Illustration can be a direct representation or a stylized perspective of the world around us. Either way, the resulting piece is a filtered look at life by the artist that creates it. I am an artist specializing in illustration and animation for this very reason; to document my own perspective of the world the best way I know how, and to share it with those who are willing to see it.
Everything we experience is met with a reaction visceral and unscripted. Whether the reaction is positive or negative does not matter because it is truthful and sincere. I look for these responses when showing my work for the first time because they are road signs of where I need to go. This principal applies to every piece I create, commissioned or personal, because there is always an audience.
The pieces I create, both illustration and animation, have their role to play in each respective project. It is often the mistake of an artist to see success as synonymous with big, bold and aggressive statements. My goal as an artist is to understand the story and implement my work strategically where it works best, to help enhance the script, and not necessarily call attention to itself.
The most important part of the creative process is the beginning when the artist sits down to an empty canvas, before the first line is drawn defining where the rest of the lines go. Sketching is fluid, unrefined and forgiving. Before beginning a piece, I conceptualize with crude sketches or notes before refining with less forgiving mediums. I use these sketches as a road map, but never marry my decisions to them because every medium has its own personality that can alter the process. Even though the digital age has changed the work flow for many creatives simply by limiting the level of risk an artist must take, it is still imperative to always sketch out ideas crudely, and to sketch as many as possible.
My current work is exploring spacial relationships, forced perspective, light and textures. I prefer to tell a story through the tone and the mood of the piece as well as through simplified but recognizable elements. I strive to create fearlessly, but this is not always so easy. I have found that by accepting some of the more challenging projects, even despite my trepidation, it has inevitably elevated my skills to the next level. Over the course of several years I have learned to accept these challenges and they now excite me rather than scare me. By rising to the occasion with clarity and presence, my artwork and skill has grown exponentially.