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Whyisbox
The drawing years: 1972 – 1988 Born with a graphite centre – drew logos instead of playing with toys like normal children – bombed out of school and art because Graphic Design – aka Graffiti is NOT an artistic medium (dicks) and went on to practice on the walls of middle England (Apart from the cheeky tag mainly in Leighton Buzzard if I’m honest). The music years: 1988 -1997 Acid – Rave – Drum and Bass - House – Breaks – dropped - DJ’d – promoted – produced - presented. The alcohol years: 1997 – 2000 Ran, drank in and owned bars in London, Salisbury and Aylesbury. If I remember... The digital years 2000 – present: Back to design full time. Although only started illustrating seriously a couple of years ago. Got Broadband. Spent less than 40% of my time looking at porn and was able to fit in some drawing in the mean time. Worked as senior creative and now freelancing (as an illustrator and designer) and running a magazine (NewSugar). 2009 – the future: Got first rocket car – broke first rocket car. Influences: Japan, vectors, nice people and other happy stuff.
Interview
We’ll start with a nice easy question... In a short paragraph or two please describe your life to date. Blurry and busy is the short answer. I’ve pretty much always been involved in something creative although that has manifested itself in various ways over the years. I DJ’d, ran a promotions company, a record label and a studio in the mid Nineties and dabbled with a bit of radio presenting, then, managed a few bars and pubs around England before buying a music bar in Salisbury in 1999. I decided on a career change in 2001 and thanks to the power of modern PCs got into design and illustration. In 2008 I left a senior design job to start my own freelancing business. I now run Whyisbox my graphics/illustration company and NewSugar a creative showcase magazine.... phew! Oh, and I’m involved in a new collective called Vectorville which consists of some of the finest vector artists in the business ;)
NewSugar seems to be going from strength to strength, is it difficult to run a time consuming magazine alongside a thriving studio? Yes and no. I spend ages thinking about the stuff I need to do but the actual work only takes about a week a month. There are some changes coming to NewSugar though which will increase the amount of time I spend... it will be fun doing it though which is the main thing.
You’re obviously a vector based craftsman but do you sketch your ideas by hand first or work directly on the computer? I have always been too impatient to sketch stuff out, I tend to just start with a line and see what happens. I do actually doodle loads on paper (a pen is a permanent fixture in my hand) but I’m too lazy to scan it in and manipulate it. Maybe one day.
You have a loyal legion of twitter followers and are active on various other networking sites. How important do you feel social networking sites are to today’s artists? It’s what makes it all possible really. Without social networks - like the awesome Concrete Hermit for creatives – there would be no NewSugar. Also, without having the support of likeminded people to bounce off, working from home would be a solitary nightmare; despite my highly trained circus cats.
Do you feel it’s important for an artist to try and create a body of personal, non-profit work alongside commissioned pieces? For sure. For me it’s more important than the commissioned work; if you don’t keep your mind challenged and your creative juices flowing, your work gets stale. Stale work = no commission work!
What are the positive and negative aspects of being your own boss? Positive: Creative control Probably the same answers every freelancer gives!
Aside from your design and illustration work what other interests and hobbies do you have? Do they influence your creative work in any way? There is no distinction between work and play for me. I absolutely love what I do and find R&R frustrating. I would much rather be thinking about a new project or creating something. There is just so much fun you can have on a computer!
What future plans do you have for Whyisbox? More awesome projects and clients hopefully. As a relatively new company it’s still developing its identity but it’s pretty exciting watching how it develops.
What future plans do you have for NewSugar? I have a ‘best of’ collaborative issue in the pipeline with another zine called Middle Boop and another special ‘Vinyl Toy’ magazine coming out in a couple of months called FreakPlastique.That’s in conjunction with UrbanRetro. The site is in the process of having an overhaul and will be sporting a bunch of new elements and features when it goes live. I also have a one off ‘Covers’ edition of the mag coming out soon and a project underway called Monstar! which is a collaborative game. More on that here if you would like to play: http://newsugar.co.uk/monstar |
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