Interview with the 1st place winner of Derby 76
DeadFrog has only been here a couple of months but has already scored two prints. Here's a few more interesting facts about him.
Shirt.Woot Stats? (first derby / shirts bought / shirts printed)
69 (Miniature Worlds) / 7 / 2. I started with the Miniature Worlds one. If you look at my shirt comp from then, you can see that I had no Idea what I was doing (I'm still not quite sure what I'm doing). But then it got an honorable mention anyway, so I was pretty happy. I've ordered 7 shirts from shirt.woot so far. I may never have to go to Old Navy again. Two of my designs have been printed,The Lion, Witch, and Wardrobe one and The Ninja Turtles one. I'm working on one to submit as a daily, but it's far from completion.
What are you tools of choice?
A
Wacom Intuos tablet, Adobe Creative Suite 2, and Flash.
What is your typical process for going about a design?
I start by coming up with some great ideas that would be way too hard for me to pull off. Then I come up with a bunch that are stupid. Finally I come up with a design that I think is both good and simple enough for me to get done in time for the derby. I either sketch it out with pencil or pen on paper and scan it in, but sometime I use my Wacom tablet and sketch straight into Flash (I like their smoothing function). Then I draw over it in
Illustrator, then I switch over to
Photoshop to add any textures and adjust the coloring.
What design or art experience do you have outside the derby?
I have a B.F.A. with a sculpture emphasis from Brigham Young University. I also worked for 2 years as a Flash Designer. I got tired of it, I like the freedom of being able to create whatever I feel like. Or the freedom to not create at all.
Which artists or designers inspire you?
Lee Bontecou, Alexander Caulder, NeckFace, Bob Rauschenberg, Mark Rothko, Brian Jungen, Quentin Blake, and Trina Schart Hyman.
Would you like to do art/design full-time? If so, what is your dream job?
Yes, as a gallery artist. Or sculpting miniatures for Reaper. They have the coolest stuff. If only I could get my hands to stop shaking.
Any plans to ever sell your designs using a print-to-order shop like SpreadShirt or CafePress?
I actually tried that for a couple of weeks before finding Shirt.Woot. Do you know that if no one knows you're selling shirts, no one will buy them? I figured that out. I think after I've submitted a design to all of the regular sites I might print them on
SpreadShirt just so that people who liked them can have a place to buy them.
What advice do you have for new derby artists?
Just try to make solid designs, even if they are simple. I've gotten some guff because my designs that have won have been pretty simple, but I think that lots of people like simple. A simple design that is well executed is going to do better than a complex design that you couldn't quite get to look right. I'm going to go ahead and type simple again. Simple.
