Interview with the 1st place winner of Derby 45
Briannyc128 is derby old-timer come back to show us how it's done. This is his 2nd shirt print and first derby win. I remember Brian as being the creator of one of my favorite never-printed shirts -- "
Powered by cheese".
Shirt.Woot Stats? (first derby / shirts bought / shirts printed)
5 (Light) / 4 / 2.
What are you tools of choice?
I work primarily in
Illustrator CS3 on a Mac Pro, but usually begin in a small sketchbook. I have a
Wacom tablet that I use from time to time, on the more illustrative entries.
What is your typical process for going about a design?
I'll usually break out the sketchbook on the subway ride home when the derby theme is announced, and list out any ideas that I have, and do some really rough sketches of the ones I like. My designs tend to be fairly graphic, so usually I jump right into Illustrator from there. Sometimes, I'll scan in sketches as a guide, or as source to live-trace if need be. I'm big into typography, and a lot of my designs incorporate it. When they do, I'll go through my typefaces and select a few that I think would work well with the design, and try them all out.
What design or art experience do you have outside the derby?
I've worked at a graphic design firm for the past 4 years, doing a combination of branding and web design.
Would you like to do art/design full-time? If so, what is your dream job?
I am fortunate enough to do this full time, which I am certainly thankful for. I'm not that strong of an illustrator, but since I was in grade school I always wanted to be a comic book artist. At this point I'd be pretty psyched to own my own graphic design business a few years down the road.
Any plans to sell your designs outside woot?
None specifically, but I do keep any eye on some of the other shirt sites and wouldn't be opposed to entering some stuff there, time permitting.
What advice do you have for new derby artists?
Design something you would be proud to wear (in terms of both the idea/message, and quality of execution). If you don't think you'd wear the shirt you're submitting, chances are the rest of the community won't be that into it either. Most importantly, have fun with it. A lot of great designs don't make the cut each week, so if you go into it with the goals of improving your skills, learning about the programs you're using, and having fun, you can still be successful even if the votes aren't there.
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