1. Hello Ryan, please tell us a bit about yourself. Where are you from, what training do you have, and how did you get started in the field?

Currently I live in Colorado Springs Colorado. I have been drawing and doodling my whole life. It started when I was young, re-creating comic books, cartoons, and magazine advertisements. I continued drawing and explored fine art in high school. I graduated college with a BFA in Fine Arts with a Concentration in Graphic Design from Colorado State University.

During my time in college I worked for the student newspaper laying out pages and designing ads. After college, I worked for a print shop as a designer for a short time, then worked for a smaller design agency designing and illustrating. While working at the small agency, I contributed stock illustrations to iStockphoto, did some freelance work, and started Vectips. Eventually all the extra work generated enough income to go into business for myself. Currently, I do client work under Rype Arts, still contribute to iStock, and write tutorials for Vectips, other blogs, and books.

2. How long did it take you to get a foothold in the industry and establish some regular clients? Did you get experience working at agencies before going freelance?

It took about a year of freelancing to get some established clients. During that year I was lucky enough to work for an agency that didn’t mind me doing freelance work on the side. I worked at the agency for about three years and the experience was great! I don’t think I could have gained this experience just starting a freelance career straight out of college. In college you learn the principles of design, but you don’t learn the business of design. There is no better training in this area other than experience.

3. What pulled you toward vector graphics as an artistic medium? What are your favorite aspects of working with vectors?

I love the clean and crisp shapes and lines vector art embodies. It’s kind of weird, because my non-digital traditional art is very loose and sporadic, the opposite of my digital art. Vector art is great for editing and scaling, making the art versatile and easy to use for any type of design (print, web, product, etc…). Still, there is always a time for rasterized artwork, but I like to make excuses not to use rasterized artwork (kidding)!

4. To what extent do design and formal principles impact your art? How much is guided by playful creativity, experimentation, and discovery? Is there anything off the computer that you find essential to your artistic process?

I think formal principals have a lot of impact on my work. Some design and composition principles were nailed into my head through my studies, so it is always a part of my work whether it is subconscious or not. Still, there is a lot of discovery and experimentation in my work. This is just as important to me in my work as the formal principals. For me, I can’t have one without the other.

I have numerous sketchbooks off the computer that are essential to my creative process. I use them extensively for thumbnails, sketches, and ideas regarding projects, illustration, blog posts, and just doodling for fun. I can’t always get away from my computer, so I have digital sketchbooks as well. Spending time with my wife, watching movies, throwing pottery, and crocheting are all other essential off computer activities. Without these, I couldn’t be creative on the computer. It’s important to me to have a balanced life.

5. I notice that you work in multiple styles? For example, I see really sketchy vectors and super clean characters? What are the advantages and disadvantages of working in multiple styles?

The advantages for me is I never get bored. I tend to get bored if I stick too much to one thing or style. The bad part is that I might not seem to have a marketable style. A potential client will not remember me as much as if I had one style. But, design agencies like that I have a versatile style. So it is a mixed bag. Really, I just admire so much work that other people are doing, I want to do it all!

6. Could you tell us a bit about how you got involved with blogging? How has it had a positive influence on your design business? What do you think makes a great tutorial? And what vector tutorial are you most proud of?

I love reading blogs and learning about anything. I find it amazing that you can teach yourself so much just from the content people are putting out there. When I started Vectips I was using Illustrator extensively in my job and looked for a blog that I could count on to serve up tips and tutorials. There wasn’t really any blog at the time that captured that for me, so I started one. I figured if I wanted it, someone else would. It was also a chance to give back to the blogging design community from which I learned so much from.

Vectips has had a huge impact on my design business! It has created many clients and jobs that I probably wouldn’t have the chance to do. It is a way to keep my designs and illustration fresh and out in front of people’s eyes.

With my tutorials on Vectips and other blogs I try to keep them simple, relevant in regards to design trends, and easy to apply to other illustrations and projects. I see some really great tutorials on how to create something very specific, and it works great if you are creating something exactly like the tutorial, but I find the most useful tutorials are ones that can easily be applied to other projects. That is what I strive for.

I think the Creating an Environmentally Friendly Green Type Treatment tutorial I did for you guys is my favorite. This is the tutorial that people seem to find the most helpful. I have seen the tutorial applied to type treatments, illustrations, logos, and more. It makes me happy that I can create something that people find useful and I think this tutorial does it the best.

7. What do you think makes a great character? How do you infuse personality into your character designs? Do you plan backstories, do you often do multiple sketches, or are there other creative ways your characters tend to come to life?

A great character personifies the project, idea, or story it is a part of. A character doesn’t necessarily have to have a set of features, style, or attributes to make it great. I always keep this in mind when creating characters. I also use backstories and envision the character as if it was real and interacting with me. Makes it fun! I usually do many sketches when creating characters and discuss the character with others. It is a great way to see how others interpret the character and see how compelling the character is.

8. Without getting too specific, are there any contracts or agreements you’ve entered into that have been difficult down the road? What would you advice artists to watch out for when entering into formal agreements?

There are some contracts that I signed that I don’t necessarily regret, but would have been more wary of if I had more information. Because of some of these contracts, it has limited me in pursuing other projects, ideas, and ventures. I don’t mean to scare any new artist, but it is always a good idea to think of the implication of signing a contract. It might sound great at the time, but think of how it can limit your creative and finical potential in the future.

This might not be possible for a designer and artist starting out, but I suggest have a lawyer look over any contracts you sign. Luckily, I have a friend that is a lawyer and we trade services. I did some design work for him and he gives me legal advice. Even though having a lawyer might not be a reasonable choice, carefully read the contract, and if you have questions, just ask the other party you are signing the contract with. Freelanceswitch.com has some great blog posts on legal question and contracts which I find invaluable!

9. What was your role in contributing to the The Adobe Illustrator CS4 Wow! Book? Could you give us a brief rundown of what’s in this new version and why Illustrator artists should pick it up?

It was so awesome to work on the Adobe Illustrator CS4 WOW! Book! I have been using the WOW! book series for years, and was giddy at the change to work with the great contributors of the book. In the book I was a contributing writer and artist. As a writer, I wrote around 5 basic lesson dealing with typography, Illustrator Effects, and some of Illustrator’s tools. The lessons are not as in depth as some of the tutorials on Vectortuts+ or Vectips but still very useful. The artwork that I contributed was a mixture of stock art and client work of mine.

My favorite new features in Illustrator CS4 are the Blob Brush, Appearance panel upgrades, Gradient tool upgrade, and Multiple Artboards. In previous versions of Illustrator I used Calligraphy brushes extensively with my Wacom pen tablet. Basically, I would use the Calligraphy brush with the Wacom’s pressure sensitivity to create varied strokes that appeared to be more natural than an Art brush. Using the new Blob brush, I can create the same type of strokes without having to Expand all the lines of a Calligraphy brush.

The Gradient tool upgrade make it so mush easier and quicker to edit and create gradients. The Appearance panel upgrades give me much more control of the appearance of an object in Illustrator, making it easier to create Graphic styles and edit objects. I also love using Multiple artboards. Multiple artboards has streamlined my workflow making it easier to create consistent branding project, exporting proofs, and organize files. The tutorial I did for Vectortuts+ called How to Create an Identity Package in Illustrator really shows how Multiple artboards can improve a workflow.

10. Could you tell us a bit about web design? Where do your vector graphic skills come into play in that? How often do you do web design for clients? Do you do just the graphics, or also the html/css, and blog integration? What workflow and programs do you use for web design and how do vectors fit in?

I do a lot of my wireframing and initial designing in Illustrator for web design. It might seem weird to some, but I am just faster and more comfortable in Illustrator. I do almost all my web design illustration and icon designs in Illustrator as well. For smaller and more precise stroke and single pixel based elements, I stick to Photoshop. Sometimes Illustrator has problems with converting small vectors to rasterized artwork.

I do most of the front end html, css, and blog integration. I am really only fluent in Wordpress and have yet to explore any other CMS. I leave the PHP and other programing to contractors. Sometimes if I have a tight deadline or quick turnaround, I hire freelancers for the front end. Some people are just faster and better at it than me. I tend to like doing the graphics more.

So in a typical web design project, I do all the initial tasks, like research and tons of sketches. Then, like I said in the beginning, I use Illustrator for wireframing and initial design, then Photoshop for the fine tuning (highlights, better drop-shadows, any single pixel based elements), and I code the site in Coda.

11. Would you recommend that artists get involved with creating stock vector illustrations? And if so, what advice do you have for those getting started? And what are some good goals to set that will lead them on a path toward success in that field?

I guess it just depends. Creating stock artwork has been a great source of income and has generated a lot of bigger client projects for me. Sometimes stock artwork can be difficult to get into because there is so much of it out there, but it is a good way to get your foot in the door and show your work. Some designer and illustrators say it devalues the industry so they like to stay away from stock.

Personally, I think there is a market for low cost artwork that is not going to go away and it is your choice if you want that to be part of your finical strategy. Still, I have gotten many jobs that are high paying custom client work that would never be suitable for stock. I think for the foreseeable future, these custom jobs will not be in jeopardy.

If any aspiring artists want to get into stock, I would suggest keeping your options open. Even though there are some big stock sites that drive more traffic than others, you never know what will happen in the future. Displaying your artwork on as many sites as you can might generate more income and get your name out there more as well.

This might seem a little hypocritical because I am a exclusive contributor to iStock, but if I did it again, I might not have gone exclusive. To be successful in the stock area, you really need to be up on current trends in design. Some stock that you created a year ago might not do as well as now. Just putting pieces for sale doesn’t mean they will sell.

12. What are your plans for the future? Any creative work coming up, or that you’re currently working on, that you’re excited about? What can we expect from you over on Vectips this coming year?

Currently, I am re-branding the Rype Arts side of things, but it is taking forever! The site is the last part of the re-branding and it’s almost done, but I just need to finish it. I also do other fine art stuff. I am really into wheel throwing right now. I might look at selling some pieces or creating a blog for ceramics. I haven’t found any that capture what I am looking for.

As for Vectips, I really want to explore video, but like everything else, it is hard to find the time. Really I just want to create great content that can help people.

13. Thanks for the interview Ryan! Is there any advice that you’d like to give aspiring illustrators and designer who are working hard to grow professionally?

Thank you! I love all the work Vectortuts+ does. It’s at the top of my RSS reader and everyday I can’t wait for a new tutorial, interview, or inspirational post. All the contributors put out some great content.

I would advise aspiring designers or illustrators to always keep at it. If you have a passion to be in this industry, you will do fine. Also, always be mindful of the next step and were you are heading in your career, learn to take criticism, and most important, have fun! If you are not having fun, go do a boring job and leave the fun work for others!

Ryan Putnam (Rype) on the Web

• Rype Arts
• Vectips
• On iStockphoto

Phantasm CS

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Rubens has a bold and funky vector style. He tends to mix different or even opposite feelings into his character creations. Learn all about his background, interests, influences, creative process and more in this interview!

1. Hello Rubens, please tell us a bit about yourself. Where are you from, what training do you have, and how did you got started in the field? How long have you been illustrating and designing?

Hello, first of all: thanks for this opportunity, I’m a regular reader of Vectortuts+ (as well as Psdtuts+) so I’m honored to be on it. My name’s Rubens Cantuni, I’m Italian and from Genoa. I was born in 1982 and my journey in illustrating and designing started a little later .

I’ve always been involved in drawing, coloring and creating stuff, but I’ve never had specific training in arts at school, so I can say that I’m self-taught. I have a degree in Industrial Design, that is not exactly what I’m doing now, but it was fun and I enjoyed my university years a lot. When I was in my last year I started working as an art director for an advertising agency, and in my spare time I’ve always been creating my stuff.

In January 2009 I was making some space on my hard disk and I noticed there were a lot of works making dust in there. At that time I was already running the blog koikoikoi.com (a visual arts blog I co-founded with my colleague Danilo) so I thought “Why just talk about other artists’ works and keep all my stuff in the closet?” and so I made my site Tokyo Candies, my Behance profile, etc. So even if I’ve always been illustrating my career is brand new.

2. How did you get started working with vector graphics? How long have you worked with Illustrator? Do you have any favorite vector tools or techniques? Where does Photoshop fit in your workflow?

I think I started with vectors in 2005 or 2006. I knew I needed to know Illustrator, but they weren’t teaching it at university (where I learnt things like 3Dstudio Max, which I forgot 1 minute later after passing the exam), so I had to learn it by myself.

At first, I have to say, I hated it. I was used to Photoshop and I couldn’t understand a lot of things happening in Illustrator. I don’t know why, at that time, it was pretty hard to find tutorials on Illustrator, while there were tons for Photoshop. So I experimented A LOT, and soon I became more and more familiar with it and found it was really handy to be able to manage all the elements.

I don’t have a favorite tool, I use the most standard tools: brush, pencil, pen, scissors, mainly. I don’t like the gradient mesh tool too much. I mean, it’s a powerful tool that lets you make some incredible stuff, but I’m a pretty radical vector artist . About Photoshop, I use it sometimes as a final step, to add some texture, vintage effects and things like that, but not all the time.

3. To what extent are you attracted to uniting extreme concepts in your work? I notice cute mixed with evil? Chubby imbedded with erotic sexuality? What are the mix of ideas that bring about your work?

Yes, one of the main things you may notice in most of my works I think is the mix of different or even opposite feelings. Cute and evil, funny and disturbing, the perfect example are, of course, the sexy chubby girls, that are my favorite subject and maybe my most distinguishing characters.

An artist I really love, that I think is bringing something similar is Jeremy Fish. The point is: arouse a feeling in the spectator. Could be surprise, curiosity, hilarity or whatever. If you look at one of my works, and you think “Why? Why is it like that?,” then I just hit my point.

4. How does working as a freelance illustrator and designer influence your work as an art director? How has working as an art director helped you work as a freelancer? Are there any lessons that cross these two roles you’d like to share?

I have to say that as a professional I live two separate lives. My everyday work is art direction/graphic design as an employee. I really like my job and it pays my bills, but of course my dream is to live just making my things one day, so I’m working hard, day and night, to do that.

My art direction job has been useful to me as a freelancer mainly in understanding client’s requests. Plus I learned all the things about the printing process while working there: problems related to it, limitations, preparing a file to be printed, and all this technical stuff you have to know. You can’t just be able to draw and/or use Illustrator alone.

5. With your busy schedule, how often do you find time to just draw in your sketchbook or do other creative things just for fun? What are your favorite creative outlets?

One of the main things I regret is neglecting my sketchbook so much. The other thing is painting so rarely. But I take time to do things for fun, also because they can become sold works, or prints or t-shirts. I also have to work on koikoikoi.com, which is a sort of creative outlet. Even if I don’t work in first person on something creative, presenting artists, designers, photographers, works, projects, videos, all feed my creativity hunger and increase my knowledge and my inspiration sources.

6. How has travel influenced your work? What places have made an impact on you and why? How often do you hit the road and explore new places?

I don’t think traveling has influence directly on my works, but it has certainly impacted my knowledge. It may sounds pretty obvious but the place that really had an impact on me is Japan, both for places and people. It was really like being on another planet, so far from italian culture. Last April I’ve went to New York. It was my first time in the USA. That city is magical, you really can smell endless opportunities, especially if you’re involved in art. I hit the road as much as I can, depending on money and spare time, and both things are not as much as I’d like .

7. How active are you online with various design communities, blogs, and social media? Have you had business opportunities arise because of these activities?

With my works I’m on: Behance, Facebook, BloodSweatVector, deviantArt, Twitter, and I have shops on Redbubble and Artsprojekt, where you can buy prints, t-shirts, sweatshirts etc. I can say that all my collaborative works come from these channels, I don’t have an agent (if there’s one reading, we can discuss about it, feel free to contact me!) and there’s not much to do locally.

8. You have such a distinctive style? How did that come about? What helped narrow your focus as an illustrator and what continues to inspire you as an artist? What are your greatest influences?

I really like a lot of different things. My style was a natural evolution and it’s still evolving. The most important thing I think is doing things as they naturally come to you, without forcing on making them look a certain way or like someone else’s products.

My inspiration comes from a lot of different sources, such as asian cultures, tattoo art, cultural icons, movies, comics, cartoons. I have tons of people I admire as artists, just to name a few: Mike Giant, Simone Legno, Jeremy Fish, Jeremyville, Shawn Barber, Audrey Kawasaki, Jason Lìmon, 123Klan, Koralie, Jeff Soto, Flying Fortress, Blu, Sheena Aw, Tado, and Jared Nickerson.

9. Could you tell us about your illustration process using the project “The Dirty Cream” as an example? Does the process for that project flow like many of your others, or do you find yourself often changing how you approach your work?

My workflow may vary from work to work. If I have a precise idea in mind, I start drawing directly in Illustrator. Sometimes if it’s not clear enough, or it’s a bit complicated, I make a sketch on paper, as I did for “The Dirty Cream” work.

After the sketch on paper (pencil and markers) I traced it with my Wacom tablet, then I gave it the basic color and after that I worked on shadows and lights. While doing these steps I usually make some changes to basic color, removing shadows or changing the transparency, etc. In this work, I noticed that the outlines traced with my Wacom were confusing the type work, so I used them just as a track for coloring. After the main work is done I start refining details, adjusting some curves, adding little elements, etc. The final step was adding the cherry characters and the ice cream lady recycled from a previous work and adjusted a bit.

10. Thanks for the interview Rubens! Is there any advice that you’d like to give aspiring illustrators and designer who are working hard to grow professionally?

Trivial but so true: keep working hard. Try to develop your own style and work hard on promoting yourself. Thanks again for this opportunity! Also, I will be participating in the upcoming Blood Sweat Vector West Berlin Gallery show, which opened just a couple days ago with loads of other vector artists’ work on display.

Rubens Cantuni on the Web

• Tokyo Candies Portfolio
• Behance Portfolio
• koikoikoi.com Visual Arts Blog (italian/english)

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1. Hello Draco, give us a background bio on yourself, where are you from? What is your typical day like?

Hi, I’m from Brazil! My day starts at 09:00 am with a short walk from my house to the agency where I work. After that, in my house, I work until 03:00pm on my own projects.

2. When did you first feel the calling to get into design and illustration? Did you attend a traditional design school or are you self-taught? We would also like to know about your first design job.

Well, I’m self-taught! I have been drawing since I was a child and going to the design field was a natural way. I started with creating logotypes and advertising illustrations for small clients.

3. How long have you been designing and illustrating? What is your day job as a full time designer in a web agency?

I really do not remember when I started creating illustrations. I have been working with design for about 10 years.

4. Can you give us an insight into your creative process and your research resources? Is the process different for personal and client work?

Yes, I always say that every job deserves special treatment, and how I can illustrate in several different styles, each job receives unique treatment. But when things are not very clear, a little wine and Radiohead open my mind (or make me sleep!).

5. What is it about the vector medium that fascinates you? What tools and applications do you use to create your vector arts? Would you like to share with us your favorite vectoring technique?

My favorite software is Corel Draw, but, I work with illustrator too (80% with Corel Draw and 20% with Illustrator). Normally, I do a freehand sketch, then I import the image to Corel Draw and finish the illustration node by node.

6. Apart from illustrations, you do a lot of T-shirt designs. When and how did you get interested in designing for T-shirts?

I was studying vectors and this universe of T-shirts looked like a good opportunity to improve my techniques and possibly earn some money.

7. What are the challenges involved in turning an art piece into a really saleable product? And how do you overcome those challenges?

I don’t think of creating illustrations as marketable. I think the public who buys T-shirts from shops that promote design competitions, are more interested in art prints, that makes it easy. I don’t  think in creating saleable illustrations, I think the public who buys T-shirts in online stores who promote design competitions, are more interested in artistic tees. This makes it easy.

8. What is your favorite and least favorite thing about the design and illustration industry? What’s the one thing you wish you knew when you started your career?

Its too simple. Working in design and illustration is what I love! =)

9. What project are you working on now and what excites you most about that project? Is there any dream project you would like to work on?

I’m involved in some projects at the same time, and one in particular is writing and possibly illustrating a story book.

10. How is Brazil’s art scene? Does the Brazilian culture influence your works?

The art scene here in Brazil is very diverse, with several tribes following different paths in design and I think it’s the best influence I can have, working with several different styles and not getting stuck there is a single line.

11. Thanks for the interview Draco. Would you like to give any tips or advise to aspiring digital artists and designers?

Watch and study. Always try to do what you like and do still hold to the trends.

Draco on the Web

• Portfolio
• deviantArt

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Helen says, her heart always desired to be in a creative field which motivated her to change her career choice from being a lawyer to a designer. Read on this interview to know about her work, her future goals and how she enjoys creating art, learning new things and pushing her style forward.

1. Hi Helen, Give us a little background bio of yourself; tell us where you’re from. What is a typical day for you?

Hi, my name is Helen Huang, a.k.a. CQcat. I was born and raised in China and currently living in Los Angeles. Since I have a full time job, a typical day involves 10am to 7pm in the office, working diligently.  As for the rest of the time including weekend, I try to spend as much time as possible on my illustrations. 

2. You were all set to be a lawyer, then you decided that you want to be in the digital art field. When did you make this decision? Was it an easy choice to switch career paths? What was your first experience in the digital art field?

I always have passion for art. I grew up drawing and doodling. However, when I was in high school, artist/designer was not a “decent occupation” in China. I went to college with a law major instead. After graduation, I started working at a leading law firm in China. Everything looked perfect except I knew I desired more.

I wanted to explore all my options before it was too late and I was very lucky to get a visa to come to the US a year later for my Master’s degree in Advertising. My focus in graduate school was branding, not designing though.

I got an office job after graduate school.  The job was not challenging enough for me after awhile. Next thing I know I started making a Chinese language learning Flash site with some friends in my spare time. That was when I had to pick up drawing and sketching after many years and start to learn all the design software needed to create graphics for the project.

That, I would say, was my initial contact with digital art. I have been learning and creating digital art ever since. From lawyer to designer, it sounds random. I know how I got here was anything but random. It was a lot of dedication and work.

3. Did you take any formal education graphic design or are you self taught? What tools and applications do you mainly use? What does your workstation look like?

I didn’t have any formal education in graphic design. I am self-taught.

I do most of my work in Illustrator. I am hoping to experiment with more Photoshop in the future. I use a PC at home and a Mac at work, both with dual monitors. Once you go two, you cannot go back to single monitor.

4. What is your workflow for creating a typical image, how long does it take?

My typical workflow starts from pencil sketch on paper, to scanner, to Illustrator. The time spent on each piece is really varied. Some take 5 or 6 hours. Some take 20 to 30 hours.

5. Females seem to be a central focus for most of your illustrations. Why is that? Do you have any specific plans for the future direction of your artwork?

I dreamed of becoming a fashion designer when I was young.  I’ve always had a passion for it. So my illustration can also be viewed as fashion illustration for women. Fashion or art, there is no line drawn.

As for future plans, I am currently illustrating a children’s book. My next goal is to get into professional fashion illustration for magazines, clothing or cosmetic brands. In the meantime, I am just enjoying creating art, learning new things, pushing my style forward.

6. Your illustrations have attractive color scheme. What is your technique for using colors, how do you go about choosing colors schemes for your illustrations?

I love colors. I love closing my eyes facing the light and see all these beautiful colors and shapes. Whenever I see a nice color scheme, I try to have it imprint in my head. Sometimes I already have colors picked in my head when I am doing a pencil sketch.

Sometimes, I simply enjoy spending a lot of time experimenting with different colors, shades and blend modes. Once in a while, I end up having 2 or 3 different color schemes for one illustration. I remember having 3 color schemes for The Woods.

7. What is your day job as a full-time designer in ad agency? How long have you been working as a full-time designer?

I am a designer at an interactive ad agency that specializes in film marketing. I love my job and I enjoy working with all the super awesome and talented people there. I’ve been working as a full-time designer for two years. My day job uses a different skill set than my illustrations.

I mostly work in Flash, Photoshop and After Effects at work. Ironically, both are creative and involve design, but very different at the same time. It feels like I have a double identity, day and night.

8. Would you like to share with us your favorite vectoring tool, tip or technique?

I love the Pen Tool!  I know it’s very basic. But I cannot give it too many credits personally. I create shapes with the Pen Tool for each little thing in my artwork. This way it’s super easy for me to go in there and modify anything.  So one piece may have hundreds or thousands of shape layers.

I also love inner glow. It gives a very natural and subtle effect especially on the skin.

9. What do you consider your major influences to be? What are your favorite sources of inspiration? Do you find yourself browsing any online design community or website?

I consider manga, fashion, and my Chinese heritage the major influences on my work.

As for the sources of inspiration, it actually comes from everything in daily life.  I take memory photos in my head whenever I see something so incredible. I also carry a small sketch book with me all the time, to back up the memory photos just in case. I had inspirations coming from movies, music, folk story, or even dreams.

I browse design sites very often. I love looking at other artists’ work for style inspiration.  I also love taking new tutorials and learning new tricks. I am a member on deviantART and Flickr.  It’s a great feeling to share work and passion with the art/design community.

10. Which is your favorite piece of work that you have created so far and why? What was the inspiration and idea behind it?

Each piece is unique to me and has its special place in my heart. This may sound cliché, but I really cannot pick one as my favorite so far. I always hope my next piece will be my new favorite. It’s very rewarding to see yourself grow and evolve.

11. And, now a little tricky question, if you were a guy and if you were to marry one of the beautiful girls that you have illustrated/created, to whom would you propose?

Can I have them all? If I really were a guy, that probably would be my thought! But if I have to choose only one, I think I would propose to the girl in Dark Wings. She is confident, attractive, and playful.

12. Thanks for the interview Helen. Would you like to give any tips or advise to aspiring digital artists and designers?

Keep learning and challenging yourself. Love what you do and have fun with it!

Helen Huang on Web

• Portfolio
• deviantART

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1. Hello Pasquale, please tell us a bit about yourself. Where are you from, what training do you have, and how did you get started in the field? How long have you been illustrating and animating?

Ahoy! I’m a 20 year old, human male from the wonderful continent some might call Australia. I spent the good part of my life on the sunny Gold Coast, Queensland; most recently studying in Brisbane City in a Bachelor of Screen and Animation.

I started taking my scribbling more seriously in mid-highschool. I originally planned to be taking the microelectronic/mechanical engineer route, but somehow the math wasn’t so appealing. Animation was something that had always fascinated me before I could even walk.

It wasn’t until seeing some B-Roll tapes of old Walt Disney studios, that I realized that adults were payed to make funny animals and people come to life. “No way this could be real,” I thought. Grown men and women were allowed to sit around all day making fun things for boys and girls (and adults who never grow up)? I figured it would be way more fun than sitting at a computer crunching numbers and math all day to tell robots what to do; so I started tinkering with animation.

I was fortunate enough to meet a wonderful ex-Disney animator at a film festival. He taught me the ropes of traditional cell/lightbox animation. After compiling a stack of experiments into a crude reel (at about the age of 15), I sent it in to the Warner Brothers studio in my city. They allowed me to intern in their studio, learning 3D animation techniques; which eventually turned into a job on two animated series.

I’m currently freelancing and living in beautiful Vancouver, Canada.

2. How long did it take you to get a foothold in the industry and establish some regular clients? Do you work with agencies or individual companies more? What key business decisions have had a positive impact on your business?

Within the first year of tinkering with Animation and Illustration, I came across a number of great contacts. As my portfolio filled up with independent and commercial jobs, the amount of work grew exponentially. I have some roots in design, so dealing with clientele from the Internet had and is my main source of work.

Since Warner Bros, I’ve dealt only with individual companies. Working in house felt like living with a really big family and I miss that a lot, but since moving out to Vancouver, my individual projects have been streaming in too fast to settle with an agency just yet. I find that working with individual companies allows for more diversity in work, but of course that comes with the consequence of uncertainty.

The most useful business decision for me has been my method of development with clients. I like them to feel that they have as much control as they can in the creative process as far as direction goes. If they want to kick back and let me pull something wild out of my hat – all the better. Having a friendly and down to earth relationship with clients in this industry is crucial to sell your artwork and it’s inherent personality.

3. Does your work tend to focus more on illustrations, animation, or various other projects? What’s that happy mix for you with balancing various types of creative projects?

Right now the bulk of my work is in Illustration. Being an animator, the bulk of my designs have a very animation oriented design method. I’ve directed and animated several commercial projects, but most web projects are short term – and animation is very long term and tedious at times! I always have some crazy idea on the back burner to chip away at between projects (films, writing, illustration ideas, character design, etc). As long as I am working on something fresh every day, I am a happy chap.

4. Could you tell us about your collaboration experiences. Is there a project that was particularly successful because of a collaborative effort? What was your role in the project?

My last animated collaboration was a piece produced in a miniscule timeframe. We developed an idea and animated it in under 2 weeks. My partner provided voice talent, sound design and animation, whilst I designed characters and background layouts as well as animating.

Collaborating is my favorite thing to do. I always end up working on many throwaway projects that I’ll come back to from time to time. I love bouncing ideas off friends and colleges. It’s great to allow people to specialize. I often work with friends who develop software to power visual ideas. When I last visited friends in the United States, we started building some robots sculptures that I sculpted and they developed electronics and software for.

5. What’s been your most challenging project so far in your career? What was challenging about it? And how did you overcome those challenges?

I’m currently working on my most challenging project titled “Packed,” a live action film with 2D visual effects. It’s a collaboration with a wonderful videographer also from Vancouver. The challenge is accomplishing the matchmoving and compositing on our minimal budget. We’ve been developing DIY rigs for the shots and experimenting with different methods to composite a very different style of effects animation.

Rather than aiming to make something that looks photoreal, I think that exploiting the medium to produce impossible and funny outcomes could be much more rewarding. It’s highly experimental in development right now, but you can see the project grow here.

6. Could you walk us through the vector character designs you did for the Smashing Magazine staff. What is your workflow when creating characters? Do you see yourself doing more work for various creative blogs in the future? In your opinion, what are the key components of a successful character design?

Vitaly Friedman of SmashingMag came to me looking for illustrations of the staff. If a client doesn’t have a specific direction for a style, I’ll produce a rough spread of pencil sketched candidates.

After the picks are selected, I’ll amend any requested tweaks or changes into a tightened rough sketch. The sketch was taken into Illustrator and hand inked with some careful brushwork and pen tool to tighten the flowlines. You can read my previous article on establishing flow here.

After this was done, I rendered the vector as a raster to do some soft shading in Photoshop using some blended layering for some added warmth.

We then gave each other high-fives and went to party on the moon (this stage is optional).

I get a lot of work developing characters for web and blog design, so I embrace them. I think the key to successful character design is attention to form readability, uniqueness and of course appeal. You should be able to instantly recognize strong shapes, but also empathize. It should have its own story to tell.

7. Who’s work are you inspired by? What websites are you drawn to? What has captured your imagination? What has shaped your creative growth?

Some of my favorite artists are Don Shank, Teddy Newton (both currently at Pixar) and John K (Ren and Stimpy). They are masters of their respective arts.

My regular reads are yayeveryday.com, boingboing.net and drawn.ca. I usually find a lot of freshly dug up gems from there. I also started jumping into tumblr more actively. It’s really nice to be able to share content communally, and a lot of great artists hang out there.

What most juices my imagination and shapes my creative growth is meeting and interacting with other creative individuals. I can’t recommend it enough. Learning from others is the best way to play.

8. What is your favorite part of working with vector graphics? How much of your work is done in that medium for illustration and animation? Are you as comfortable with vector pens and brushes as you are analog tools?

The best part is the ability to be really flexible with changes. Unlike raster, reshaping doesn’t require redrawing. It’s a juggling act of bending and balancing.

Close to all of my work for animation ends up being pushed through the vector mill – though a lot of times back out for compositing. In illustration, it’s a pretty even mix between vector and raster. Something about analog, natural media has so much character however. I always have a sketchbook going. I’ve always enjoyed pencil on paper. Life drawing, and observational drawing using the most basic tools teaches a lot about translating seeing to drawing.

After working in digital for years, it feels pretty similar to analog. I finally acquired a Wacom Cintiq display which is more natural to work on than the separate Intuos model.

9. What software drives your creative workflow for your illustration and animations work? To what extent has sketching and traditional drawing methods played a role in your artistic development?

I start most of my pieces out with pencil on paper (or lately stylus on Cintiq into Autodesk Sketchbook Pro). Be it storyboarding or thumbnailing for illustration, using a temporary and disposable medium removes the pressure to get a drawing working the first time it is down. In the planning stages, I find that it’s always best to be loose and move with plenty of vitality.

I’ll then tidy up the sketch and drop it onto a vector canvas in either Flash, or Illustrator. I’ll rebrush the lines by hand to give it some dynamic action, dealing with blocks of color last.

Traditional principals and drawing methods have played the most significant role in my development. I’m still learning everyday. A traditional background really separates the men from the boys. Understanding simple principals such as construction, composition and appeal is the best way to cancel out mediocrity.

I’m a big fan of John K’s ruthless approach and criticisms. Being a good draftsman isn’t something that comes right away. It takes many, many years of practice and experience to be up there with the best. I make sure to draw every day so I can improve my understanding and become a better artist. I still feel I am nowhere close to where I want to be yet!

10. What are your plans for the future? Any creative work coming up, or that you’re currently working on, that you’re excited about?

I plan to keep freelancing whilst settling into a studio in the very near future to get back into the nurturing environment. I’m working on several cool things right now. Some under wraps, and some nearly out of the oven. As I mentioned before, “Packed” is in progress. We are casting and shooting soon, so I’ll be nutting out the VFX work in the next months.

Print is something I’d always wanted to experiment with. So with that being said, I’m really excited to say that I am opening a Print store. I’m selling graphic tees and wallprints, but being really picky about what I include so it can be great. I’d love to see people wearing my art on their chests and walls.

11. Thanks for the interview Pasquale! Is there any advice that you’d like to give aspiring illustrators and designers who are working hard to grow professionally?

My pleasure! My best piece of advice is to interact with other artists. Learn from each other, learn from critique and collaborate. Force yourself to try new things, and soak up everything that you can.

Pasquale on the Web

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1. Hello Daniel, please tell us a bit about yourself, where you’re from, your training, and how you got started in the field? How long have you been illustrating and what do you enjoy most about it?

I am from Indiana, USA, the land of corn, beans, and basketball. I was fortunate to have parents who recognized my inclination for drawing as a kid and encouraged it every way they could. I earned my undergraduate in Illustration from Indiana Wesleyan University (IWU) where I was initially blown away by how much I didn’t know about art. Fortunately, I had the opportunity to study under a great illustrator, Ron Mazellan, who was very influential in my artistic development and the first person to introduce me to the idea that illustration could be a career! After graduation, I developed my portfolio while supporting myself by working at a coffee shop. Eventually things began to click and more work began coming my way – but not before I had put in my time.

I’ve been illustrating for six years and I’ve had to go through the same process that it seems most of us do. Maturation as an artist is something that you can’t rush. Not only are you progressing artistically, but many times you have to personally grow until you get to the point where you are professional enough to earn and keep more work.

I’m now on my third degree (I also have an M.A. in Oil Painting) an M.F.A. in Illustration with the Hartford Art School in Connecticut. It’s a phenomenal program with a very high caliber of both faculty and students, a great environment to grow and be challenged – I consider myself privileged to be a part of it.

The thing I enjoy most about illustration is the variety of projects and the challenge to find new and exciting ways to represent an idea that has most likely been illustrated or photographed thousands of times before. The exhilarating challenge is inventing unique and interesting imagery.

2. To what extent has teaching at the collegiate level impacted your work? What do you enjoy about interacting with students and assisting them with their growth?

It is incredible how much artistic growth I have experienced as a direct result of teaching. By explaining concepts in simple terms for a classroom with diverse backgrounds and expertise, I am continually relearning the foundation of art. All of the re-phrasing and battling to get ideas across to students helps to cement the concepts in my own mind. When you teach art you have to know your content so well that you can handle the most unexpected questions from students and still be able to logically defend the content.

My students always impress me with their intelligence. They introduce me to new things. Sometimes it is artists, or resources, or just a new outlook, and it helps keep me fresh. Teaching has also been a way to get involved outside of myself. It is too easy to get wrapped-up in a mindset of constant self-promotion as an illustrator. Working as a teacher has been perfect for helping me to focus on something and someone other than myself.

3. What is it about vector graphics that draws you to use them as your artistic medium of choice? And do you have a healthy relationship with Illustrator’s tool set?

I enjoy vector graphics because of the flexibility. I used to work in Photoshop a lot but it never sufficed. Even when I plan a piece to the last detail, I always want to change something at the end, and many times it is the size of an object or space. Fortunately, Illustrator is forgiving and allows me to resize, flip, etc. as many times as I want, and I never loose those crisp edges.

Illustrator also became my tool of choice because of all the powerful tools that make illustration faster and easier so that I can spend more time enjoying the process. Learning the Blend Tool, all the brushes, Pathfinder, and Clipping and Opacity Masks (and more) have helped me streamline my production. Adobe has a lot of great features that are designed to help you get where you are going all the faster.

Illustrator is such a deep program that I’m still learning all the time. I intentionally spend time learning and challenging myself with new techniques in the software. Even if I don’t end up using them all the time, they will still be in my toolbelt if I need them.

4. To what extent do design and formal principles impact your art? How much is guided by playful creativity, experimentation, and discovery?

My career really started to take off when I began paying strict attention to formal design. It is the only well-established and objective way for me to judge my art. As an illustrator I spend a lot of time working in solitude – away from an art community – so it is essential that I have a process established to cultivate my own growth. If I simply respond to my artwork emotionally, then it is difficult to grow. Emotions fluctuate based on how much sleep I get, what was for lunch, and other artistically-unrelated influences. Formalism gives me a concrete set of principles and elements to reference and evaluate my art.

This may sound constraining, but I temper that with a solid amount of risk and experimentation in my art. I love drawing, and whenever I am not actively engaged in a commission, I spend time playing with different ideas and concepts in illustration and design. Sometimes I work on a topic that I have never attempted. Sometimes I will play with a technique or design concept that catches my eye to experiment and see if it is something I want to integrate into my work. Other times I free-draw and fill pages with doodles. It is from these experiments that I build future illustrations; I test my ideas before I use them on clients.

5. Could you describe your workflow using the project One Man Band to demonstrate? How much sketching was involved in this project before going into Illustrator? How many revisions were there and how long did this project take to produce?

“One Man Band” is a perfect example of using formal principles and creativity. Although it has been one of my more successful pieces, it took me less than five hours. I sketched for about an hour and a half and then went directly to Illustrator. However, it was the culmination of several months of background work for unrelated personal development pieces where I was experimenting with different ideas for color use, line vs. form, and white as positive forms, etc. It was one of those “ah-ha!” moments when my research and development over several months came together.

I have to admit though “One Man Band” is an extreme example for my process. Most of my color pieces take around 25-40 hours each, depending on complexity. That is divided up by 15% on thumbnails, 50% on sketches, and 35% on final artwork and revisions. Usually I’m not faced with a lot of revisions because I work very hard to communicate with the client from the beginning so that they are updated throughout and can nudge me if my vision moves off-course from theirs. It is better to fix problems with the trajectory of the art early in the process when the ideas are looser, and don’t cost as much to generate.

6. How has your workflow changed over time? Have you become quicker at creating illustrations or more thorough? What’s one thing that has drastically improved your workflow?

I tell my students to “front load your projects.” By this, I mean the more work you put into the conceptual stage, then the more headaches you can avoid later. You have to build a strong foundation before you start your finishing touches. Great technical skills go far, but they cannot compensate for crummy ideas or poor design.

I have found that if I really invest in my thumbnails and my full-size sketch, I can complete an illustration rather quickly, because I only have to focus on finishing something that I have thought out thoroughly. Plus, it is not as taxing on my time to make revisions at the thumbnail and sketch stages, as those can be drawn out quickly, and I am not yet emotionally attached.

7. What artists have influenced your work strongly? Is there something that pulls you toward retro cartoons and other sources of inspiration? Are there any sources online or elsewhere that consistently capture your imagination?

I think that I am partially drawn to the images I was exposed to as a child – I remember illustrations from books and other products that share some fundamental components of that retro style. What may be more relevant is how I have fallen in love with design, and so much work from the mid-century uses design in great ways.

I am heavily influenced by the works of UPA (Gerald McBoing Boing, Mr. Magoo), Hanna-Barbera (Quick Draw McGraw, Huckleberry Hound), John Sutherland Productions (It’s Everybody’s Business, Working Dollars), TerryToons (Underdog), and more. The style has it’s roots in cubism as well as invented creative solutions to technical and financial limitations in the television animation studios when sponsorships were slowing. Sometimes unlimited resources can lead to cheap and easy solutions because there are no restrictions to make you think hard about the best use of resources. I can definitely say that I create better and more creative art when the environment is restrictive.

8. How have you grown your illustration business successfully? Have there been any key connections or changes that you’ve made to how you gather clients, approach projects, network, or handle the business side of illustration that have propelled you forward?

I look back and see a lot of time that was frustrating and seemed a waste. I can see now that I was being prepared to succeed. When I was younger I would not have been able to handle the bigger clients and projects. I needed time to develop. In many ways we are entrusted with small, low-risk things to prove ourselves for bigger things. I was fortunate enough to be taught early on that the little things matter, and I was committed to doing the best work I could with the time available, regardless of the size of the client. Over time this earned me a better client list and gave bigger clients reason to trust me.

My marketing is a buckshot approach. I spend time identifying and contacting anyone who could benefit from my work. It ends in a lot of rejection but the working relationships that come out of it can be very rewarding. Some of the best marketing advice I have gotten is “stand in the short lines.” In other words, it is easier to get work from the small guys than the big ones. When you are young, having a quantity of professional work in your portfolio is the primary goal, not necessary who you worked for, but how you solved problems and provided solutions for clients.

9. What’s been your most challenging project so far in your career? What was challenging about it? And how did you overcome those challenges?

Without a doubt the most challenging projects were very early in my career when I was first cutting my teeth in the industry. There are a lot of lessons that you have to learn the hard way. I am very grateful to those first clients who took chances on me and were patient through the process.

At this point I’ve learned to relax when working with clients. Some of my early mistakes were caused by this immense, and false, sense that whatever job I was on was my last chance and if I messed it up I would never work again. Which is not true, but at least I was taking my work seriously.

As far as the work-load, my most challenging project was a set of four small children’s curriculum books I illustrated for the Wesleyan Church. The great part was I had a heavy creative hand and was able to strongly direct the artistic portion of the project. The challenge was that most of the artwork was created over two months, which was a total of four covers, 12 interior pieces, and about 50 spots – which wouldn’t be that bad except during that time I was also finishing my thesis project of six large scale representational paintings for my M.A. It was a very stressful time but I got it done well, and the publisher tells me the response to the books has been overwhelming.

It is not the first time that my schedule has been that full – but life will always be busy. I have had to learn how to handle that amount of work over time. Basically it comes down to intentionality – you make time for the things that are important to you. Great art never happens by accident. Great art occurs as a result of intentional acts. For me, this means using all of my time wisely, drawing whenever and wherever I can. It also means knowing when my best creative time is and protecting that space to use for creative activities, while saving my poor times for administrative tasks and organizing.

10. Thanks for chatting with us Daniel, any parting tips for aspiring creatives hungry to grow professionally?

If you want to succeed in this business, go for it! Realize that you are competing in a world-wide market – a good thing. It sifts the less finely-tuned artists to the bottom of the bucket and allows the cream to rise. It makes everyone better and gives a clear picture to anyone wanting to improve of where and how you fall short of the mark. Do not be frustrated with failure, it is part of the game. Your time will come if you simply stick with it, remain focused, and draw more than everyone you know.

Daniel Swartz on the Web

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In this interview Christopher shares with us how he got started in the digital art field. We learn about his formal education, work, and his career. He also reveals ideas, inspirations, and his love for drawing, illustrating and creativity! So let’s have a digital chat with this talented and highly skilled designer/illustrator.

1. Hello Christopher, how are you today? What design project are you working on currently, is it exciting or challenging?

Hi! I’m doing great. I’m currently working on the materials for a re-launch of a product for Hasbro and a new cartoon i.p. The work I receive is always very satisfying and requires a good amount of effort to establish a rhythm. I definitely enjoy a challenge!

2. Give us a brief bio of yourself; tell us where you’re from, and about your formal education and how you got started in the digital art field?

I’m from Sacramento, California and graduated from CSU Sacramento in the summer of 2006 with a bachelor’s degree in graphic design.  The journey into digital art started when I was in high school. We had a few copies of Photoshop, 5 on the computers in the lab, and I started messing around… and by messing around – I mean throwing as many filters as possible onto a layer of type.

I guess everyone starts out with lens flares in the beginning – haha! The more I experimented, the more I wanted to apply the new skills I learned. I taught myself how to color my sketches digitally and things kind of snowballed from there. This was ten years ago.

Every artist has their humble beginnings and with that in mind, I wanted to share with all the readers my beginning.

3. How long have you been designing and illustrating? What’s the one thing you wish you knew when you started your career?

Professionally, I’ve been doing this for about five years.

One thing I’d wish I knew upon hopping aboard this crazy train is how much time and dedication would be required to turn this interest into a serious career. It’s probably better I didn’t know beforehand because the reality of it all would have probably scared me off, haha.

I’ve grown and evolved so much during my career. I wish I could make a flow chart to illustrate how meeting one person, or doing one project led to the next thing, and then to the next, and how those branches extended into even more branches, and so on. The journey really is part of the fun!

4. I notice that you work full-time as an Art Director in the motion graphic industry, as well as work full-time as a freelance illustrator. How do you manage your time, clients and projects? Isn’t it too much for one person?

Sometimes it is. With increased responsibility comes increased sacrifice I suppose. For example, I haven’t touched my video game consoles in months nor have I finished the Gundam model I’m in the process of building and painting, haha. These aren’t horrible sacrifices, but those are two things I wish I could devote more time to, because well, they’re fun! However, these things are not priorities and I know I’ll get to them… eventually. But it’s not ALL work for me. I’ve definitely eased up on my work ethic and have shifted some things around in my life to keep a healthy routine.

5. What is your workflow for creating a typical image, how long does it take? Do you start with sketching or do you start directly digitally? What are your research resources?

99% of my work starts off as a pencil drawing of some sort. These can either be as rough as a thumbnail or a cleaned up sketch. The time it takes to finish a piece is really subjective. I think I work pretty quickly but I don’t know. The longest single piece I have worked on took forty-ish hours and I only had five days to work on it. That was the Honda earth illustration in my portfolio.

I keep an illustration reference folder on my computer of all the cool things I find on the net. The most time consuming site that I often browse through is FFFFound. You can click forever and always find something new. It’s like Pandora but for art. You click on something you like and it brings you to more pieces like it.  I also have a regular list of design/illustration blogs that I check daily like Drawn and grain edit.

6. Your portfolio boasts a number of amazing character illustrations, each one of them are unique. Where do you get ideas and inspiration to draw these characters? Are they the part of project brief or your brain child?

Thanks! I’m inspired by a ton of things. Some indirect and some direct. On a base level, I’m drawn to the retro styling of cartoons from the 50’s and 60’s, texture, and contrasting bold and muted color palettes. The way the characters communicate so much with so little has really hit home for me. I definitely have more complex designs, but the principle of using basic geometry to build a solid silhouette stays true no matter if the character is simple or complex.

I found a love for texture and within the past two years have tried to introduce textural qualities to my characters and illustrations. I’m a tactile person so the dry brushed and “rubbed out” qualities of animation background paintings add a lot of visual interest for me. I try to incorporate those details into my work when it’s appropriate.

The direction of my client work is definitely dictated by the project brief, but often I’m given the freedom to create the look and feel. It sounds like an ideal situation to establish a design direction but in reality the openness is really challenging. Rather than getting a client that asks for “a bear with glasses juggling fruit,” sometimes I’ll get a brief that calls for a “cool, funky character geared towards kids 10-16.” Is this character an animal? A creature? How juvenile should it look? What color is it? What does it like to do in its spare time? I have to answer all these questions simultaneously and convey all of it into a successful character design.

7. I also noticed, while viewing your shoppe, that you have written a short story description along with each of your character illustrations. Are you also a writer? Does the story come first or illustration? Is there also any story or reason behind the name of your website, The Beast Is Back?

I’m glad you took the time to read some of those stories! I’m definitely not a writer, haha. I enjoy writing when I need to, but for the stories about the Great Hunters, I have to give credit to my insanely creative girlfriend who is an aspiring writer and a script coordinator on The Mighty B! cartoon.  She based those stories off my completed illustrations. I guess it could go either way as long as I can visualize the finished product.

“The Beast Is Back” was derived during a fateful lunch break in the cafeteria while I was at college. I was writing a bunch of possible monikers for my portfolio all with the purpose of building a “brand” rather than just being a portfolio name. I wanted it to be fun and mysterious so that I could use as a unifying theme for prints, characters, or anything else that was related to my site.

The original symbol/logo for my site consisted of a creature in a suit with a briefcase ringing a doorbell. Get it? The Beast is…back? Haha! The humor and literal meaning was soon nixed for a more ambiguous “beast” head. He has since evolved to a full personality as seen on my current site. Try not to poke fun at him. He’s just trying to pass the time while hanging out in the woods.

8. You have worked with a number of great clients and agencies. What are the projects in your career so far that you are proud of and which you think have given you immense creative satisfaction?

 I had a blast working on all the gift cards for Target. There actually is another I’ve just finished, but unfortunately can’t show yet.  The “Lumber Jack’s Wood Feast” motion piece was a true labor of love. That project allowed me to explore a lot of techniques and ideas all at once.

Another project that I’m proud of is the work I did for Nike ACG. I took risks with colors and stepped out of my comfort zone. This is also another project I can’t share yet. The nature of confidentiality is part of the responsibility of this business and part of the frustration, especially when there is a project you just loved working on but can’t share with the world.

9. Talking about vector illustrations, what is it about vectors that fascinates you? What tools and applications do you use to create your vector arts? Would you like to share with us your favorite vectoring tip or technique.

I love the flexibility of vector art. Everyone has their own style and unique way of approaching the format. The sheer size of the vector artist spectrum always amazes me.  There are artists who can create completely realistic human faces and product renderings and there are people like myself who do a lot of character and typographic work.  Technique is also very individual. There are many ways to do the same thing.

I use Adobe Illustrator exclusively. Sometimes I end up with a literal translation of my sketch and other times I use the sketch only as a guide for interpretation. One of my favorite vector techniques involves using the effect Roughen (Effect > Distort & Transform > Roughen) to give my clean lines a handmade texture.

I use really low values and apply them repeatedly (Command + Shift + E) to build up the effect. Roughen gets really wacky at higher values. Try a size of 0.03 to 0.08 and a detail value of 70 to 90, Points “corner”. Don’t forget to click the preview check box so you can see your changes in real-time.

NOTE: With circles and rounder shapes a higher roughen value or many applications of a lower value will be needed to see any sort of effect on the shape. You might need to repeat the effect 20 or more times with a value of 0.07 and 85 for example.

The reason I use effects rather than filters is because I can always edit the effects in the appearance palette. With filters it’s a one shot deal. This particular effect creates a million anchor points and when used as a filter instead of an effect, all those anchor points are permanently added to your shape making it impossible to edit again.

10. Of all the work you’ve created, or at least the ones showcased on your website, can you name a couple that you have a special love for or connection to? Do you have any specific plans for the future direction of your artwork?

All the personal work I do has a special place in my heart. Those are the times when I’m free to create whatever I want. Often times these are back-logged ideas that I’ve been itching to get onto paper. “The Great Hunters” world is one of my favorites along with “Mr. Villain’s Class of 1983″ where I pay tribute to my favorite characters from the He-Man series.

I like to keep my style versatile without feeling like I’m forcing any particular style. I’m exploring more hand-made, DIY looks along with stretching my typography wings again with “The Birds & The Beasts” brand that I’m co-developing with my girlfriend. We’re putting our own spin on the Etsy aesthetic.

11. If you could take a trip and paint anywhere in the world, where would it be? And, who and/or what are your inspirations as an artist?

I went to Japan last year and absolutely loved it. So I would pick Japan again.

As far as inspirations, it’s hard for me to remember everyone’s names but I really enjoy the work from Charley Harper, Invisible Creature, Scott C.

12. Christopher, thanks for the interview. What advice would you like to give to budding designers and illustrators?

Take the initiative to really find your individual voice in this industry and never lose the love for what you’re doing.

Christopher Lee on the Web

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Michael says, his heart truly lies with cartoon illustration as there is nothing like the process of bringing something to life on paper and as rewarding than seeing someone’s face light up with a smile upon meeting one of his characters. His passion and enthusiasm for creativity is truly reflected by the stunning visual imagery he creates and could be seen throughout his portfolio.

1. Hello Michael, tell us a little about yourself, where you’re from? What is a typical day for you?

Hey Vectortuts+, my name is Michael Heald, the owner of Fully Illustrated, and I’m a mixed discipline creative that works out of the UK. I’ve been in the trade for around 10 years now and have loved almost every moment of it. I’ve spent time being a designer, 3D artist and illustrator, all of which I have loved! Illustration has always been my core passion as nothing else quite brings the same level of fulfillment, watching a character come to life on your sketch pad has few equals in my opinion, it’s just so much fun!

My average day starts out with good espresso, as without this my creative juices seem to be a little, well, static, and good injection of strong caffeine gets the motor running. From here I make the most of this fresh feeling and have a good browse around the web for at least one hour, looking at design sites, 3D sites, movie trailers, games trailers, you name it, anything that can get my eyes excited and filled with ideas for the day ahead. From here I then get my days work set out in front of me and start working through it.

2. How did you get started in the digital art field? Did you have any formal education in this field or are you self taught? What tools and applications do you use to create your illustrations?

Yeah I started out with a big passion for art at school, as this was always my strongest subject, but I was always a bit of an artistic rebel and HATED still life, studying the classics and learning how to use oils, inks and pastels, and just wanted to draw characters like Sonic the Hedgehog or Mario, something that NEVER went down well with my art tutors.

From here I moved onto art college and had a similar clash of views throughout that course too (he chuckles to himself remembering heated discussions with his tutors over the validity of fantasy art against impressionism).

After this course was complete I continued onto University, where I studied a general design degree, specializing in Illustration and Photography. This, in my opinion, was where I flourished, as all of a sudden, I had tutors telling me to watch Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and generally study characters! I was lucky enough to be taught by one of Cosgrove Hall’s ex team members, a man called Pete Beard, a phenomenal cartoon illustrator, mentor and all round awesome guy. I thank Pete very much for where I am today as it was his guidance that kept me on my desired path.

3. Do you start your process analytically, with sketches on paper or wireframes? Walk us through your creative process from start to finish.

I’m still pretty classical in that way, as I cannot sketch (even with my Wacom Cintiq) digitally so I always have a layout pad, pencils and an eraser by my side at all times.

Once the character is complete, I get straight to scanning it in, and from here, everything is usually done in Adobe Illustrator as I have never in 10 years found a better product to create beautifully crisp lines. I always start by re-creating all the main shapes of my character and then once all the lines and shapes are re-created digitally I start filling them in with solid colour.

Once the solids are complete I then work on the varied stroke weights of each element, ensuring that I use no more than 3 differing weights across the entire illustration, to make sure it all feels succinct. Once the main lines and colours are in, I start to adapt the solids into gradients to add some depth, and then finally I add all my shadows and highlights, finishing off with one main outline around the whole character in a thick strong stroke.

4. How long have you been designing and illustrating? Do you freelance fulltime? Tell us about your first design job and about the inception of your design studio, Fully Illustrated.

I’ve been in the trade for 10 years give or take a few months, and worked full time for a number of different agencies over the years. During this time Fully Illustrated came to life as my personal portfolio site, showcasing my work for the world to see.

It started out as a really small little flash site and then gradually grew into a bigger personal gallery over time. As the years went on I got more and more interest for freelance projects, and once this had got to a level which I thought could become self sufficient, I decided that it was high time that I took control of my own dreams and started up on my own.

Fully Illustrated now works as a creative resource, targeted primarily at the games industry, providing websites, character art and branding for many small game companies across the globe. This is without doubt THE most enjoyable part of my career to date, as working with the games industry was my dream from being a boy, so it’s awesome to finally be doing it!!

5. You draw amazing colorful and fun characters. Where do you get the ideas for your characters? What are your sources of inspiration? And what are your artistic influences and/or any online blog or website that you visit often?

Thanks for the complements

My ideas, man, these come from anywhere and everywhere in truth, but I’d say that I draw most of my inspiration from mainstream cartoon channels like Cartoon Network, Jetix, and Nickelodeon.

My other main source of inspiration is the games industry, as I love pouring over concept art as I find the use of tones and colour in this industry to be very beautiful (it’s a generalization I know, but I always find that if you look at good concept art, the range of tones and hues used are just beautiful), and it’s those very same tones that I like to bring to my character art. So when you look at one of my characters, you’ll notice a very limited palette, so there will rarely be more than two colours in my scenes and everything else is made up of tones of those two colours, which creates for a strong atmosphere. It’s something you see a lot in films these days too.

As far as references are concerned, if ever I want some tonal inspiration I just spend about 15 minutes on conceptart.org/. But some of my specific faves would be Daryl Mandryk, Dusso and the classic Frank Frazetta!

Oh, another good source of inspiration of mine is the vinyl toy industry, so companies like Kid Robot and artists like Pete Fowler are great sources of inspiration when you are looking to simplify your characters and streamline them into more iconic shapes.

6. I notice you have varied and well-rounded skills, from design and branding, to illustration and 3D motion graphics, you seem to do all. Do you prefer one over the other? What attracts you most about illustrations?

I love them all for their own reasons, but illustration is the winner all the way, like I mentioned before, the process of bringing something to life on paper is just unrivaled and then the awesome feeling when someone says ‘oh wow he’s sooo cool’ is just great!! Ha, it’s almost as if someone is complimenting your children, you created them and now people appreciate them, awesome! Whenever I post a new character on Fully Illustrated, people often mail me to say how much they like them, and man, this brings me so much joy, it really does!

7. What project has given you the most satisfaction? What was the most interesting thing about that project?

I think that would have to be the recent Fishing Cactus project! It was my ‘perfect job’ from top to bottom. It included a bonkers character design for the brand, character and flash animation on the site and full site design…the works. It’s just SO much fun to have that level of creative freedom, to create a new ‘image’ for a brand and make it work across so many levels. Awesome fun!

8. What project are you working on now and what excites you most about that project? Is there any dream project you would like to work on? What would it be?

The big exciting project right now is my new games company!! Fully Illustrated has joined forces with Abitofcode to create a new independent games company, The Joystick Generals. The Joystick Generals will focus on 2D cartoon based iPhone games, with the sole goal of making VERY high quality games packed with loads of humor and VERY well polished games. Keep your eyes peeled over the coming couple of months for the new site and the release of our first game, Super Turbo Action Pig!!!

9. I see you enjoy Photography as well, is it a hobby? Does it directly or indirectly influence or inspire your illustrations and design projects? Do you ever get stuck with creativity block? What do you do to get out of it?

Yeah Photography is a hobby 100%. I love photography and it’s the only skill set that I keep for myself. I find it important to have something that is untouched by the commercial world, as it allows you as a creative, to keep something back, to have something that doesn’t have a brief, doesn’t have feedback and doesn’t ever become something that you ‘have’ to do.  It’s my personal creative outlet.

Creative block stinks, I, as every other creative hates it! I’d say the block comes every couple of months and stays for about 4-6 hours, during which time I am not a nice person to be around ha haa. In these instances I just keep myself to myself, stop work and then spend time looking for inspiration.  In the worst case I just put down tools and go to the cinema, as nothing else quite gets your head out of its current state than sitting yourself in a darkened cinema and being swept away into another world for two hours. When you come out of the cinema into the light, it’s almost like starting the day all over again…hopefully without the block!

10. If you could be one of the characters in your illustrations which one would you be? And why?

Ha, good question, well, I’d say I am ‘The Hard Boiled Baddies’ as there is something there that suits my every mood. Happy as can be, excited, stupid, playful, angry and just a tad silly

11. Michael, thanks for chatting with us on Vectortuts+. Any advice or tip you would like to give to upcoming illustrators and designers?

Thank you, it’s been fun, I just hope all that babble is of interest And as tips go, just follow your heart, if you want to do it, then just keep at it and never lose faith!

Micheal Heald on Web

• Portfolio

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In this interview, he talks about his design and illustration work. Learn about how he’s grown professionally, his passion for drawing and character design, his process in working with high-profile companies, and what his goals for future growth are. Let’s have a chat with Jonathan!

1. Hello Jonathan, please tell us a bit about yourself, where you’re from, your training, and how you got started in the field? How long have you been illustrating and designing?

Born 1974 , Cardiff, UK. although I always liked drawing but it wasn’t until I studied graphic design at the age of 29 that I realized it was illustration that was my main passion. So I have only been working as an illustrator for around 4 years.

2. I notice numerous cute-quirky characters in your portfolio on Behance? Could you tell us a bit about your illustration style? How did it develop? What are the major influences for this work?

Quite a few influences in there from pop culture, such as video games and cartoons, as well as being influenced by fine artists such as Phil Hale, Lucian Freud and Japanese illustration. The characters reflect the quirkiness of human nature. Growing up in an inner city area exposes you to a large cross section of human kind, and has probably greatly influenced my work.

3. What are the range of programs you work with? Where do vector graphics fit into your workflow? How often do you blend various styles of graphics together, like mixing 3D and vector, or adding texture to vector, and do you use Photoshop to combine these elements?

I started using Freehand MX, but them reluctantly moved on to illustrator. I found Illustrator quite frustrating for a while as Freehand offered greater control over drawing and selecting points, but now illustrator has improved, plus I’ve just improved my skills. I usually create a page of elements in illustrator and then bring them into photoshop to play with and compose into an illustration. Although much of the work could be done in Illustrator, I find it can’t cope with the effects I need and it gets way too slow.

4. Could you give us some insight into your creative process. Do you sketch traditionally first or start directly on the computer? How important is traditional drawing to your work? Do you keep a sketchbook? And what kind of training do you have?

I do often create rough sketches for work, though the best stuff comes from doodles when I should be doing more important things. I don’t keep a sketchbook but have hundreds of sheets of paper that I need to clear out of my studio every few weeks, not very good for the environment I know!. I never trace work out on the computer as I want a more organic development of my ideas. My work is often more collage like than a homogeneous illustration. All my computer skills are self taught, so a lot of practice was and still is involved.

5. Could you tell us about the project “robot map” for FHM Magazine? Could you tell us about the character design process? How did they fit together to fit the concept of the illustration?

Really enjoyed the maps project. FHM selected some works of mine they thought would be a suitable in style and we worked from there. A number of roughs were created and FHM choose the robot style that would most appeal to their readers. I needed to keep the vectors quite flat in order for the map to be readable to some degree and not too confusing. I employed a grey and white colour scheme with just small touches of bright colour. This helped keep the illustration within the pokedstudio “house look” and stopped it being to complex.

6. Reviewing your work on Pokedstudio.com I see that your portfolio extends illustration, graphic design, and multimedia? To what extent does design and illustration combine in your work? Do you see a clear line between the two disciplines or do they tend to merge more?

I find that the Graphic design and illustration merge to some degree in my work. This is more to do with the fact that people keep coming to me for my illustration and want me to integrate that into any design work. Though there are quite a few projects that are completely without the pokedstudio illustration style, you wont find many of them on my website as they don’t fit well with the style of the other work.

7. Where does your work tend to focus more? Is multimedia (websites, flash, animation, interfaces, etc.) a request you get often? Or do you partner up with someone for that? Is your studio a one man show or do you collaborate more?

Most of my current work comes from illustration, this blends into web and multimedia design as I do quite a bit of character design, game skin design and even full game design. I work with a few different programmers for Flash and other coding needs. Still on the look out for collaborating on animation, as I use Blender for 3D while most people use Maya or Studiomax.

8. What do you feel your greatest strengths are? What areas would you like to work on improving in the future?

Definitely the character design has been most commercially successful side for me. I’m also quite happy with the way my work has a “look” and can be readily identified. In the future I would love to be able to do less commercial work and concentrate more on developing my fine art, do more exhibitions and shows, and maybe even paint a little.

9. What’s been your most challenging project so far in your career? What was challenging about it? And how did you overcome those challenges?

Difficult to say, some projects are difficult because of tight deadlines, some because the client doesn’t know what he really wants and won’t let you guide him. Then you end up with a compromise, which is not good. I believe every piece of work should be an advert for your skills so its always frustrating when the client takes a direction you think is not the best. I always try to offer solutions to briefs that I would enjoy making and think others will enjoy looking at.

10. You have an impressive client list with names like Sony Playtation, MTV, BBC, and more? What’s worked for you to connect with clients you enjoy working with? How did you establish connections with some of your key clients? Would you recommend anything like self promotional campaigns, online networking, or anything else for establishing these types of connections?

I think promoting yourself to some degree is very important. Getting your work onto portfolio sites such as Behance, Coroflot and Flickr has helped a lot. I’ve been featured in a number of popular design magazines in the UK. I also have a lot of web traffic to my own site (I have a good knowledge of SEO) and agency Jelly London who finds some proportion of work for me.

11. What are you currently working on that’s captivated your imagination? What’s coming up in the pipeline or that your targeting for future work?

I’m currently creating hundreds of creatures for a massive online monster fighting game. Been working on that on and off for almost a year. Would love to expand into more motion and animation design, and also expand the studio as there is often an overload of work. This should enable pokedstudio to take on larger projects in the future.

12. Thanks for the interview Jonathan! Is there any advice that you’d like to give aspiring illustrators and designer who are working hard to grow professionally?

Persistence is very important. Don’t be put off if you are not instantly successful, as it can take time. Always look to develop your technical skills and look at branching into areas of design you may not initially have considered. Make sure you have your own “look,” don’t just copy other peoples style, but instead use work you admire for understanding technique and to gather inspiration.

Jonathan Ball on the Web

• pokedstudio
• Jonathan on Behance
• Jonathan on Coroflot
• pokestuff’s photostream on Flickr

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Learn about Tom’s work and workflow, shows and galleries he’s presented in, also learn about the organizations that have helped him network and grow in the industry. Discover what drives him with his vector work and how he escapes the computer by creating hands on wood characters. Let’s have a chat with Tom!

1. Hello Tom, please tell us a bit about yourself, where you’re from and how you got started in this field? How long have you been designing and illustrating? What’s training do you have and is this a path you would recommend to others?

Hi, and thanks for the invite!

Well, I hail from a small town in northeastern Pennsylvania, USA called McAdoo. My grandmother owned a candy store in a nearby town when I was kid and I spent many many Sunday afternoons sitting on a weathered stepladder next to the spinner rack of comics in that store. I guess you could call that the origin of my drawing career.

Inspired by the books that I read there, I spent every hour of spare time sitting at the drafting table that my father handed down to me. I drew every obscure character from The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe and Who’s Who in the DC Universe. I had no formal training until years later, when I attended Kutztown University, where my love of drawing was cultivated alongside a newfound enthusiasm for typography and design. Since then, I’ve always relished the opportunity to creatively merge word, design an image into a cohesive unit. If at all possible, I’d highly recommend studying as many disciplines as possible (fine art, design, illustration, sculpture) to give your creativity a chance to grow in different mediums.

2. Are there any groups you belong to that have helped you with your career? In what ways are you involved with your local art scene? And how does online networking fit in?

Two local Philadelphia groups have been influential in my progress as an artist; The Cartoonist Society of Philadelphia and The Autumn Society. Both are collectives of talented artists that serve to inspire and challenge you to create your best work.

Many thanks to the members of both groups for giving me (and fellow members) a plethora of exciting projects to work on and shows to participate in…speaking of which, 2010 should be awesome…more to follow! As far as online networking, DeviantArt has been completely crucial in helping me to get my images out there. I’ve been a member for a year and a half and can’t begin to measure the exposure and support it has provided me.

3. What is both your favorite and least favorite thing about the design and illustration industry?

Favorite: Passionate designers and illustrators whose work inspires everyone around them.

Least Favorite: The proliferation of desktop publishing. There’s a lot of bad design out there. Just because you might have access to a steam shovel doesn’t mean you’re qualified to use it.

4. Could you tell us about your Timberloaf sculptures? How did this come about? I love seeing the sketches and how the final art turns out, like with the skull experiments? What’s up next for this project? Any other esoteric work you put your hands too?

The Timberloaf thing started on a trip my wife and I took to California in 2005. Inspired by the wealth of vinyl toys we saw at la luz de Jesus gallery, I immediately began scribbling out tiny monster designs in a sketchbook Kelly had bought for me.

I had been feeling the need to be more hands on with my art after spending most of my creative time in Adobe Illustrator, but had no knowledge of or access to vinyl toymaking supplies. That’s when it hit me: my dad is a woodworker and had a shop full of tools…I could make my monster designs out of wood!

As soon as I got home, I drew up the patterns in Illustrator, cut a few out and painted them. It kinda grew from there. I’ve created and fabricated about 20-25 designs, but, history repeats itself and I find myself tied to the computer finishing commissions, writing tutorials and answering interviews….but I know when the urge strikes again, the Timberloaf project will be there for me.

5. What is your ideal client compared to your typical client work? How much traditional design (like logos and branding) work do you do versus unique posters or creative illustration work? What’s the oddest client request you’ve ever received? And what is your dream project?

My typical client is the comic/movie/pop culture lover who gets in touch with me and tells me they’d love to see me take a shot at their favorite character or movie. I have to say that I love when people find me either online or at comic shows and are genuinely excited to see what I can come up with, so I guess my typical client is also my ideal client!

I think I’d have to say the couple who asked me to do a pencil sketch of Karl Marx in their sketchbook at the Pittsburgh Comicon a few years ago would have to be the most unusual request I’ve received. As far as dream project, I’ve had the incredible opportunity over the past year to create art for the Transformers Collectors’ Club, Udon Studio’s Darkstalkers Tribute book, and Gallery 1988’s Crazy for Cult 3-D and Kevin Smith SModcast art shows, and they’ve literally all been dream jobs. I guess if I could daydream a little, I’ve always really wanted to do comic book cover work and create official movie posters for films.

6. If money wasn’t an issue what would you be focused on as an artist? What are your upcoming illustration challenges? Where do you see yourself in 5 to 10 years?

I really think that I’d be doing the same thing that I’m doing right now. I really love the mix of commission, gallery work and just-for-fun projects that I’ve had the good fortune to work on recently.

My major challenge right now is time. I’ve been asked to be involved in a lot of group shows and my commission list keeps growing…add to that my one year old child and time is pretty scare these days.

I see myself continuing along the path I’m on right now…great commission challenges and exploration of personal style…wherever that takes me, I’ll be happy.

7. You have such a distinctive style? How did that come about? What helped narrow your focus as an illustrator and what continues to inspire you as an artist? What are your greatest influences?

I have the great benefit of working full time as an illustrator for a very creative-friendly company, so I have the opportunity to practice a lot of different styles. My “left-facing sideways profile style” had its genesis in a 2004 work project that I really enjoyed. It’s been evolving ever since.

Obvious influences: comic books, poster art, movies, pop art, toy packaging. No-so-obvious influence: stained glass and religion textbooks from my childhood.

8. Why did you choose vector art as a medium? Is Illustrator your go to tool? In your tutorial “Creating the ‘Samurai Werewolf’ Poster,” you show an extensive amount of sketching in your workflow, from producing thumbnails, to composing a detailed overall layout, to drawing precise individual key elements? Is this your standard workflow in your poster projects? Are there any other important aspects of your workflow you’d like to share?

I love vector because of the flexibility in workflow that it affords. I am constantly tweaking composition and color and I think I’d drive myself utterly crazy if I were working in traditional media. I find myself thinking in Illustrator nowadays, meaning I can get away with doing a very loose sketch (if time constraints dictate) and flesh out most of the job once on the computer.

My poster projects almost always require some serious sketching, and much to the chagrin of some clients, I almost never draw all of the characters on the same page. I find that drawing them separately without worrying about smudging the rest of the drawing or driving myself batty with composition concerns allows me to focus on each character.

9. What is your favorite Adobe Illustrator tip, trick, or technique? Any other indispensable tools in your analog or digital arsenal?

Favorite Illustrator technique: gradients set to multiply mode. yeah, I know it’s simple, but see-through shadows add so much life to an image.

10. Any secrets lurking in the back of your brain? Or the front for that matter?

I’ve never seen Caddyshack. Top Gun is overrated. I’m a fan of Terminator 3.

11. Thanks for the interview Tom! Is there any advice that you’d like to give aspiring illustrators and designer who are working hard to grow professionally?

Vector programs are tools (and powerful ones at that) to help you realize your vision, but don’t forget the basics: drawing, composition, color…that’s where the heart of the illustration lies!

Tom Whalen (StrongStuff) on the Web

• StrongStuff.net
• StrongStuff on DeviantArt

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