with Francesco di Giovanni Botticini, a famous painter of the renaissance, from his Italian Grandfather, José Botticini, who was an engineer, scientists believe that this fact could be the source of his magical artistic powers.
Since childhood, drawing is a very important part of his life, to the point that when he was at a relative's house with his parents, they would need nothing more than some pieces of paper and a pencil to entertain him, and he could be hours inventing beings that could only exist in his imagination, influenced by the comics he read and cartoons he watched.
At school, his classmates nicknamed him "The Fantasist" because he was drawing and talking all the time about monsters, aliens, superheroes, dragons and fantastic stuff, they called him like that only to mock him, but, on the contrary, he felt honored with such a title.
He made his first publications when he was 16 years old, in the year 1999, doing postcard illustrations for TELECOM company, for the ARNET portal website, since then, he worked for many projects in his and other countries, like illustrating RPG Card Games for Z-Man Games and Inner Kingdom Games in New York, USA (Shadowfist series and Bushwhackin' Varmints); production art for animated films for Patagonik Film Group animation company, collaborating in the animated film "The Ark" (El Arca) as a background artist; he also made illustration work for argentine magazines (Next Level, Xtreme PC, Irrompibles, PC Juegos) and international ones (Master Player, Cartas de Combate, from MINA Editores, Mexico); He also published his own comic strip called "Frank & Fluke" in the argentine magazine "Irrompibles"; he collaborated with the famous argentinian comic book artist Fernando Sendra as a colorist and content designer for the official "Yo, Matías" website, and also coloring covers for the strip; he also made board designs for extreme sports companies (MKD Kiteboards) advertising Illustration (BrandSpot Ad Agency, Johnson & Johnson co, Diálogo Publicidad), he is working right now as an art instructor at the Image Campus Institute in a program designed by himself, the most complete education program about Concept art and design in Latin America, and also making art performances and exhibitions in art Galleries from Buenos Aires such as "Centro Cultural Recoleta", one of the most important contemporary art galleries in Argentina, and Objeto A Art Gallery; and also doing disertations about concept art at universities such as the Belgrano University, also in Buenos Aires.

CURRICULUM VITAE

GROUP ART EXHIBITIONS AND PERFORMANCES
-Centro Cultural Recoleta - May 2011 - Buenos Aires, Game On! 2011, as a part of the "Fase 3" exhibition about art and technology.
- Digital Art Exhibition and live performance
-Objeto A Gallery - June 2011 - "Selecciones - Arte Vivo" Gallery Nights.
- Digital Art and Oil painting Exhibition, and live performance

DISERTATIONS
-Universidad de Belgrano - 2009 - Buenos Aires, Exposición EVA
-Galería Objeto A - 2008 - Buenos Aires, Muestra Game On!
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE AS AN ART INSTRUCTOR
Image Campus
Buenos Aires, Argentina
October 2007 - Present
Contract
- Instructor in the professional “Game Art” formation program at Image Campus institute; in the following courses:
- Anatomy and proportion.
- Concept art and Style development
- Texturing techniques
- Adobe Photoshop CS3 for begginers and Advanced

- Instructor in the professional career “Superior Technical program in Game Development” in the Image Campus Institute; in the “Digital Image” Course.


PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE AS ILLUSTRATOR AND DESIGNER
Patagonik Film Group
Buenos Aires, Argentina
march 2006
Full Time
-Background Layouts for the animated film "The Ark" ("El Arca")

Fernando Sendra Studio
Buenos Aires, Argentina
may 2004 - September 2004
Freelancer
-Digital coloring por the "Yo Matías" comic strip by Fernando Sendra for the "Yo Matías" official website.

Inner Kingdom Games, Inc.
New York, USA
Freelancer
- Illustration work for the "Red Shift" expansion of the Shadowfist RPG card game.
- Illustration work for "Bushwhackin' Varmints" RPG card game.
- Illustration work for "Prophecy", RPG card game, in two expansions: “Dragon Realm” and “Water Realm”

Z-Man Games, Inc.
New York, USA
May 2002 - Today
Freelancer
- Illustration work for the "Boom Chaka Laka" expansion of the Shadowfist RPG card game.
- Illustration work for the "10.000 Bullets" expansion of the Shadowfist RPG card game.
- Illustration work for the "Red Wedding" expansion of the Shadowfist RPG card game.
- Illustration work for the "Seven Masters vs. The Underworld" expansion of the Shadowfist RPG card game.
- Illustration work for the "Shurikens and Six Guns" expansion of the Shadowfist RPG card game.

Editorial Domus
Yerúa 4955
October 2007 – April 2008
 Freelancer
 - Publication of the serial comic strip “Frank & Fluke, for “Irrompibles” magazine.

MKD Kiteboards
Buenos Aires, Argentina
2007/2008
Freelancer
- Kitesurf board designs for 2007 board line.
- Kitesurf board designs for 2008 board line.
- Kitesurf board designs for 2008 board line.

Dialogo Publicidad S.A.
Paraguay 610 piso 23 - Cap Fed
2008
Freelancer
- Comic strips for Cementos Minetti

BrandSpot. Ad. Agency.
Buenos Aires - Argentina
May 2002 - June 2002
Freelancer
- Promotional illustration for Johnson & Johnson co.

Editorial Mina
México D.F.
March 2002 - Today
Freelancer
- Cover illustrations for Master Player magazine.
- Editorial Illustration
- Publication of a comic strip "Gamers Brain Juice".

Editorial PowerPlay
Buenos Aires - Argentina
October 2001 - January 2002
Freelancer
- Cover illustrations for Next Level magazine.
- Editorial Illustration and comic trips for Xtreme PC magazine.

MP Ediciones
Buenos Aires - Argentina
april 2001 - july 2001
Freelancer
- Redacción de articulos para revista PC Juegos.

Telecom Internet
Buenos Aires - Argentina
February 2001 - Today
Freelancer
- Postcard illustrations for Arnet.com

Buenos Aires WEB Design
Buenos Aires - Argentina
December 1998 - 1999
Full time
- Graphic design for various clients.
- Comics and online game illustrations for the GraTAROLAndIA.COM website.
- Administration and graphic design for the GraTAROLAndIA.COM website.