Living in Slovenia and studying Financial Mathematics, having a mobile workspace so he can design anywhere, and competing in the London Olympic Games… almost. This week we meet Nik Pletikos (Pletikos) from GraphicRiver and PhotoDune.
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Tell us a bit about yourself. Where are you from, what do you do for a living?
I come from a small city of Portorose, Slovenia. That’s a small country in central Europe in case you don’t know.
I’m 22 years old, I’m currently studying Financial Mathematics in Lubiana. I’m a freelance graphic designer and I’m a professional dinghy sailor (almost qualified to London 2012 Olympic Games).
Which marketplaces do you belong to? What types of files do you sell?
I mostly design for GraphicRiver, but I also have some photos uploaded on PhotoDune.
I mainly create mockups. Apart from that a lot of other works are mockup-related. For example, I created business presentation and preview image templates that include several device mockups.
How did you get started? Have you had any formal training?
I’ve been designing for 10 years now and I never had any formal training. All I created I learned by myself and by following online tutorials. I also participated in some contests on 99designes.com as a beginner.
Last but not least, the Encide Community helped me a lot to improve my skills, especially in GUI and web design.
I create a lot of different stuff, from web and print designs to UI and photo manipulations. I’m also quite good in HTML and CSS. If you would like to see more of my work, check out my Portfolio or my Deviantart profile.
Describe your home workspace.
I use my Toshiba Satellite laptop and a Wacom Bamboo tablet. I don’t have a regular workspace though. I carry my laptop around all the time and I design wherever I can. That’s why I don’t have a photo of my workspace.
Describe your creative process. What steps do you normally follow to create your files?
When I get a unique idea, I try to figure it out in my mind how would it look like in the end. Then I start making the item in Photoshop and I improve the item while I’m working on it.
I spend a lot of time on the presentation as I think it is the most important part to increase your sales. I also record video tutorials to make file more understandable.
In the end I try to use Smart Objects as much as I can, so the file is customizable.
What is your advice to other authors regarding how to create a successful portfolio?
I still don’t have a successful portfolio, but you should try to create something new, something unique. Copying other authors won’t increase your sales. Also presentation is at least as much important as the item itself, so work on it.
Last but not least, promote yourself, people need to know what you can offer them.
What do you do to market your files?
I use social networks like Behance, DevianArt, Twitter, Dribbble and Forrst. I create a detailed description and record the preview video, so the potential buyers can really see what I offer.
What are your three favorite files, and why do you like them?
Envato Preview Image Templates
It’s definitely my favourite item. As I already said I think that the presentation is the most important part when selling the works. So as some of the sellers are not so experienced in creating preview images, I decided to make their lives easier with pre-made preview image templates.
They are suitable for all Envato Marketplaces. You can promote anything, from logos, icons, graphic elements, to WordPress templates and other applications.
It comes in three sizes, with five light and five dark backgrounds. It includes eight close-up and eight full-view pre-made device mockups, two header options and a lot of customizable details, such as ribbons and sidebars.
It doesn’t matter if you are a graphic designer, logo desinger, web designer, template creator or a developer. It is a must have!
This is one of the largest mockup bundles on GraphicRiver. It includes seven different phone mockups, three different tablet mockups, three music player mockups, screen, PC, two laptops and TV mockups, three flyer or business presentation mockups, product box mockup, DVD case and DVD mockup, three business card mockups, two logo mockups and three pre-made multi-device mockups. This is the file I spend the most time working on.
I like this file as it is pretty unique and mockups are nowadays very popular for presenting the work. So I came up with the idea of creating a mockup related business flyers. It comes in two sizes and it is fully customizable.
Apart from yourself, who is your favorite marketplace author, and why do you like them?
I really like Giallo’s items. His mockups and layer styles are just amazing.
My favourite action maker is definitely Prisma Design. Actions are just amazing.
What do you do in your spare time?
As I already mentioned I’m a professional sailor, so it takes almost all of my spare time.
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