PAUL SHIPPER

Paul Shipper is a freelance Illustrator based in Manchester, England. His clients include Lucasfilm, WizKidsGames, Penguin Books, ITV/Granada and GQ Magazine.


www.paulshipper.com
psillo.blogspot.com




When did you first decide to become an illustrator? Was there a pivotal moment?

I used to draw pictures as a child all the time...but, my first experience of what illustration is and what an illustrator was really came from having film posters all over my bedroom walls as I was growing up...one day I looked to see who might have created these amazing pieces of art and found that it was an artist called Drew Struzan and he was an Illustrator! Ever since then I have pursued a love of illustration...and a dream of one day creating a poster design for a blockbuster movie...




Who or what inspires you?

Well, Drew Struzan is the obvious choice here, but I am inspired by lots of other artists, probably too many to even mention...but I really loved the work of JC Leyendecker and Norman Rockwell...that era of American illustration really does it for me. And their relationship also is an inspiring one to me, as Rockwell was a fan of Leyendecker's and he used to follow him all over the place and I thought well, if Norman Rockwell can do that and have a really successful career, then there is hope for someone who begins a career in illustration based on the obsession of another illustrators career... I have a real passion for music too that inspires me, particularly music from movies. I would collect soundtracks from an early age, and this is where my Struzan Syndrome (from your first question) comes in to play once again, where I suddenly realized that a lot of the music I loved and enjoyed so much was created by the same composer! Which at that particular moment happened to be John Williams!... If I am ever going to buy an album -these days from iTunes- chances are I will check out the soundtrack listings before any other.




Where does your training come from? Self-taught? College/Art School?

This is a tricky one...can you learn or be taught to draw? I think it is really a natural progression from early in life...like a pianist...I have always said that if you do something long enough, eventually you will, or should at least become pretty adept in your chosen profession, and I think that is true of illustration. Sure, you can study a subject and know all the facts, but when your soul and passion shows through your work, and your work has an affect on people, when that moment comes you know you are on the right track.

Getting back to the question, my training has been primarily studying the works of the people that have inspired me. I did well through school in the arts and design...went through to art college and then on to University studying Illustration and Animation...I have a BA with Honours Degree from that course, but not one lesson I learned during University helped me break into the real world of the Illustration industry. That you have to figure out for yourself it seems...and it was a shock.






How do you keep "fresh" within your industry?

Fresh...I dont really think of my work as being that fresh really, definitely not stale though! Perhaps more of an homage to the old ways but with a bit of a modern twist. Most of my professional work these days is created digitally. I have kept the traditional style that I have, but created within the computer. Thus enabling me greater control of colour and not forgetting the ease of getting a finished digital file to a client instead of FedEx-ing the original paintings to them for scanning. Time is of the essence in this industry and I pride myself on meeting deadlines, completing on time and on budget.




What are some of your current projects?

Current work includes a project for Lucasfilm. I am also working on Marilyn Monroe sketch cards for Breygent, a poster for an Indiana Jones inspired movie called Treasure of the Templars and artwork for a GQ magazine article.




Which of your projects are you the most proud of? And why?


I am particularly pleased with the upcoming Star Wars artwork I did. It is my first official work for Lucasfilm and the Star Wars brand, and I hope it won't be the last. The Lucasfilm connection has been a dream come true for me, especially being such a fan of the franchise. Other projects in recent times that have had a special place in my heart are some of my Indiana Jones work for the folks over at The Raider.Net... Together we have worked on lots of artworks relating to Indiana Jones, even down to the website design that I had a large involvement. I guess there is a pattern forming here...! It's not that I only want to do projects from based on the Projects that George Lucas creates, it's just that I feel such a strong connection with these franchises, that they fill my heart with joy and wonderment...and thus I have tried to get involved with them as much as I can.





Are there any areas, techniques, mediums, projects in your field that you have yet to try?

There are many things I have not tackled yet... What I have found with Illustration is that a lot of the time you just don't know who is going to come knocking on your door. From time to time a job comes in and you scratch your head and say "How do I accomplish this...?" But when that happens it stretches you and pushes you in ways that may not be too comfortable, but you've got to always do your best to make it work for yourself and more importantly, the client. In the end it can be a very rewarding experience, and an exciting one not to know quite what might be asked of you from your next job. I had an opportunity to work on designs for an upcoming movie that was in pre-production, unfortunately I was too busy at the time to commit and we couldn't make it work, but that is something that really interests me. Also, comic book covers...I would love to illustrate something in that realm whether it be super-hero related or more of an independent label...




Any advice to the novice designer/ illustrator?

The best advice I can give to an aspiring illustrator is to get your name and your work out there as soon as possible. Exposure is really important... Advertising yourself can be very costly, but effective. If your budgets are tight, try more wallet friendly activities like PR, newspaper stories, create a blog, create a web portfolio and link up with other websites that attract the kind of work you would like to do, web folios are a great start because they do a lot of advertising and they are very willing to help you make an impact if they believe in you - like theispot . Also as boring as it sounds, get yourself familiar with the business aspects of illustration, pricing, negotiating, these are skills that a lot of people in the arts world do not acquire until later in their careers and can be very helpful in building your Illustration Empire!




What makes a designed piece or illustration successful?

Composition is pretty much key. Followed closely by execution and style. Actually, I think all three of those elements should be counted as equals... I have seen great compositions turn to mud because the finish of the piece has been so poorly executed...which is such a shame because a lot of the time, getting the comp right can be one of the longest processes!





What do you do to keep yourself motivated and avoid burn-out?

I really love to see what other artists are doing - that really keeps me on my toes and striving to do more...I find that very inspiring. I have been following this dream of illustration for so long now and my motivation still holds true to my beliefs in myself and what I have and have not yet achieved. I will continue to create images until my last breath... It is a pure labour of love for me, it is in the fabric of my very being...
Avoiding burn-out - I love to spend time with my family as much as I can. I have a 7 month old daughter who really is an amazing thing... My loving partner Donna really inspires me and knows when I need a break...and when to get me back on track! We have been renovating our home and recently put it up for sale and we intend to be moving to New Zealand in the near future. Donna is from NZ and moving back there has always been our plan. The future and the plans you lay out before you certainly are dreams in the making...







Finish this sentence. "If I weren't an illustrator I would have been a..."

I would most probably be a film composer. I have loved film music for as long as I can remember, running around our living room to the music from Star Wars. I remember seeing a program on TV a few years ago and the composer Hans Zimmer was showing the interviewer a clip from a movie he was composing. It was Crimson Tide, and I remember Hans playing along with the film with his amazing array of sounds connected to his keyboard through a computer and the sound of a huge male voice choir was oozing out from his studio - it was amazing... I thought to myself, i would LOVE to do that job! I do make my own music when I find time and it is one of the most enjoyable things to do...In a way I think I find it more liberating than my illustration work! ...but I'm not as good a musician!



And finally, what is the best thing on prime-time TV right now?

I am a huge '24' Fan but missed the latest series because we have cable and Virgin Media have had a bit of a fall-out with Sky over here in the UK, so I am having to wait for the DVD to be released...can't wait for that!

MYRON MACKLIN

My name is Myron Macklin. I am a Designer/Artist based in Charlotte, NC. I work as a graphic designer at a local university by day and trade early sleep for drawing as an artist by night. At the university, I serve all of the various departments producing ads, posters, logos and brochures. Outside of that I’m writing and illustrating a graphic novel.


http://www.artninja.com



When did you first decide to become a graphic designer/ illustrator? Was there a pivotal moment?

I entered college wanting to design video games. So I studied computer science. After about a year of writing bad programs and spending all of my time in labs, I changed my major to art. I could always draw pretty good but had never really gave it serious thought or figured that I could make money from it. I didn’t even know what graphic design was at that time. My friend Adarryl got me into comics around the same time. That helped fuel my passion for drawing and creating. It’s kind of funny because the last game I bought was 7th Saga for the SNES.




Who or what inspires you?

I am generally drawn to solo artists and creators able to do many things well. I like to see limits broken in that respect. My inspiration span many artistic mediums. Visual arts/comics: Naoki Urasawa, Katsuhiro Otomo, Kent Williams, Matsumne Shirow, Frank Miller, Paul Pope, Dave McKean, Alphonse Mucha, and Gary Kelly. Music: Yoko Kanno, Madlib, Qwel (think Shakespeare from Chicago) and MF Doom. I dig the work of Tarantino and Guy Ritchie. Also, my good friends Adarryl Grant and Rodney Blackwell are good a motivating me when I’m in an artist slump.




Where does your training come from? Self-taught? College/Art School?


I received a BFA. Although that was sufficient for doing general work, I still felt I needed to learn lots more to reach my career goals. But that’s probably any profession. Going to college was great in that I learned how to teach myself and had lots of time to experiment and fail at different things.




How do you keep "fresh" within your industry?

It’s good to keep things fun and current. I’m not talking about style trends, but staying abreast of technology and perspectives. So I do that by looking at the work of my peers and also looking at the work of old masters. I read industry related materials on and offline. It’s good to have self-imposed projects where there is no client involved so one can experiment and keep discovering. Try to keep the process fun and not care too much about the outcome.




What are some of your current projects?

Besides the usual design work from the day job, I split my time between coloring Rodney Blackwell’s Fierce Creatures comic series and working on my own graphic novel called “The Zoo Act.” In between chapters, I take breaks to sketch, paint or work on freelance projects. Oh, I just finished redesigning my site. I had to brush up on CSS and JavaScript a bit to get it done.




Which of your projects are you the most proud of? And why?

It’s hard to nail down a favorite. Sometime I get excited about a new project, jump in and find my enthusiasm wane if what I want is not coming to fruition. So by the end I may not like what I have. I have learned to step away and look at it with fresh eyes to judge my own work. That being said, I’m pretty happy with my recent comic work because it’s moving faster and the quality is getting better. I thought the one page story “The Spirit” I did for Comic Book Artist Magazine’s tribute to Will Eisner turned out pretty cool.





Are there any areas, techniques, mediums, and projects in your field that you have yet to try?

I have not tried 3D or motion graphics. It’ be nice to work with it, but the learning curve for them seems like learning Photoshop all over again and I can’t put that kind of time into them. I feel guilty messing around in too many things not directly related to my current career goals.




Any advice to the novice designer/ illustrator?

If you want to be a designer, learn to illustrate. If you want to be an illustrator, learn to design. I’m not saying either can’t do the other, or does not just that too often the skill sets seem to be thought of as different. One cross-pollinates the other with new ideas of approach.

Another would be to draw everyday. Draw things for pleasure and also things you hate to draw. It’s good to work on your weaknesses.





What makes a designed piece or illustration successful?

Intention. That’s the best way I can gauge the success of my work and that of others. It’s good because it lets you think in terms of effective artistic choices. In design, for example, in producing a map for a tour bus, one may focus on where all of the historic buildings are located or where the food and restrooms are. For this, your intention would first be clarity. So your choices must point to being concise and informative. This decision would inform your choices of type, color use, and hierarchy of information. The same holds true for illustration or even fine art. Say an illustrator has a magazine article to illustrate about divorce and wants to communicate the subtle insecurities and guilt held by a child going through a divorce. Your intentions as illustrator to communicate those subtleties should inform your choices on composition, color, mark making (or non-mark making) texture, etc. And yes in theory, you could execute a very good-looking image, but that would be a separate issue concerning its success as an illustration and it’s original intentions.





What do you do to keep yourself motivated and avoid burn-out?
I try to cut my “art brain” off sometimes and let it recharge. It’s hard because as an artist, one is always processing, organizing, deconstructing and reverse engineering things around them. So I spend time with my wife. I cook. I take walks everyday to clear my head and listen to music. Exercise is good. But even then you can get caught thinking about human anatomy and go right back to thinking about how to draw something…




Finish this sentence. "If I weren't a designer/illustrator I would have been a..."

A zoologist maybe. I love animals even though I’ve never owned a pet. I would love to be paid to study them. It would be nice to travel to Africa or Asia and study animals in the wild. I’d probably still draw them for the pleasure.



And finally, what is the best thing on prime-time TV right now?

I don’t really keep up with TV much any more. I don’t have cable so my channel selection is limited. I do watch PBS and reruns of Everybody Loves Raymond, Grey’s Anatomy, House M.D. and MadTV. I like to watch documentaries online while I work. Such as those by Adam Curtis: Power of Nightmares, Century of Self, and The Trap.