The Spanish artist Javier Arrés makes hyper-detailed ink drawings of fantastical cities and machinery, along with animated GIFs he calls Visual Toys. He describes his style as a mix of hyper-detailed work and pop iconography, shaped by science fiction cinema, video games such as SimCity and Roller Coaster Tycoon, and the baroque architecture of Andalusia.
Arrés began drawing in art classes at age 11 and left his fine arts studies at university after five years. He then studied design and graduated in graphic design and multimedia production. He worked for nine years as a graphic designer for advertising agencies in Madrid, and as an illustrator for clients including the NFL and The New York Times. In 2019 he won first prize in the Work on Paper category of the London Art Biennale. The winning piece was a two-by-two-meter marker drawing that took three months to make. He has also exhibited at OpenArtCode Paris in 2020.
