Artist TRACY MCGUINNESS-K
Posted by Nate Williams
More about TRACY MCGUINNESS-K at: Profile / Website
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Art by GREG PIZZOLI
Posted by Nate Williams
More about GREG PIZZOLI at: Profile / Website / Twitter / Flickr
Illustration by MARK TODD
Posted by Nate Williams
More about MARK TODD at: Profile / Website
Illustration by NICK OLIVER
Posted by Nate Williams
More about NICK OLIVER at: Profile / Website
Questions and Answers with Jill McDonald
Posted by Nate Williams
What advice do you have for illustrators?
Be fearless. It can be scary & sometimes uncertain not knowing when or where the next job will come from. Just make art you love & stretch yourself. The rest will follow.
more Questions and Answers with Jill McDonald
Jill will be at Surtex 2013 May 19-21 in booth #712
Questions and Answers with Jannie Ho
Posted by Nate Williams
What is something new you have noticed or learned recently?
I learned that illustrators need to be in charge of their career by creating their own projects rather than waiting around for a job that fits with them. It is quite empowering.
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Questions and Answers with Jeff Rogers
Posted by Nate Williams
What advice do you have for illustrators?
Don’t take more work than you can do. If you turn out 5 mediocre pieces in a week, you may have a little swell in your bank account but no one will call you back. If you took 2 and they turned out amazing, those clients will most likely give you more work and you will seem more “prestigious” and in demand to the clients you had to turn away. And they’ll probably call you back too.
more Questions and Answers with Jeff Rogers
http://www.illustrationmundo.com/q_and_a/author_id/92
Interview with illustrator Eric Comstock
Posted by Nate Williams
How do you want people to feel when they see your work?
I want people to smile. I hope they might say, “Hey I never imagined a Robot or boombox or banana would look like that”.
How did you get into illustration?
I’ve always enjoyed drawing but I never felt I was good enough. Julie, my wife, and I owned our company (Cosmo Cricket) producing products in the scrapbook industry. It was 2007 and I had started to design this baby line but I wanted illustrated characters to help express the theme of the line. Because I couldn’t find illustrations that seemed to work for the collection I started drawing my own.
How has being an art director and designer influenced your approach to illustration?
As an art director you concept a lot. I remember creative directors telling me that I needed to come up with 100 ideas to find the best one. I don’t know if I ever came close to that but I tried. As I would concept for a new ad or brochure I found myself asking, “what if” alot. “What if” is a question I ask a lot as I consider what to draw next.
What do you like about illustration? vs art directing? What do you like about art directing?
I love that people come to me because they like my style. I like that my illustrations will not be subjected to comments like “make the logo bigger” or “we’ll need to focus group this work”. What I have loved about both illustration and art direction is the creative process.
Can you tell us your experience in the art licensing industry?
We learned a lot from our first licensing experience! Our number one lesson is that you must research the companies you work with. This includes understanding their distribution channels, marketing power, customer service, etc. It will all reflect on you and your brand once you affiliate with them. These things can also dramatically affect the amount of money you make from the products. We also learned about controlling the art. If you are not happy with printing, colors, etc. you need to speak up about. Fans tend to associate products featuring art with the artist more than the manufacturer so if the color or quality is not good they will likely think you chose it to be that way.
What is your working environment like?
I work from home on an iMac. I use a Wacom tablet and will never ever go back to using a mouse. I always have a sketchbook nearby which is where I usually begin any project. I really love jazz and listen to it a lot. It really helps me clear my head as I work. My favorites are Oscar Peterson, Thelonious Monk, Dave Brubeck, Stan Getz, Chet Baker and a lot more.
One of the things that I really love about my work space is that I share it with my wife. Julie and I work on several projects together. We have our desk along one wall and work about 4 feet from each other.
Do you meet up with other illustrators in person? Who?
Once in awhile Cathy Heck is very outgoing and invites us to dinner and events every now and then. We just had dinner with her and her husband Jim where she introduced us to Laura Wisburn who we had met briefly at Surtex a few years ago. We have also hung out with Malka Dubrowski, a fellow Moda Fabric designer.
What is something new you have noticed or learned recently?
I have learned that I have stopped worrying (almost completely but not quite:) about whether or not people like my illustrations and art. I have learned that the more you draw the more solutions you come up with to solve a creative problem.
What illustration related projects would you love to do in the future?
I would love to do work for Blue Q sometime. I loved the design work I was seeing on PBS Kids and Nickelodeon a few years ago and would love to do some work for either company. (I
haven’t what they are doing lately because my kids are getting older.)
Top 5 favorite things in life
- A great cup (or 2 or 3) of coffee every morning. I love coffee and my favorite brand is from a roaster here in Austin. Cuvvee Coffee beans. Mmmmm.
- My Wacom tablet.
- Google Map App on my iPhone. We’re new to Austin and I would never find my way around without it.
- KUTX. I love listening to this station especially on Sunday morning. They play 3 hours of Jazz and it is lovely.
- Working from home with Julie.
Top 5 bands/singers
- Wilco
- Thelonious Monk
- Elvis Costello
- Feelies
- Townes Van Zandt
Lucy and the Anvil
Posted by Nate Williams
The idea of a friendship between a little girl and an anvil does arouse curiosity. What inspired Lucy and the Anvil?
Many of the best ideas spring from unexpected combinations. Inception is a fine example, wherein Christopher Nolan marries the notions of dreaming and corporate espionage. Little girls and anvils are a similarly unexpected union. The trick, of course, is finding just where and when such disparate entities should unite.
Describe the process of working together.
We avoid any ideas we don’t love in equal measure, which shortens the list of potential projects considerably. But when we do embrace an idea, we start with one long phone call, then retreat to our respective studios and work alone. We trust each other to make the right decisions. It’s actually quite rare that we critique each other’s work.
What were some of the creative challenges?
Only Lucy’s final design was not an immediate decision. Everything else we decided over the course of an afternoon. We readily admit that not all our projects treat us quite so kindly.
What makes a good children’s book?
The best children’s books are those that any child, in any era, truly cares about. That is to say, we truly care about the welfare of Peter Rabbit, the Pevensie children, and Bilbo Baggins. We all catch our breath when they’re in danger, and we smile in relief when they win out. If a child doesn’t care, the story fails. This is also true of children’s film. Just because a premise is unique doesn’t mean it merits telling.
What makes a good character?
The best characters, good or evil, are always imperfect. A great hero always has some ugly flaw or weakness, and an unforgettable villain always has a softer side, or even logical motivation. This is one of the big keys to HBO’s success with shows like Deadwood, The Wire, and Game of Thrones.
Do you think about your audience, or do you just create something you love and hope for the best?
Our first audience is always us. Fortunately, many people do seem to share our taste. Many, which is not to say all. But in the age of the Kardashians and “Gangnam Style,” being on the fringe of common popularity is often more appealing than being at its hub.
Will this book have a sequel?
No, Lucy and the Anvil is, now and always, one very simple story with a definitive beginning and end. There is no sequel. But there may well be other ways to tell the story. Film certainly springs to mind.
Why did you decide to self-publish instead of pursuing an established publisher?
Most publishers possess molds, to which they steadfastly adhere. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, mind you. Many of these molds produce magnificent, unforgettable books of absolutely sterling quality. And, needless to say, others produce books about rainbows and flying ponies. We just decided that Lucy and the Anvil probably doesn’t fit an existing publisher mold.
Support their Kickstarter Campaign
There are so many ways for kids to be entertained today. What makes a picture book special?
In many ways, it’s the sheer volume of today’s entertainment – and the speed at which it’s consumed – that makes a picture book worthwhile. With angry birds and autobots rushing at us from every possible direction, it’s an increasingly rare sensation to set the pace of consumption oneself. Lucy and the Anvil was designed for bedtime in particular, when that pace slows considerably.
More about BRIAN TAYLOR at: Profile / Website / RSS / Twitter / Facebook
Questions and Answers with Carolyn Gavin
Posted by Nate Williams
What helps you be more creative?
I like large blocks of time devoted entirely to creating from beginning to end so I can really get into a project and not be easily distracted. Taking breaks is then productive and necessary. I also need to go away from time to time to recharge and energize the soul. On these trips, I usually try not to do much, just soaking up what’s around me for future inspiration possibly. Travel, music, the city, colour, type, stitching, fabrics, nature, animals… these are also the things that inspire me and initiate creativity.
more Questions and Answers with Carolyn Gavin
