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| Goon |
 Posted: Fri Jun 24, 2011 11:20 am |
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Joined: 12 Jan 2009
Posts: 1222
Location: Santa Cruz ca
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PAWN wrote: i was actually wondering, seeing how much you churn out in your field...do you freelance specifically, or are you employed as an artist full time?
Technically I'm the Art Director and Brand Manager (double duty) for Santa Cruz Skateboards. I used to do art for Indy exclusively, then took over SC a couple of years back. Do some of the Creature graphics as that style of stuff is what I really like to do, have done stuff for OJ and Nor Cal over here
occasionally. Living in SC is really expensive so freelance is a absolute must if you wish to do anything more than 'get by'.
Reading the Baker artist thread is funny and insightful. I interview a lot of people who want to work here, some good, most not, 45 year old moms who tell me how cool they think Indy Skateboards is, dude-bro's who think cause they ride em they can draw em, portfolios full of line paper drawings... the best are the 'fresh-outta-acadamy-of-art-student-portfolio-got-student-loans-want-to-be-art-director-reinvent-the-brand-first-week dudes.
I never set out to be a graphics dude. My mom was/is a old masters oil painter, I grew up drawing but was a pretty nasty hooligan, did a lot of bad things with bad people, used my drawing abilities to tattoo people at around 13 or 14, gangbangers, skinheads pretty much art directed me. Made it about halfway through my 10th grade of high school, was asked to leave. Pretty much just was a fuck up, doing shady shit for a while.......When I got married the miss's was needing me to get on the books so to speak, had to get my shit together seeing as I was not in jail so I borrowed a PC from my boss at this body jewelry place I was working at, making jewelry production style, drew some flash to try and sell to the tattoo shops that bought from us, it did well and I made money. I was stoked. Learned more of the software so I could eventually lay out their catalog, looked shitty but worked. After about 4 years I applied at a local skateshop called Bill's Wheels, did Tees, phone book ads, shoe tags, gripped boards, broke down cardboard, got to do the occasional deck. After about 4 years there, Lee over at NHS asked if I would like to do stuff here. The fucked part was it was for less money than I was making at the shop if you can believe that, but growing up here, with nothing......fuck yeah. People who say art on demand is demeaning have not worked at Burger King on 41st ave...........thats fucking demeaning. I'll work at Coastal Homes Magazine before I go back there. Been here for 6 years.
Sorry, let me get focused, my point is that interviewing these kids fresh out of school, it trips me out. They teach (or try) them the stuff it took me years to learn, how to solicit ideas, tweak them, diplomatically influence them to 'like' your/their idea, produce art for someone. You have to remove ego and their the client. If you can separate YOUR art, from your work, it's no big deal. Its their 'Bun', your 'Oven'. Production art is just using your skills to make a product. Not fulfill your creative outlet, sustain your desire to 'create', for me, I use it to sustain my life, thereby freeing MY art up to be anything I want.
My mom considers me a sell out cause I do graphics but I highly disagree. She paints exclusively, that means if she don't sell, she don't eat. Well guess what? That includes your kids, suffering for your artistic vision and 'integrity'.......So, she has to paint commission work, some rich Aptos Soccer mom is 'art directing' her, telling her what palate to use to match her couch, how her dogs need to be placed in the painting, all her work has to view through the financial prism anyways.
My opinion and experience has been that yes, I don't do painting full time but by creating a stable platform for my family, using art, MY personal art has no constraints whatsoever. I can pursue any idea, no matter how fucked, that I want to entertain. And it still sells. I cant produce my personal art at the same at the same level as some but I have a studio space, bills are paided and I get to draw everyday, making skateboards and shirts.....its so fun. Yes I could make more in another industry but I love skateboarding and I love drawing more. Don't get me wrong, Im not a sucka.......I have a nice gig, NHS is more than fair and I'll leave here happy with the paychecks I have received and a hearty handshake. My years are a head of me and I will be bummed if this was my pinnacle, if I spent my 50's looking back like that was the best it was and thinking I was responsible for for what Novak has and I want some of his teat......it's his company. Notice how all those bitter dudes who think they are the sole reason that NHS did so well were never able to go and reproduce that same success again? Then when they can't they either come back and ask for more or talk shit.....Thats why I do freelance and my own art, to fulfill my artistic needs so I can separate my ego from my work. Its Novaks bun, my turn to be the oven. Shove it in. This place does not define me but provides me a much better job than I would have, given that remained on the level and allowed to remain among the general society. Its really advantageous to the City of Santa Cruz that I remain gainfully employed and on the straight and narrow.
Sorry for the long winded, unsolicited reply but I get asked a lot about how i got this job, asked to talk to shady kids at bad schools and I'm like "not so sure what I can say, do as much acid as you sell, drop out off school, fuck people up, draw skulls and you'll make it too!"..........
Super stoked to be a part of this forum and get your guys thoughts and opinions. A great spot. The cool part about freelance is this scenario. Nihilst came into NHS a couple of years ago, talking to creature lee, saw my drawings, hit me up to do a cover, paid VERY little but their rad, they do some music for Volcom, Volcom sees the cover, hits me up, leads to more.........I love when that happens. The lowest paying but coolest job leads to the much better paying, high profile job that is basically the same kind of drawing that I love doing! Long story short, You never know what a crappy paying fun thing can lead too! |
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| hotrod |
| Posted: Fri Jun 24, 2011 11:29 am |
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ORDER OF THE SKULL
Joined: 01 Feb 2006
Posts: 8515
Location: The Grid
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I enjoyed that.
good interesting post.
keep up the good work |
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I CAN'T SKATE FOR SHIT
....but I can skate for Bacon wrapped hotdogs with pulled pork and Glass bottled Dr Pepper! |
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| MMS |
| Posted: Fri Jun 24, 2011 1:32 pm |
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ORDER OF THE SKULL
Joined: 03 Jul 2003
Posts: 15099
Location: Heaven or Hell...kinda hard to tell.
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Goon -
Thank you. Good read.
My comment in the Baker thread about "soul robbing" comes from my personal experience.
I was the art director for what was then, one of the largest screenprinters in Texas. There wasn't a "brand" we were selling. We did everything for everyone. (Frat party t-shirts, First Baptist Church Softball team shirts, etc.) Everyone wanted the "Mona Lisa" on a stick figure budget. My job was to figure out how to do that, and how to get a bunch of other dope smokin', coke snortin', beer swillin', moron "artists" to do the same. I also had to make sure they all just came to work in the first place. This was in a mostly pre-digital era. I've cut miles of Rubylith and zipatone. Everybody's job was the most important job to do, all day every day.
That shit will suck the life outta you, or it did to me. I still think about work in "6 colors MAX", and stuff like that.
Thanks again for your story. Dug it. Glad to see you've "made" it.
Mike |
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I'm kinda over it... |
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| PAWN |
| Posted: Fri Jun 24, 2011 1:55 pm |
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Joined: 06 Jul 2005
Posts: 4175
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| Thanks for the response Goon. I appreciate the insight. I think you are lucky to have the job you have for the simple fact that it's in an industry that you love. You're definitely great at what you do, making iconic imagery that people want to pay money for! |
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www.fine-co.com buy some shit! |
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| krayola |
| Posted: Fri Jun 24, 2011 7:53 pm |
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ORDER OF THE SKULL
Joined: 11 Feb 2007
Posts: 15449
Location: R'lyeh 47°9′S 126°43′W / 47.15°S 126.717°W / -47.15; -126.717
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| kirksucks |
| Posted: Tue Jul 05, 2011 5:30 pm |
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ORDER OF THE SKULL
Joined: 11 Oct 2005
Posts: 5446
Location: EUREKA!
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| rigmort |
| Posted: Wed Jul 06, 2011 4:08 am |
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ORDER OF THE SKULL
Joined: 26 May 2002
Posts: 1674
Location: Milwaukee
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Love the deck.
Just out of curiosity, what's your technical process? Do you hand-draw and then move to a computer? Or hand-draw and then line shots / separations? Work straight on a computer with a tablet? |
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| Goon |
| Posted: Wed Jul 06, 2011 5:55 am |
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Joined: 12 Jan 2009
Posts: 1222
Location: Santa Cruz ca
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rigmort wrote: Love the deck.
Just out of curiosity, what's your technical process? Do you hand-draw and then move to a computer? Or hand-draw and then line shots / separations? Work straight on a computer with a tablet?
Thanks. The only pics I have up right now that kinda show the initial process are these from Friels Graphic,
I do a pencil sketch at like 14", get all the light and dark areas in,
The I scan that, print it out at around 22" (cause thats the size of the Paper I ink on, its this non-bleed super semi trans, have to use a light box), so chuck it under that paper and ink it with disposable microns.
Then scan that at 600 dpi 'illustration', bring it in to Photoshop, blow out the curves, save it down to 300 dpi and full deck size, Live Trace that file in Illustrator, then either click in all the color pass's, shading, highlights
or (in the case of this Volcom one) bring the vectored art back into Photoshop, make it a multiplied layer on a full size art window, and use the brush tool on layers under it so you can always go back and delete stuff or work on top of it. Sometimes do the bitmap tiff way for really stippled or scratchy art, everyone has their way of doing it, this is just the way I have found that works best for me. |
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| kirksucks |
| Posted: Sun Jul 10, 2011 11:51 am |
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ORDER OF THE SKULL
Joined: 11 Oct 2005
Posts: 5446
Location: EUREKA!
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that's similar to my process but i skip Illustrator all together. I actually ink in PS using the brush tool. clean up with eraser tool then select all the black and turn selection into paths. that way it creates a clean "Vector" of the art, similar to Livetrace. I go back again and clean up the edges and stuff that the instamatic PS tracing screws up.
then I color it using similar methods so that each color is a layer.
your shit rips Goon. |
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