ONNO KNUVERS

I was born in The Netherlands in the groovy 70’s, but my parents immigrated to New Zealand in the early 80’s, where I grew up and currently live.

I grew up within a creative family with a number of family members involved in the arts, music and other creative professions. So it only seemed natural that I would pick up on some of these talents and use them for myself. So from a young age I was always creating, painting and drawing any thing that came into my mind.

My favourite Christmas presents were always a new set of colouring pencils or paint.

I used to have a regular wage job but unfortunately or fortunately, the studio I was working at ran into financial troubles and everybody lost their jobs. But as the saying goes as one door closes another door opens. And so it did, I began to work as a freelance artist and that just suits me fine because I gets to draw pictures all day.

So at the moment I am working mainly on animation and illustration projects. But I also manage to squeeze in some painting now and then.

www.onnoknuvers.com



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

I don’t think there really was any pivotal moment or some grand awakening. When I was a kid I wanted to be lots of things, everyday it was something different but I always knew that it would be something creative. I was always drawing and creating some form of art, so it just seemed natural and I never really thought about doing anything else. I remember at high school I was pulled into the headmaster office because he was concerned that I was taking many art subjects. He said that I should think about doing something else as well, I thought like what?

Anyway I was made to drop photography and I had to pick another more academic subject instead. But that didn’t dampen spirits, in my final year I won all the major art prizes at the senior prize giving. So I guess putting all your eggs in one basket does work.



It was a natural progression in becoming an illustrator; I kind of just fell into it without thinking about it. After high school I went to a fine arts school at a university and earned my BFA, and I continued studying classical animation for another two years. Straight after study I landed a cool animation job at a studio and we worked on some exciting projects for Disney, Nelvana and other studios. But after the studio boss ran off with everybody’s wages, we were all out of a job. It was at that point that I realized and considered myself as an animator/illustrator/artist. Which was great because it gave me direction and a plan.


Who or what inspires you?

I don’t think one thing or person specifically inspires me, rather I am inspired by life. I draw inspiration from the people I meet, from the things I see, touch and smell. By opening your mind you can draw inspiration from any object. I spend a lot of time looking through and read books, searching the Internet and talking to people. Suddenly from nowhere the magic of inspiration appears. It creates a snowball effect, you have an idea and then another one pops in your mind and then another and another. Before you know it you have a million ideas waiting to jump out.



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

I had my official fine arts training through art school but in my last year I started to draw cartoons and illustrations, which the tutors didn’t seem to consider as art. So I was pretty much left to my own devices. Looking back it was good because I learnt to teach myself to be self reliant, I also learnt different skills and I ended up in a completely different world. But I don’t believe that you ever stop learning or training. I believe that we all learn some new each day, and in turn it helps us develop as people and as artists. The day I stop learning is the day that I die.



How do you keep "fresh" within your industry?

Cold showers are a good way to stay fresh but if you don’t want to catch hypothermia I would recommend something else. I draw or at least think about drawing everyday and I think this is the best way to stay fresh. If you do this you are continually developing ideas and developing your style, which is a great way to stop your work going stale. I would recommend always carrying some form of notebook or journal so you can scribble down those great ideas that come at the most random times and situations.



What are some of your current projects?

I have just finished doing a series of cartoons for Air New Zealand. They moved to a new building and they wanted to replace the old internal notices and reminders with cartoons. Things like respect each other workspace, turn off cell-phones, tidy up after yourself in the kitchen. It was part of their plan to make the office space have a more modern hip feel. So far the feedback has been very positive.

I’m also working on a painting for an exhibition at Easter about the different Stations of the Cross, which are basically the events leading to Jesus’ crucifixion. Each artist is given one of the stations to create into some form of artwork. I was given Station 8, which is when Jesus is betrayed by Judas and is arrested. Which a is pretty cool part work on, I have some great ideas of what I want to develop and it will be interesting to see what the other artists are creating too.

And finally I’ve started working on some illustrations for a book that hopefully will be published soon. But otherwise it should be a busy year!



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

When I was just starting out as a freelance illustrator I made a series of T-shirts, about 6 designs in total. They were these cute characters kind of influenced by manga but more simple and graphic in design. I had them printed on T-shirts for my girlfriend and myself. We wore them all the time and we still do but they’re getting a bit old and faded now. But people would ask us where we got our funny/cool/cute T-shirts. They actual thought they were T-shirts bought in a store, which for me at the time was a great buzz and a confidence boost. After I told them that I designed them, they wanted to buy the extra ones from me. So for a while I was just printing T-shirts and giving them as birthday presents.



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

I’ve worked with a lot of techniques and mediums including encaustic paint made from bee’s wax. It was the same stuff Leonardo used for the original Last Supper painting. It was a lot of fun especially when bees kept flying into the studio. I guess they thought my painting was a giant flower or some weird new beehive.

One area I would love to work with is sculpture. After working on mainly 2D surfaces it would be fun and challenging to create a 3D object. I may even sculpt one of my characters and turn it into a toy.

Regarding projects, I haven’t worked on any music or record (CD) cover projects yet. So that would be a fun thing to try. There are some really cool covers around and the fact that millions of people can see your work would be a real buzz too. I guess it is just finding a band that will fit within your illustration style.



Any advice to the novice designer/ illustrator?

As clichéd as it sounds “practice makes perfect”. Basically if this is your passion you should be doing it everyday and probably every hour. Study and learn from other artists, don’t copy them but learn about their art and techniques. Also don’t just study the contemporary artists but also study the all masters through out history, there is a lot to be learnt from history. Someone once said to know the past is to know your future. Finally, learn some business skills, if you a freelance artist then you are also the CEO, CFO, Managing Director and also the Janitor. The ability to market yourself is also very important because you may be the greatest artist in the world but if nobody knows about you then you aren’t exactly going to get a whole lot of work.



What makes a designed piece or illustration successful?

It really depends, if it is for a client and they are happy with it and then they start worshipping you as some sort of illustration god. Then yeah that illustration was successful. But if it was for a personal project then it would be successful if I got a good response from other people especially my peers. Saying that however, deep down inside I’m never really 100% convinced that my work is at all success because afterwards I always see something or think something that could improve the work. But I guess I have to stop somewhere otherwise I’ll just keep redrawing and redrawing and redrawing the work until I become a crazy man.



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

The one thing that keeps me motivated is the fear of my girlfriend nagging me to stop playing games and do some work. But seriously she is lovely, my real motivation is that I get to do this every day and I enjoy it. How many people can say that they are living their dreams?

Regarding burnouts, I just don’t have the time but I find that quick micro pauses and a classic episode of M*A*S*H really helps to fresh the mind.



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

Fortunately I don’t have much time to watch TV, which is good because TV generally sucks in New Zealand and it turns your brain into mush. But there are two exceptions to the rule. The first one is a truly funny and a well-written local show called Outrageous Fortune. Which I just found out they have received funding for another series. The other exception is a TV channel called C4, which I guess is New Zealand’s version of MTV. They have a number of good music shows, comedy and animated shows on at the moment. Otherwise my girlfriend and I normally just rent some DVDs and at the moment we are really into our Asian films from Hong Kong, Korea and Japan.

Related Links:

www.onnoknuvers.com

Recent Work:

Labels: ONNO KNUVERS

posted by Jeff @ 8:00 AM 3 comments links to this post

JOHN UIBEL

I live and work in Utah with my beautiful wife and four kids. Describing what I do for a living as far as art goes has always been difficult, as I'm the type that will try anything once. I'm at odds giving myself some sort of title which ties it all together.

I have worked for about 20 years in the film business (features, IMAX, MOW's, series, commercials, PSA's) variously as a production designer, art director, set designer, storyboard artist and concept designer as well as concept artist in the themed attractions and exhibits design industry with projects worldwide. I've been fortunate to be involved in some fairly large, globally recognized projects as well as smaller, local gigs. I am also graphic designer, having done the normal stuff such people do, plus film graphic design (signs and graphics used as props, etc.), concert posters, t-shirts, even 'soft-books' for kids. I am an illustrator: book covers, cartoon characters, architecture, etc. I'm a sculptor, a model-maker, a project manager, a... Basically, I enjoy it all.

To keep my wife sane with a budget I currently work at Brigham Young University as Associate Director of the Center for Instructional Design. I have a staff of about 8 full-time and 15 part-time graphic designers, illustrators, 3D and Flash animators, programmers and video people. We create really cool interactive media and independent study courses, about 50 projects per year. It isn't that far removed from film production, really, aside from the slower speed of completion.

In everything I do, I benefit most from the collaboration I have with groups of very smart people, the research necessary to get the job done, and all the technology toys I get to play with. Freelancing here and there with film design, theme parks and other endeavors makes it...hang on... (I just got a call that my daughter won her 7th grade spelling bee -- no lie!) ... a full life.



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

My father, bless his hide, was the head of publications at Thiokol Corporation back in the 60's and 70's, where they now build the solid booster rockets for the space shuttle. He always had oil paintings and drawings around the house, and would bring home cool illustrations of NASA technology -- you know, those "where will we be in 20 years?" illustrations of space stations and moon bases. I always thought that would be the cool est job ever. Seeing Ralph McQuarrie's concept art for Star Wars back in the day made me think even harder about it. I knew I had a shot when kids in school would ask me to draw dinosaurs on their pee-chee folder during recess. Where are they now ?? (the kids -- not the dinosaurs nor the pee-chee folders)



Who or what inspires you?

The older I get the more I realize I know so little about what I do! There are so many talented artists out there that it can be a little overwhelming, so I try to concentrate on my own stuff and just try to improve. I also try to attend conferences ( ADAPT 2006 conference in Montreal was fantastic) in my fields of interest for inspiration. I read a lot of historical non-fiction and biographies, software manuals and obscure pseudoscience websites. I often haunt mattepainting.org or conceptart.org to see what those who draw and paint far better than I are doing. I'm new to SFG but I'm really liking what I see here, too!



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

I spent considerable time and moolah trying my hand at majoring in fine art, computer science, CAD design, geography and even anthropology. 10 years and 3 universities later I finally figured out what I'm best at -- design (I have a degree in Industrial Design), but I also realized that my interests didn't nicely fit within the university's compartmentalized mold. I don't fault those whose interests do, but I was always looking at "that other department over there", wondering why they looked like they were having so much more fun. Now, if I see something I like, I try to duplicate it. I think my Industrial Design training made the biggest impact on my marketability, as it taught me studio technique and real-world business application.



How do you keep "fresh" within your industry?

Fresh?? I feel I'm always playing catch-up! I see people doing such innovative things and am always duplicating them, always one step behind them. One day I'll strike out on my own.



What are some of your current projects?

I just completed writing a matte painting tutorial for Advanced Photoshop Magazine and am doing a series of concept illustrations for a few theme parks/resort projects with Michael Lee Design. I recently finished storyboarding a feature film, The American Pastime, which is due out I think in the next month or so as well as another (TBA) . Let see, I am creating the cover for a how-to book , and teaching a Photoshop class. This, of course, in addition to the day job.


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

I co-authored a Photoshop CS2 textbook (my first) which is available on Amazon. It was pretty cool for me to see my name in print on an actual book! I'm thrilled at the magazine gig -- never been in a mag in Walmart before! There are others, but could I be so bold as to refer you all to my portfolio?


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

Once a year I have a ritual where I break out the oils, paint a sorry excuse for a landscape, get frustrated and put everything away for the year -- how I do enjoy traditions with the family! Drawing makes so much more sense to me. Also, I'm realizing that if I don't get serious with 3D packages the world will pass me by. I'm dangerous with Sketchup, but I'd like to be lethal in Maya or Cinema 4D or something like that.


Any advice to the novice designer/ illustrator?

I really take this question to heart, because I remember back in the leaner days staring my wife and kids in the eye, wondering how I was going to put food on the table and pay for the car. I think the ONLY reason I was ever hired was because I knew how to do a lot of things -- I could draw, paint, engineer, draft, model-make, and communicate. So, with that in mind,

First, become a generalist, attaining competence in a wide variety of media . You want people to think, "Man! Is there anything this kid can't do?!"

Second, say yes to every job that comes along -- don't get picky. Every job has a connection to the next and will benefit you in the end. Do them all.

Third, say goodbye to sleep. Work very hard and never miss a deadline. Missed deadlines will mean death to your career. Then and only then, specialize if you need to .


Finally, do not hang your career's hat on a design trend. The place is thick with Japanese transformer robot illustrators! Do something else (and no, I've never drawn one).


What makes a designed piece or illustration successful?

Practically speaking, there are two kinds of success: Economic and personal.

Economic success is achieved when you do a piece and the client calls you back for more -- the price doesn't matter.

Personal success is reached when your kids run up to your car when you drive into the driveway and your wife holds your hand in public and in private.

I get more personal satisfaction with the latter, and I think it's important to make a concerted effort not to confuse the two.


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

I work late and hard for a couple of weeks at a time, and then I crash for the weekend and put it all away. I jump from project to project and from medium to medium. I play bass when I want to think. I joined a band last summer and played the state fair (!). I read historic biographies for inspiration, and I write screenplays for mental expression and personal challenge -- and they will likely never ever see the light of a dark theater.


And finally, what is the best thing on prime-time TV right now?
Oh! Can't help you there -- we choose to have no TV at our house; there is a lot of good on, but the truly disgusting is beginning to outweigh the benefit, particularly with young kids in the house. I figure our kids will see that stuff soon enough. I found a streaming website for ABC and my wife and I have watched an episode or two of LOST. Please someone explain that thing to me.

There I go, playing catch-up again!


Related Links:

website:
http://johnuibel.com

portfolio:
http://johnuibel.com/gallery2


Recent Work:

Labels: JOHN UIBEL

posted by Jeff @ 9:28 PM 3 comments links to this post

CHRISTOPHER CISNEROS

CHRISTOPHER CISNEROS “CHOPER NAWERS”

Born in Culiacán, Sinaloa, México. First of four brothers. Pretty much an artist since the age of three. Graphic designer and professional illustrator. Grew up among carpenters, lawyers and mom watching me draw. Love to share my personal experience with others designers and design students. I like to find inspiration in every place or thing possible.




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

My mom gave me a pencil at age two that is when all hell broke loose. I started drawing at a very early age - three years old. When I was four I won my first drawing contest, since then I have been driven by illustration all my life. During high school I worked part time at a local design agency as an illustrator, so I think that encouraged me to study graphic design and arts.



Who or what inspires you?

A good cup of coffee (-LOL..what a cliche!). No really I like to walk and watch what people do, sometimes I go out to an outdoor market place near the office to eat some gorditas and tacos take my sketch book with me just watch people pass by. My wife and my son. Sometimes most of my characters are base on faces that my son does.

-And Who inspires me? Thats a good one I think other designers and illustrators work for example the work of Federico Jordan, Alejandro Magallanes, Tommy Kane, Luis Almeida, Stephen Doyle, Arthur Mount among others.


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

Probably part in school, part life. Because I think that life gives you the chance to experiment with different things ( Feelings, Emotions, Flavors, Colors, etc.)
And other is yourself if you dont take care of what you do and start feeding yourself some good info or inspiration I think that kills you and makes you a bad designer.


How do you keep "fresh" within your industry?

I always try to make a connection with the clients. I try to bring something new to what I do so they can feel that every project is a unique piece of art not just a simple illustration. And I always share with other colleagues experiences and techniques, I think sharing is the path to being a happy and fulfilling designer.


What are some of your current projects?

I am currently working as base illustrator for HELIX, a kids magazine of science and experiments. Published by the CONACYT, for SUKARNE an International meat product company and on some personal toy making projects and a self promotion portfolio.


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

That is a hard question… I think every Project has a different meaning, expression and feeling through the making. But probably the “Hombre de la Mancha” and “Annie” the musicals are some illustration works I did for a campaign when working with the SAS (Sinaloense Arts Society), those were some of my favorites. You can see those on my web page: www.isme53.com on the illustration section in spanish is “ilustración”.


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

I'm trying to animate a series of flash cartoons I had that Project on the fridge for a while but now its coming out…


Any advice to the novice designer/ illustrator?

Make your self a sketch book and draw all day, let your self get inspired by all that surrounds you and try to work hard to be a better designer every day, breath, think and eat design. And also “the Word impossible doesn´t exists”.



What makes a designed piece or illustration successful?

The elements or the meaning, I always try to say something with my work and that is the key to a good design the feeling and what makes others feel.



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

When I feel like running out of gas I just shut down the computer go home have a beer, play with my son, talk with my wife, invite some friends to dinner or take a walk. Anything that can make me loose again is welcome to inspire me. And reading a lot, using your imagnation is a great tool to be better at what you do.


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

Smallvile..LOL…I just love Superman.


Related Links:

www.isme53.com


Recent Work:

Labels: Christopher Cisneros

posted by Jeff @ 8:41 PM 3 comments links to this post