Interview with the 3rd place winner of Derby 56
Here's a catchup interview from Derby 56. Uhhuhhuhhuh has been here a few months and got his first print in Derby 56. Here's more about him.
Shirt.Woot Stats? (first derby / shirts bought / shirts printed)
45 (Imaginational Symbols) / 6 / 1. My first derby was Imaginational Symbols. I think I got like 4 votes. Ha!
What are you tools of choice?
I'm borrowing the world's tiniest
Wacom Graphire at the moment. I've only used it for a few entries, but it's growing on me. I really need something a little bigger now that I've gotten used to it though. Before that, it was a mouse, pen and paper...oh, and
Photoshop/
Illustrator.
What is your typical process for going about a design?
I'm not very structured when it comes to...well, anything. My favorite designs come about organically. I'll get an idea and start working on it, then halfway through I'll walk away from it and see if I like it when I come back. Sometimes I'll see something new that I like better. I would like to plan things out a little more, but my work/school schedule demands interruptions of fun stuff like this, so I roll with it. Sometime during the holidays I'll sit down and spend hours upon uninterrupted hours creating really intricate, planned-out designs and pray for a derby theme that I can squeeze them into.......kidding.
What design or art experience do you have outside the derby?
I'm almost done with my BFA, I teach art/computer science to K-6th grade, I've sold a few paintings at some shows and do commissioned watercolor portraits, I've done a few large murals/signs for different businesses, I designed flash cards for a Texas-based educator's resource group, designed an international non-profit group's logo for surfboards (random huh?), and I do the field day shirts and hats for the school where I work every year.
Which artists or designers inspire you?
My first love is watercolor so Andrew Wyeth is the best. I love what Alex Ross does with gouache. Banksy is awesome. Norman Rockwell, M.C. Escher, a huge chunk of artists from The Renaissance that everybody knows better as ninja turtles and on and on...
Would you like to do art/design full-time? If so, what is your dream job?
Yes! I'd love to be an illustrator. I have a lot of experience working with kids, so it would be great to do children's books written by me or anybody else.
Any plans to ever sell your designs using a print-to-order shop like SpreadShirt or CafePress?
Anything's possible. Maybe when I get some more time.
What advice do you have for new derby artists?
Don't get discouraged and don't take it too seriously. It's not a 9-5 job, it's a contest based on part skill and part luck. You never know what the voters will be interested in, so make something YOU like. It will feel so much better in the end if you win for something you really invested your time and emotions into. Also, a few kind words about an entry you like can go a long way for an artist who's not lucking out with the voters...good karma too if you're a hippie.
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