Interview with the 2nd place winner of Derby 87
Cmdixon2 has been around for almost a year on Woot and this is his very first print. Here's some more about him.
Shirt.Woot Stats? (first derby / shirts bought / shirts printed)
55b (Derbylympics Oxymoron) / 24+ / 1. I started with the Oxymoron event of the Derbylympics with "Original Copy". I managed to pull in a whopping 14 votes. I've actually only bought 4 for myself (I especially love Radiomode's "Music Industry") but I've bought 20+ shirts for my wife. She's way less picky than me and absolutely obsessed. My one print, "Sunshine" finished 2nd in the Art Deco derby. I was definitely surprised (in a good way) by how well it was received. I haven't submitted any dailies yet. If I have any brilliant ideas, I'll definitely consider it.
What are your tools of choice?
Pencil,
Illustrator,
Photoshop and
tablet.
What is your typical process for going about a design?
I usually start with a simple sketch. I won't spend a lot of time on paper unless I have to. At this point, my process can go a few different ways. There are times when I start and finish in Illustrator using nothing but the pen tool. Sometimes I start and finish in Photoshop using nothing but my Wacom. And others I start with outlines in Illustrator then move to Photoshop to add color and detail. Lately I've been using the last method, but different designs lend themselves to different methods.
What design or art experience do you have outside the derby?
I've been drawing my whole life and it naturally moved into digital art in high school. I have a degree from Purdue University in computer graphics with a minor in 3D animation. I worked as a multimedia designer for a few years and am currently working as a web designer for a small web marketing firm in Indianapolis. Up Next: World Domination.
Which artists or designers inspire you?
I'm not really influenced by famous or historic artists anymore. I guess I'm stuck in the present in that way. I used to really be into H.R. Giger's work.
Would you like to do art/design full-time? If so, what is your dream job?
I'm really happy with the career I've settled into. Web design/development allows me the opportunity to be both artistic and logical on a daily basis. The best of both worlds.
Any plans to ever sell your designs using a print-to-order shop like SpreadShirt or CafePress?
Maybe eventually, but I'm really enjoying the competitions. Soon I'll be submitting some past Woot entries at
Threadless and possibly
Teextile. Stay tuned!
What advice do you have for new derby artists?
Don't expect to do well right out of the gate. It takes time to get into a groove and to understand what really works as a shirt and what doesn't. Wearability is very important. I look back at some of my past entries and shake my head as to why I submitted them. Please don't look for them -- some are best left buried in the Woot archives.
I'd also like to throw a shout out to my wife. She's really been my muse and helped so much from concepts to critiques throughout every derby.
