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| Photo by Jen and Chris Creed |
Hey Friends!
I want to introduce you to a great artist and friend,
Andy Musser. His whimsical style easily translates into illustration. Andy has done animation work for Yahoo, Microsoft and Xbox Live through Run Studios. He has even written his own
children's book. In his free time plays the ukulele and has recorded an EP with his sister,
Amy, who is a children's librarian and a friend of this blog.
This holiday season, I asked Andy if he had time between creating and showing his own work to do a little custom work for me and, boy, did he ever come through! I was lucky and very proud to present a really great piece of work to my fella for Valentine's Day of characters based on our nicknames for each other.
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| One of Andy's artist cards sits to the left of my gift |
When
did you decide that illustration was how to wanted to make your way
in the world?
When
I was growing up I drew a lot and was always building something
crafty. I drew a lot of comics, made puppet shows, and wore sweat
pants all the time; so not much has changed. My parents were very
supportive of all my endeavors and made sure I always had a supply of
paper, cardboard, toilet paper rolls...whatever I needed. In my teens, I started to get into computer animation and decided that is what I
wanted to study in college. But once I was in school, I realized what
interested me the most about animated films was the story and the
pre-production art. When I boiled it down, I essentially wanted to
make picture books. My school had an illustration program that
allowed me to emphasize in Children's Book Illustration, so I really
lucked out.
Tell
us about your process, please.
My
process varies from project to project, but I always start the same
way. Since illustration is all about communicating an idea, I spend a
lot of time thinking about what I'm trying to communicate and how to simplify
it. Then I sketch as much as I can while imagining the most interesting
way to show the idea. Research is essential and I try to
view/experience as much as time will allow so that I can really
understand my subject matter. Once I get a good idea of where I'm
going with the project, I usually do several thumbnail sketches. From
those thumbnails, I'll pick one and do a final sketch.
In-between, I'll do a lot of little sketches to figure out how to
draw elements and characters. When I'm painting, I always do small
color sketches to quickly brainstorm good combinations. If I've done
all this preliminary work right, then the final illustration gets
completed relatively quickly. Since I've already made all the hard
decisions, it's more a matter of putting the paint down and putting
in the details.
What
is your favorite part of a project?
Because
I'm a very lazy person, I'd have to say the very beginning and the
very end. At the beginning, it's fun because there aren't any
constraints yet and I get to daydream and draw all sorts of crazy
ideas. The very end is fun because all the hard work has been done
and I can just focus on making the final illustration.
What
do you like to snack on when you work?
Oh
man, I love to snack when I work! Right now, I'm really into tea and
brownies, it's the best combo!
What
is your proudest achievement so far?
The
other day some kids asked me to draw a cyclops pig-boy! I'm pretty
proud of that.
How
do you break through creative blocks?
Usually
by taking breaks and doing something completely different. That can
be the hardest thing to do, especially on a deadline, but I've
learned that you can't break a creative block by beating your head
against it. Also, having a hobby, job, or regular activity that gives
me inspiration and new ideas is really important.
What
are you working now?
As
a personal project, I'm working a wordless picture book. It's about a
boy waiting for a seed to grow and the magical characters that visit
his garden at night. I'm really excited about it and I'm looking for the
best way to share it with people.
I've
also started volunteering at the 826 Greenwood Space Travel SupplyCo., a really cool non-profit writing and tutoring center for kids
6-18. I've been helping with this program where a classroom of kids
get to write a short children's book together. I'm part of a big crew
of volunteers, some days I work as the illustrator and I draw whatever
kooky ideas the kids come up with. That is where I drew the cyclops
pig-boy. The kids were asked to come up with characters and one boy
just threw that down. It was awesome! I also help them write their
endings and draw illustrations. It's so great to get to talk with
kids about time traveling dinosaurs and cyclops pig-boys. They come
up with the best ideas.
If you live in the Seattle area, go see his
current show at Monster Art and Clothing, like him on
Facebook, join him on
Google, and follow him on his
blog!
BK
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