"Yo, I'm gettin' mine you can't stop me yo. Ain't no road block over here you can't stop this flow. Rain, Sleet, Hail, Snow any obstacle. When it's time to get it done I get it poppin' yo!" These are lyrics from a group of kids at Art180 (
www.art180.org) and something I want to live by. I am a 23 year old graphic designer (graduated from VCU in May 2005) who's currently freelancing with Virginia Living Magazine and trying to focus in on publication design. I lay it out for you like this homie!!!
When did you first decide to become a graphic designer/ illustrator? Was there a pivotal moment?
I started drawing Ninja Turtles when they first came out. I was in Germany and it was a huge phenomenon. Everywhere you went you saw four green turtles and lil kids yelling "COWABUNGA DUDE!!" at each other. This of course couldn't be ignored and so a group of friends and I would always try to draw these characters up. That's how it started. At first i would trace a lot and after awhile my dad made me stop tracing which at first kind of ticked me off but he wanted me to start drawing on my own, which I'm very thankful for. Growing up I never thought of pursuing design or any art as a career. To me it wasn't an option and no one in my family did art; I was pretty much alone in that. I took classes throughout middle school and in high school and enjoyed it but it was more of a hobby, something i did on downtime..or while doodling in math class. (oye i hate math.) I also had friends that did graffiti in high school and they got me interested in it also. I was mainly thinking about going into the military just because I wanted to avoid people calling me Mr. Rodgers. I got picked on a lot because of Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood. A lot of people would ask me questions like "Hey Mr. Rodgers how's the neighborhood today? or they would ask me if they could be my neighbor..that kind of annoying stuff.(let's out deep sigh.) I've learned to embrace all of this over time though so it's been good and my neighborhood is looking pretty nice.
It's funny when I tell people how I ended up at VCU. A cable guy came by the house we just moved into to hook up our cable and told me I should go check out their art program. My mom and dad have always been supportive of me..and so my mom would show random people my work. She did the "motherly thing" as she was talking to the cable guy and yelled for me to bring my work downstairs so the cable guy could see. I ended up showing him various drawings I did and he said I should consider art school and to apply to VCU. I shrugged it off until my senior year of high school. While all my friends started applying to various schools, I had no clue where I was going. The option of going into the military didn't seem as appealing, so I tried to toss that out of my mind. Once at VCU they throw you in foundation courses, which were good for me and I noticed I liked the classes that focused more on design such as drawing fundamentals and design fundamentals so I applied in the spring for the graphic design program and got in. I would have to say my senior year at VCU was probably the most pivotal moment for me where I started to understand things and in a way blossom and question myself into why I was doing what I was doing, thanks to various professors and peers.
Who or what inspires you?
Oh man!, my God who deserves all honor and inspires me. My family my Grandfather was really crazy as I was growing up and so funny, he inspires me. I think I get a lot of my personality from him. Little kids inspire me. I enjoy their little conversations, they have so much to say. They also know how to just take time out and breath for a bit. I try to observe things and pull out various perspectives. My surroundings inspire me..list could go on and on. Maira Kalman, Fred Rogers, Sandy Wheeler a professor at VCU who showed me what passion was, Noah Scalin another professor at VCU with ALR design (
www.alrdesign.com/) who got the wheels in my head turning, (I recommend anyone reading this at VCU to take Design Rebels.) and John Malinoski. I was very privileged to be surrounded by these individuals plus more. Just so many opportunities and I think inspiration comes when you take those various opportunities and begin to work them out and begin to push and form them and in a way sort of work the field in a sense. I think inspiration comes in doing..you can sit around and dream all you want but if that's all you're doing it can restrain you and in a way kill you also. Exploration is important...go explore. There's a quote I read somewhere that says do one thing each day that scares the crap out of you. I try to apply that to each day I have.
Where does your training come from? Self-taught? College/Art School?
I guess you could say most of my training comes from school. I graduated from VCU with a BFA in Communication Design in May of 2005. Now that I'm done with school I'm trying to learn more. Looking to take some screenprinting classes at the Visual Art Center. Looking to play around and experiment more with various techniques. Would love to try out gocco - Keith Bowman's work from The Design Bureau of Amerika is very inspiring. I'm learning you have to be curious always! There's a quote by Sudie Black that goes.."Be curious always for knowledge will not acquire you but you must acquire it. " I learned after school was done with that I let a lot of opportunities kind of just pass me by..So in some ways I feel as though I'm trying to play catch up. Everyone keeps saying I'm young but I feel so behind.
How do you keep "fresh" within your industry?
So how do I stay as fresh asimiz? (song by Lil' Bow Wow if you're not on top of things.) I think I sort of answered that in the previous question. Be curious..curiosity isn't going to kill this cat. If it does I'll be one happy cat. Look at what's around you..and as Bruce Mau says allow events to change you.
What are some of your current projects?
Oh man right now trying to lock down this full time job. Trying to start up a photography site with a couple of friends who inspire me. The group would be under the name Soil Maintained. I'm really excited about it so we'll see where we can take it. It'd mainly be a place for us to work our soil (soul) and grow as your regular ordinary everyday people. An outlet for us to live. Our rallying cry being a quote from Zora Neale Hurston's, "Their Eyes Are Watching God", in it the main character, Jaine states that there are two things that everyone needs to do. 1. Go to God and 2. to find out about living for themselves. That's the main focus and what we're trying to do. It's in its planning stages now.
I'm also working on a self promotional which I wont speak much on but very excited about it.
Which of your projects are you the most proud of? And why?
One project was a self-promotional t-shirt I did. I like t-shirts. Mainly because I did a shirt and one day I saw someone I didn't know wearing it. I was kind of shocked and taken back by it because I was thinking to myself "WOAH how did they get their hands on that?..and to know you did it and they probably have no clue who designed it is interesting. It's like you share a connection with that person even though you have no clue who they are, where they're coming from and what they're up to. Connections are important we need to understand that as people. We all share in similar experiences and if we can get to a point where we listen and say oh yeah I've had those same feelings or concerns then that's when understanding and peace is found. Not as easy as I'm making it sound no doubt.
The shirt dealt with the word "grow" and I had another "hook" go in the opposite direction from the R to make it look like a stem. It came out of my parents divorce when I was in High school and when I became a junior in college my mom got remarried without telling me. I was bitter but at the same time I knew if I held on to that it wouldn't help our relationship or be right within my own soul so I had to let it go and be like well "how will I grow from this, and how can their be healing" I made a tag for it and on the back it says grow where you're planted. A lot of times we feel like we need to be in some other location or we may avoid the situations in our lives..but sometimes you just have to buckle down and deal with them. If we avoid them there's no growth but if we persevere there's growth on the otherside. And so me and my mom are cool. I love her. ( I LOVE YOU MOMMA!! ::grins::)
Are there any areas, techniques, mediums, projects in your field that you have yet to try?
Oh man doors are wide open and I'm just trying to run through them. There's so much I need to get my hands on and so much for me to explore; screen printing & painting. I despised painting while in school but would love to give it another whirl. I'd like to also make my own typeface I haven't really sat down and went at it. Typography is something I really enjoy. I'd love to play around more with a letterpress. Earlier in the year I attended Type Con 06 and man it was such an awesome time. Sneakers would be cool. It'd be nice to do a series of shoes based on some design legends, each shoe representing a designer. Maybe shoes based on various typefaces that would be sweet...annnd..I'd love to start messing around with music..oh man (::worried look on face::) I have lots of work to do.
Any advice to the novice designer/ illustrator?
Ask, Seek, and Knock - find out and question everything. I think I took things as they were while in school so when I was handed something I was like okay, this is cool. But you must go beyond that. Never just take the things handed to you and be okay with it..but when it's given take it and roll it around in your hands...observe it and give it back if you have to. Again curiosity is awesome and we all must be diligent.
What makes a designed piece or illustration successful?
Sheesh! I guess you could take it to the fundamentals, but mainly if I can connect with it. If there's something deep behind it even if I may not understand it..then thumbs up to you. If you can take something I have no clue about present it to me and then I begin to see where you're coming from then I think that can make a piece successful. I love hearing about process too even if it was a quick project. Seeing how someone took a problem and came to a solution is interesting.
What do you do to keep yourself motivated and avoid burn-out?
Prayer- for real there's times when I just need to get away to myself and speak with God for a minute..whether it be some stressful thing or just my own soul needing a moment. I need that guidance. Dancing also helps me out. I can get away form everything and bust a move. Talking with others about design & surrounding yourself with various people helps. It's good to talk with people who are already on their journey so I can pick myself up and begin to walk my own journey. Community and relationships are important and I think these are the things that keep me motivated and moving. If I'm to myself then I am not doing what I'm meant to do...but if I can motivate and stir up something in my neighbor then that motivates me. It's good to see others get excited over something...I've had teachers & professors that have done that for me and I'm so thankful to them..They've saved me from so much. So I would like to live in that same way. YARRRRRGHHHH!!! ::throws fist in air::
And finally, what is the best thing on prime-time TV right now?
Man I really want to watch TV but I really haven't made time for it. Most of my friends have been watching Grey's Anatomy so I've caught a few episodes of that. I love that Cosy in the Rocket song by Psapp. Heroes is something I would like to lock down on too. I've gotten in on a few episdoes of that and I'm trying to play catch up and figure out all the characters and the story. I still need to catch up on 24, I got into that when going home to visit my mom and sister for that last season, they would always tell me to be quiet when it was on. I didn't understand why but now I do. Jack Bauer is so crucial and so gangster with it.
Recent Work:
