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WorkIllustration

Digital daydreaming illustrated by California's Eric Petersen

California-based illustrator Eric Petersen’s works are delectable visual feasts using the most striking colour palette, influenced by instructional graphics, video games and the look of vintage comics of the 1940s.

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Via Creative Boom submission. All images courtesy of the artist

Via Creative Boom submission. All images courtesy of the artist

Fascinated by the combination of a purely functional illustration style with an emotional scene, his digital artworks are timeless, cleverly taking aspects of the past, present and future to create a vintage style mixed with sleek and contemporary graphics.

When you consider that Petersen spent a decade as a computer programmer in New York City, returning to his first love of illustration in 2012, you can start to see where a lot of this computerised, digital inspiration stems from.

Represented by Creative Boom's friends Anna Goodson Illustration Agency, he cites his career move to full-time freelancer as a natural one, and a very family affair, as his father is also an illustrator. Discover more of his work on his portfolio.

A businessman in a hard hat guides a suited colleague down a steep geometric slope casting long shadows on a muted green background
Close-up of a stylised hand with elongated yellow fingernails against a vibrant pink and red background in a graphic illustration style
Four figures in white shirts and blue shorts shown in sequence performing a diving motion against a red and gradient background, illustrating movement progression in vintage comic style
Illustrated underwater scene with a snorkeller swimming towards a child sitting on a surfboard in turquoise water with a sandy seabed below
Three figures in warm tones recline on geometric orange and red shapes against a muted background in Eric Petersen's digital illustration style
A figure in an orange headwrap reclines inside a large yellow geometric paper plane against a gradient sky, surrounded by smaller aircraft silhouettes
A solitary figure sits at the base of a large yellow geometric structure casting a shadow against a gradient sky shifting from blue to pink
Overhead view of three people relaxing on a geometric patterned blanket in bright yellows, greens and browns, illustrated in a retro style with bold colours and clean lines
Five stylised figures in red swimwear perform dynamic poses against a bright yellow background in Eric Petersen's vintage-inspired digital illustration
Stylised illustration of people walking along a pink pathway beside a modernist building with blue walls and doors, with a pool visible in the distance
Illustration of a person with blonde hair in red clothing holding stacked colourful cylindrical objects against a vibrant pink and orange background
Illustrated figures with raised arms standing on yellow steps against a red and green background, in a vintage comic style
Figures in red and white clothing hold golden pencils while standing on stacked blocks of yellow, orange and red, creating a dynamic ascending composition against a gradient turquoise and green background
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