Illustration Inspiration : Hungry Designs Interview

How did you get started as a Freelance Artist?

After graduating from studying an Honours Degree in Illustration & Printmaking in Scotland I could think of nothing worse than being a designer full time.  I took a break and worked in an office for a few years and created little trinkety type costume jewellery just to get my creative fix and I called the hobby based business Hungry Designs.  After I moved back to Australia I kept making the trinkety type jewellery but my family insisted that I start to draw again and attempt to make the switch from jewellery to art.  It definitely took a few months of them pestering me but I eventually listened and was stunned by the response my art received.  I had just 3 designs cut and made them into brooches and they sold out.  I illustrated 3 new designs and they also sold out.  Now I have over 200 individual designs! 

What do you look to for your inspiration?

I am a massive comic book fan and this is definitely reflected in my art.  I have been collecting comic books since I was 16 and still collect them today.  I also love anything Day of the Dead themed and am into more macabre themes, like horror, hunting and classic fairy tales.  I also love anything Disney and often watch cartoons and animated films while doodling and designing, so it’s safe to say that these play a massive part in my creative process.  I am also very much inspired by the people who follow me on my social networking sites – they always let me know what it is they hope to see, which is always so helpful! 

How long does it take you to do an illustration, start to finish?

Gee, it really depends on a lot of things.  I would say between 8 – 12 hours start to finish for an average, run of the mill illustration.  Obviously if there are lots of changes to be made it can take considerably longer.  I very rarely spend a lot of time sketching out ideas and tend to go straight for a finished product.  It’s a terrible habit that I have had since high school!

What is your process when working with clients? Can you explain your typical job?

Thankfully, all the clients that I have are all really wonderful and it is a very simple process that isn’t painful at all.  After chatting extensively about what my clients are after I then draw up the pencil illustration and send it away.  If they are happy with it I then move to the flat colours and send them to the client.  The flat colours are then approved or amended and the third and final stage begins (which is actually my favourite stage!): shading and highlighting.  This really breathes life into the flat colours.  After this is completed the client has their finished design.

What is the hardest thing about working for yourself?

The hardest thing I have found is finding the time to do everything I want to do.  I have a “proper” full-time job and it is impossible to cross everything off the to-do list – especially when it keeps growning.  Time management is key when working on Hungry Designs and although this doesn’t leave much down time, I am doing what I love.  Hungry Designs is my baby and without it I would be completely lost.

Do you get ‘Creative Block’ and how do you push through it?

I recently had a terrible case of creative block and it lasted for almost 3 months.  It was awful!  I felt so lazy not doing any illustrating and this put so much pressure on me to be creative.  I am so used to drawing/designing daily so when I couldn’t do anything creative or I wasn’t satisfied with anything creative I felt like there was a piece of me missing.  I actually think I started acting like a completely different person.  I actually don’t really know how I overcame the creative block I had, just one evening I sat down and started to draw.  That night I stayed up until 4am drawing, there was this intense outpouring of ideas and there were sketches and designs everywhere!  It was wonderful!

What Advice do you have for new kids starting out in the Freelance field?

I wish I had something profound to say but I don’t...  So, um, don’t be forced to work in a way that isn’t you, persevere and practice, practice, practice! 

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Interview for Dure & Kaufmann

Recently I was contacted by Ash from local Brisbane label Dure & Kaufmann to do an interview for their E-Newsletter.

Here is how it turned out...

Illustration Inspiration : Dawn Tan Interview

How did you get started as a Freelance Artist?

Well, I didn’t quite plan for it to happen actually. But lovely people started emailing me to ask if I could create custom pieces and so I did. One thing led on to another and my work got picked up by my amazing agency – Jacky Winter Group, and so long story short, I’m now a freelance artist!

 What do you look to for your inspiration?

I draw a lot of food. Too much at times! (Not good for my waistline) so naturally, I’m often inspired by good food. I go to the market weekly and always keep my eyes open. There’s so much good stuff around. Apart from food, I’d say things like packaging, what people wear, patterns from nature, window displays, smells. These are things that inspire me as well. The list is endless really!

How long does it take you to do an illustration, start to finish?

It totally depends on the complexity of the illustration. The size, the demands. But usually a couple of days up to a week and half even! But really, I can completed something in just 2 to 3 days if I just sit down and be all absorbed in my work and not get distracted. But that never happens. Haha.

What is your process when working with clients? Can you explain your typical job?

It depends on who the client is. Some clients are quite ‘serious’, with a contract, typed-up brief and all. But others just drop a casual friendly email and I do the work for them. So it all really depends.

But I usually work on things like illustrations for articles, columns, write ups. It does get quite fun and I get to read some pretty interesting stuff at times too!

Can you walk us through your process?

• Client sends me the ‘brief’.
• I get back to client, have a chat and make sure we’re on the same page and that I understand what is required.
• I work on a few roughs, send them images.
• Client either makes some changes or approve of my roughs.
• I work on finals, I keep my clients up to date as to what’s happening.
• I send through final artworks, wait for revisions (if there’s any)
• Work gets approved and viola! Smiley faces all day long! : )

Do you get ‘Creative Block’ and how do you push through it?

I eat! Hahahahahaha. Told you drawing food wasn’t good for my waistline! But yes, that aside, I stop doing everything and just go on a long walk.

What Advice do you have for new kids starting out in the Freelance field?

It’s hard and you’ve got to be able to understand that jobs don’t come in all the time. But it can be fun, so just keep doing it and don’t give up!

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Illustration Inspiration: Devon Smith Interview

How did you get started as a Freelance Artist?

Ah.. it just sort of happened. I have always really enjoyed drawing and painting. I went to art school and started exhibiting in galleries and then selling prints online as something more affordable for people. I started getting illustration jobs and freelance painting jobs just from being online mostly.

What do you look to for your inspiration?

Old scientific illustration books are my favourite thing for inspiration– I just got Buller’s Birds for Christmas which is the most amazing resource for native New Zealand birds. I also read a lot of comics.

How long does it take you to do an illustration, start to finish?

It really varies! It can take me a day if I really knuckle down, but more realistically I’ll be working on something for a few weeks. I do have a day job which gets in the way a bit, so usually I’ll draw a scribbly sketch then spend a couple of days refining it, then spend a day or so painting. I also work on more than one thing at a time so I can be just doing little bits at a time.  

What is your process when working with clients? Can you explain your typical job?

I mostly do private commissions – so paintings for individuals rather than businesses or anything corporate. I’ve been doing a lot of tattoo designs for people lately, which is a lot of fun. I usually have a back and forth email discussion (I hate talking on the phone) and then whip up a few different sketches for the client to look at.

What is the hardest thing about working for yourself?

Not sleeping in until lunchtime.

Do you get ‘Creative Block’ and how do you push through it?

Very very rarely. But when I do get it, I get it bad. I’m a pretty compulsive drawer so when I can’t draw I tend to get a little crazy. I still don’t have any really good reliable solution, but I guess I just keep trying until things start working again.

What Advice do you have for new kids starting out in the Freelance field?

I don’t know if I’m quite in a position to be giving advice. It’s a hard thing to get into, and hard to get enough work to support yourself financially, and it takes a lot of work and perseverance. Keep trying! Keep practicing and keep getting personal enjoyment out of it.

Swoon over more of Devon's amazing works here:

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Illustration Inspiration : Mab Graves Interview

How did you get started as a Freelance Artist?

I never dreamed that I would be able to support myself as an artist. They always tell you that “artist” is synonymous for “starving” so I always assumed I would work two day jobs and paint my nights away.

I have been drawing since I was little but only started painting a few years ago. I didn’t go to school for art (I was bartending! ^_^). When I finally “came out” as a painter, no one in the city I was living in even knew I was an artist. I had a little room in the house I was renting, filled floor to ceiling with paintings that no one had ever seen. The upside to being completely unknown was that I was able to emerge with a body of work and my own style, rather than having people see my work over a number of years and say “oh, she is improving”. It caused a bit of a splash, and that got the ball rolling. I very quickly started to get invitations to show in galleries, but it wasn’t until I got a website and started a little Etsy shop that I really started to freelance. Being online is key.

What do you look to for your inspiration?

 I always start with a story -I love old fairy tales and folklore. My childhood was webbed with storybooks and I love falling back into the familiar comfort of unquestioning awe they inspire in me!

Fairytales are a universal language and an innocent connection we all share.  I have a giant bookshelf that takes up an entire wall in my studio and it’s full of books.  While I am working on a piece, if I am not painting I am reading – so it’s a constant cycle of inspiration!

Best advice: Never stop being six years old.

How long does it take you to do an illustration, start to finish?

There are SO many factors that go into that! It depends on the size and intricacy of the project. It could be anywhere from a few hours to a few days – there have been a couple of my super-detailed larger pieces that have taken weeks!

What is your process when working with clients? Can you explain your typical job?

I don’t really have a “typical” actually. I’ve been lucky enough to get to work on a myriad of different and quite varied projects. I’ve worked on books, logo designs, character designs for a stop-motion film, commissions for galleries, and of course pieces for private collectors.

Each job starts with a pitch- where the client proposes the project, and then if I’m intrigued we generally email back and forth for a while nailing down specifics. I normally have concept sketches to them within a week, and then the finished project within another two. ^_^

Can you walk us through your process?

Before I even begin a piece I do hours of research. I research flower symbolism so every plant and tree means something. Every color and gesture has a purpose. Then I start to paint. I don’t sketch beforehand or really do any planning – the painting is already alive in my head before I even begin and my brush knows just where to go. I just absorb the information then let my body do the rest. If I try to map or plan too much it just muddies the water.

Do you get ‘Creative Block’ and how do you push through it?

I can say in complete honesty that I have never for one minute not known what to paint, or had a block. There is an endless queue in my mind of images keening to be put to life.

I am very picky and don’t take on projects that don’t come to life in my head the instant they are pitched to me. That is a big key in not getting bored! I know it can be painful to turn down an opportunity, but if you are not inspired by it from the beginning, it’s going to be a thorn the whole way through. I’m not saying don’t take on challenges. Just never sell yourself out to a really boring project!

What Advice do you have for new kids starting out in the Freelance field?

The best part about what I do is the painting.  The sad part of being a professional artist is you are running a business – you are the business - and painting is only about 20% of what you have to do!

The best advice I ever got about how to be a successful freelancer was:

Do the things you don’t love.

I was not thrilled to receive that advice.

People always tell you “do what you love!” and I liked that much better.

But doing what you don’t love – the emails, inventory, taxes, lectures, social networking etc. – is REALLY important. It’s not nearly as much fun as shutting myself away for weeks and painting my heart out (what bliss!), but these things must be done. If you let them get pushed aside you will find yourself inventory rich but client poor. It’s taken me a couple years of being hideously overwhelmed to find a happy medium in my days, but I have found it.

And I always have to add this one – you don’t have to include it in your article, but it’s my “mission statement” as an artist, mentor and teacher:

Mab’s Advice to all emerging artists:

There is a great trend in pop-surrealists to be vulgar and shocking. Stay away from that!

It requires so much more skill to be subtle than it does to be obscene. Darkness, sadness and filth are all around us, and I think it’s our jobs as artists to put a spin on things.

I try never to underestimate the intelligence of my audience. You don’t have to spell everything out in black and blood to get people to understand your message. It is very important for me to try to maintain a dignity and a subtlety to my work.  A tinted innocence.

  And as much fun as it is to create sarcastic political art, at the end of the day when I come home, I just want to make something beautiful….

The beautiful thing about when you paint is the only boundary that exists is you.

   

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rave magazine interview

The lovely Tess Curran did an interview with me for Rave Magazine!

And yes, i was / am totally excited about it~!