Sam takes us into his incredible illustrated world
Wednesday, October 29th, 2008
Ai member samuel123 is interviewed by Nikki (aka Zeroe).
Let’s start at the beginning, where about are you from and how did you first get inspired and involved in art and illustration?
Well I’ve grown up in London all my life, although I did go up north to university in Derby for 3 years. I can avoid the cliché ” I picked up a pencil the second I was born” . as I didn’t . I generally considered myself “rubbish at drawing” for my younger years. I only really got into drawing at the end of secondary school, and this was mainly because I realized I had no other options if I wanted to go on to college with my friends
Animals are a recurring theme in your work, often as personified characters, how do these come into being?
I’ve always loved animals, my greatest dream as a kid was to have my very own dog (one of those loyal, stay by your side at all times, rescue you from danger type of dogs). I did infact have a dog, but he was a fat lazy rather dis interested Labrador. Trying to take him everywhere by my side was more trouble that it was worth most of the time. My family have always had cats, hamsters etc. I guess I must have got most of my inspiration from them.
Spill those creative juices, what inspires you every day and in general to keep that spark going?
I’m not really sure, I enjoy my work because it keeps my brain busy. I can’t really sit down and watch TV or do nothing (I wish I could) but I get all fidgety and tend to think all types of odd things. It’s always Better to channel those energies into drawing animals (specifically otters) I find!
I like the way you use your lighting and the love of detail to create whimsical pieces with characters and themes reminiscent of childlike wonder. What would you say is the most important aspect to your work?
Well strange you should mention it but it is probably the lighting. Light is A rather magically special thing, it seems to have the ability to transform spaces into radically different places. I’ve always been quite good with my 3d drawing and awareness so I actually quite enjoy the stress of working out where the light will fall in my pictures …am I weird?
What are your tools of the trade? How do you get down and dirty with your work and what is the process of say a single finished piece?
Tools of the trade would have to be -my computer, my wacom tablet, my sketchpad, pencil, rubber and pencil sharpener! If any one of these were absent from my life I would find work difficult. I loose things all the time, I can often be found angrily muttering as I probe round the house looking for the pencil or sharpener that I have misplaced (I’ve yet to loose the computer yet … but give it time)
A typical process is a sketch in one of my favorite pads (those ones with grey covers you can find in whsmith!), I then scan or photograph this outline and bring it into the infamous Photoshop. From here on in anything can happen really. But I generally build up color and texture layers and then add light and shadow to finish
Where would you like to go with your art work, where would you like to see it carried?
I’ve had a great desire to be a professional illustrator ever since I’ve left uni. I think I needed to prove to myself that I could do it. I didn’t get on with my tutors whatsoever at Uni, I graduated with poor marks and was forever being told my style was wrong or I just wasn’t doing something right. My illustration really found itself the year after I left uni. Being told how to draw was not a productive experience for me
Back then illustration was a stress to me, I’m very sensitive about my work and I always felt I was doing it all wrong. Now I do whatever I want however I want. And this new attitude has bought me nothing but good things thus far. I just wish I could have realized that a bit sooner maybe.
What is your favorite thing about Amateur Illustrator?
It has a warmer and cozy feel than other more mainstream art communities. Plus some great artists, ofcourse. I think the author’s pic of the week is great for exposure and I’ve found many wonderful artists this way. I like the forums as they too still have a very personal feel to them and this is helped along by some great key members.
Thanks for your time, but there is one final question to go: do you have a place where users can see more of your work?
Well not really just YET. I’ve put a stop to almost all of my illustration pieces in the last 3 months to work on something even more exciting (to me anyway). I’ve been creating a website for my otter character! … The idea behind this website is that otter herself keeps it up to date. It’s got otter games, an otter shop, otter videos and loads of my illustrations. I’ve designed it all ( including the games – I love flash also)
I can’t give out the address just yet as it’s really not ready … but if anyone wants me to keep them posted then just send me an email!!
I cant’ remember the last time I was so excited about anything!
As this interview took a while to go live the website mentioned above has now been launched: http://www.iamotter.co.uk/
I don’t really know how this happened; the best answer is probably that I was born with love to draw. I have always been passionate and attracted to every kind of picture and drawing, since I was a child! Then, at the age of 14, I decided to attend “Liceo Artististico”, an Italian high school specializing in art. I also attended classes, still in the graphic field, and at that point I decided to change my passion into a “real job”. I have been in touch with some editors in my area and published my first book at the age of 24.
Well, like many people it was something that I’ve been doing since I was a kid, I guess the only difference with me is that my drawings never really matured! I was heavily into drawing monsters and faces as a boy and when I hit secondary school I started to see what everyone else was up to. It was here that I found out about comics through friends and from that I started to like Spawn. I’ll be honest here - I never really got into the story line but I loved Todd McFarlane’s work, its incredible.