Elias Ruokanen

I'm a traditional and digital artist from Helsinki, Finland. I started playing with Photoshop when I was a teenager, and bought my first Wacom tablet with money I had saved up when I was 18.

I'd say I'm largely self-taught, although I have attended some courses at the Helsinki Artists' Association, at the Finnish branch of the Repin Institute and more recently at the Espoo Atelier. Educational videos such as those provided by Watts Atelier have been a great resource as well.

I'm interested in representational art, especially in that area where imagination and accuracy overlap, and you can get away with a more surreal expression. Some of my favourite artists include Zhaoming Wu, Zdzisław Beksiński and Rembrandt.