interview with chris piascik

I found this interview with Chris Piascik and had to include it since he has been a big inspiration in my hand drawn type work. Possibley an illustrator I would like to contact to see how he works etc.

http://www.viewsline.com/Interview.jsp?id=45406&/__Chris_Piascik,_Freelance_Designer_and_Illustrator/__Interview_with.html

Chris Piascik is an freelance illustrator and graphic artist that is based out of Cromwell, CT. He recently won a BMX bunny hopping contest in boston (39”) and has more online profiles than your friend that works at Facebook.

We were lucky enough to add a Q+A with Chris Piascik to our Profiles section. Enjoy.

What city do you currently call home?

Cromwell, CT for the time being.

How long have you been a freelance illustrator and what influenced your move from agency work to freelancer?

I’ve been full-time freelance for about a year. I was actually laid off from my job and figured I’d give it a shot. Being on my own had always been my ultimate goal—I just didn’t think it was possible yet! After a year I can’t imagine not being on my own.

Can you explain how your ‘parent’s music collection’ influenced you into eventually becoming an designer/illustrator?

Hah! Well when I was a little kid I would remove the packing from the albums around the house and make my own. It was one of my favorite things to do and when I realized that could be my job someday it blew my mind.

What tools are a must for freelance illustrators?

I think that depends on the person. For me, I can’t be without some fresh Sharpies, Papermate Flairs, paper, a good scanner, Photoshop and Illustrator.

Tablet versus pencil and paper?

I’ve tried to go Tablet twice. I even got a Wacon Cintiq (the display version) but I still found myself working more efficiently with paper and a marker. My line work/quality is pretty crucial to my illustration style—and that’s hard to match with a tablet. At least it is in my experience.

Mac versus PC?

Mac! I was a Mac user when Apple was doomed.

Can you walk us through your creative process?

It depends on the project, but I usually just grab some paper and start drawing. Sometimes it comes quick, other times it is painfully slow and I hate everything that I do. Coming up with good concepts is usually the time consuming part.

What are some of your favorite freelance projects from 2010?

I designed a book for Chronicle Books titled, I Love My Bike. The book features portraits of people all over the country with their bikes. I got a little overzealous and did hand-lettered treatments for everyone featured in the 168 page book. At the other end of the spectrum, I did some illustrations for shoeboxes for a children’s shoe company in Boston called Morgan & Milo. The box was covered top to bottom with monsters, games, quotes and more.

What major brands have you done illustration work for?

Chronicle Books, The Discovery Channel, Goodbyn, Chop Shop…Do musicians count? Gnarls Barkley, Mr. Lif, Straylight Run. I’ve worked with a couple other big brands this year however I’ve been sworn to secrecy until the products are released.

Are you working on any personal projects right now? If so, what are they?

I’m always working on way too many personal projects. I’ve been doing the daily drawing thing for over 3 years now. I just finished the third edition of my Typostruction zine series. I also have an idea, as well as the very early stages of a book I want to make. I almost forgot about a big one…I recently started a very silly website called, Pets Are Superheroes. The premise is that I draw people’s pets as superheroes. The idea started as a bit of a joke with a friend of mine, but after I drew a couple we were laughing too hard to not make the site. I’ve been really surprised by the amount of orders that have come in already.

What artist/designers inspire you?

So many…Rich Stevens, Kate Bingaman-Burt, Uberkraaft, Espo, Mike Giant—I’m sure I am forgetting some really important ones…

Pandora or last.fm?

I have been using Last.fm for a really long time but to be honest I think I only use it because I like that it generates lists. I don’t stream music with it or anything—I’m too picky about what I want to hear when I want to hear it. I also listen to a lot of podcasts and NPR while I work.

We noticed that you have a very strong web presence and have every online profile imaginable. Do you feel that have a strong web presence is important when working as a freelance artist?

A strong web presence seems to be crucial unless you are willing to spend a lot of time pounding the pavement looking for work. (quote) My web presence is how I survive. Nearly all of my projects have come from people who found me. I’ve been lucky enough to not have to seek out projects yet. Every time I plan to try I get new work and my plans are put on hold.

Do you have any advice for illustrators/designers that want to quit their day job and start freelancing?

Stop sleeping—I’m mostly kidding, but you really need to hustle if you want to work for yourself. I work more now than I ever imagined. As I type this it’s 2am on Monday. I honestly believe my daily drawing project is a big reason why I was able to transition to full-time freelance so smoothly. I’ve been consistently posting new work 5 days a week for over three years. When you are putting that much work out there odds are it’s going to get noticed at some point. Getting your work in front of people is crucial—you can be the greatest illustrator in the universe but if no one knows how will they hire you? Start building your web presence while you maintain your job. The more you can get yourself out there the easier the transition will be.

I found this section extremely helpful, If I want to do more with illustration and graphic design in the future I would consider doing a daily/weekly drawing on a blog. Since marketing is something I want to get into first this is something I could do as a hobby on the side and build up a portfolio to potentially go into design/illustration later. Something to do with book cover designing as well. Create several dummy designs of book covers to gain more confidence in my approach and style.

Is there anything else about you that you would like the world to know?

I recently won a BMX bike bunnyhop contest in Boston with a hop of 39″. As someone inching on thirty I feel pretty good about that!