JASON BRONKHORST

I'm a 29 year old graphic designer and illustrator, plying my trade in Jo'burg, South Africa. I left my day job as Art Director of a youth culture magazine about 2 years ago, and since then have been freelancing in both graphic design and illustration. Recently launched my design company, Infiltrate Media, and am currently forming collaborations (please don't call it a collective) with some really talented folks, which can only make me look good, right? The answers below are a bit erratic and a little wordy, apologies... The future's an exciting place and I hope to see all you there!


When did you first decide to become a graphic designer/ illustrator?

Was there a pivotal moment? Actually, I was intent on becoming a fireman - my parents tell me I asked them to remind of that when I grew up - all gung ho and romantic and things. I didn't particularly pursue an artistic career as such, but always remember drawing. My grandad was an architect and I remember always having loads of nice paper to draw on - the smell of paper is incredibly inspiring... Kept it up through school where it seemed to impress the ladies, some of whom would ask me to draw the frogs and locusts we needed in our biology books, and so on and so on. Anyhow, I drew and drew and then one day, by a twist of fate my mom heard about an art high school in the Big City (Joburg). I went through the entrance exam and was surprised when I was accepted - I was into rugby and cricket and was a boy from a small town, you see. My first cartoon was published at age 15, and since then I considered myself a cartoonist - I managed to get into graphic design by a certain process of osmosis: a friend introduced me to his cousin, who needed a hand with some work, who then taught me the basics of Photoshop and Freehand, then I got involved with the design of Playstation point of sale, then into magazines... and the rest is history!


Who or what inspires you?

I wanted to be a cartoonist forever, and as such my primary inspiration came from every cartoonist I could find. The list is ever-growing and seemingly endless: Growing up it was all about Mad magazine, Jack Davis, Mort Drucker, Paul Coker. Then finding stuff in the library, like The Baron von Munchausen illustrated by Ronald Searle, old Punch magazines, with guys like Norman Thelwell, Russell Brockbank, Larry, W. Heath Robinson (I remember wanting to draw like H.M. Bateman), Gerald Scarfe, Honeysett, Steadman, man, I could keep going forever. I spent my time feverishly searching out any and every cartoonist I could find, spent hours trying to draw like they did: Victor Ambrus, Caran d'Ache, EH Shepard, Fougasse (naming himself after a landmine!?), John Tenniel (who, like me, had only one eye). Masters of the Craft, who all did incredible things without Photoshop. South African artists I always wanted to emulate were Dov Fedler, Richard Smith, Mark Wiggett, Rico, Dr Jack, Derek Bauer, T.O. Honiball, Fred Mouton, D.C Boonzaaier... crumbs, alot of names I'm sure are unfamiliar to everyone. I spent my time trying to meet each of them, and have a few of them as friends now. Going to art school was an eye opener - suddenly I could immerse myself in the work of Picasso (naturally), Klee, Grosz, Schiele, Lyonel Feininger (who drew cartoons for papers in NYC), Matisse, Modigliani, Rodin... I spent some time hunting Mies van der Rohe buildings in New York and Chicago, chasing down the Mona Lisa (ok, she's kind of sitting in one place, but you get the idea), museums and galleries all over the place.

Right now I can tell you I saturate myself daily, trawling the internet to find old and new treasures - there's an astounding level of talent, humbling and inspiring all at once.To a larger degree I'm inspired by this beautiful country, by people with a passion for design and illustration, painters, writers, rubbish collectors, carpenters. Everything around me is worth looking at, ingesting, making part of who I am. Old cars, buildings, objects - I think I have a romantic notion of what life was like a century ago. Cars of the 50s through to the 80s. Old telephones, where you stuck your finger in the holes and dialled, pencils, crowquill pens, watercolour brushes, well-made paper.

My fiance, the Lovely Miss P. Creative, generous, luscious, and an awesome cook!

Music - it's a big part of my life - I have thousands and thousands of songs on my laptop - and my taste is pretty all over the place - right now I'm writing to the sound of Godspeed You! Black Emperor. Later I'll do a drawing while listening to Tom Waits, perhaps Radiohead. Tomorrow I'll ride my bike with the Defones or Rage Against the Machine playing on my iPod, finish the deadline tomorrow to Bruce Springsteen! Who knows, it's an aural adventure...!



Where does your training come from? Self-taught? College/Art School?

I spent 3 years at the National School of Arts, (a high school for art, ballet, drama, music), in Johannesburg, taking classes in printmaking, design, ceramics and drawing. At that stage, to my great regret, I was too busy getting into bars and rugby tackles to take anything seriously, but something I carried with me from those days is a love of all things printed or handmade. The feel of the paper, the smell of ink and paint. The tangible, things that can rub off onto your fingers - as opposed to the generally sterile world of pixels and kilobytes. Don't get me wrong, I have a lot of fun with my Wacom tablet and laptop, but sometimes I need to smear some paint on a bit of board or get India ink under my nails. No tertiary education to speak of, pretty much the school of hard knocks...haha.


How do you keep "fresh" within your industry?

I try to draw every day - which is my first philosophy: "You cannot be a designer if you don't know the basics of drawing." I urge everyone I know to carry a sketchbook with them at all times. I have around 6 sketchbooks floating around my house, car, and bathroom (!). Big and small, cheap and expensive, each filled with a lot of bad drawings, with something I like every now and then. People tend to be intimidated by a new, clean sketchbook. My advice is to start drawing in the middle of it. You'll quickly relax and let it take you where it will. Also, many people keep sketchbooks for OTHER people to look through - don't be daft! A sketchbook is a tool in your creative process, and if you draw in it for the benefit of an audience, you're losing out on some wild experiments and ideas that will come through by themselves if you let them. I find my interest in the history of design being piqued more and more lately. I find a new book or website every day, like seeing the way other people do things, enjoy going through the portfolios of guys like Paul Rand, Milton Glaser, Stefan Sagmeister, Vince Frost, Saul Bass, Herbert Baker, Mies vd Rohe... you could learn something new every day just by looking at things a little closer.


What are some of your current projects?

I've just launched my design company, or rather changing focus - getting new clients, forming collaborations with people I've worked with in the past, being proactive. Passion is reciprocal, contagious, and I'm finding that when you surround yourself with like-minded folks everyone's the better for it. I want to get the 3rd issue of my zine, Back Issue, out by November. I want to draw comics a little better and am doing a single page story every now and then.

Then there's my blog, which I've updated daily (uploading glitches aside) for the past 88 days. It encourages me to draw every day.


Which of your projects are you the most proud of? And why?

Being quite young and therefore facing new challenges on an almost weekly basis, I find doing good work 'by accident' most rewarding. In design and working towards impossible deadlines, it's a joy to see something take shape that I'm sure I couldn't do a week ago. In illustration it has to be a set of 20 cartoons illustrating the '50 worst jobs in the world' I did a few months ago for the local edition of FHM, which subsequently got picked up by FHM Spain and FHM Singapore. I really liked those drawings, I think because they involved alot of grossness!. Just recently I was excited by the old Peugeot I drew on Sunday, which also just came out by accident.
Are there any areas, techniques, mediums, projects in your field that you have yet to try? I'm trying to experiment as much as I can in as many media as I can get my hands on - stencils, watercolours, sculpture, pen and ink, acrylics, stickers, zines, t-shirts, graffiti, silkscreens, linocuts, etc. Generally, the results are appalling, but right now, it's the process of the thing that matters more than the actual result. I read somewhere recently that art is more the process than the product. Something to keep in mind. What I try do is make things I like looking at - in a way it's more craft then, isn't it? Like building birdhouses and knitting doilies. There's no highbrow motivation or 30-page thesis on anything, which sadly is something I notice more and more around me. A doodle becomes high art simply because it's accompanied by a 4000 word Artist's Statement.


Any advice to the novice designer/ illustrator?

It's hard not to follow trends, or copy a style when you're just starting out, but I'd suggest trying to make images your own, infused with the way you see things, ie information filtered through you, your experiences and personal outlook. We all borrow from other artists, but I appreciate a piece of work, although influenced by a thousand other artists, has a certain personality entirely unique. I once asked an art student what he was working on and he told me he was "on sabbatical," without a hint of irony. Don't be a dork. People aren't interested in what I say I can do, they want to see what I have done.


What makes a designed piece or illustration successful?

When you can see the artist enjoyed the project - a single line can be more effective than 2 hours of cross-hatching when passion is involved. Also, it's such a pleasure seeing an artist/designer take ownership of a project - rolling it out, kneading it, leaving it to rise....



What do you do to keep yourself motivated and avoid burn-out?

Well, I think growth is a process all us humans need to actively pursue. We're all gonna stagnate if we just sit there. This applies to everyone, I think: if you're a car mechanic or a rocket scientist - if you're not up to scratch on current events, new technology, techniques or tools, you'll be forgotten pretty quickly. One needs to create new challenges to keep the old brain juices flowing. Knowledge is a wonderful thing, empowering, and with the internet there's simply no excuse to believe we can't grow or experience new things - learn = growth = learn. Not exactly e=mc (2)....I've taken to doing some writing for magazines lately. I try and absorb as much as I can on a daily basis. And draw in my little books and write on the fridge in white board markers, ride my bike in a nearby forest

.
And finally, what is the best thing on prime-time TV right now?

I've lost interest in TV, if it's not yet another reality show (where people are humiliating themselves on a weekly basis to outwit, outplay and lose more weight than the next person to land a job at a real estate tycoon's new gold-plated casino, built on what was previously a lush wetland), it's a soap opera or game show or infomercial. I'll watch Discovery channel for hours.


My personal/illustration site:

www.comix.co.za

My blog, updated on a daily basis (except today! Augh!): http://comixsouthafrica.blogspot.com/

My design company - lots more will be added soon! http://www.infiltratemedia.co.za/

Recent Work:

posted by Jeff @ 7:22 PM 1 comments links to this post

TIM RODGERS

posted by Jeff @ 8:20 PM 2 comments links to this post

ASTRID MUELLER

PotatoMammaDesign offers illustration, storyboards and graphic design, with the main focus on illustration. I'm a one woman business, and just opened my company in April 2006. My main customers are women and lifestyle magazines so far. Just recently, I opened my online store, and now am looking for interested manufacturers to produce larger quantities of products, for stores. Apart from that, I create character designs, greeting cards, imagery for products and gifts, book illustration and more. I'm looking forward to working for whichever company might benefit from my illustrations!


http://www.PotatoMammaDesign.com
http://www.cafepress.com/potatomammashop


When did you first decide to become a graphic designer/ illustrator? Was there a pivotal moment?

My route to becoming an illustrator was definitely not a straight forward one. Art was always my favorite subject at school, but when I first tried, I didn't get accepted at the creative school of Switzerland I applied for. I didn't put in more effort back then, and just opted for a monetarily safer education in the office world. Only years later, after having had a quite uncreative job at a life insurance company, I started another effort, and found a job as a graphic designer, where no experience was needed. It was rough at first, because I had to learn everything from scratch, with classes, and by experience. Amazing how they trusted me, at first my knowledge was so small that I thought I could convert a .tif file into a .jpg file by just overwriting the three letters after the dot! (Still embarrassed about that one, haha)

Quite a few classes, a multimedia producer diploma, and an art study year in the U.S.A. later, I came back to Switzerland, and was looking for a job. My pivotal moment in choosing the illustration career was a class I got to take for free from the unemployment insurance of Switzerland. First I just took it because it was free, and I thought some marketing knowledge might come in handy sometime later in life. This class called "how to open you own business" was so good though, and the teacher so supportive, that I soon decided that I was just going to do it, I would open my own business! I already had my portfolio, my computer, all the software, I couldn't really lose!


Who or what inspires you?

I love illustrationfriday.com, a website that puts out a creative challenge every friday for artists who would like to contribute. Just for fun, and to exchange thoughts and comments with each other. I try to post every Friday, and it's nice to get feedback from other artists, and I love browsing through everyone else's artwork. I've found great artists there, and even made some friends. Sugarfrostedgoodness.com is another great source of inspiration, or places like http://drawn.ca, which has new inspiration every day!

I also love browsing through illustration books, and sometimes I look at other artist's work on places like theispot.com. And I get inspired as well by everyday life, on the street, seeing interesting people, spying cute products when window-shopping...


Where does your training come from? Self-taught? College/Art School?

As mentioned above, I didn't do the full illustration school career, and don't even have an art school diploma. I worked my way into the field with many different software, typography, creativity and design classes, a multimedia producer diploma, and an art study year in the U.S.A. In that study year (ordinary university with art department), I picked mainly classes that I was interested in, and didn't follow the normal credit requirements for obtaining a Bachelor degree. My favorite class was art history, I'm really grateful I took color theory, drew and painted a lot, and even tried printmaking. The college I went to wasn't specialized in illustration or design, which was a bit of a pity. If you want a strong background and thorough training, I recommend you do good research of universities and their programs beforehand.


How do you keep "fresh" within your industry?

By subscribing to magazines like 'computer arts', sometimes 'page'; by seeing other artist's work on places like illustrationfriday.com, or in illustration books; by going to fairs like the Frankfurt Book Fair, Greeting Card fairs, Brand Licensing Fair London. If you don't have time or the funds to go to market fairs, often a lot of the information and contacts are available online on the website of the fair organizer. When I see an interesting store in a city, I'll go talk to the owners too sometimes, to ask what sells, or if they'd be interested in buying artist's products.

To keep "fresh" in my style of artworks, I try not to limit myself to just one style or technique. I've noticed that interests in the markets shift sometimes. For instance apparently many magazine art directors prefer a painterly look of illustrations now to the vector look, saying that the latter has been seen so much for quite a while. If you have different techniques, you can reach more tastes and market needs. Another reason why I love illustrationfriday.com is that it gives me a reason to be creative once a week (if I have time haha), without a client briefing. It's just a topic and off you go drawing whatever you like. I've tried new techniques like that a couple of times, which is always a benefit for future client projects.


What are some of your current projects?

I'm in the process of sending out a postcard mailing to 500 magazines. Would never have guessed how much work this entails ;-). I'm also in a pitch for a manufacturer of gift products for teen girls, such as key chains, mugs, diaries etc. That's a first, and I'm really looking forward to that! I have 2 projects going on for greeting cards, and one for an international fashion consumer goods company where I developed a girl character who always shows on their website once or twice a month, to an editorial text about the new products. For another company, I'm in the development phase for a new character design (for advertising), there are 2 or 3 graphic design projects going on, and I have to update my online store. Can't complain of boredom these days ;-)


Which of your projects are you the most proud of? And why?

I love the girl for the fashion goods company! Her name is Stella. She's custom tailored to the company's main target group, to appeal to them, and increase traffic on the website. We were careful to get all the details of the person's character and look right, so that the customers can really relate to her. She's 35, a fashion editor, cute, fashion oriented but also kind and friendly. I'm proud of the project because it's for the international company Swarovski, and they have great feedback from all around for Stella, and are keeping updating her every month at least. It's a great, fun, project!


Are there any areas, techniques, mediums, projects in your field that you have yet to try?

Commercially, I usually work digitally. I would like to paint with real paint again some day (don't seem to have time these days ;-)), and I'd like to get more familiar with the program Painter from Corel. I'm already using it, but there are so many tools and possibilities in the program that I still would like to learn better. I'd also like to try ink pens and watercolor together some day. And and and...


Any advice to the novice designer/ illustrator?

Build up a portfolio of your best artwork, research which markets might benefit from it, and start making phone calls. Try to get appointments if possible, because you have a higher chance of getting a job than by just sending an email. Make a mailing of postcards or a flyer to companies that might like your style and artworks. Tell everyone what you do, and always have small artworks on you. I used to have a mini portfolio for instance. It was so small that it fit in my purse, and I had it on me wherever I went. It has happened before that I got a job by talking to people on the train! Don't be shy to ask other illustrators for advice. When I started, I was so bold and just emailed to my favorite hero illustrators asking them for tips. Most of them were so nice and wrote back with suggestions! =) Don't give up. Someone will love your work! Key is to find the market for it =)


What makes a designed piece or illustration successful?

If the target group looks at it, loves it, and wants to take it home =) I think in small numbers too though: it's the greatest thing if someone looks at one of your artworks, beams, and says "that's so cool!" What would anyone want more?


What do you do to keep yourself motivated and avoid burn-out?

If I'm really out of energy, I'll go take a nap and will get up way early in the morning if necessary. I read a book that I really like. Or go for a walk to a place with a view and birds singing. I try to aim for customers and jobs that I really like. That's motivation by itself! And I just live life, doing things I like, being around people I love. That always recharges the batteries.


And finally, what is the best thing on prime-time TV right now?

I have no idea. I don't own one =)

Thanks so much for letting me be take part in this! I hope it was useful somehow to you all out there! I I haven't been in the business for very long, but if there are any questions you may have, I'll be happy to try to answer. Just send me an email =) Good luck everyone!


Related Links:

http://www.PotatoMammaDesign.com
http://www.cafepress.com/potatomammashop


Recent Work:

posted by Jeff @ 7:55 PM 2 comments links to this post

GINA KAMENTSKY

I create kinetic sculptures which exist in the somewhat chaotic and messy real world and animated films for the screen where gravity is a bit less of a concern. My path leading to this follows some interesting twists and turns starting in Buffalo New York where I played punk rock
at night and during the day, slept under my office desk at Fisher Price with occasional breaks to design toys for infants and toddlers. Between then and now I've invented some fairly well known games and toys as an independent designer, created a giant clock which burns sticks of incense, built a series of robot sculptures on commission, created sculptural lighting for a roadhouse in Texas joined a motorcycle gang, designed a couple of logos and created several animated films including one about doughnuts having sex.


When did you first decide to become a graphic designer/illustrator? Was there a pivotal moment?

I've been drawing and making things back as long as I can remember. My dad's an inventor, mom is an art historian so there was lots of encouragement from my family. Two big memories, I realized I wanted to spend my life creating art and design, going to a Max Ernst retrospective at the Guggenheim when I was 13 and seeing a show of work by Ray and Charles Eames around the same time.


Who or what inspires you?

The list can be huge at times, I develop creative "crushes" , my current obsession is with a Russian Animator, Konstantin Bronzit, I saw his work at the Ottawa Animation Festival, his timing is so wonderful. I'm big on traveling, sitting around in coffee shops, observing people, drawing, writing things down. Some constant things on my list: Stuart Davis, Saul Steinberg, Rube Goldburg, anything by the Fleisher Brothers, my book of Collected Works of Buck Rogers by Dick Calkins, Yoko Ono, Paul Klee, James Brown, Hank Williams, George Herriman . I love gritty old industrial junkyards, cities where one can find surprising things. My partner Sam Smiley is an amazing editor and video artist, she has taught me so much.



Where does your training come from? Self-taught? College/Art School?

Went to Philadelphia College of Art in the late 70s studied Industrial Design and Film Animation. My first and only job following college, working as a designer at Fisher Price Toys, I learned amazing amount of stuff, everything from how products are developed for a specific marketplace to how to build a vacuform mold for making a toy prototype.


How do you keep "fresh" within your industry?

I teach ( at Massachusetts College of Art ) one day a week, the energy from students keeps me on my toes, I go to lots of film festivals, constantly feed myself films, books, travel... anything where creative ideas can present themselves.


What are some of your current projects?

I'm working on my second film with actress Karyn Parsons, our company Sweet Blackberry produces animated stories for kids about inspiring African Americans. In the pipeline is "Garrett's Gift" the story of inventor , Garrett Morgan, he invented the stop signal and gas mask. Greg Christie is doing the illustration, I'm keeping my fingers crossed here; Queen Latifa is on board to do the narration.

I have two personal animated film projects going, "Bread and Butter" based on 100 different people repeating a phrase "Bread and Butter" and a series of short 30 second animations "Studio Monsters", deals with the frustrations and joys of being an independent artist.

I'm also looking forward to a show of my kinetic sculpture next year.


Which of your projects are you the most proud of? And why?

This is a tough one, I get tired of my work as soon as it's finished. "Chicken Limbo" a game I invented for Hasbro Games /Milton Bradley, sold zillions of pieces all over the world, it was my biggest success, I guess I'm most proud of the little things which emerge from my studio.. when I get a good laugh coming up with something unusual. My web site pixeltoon.com is the best source to see my work.


Are there any areas, techniques, mediums, projects in your field > that you have yet to try?

I would like to combine my interest in kinetic sculpture with film, create motorized sculpture, film it in real time and combine with animation. I'm also interested in building sculpture with video monitors and animation integrated with the piece. I'm mostly interested these days in developing my sense of timing in films.


Any advice to the novice designer/ illustrator?

Be super passionate, work hard, take breaks, repeat.


What makes a designed piece or illustration successful?

I respond to work, my own or the work of others which elevates my understanding of what art and design can be. I believe that there's a big mass of ideas, images, words, we all experience it and all draw from it. Occasionally, someone puts these things together in a new way which shifts one's thinking... it gives a boost up to a new level and we continue from there.


What do you do to keep yourself motivated and avoid burn-out?

Ride motorcycles, I have a Triumph Bonneville and get out when I can... it's good therapy. I'm at a point in my life where I recognize my cycles of production and frustration.. try and see it coming and go out, do something nice for myself.


And finally, what is the best thing on prime-time TV right now?

I don't have cable and my reception is lousy, I spend my TV time on the internet reading blogs and watching You Tube!



Related Links:

http://www.pixeltoon.com/

http://www.pixeltoon.com/blog/

posted by Jeff @ 8:39 AM 0 comments links to this post