Interview with the 1st place winner of Derby 90
SkiRochester has been working hard entering derbies for over 6 months and now has his first print. Persistence pays off! Here's more about him.
Shirt.Woot Stats? (first derby / shirts bought / shirts printed)
58 (Work) / 2 / 1. My first entry was for derby #58 (Work). I had just discovered the site and did a pretty quick design just to figure it all out. I was hooked immediately though, and have entered every derby since except one. I've only bought two so far. There were a lot of designs I wanted to buy that didn't get enough votes to print.
What are your tools of choice?
I started out just doing designs in
Illustrator, but a few months ago purchased a
Wacom Tablet. So now I sketch out my designs in
Photoshop, and either complete them there or use a combination of Photoshop and Illustrator.
What is your typical process for going about a design?
I brainstorm for most of the day before I start anything. I check what the theme is at 1:00pm EST when it's announced and then try to think of a great idea by the time I get home from work. First I do some research if I need sources, and then sketch out my ideas on my tablet. Then I spend as much time as I can perfecting it until I fall asleep. I don't normally spend more than one night on a design because I work during the day, and like to enter it as soon as I can on Friday.
What design or art experience do you have outside the derby?
I went to college for illustration and graphic design, so I have a degree in that. I also work full time as a senior art director for an advertising agency. I'm surrounded by design and art for 40+ hours a week.
Which artists or designers inspire you?
I really like the illustration styles of Marcos Chin and Anita Kunz, among plenty of others. I tend to find a lot of inspiration through graphics magazines like communication arts.
Would you like to do art/design full-time? If so, what is your dream job?
I already do and love it.
Any plans to ever sell your designs using a print-to-order shop like SpreadShirt or CafePress?
My buddy and I started up a CafePress site to sell some of our designs that "didn't make it" at Woot or other sites. We're in the process of adding more and more shirts, so check it out:
cafepress.com A2Ts. I will also be updating
Skirochester frequently with my latest designs and print info.
What advice do you have for new derby artists?
It took me over 30 derbies to finally print, so my best advice is to not give up. Your main goal should be to grow as an artist, and to have fun while doing it.
