Interview of Alessandro Carloni (how to train your dragon) by Bobby Chiu

Today’s interview is with Lucy Truman. She is an illustrator from United Kingdom. Her illustrations are very feminine and have this 50’s touch. Check her website, it’s very nice to see!

You are mainly drawing for products, magazine, how and why did you choose this path?

I work for a variety of mediums - I do a lot of editorial / magazine work day to day. But I also work for Publishers and advertising agency for Products such as Kiwi shoe products, Braun, Garnier etc

How would you define your style?

Fashion lead with a feminine feel

What’s are your influence?

Artists - such Erte, Hopper, Warhol - and i love popular culture, architecture and design, and films of the 50s and 60s .. I also love to observe the everyday and lifestyles to create images that are believable and inspirational to the viewer

How do you get inspire? How do you feed your creativity?

I feed my inspiration through travel, fashion and sometimes i like to surf the web

Mac or pc? Software used:

I work on the Mac with a program called Painter

Favourite material to draw:

I don’t have a favourite material as i have access to lots within the program to describe things with the right tool/ or implement

What project are you actually working on?

I’m working on book covers for Penguin and arrow books and the Sophie Kinsella books- And Kiwi shoes products.

And finally, one tips or advice for those who want to work in this industry:

As the tips to start off in the industry - is to have a steel determination, and be strong enough to survive possible rejections. The most important advice would be to keep sending cd’s and promotions to people - and of course research your market - there is no point in sending costly promotions to art directors who aren’t interested in your style or to any clients that may not use illustration. It is all about getting a good balance - and sending at the right time to the right person… If you get one job out of all the promotions you send, it is worth it ! it may lead on to other jobs in the future

For the first interview of the year, we have Inkymole. Behind this “nickname”, there is Sara Coleman an illustrator and lettering artist from Leicestershire (UK). Her calligraphy and hand-lettering are creative, whimsical and pretty girly. All her work is inspiring. Please visit her website and her blog, you can even have a glance at her studio! Enjoy.

How long have you been in the illustration and typography industry and how
did you start?
- 16 years! I started drawing and writing as a child with my dad’s ink pens. Studied art at school, before going to Birmingham Institute of Art and Design to study a illustration degree. I got my first commission job in the second year of university, so by the time I left I already had a modest list of clients and some published work.

How would you define your style?
- I recognise I have a certain distinctive look, however this wasn’t specifically cultivated, it has evolved and will continue to do so through the continued processes combined personal work and client work.

What are your influences?
- Mum, dad (as a child there was lots of creative stuff going on at home), letraset catalogues, Solo One (for his work ethic and fragrant use of colour), Jill Calder, Melanie Tomlinson, Laurie Lipton, Vania Zourislav, Edward Gorey, Victor Ambrus, Aubrey Beardsley and loads more.

What do you find most challenging about your work?
- Deadlines!
Sometimes it’s hard to be creative on demand, especially when people desire a certain ‘energy’ and ’spontaniety’ for a job.

How do you get inspire?
- I look at the brief and figure out what it is about my work that the client likes and how I can apply the same energy to their project. Sometimes it’s a really interesting project, or product or book etc. so I’m really inspired from the beginning. Otherwise I’ll do what I’ve always done, even at university, to the kind of stuff I like to draw.

How do you feed your creativity?
- Films, reading, looking at other peoples work from different disciplines, traveling to different cities (like London and Manchester) and music is very important, there is always something playing somewhere in the studio/house.

Have you been stuck creatively?
- Yes, plenty of times.

What’s your remedy to get past it?
- Stop what you’re doing, walk away from it (I like to bake), maybe take a walk around the block, stop looking at a blank sheet of paper, talk to your boyfriend.

How do you work? (Process)
- I usually write some words down, then draw out some thumbnail sketches, which is particularly important if it’s a book cover so I can work out the composition. Do a rough in pencil and/or ink, then scan and send to the client, there are usually 2 to 3 rounds of changes, then a finished piece.

Mac or pc? Software used:
- Apple Mac. To make my hand-rendered images ready for clients, I use Photoshop and Illustrator.
To run the business I use Filemaker, iWork, Kashflow and a whole host of other applications.

Favourite material to draw:
- Black Quink made by Parker! Though I have many, many inks and pens, my dip pens and Quink are my favourites.

Your favourite place to work:
- In my attic studio on the 3rd floor. It’s got great light and is warm in the evenings.

What project are you actually working on?
- This is a constant misconception (mainly by students and occasionally by clients!) that illustrators only work on one project at a time. The current list as of right now is:
An illustration about water for Ernst & Young (A3), UK.
A cover for Mindy Klassky 3rd book in the, US.
A cover for Christopher Fowler’s 8th book, US.
6 chapter illustrations for an Orion children’s book, UK.
A cover for the 50th Anniversary edition of ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’, US.
A US-wide campaign for a large American superstore.
Lettering for a book cover, chick-lit! UK.
An ad-campaign for Quaker in the US.
Product range for the Natural History Museum, UK
And my own Christmas cards!

This week I’ve just finished:
Some advertising for Crabtree & Evelyn, Hong Kong.
A design for my architect’s Christmas cards.
Some test lettering for a new edition for the Library of America, US.
An illustration for the Southern Poverty Law Center.

As of January the 5th I’ll need to start an audio book cover and some additional work for an ongoing project for the Robert Burns museum in Scotland.

Your favourite artists:
- See above!

And finally, tip or advice for those who want to work in this industry
- Be prepared to work really hard, meet your deadlines, never assume the work will just come to you, it won’t, it’s your job to go and get every bit of it.
Remember illustration is a business as well as a craft and you must remember to apply that creativity to every aspect of your business, whether it’s finance, promotion, the way you set your desk up or the relationship you build with your clients. Clients are your friends, not your enemies, work with them and you’ll build relationships for life.

Today’s interview is with Spanish illustrator Charuca.  She’s one of the fews Europeans  that are in the Kawaii Market, market that began to be huge few years ago. Recently, Charuca become a brand and has entered in the licensing world. Be aware! The invasion of Cuties has begun! And if you don’t know what mean kawaii, Charuca is the owner of a blog magazine, which is all about kawaii and cute culture. Can’t speak Spanish? Believe you me, sometimes cuteness doesn’t need words. I love her character designs.  Her licensing brand has its own website.

What does a licensing illustrator actually do?

Actually, I don’t feel myself like a Licensing illustrator, but as an illustrator and designer. In my daily work, I do everything, creating new graphics, product designs, and some advertisement work. I take care of promoting my websites, try to stay in touch with the followers of Charuca. I love my job, but there aren’t enough hours in the day to do everything I’d like to do.

What is your background?

I’m self -taught. I always had it inside, I just had to let it out.

How long have you been in the illustration industry and how did you start?

It’s been 4 years since I exclusively work in illustration. I’ve always drawn but as hobby.

How would you define your style?

Cutie

What’s are your influence?

A mix of oriental pop culture and occidental

How do you get inspire? How do you feed your creativity?

I get inspired with the things that I live with everyday. Barcelona is a big city to live inspired. Plus, I think that being happy is a good way to feel inspired and do a good job.

Have you been stuck creatively? What’s your remedy to get past it? When being stuck creatively, I think the best is to stop working and do something fun. In those cases, I try to disconnect and have a good time. Inspiration comes and goes.

How do you work? (the process)

I draw with a pencil. Once the design is done, I scanne it and vectorize and color it with my computer.

Mac or pc? Software used:

Mac. Illustrator and Photoshop

Favorite material to draw:

Technical pencil and sketchbook

Your favourite place to work:

My work table with my favorite music. I don’t like workin out of my space. I like to work in the calm.

What are your current projects?

I just find a nice office to work in there. My current project is to decorate it until I get the look I always dream for my own studio. I’m so thrilled!

Your favourite artists:

Nara, Colonel Moutarde, Anna Chambers, Lilidoll, Leo Espinosa, Helena García, Paula Sanz Caballero…

The kawaii trend is relatively new in Europe compare to Japan, was it difficult to impose your way of drawing?

The fact that the kawaii trend isn’t huge in Europe helps me out in some ways, but in others no. There are less artists in this market therefore there is less competition and more exposure. But on the other hand, less work too, and that is negative part.

You just start licensing the brand Charuca . Are you only going to work as a licensing artist from now on?

I’ll keep on doing the same as ever. A part of time will for professional project and the other part for artistic/personal project. I do not consider myself as a licensing artist.

If you had one tip to give for those who want to work in this industry, what would it be?

Work hard every day. Get a style that stand you out from the crowd. Enjoy your work and everything will come. ^___^

I’m excited to share with you my first interview. I discovered Ink & Spindle ,a screen-printing studio,few months ago while wandering in the blog of Lara Cameron, Kirin note, one of the three co-owners of this new company, which just turned 1 year. Ink and Spindle is run by 3 designers from Melbourne (Australia) Lara Cameron, Bianca van Meeuwen and Tegan Rose. The patterns of their fabrics are delightful & whimsical. In two word Just Fab.

What does a textile designer actually do?
Here at Ink & Spindle we only spend a small fraction of our time designing, which mostly involves drawing and then finishing in Illustrator or sometimes draw directly in Illustrator. The exciting part of being a textile designer at Ink & Spindle is actually getting to print the design as well and see it ‘come to life’.

What is your background?
We all come from a somewhat unconventional background. Tegan studied fine arts and then teaching, Lara comes from a multimedia and webdesign background and I studied International Business & Management.

How long have you been in the textile industry and how did you start?
Ink and Spindle was born about a year ago and that’s when we all really started to focus on the textile industry. Before Ink & Spindle Lara & Bianca designed patterns and outsourced the printing for about 3 years.

How would you define your style?
Lara’s style could be defined as cute and whimsical, Tegan’s style is more classic and my style is often described as ‘European’.

What’s are your influence?
Our main influence is Melbourne and Australia, but that said, inspiration comes from all different sources.

How do you get inspire? How do you feed your creativity?
Creativity is not something you can switch on or off, it’s an ongoing process. We try to step away from the business every so often to get inspired by our city and surrounds.

Have you been stuck creatively? What’s your remedy to get past it?
We’ve all been stuck creatively and the best thing for us is to actually step away from the business and seek inspiration by going on a trip or a stroll through the city. We are also inspired by the art and designs around us.

How do you work? (the process)
Our designs usually start on paper and are then scanned into Illustrator where we design in a repeat pattern format. Once the Illustrator file is completed we get it printed on a big piece of film, which in turn gets exposed onto a screen. Once the screen is ready, we print the pattern repeat on fabric.

Mac or pc? Software used:
Lara & Tegan use a pc, Bianca uses a mac. We all use Adobe Creative suite.

Favourite material to draw:
Moleskine & artline or straight into Illustrator.

Your favourite place to work:
The Ink & Spindle Studio or a local cafe.

What are your current projects?
We have lots of projects on the go, mainly pattern design, printing and preparing for next year’s craft shows.

Your favourite artists:
Lotta Jansdotter, Catherine Campbell, Wendy June, Publisher Textiles, Cloth and many more.

What can you say about Ink and Spindle?
Ink & Spindle is a boutique screen-printing studio. We specialise in high quality textile printing for designers and independent labels.

And finally, If you had one tip to give for those who want to work in this industry, what would it be?
Our best advice to give is to ‘do it’! Be proactive and promote yourself or start your own business.

Please not only visit the Ink & Spindle site but also Bianca’s blog and Lara’s blog

The blog will launch a new category: interview. I will interview designers and illustrators, that I love. I hope you’ll find them interesting and inspiring. The first one will be on the 24th/11. Please stay tuned!