Interview with the incredible “ThickBlackOutline”

For a while now I have been thinking of making some interviews for this blog
The people I want to put up against the wall are fellow artists that really has an intimidating effect on me cos they’re so fucking skilled and well organized that it…it it…. FRUSTRATES ME OK??!!

After having carved out a living for the last 8 years through Illustrating and designing both for print and digital publishing I have gotten to know some very fine artists around the world.
And there’s also a few from the old days when I played music for a living.

The idea now is to bring you at least one of these cool people once a month… hell! who knows maybe even twice a month…we’ll see… and then I’ll squeeze them for info and trix. All this just for you my beloved readers.
So stay tuned art junkies, Photoshop addicts, buyers, vector nocturnals, paper and print odour lovers, camera geeks, colour aficionados, pencil & paper fetishists, oil paint greasers and all you other peculiar creatures of the fare fare away place we refer to as the land of inspiration and creativity.

There will be something here for every single one of you. Beginner or seasoned artist, you’re bound to find something to cherish and hold on to. Something to bring your dream for life one or more steps closer to Nirvana.

Today we will kick off this series of interviews with an online friend and fellow artist/online art pimp of me from Brisbane, Australia.
Her name is “thickblackoutline”.
She is an illustrator and graphic designer as well as being her own marketing expert (this she is doing a great job of, and she’s continuously breaking new ground).

We met at the “redbubble.com” online art gallery and community where we are both represented.
She has given me tons of good advice and pointers, as well as introducing me to great art and some very nice people

So here we go. Ladies and gangsters let me introduce to you….(drum roll) the incredible “thickblackoutline”(fanfare).

Here we have our heroin at work...

Interview with the illustrator and designer “thickblackoutline”

Q. For those of us familiar  with your art it is obvious that Japanese and Chinese culture has had an immense impact on your different visual outlets. Can you give us an idea of from where this influence derive?

I think its a mixture of things, its a culture I am very interested in, and I find it so beautiful.  Perhaps based on who I was in a past life, it seems to be all around me everyday for me to embrace, and express myself through my art.

Q. As soon as I joined redbubble.com was made aware of you TBO, and I think that’s because you’re very good at marketing yourself and you are also a very good forum person if one can use such an expression. You also have a very high productivity tempo, and you keep it coming. The question is, where do you take all that energy from and what inspires you to keep it up?
And also what is your main inspiration and driving force so to say?

The energy is inside me, I have identified what my passions are and I’ve learnt to tap into that resource whenever I like.  Its such an important place to go to, when I’m thinking about my next pieces of artwork. There’s always 1001 things I want to do, I’m not saying I have some flat times, everyone does, but its just a case of following through with an idea or concept, and the good feelings you get when its completed.  I’d say that would be my main driving force, I like to see the finished product of an idea i had in my mind’s eye – I’m not suggesting that they’re spot on every time, art always evolves as you do it… its just extraction is good… makes room for more ;)

Q. Does art and image production represent your main income or are you also employed in other activities to secure a livelihood?

Yes it does I can finally say!  I used to do thickblackoutline full time, 7 days a week, but its a hard slog when you’re not getting regular income.  Its a famine or a feast!  So I have managed to get some part time Graphic Design work, for a Japanese food company in Australia.  I’m the only Aussie there, everyone speaks Japanese all day, which I really love, b/c I don’t.  Its nice to get into the office and do your work and not have to know about any dramas.  But from what I can tell, there aren’t any.  Its an absolute pleasure to work there, the people are just amazing, funny, fun… we laugh a lot.  I’m VERY lucky to work there.

gumball-sushi-ii

Q. Can you give us a brief but accurate description of where you were born and your whereabouts from then on up until now. And if you think these things have had an influence on your art and visual expressions.

I was born in Melbourne, and grew up in the south east, close to the beach.  My family is very surf culture orientated.  I’m the youngest of 3 kids.  When I was little I wanted to be an architect when I grew up.  I loved cities, and looking at buildings, I still do.  I love to see the design, and angles and materials.  When I was about 9 or 10 I secretly want to be one of those people out in the water doing surfing photography. I aspired to do something artistic, but wasn’t sure what.  It took me a while to get there though as I ended up doing a business course when I left school, which eventually lead me to the wine industry.  I decided a relocation would be a good opportunity to change my career and head it in the direction I wanted, so i moved with my family to Brisbane, and started studying graphic design.

Q. What do you like to do for fun when you’re not creating art or pimping your work?

A wise man once said “pimping ain’t easy” (Jumpy) and its not, I like to find some time to cook and bake.  I also like taking photos now and then, sometimes for fun, sometimes for reference.

Q. Did you ever travel, and if so where did you go.

I have only been to the US for a very short time at the end of highschool.  I would like to travel very much, Japan, Morocco, Laos-Cambodia and UAE are my top 4!

Q. What is your favourite medium to work on, paper or digital?

I couldn’t pick one, I like each for their own reasons.  Digital b/c its quick and instant.  Paper b/c it allows me to express more. I like to paint on more than just canvas or paper.  Cardboard, Skateboards, Floppy Disks… i really like how art can even be on something out of the ordinary

Q. Do you sketch your composition many times before you go to the computer.

I don’t sketch every time, but if i do its just twice.  Once to get the initial idea down and then i trace it to clean it up and get the lines i want to use.  Then I scan it and redraw it in Illustrator

saraswati

Q. Do you sketch on paper or in Photoshop/Illustrator?

Illustrator…… NEVER Photoshop… that’s for photos. Can’t people see that?

Q. Do you put together your whole composition in a sketch first, or do you make different sketches for the different parts, and then bring them together on your computer?

I do both really. When I haven’t sketched, I usually look for photo references. Take the bits I need, that arm, these legs, and compose what i need to use that way.  i am always looking at the old school pin ups. Gil Elvgren, Greg Hildebrand are my favourites.

Q. How do you record and store the ideas you don’t use at once.

They’re either illustrator files, or in a sketchbook

Q. Do you keep a scrap book.

i have many! :) filled with sketches, other artist’s works, and pictures of things i like, ie: cool packaging, patterns, fabric.

Q. Do you carry drawing equipment at all time.

not all the time, but i do sometimes just in case i am inspired

Q. Do you use a lot of reference or do you draw solely from remembrance and fantasy?

reference

Q. When was the first time you made any art on a computer, and how old were you then.

i think i was 19 maybe?  I drew a little dog in ms paint and it went from there.

Q. Are you a mac or a PC person, or are you a independent urban hobo sporting a Linux habit?

lol! PC lusting after a Mac

Q. Do you produce all the parts of an image yourself, or do you use materials and art from other sources for your compositions?

a bit of both, I’m a bit of a lazy artist sometimes and like to use the same things, but only b/c its exactly what I want.  its something I drew at some stage, and if its a style i want to keep running with, I’m not going to draw it again.

Q. Is there anyone else in your immediate family doing art or photography for a living or a hobby?

yes, my mum is a sewer

Q. What equipment do you use for your analogue input (pens, pencils aso.)

just pens, pencils, fineliners…. there’s nothing like drawing with a biro (ball point) i must confess. i recently invested in a clutch pencil and have been enjoying that.

more-everything

Q. What do you find is the most important part of being an artist? to supply pleasant nice looking imagery or to provoke afterthoughts and point out wrongs in society.

i really love that people enjoy my art and are inspired by it.  that is most important to me. society is a funny old land, i don’t think art points out wrongs in it, i think art is a pretty accurate description of a persons opinion of it.  art is never wrong.

Q. What do you do for inspiration?

I like looking at other artists, going to galleries, talking with my friends, drawing with children is VERY inspiring.

Q. How do you handle a “total lack of inspiration” situation?

watch TV ;)  I’m a big worrier when I’m not inspired, sometimes I place pressure on myself to produce art.  its something that doesn’t last for long, I don’t believe its something that will never come back ever again, it’ll come back when its good and ready.  sometimes I welcome the break.

Q. Do you have an agent and/or if not, did you ever consider one?

no, but i have considered one.  its hard to find one here, and it seems to be huge overseas.  its a case of them liking your work, and seeing your potential.  I’m yet to find anyone like that yet.

Q. Do you exhibit in the real world or is online the only place one can purchase your art?

i do have representation in an oriental home wares shop locally.  I have 4 pieces in there, waiting patiently for a new home.  at the moment, online is the biggest market for me.

Q. How and when did you get in to computer graphics and how and when did you get in to art as such?

i was quite interested in art in the first place, I loved to draw when i was little and did art all through highschool… when i did my business course I did desktop publishing, i guess it stemmed from there.  I’ve always been doing something artistic for as long as I can remember.

Q. Is there a particular moment in your life where you can point to and say: this is where it all started, this is where my love for art was born. Or is there a person in your life to whom you owe your love and determination for art.

no not really, i just enjoyed to draw so much when i was little. birthday presents, especially for my dad were always drawings, and still are today

Q. What was the first time you saw/tried art made on a computer.

i used to scan in drawn images in play around with them in an early version of Photoshop called Photodeluxe….. i soon grew out of that.

Q. What was your first computer, and what software did you have on it? ( nice with some information on price and how you got a hold of it).

i think the brand was Amstrad, and it didn’t have windows.  just dos, and i liked those print shop programs where you made cards and posters and that with the dot matrix printers – such fun!

Q. What is your set up as of today? Hardware and software.

i have a compaq, with windows XP. and i use illustrator cs2 the most.  i store everything on my iPod, so i can easily take ALL of my work anywhere i go.
I also draw with a good old fashioned mouse, I don’t think I’d ever get a wacom or anything like that.  it would be a step backwards in my opinion.

sushicardrb

Q. What kind of plans do you have for the future.

I’d really like to take thickblackoutline to the next level, and collaborate with designers in various industries as some sort of guest designer for a range.  this i hope would get some brand recognition, and i could start my own lines.  I’m interested in things like snowboards, skateboards, stationery, gift/wrapping paper, bedding, fabric design, pyjamas… Peter Alexander + thickblackoutline is a big dream of mine.  just one pair of pyjamas, come on Pete ;)

Q. Is there any art related books you would like to recommend to our readers.

I cannot recommend enough, How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way.  this is a excellent book about figure drawing for anyone wanting to get into that area.  I always have my head in any Illustration folios, or graphic art books, books on packaging design – such great inspiration in these for a quick fix.

Q. Is there any art related web pages you would like to recommend to our readers.

i like to look in at the Little Chimp Society now and then, its a really good news blog, its good to look at other peoples art.  Also Drawn.ca

Q. Is there any art related tutorial resources you would like to recommend to our readers.

no, i don’t know about them

Q. Is there any art related online resources you would like to recommend to our readers

i love StartDrawing.org which features Asian artsts only… a favourite of mine for sure.

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Q. Do you listen to music when you work? and if, what’s your favourite artists to listen to when creating art?

Music is VERY important to my art.  I like a very deverse range of music its hard to name them.  But i know when i really want to power through something and get the job done i like to listen to heavier music, like Audioslave, Rage Against the Machine, A Perfect Circle, The Mars Volta are particularly important b/c their music IS art.

Q. If the Australian government granted you one wish that would make life easier and better for artists and culture as such, what would you wish for?

money ;)

Q. Do you have a message you try to communicate through your art?

not really, i just like to express what i am interested in as an artist, and if people like it a lot, then its a bonus.

Q. If someone offered you to cover all expenses, where would you go to live and make art for one whole year?

morocco, its a culture which is thriving with such unique art and food!  i would suggest that my art would change somewhat…… so if i was to lift what i do currently to the next stratosphere, i cannot go past Japan, without a doubt.

Q. Can you mention a few artists that have influenced you and your art?

It was you that put me onto Alfons Mucha and I can’t thank you enough!  Every time I think about his work, or see some of his pieces I get so inspired.  I have based 2 pieces so far on his influence.  Protection

and Thickblackoutline

, and i can’t wait to do more.

I am also influenced by the Chikanobu and Yoshitoshi Woodblock Prints

in my opinion this site is the greatest collection around and I just noticed has been updated with some more artwork.

Q. What is your favourite picture…ever?

wow, a tough one, i cannot just pick one. John BRACK Collins St., 5p.m. 1955 has been a favourite of mine for most of my life.  I have seen the actual piece many times. I’m drawn to the colours and then different characters and the style.  Collins St is a street in Melbourne, Australia and is in the CBD of the city.  I have worked for a short time in that street, and still today, at 5pm, it turns into one of the busiest street in Melbourne for people travelling home from work.

Q. Who is your favourite painter/illustrator…ever?

again i can’t just pick one, but I have loved Gustav Kilmt’s work, and I am surprised i see his influence so much these days.  From wine labels to haircare packaging, its such a recognisable style, and design elements.

i also have to mention Andy Warhol. a lot of people don’t understand the whole pop art movement, and its really such a genius concept.  Warhol believed that everything around us was art.  From packaging to advertising, to soft drink giants.  i think a lot of what he identified is one of the reasons why media, consumerism, etc. is what is it today.  we all should take a leaf out of his book, and take a moment to take in the art that all around us, from rows and rows of canned food that sit of a supermarket shelf, to the next time we have to sign for a package, that piece of paper is art too… someone designs everything.

Q. What roll do you think art and music has played in our society, and what do you think has and will change in the future.

i think music and art has influenced our society a great deal especially in the 60s. as associate feelings and memories with music and art.  as for today, i think its (music) turned into a mass manufacturing machine, where the wrong people want to cash in on the message, instead of the right people telling it.

Q. Do you think civilisation as we know it would be possible without art, poetry and music?

artistic expression is such an important tool to tell a story. be it words, pictures, sounds, colours, etc. etc.  imagine there bring no caveman drawings, no Michaelangelo, etc. etc. we would not be where we are today, with our knowledge – art can only get better.

Q. How would you define the word ART?

conversations from the soul

Q. Do you think art can change things in our society for the better?

i think it can from the ground up…… how high it can reach is another story.

Q. Do you think art should provoke, or only be there for our pleasure?

i think it should do both.  its important to make us question, to be inspired, and to make us think about how we personally feel.

OK thank you very much Jen you are a love :-)

If any of you readers out there want to know more about TBO and her art, her redbubble account is a good place to start. There you’ll find links to the rest of her online world. Go have fun and get inspired…

And here is a video produced by another bub friend of mine, namely “musculareteeth”

POS 2008