Ibrahim Saifee is a Photoshop Artist and Graphic Designer having his roots in Chennai. At just 22, he has established himself in the digital world as a successful artist. His work focuses on creating surreal art which carries messages about the environment and its hazards.
In conversation with Icy Tales, Ibrahim Saifee spoke about his journey to becoming an artist, advice for upcoming artists, and challenges he faced during his initial days.
Q) What pushed you into pursuing graphic designing and Photoshop as a course and career?
Ibrahim Saifee – I think the interest started way back because I used to click pictures of anything and I had developed an interest in photography, so I took pictures all the time. Then I wanted to do something more, so I started editing pictures on my mobile.
I thought there was a Photoshop app on mobile, so I downloaded that and started with the basic knowledge that I had. After this, I used to post it on social media, and people recognized my work. So, from there, my career and everything started.
Finalist at the Adobe Project 1324 Competition
Q) Was the road to pursuing your career easy? What were the challenges that you faced?
Ibrahim Saifee – I think it was very challenging for me because I was a beginner in this field, and I didn’t have much knowledge on pursuing things here. I would say that because if you tell people about this profession, they are not much aware of this.
So, I just needed the proper guidance because when I was in school, I had the right amount of people giving me that knowledge. Another thing is that pursuing a degree in a college was never my thing, and I just wanted to do something different from what other people were doing. Then I joined an academy and gained knowledge in this field.
Artwork purchased by a US Model
Q) Since your job is more of a freelancing type, what do you have to say about the risks involved?
Ibrahim Saifee- I think people have two minds about freelancing. They think freelancing is very unstable, especially if you’re a beginner, it is very tough to find the proper context and length. In my opinion, freelancing is more about learning and other things that go with it. You try to gain that knowledge; you try to find that people, which is a step-by-step process. It is not something like once you get into it, you’re going to earn money or you’re going to get work immediately, it is all about the process.
In my initial days, I started posting my work on Instagram, and from there people started seeing my Instagram page and they tried to contact me. So that is how I started getting work. And yeah, in the early stages you are a bit under-confident, but as time passes, you learn it by yourself and it becomes a very easy process.
Featured at Adobe Photoshop
Q) We noticed that you have worked at an international level and very young age. Talk to us about it.
Ibrahim Saifee – It is very unreal because I never thought of getting into this field, first of all, and then when I started, I didn’t have a lot of confidence. Then I thought that maybe I could try getting work through Instagram or other social media. Then I had this basic process where I used to work and post it on my page, tag people, and send my work to them. And somehow, in this process, I started gaining a lot of profile views.
I used to get many emails and DMs regarding work, and at present, I have worked with many brands, and so far, it has been an outstanding experience. Photoshop featured me one fine day, which was the turning point. Then so many other pages like Adobe also started featuring me, which is how people came to know about my work and all that I do.
Ibrahim Saifee’s work exhibited in NOFILTERDXB Dubai
Q) What do you have to say about the scope in the designing field?
Ibrahim Saifee –There is a lot of scope in this field. Even if you are a beginner, if you have the proper knowledge, you will find so many ways to deal with it and find work. Talking about my field, people have this perception based on graphic designing; even I had the same thing. But once I got into it, I started learning things by myself by watching YouTube tutorials.
And then I got to know that, graphic designing is more than just graphic designing and if you can see from where I started three years back and if you see now, there’s a lot more happening around the digital market than just digital editing. So, there’s a lot of growth, and if you have the correct skill set, you can do many things.
When Corona hit, everyone wanted to go digital, right? They wanted to put up their business on social media because that was the only way people could get work. I think that helped me very much because people started searching for an option on how you can advertise your work or your product digitally. People started contacting me then, and I had worked for them. I used to get a good amount of work a day during the lockdown.
Q) What did your profession teach you?
Ibrahim Saifee – It taught me to try and be confident about myself. People around you will tell you different things, but what matters is you, and how you deal with it, I strongly believe in that. Whatever I’m doing, I need to be confident about it, and if I’m not, I should find ways to make myself feel confident and not push myself down.
My vision was to do whatever I wanted to do. If there were any issues or problems, I didn’t want to have a Plan B, I just wanted to stick with that and stay because if you’re not trying it, you are going to regret it someday. And if it’s not working out, then you can try harder. So, this is one of the things that my profession taught me.
Collection of Ibrahim Saifee’s work
Q) What advice do you have for aspiring and upcoming designers in today’s world?
Ibrahim Saifee – Today, so many people are interested in this type of work because everything is going digital. The fact that everyone is having a mobile and laptop at home, has become an easy way to learn Photoshop through YouTube. Many youngsters are interested in this field and coming into it. When I joined, I think there were only a few photoshop artists, but now people know more about this, and that’s why they are coming into it.
When I first got into Instagram, I saw that there were many professional artists and I used to compare my work to their work I used to think if I will be able to match the quality of work? Sometimes, you feel low, but if you follow your process and believe in yourself, you will get the correct output.
Ibrahim Saifee wants to give digital art the recognition that it deserves. He believes that art is a link between people, so he aims to connect with his audience through his work. Ibrahim Saifee wants to take his profession to the next level by working harder, day after day.
Also read: Exciting YouTube Challenges to Do by Yourself.
Check out the whole conversation on our YouTube Channel.
Last Updated on by Sathi
