DEXTER SANTOS

I have been drawing since I was 3 years old and have always been fascinated by art. My inspiration came from reading comic books and watching cartoons. Later in life, I formalized my love of art at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, California where I attained a BFA in Character Animation and Visual Effects.

 

My experience as a graphic designer comes from 5 years working at Artsopolis.com (now SanJose.org), an online arts & culture events calendar in San Jose, California. I designed various graphics to help maintain functionality and overall design of the Artsopolis website while also creating graphics for promotions, programs, ticketing, events, and marketing campaigns. Since then, I've done work for various Bay Area organizations such as Ballet San Jose, San Jose Jazz, Renegade Theater Experiment, Tabard Theatre Company, and Team San Jose just to name a few. I also work with dance and event organizations creating designs for their postcards, posters, t-shirts, and websites.​ My work has led me to creating graphic designs for various small and large businesses in many industries from events, entertainment, educational, food service, and technology.

 

​Lately, I have been working in the tech industry as a Lead Graphic and Concept Artist for a metaverse platform called Ozone Metaverse. I designed concept art for their 3D assets, maps, and environments which have the look and feel of a video game. I also designed most of their graphic content from marketing, promotional, social media to creating designs for the UI of the website and software applications.

 

In the last 10 years, I’ve also had the privilege of working on children´s books and educational materials. One of my recent projects is a collaboration with New York-based author Michael Pastko on a book titled, ¨The Summer of No Outside,¨ inspired by the COVID-19 pandemic and families in lockdown. The sales of the book benefited charities helping families affected by the pandemic. The book is available through the official website and Amazon.com.

 

In addition, I've done illustration work for author Patricia Kearney's Auntie P children's book series: Where's Grace?, What's Sharing, and Positively Upbeat. All three books are available online through Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble. Where's Grace? received an American Graphic Design Award Certificate of Excellence in 2013 by Graphic Design USA. A fourth book is planned for the future.

 

My artwork has been featured in art shows, postcards, posters, t-shirts, restaurant menus, children's books, company paraphernalia, bus billboards, various websites, various print materials, and even projected on movie screens.

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Other interests:

I like drinking mochas and cortados, all things Star Wars, riding motorcycles, traveling the world, dancing, going on walks and runs, cooking, watching movies and theater, reading graphic novels and books (poetry, historical fiction,sci-fi, and fantasy). I have a fondness for animals, I like doting on my nephews and niece, listening to music: Jazz, Blues, Soul, Classical, and film scores, and occasionally do karaoke.