About

Graphic designer / Illustrator / Animator / Motion designer / Print maker

Stavros Kostidakis is a visual artist from Athens, Greece. From a very young age he liked drawing, so he started dealing with pencils, markers and let his imagination go free. At first he studied Interior Design⁰¹, but soon realized that he wanted to deal with visual communication. So, he studied graphic design at AKTO – Art & Design College⁰² and generally start dealing with the combination of images and words, storytelling with images or with combination of images & words, such as comics etc⁰³. Later, looking for ways to bring his illustrations/designs to life, he delved into animation(2D, stop motion, cut-out) and motion design⁰³, a whole separate world of imagination. He also deals with character design and puppet making.

Wanting to further explore the relationship between graphic design and the graphic arts, trying to take short breaks from screens, he enjoys experimenting and getting dirty with printing techniques, such as silkscreen⁰⁴, linoprint and cyanotype printing⁰⁵.

While he deals visually with words (and worlds), he also studies the structure of storytelling⁰⁶ and joke writing⁰⁷, trying to enrich the relationship between words and images.

Beyond visual works, he is sometimes expressed through electronic music trying to make pictures with sounds, by creating monotonous music patterns, sound atmospheres, making collage with sounds, beatmaking and djing-turntablism. He produces music and he performs under the nicknames tape86 and Cryintro⁰⁸. Also, he is the co-founder of the electronic music net label 33 Recordings and the music collective Wrongpad.

When he does not do anything with the above, he prefers to talk about all these, while drinking and eating with friends.

[2008] Bachelor of Arts (Honours) Degree in Graphic Design, Middlesex University, Research study/work on Lettering for comics – Practical work on Animation⁰³

[2007] ΑΚΤΟ Art & Design College – Graphic design⁰²

[2002] Public Vocational Training Institute – Interior design⁰¹

[2001] Technical Professional/Vocational School/Lyceum – Interior design

[2024] Cyanotype seminar/workshop (Loupes printing studio)⁰⁵

[2023] PIY (Print it Yourself) – Screenprinting Seminars and Workshops (Aentep S.A.)⁰⁴

[2023] UX/UI Design – Online seminar/Webinar (AKTO Art & Design College)

[2022] Improv for Writers (seminar/workshop) – Creative writing lessons using improv techniques (House of Imrov)⁰⁶

[2022] Joke Writing Online Courses (House of Improv)⁰⁷

Released music albums⁰⁸:
[2018] Cryintro – A few moments away (Wrongpad)
[2010] tape86 – Kill the siren (33 Recordings)
[2008] tape86 – Earsplitting memory (33 Recordings)